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GUADALAJARA, Mexico, Sept. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V., (NYSE: PAC; BMV: GAP) (“the Company” or “GAP”) announces preliminary terminal passenger traffic figures for August 2026, compared with August 2025.

During August 2026, the 12 Mexican airports operated by GAP recorded a 2.6% increase in total passenger traffic compared to August 2025. Guadalajara and Tijuana airports reported an increase of 10.5% and 1.2%, respectively, while Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos airports reported a decrease of 10.3% and 6.2%, respectively, compared to August 2025. With respect to GAP’s airports in Jamaica, Kingston airport recorded an increase of 2.8%, while Montego Bay airport recorded a decrease of 23.0%.

Domestic Terminal Passengers (in thousands):

     AirportAug-25Aug-26% ChangeJan - Aug 25Jan - Aug 26% Change Guadalajara1,100.31,200.49.1%8,304.88,647.74.1% Tijuana*785.6774.7(1.4%)5,758.65,528.4(4.0%) Los Cabos270.7284.45.1%1,962.21,938.6(1.2%) Puerto Vallarta314.0307.7(2.0%)2,119.42,054.9(3.0%) Montego Bay0.00.0(100.0%)0.00.0(100.0%) Guanajuato191.3202.15.6%1,487.71,459.5(1.9%) Hermosillo177.2181.02.1%1,427.01,340.8(6.0%) Kingston0.40.0(92.6%)0.70.940.8% Morelia71.270.3(1.2%)506.6509.30.5% La Paz121.7137.713.2%856.8950.611.0% Mexicali114.4101.2(11.5%)834.6736.6(11.7%) Aguascalientes55.265.218.3%433.8433.80.0% Los Mochis63.163.30.3%469.2468.1(0.2%) Manzanillo11.313.519.5%89.088.1(1.0%) Total3,276.23,401.53.8%24,250.524,157.4(0.4%)          International Terminal Passengers (in thousands):

     AirportAug-25Aug-26% ChangeJan - Aug 25Jan - Aug 26% Change Guadalajara516.2585.113.3%3,974.44,225.96.3% Tijuana*326.8351.27.5%2,772.52,626.1(5.3%) Los Cabos292.3243.9(16.6%)3,303.43,037.7(8.0%) Puerto Vallarta161.8119.2(26.3%)2,712.52,178.1(19.7%) Montego Bay447.4344.6(23.0%)3,561.62,628.8(26.2%) Guanajuato88.887.4(1.5%)713.3669.5(6.1%) Hermosillo6.36.98.8%53.357.88.5% Kingston199.2205.13.0%1,272.51,252.7(1.6%) Morelia68.068.00.1%469.9551.917.4% La Paz3.03.0(2.3%)23.131.435.9% Mexicali0.60.713.4%5.05.24.2% Aguascalientes30.728.9(5.8%)219.2222.31.4% Los Mochis0.70.927.6%5.56.010.6% Manzanillo3.73.4(8.6%)69.959.9(14.2%) Total2,145.52,048.4(4.5%)19,156.017,553.4(8.4%)          Total Terminal Passengers (in thousands):

      AirportAug-25Aug-26% ChangeJan - Aug 25Jan - Aug 26% Change Guadalajara1,616.51,785.510.5%12,279.212,873.64.8% Tijuana*1,112.41,125.91.2%8,531.18,154.5(4.4%) Los Cabos563.0528.3(6.2%)5,265.74,976.4(5.5%) Puerto Vallarta475.8426.9(10.3%)4,831.94,233.0(12.4%) Montego Bay447.4344.6(23.0%)3,561.62,628.8(26.2%) Guanajuato280.1289.53.4%2,200.92,129.0(3.3%) Hermosillo183.5187.92.4%1,480.31,398.6(5.5%) Kingston199.6205.12.8%1,273.11,253.6(1.5%) Morelia139.1138.3(0.6%)976.51,061.28.7% La Paz124.7140.712.9%879.9982.111.6% Mexicali115.0101.8(11.4%)839.6741.7(11.7%) Aguascalientes85.994.29.7%653.1656.20.5% Los Mochis63.864.20.6%474.7474.1(0.1%) Manzanillo15.016.912.5%158.9148.1(6.8%) Total5,421.85,449.90.5%43,406.541,710.8(3.9%)          *Passengers in Tijuana who use CBX in both directions are classified as international.

CBX users (in thousands):

       AirportAug-25Aug-26% ChangeJan - Aug 25Jan - Aug 26% Change Tijuana320.1346.58.2%2,721.32,590.2(4.8%)          Highlights for the month:

Seats and load factors
The seats available during August 2026 increased by 1.5%, compared to August 2025. The load factors for the month went from 84.0% in August 2025 to 83.2% in August 2026. Company Description                                                                                                                                                                       

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) operates 12 airports throughout Mexico’s Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Guanajuato, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali, and Los Mochis. In February 2006, GAP’s shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “PAC” and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GAP”. In April 2015, GAP acquired 100% of Desarrollo de Concessioner Aeroportuarias, S.L., which owns a majority stake in MBJ Airports Limited, a company operating Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. In October 2018, GAP entered into a concession agreement for the Norman Manley International Airport operation in Kingston, Jamaica, and took control of the operation in October 2019.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts and are based on management’s current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance, and financial results. The words “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “expects”, “plans” and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations, and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity, or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends, or results will occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.  In accordance with Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Article 42 of the “Ley del Mercado de Valores”, GAP has implemented a “whistleblower” program, which allows complainants to anonymously and confidentially report suspected activities that involve criminal conduct or violations. The telephone number in Mexico, facilitated by a third party responsible for collecting these complaints, is 800 04 ETICA (38422) or WhatsApp +52 55 6538 5504. The website is www.lineadedenunciagap.com or by email at [email protected]. GAP’s Audit Committee will be notified of all complaints for immediate investigation.

Saúl Villarreal, Chief Financial [email protected]  Gisela Murillo, Investor [email protected] +52 33 3880 1100 ext. 20294

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Tesla (TSLA -5.92%), a global electric vehicle maker with energy storage and solar solutions, closed at $354.08, down 5.92%. Shares fell after the Cybercab launch underwhelmed investors, and investors are now watching the rollout and safety approvals.
Trading volume reached 64.4 million shares, coming in about 53% above its three-month average of 42.1 million shares. Tesla IPO'd in 2010 and has grown 22,169% since going public.

How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.38%) closed at 7,718, down 0.38%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.29%) closed at 26,507, down 0.29%. Among automotive manufacturing peers, Rivian Automotive (RIVN -1.07%) closed at $15.74, down 1.07%, while General Motors (GM +0.83%) closed at $87.76, up 0.83%, highlighting mixed trading across electric-vehicle rivals.

What this means for investorsToday's trading made it clear that investors and analysts expected more from Tesla's Cybercab launch event in Austin last night. The invite-only event to showcase the purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi wasn't livestreamed, and CEO Elon Musk didn't make an appearance.

Details on the number of Cybercabs to be deployed and their locations were not provided, leading analysts to feel that the highly anticipated event offered little incremental information.

Tesla stock also pressured after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an "audit query" to assess whether Tesla had correctly self-certified that the Cybercab is safe for public road use and meets the necessary federal safety standards.

The combined effect was that investors saw most of this week's gain in Tesla shares given back.

Howard Smith has positions in Rivian Automotive and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Microsoft MSFT has won a price-target increase from Stifel, but the analyst behind it is not ready to recommend buying the stock.

