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Ripple has backed AI infrastructure startup t54 in a $5 million seed round, a move that ties the company more closely to the emerging market for autonomous payments and agent-driven financial activity. The investment also puts the XRP Ledger in the frame as one of the networks being positioned for machine-to-machine commerce.

Ripple And The XRP Ledger Enter The Agentic Payments Race t54 announced on February 25 that its seed round was led by Anagram, PL Capital, and Franklin Templeton, with strategic participation from Ripple, alongside Virtuals Ventures, Blockchain Coinvestors, and ABCDE. The company describes itself as a “trust layer for the agentic economy,” focused on a problem that is starting to attract more attention as AI systems move from recommendation to execution: how to verify an agent’s identity, evaluate its risk, and assign accountability when something goes wrong.

That framing was echoed by Ripple President Monica Long, who wrote on X that “as autonomous agents begin managing and transacting with real capital, trust infrastructure becomes a foundational piece of the equation.” She added that Ripple was “proud to be at the forefront of AI innovation,” calling out t54 as a team “building the trust layer for the agentic economy.”

The company’s pitch is that existing financial rails were built around humans, not software agents acting on delegated authority. In the press release, founder Chandler Fang laid that out directly:

“We are building trust infrastructure for the agentic economy. Financial systems were designed around human identity and human decision-making. As agents become autonomous participants, we need agent-native financial primitives—verifiable agent identity (KYA), real-time risk assessment, and programmable accountability—built for how agents operate.”

That thesis is not just about identity in the abstract. t54 says its platform is built across four pillars: identity and verification, risk and fraud, credit, and a broader operating platform that combines controls with settlement. The idea is to give institutions a way to bind agents to verified developers or human operators, monitor their behavior in real time, and decide when they should be allowed to transact, borrow, or execute payment flows.

The company is also making a direct bet on crypto rails as part of that stack. Among the products it listed is an “XRPL x402 Facilitator,” described as infrastructure that lets AI agents pay for services using XRP and RLUSD. It also highlighted an open-source secure layer on x402 and said its ecosystem spans XRPL, Solana, Base, and Virtuals, suggesting it is not building for a single chain, even if Ripple’s involvement gives XRPL special relevance.

That matters because Ripple’s interest here goes beyond venture exposure. Markus Infanger, SVP at RippleX, framed the opportunity as a shift in the nature of economic actors themselves:

“Autonomous systems are becoming participants in economic activity, not just tools. The financial infrastructure that supports them must evolve accordingly. We support t54’s efforts to build the identity and risk capabilities that will be foundational as AI agents operate across payments, treasury, and capital markets.”

Tony Pecore, Franklin Templeton SVP and director of digital asset management, said:

“As institutions embrace tokenization and autonomous systems, the infrastructure layer must evolve to match. t54 is building the trust and verification framework that institutional finance will require as AI agents become participants in financial markets.”

t54 also backed its market argument with survey data. It cited a recent YouGov study showing 42% of US consumers would allow an AI agent to make purchases on their behalf if it secured the lowest price.

At the same time, research from Keyfactor found 86% of cybersecurity professionals believe autonomous systems and AI agents should have unique, dynamic digital identities. Together, those figures capture the tension t54 is trying to monetize: growing willingness to delegate financial actions to software, but only with tighter controls.

For Ripple and XRPL, the bet is clear. If autonomous agents do become active users of payment rails, then Ripple wants XRP Ledger infrastructure to be part of that next layer.

At press time, XRP traded at $1.4397.

XRP rises back above the 200-week EMA, 1-week chart | Source: XRPUSDT on TradingView.com Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com

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As Bitcoin tries to stabilize at $67,000, Michael Saylor, Chairman of Strategy, continues to demonstrate his trademark optimism on social media. In a new post on X, Saylor not only depicted himself carrying a large orange bag covered with Bitcoin logos but also added an intriguing caption suggesting he might need a "bigger" one.

The message to the market is clear: Saylor & Co. are prepared to keep absorbing supply and buying more Bitcoin.

Why Michael Saylor сalling for "bigger bag" amid MSTR stock turbulenceAt present, Strategy holds 718,722 BTC, equivalent to approximately $48 billion in value. However, given an average purchase price near $76,000, Saylor and the company are sitting on an unrealized loss of about 12% on their position. Despite this, the company’s mNAV ratio remains around 1, while its adjusted enterprise value multiple is even higher: 1.256.

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In other Strategy-related developments, this week, the company hosted Strategy World 2026, where Saylor reiterated his thesis that Bitcoin represents digital capital. According to him, Bitcoin’s core value is not in abstract portability narratives but in the practical reality that one billion dollars in BTC can be transferred anywhere in the world, whereas moving a billion dollars in traditional assets is far more complex.

At the same time, he acknowledged that Bitcoin’s primary challenge is price volatility, arguing that large-scale capital inflows are held back mainly by fluctuations, not by any structural flaw in the network itself. From Saylor’s perspective, corrections are a normal part of the model. His message remains consistent: if you invest in BTC, be prepared to hold it for 7-10 years.

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All of this comes as Strategy’s stock, MSTR, is reportedly the most shorted stock in the market, according to Goldman Sachs. The shares are currently trading at $132.8, down 12.6% year-to-date in 2026. Compared to the all-time high of $542, the stock is off by 75.8%.

How much Saylor needs an even bigger orange bag may become clearer next week, as Strategy continues to report its Bitcoin activity on a weekly basis when transactions occur. One thing is certain: Saylor remains openly optimistic, even amid the current turbulence on the crypto market.

XRP could shift from a speculative token to the “invisible plumbing” of a new global settlement system.

Published: February 26, 2026 │ 3:59 PM GMT

Created by Kornelija Poderskytė from DailyCoin

In a recent video, crypto analyst Edo Farina floats the idea that XRP could evolve from “just another cryptocurrency” into the hidden plumbing of a new global financial system — one that might even be used to help settle the U.S. national debt.

The host frames the discussion against what he calls “the biggest debt crisis in human history,” claiming the existing fiat-based system cannot sustainably resolve U.S. obligations without triggering severe inflation or political backlash from higher taxes.

From Speculative Token To “Invisible Plumbing”The commentator’s central claim is not that XRP magically erases debt, but that a tokenized, blockchain-based financial architecture could fundamentally change how large-scale obligations are settled.

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In that framework, XRP is positioned as a neutral bridge asset for moving value between currencies and tokenized instruments, rather than a consumer-facing payment coin.

He references a clip from a Newsmax segment, where a speaker speculates about the U.S. government hypothetically allocating 1% of annual tax revenue — about $1 trillion — into an emerging cryptocurrency like XRP.

In the clip’s rough math, such a move at an assumed XRP price of $2.50 and a cited market cap of $144 billion could multiply XRP’s valuation “by a factor of eight,” pushing implied value into the trillions.

Edo Farina treats this not as a forecast, but as an illustration of how state-level capital flows could radically reprice a neutral settlement asset.