Stifel analyst Brad Reback raised his Microsoft MSFT target to $530 from $450 following meetings with executives, an increase of nearly 18%. He kept a Neutral rating, creating a split: the operating outlook is improving, but the risk-reward case remains insufficient for a Buy.

Reback’s optimism centers on Copilot. Management described the second half of 2026 as a “step change” in deployment. Weekly active engagement is now “on par with Outlook and Teams,” suggesting Copilot is moving from an add-on toward habitual workplace use.

Quality matters as much as adoption. Customer complaints that dominated conversations a year ago have largely eased following frequent product improvements, according to Reback. That removes a barrier to paid conversions across Microsoft’s enterprise base.

Monetization is following. Microsoft is seeing “moderate acceleration” in premium upgrades to E5, Microsoft 365 Copilot and E7. Because much of the new seat growth comes from lower-priced segments, average revenue per user, rather than volume, is becoming the main growth lever.

Azure provides a second pillar. Reback expects efficiency gains to unlock capacity, sustain business upside and reduce margin drag compared with earlier expectations. That matters because cloud AI growth is constrained not only by customer demand but also by infrastructure and servicing costs.

Microsoft is remaining model-agnostic, combining proprietary and open large language models across Azure, GitHub and Copilot. That approach reduces dependence on one provider while giving customers broader choice.

For investors, the $530 target validates Microsoft’s AI momentum, but the Neutral rating remains a caution signal. Microsoft must now prove that higher Copilot engagement produces durable revenue while Azure efficiencies protect margins. The product direction looks stronger; the question is whether the valuation already reflects it.

SpaceX (SPCX -1.20%) held its first earnings call as a publicly traded company on Aug. 4, and CEO Elon Musk used it to place the company's largest capital outlay, artificial intelligence (AI) computing, in the hands of a single supplier.

Musk said, "going forward, we've decided to build exclusively on Nvidia because we think the Vera Rubin architecture is the best architecture. We think it's the best AI computer, and we greatly value our close cooperation and partnership on many levels with Nvidia. So, we're exclusive to Nvidia."

Nvidia (NVDA +0.84%) shares closed up 3.4% the next day. Advanced Micro Devices, the closest alternative supplier of graphics processing units (GPUs) for AI, closed down 7% after reporting its own quarterly results that same afternoon.

Nvidia is also a shareholder, with about $21 billion in SpaceX shares at the end of June.

For SpaceX shareholders, the most interesting figure is the bill. What gets locked in by building it with a single supplier?

Image source: The White House.

How much computing capacity does Musk promise?SpaceX's capital expenditures were $18.4 billion in the second quarter, and $15.8 billion of that was allocated to AI computing infrastructure. The AI figure was $7.7 billion in the first quarter and $749 million a year earlier. In other words, the computing line item grew more than 20 times year over year and now absorbs 86 cents of every capital dollar.

CFO Bret Johnsen told analysts to expect the next two quarters to be "very similar to the current quarter" in terms of capital expenditures, probably about $37 billion more this year.

SpaceX ended June with 1.4 gigawatts of installed computing capacity, compared to 1 gigawatt in March and 0.4 gigawatts a year earlier. Musk expects the company to end 2026 with more than 2 gigawatts. And by the end of 2027, he said, the total "may, let's say, be closer to 10 gigawatts of compute than 5 gigawatts of compute."

Under its commitment, every gigawatt built from now on will use Nvidia hardware.

SpaceX has not filed any contractThe 10-Q SpaceX filed on the day of the conference does not mention Nvidia, nor has any subsequent filing.

What it does show is $28 billion in noncancelable purchase commitments at the end of June, of which $22.2 billion mature in 2027, described mostly as AI infrastructure, cloud capacity, and its spectrum purchase.

During the conference, when asked how much confidence he had regarding the chips, Musk said, "our understanding with NVIDIA is that we will receive a very significant percent of their GPUs next year."

Customer contracts, on the other hand, specify Nvidia chips, and I would argue they say more about SpaceX's tie to Nvidia than the commitment does. SpaceX's cloud service agreements with Anthropic cover about 325,000 Nvidia GPUs at $1.25 billion monthly through May 2029. Its agreement with Google, of Alphabet, covers about 110,000 Nvidia GPUs at $920 million monthly from October 2026 through June 2029. Each can be terminated with 90 days' notice after an initial period. And if SpaceX does not deliver the committed GPUs by Sept. 30, Google could walk away after a one-month grace period or pay only for the GPUs delivered.

So SpaceX has sold Nvidia capacity it has not yet finished buying, with delivery dates.

What SpaceX gives up without a second bidA buyer of this size gives up two things.

The first is price. Nvidia's gross margin was 75% in its quarter ended July 26: on average, three-quarters of what customers pay Nvidia is gross profit.

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The second is the timeline. Nvidia said in its quarterly report that it is "currently experiencing certain supply constraints," and Vera Rubin did not begin production shipments until the quarter that started on July 27. SpaceX's 2-gigawatt and 10-gigawatt targets depend on how much a single supplier ships of a product with limited supply.

Terafab, the chip plant that SpaceX is planning with partners, is its hedge against shortages, but the prospectus says there are still no definitive agreements.

Of course, management's answer is that profitability arrives quickly. Johnsen said current cloud economics provide SpaceX with "less than a one-year payback" on new capital allocated to computing, and the company signed contracts for another $6.7 billion in cloud service revenue during the first weeks of the third quarter. If that holds, paying more for the best computer could be the right decision.

But the stock arguably already assumes it will hold. SpaceX's market value sits near $1.9 trillion, with shares around $142 at the time of writing, more than 60 times the revenue a full year would produce at the second-quarter run rate. That price leaves no room for the bill to be larger or arrive later than planned, and SpaceX has committed to building it all on a single supplier's hardware.

In the latest close session, MasterCard (MA - Free Report) was down 1.11% at $579.21. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.38%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.51%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 0.29%.

Coming into today, shares of the processor of debit and credit card payments had gained 1.69% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector gained 1.03%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.08%.

The upcoming earnings release of MasterCard will be of great interest to investors. On that day, MasterCard is projected to report earnings of $5.12 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 16.89%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $9.62 billion, up 11.86% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $19.86 per share and revenue of $37.24 billion. These totals would mark changes of +16.75% and +13.57%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for MasterCard should also be noted by investors. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.38% higher. MasterCard is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, MasterCard is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 29.5. This denotes a premium relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 13.49.

We can additionally observe that MA currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.68. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Financial Transaction Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.88 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Financial Transaction Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 164, placing it within the bottom 34% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.

David Tepper's hedge fund, Appaloosa Management, sold 690,000 shares of Micron Technology (MU +6.10%) during the second quarter, cutting its stake in the memory specialist by 41%, according to the fund's latest 13F filing. On its own, that looks like a manager heading for the exit.

But the same filing shows the opposite. The stake Appaloosa kept was worth about $1.13 billion at the end of June -- about 15% of the fund's equity portfolio, and its second-biggest position, behind only a $1.19 billion Amazon stake.

Micron stock gained about 242% during the quarter, which is how both things can be true at once.

What is a manager doing, then, when he sells that much of a stock and ends up more concentrated in it? I'd argue the size of what he kept is the more telling number. And what it reflects is Micron -- the cycle, and the earnings underneath it.

Image source: Getty Images.

Selling didn't shrink the betAt the end of March, Appaloosa held 1.665 million Micron shares worth about $563 million. By the end of June, the 975,000 remaining shares were worth about $1.13 billion, in a portfolio totaling about $7.7 billion. Not only was the trimmed position worth twice what the bigger one had been in March, but it also took up more of the fund (nearly 15% of the portfolio, up from about 9.5%).

The stock did that work. After all, Micron climbed from about $338 at the end of March to about $1,154 at the end of June. Had Appaloosa sold nothing, Micron would have grown to more than a fifth of the fund.

In other words, the sale didn't so much shrink the bet as keep it from getting even bigger.

Is Tepper getting out of memory?A 13F deserves one caveat, though. It is a snapshot of a single day (June 30, in this case), filed 45 days after the fact, and it says nothing about what a fund has done since.

Since then, Micron stock has pulled back to around $1,000 as of this writing, about 14% below where it ended the quarter.

And Appaloosa reportedly kept moving. In August, CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the fund had bought a bigger position in memory stocks since the quarter ended than it sold during it. The buying came as the group slumped.

The same filing also showed Appaloosa selling out of Sandisk (SNDK +11.90%), its smaller memory position. But set beside the buying reported since, even that exit arguably looks like profit-taking after a huge run.

The boom doesn't erase the cycleWhy leave 15% of a fund in one memory stock? Because the earnings have become enormous.

In the fiscal third quarter of 2026 (the period ended May 28, 2026), Micron's revenue reached $41.5 billion, more than quadruple the year-ago period's $9.3 billion. That was up from $23.9 billion just one quarter earlier, too. Net income came in at $28.2 billion, up about 15-fold year over year. And management guided the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended this week, to about $50 billion of revenue at a gross margin of about 86%.

Demand from artificial intelligence data centers is doing most of the work. Micron's cloud memory unit alone produced $13.8 billion of fiscal Q3 revenue, about four times its year-ago total.

Also worth noting: the guided step up in revenue, about $8.5 billion, would be smaller than either of the last two sequential jumps. And that is with an extra, 14th week in the quarter. Put another way, the growth is decelerating.

Of course, memory has always moved in cycles, and the down half is brutal. Three years ago, in fiscal 2023, Micron lost $5.8 billion as revenue roughly halved.

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Investors haven't forgotten. Micron trades at about 6.5 times expected earnings for its next fiscal year -- and a price-to-earnings multiple that low, on earnings still climbing, usually means the market expects those earnings to fall.

Ultimately, I see the same opinion in Tepper's positioning and in Micron's valuation. The profits are enormous. How long they last is the question.

My own stance lands close to his. I view Micron stock as a hold here. I wouldn't sell a business earning like this, but this deep into the cycle's good half, I wouldn't put new money in at today's price either. And this cyclicality is risky. So keep that in mind.

Sure, holding without adding could mean missing more upside if this boom is still in its early innings. I'm comfortable with that.

Opendoor Home Loans now offers 30-, 20-, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, plus 5/6, 7/6, 10/6 adjustable-rate mortgages for any home purchase in markets where Opendoor Home Loans is licensed.  | Source: Opendoor Technologies Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Opendoor (NASDAQ: OPEN), the e-commerce platform for residential real estate, today announced that Opendoor Home Loans has exited beta and now offers 30-, 20-, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, plus 5/6, 7/6, and 10/6 adjustable-rate mortgages.

The announcement comes as mortgage rates move higher. Freddie Mac’s weekly survey reached 6.71% for a 30-year fixed mortgage and 6.04% for a 15-year fixed mortgage on September 3, with the 30-year average at its highest level in 13 months.

For homebuyers, when financing gets more expensive, the rate matters. So do lender fees, paperwork, delays, and the back-and-forth required to keep the home purchase and mortgage on track. When those processes are handled in separate systems, each question or document can create another delay. Opendoor built its mortgage experience around the homebuying process, with software handling more of the repeatable work in one place.

“Buying a home is two things: the home and the money,” said Kaz Nejatian, Chief Executive Officer of Opendoor. “They’re handled by separate systems, with separate incentives and too much avoidable cost. We built Opendoor Home Loans for the way most people buy a home. We can’t control the market rate, but we can control the cost and friction around it. The pork-barrel buffet around mortgage costs has to end.”

Opendoor Home Loans lets buyers handle more of the process online, with access to licensed mortgage professionals when they need help. The current experience includes:

Prequalification in minutes without a hard credit pull.A digital application with online income and asset verification.Online document verification, with fewer handoffs through closing.
Opendoor Home Loans is available for any home purchase in markets where it is licensed, not just for purchases of Opendoor homes. Eligibility, rates, terms, and availability vary by borrower, property, loan amount, loan-to-value ratio, credit profile, state, and other factors.

Buyers can learn more at opendoor.com/mortgage.

About Opendoor

Opendoor exists to tilt the world in favor of homeowners by making homeownership simpler, faster, and fairer for everyone. Since 2014, Opendoor has given people a more convenient, more certain way to buy and sell a home, whether they already own or are working hard to become homeowners. Opendoor currently operates in markets across the U.S. For more information, please visit www.opendoor.com.

Mortgage disclosure

Opendoor Home Loans LLC. NMLS ID #2810193. Verify our license at NMLS Consumer Access. All mortgage lending products and information provided by Opendoor Home Loans LLC.

This is not a commitment to lend. All loans are subject to credit approval, underwriting, and property approval. Programs, rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice.

© 2026 Opendoor Home Loans LLC. An Equal Housing Lender.

Contact

Kaz Nejatian on X.

[email protected]

Key Takeaways COR's U.S. Healthcare Solutions revenues rose 5%, with specialty strength driving 16% operating income growth.OneOncology is driving growth through integration, new services, trials and tuck-in acquisitions.GLP-1 growth boosts volumes, while drug-price cuts and the MWI divestiture weigh on earnings prospects. Cencora (COR - Free Report) is well poised for growth on the back of a robust U.S. Healthcare Solutions business and product launches. However, intense competition is a concern.

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s shares have lost 0.2% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s 3.1% decline. However, the S&P 500 Index has gained 11.4% in the same time frame.

Cencora is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical service companies. It is focused on providing drug distribution and related services to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes. The company has a market capitalization of $64.19 billion.

COR’s bottom line is anticipated to improve 9.9% over the next five years. Its earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, delivering an average surprise of 0.76%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Let’s delve deeper.

Positive Factors Driving COR’s ProspectsU.S. Healthcare Solutions Shows Momentum: Cencora’s U.S. Healthcare Solutions business is showing accelerating underlying momentum, particularly in specialty. Fiscal third-quarter revenues rose 5% to $74.9 billion, while segment operating income increased 16% to $966 million. Specialty strength across health systems, physician practices and MSOs drove the improvement, with OneOncology and RCA outperforming expectations.

Excluding the lost oncology customer and OneOncology’s contribution, core operating income still grew at a double-digit rate, versus 7% in the prior quarter. The company also expects fourth-quarter results to deliver strong double-digit growth as it fully laps the oncology customer loss and benefits from an easier expense comparison. This suggests that underlying demand and execution are strengthening beyond acquisition-related contributions.

OneOncology Offers Significant Runway for Growth: OneOncology is emerging as a meaningful long-term growth platform beyond its initial distribution and GPO benefits. Management said the acquisition is performing modestly above expectations, while its three-phase value-creation plan is progressing through integration, capability sharing and new services. The most attractive opportunity is clinical trials.