The host concedes the original TV audio is noisy and incomplete but insists that the underlying theme — fiat debasement versus hard or digital alternatives — is “already happening in real time,” pointing to record highs in gold and ongoing U.S. dollar devaluation.

De‑Dollarization, Gold & a Split Monetary OrderTo ground his thesis, Mr. Farina leans heavily on remarks from Colonel Douglas Macgregor, who describes accelerating “de‑dollarization” and a likely split into two global financial blocs.

Macgregor envisions a BRICS-aligned system — “Brazil, Russia, India, China, Saudi Arabia” and potentially “as many as a hundred nation-states” — moving toward a gold-heavy framework and away from the weaponized U.S. dollar.

Macgregor suggests future arrangements could mix gold and other commodities with a digital currency “independent of the central banks,” as trust in dollar-based institutions erodes.

The analyst seizes on this to argue that XRP, as a neutral bridge asset that “can’t be weaponized in the same way the U.S. dollar has been,” fits the technical and geopolitical requirements of a new reserve instrument.

He notes that central banks, once major net sellers of gold in the 1980s and 1990s, are now large accumulators.

From this, he sketches two possible intersections between precious metals and XRP: tokenized gold issued on the XRP Ledger, or XRP itself being backed by gold, with XRP’s escrow features used to maintain an artificial peg.

Either structure, Farina claims, would let governments “teleport gold instantly” without physically moving bullion — potentially attractive for sanctioned states already resorting to gold for settlement.

For investors, the video does not offer timelines or concrete policy signals.

Instead, it frames XRP as a speculative bet on a post‑dollar settlement layer, tightly tied to geopolitical realignment, central bank gold policy, and the rise of tokenized debt.

If any part of that macro thesis materializes at scale, neutral bridge assets could move from crypto’s periphery to its core.

Delve into DailyCoin’s popular crypto news today:
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People Also Ask:Does the video claim the U.S. will definitely use XRP to pay its national debt?

The analyst presents it as a theoretical scenario and a way to highlight XRP’s potential role in a new settlement architecture, not as a confirmed policy plan.

How does gold factor into the XRP argument?

The host expects an eventual link between gold and digital assets, either through tokenized gold on the XRP Ledger or XRP being backed by gold to move value across borders without moving physical metal.

Is this vision tied to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)?

Indirectly. The video focuses more on a neutral, non‑state bridge asset than on CBDCs themselves, arguing that geopolitical fragmentation increases the need for such a neutral rail.

What is the immediate takeaway for crypto investors?

The piece positions XRP as a long-duration macro bet on de‑dollarization, tokenized debt, and gold‑linked digital settlement, rather than a short‑term price call.

DailyCoin's Vibe Check: Which way are you leaning towards after reading this article?

Market Sentiment

100% Bullish

This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

The broad crypto market has seen a sudden flip in investor sentiment as the prices of leading cryptocurrencies, including XRP, have seen notable daily increases.

Amid the rising bullish momentum, XRP’s exchange activities have taken a contrary twist, showing signs of increased sell pressure despite an ongoing price surge.

On Thursday, Feb. 26, crypto analytics platform Cryptoquant provided on-chain data from the XRP Ledger, revealing a 10.58% increase in the XRP exchange reserve over the last 24 hours.

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Exchange reserve soars past 2.77 billion XRP The data further revealed that the total XRP held on exchanges like Binance and others have surged to about 2,778,900,000 XRP worth a massive $3.98 billion. This marks a 7.29% increase in the asset’s exchange reserve over the last 24 hours. 

It is important to note that  increases in exchange reserves are often a strong signal of bearish sentiment. It typically means that more tokens are being moved to crypto trading platforms, which is most likely a precursor to selling activity.

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The surge in the XRP exchange reserve comes as a surprise as the asset is currently trading in bullish territory, showing a notable daily price surge. 

Nonetheless, investors selling off their assets at a time like this suggests that they may be positioning their assets for potential liquidation.

XRP supply expands Following the sharp increase in the XRP exchange reserve, the data further showed that its exchange supply share has surged notably by 7.22%.

This surge in the exchange supply indicates that a growing proportion of circulating XRP is now sitting on exchanges rather than in private wallets.

Nonetheless, the current XRP price action could be largely attributed to investors' sentiment as sustained exchange activity often precedes volatility-driven breakouts. Thus, it is currently uncertain how long the ongoing price rebound could last.

Bitcoin briefly crashes below $48,000 on upstart exchange despite crypto rallyA single large sell order triggered a 30% flash crash on decentralized perp exchange Lighter even as bitcoin was climbing elsewhere. Feb 26, 2026, 4:08 p.m.

While the broader crypto market was ripping higher on Wednesday, bitcoin BTC$68,056.93 briefly plunged 30% to below $48,000 on decentralized perpetuals exchange Lighter in a violent move that lasted seconds.

The flash crash stood in sharp contrast to price action elsewhere. During the same session, bitcoin surged from below $64,000 to above $69,000, marking one of its strongest intraday rallies in weeks.

The extreme move appeared to have been isolated to Lighter, where thin liquidity amplified what would otherwise have been a routine trade. In shallow order books, even modest sell pressure can trigger exaggerated price swings, producing so-called flash crashes that don’t reflect the broader market.

That's likely what happened on Lighter. A single sell order of roughly 1,000 bitcoin — worth about $67 million at the time — wiped out available bids and briefly sent prices spiraling, according to a Discord post by pseudonymous Web3 developer 0xTimberJ.

"Because Lighter is a newer DEX with less liquidity than centralized exchanges, the sell order wiped out all available bids and pushed the price down to ~$47k before recovering instantly," 0xTimberJ wrote.

Lighter is an up-and-coming decentralized perpetuals exchange seeking to challenge category leader Hyperliquid. Perpetual futures, or "perps," have become crypto's dominant derivatives product, allowing traders to use leverage and take long or short positions around the clock without contract expirations.

The platform briefly captured significant market share last November, processing over $292 billion in monthly volume — roughly a quarter of the $1.15 trillion traded across exchanges, according to data by The Block.

But activity has cooled sharply since its token airdrop late last year. Traders who ramped up activity to farm rewards have since rotated out, and monthly volume fell to $70 billion in February out of a $500 billion total market, trailing rivals such as Hyperliquid, Aster and EdgeX.

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Bitcoin falls back below $67,000, rapidly giving back Wednesday's gains

41 minutes ago

The declines are coming as the Nasdaq tumbles nearly 2%, led by a post-earnings selloff in Nvidia.

What to know:

Bitcoin has given back much of Wednesday's advance in morning U.S. trade.The declines are coming alongside a 2% drop in the Nasdaq following Nvidia earnings.Notably outperforming in crypto is Circle Financial (CRCL), now higher by about 40% since its earnings report on Wednesday morning.

Nu Holdings (NU) posted Q4 revenue of $4.86B (up 62.5%) and net income of $894.8M (up 62%). Shares fell 3.03% post-earnings.

Nu’s credit loss allowance rose to $1.31B from $1.04B in Q3. NPL coverage declined to 183.8% from 201.9% a year ago.