OneOncology remains in the early stages of building this business, unlike RCA’s more mature platform. Cencora expects community-based oncology sites to expand trial access and improve patient accrual, creating value for both physicians and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Continued physician additions and tuck-in acquisitions could increase network density, strengthen manufacturer relationships and create higher-value services, potentially making the MSO platform an increasingly important earnings contributor.

Specialty Logistics and International Operations Provide Diversification: Cencora’s specialty logistics and international operations are providing an increasingly diversified earnings stream. International Healthcare Solutions revenues increased 6% to $7.7 billion, while operating income rose 21% as World Courier and European 3PL delivered double-digit operating-income growth.

World Courier is benefiting from stabilization after a challenging fiscal 2025, while 3PL gained from strong renewals and new business wins. These businesses also benefit from specialized capabilities and Cencora’s pharmaceutical-centric positioning that differentiate it from broader logistics competitors.

Although a one-time European pricing-timing benefit will not repeat in the fourth quarter, the underlying specialty logistics pipeline remains healthy, improving the segment’s ability to offset volatility in U.S. pharmaceutical distribution.

GLP-1 Growth and Part B Biosimilars Create Structural Volume Opportunities: GLP-1 demand is becoming an important structural volume driver for Cencora. U.S. Healthcare Solutions recorded a $2.3 billion year-over-year increase in GLP-1 sales, with management indicating approximately 25% growth, broadly in line with expectations.

While GLP-1 products can carry different economics from traditional pharmaceuticals, the rapid expansion increases distribution volumes and reinforces Cencora’s relevance to manufacturers and downstream customers.

The company’s specialty-centric model should benefit from continued pharmaceutical innovation, including biosimilars and complex therapies. Cencora also sees Part B biosimilars as particularly attractive because its distribution, GPO and MSO services provide greater value around physician-administered products, creating a more favorable profit opportunity than Part D switches.

Key Challenges for COR StockDrug-price Reductions Continue to Suppress Headline Growth: Manufacturer list-price reductions remain a major drag on Cencora’s headline revenue growth and could continue to obscure underlying operating momentum. In the fiscal third quarter, U.S. Healthcare Solutions revenues were supported by $2.3 billion of incremental GLP-1 sales, but this was more than offset by a $2.4 billion headwind from manufacturer list-price reductions.

The company also absorbed the prior-year loss of an oncology customer and lower sales to a large mail-order customer. Management expects full-year U.S. revenue growth in the lower half of its 4-6% guided range. This highlights the structural challenge of generating revenue growth in a distribution model where lower drug prices can reduce reported sales even when volumes and underlying profitability remain healthy.

MWI Divestiture Could Create Meaningful Earnings Headwind: Cencora’s near-term earnings outlook faces a difficult comparison from the pending MWI Animal Health transaction with Covetrus. Management expects the deal to create an approximately $150 million operating-income headwind within Other if it closes around the midpoint of fiscal 2027, translating into an estimated 35-cent EPS headwind after accounting for the transaction structure. The company has not yet provided a firm closing timetable, as regulatory review remains ongoing.

Although the transaction includes upfront cash, preferred equity and common equity that partially offset the earnings impact, the divestiture would reduce MWI’s reported earnings contribution. Investors therefore face a potential earnings reset in fiscal 2027, even if the core healthcare businesses continue to perform strongly.

Regulatory and Pricing Uncertainty Could Pressure Specialty Economics: Regulatory and pricing uncertainty remains a persistent risk to Cencora’s specialty and distribution economics. Management is assessing proposed changes to 340B and ASP rules, acknowledging that the eventual impact could vary across its broad customer base and is not yet quantifiable.

Cencora believes policymakers are unlikely to reduce physician reimbursement, but the outcome remains dependent on future regulatory decisions. The company expects international revenue growth to slow to approximately 8% as the stronger U.S. dollar weighs on reported results, while a favorable manufacturer price-adjustment timing benefit in European distribution is not expected to repeat in the fourth quarter. These factors increase the risk that favorable current trends normalize faster than underlying volume growth suggests.

Estimate TrendCOR has been witnessing a stable improving revision trend for fiscal 2026. In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has moved north 8 cents to $17.79 per share.

The consensus mark for fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues is pegged at $88.09 billion, indicating a 5.2% improvement from the year-ago reported actuals. The bottom-line estimate is pinned at $4.51, implying year-over-year growth of 17.5%.

Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) , Veracyte (VCYT - Free Report) and West Pharmaceutical (WST - Free Report) .

Globus Medical, currently flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), reported a second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.34, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 19.6%. Revenues of $789.6 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

GMED has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 12.4%. The company’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 27.9%.

Veracyte, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reported a second-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of 54 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 25.6%. Revenues of $150.3 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.1%.

VCYT has an estimated earnings growth rate of 8.4% for 2026. The company’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 41.8%.

West Pharmaceutical, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $2.37, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.9%. Revenues of $872.3 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.2%.

WST has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 16%. WST’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 17.4%.

Key Takeaways CRCL's Sept. 16 Arc launch includes 100 private mainnet partners and validators.Circle raised 2026 other-revenue guidance, partly tied to Arc milestone recognition.CRCL's Arc opportunity is balanced by higher spending and a premium forward sales valuation. Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL - Free Report) is approaching a Sept. 16 Arc Mainnet launch that could broaden its role beyond stablecoin issuance. Circle is trying to turn its digital-asset network into infrastructure used by financial institutions, payments companies and capital-markets participants.

The key question is whether Arc can generate recurring activity after launch. Institutional participation, higher other-revenue guidance and Circle Payments Network growth support the theme, but milestone-based revenues and elevated spending keep execution risk in focus.

CRCL’s Arc Launch Brings Institutional ScaleArc is scheduled to launch with more than 100 private mainnet partners and validators. Its testnet had processed 502 million cumulative transactions and reached 2.8 million cumulative transacting wallets by June 30.

The validator group includes major financial and payments firms. Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) has said Arc is being added to its stablecoin settlement pilot and that it plans to operate a validator once the network goes live.

Circle’s Arc Economics Could Lift Other RevenueCircle completed a $242 million Arc Token presale in the second quarter. About $180 million is expected to be recognized in 2026 as product milestones are achieved.

Management raised full-year other-revenue guidance to $310-$330 million from $150-$170 million. The increase is partly tied to Arc, making milestone achievement important to reported non-reserve revenues this year.

CRCL’s Partners Point to Real Financial WorkflowsBlackRock, BNY, DTCC and Standard Chartered are exploring Arc integrations involving tokenized-asset settlement, custody, stablecoin access, foreign exchange and repo infrastructure. Those use cases move Arc toward institutional financial workflows.

Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) is another relevant payments reference. Mastercard has announced plans to expand settlement options using regulated stablecoins, including USDC, across multiple blockchain networks.

Circle Needs Utility Beyond Milestone RevenuePresale recognition can lift 2026 results, but it does not establish a recurring earnings stream. Arc’s longer-term contribution will depend on sustained transaction activity, partner integrations and monetization after the initial launch milestones.

Circle is also spending to build the platform. Adjusted operating expenses rose 23% year over year to $146 million in the second quarter, and management expects full-year spending near the high end of its $570-$585 million guidance range.

CRCL’s CPN Shows How Network Utility Can ScaleCircle Payments Network offers an early example of infrastructure translating into usage. Annualized total payment volume moved from zero in the second quarter of 2025 to $14.7 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2026.