Nu achieved a 35% adjusted ROE as its efficiency ratio improved to 19.9% from 21.7% a year ago.

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Nu Holdings closed out 2025 with its strongest quarterly performance yet, posting $4.857 billion in Q4 revenue, up 62.5% year-over-year, while net income surged 62% to $894.8 million. Despite the impressive numbers, shares slipped 3.03% over the week following the report, closing at $16.65, suggesting investors had priced in much of the growth already. For a company now serving 131 million customers across Latin America, the question is whether the next leg of growth can sustain this trajectory.

Nu Holdings achieved its strongest quarterly performance in Q4 2025, driven by significant revenue and net income growth, though its stock price saw a slight dip. The earnings scorecard highlights strong revenue performance and profit margins, while also flagging credit quality risks. Q4 2025 Earnings Scorecard Category Grade Key Insight Revenue Performance A Revenue of $4.857B grew 62.5% YoY, accelerating from $4.173B in Q3 2025, driven by credit income of $2.78B, float income of $1.41B, and fee income of $670M. Earnings Beat/Miss B EPS of $0.18 came in exactly in line with consensus estimates, a solid result but leaving no upside surprise to reward shareholders. Forward Guidance B- Management outlined three strategic priorities for 2026, including US expansion after receiving conditional national bank charter approval in January 2026, but provided no specific revenue or EPS targets, limiting near-term visibility. Profit Margins A- The efficiency ratio improved to 19.9% from 21.7% in Q4 2024, and adjusted ROE reached 35%, reflecting strong operating leverage at scale. Cash Generation B Adjusted net income of $942.8M reflects healthy earnings quality, though the credit loss allowance rose to $1.31B from $1.04B in Q3, a meaningful build that warrants monitoring. Management Tone B+ Commentary was bullish across AI deployment via nuFormer, ecosystem expansion with NuCel growing 4x QoQ in active users, and US market entry, though the absence of quantitative guidance tempers the grade. Bottom Line Nu’s Q4 results demonstrate a company still in high-growth mode while simultaneously improving profitability. The combination of a 35% adjusted ROE, an 83% customer activity rate across 131 million users, and a 25% FX-neutral rise in monthly revenue per active customer to $15.00 paints a picture of deepening monetization. The main watch item heading into 2026 is credit quality: renegotiated loans stand at $3.2B and the 90+ day NPL coverage ratio has declined to 183.8% from 201.9% a year ago. With the Mexico banking license pending and US expansion in early stages, execution risk is real. Investors should watch whether Mexico customer growth, currently at 14 million or 15% of the adult population, can accelerate once full banking capabilities are unlocked.

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SummaryNvidia Corporation is rated a Buy, supported by low SBC, light capex, high margins, and extraordinary growth.Competitive risks exist from custom silicon and customer capex constraints, but NVDA's platform innovation and market expansion mitigate these concerns.NVDA's valuation range of $4.5–$6 trillion supports long-term upside, with current market cap near the low end and sequential quarterly growth outpacing S&P 500 norms. Getty Images

Introduction Per my November article, Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) looked undervalued at the time when the share price was $180.64. Since then, they have delivered another quarter with excellent numbers.

Stock-based compensation (“SBC”) is sometimes an afterthought in free cash

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of NVDA, AMZN, BN, BAM, CRM, GOOG, GOOGL, META, MSFT, TCEHY, TSLA, TSM, VOO either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Disclaimer: Any material in this article should not be relied on as a formal investment recommendation. Never buy a stock without doing your own thorough research.

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

As Many As 86,400 Placed in Jobs & 265K Upskilled through Strategic Local Partnerships 

, /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of Career and Technical Education Month, Bank of America today announced it invested nearly $40 million in 2025 in workforce development initiatives, partnering with more than 100 universities and community colleges and over 600 nonprofit partners across all its U.S. markets.

Culinary student making a dessert These workforce development partners estimate the bank's investments last year alone contributed to approximately 86,400 individuals getting connected to livable‑wage jobs and provided 265,000 people with access to training, education and career readiness programs designed to position them for long‑term career success.

"Career and technical education are critical to building strong local economies," said Meghan Hughes, Head of Workforce Development at Bank of America. "These investments reflect our long-standing commitment to creating pathways to lasting success for people across the country. Employers need skilled workers and we're proud to partner with so many organizations that are preparing the next generation of talent for today's jobs and the careers of tomorrow. This work is a powerful demonstration of how we can drive American economic growth and prosperity—together."

These partnerships and investments are central to Bank of America's broader workforce development strategy, which emphasizes skills‑first hiring and aligns training opportunities with market needs. By closely partnering with employers, workforce boards, colleges and nonprofits, the bank is helping to close skills gaps and address talent shortages across key industries in regions where workforce demand is highest, from healthcare fields to advanced manufacturing, technology and more.

Examples of BofA investments include:

In Central Florida, Second Harvest Food Bank's Culinary Training Program is a 16-week continuing education opportunity offering adults the culinary and life skills training needed to pursue a full-time career in the food industry, which has rising demand for workers. Houston-based NextOp works with enlisted service members and veterans each year across Texas and other states to translate their military training and experience into qualifications for civilian careers and help place them into jobs with higher starting pay. Taft College in Bakersfield provides paid hands-on internships with regional healthcare providers across Kern County, an area having chronic shortages of nurses and other healthcare professionals with its Pre-Nursing Internship program. Nearly 60 nonprofit organizations receiving Bank of America support will also take part in leadership training designed to strengthen organizational capacity and help these partners scale their impact through BofA's Neighborhood Builders® program.

In addition to grant funds, BofA provides employee volunteerism and its Leader on Loan program placing talented leaders to work fulltime with workforce development organizations and other nonprofits for 12-18 months. Through collaboration with postsecondary institutions and local nonprofit partners, these efforts help ensure more Americans can access career‑relevant education and connect to quality employment opportunities.

Bank of America's commitment to workforce development is part of its broader mission to fuel economic mobility and strengthen communities nationwide.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving nearly 70 million clients with approximately 3,600 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 59 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for news email alerts.

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--(Newsfile Corp. - February 26, 2026) - National plaintiffs' law firm Berger Montague PC announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV) ("CoreWeave" or the "Company") on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired CoreWeave securities during the period from March 28, 2025 through December 15, 2025 (the "Class Period"), inclusive.

Investor Deadline: Investors who purchased CoreWeave securities during the Class Period may, no later than March 13, 2026, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class. To learn your rights, CLICK HERE.

CoreWeave, headquartered in Livingston, NJ, is an AI cloud computing firm and self-styled "Hyperscaler" providing AI infrastructure and proprietary software via its Cloud Platform. The company recognizes revenue only after its specialized data centers—known as "powered shells"—are installed and contracts are activated.

The company went public on March 28, 2025, selling 37.5 million shares at $40 each and raising $1.5 billion, following a March 10 deal with OpenAI valued at up to $11.9 billion. CoreWeave's stock surged to $183.58 by June 20, 2025, with demand described as "robust" and "unprecedented."

The Complaint alleges that defendants misrepresented CoreWeave's ability to meet demand and understated risks associated with reliance on a single third-party data center supplier. Beginning on October 30, 2025, investors learned the true state of demand for the Company's offerings, resulting in declines in the price of CoreWeave's shares of $8.87 (6.33%) on October 30, 2025, $17.22 (16.31%) on November 10-11, 2025, and $2.85 (3.39%) on December 15-16, 2025.

If you are a CoreWeave investor and would like to learn more about this action, CLICK HERE or please contact Berger Montague: Andrew Abramowitz at [email protected] or (215) 875-3015, or Caitlin Adorni at [email protected] or (267)764-4865.

About Berger Montague
Berger Montague is one of the nation's preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. With more than $2.4 billion in 2025 post-trial judgments alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/285398

Source: Berger Montague

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Schneider Electric reported record quarterly sales and strong 2026 guidance, boosted by surging demand from AI data centers.

The Zacks Hotels and Motels industry is facing pressure from a mix of cost, demand and competitive challenges. Sticky inflation has pushed up labor, utilities and maintenance expenses, squeezing margins just as pricing power begins to cool. However, industry participants are focusing on growth strategies, including expanding their portfolios, converting properties, forming partnerships and enhancing loyalty programs. Industry players, such as Marriott International, Inc. (MAR - Free Report) , Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT - Free Report) and Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H - Free Report) are likely to benefit from the factors mentioned above.

Industry Description The Zacks Hotels and Motels industry comprises companies that own, lease, manage, develop and franchise hotels. Some vacation ownership and exchange firms are also part of the industry. Several participants own, construct and operate resorts. Some companies develop lodges and mobile accommodations, including modular, skid-mounted ones and central amenities that provide long-term and temporary workforce accommodations. Some industry players develop, market, sell and manage vacation ownership and associated products. A few hoteliers also offer studios, one-bedroom suites and accommodations to mid-market business and personal travelers.

4 Trends Shaping the Future of the Hotels & Motels Industry Margin Pressure From Elevated Cost Structures: Operating costs continue to weigh heavily on hotel and motel profitability. Labor remains the largest challenge, with staffing gaps forcing operators to pay higher wages, rely on overtime or use third-party staffing services. These measures raise fixed costs and reduce operating leverage.

Beyond labor, hotels are facing higher expenses for property upkeep, insurance premiums and energy costs. With demand normalizing, pricing power has weakened, restricting the industry’s ability to offset rising costs through higher room rates. As a result, margins are under pressure, especially for smaller and mid-scale properties.

Economic Uncertainty & Slowing Growth: The broader U.S. economy remains a headwind for hotels, with inflation, high interest rates and softening consumer confidence curbing discretionary spending. Leisure demand has cooled from its post-pandemic highs, while corporate travel budgets remain cautious. Many companies are trimming travel-related expenses, leading to weaker bookings in both urban and convention-heavy markets.

Gradual Improvement Expected From 2026 Onward: CoStar and Tourism Economics expect U.S. hotel performance to stabilize and slowly improve starting in 2026. Average daily rates are forecasted to rise about 1% from the prior year, while occupancy is projected to slip slightly to 62.1%. Even with marginally lower occupancy, revenue per available room is still expected to post a modest 0.6% increase in 2026.

This outlook follows a challenging 2025, when both occupancy and RevPAR declined year over year for the first time since 2020. Looking ahead, the firms anticipate stronger and more broad-based growth in 2027, driven by a steadier travel backdrop and healthier consumer spending patterns.

Digitalization to Drive Growth: Hotel owners are focused on maintaining the balance between maximizing hotel profitability and driving guest satisfaction. To this end, hoteliers have leveraged mobile and web check-in and mobile key technologies. These hoteliers also increased the use of digital tools to strengthen infrastructure, grow online package sales, enable self-service bookings, make real-time offerings and enhance the overall customer experience. This, along with the emphasis on pricing optimization and merchandising capabilities, is likely to help hoteliers capture additional market share.

Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Dull Prospects The Zacks Hotels and Motels industry is grouped within the broader sector.

The group's Zacks Industry Rank, which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates dull near-term prospects. The Zacks Hotels and Motels industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #179, which places it in the bottom 26% of the 243 Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than two to one.

The industry's position in the bottom 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries results from a negative earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, analysts are gradually losing confidence in this group's earnings growth potential.

Before we present a few stocks that you may want to keep an eye on, let us look at the industry's recent stock-market performance and valuation picture.

Industry Underperforms the S&P 500 In the past year, the Zacks Hotels and Motels industry has underperformed the S&P 500. However, over this period, the industry has gained 1.9% against the sector's decrease of 6.9%. Meanwhile, the Zacks S&P 500 composite has rallied 18.5%.

Price Performance 

Hotels & Motels Industry's Valuation Based on the trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing Hotels and Motels stocks, the industry is currently trading at 16.81X compared with the S&P 500's 17.58X. The sector's trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA ratio stands at 10.55X.

Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 89.66X and as low as 13.38X, the median being 16.56X, as the chart shows.

3 Hotels & Motels Stocks to Watch Marriott: The company is benefiting from higher RevPAR, solid rooms growth and continued development momentum. Global revenue per available room improved 1.9% year over year, led by strength in international markets. Also, luxury properties continued to outperform on the back of healthy demand and favorable rates. Strategic growth through conversions, new unit openings and an expanding development pipeline remains central to its long-term plan. 

Price & Consensus: MAR

Hilton: The company is benefiting from strong net unit growth, steady demand trends, year-over-year RevPAR growth and continued expansion of its global footprint. Management expects continued momentum across key international markets, forecasting low single-digit RevPAR growth in the EMEA region. Also, its focus on a capital-light model and disciplined capital return strategy bodes well.

HLT presently has a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hilton’s 2026 EPS implies growth of 12.5% from the year-ago period’s actual. HLT’s shares have gained 21% in the past year.

Price & Consensus: HLT

Hyatt: The company is benefiting from strong leisure travel demand and RevPAR gains in luxury and all-inclusive segments. A focus on unit expansion, strategic acquisitions and asset-light models bodes well. Additionally, emphasis on AI-Enabled operating Model and the ongoing expansion of the World of Hyatt loyalty program enhance the company’s competitive positioning.

H currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. The company’s 2026 bottom line is likely to witness year-over-year growth of 47.5%. H’s shares have gained 20.8% in the past year.

Price & Consensus: H

NVIDIA’s NASDAQ: NVDA Q4 earnings release for its fiscal 2026 (FY2026) proves that its AI growth is far from slowing. While fears about AI spending and disruption persist, NVIDIA’s revenue growth continues to outperform at hyper levels with forecasts for more of the same.

The takeaway is that AI may be a bubble or not; either way, cash is still flowing into the market, and the peaks have yet to be reached. What this means for NVIDIA’s investors is that revenue will perform at least at current levels for the next few quarters to several years, underpinning robust cash flow, enabling reinvestment in next-gen technologies, acquisitions to expand the business, and capital returns to drive shareholder value.