By July 31, annualized payment volume had reached about $23 billion. CPN had 175 enrolled financial institutions across 58 countries, and linking that activity with Arc and USDC could deepen Circle’s role in settlement.

CRCL’s Growth Profile Still Comes With Valuation RiskArc could help diversify Circle’s revenue mix, but CRCL already carries a premium valuation. The stock trades at 7.4X forward 12-month sales, versus 2.6X for its Zacks sub-industry and 4.8X for the S&P 500.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). CRCL has a Growth Score of B and Momentum Score of A, while its Value Score of F and VGM Score of C show weaker value characteristics and a mixed combined style profile. That combination supports a measured view as Arc moves from launch catalyst to execution test. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Apple (AAPL) stock fell about 2% on Friday as investors weighed reports that initial production of the company’s long-awaited foldable iPhone remains limited, raising concerns about whether Apple can meet demand when the device launches.

According to a Nikkei Asia report, production of the foldable iPhone was running at only a few hundred units per day in late August.

The report attributed the slow initial output primarily to Apple’s stringent quality-control requirements, while the company and its suppliers work to increase production.

The production constraints come shortly before Apple’s Sept. 9 launch event, where the company is expected to unveil its latest iPhone lineup.

The foldable model represents an important product milestone for Apple as it enters a category that competitors including Samsung and Huawei have developed for years.

Apple has reportedly targeted production of 8 million to 10 million foldable iPhones this year.

However, the company could fall short of that target if production does not accelerate, according to the Nikkei Asia report.

One supply chain manager familiar with the situation told Nikkei Asia that Apple has “very high quality requirements” and conducted an additional trial run in August ahead of actual production.

The source said output was only a few hundred units per day in late August and warned that the initial volume could be challenging to match with market demand.

Industry executives cited by Nikkei Asia said tens of thousands of devices would normally need to be produced each day to meet Apple’s planned production target.

The company has also encountered engineering and test-production challenges.

Apple is reportedly requiring more stringent durability testing than rival smartphone makers, including more extreme testing conditions, a higher number of folding cycles and greater screen flatness.

“The surface flatness and the performance of the hinge are among the details where Apple is asking for better production yields,” another person familiar with the situation told Nikkei Asia.

Two people familiar with the situation also told Nikkei Asia that Apple conducted an additional verification process in August to ensure the foldable iPhone could be mass-produced according to its specifications.

That process reportedly delayed commercial production by several weeks.

The foldable iPhone production challenges come as the broader smartphone industry faces shortages of memory and other electronic components.

The shortages have been linked to the massive buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

IDC’s latest forecast projects that the global smartphone market will decline 16.7% this year, while the memory shortage is expected to push average smartphone selling prices up by around 27.6%.

Apple has so far been less affected than some of its more price-sensitive Chinese competitors, including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.

IDC data showed Apple’s global smartphone market share rose to 20.2% in the April-to-June quarter, compared with 16.3% a year earlier.

The company is also reportedly prioritizing its three most premium iPhone models this year to optimize memory allocation and marketing resources.

The standard iPhone launch has been pushed to next spring, according to an earlier Nikkei Asia report.

The foldable iPhone could therefore arrive at a time when Apple is balancing premium product demand with component constraints.

Huawei is also preparing to release its latest generation of triple-fold phones, increasing competition ahead of Apple’s launch.

Despite the production concerns, the foldable iPhone is viewed as a significant milestone for Apple.

The device would mark the company’s entry into a smartphone segment already served by competitors such as Samsung and Huawei.

The new form factor could potentially create a new premium upgrade cycle for the iPhone, expand Apple’s addressable market and provide an additional growth driver as the broader smartphone market faces pressure.

Citi expects Apple’s first foldable iPhone, potentially called the iPhone Ultra, to start at more than $2,000.

The firm also expects the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models to cost about $200 more than their predecessors.

Citi analyst Atif Malik said the iPhone lineup is expected to receive several major upgrades, including the A20 chip, variable-aperture main cameras on the Pro and Pro Max models, and Apple’s own modems.

The foldable model is expected to feature dual front and rear camera systems, an OLED display with an ultra-thin glass cover for the inner screen, and increased component content in areas including the battery, vapor-chamber cooling system and structural components.

Apple’s Sept. 9 event will also be notable as the first major product launch under new CEO John Ternus, who officially succeeded Tim Cook on Sept. 1. Ternus, a longtime Apple hardware executive, has described the upcoming launch as a major one.

A federal appeals court on Friday declined to enforce most of a National Labor Relations Board ruling that Starbucks (SBUX.O) illegally threatened ​employees with reprisals for trying to unionize and pretended it was surveilling ‌attempts to organize.

In a 2-0 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims that the coffee chain violated federal labor law when a Wichita, Kansas, store manager and assistant manager told ​employees they closed their hiring portal and reduced hours because of union or ​other protected activities.

The New Orleans-based court upheld a finding that Starbucks illegally ⁠threatened to deny maternity leave benefits to a pregnant employee if workers unionized.

A ​Starbucks spokesperson said the Seattle-based company was "encouraged" by the decision, and "remains committed to protecting our ​partners’ rights under the law, engaging directly with our partners, and ensuring our coffeehouses can operate safely and effectively." Starbucks refers to employees as partners.

The NLRB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Employees at ​more than 700 Starbucks stores have voted to join unions, and have filed hundreds of ​complaints with the NLRB accusing the company of illegal labor practices.

SECOND LEGAL VICTORY
Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson said ‌statements ⁠about the hiring portal and store hours were not threats of reprisal because a hiring pause didn't appear to imperil employees' job security, while understaffing might have justified shorter hours.

He also said store manager Carmella Neri's statements that she knew about unionization discussions ​and that employees should ​keep in mind the ⁠impact of a successful vote were not coercive, saying the statements were not "out of the ordinary."

Higginson nonetheless found substantial evidence that ​the pregnant employee, Maia Cuellar-Serafini, could "reasonably feel" that union activities could ​reduce her ⁠benefits.

The court ruled two days after Starbucks persuaded the federal appeals court in Manhattan to reverse an NLRB finding that it illegally barred workers at a store in Manhattan's Meatpacking District ⁠from ​wearing t-shirts or multiple pins supporting a union.

That court ​said the NLRB failed to properly balance Starbucks' ability to present its preferred image to customers with employees' right to ​encourage unionizing.

Jim Cramer is sounding an alarm about a beloved retailer that loyal shoppers treat as bulletproof, and the numbers behind his warning point toward a corner of retail that most investors still underestimate.

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On CNBC’s opening bell on September 3, 2026, Jim Cramer laid out a split that inverts most people’s assumptions about American retail. The membership warehouse with the best reputation in the business is stumbling, and the chains people quietly hit for essentials are running away with the story.

Costco (NASDAQ:COST | COST Price Prediction) trades near 47 times trailing earnings while its comparable sales have gone the wrong way for four straight reporting periods. Meanwhile, Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE), Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR), and Dollar General (NYSE:DG) have each reported quarters that would look strong in any market.

Cramer’s read is that the trade-down is real, and it is not treating Costco the way loyal shoppers assume it should.

Trading Down That Actually Works Jim Cramer said, “If you want to know what trading down looks like in a positive way, you just look at what Winnie Park has done at Five Below. Still one more amazing quarter.” The endorsement lines up with the numbers.