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NVIDIA’s Wow-Quarter Reveals Acceleration in Critical Markets NVIDIA’s Q4 reveals acceleration in critical markets with revenue of $68.3 billion outpacing MarketBeat’s reported consensus by 300 basis points. Strength was seen across segments, with growth in automotive and gaming aligning with signs of an emergent supercycle reported by industrial chipmakers. 

NVIDIA Today

$186.08 -9.48 (-4.85%)

As of 10:19 AM Eastern

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

52-Week Range$86.62▼

$212.19Dividend Yield0.02%

P/E Ratio46.26

Price Target$271.32

Data Center, the critical segment, grew by 22% sequentially and 75% year-over-year (YOY), driven by demand for high-performance computing and AI infrastructure. It now accounts for more than 90% of revenue and is expected to remain strong in the upcoming quarters. Pro-Visulation grew by 158% YOY, followed by a 48% increase in Gaming and a 6% gain in Automotive. 

Margin news was also robust, underpinning the analysts’ stock price outlook. The company experienced improved leverage at all levels, resulting in $1.62 in adjusted EPS, nearly a dime better than expected.

The 500 basis points of outperformance not only outpaced revenue growth but also left earnings up 82% compared to the 73% top-line increase. Looking forward, margins are expected to contract slightly, with Q1 FY2027 adjusted gross margin forecast to decline by only 20 bps compared to the Q4 release. 

As strong as the revenue and earnings growth was, the guidance is stronger. The company forecasts $78 billion in Q1 FY2027 revenue, up $10 billion, or 14.7% sequentially and 77% YOY, excluding China. Including China, assuming sales are ever approved by both sides at the same time, growth will be stronger. Other critical details include the cash flow and free cash flow (FCF), which approached $35 billion, just over half of revenue in Q4 and expected to remain strong in the upcoming year. 

Analysts Highlight 50% Upside Potential for NVIDIA’s Stock in 2026 The analyst response to NVIDIA’s report and guidance is bullish, affirming the uptrend and forecast for at least 35% upside from late February’s support target.

NVIDIA Stock Forecast Today12-Month Stock Price Forecast:
$271.32
43.46% Upside

Buy
Based on 52 Analyst Ratings

Current Price$189.13High Forecast$400.00Average Forecast$271.32Low Forecast$205.00NVIDIA Stock Forecast Details

While consensus is pegged near $268, the handful of updates and revisions issued immediately after the release include price target increases and affirmations, pointing to the high-end of the range. No reductions were logged: the consensus of fresh targets is near $300, and the high end is $400. 

A move to the consensus target would be sufficient to set a fresh all-time high, breaking the market out of its consolidation range. In this scenario, the technical targets suggest a move to the $270- $280 level is the minimum, and that this market could double in the bull case. Other indicators, including stochastic and moving-average-convergence-divergence (MACD), align with trend-following entries that sustain upward price movements.

Analyst and institutional sentiment trends suggest this will be a broad market movement. MarketBeat tracks more than 50 analysts with current ratings, sentiment is pegged at Buy with a 96% Buy-side bias, and the institutions aggressively accumulated in early 2026. The data reveals they owned more than 65% of the stock, accumulated throughout 2025, and ramped activity in Q1 2026. The balance in early Q1 is more than $4 bought for each $1 sold, which provides solid support and a robust tailwind. 

NVIDIA’s Balance Sheet Is a Great Reason to Own It Market drivers and fears aside, NVIDIA’s business is healthy today and looks well-positioned for the next few quarters, as it generates robust cash flow. The cash flow is reflected in the balance sheet, which shows increased cash, assets, and equity despite aggressive investments, capital returns, and acquisitions. The cash, up approximately 50% at year’s end, topped $60 billion, driving a greater-than-50 % increase in current assets (including receivables and inventory growth) and a nearly 100% increase in total assets. 

Equity, the measure of shareholder value, nearly doubled to $157 billion and leverage, the measure of debt risk, is very low. NVIDIA carries debt, but it declined in the year and is offset by cash. The cash balance leaves the company with net cash relative to total liabilities, putting it in an enviable position to continue executing its strategy while building shareholder value. 

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If you have $10,000 that you won’t need to spend anytime soon, there are ways to derive passive income from that money. Among the easiest strategies is to buy and hold a handful of dividend-paying stocks.

Stocks with good yields can be the crown jewels of your portfolio, but you need to have a plan in place. Instead of putting all of eggs in one basket, it would make more sense to set aside $2,500 for four different dividend stocks.

That’s an equal allocation into four high-quality companies that also happen to reward the shareholders with dividend payments. So you can get started today, here is the first passive income pick I’ve chosen for you.

Energy Transfer (ET) To begin with, your first $2,500 out of $10,000 can be converted into shares of Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) stock. You may or may not have heard of this company, but Energy Transfer is actually an important U.S. midstream oil and natural gas business.

Sure, America could eventually switch to cleaner energy sources. For the foreseeable future, however, there will be a need for oil and gas pipelines, and Energy Transfer is a premier provider and servicer of these pipelines.

Owning an energy stock might sound excessively risky. Yet, I invite you to check out the five-year price chart of ET stock. The share price is up 130%, which suggests (but doesn’t guarantee) that Energy Transfer’s investors will continue to make money.

Plus, here’s the kicker. Currently, ET stock features a tremendous 7.13% forward annual dividend yield. That’s why you’ll find a favorable reward-to-risk profile with Energy Transfer stock right now.

Amgen (AMGN) I’m trying to keep your money reasonably safe while achieving strong growth potential. That’s why my next pick for a $2,500 investment is Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), a well-established pharmaceutical giant.

PepsiCo (PEP) This one fits right into the category of “consumer defensive,” as PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) is an undeniable competitor in the beverage and snack food industry. You can significantly reduce the volatility of your $10,000 portfolio with an ultra-safe investment in PEP stock shares.

Here’s a noteworthy fact: PepsiCo stock has a five-year monthly beta of 0.42. This means PEP stock has historically only moved 42% as fast, in both directions, as the S&P 500.

Now, we’re forming a real strategy for your $10,000 account. Energy Transfer stock might move fast sometimes since it’s in the energy sector, but PepsiCo stock will be a safe anchor to keep your portfolio in a state of balance.

Don’t get the wrong idea, though. PepsiCo stock might be considered a safety net, and its share price gained a modest 30% over the past five years.

On the other hand, it’s still a growth asset in a different way. That’s because PepsiCo offers a hefty 3.36% dividend yield — a compelling reason to own $2,500 worth of the company’s shares.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) If you’re going to invest a total of $10,000, it makes sense to own at least one technology stock since it’s such an important sector in the 2020s. Consequently, you can collect decent dividends with a famous communications/networking products provider, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO).

The harsh truth is that large-cap technology stocks typically pay meager dividends, and some don’t pay any dividends at all. Cisco breaks the mold, though, as CSCO stock provides a comparatively high 2.12% annual yield.

Furthermore, while some tech stocks are volatile, Cisco stock’s five-year monthly beta is 0.87. Hence, you might actually expect CSCO stock to move slightly slower than the S&P 500. 