Five Below’s second quarter delivered net sales of $1.3 billion, up 23%, with comparable sales growth of 14% and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.68. Park raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a midpoint of $10.07.

Trading down describes household dollars migrating toward retailers positioned where the marginal purchase now happens. Park emphasized broad-based growth across all income cohorts, geographies, and categories, which reads as trade-in behavior from higher-income shoppers rather than pure distress buying.

At roughly 31 times earnings, Five Below is priced for growth investors, and estimate revisions have moved higher across every forward quarter. That is a materially different proposition than paying 47 times for a warehouse chain whose top line is decelerating.

Costco’s Problem Runs Deeper Than a Multiple Cramer invoked Charlie Munger’s principle that at extreme multiples the price has already paid for the future, and then applied it to Costco. He is right, and the multiple is best read as a symptom of the underlying problem.

CNBC noted that Costco’s comparable store sales declined across May, June, July, and August, and also flagged weak renewal rates for membership card purchases. Management on the last call reported the worldwide renewal rate at 89.7%, attributing the pressure to a growing mix of online sign-ups that renew at lower rates than warehouse sign-ups.

A membership retailer that struggles to keep its members has a structural issue that a rebound in gasoline traffic cannot fix. Costco’s operating leverage lives in the fees line, and although membership fees ran $1.37 billion, up 10.7% in the most recent quarter, a slower renewal cadence eventually reaches that growth rate.

The stock has noticed. Costco is down 2% over the past year and sits below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Cramer’s Generational Worry Deserves a Serious Answer Jim Cramer said, “I don’t want it to be a generational thing where my generation is Costco and the newer generations don’t look at it like that.” That is the most interesting thing he said, and the evidence is genuinely mixed.

Bullish evidence: paid executive memberships grew 9.6% to 41.2 million, digitally enabled comparable sales rose 21.5%, and site and app traffic increased 37%. A brand losing the internet does not produce those numbers.

Bearish evidence: digital sign-ups renew at a lower rate than warehouse sign-ups. The new member is easier to acquire and harder to keep, which is the pattern you would expect if the brand’s cultural gravity were weakening at the margins.

Cramer’s fear is reasonable. The data does not yet confirm it.

Where the Value Has Moved, and What Ends the Trade Jim Cramer said, “I’m just wondering whether the great value isn’t in these dollar stores.” CNBC reported strong results from both Dollar Tree and Dollar General.

Dollar Tree posted comparable sales up 3.7% with gross margin expanding 850 basis points to 42.9%. Dollar General reported 3.5% same-store sales growth in its fifth consecutive quarter of traffic growth, and CEO Todd Vasos cited strong trade-in across middle- and high-income cohorts.

The economics are simple. When budgets tighten, the fixed-cost base of a small-box discount format levers hard against small increases in traffic, and a $1 price point does disproportionate merchandising work for a shopper counting pennies.

Dollar Tree at 16 times earnings and Dollar General at 17 times are priced as if the trade-down ends tomorrow, which it likely will not, unless real wages accelerate meaningfully at the low end.

The trade-down winners look like a cyclical opportunity that investors would size to their own risk tolerance. What ends the trade is a genuine improvement in purchasing power at the bottom two income quintiles. Until that shows up in the data, Five Below and the dollar stores are where the incremental household dollar is going.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Jim Cramer mapped a copper rally to $100, then the breakout level collapsed within days. Now one portfolio manager is loading up on the dip and has already named the single event that would force him to abandon the entire…

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On the August 31 Mad Money “Off the Charts” segment with Bob Lang, Jim Cramer laid out a copper roadmap. Working the technicals on Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX | FCX Price Prediction), Cramer said “if 75 and change can break out, it goes to $80. That would be terrific. It’s smooth sailing then to “if 75 and change can break out, it goes to $80. That would be terrific. It’s smooth sailing then to $100.”00.” He added that the volume behind the copper miners meant “this rally is the real deal.”

The breakout level failed almost immediately. FCX closed at $75.74 on August 31, the exact level Cramer flagged, then slid 4.2% to $72.56 by September 3. Over the past week the stock is down 6.66% to $73.20. The one-year chart still shows a 59.91% gain, so this is a pullback inside a powerful uptrend.

Kevin Simpson Buys the Drop and Names His Kill Switch Kevin Simpson of Capital Wealth Planning added to both Freeport-McMoRan and Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) into the pullback on CNBC’s Halftime Report, extending a hard commodities theme he started the prior week with CF Industries (NYSE:CF). His reasoning for favoring copper over gold: “you’ve got an application for them with respect to electrification. If you believe in the data center build out.” That buildout runs on more than chips: we rounded up seven of the power, cooling, and infrastructure suppliers behind it in a free report on the AI infrastructure trade.

Simpson publicly named his macro kill switch: “If we get a rate hike in September, October, December, then forget the gold trade. I mean I’m completely off base with this,” he said. That is a rare admission of a specific condition that would invalidate the trade.

Copper Bull Case Freeport Is Selling Freeport’s numbers explain why Cramer and Simpson are aligned. In Q1 2026, FCX reported adjusted EPS of $0.57 versus $0.47 expected on revenue of $6.23 billion, up 12.2% year over year, with a realized copper price of $5.78 per pound versus $4.44 a year earlier. It was FCX’s fourth consecutive EPS beat.

On the Q2 conference call, CEO Kathleen Quirk said “as we look forward, it is clear the market will require additional copper supplies to meet growing demand.” Freeport modeled 2027-2028 EBITDA at roughly roughly $13 billion at $5 copper and $20 billion at $7 copper3 billion at $5 copper and $20 billion at $7 copper, with each 10-cent move in copper worth about $390 million in annual EBITDA. Details are in the company’s Q1 2026 8-K filing.

The macro tailwinds are real. The USGS added copper to the Critical Minerals list in November 2025, and S&P Global projects copper demand reaching 42 million metric tons by 2040, a 50% increase driven by electrification, AI data centers, and defense. Sell-side analysts carry an average price target of $72.05 on FCX, which the stock has already exceeded.

Gold and Fertilizer Legs of Simpson’s Trade Agnico Eagle is a pure gold play. Q2 2026 delivered adjusted EPS of $3.07 on revenue of $3.80 billion, up 35% year over year, with realized gold at $4,483 per ounce, close to today’s spot price near $4,418. AEM is still up 36.23% over the past month at $204.71 even after this week’s 4.76% pullback.

CF Industries has gained 9.56% since August 28 and is up 76.88% year to date.

What to Watch Next The trade hinges on two factors. First, the Grasberg ramp. Freeport targets roughly 65% of capacity in H2 2026, 80% by mid-2027, and near full capacity by end of 2027. Second, the Fed. Simpson has told the market exactly which outcome breaks his thesis. If copper holds the $5.78 realized level and rate cuts stay on the table, Cramer’s path to $100 stays alive. If not, the $75 breakout that failed on August 31 becomes a warning shot for the broader thesis.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Snowflake surged 17% on earnings night, then spent Friday giving it back while every benchmark around it barely budged. That split-screen moment raises a pointed question about who is actually selling and why.

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Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW | SNOW Price Prediction) is handing back part of Wednesday evening’s post-earnings pop, while enterprise software peers and the broader tape barely register a wobble. That gap between a name-specific giveback and a steady sector reads like textbook profit-taking. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) is unchanged at $717.67, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is down 0.4% to $769.89.

Snowflake stock is down 5% to $339.60, cooling off after a one-session surge that lifted shares to a fresh multi-month high on Thursday. Meanwhile, Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG) stock is unchanged at $214.46 as the observability peer holds its ground through Friday afternoon trading.

Profit-Taking Follows a One-Session Surge The move looks mechanical, not fundamental. Snowflake reported Q2 FY2027 results after the close on September 2, delivering non-GAAP EPS of $0.62 against a $0.447 consensus and revenue of $1.55 billion, up 35.1% year over year (YoY). Product revenue climbed 37% YoY to $1.49 billion, remaining performance obligations reached $9 billion, up 30% YoY, and net revenue retention held at 126%.

Snowflake’s management raised the company’s FY27 product revenue guide to $6.07 billion, or 36% growth, and lifted its non-GAAP operating margin guide to 14.5%. The company added 692 net new customers, up 32% YoY, its Cortex AI suite surpassed 9,100 accounts, and CoWork reached 5,800 accounts. CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy asserted, “Snowflake delivered another strong quarter, with product revenue of $1.49 billion, up 37% year-over-year, as Snowflake continues to power the enterprise AI revolution.” Snowflake stock surged 17% on the release day, and today’s pullback still leaves it up 3% over the past week.

Peer Read Confirms the Setup Datadog is a clean observability comp for a Snowflake move, and its calm trading through the session cuts against any read that enterprise software is being sold as a group. Datadog delivered its own beat on August 6, posting Q2 2026 revenue of $1.12 billion, up 35.6% YoY, and raised its full-year revenue guide to $4.45 billion to $4.47 billion. Non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 23%, and free cash flow reached $278.7 million.

With Datadog roughly flat, QQQ unchanged, and SPY only marginally lower, the Snowflake pullback registers as position unwinding rather than a reassessment of the business. Nothing about Snowflake changed overnight. Guidance held steady, disclosures were routine, and no analyst event of consequence emerged, leaving a large one-session gain to meet the natural supply of holders who had waited for exactly that gain to arrive.

The pattern isn’t new. In Q2 FY2026, Snowflake stock jumped 20% on the day of the report, then slid 6% over the following week. Post-earnings gap-fills are the norm here, and Snowflake’s operational trajectory keeps improving through them.

Session Scorecard Ticker Today Year to Date SNOW down 5% up 55% DDOG unchanged up 57% Both names have run hard in 2026. Snowflake stock is up 55% year to date (YTD), and Datadog stock is up 57% YTD. That backdrop matters. When a name this extended posts a 17% single-session pop on earnings, a giveback the following session is often the price of a crowded book meeting a natural exit. Datadog’s one-month chart tells a different story, with shares down 26% over the past month after a large-customer usage reset that management folded into guidance. Today’s steady tape under Datadog suggests investors have moved past that reset.

What to Watch Next The question price action can’t settle is whether the raised outlook deserved the size of Wednesday’s move. That answer comes with Q3 FY2027 results. Snowflake’s management guided Q3 product revenue to $1.588 billion to $1.593 billion, or 37% to 38% growth. Traders can watch for whether AI adoption keeps pulling core platform consumption higher into that report (the supplier side of that AI buildout, from power to networking, is the subject of a free report we put together here).

Anyone who bought before Snowflake’s report can treat today’s decline as normal digestion. For those who chased the pop, it’s a reminder that liquidity events aren’t information. Investors sizing new exposure to Snowflake stock here should scale their positions carefully given the YTD run and elevated near-term volatility, keeping their allocation modest until the next quarterly cadence validates the raised outlook.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

NEW YORK, Sept. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Moody’s Ratings has assigned insurance financial strength ratings to two Freedom Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: FRHC) insurance subsidiaries for the first time. Freedom Finance Insurance JSC, operating as Freedom Insurance, received Ba1 local- and foreign-currency insurance financial strength ratings, while Freedom Life JSC received Baa3 ratings. Both carry stable outlooks.

The Baa3 rating makes Freedom Life the first company within Freedom Holding Corp. to receive an investment-grade rating from Moody’s. The agency began expanding its coverage of Freedom earlier this year, assigning a Ba3 rating to Freedom Bank Kazakhstan in March.

“Moody’s ratings for our insurance companies confirm that within the Freedom ecosystem we can support not only the rapid growth of the ecosystem as a whole, but also the development of each individual business. We see significant potential in combining traditional insurance products with modern technology. This allows us to offer the market more effective solutions, reduce our own costs and launch unique products,” said Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp.

Moody’s highlights Freedom Insurance’s market position, asset quality, conservative investment strategy and capital adequacy among its key strengths. The company ranked third in Kazakhstan’s non-life insurance market by gross written premiums in 2025, with a market share of around 10%. Approximately 90% of its invested assets were held in fixed-income instruments.

Freedom Life is among Kazakhstan’s three largest life insurers and held approximately 20% of the market by premiums in 2025. Moody’s points to the company’s asset quality, capitalization and profitability as key strengths.

Moody’s also points to the insurers’ integration into the wider Freedom Holding Corp. ecosystem as a factor supporting their market positions. The shared brand, cross-selling opportunities and Freedom SuperApp help both companies reach customers across the ecosystem. By March 2026, the SuperApp had surpassed 5 million registered users.

About Freedom Holding Corp.

Freedom Holding Corp. provides financial services in 24 countries, including Kazakhstan, the United States, multiple EU countries, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The Company’s principal executive office is located in New York City. In Kazakhstan, Freedom is actively developing its financial and digital ecosystem, which includes Freedom Bank, Freedom Broker, the insurance companies Freedom Life and Freedom insurance, as well as a lifestyle segment that features Arbuz.kz, Freedom Ticketon, and Aviata. Freedom Holding Corp. shares are traded on the U.S. technology exchange NASDAQ, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), and the Astana International Exchange (AIX) under the ticker symbol FRHC. Freedom Holding Corp. is regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the common stock is included in the Russell 3000 Index.

Contact

Head of Public Relations
Natalia Kharlashina
Freedom Holding Corp.
[email protected]
+77013641454

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a9699382-765c-4884-a2ac-96ecca37f246

Hyperscalers are signing multi-year leases at a pace that is rewriting the income playbook, and three REITs are quietly collecting the rent on every server warehouse in the deal. The question is which one fits a portfolio built for the…

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Data centers are the physical layer under the AI buildout: leased, powered warehouses that house the servers running training and inference. Landlords sign multi-year rent contracts, often with hyperscalers (the largest cloud and AI operators such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Oracle), which makes the cash flows look like industrial real estate with a technology tailwind. Iron Mountain management has cited an industry expectation that data center capacity grows at a 15% to 25% CAGR, and leasing activity across the three names below supports that framing. All three are US-listed equity REITs that own the properties and collect the rent, not mortgage REITs. (we profiled seven suppliers powering this same buildout, from power to cooling, in a free report you can grab here: 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom.)

Digital Realty Trust: Global Landlord to the Hyperscalers Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR | DLR Price Prediction) operates PlatformDIGITAL, Interxion, and ServiceFabric across 733 data centers in 39 metros, with major development markets in Northern Virginia, Charlotte, Atlanta, São Paulo, and Marseille. The customer base spans traditional hyperscalers, network carriers, and enterprise AI adopters.

Q1 2026 delivered $707 million in annualized GAAP base rent bookings at 100% share, anchored by a 200 megawatt AI inference lease, the largest hyperscale deal in company history. In Q2, backlog reached a record $1.9 billion at 100% share and $1.4 billion at Digital Realty share, which management called roughly 30% of in-place data center revenue. Cash releasing spreads on renewals exceeded 25% in the quarter.