In the past five years, Cisco stock’s share price has advanced nearly 75%, and that doesn’t include the consistent quarterly dividend payments. All in all, CSCO stock is a great place to park the final $2,500 of your total $10,000 dividend-enhanced investment. 

EBay said Thursday it is cutting about 800 roles, or 6% of its workforce, in the latest round of layoffs at the e-commerce company.

"We are taking steps to reinvest across our business and align our structure with our strategic priorities, which will affect certain roles across our workforce," an eBay spokesperson said in a statement. "We are grateful for the contributions of the employees impacted and are committed to supporting them with care and respect."

EBay said the job cuts are spread across the company, and that decisions were made based on operating-model needs, areas of duplication and alignment to future priorities.

The company had 12,300 employees worldwide as of Dec. 31, 2025, according to its latest annual filing.

Earlier this week, eBay reached a settlement with a Massachusetts couple who were victims of a harassment campaign waged by several former employees.

David and Ina Steiner sued eBay in federal court in 2021 after they were stalked and harassed by employees who were angered by coverage on their blog, EcommerceBytes. Two former eBay executives were given prison time in 2022 over the scheme. Terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.

Read more CNBC tech newsFirst look at Nvidia's new AI system Vera Rubin is 10 times more efficient than its predecessorSamsung's S26 gives an advance look at what the Google-powered Apple Siri could doThrive Capital invested about $1 billion in OpenAI at a $285 billion valuation, source saysHead of Amazon's AGI lab is leaving the companyEBay has continued to trim its headcount in recent years, while at the same time spending more on artificial intelligence. The company has implemented AI tools internally, and looked to infuse the technology across its buyer and seller experiences. It's also partnered with OpenAI on its agentic web browser.

The investments come as eBay is vying to compete with larger, faster-growing rivals Amazon and Walmart, and other online marketplaces like Etsy, TikTok Shop, Temu and Shein.

EBay last week announced plans to acquire Etsy's secondhand clothing marketplace Depop for about $1.2 billion in cash. The deal should give eBay a greater leg up with consumers under the age of 34, which make up about 90% of Depop's user base.

CEO Jamie Iannone said Depop would also allow eBay to grow its presence in fashion, which has emerged as one of the company's fastest-growing categories.

The company has leaned into its other so-called "focus categories," which include collectibles, car parts and accessories and refurbished goods.

EBay said in its fourth-quarter earnings report last week that gross merchandise volume from focus categories grew more than 16% year over year.

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Nvidia Corporation reported another solid Q4 FY2026 earnings beat, surpassing all estimates, but the stock reversed all of its post-earnings gains. NVDA data center revenue (assuming no China contribution) continues to accelerate into 1Q FY2027, with management guiding for sequential growth throughout FY2027. Despite higher input costs, including memory, gross margin continued to expand, and management indicated it will remain in the mid-70% range in FY2027.

Key Takeaways ADTN topped Q4 estimates as revenue rose to $291.56M, driven by cloud, fiber and AI demand.ADTRAN posted non-GAAP EPS of 16 cents, beating estimates by 8 cents and improving margins.ADTRAN expects Q1 2026 revenue of $275-$295M with a non-GAAP operating margin of 4%-8%. ADTRAN Holdings, Inc. (ADTN - Free Report) reported strong fourth-quarter 2025 results, with the top and bottom lines surpassing the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.

The company recorded solid revenue growth year over year, driven by robust demand trends in both segments. Management’s focus on cost optimization and enhancing its operating model to ensure higher long-term shareholder returns is positive. However, macroeconomic headwinds are worrisome.

Net IncomeOn a GAAP basis, net loss in the December quarter was $1.52 million or a loss of 2 cents per share compared with a net loss of $46.11 million or a loss of 58 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. The narrower loss was attributable to top-line growth.

Excluding non-recurring items, non-GAAP earnings for the reported quarter were $12.76 million or 16 cents per share against a net loss of $1.77 million or a loss of 2 cents per share a year ago. The bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8 cents.

For 2025, ADTRAN recorded a GAAP net loss of $41.57 million or a loss of 52 cents per share compared with a net loss of $456.91 million or a loss of $5.79 per share in 2024. Non-GAAP earnings for 2025 were $18.32 million or 23 cents per share against a net loss of $33.05 million or a loss of 42 cents per share in 2024.

RevenuesQuarterly total revenues jumped to $291.56 million from $242.85 million in the prior-year quarter, driven by diligent execution of operational plans and increasing demand for state-of-the-art solutions for cloud, fiber, AI and edge computing. ADTRAN witnessed growth across all major revenue categories and gained market share in key areas. The top line beat the consensus estimate of $280 million. For 2025, total revenues increased to $1.08 billion from $922.72 million in 2024.

Network Solutions contributed $242.65 million in revenues compared with $197 million in the prior-year quarter. Services and Support revenues were $48.91 million, up from $45.84 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Other DetailsNon-GAAP gross profit surged to $123.92 million from $100.27 million in the year-ago quarter for respective margins of 42.5% and 41.3%. Non-GAAP operating income improved to $18.78 million from $5.79 million in the year-ago quarter for respective margins of 6.4% and 2.4%.

Cash Flow & LiquidityIn 2025, ADTRAN generated $129.77 million of cash from operating activities compared with $103.57 million a year ago. As of Dec. 31, 2025, the company had $95.7 million in cash and cash equivalents and $27 million of non-current lease obligations compared with respective tallies of $76 million and $25.9 million in the prior-year period.

OutlookFor the first quarter of 2026, ADTRAN expects revenues in the range of $275-$295 million. Non-GAAP operating margin is expected to be in the band of 4% to 8%.

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

Upcoming ReleasesAST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS - Free Report) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2025 earnings on March 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at a loss of 18 cents per share, suggesting a decline of 50% from the year-ago reported figure.

Jabil Inc. (JBL - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on March 19. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.56 per share, indicating a 32% growth from the year-ago reported figure.

Jabil has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 14.8%. Jabil delivered an average earnings surprise of 8.2% in the last four reported quarters.

Oracle Corporation (ORCL - Free Report) is set to release third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on March 9. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.70 per share, implying a growth of 15.6% from the year-ago reported figure.

Oracle has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 19%. Oracle delivered an average negative earnings surprise of 10.4% in the last four reported quarters.

Northstar Gold Corp. (CSE:NSG) has announced a non-brokered private placement to partially fund permitting, engineering, and the initial implementation of Novamera’s Surgical Mining system at its 100%-owned Cam Copper Project, located 18 kilometres southeast of Kirkland Lake, Ontario.

The financing will provide capital for Northstar’s Cam Copper Zone 2 Surgical Mining pilot, being advanced under a Turnkey Surgical Mining Services Agreement executed with Novamera on October 9, 2025.

The offering consists of up to C$800,000 in non-flow-through units priced at C$0.06 per unit, with each unit comprising one common share and one warrant exercisable at C$0.075 for 60 months.

A first-tranche close of approximately C$530,000 is expected in the near term, led by strategic investors aligned with Northstar’s critical-minerals and Surgical Mining objectives.

The proceeds fromt he offering will be directed toward updating the Zone 2 geological and block models, conducting preliminary metallurgical studies, commissioning an NI 43-101-compliant Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate, advancing permitting and detailed engineering for the Surgical Mining program, mine-planning, surface-site preparation and mobilization, and general working capital.

Northstar Gold is focused on the exploration and development of its near-surface Allied Gold Zone and the Cam Copper VMS projects on its 100%-owned Miller Copper-Gold Property near Kirkland Lake. A 2025 Exploration Target Study at Cam Copper reported an estimated 75,000 to 140,000 tonnes of material grading between 9% and 18% copper, with a conceptual average grade of 12% copper.

eDreams ODIGEO S.A. (EDDRF) Q3 2026 Earnings Call February 26, 2026 7:00 AM EST

Company Participants

David de la Roz - Director of Investor Relations
Dana Dunne - CEO & Executive Director
David Corrales - CFO & Executive Director

Presentation

David de la Roz
Director of Investor Relations

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you all for joining us today for the Q3 fiscal year 2026 results presentation for the 9 months ending 31st of December 2025. I'm David de Roz, the Director of Investor Relations at eDreams ODIGEO. As always, you can find the results materials, including the presentation and our results report in the Investor Relations section of our website.

I will now pass you over to Dana Dunne, our CEO, who will take you through the first part of the presentation.

Dana Dunne
CEO & Executive Director

Thank you, David, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. We're going to discuss 3 things. The first is I'll do a brief update of our first 9 months' results of FY '26 and the outlook, which we are on track. Second, David Elizaga, our CFO, will take you through the Prime model and how it continues to drive very strong growth. Third, I will then share some closing remarks on why we think we are significantly undervalued. Please turn to Slide 4, which is a summary of our performance for the first 9 months of fiscal year 2026.

We're firmly on track to deliver on our new guidance. In the first 9 months, adjusted EBITDA increased 74% year-on-year to EUR 138.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA isolates operational performance from cash timing effects of the move from annual subscription to annual subscription with monthly installments. So this 74% increase of adjusted EBITDA shows the strength of the underlying business absent the cash timing effects. Prime membership. We reached 7.7

The State of DevSecOps Report 2026 highlights a broader industry shift as security risk increasingly moves upstream into the software supply chain February 26, 2026 09:15 ET  | Source: Datadog, Inc.

NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG), the AI-powered observability and security platform for cloud applications, today released its latest State of DevSecOps Report, finding that nearly nine in 10 organizations (87%) have at least one known exploitable vulnerability in deployed services.

The report points to a broader industry shift, with security risk increasing across the software delivery lifecycle. As development accelerates, becomes more automated, and relies more heavily on third-party components, risk is increasingly shaped by the software supply chain and the tools used to build and deploy applications - not just the code that runs in production.

Key findings at a glance:

87% of organizations have at least one known exploitable vulnerability in deployed services42% of services rely on libraries that are no longer actively maintainedServices using end-of-life language versions face exploitable vulnerabilities in 50% of cases, compared to 31% for supported versions50% of organizations adopt new library versions within 24 hours of release, increasing the risk of installing malicious or compromised softwareOnly 4% of organizations pin all public GitHub Actions to a specific version using commit hashes, leaving CI/CD pipelines vulnerable to silent code changes Security Risk Increasing at Both Ends of the Lifecycle

On one end, software is aging faster than teams can keep it up to date. The median software dependency is now 278 days out of date - 63 days further behind than last year.

At the same time, third-party software accelerates development but introduces risk when implicitly trusted. Datadog researchers found that half of organizations (50%) adopt new library versions within 24 hours of release, and only 4% pin all public GitHub Actions to a specific version using commit hashes.

As a result, build and deployment pipelines are increasingly exposed to silent changes in third-party code, making CI/CD systems a critical supply-chain risk.

“The way software is built has fundamentally changed, but security practices haven’t kept up,” said Andrew Krug, Head of Security Advocacy at Datadog. “DevSecOps teams are caught between moving too slowly and moving too fast. Go slow, and outdated software accumulates known vulnerabilities. Go fast, and automation can introduce unvetted code. The real challenge, though, isn’t speed - it’s clarity. As environments grow more complex, AI-assisted workflows help ensure top priorities get attention first.”

Alert Volume Is Obscuring Real Risk

While vulnerability alerts continue to rise, the report also finds that most do not represent immediate business risk. Only 18% of vulnerabilities labeled “critical” remain critical once runtime context is applied.

“When almost everything is labeled ‘critical’, nothing is,” Krug added. “Teams get paged for noise while threats that pose real risk slip through. Without context, prioritization becomes harder - leading to burnout, slower response times and accumulated risk. Teams need better visibility into what actually requires action.”

Read the full report, State of DevSecOps Report 2026, to see how these findings are shaping modern approaches to detecting, prioritizing and remediating security risk.

Contact
[email protected]

Report Methodology

Datadog analyzed telemetry from tens of thousands of applications to assess security risk across modern software environments, along with additional datasets used for specific findings. The data is global in scope.

About Datadog

Datadog is the AI-powered observability and security platform for cloud applications. Our SaaS platform integrates and automates infrastructure monitoring, application performance monitoring, log management, user experience monitoring, cloud security and many other capabilities to provide unified, real-time observability and security for our customers' entire technology stack. Datadog is used by organizations of all sizes and across a wide range of industries to enable digital transformation and cloud migration, drive collaboration among development, operations, security and business teams, accelerate time to market for applications, reduce time to problem resolution, secure applications and infrastructure, understand user behavior and track key business metrics.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may include certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended including statements on the benefits of new products and features. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and are subject to a variety of assumptions, uncertainties, risks and factors that are beyond our control, including those risks detailed under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 18, 2026, as well as future filings and reports by us. Except as required by law, we undertake no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events, changes in expectations or otherwise.

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

Most dividend investors gravitate toward the same familiar names: utilities, consumer staples, REITs. But four companies across very different sectors have been quietly raising dividends at aggressive rates while delivering earnings that consistently beat expectations. Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), Comfort Systems USA (NYSE: FIX), Genpact (NYSE: G), and Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ: MPWR) each combine dividend growth momentum with strong business performance. Here is how they rank.

4. Broadridge Financial Solutions Broadridge processes over $15 trillion in daily trading and handles investor communications at massive scale, yet the stock has dropped 20.5% year-to-date despite strong results. In its most recent quarter, Broadridge reported revenue of $1.71 billion, beating the $1.67 billion estimate, with adjusted EPS of $1.59 against a $1.40 consensus. Recurring revenue grew 9% year-over-year, free cash flow surged nearly 40%, and management raised full-year adjusted EPS growth guidance to 9% to 12%.

Broadridge raised its quarterly payout to $0.975 per share, a 10.8% increase, putting the annualized dividend at $3.90. The five-year dividend CAGR stands at approximately 11.4%, backed by a payout ratio of roughly 41%. The current yield of 2.2% is modest, but consistent beats and raised guidance have pushed the yield higher following the recent selloff.

3. Genpact Genpact’s $6.5 billion market cap makes it the smallest and most overlooked company on this list. The stock is down 27.8% over the past year, yet the business is accelerating. In Q3 2025, Genpact posted revenue of $1.29 billion, topping the $1.27 billion estimate, with adjusted EPS of $0.97 against a $0.90 consensus. The Advanced Technology Solutions segment grew 20% year-over-year to $311 million, reflecting strong AI-driven demand.

Genpact trades at just 12x trailing earnings with an analyst consensus target of $48.64 against a current price near $37.81. The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share, a 10.3% increase from $0.17, payable March 31, 2026. The dividend has grown at roughly 13% annually over the past nine years. The yield is modest at 1.9%, but the valuation gap and AI transformation underway represent a notable contrast between price performance and business fundamentals.

2. Monolithic Power Systems Monolithic Power just raised its quarterly dividend by 28%, from $1.56 to $2.00 per share, payable April 15, 2026, putting the annualized dividend at $8.00. The company has raised its dividend every year for over a decade. Full-year 2025 revenue hit a record $2.79 billion, marking the 14th consecutive year of revenue growth at a 26.4% pace. Cash on hand reached $1.1 billion, up nearly 59% year-over-year.

Q4 2025 results came in just fractionally short of estimates, with revenue of $751.2 million against a $754.7 million consensus and non-GAAP EPS of $4.79 versus the $4.82 estimate. Every segment grew double digits, led by Communications at +31.2% and Industrial at +34.1%. Q1 2026 guidance calls for revenue of $770 million to $790 million. Elevated inventory days and a CFO transition are worth monitoring, but the dividend growth trajectory is among the strongest in the semiconductor space.

1. Comfort Systems USA Comfort Systems earns the top spot with one of the most remarkable financial transformations in the industrials sector. The company raised its quarterly dividend four consecutive times in 2025, from $0.40 to $0.60 per share, a 71% cumulative increase in a single year. The most recent raise of 16.7% was declared on February 19, 2026, with payment set for March 17, 2026.

The dividend aggression is backed by exceptional cash generation. Full-year 2025 free cash flow crossed $1 billion for the first time, and Q4 2025 EPS of $9.37 crushed the $6.73 estimate by 39%. Revenue grew 41.7% year-over-year to $2.65 billion, while gross margin expanded to 25.5% from 23.2%. The company’s backlog roughly doubled during 2025, ending the year at $11.94 billion, with over $2 billion added in Q4 alone, providing strong revenue visibility into 2026.

The Common Thread All four companies share a pattern that dividend growth investors often underweight: the increases are not cosmetic. They reflect genuine earnings acceleration, strong free cash flow, and management confidence in forward visibility. Broadridge and Genpact offer valuation entry points, Monolithic Power brings the semiconductor growth angle, and Comfort Systems delivers raw earnings power. Each represents a different angle on dividend growth outside the traditional income sectors.

Royal Bank (RY - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.94 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.81 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.55 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +4.63%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this bank would post earnings of $2.51 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.76, delivering a surprise of +9.96%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

Royal Bank, which belongs to the Zacks Banks - Foreign industry, posted revenues of $12.95 billion for the quarter ended January 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.01%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $11.78 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Royal Bank shares have added about 1.9% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 1.5%.

What's Next for Royal Bank?While Royal Bank has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Royal Bank was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $2.86 on $12.3 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $11.44 on $50.86 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Banks - Foreign is currently in the top 9% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Another stock from the same industry, VersaBank (VBNK - Free Report) , has yet to report results for the quarter ended January 2026. The results are expected to be released on March 4.

This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.27 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +35%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

VersaBank's revenues are expected to be $26.29 million, up 34.3% from the year-ago quarter.

Primo Brands (PRMB - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.26 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.22 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.13 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +20.37%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this maker of pure-play water solutions would post earnings of $0.38 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.41, delivering a surprise of +7.89%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

Primo Brands, which belongs to the Zacks Beverages - Soft drinks industry, posted revenues of $1.55 billion for the quarter ended December 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.00%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.4 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Primo Brands shares have added about 20.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 1.5%.

What's Next for Primo Brands?While Primo Brands has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Primo Brands was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.26 on $1.56 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $1.35 on $6.68 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Beverages - Soft drinks is currently in the bottom 42% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

One other stock from the same industry, Westrock Coffee Company (WEST - Free Report) , is yet to report results for the quarter ended December 2025. The results are expected to be released on March 10.

This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.10 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +16.7%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

Westrock Coffee Company's revenues are expected to be $318.6 million, up 39.1% from the year-ago quarter.

KBR Inc. (KBR - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.99 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.95 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.91 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +4.43%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this the engineering, construction company would post earnings of $0.95 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.02, delivering a surprise of +7.37%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.

KBR, which belongs to the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry, posted revenues of $1.89 billion for the quarter ended December 2025, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.21%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $2.12 billion. The company has not been able to beat consensus revenue estimates over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

KBR shares have added about 1.5% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 1.5%.

What's Next for KBR?While KBR has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for KBR was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.97 on $1.94 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $4.17 on $8.15 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Engineering - R and D Services is currently in the top 20% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

M-tron Industries, Inc. (MPTI - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended December 2025.

This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.64 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -12.3%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

M-tron Industries, Inc.'s revenues are expected to be $14 million, up 9.3% from the year-ago quarter.

Gray Media (GTN - Free Report) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.22 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.28. This compares to earnings of $1.59 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +21.43%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this broadcast television company would post a loss of $0.41 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.24, delivering a surprise of +41.46%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

Gray Media, which belongs to the Zacks Broadcast Radio and Television industry, posted revenues of $792 million for the quarter ended December 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.80%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.05 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Gray Media shares have lost about 1.9% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 1.5%.

What's Next for Gray Media?While Gray Media has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Gray Media was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.01 on $775 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $2.90 on $3.51 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Broadcast Radio and Television is currently in the top 27% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Bilibili (BILI - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended December 2025. The results are expected to be released on March 5.

This Chinese video sharing website is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.27 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +80%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

Bilibili's revenues are expected to be $1.16 billion, up 7.6% from the year-ago quarter.

Flowco Holdings Inc. (FLOC - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.73 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.24 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.87 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +210.64%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.32 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.59, delivering a surprise of +84.38%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.

Flowco Holdings Inc., which belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry, posted revenues of $197.21 million for the quarter ended December 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.05%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $185.99 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Flowco Holdings Inc. shares have added about 18.9% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 1.5%.

What's Next for Flowco Holdings Inc.?While Flowco Holdings Inc. has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Flowco Holdings Inc. was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.23 on $193.16 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.96 on $802.27 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Oil and Gas - Integrated - International is currently in the bottom 38% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

One other stock from the same industry, New Fortress Energy (NFE - Free Report) , is yet to report results for the quarter ended December 2025.

This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $1.08 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -930.8%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

New Fortress Energy's revenues are expected to be $635.46 million, down 6.4% from the year-ago quarter.