The quarterly dividend of $1.22 per share, implies an annual $4.88, compared with a share price of $187.79. That payout has been held at $1.22 quarterly since the March 2022 ex-date, so this is a dividend that has been maintained rather than raised through the AI cycle. Coverage on Core FFO is comfortable: 2026 guidance was raised to $8.15 to $8.20 per share of Core FFO excluding net promote income, well ahead of the $4.88 annual dividend.

Bull case: a 1.4 gigawatt development pipeline that is 63% pre-leased pro forma for July signings, with an average expected stabilized yield of 11.5%, plus 600 megawatts of secured Kansas City utility power ramping in 2028, points to multi-year rent growth without heroic assumptions.

Bear case: development capital intensity. Digital Realty already sold 7.3 million shares under its ATM for about $1.3 billion of net proceeds and raised 2026 net capex guidance to $4.25 billion to $4.75 billion. A flat dividend during a heavy equity-issuance phase is the cost of growth, and an AI capex slowdown would leave that unfunded pipeline exposed.

Equinix: Interconnection Moat Meets AI Inference Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) runs a global colocation and interconnection platform, with 52 expansion projects underway across 33 markets. The differentiator is density of network connections. Interconnection is the paid cross-connect that lets a tenant plug directly into another tenant, a cloud, or a carrier inside the same building, which cuts latency and backhaul cost. Equinix says its ecosystem is approximately twice the size of the next largest provider, and that eight of the top 10 model providers and eight of the top 10 neoclouds are already running key networking workloads on Equinix.

Revenue reached $2.625 billion, up 16.4% year over year, with annualized gross bookings of $424 million, up 23%, and a record 9,700 net interconnections added. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 53%, up 300 basis points year over year. Management raised full-year AFFO per share growth expectations to 10% to 12% and called it “the largest single guidance raise in the history of our company”.

Currently the quarterly dividend pays out $5.16 per share, annualized for $20.64, against a share price of $1,040.83. The dividend has moved from $4.26 in 2024 to $4.69 in 2025 to $5.16 in 2026. AFFO coverage is conservative: full-year 2026 AFFO per share is guided to $42.69 to $43.29 against expected cash dividends of roughly $2.039 billion for the full year. Long term, management expects dividend per share growth to approximate AFFO per share growth, which is guided at 9% to 12% annually through 2029.

Bull case: CEO Adaire Fox-Martin said “the AI-driven infrastructure cycle continues to accelerate and it’s playing directly to our strengths”, and the stabilized portfolio is already generating a 27% cash-on-cash yield on gross property and equipment. That is the kind of unit economics that funds continued dividend growth.

Bear case: power, land, and cost of capital. Equinix is committing to $5 billion to $7 billion of annual capex through 2029, and management expects the blended cost of capital to rise by approximately 150 basis points and leverage to increase by about a turn across the plan.

Iron Mountain: Records Storage Cash Cow Bankrolling a Data Center Ramp Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM) is a hybrid equity REIT: a legacy physical records storage business with record storage volume of 735 million cubic feet and a 93.4% retention rate, layered with fast-growing data center, digital, and asset lifecycle management segments. Those three growth segments grew more than 50% year over year and now account for 35% of second-quarter revenue.

Revenue was $263 million in Q2, up 39% year over year, with renewal pricing spreads of 12% cash and 14% GAAP. Year-to-date leasing reached 110 megawatts through July, including 75 megawatts in July alone, capped by a 51 megawatt Mumbai lease with a major global hyperscaler on a 10-year contract and a 25 megawatt lease that fully leased London 3. Approximately 325 megawatts of leasable capacity is expected to energize over the next 24 months.

T quarterly dividend comes in at $0.864 per share, for an annualized $3.456, compared with a share price of $114.98. The dividend has stepped up in four consecutive years, from $0.65 through mid-2024, to $0.715, to $0.785, and now $0.864 quarterly. AFFO coverage: full-year AFFO per share guidance of $5.87 to $5.93 against the $3.456 annualized dividend, consistent with management’s stated low-60s% AFFO payout ratio target.

Bull case: the records business funds a data center build with signed, hyperscaler-anchored backlog that supports additional revenue growth of $370 million beyond 2026, and the ALM segment now runs at $288 million of quarterly revenue, up 88% year over year, giving Iron Mountain a second growth lever tied to the same hyperscaler refresh cycle.

Bear case: the balance sheet. Iron Mountain carries $17.3 billion of net debt, negative shareholders’ equity of $955 million, and net lease-adjusted leverage of 4.8 times. It recently issued a $1.5 billion bond with a 6.25% fixed coupon maturing in 2035. Higher rates and continued data center capex needs mean interest expense is a real headwind if hyperscale leasing lumpiness slows the AFFO ramp.

Bottom Line for Income Portfolios Current yields here are moderate by design: dividends are covered by AFFO or Core FFO, and the growth is coming from real, signed hyperscale leases against gigawatt-scale pipelines. Equinix is the compounder with the interconnection moat and a rising dividend. Iron Mountain is the highest-growth data center story on the roster, funded by a records business that keeps paying the bills. Digital Realty is the pure-play landlord with the largest hyperscale lease in its history in the bag, though income buyers should recognize the dividend has been flat while the company issues equity to fund the build. For a retirement income sleeve tied to the AI buildout, owning the physical rent stream beats owning the chip cycle.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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Software’s Second Act: AI Shifts From Threat to Catalyst In my opinion, software stocks are resurfacing after a difficult 2026 because investors may have become too pessimistic about AI’s disruptive impact. I have seen concerns that generative AI could undermine traditional SaaS models, reduce per-seat pricing, and make customized software dramatically cheaper to build. Those fears drove significant multiple compression, particularly among small-cap software stocks.

More recently, I have seen encouraging evidence that AI may be an accelerant rather than an existential threat. I was very impressed with the earnings results from Snowflake (SNOW) and the possibility that the positive trend will impact other software stocks. Snowflake reported product revenue growth of 37% YoY, while remaining performance obligations increased 30%. Management also raised its full-year outlook and indicated that AI products contributed meaningfully to its recent growth acceleration. ServiceNow (NOW) has similarly reported strong adoption of AI-enabled products.

In my view, this creates an attractive setup for smaller software companies. If earnings continue to validate AI monetization, the AI trade could broaden from companies building the infrastructure to software companies monetizing it.

Small-Cap Tech Stocks Quietly Outperform Big Tech Despite AI concentration concerns and shifting interest rate expectations, the stock market has remained resilient as investor confidence improves. In the latest AAII Sentiment Survey, bulls retook the lead, with expectations stock prices will rise in the next six months up 6.8 percentage points. According to its August Asset Allocation Survey, equities reached 71.1% of investor portfolios, the highest level since late last year.

Bullish Investor Sentiment Regains The Upper Hand (Week Ending 9/2/2026)

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Tech stocks in particular have been able to endure volatility in the past month to post positive returns, lifted by blowout earnings from software giants like Salesforce (CRM) and Palantir (PLTR) and rising sector earnings expectations.

However, investors suffering from AI mega-cap exhaustion could consider select small-cap tech stocks whose earnings are not directly dependent on the hyperscaler capex cycle. In addition, these same stocks offer growth potential and stand to benefit from AI and tech-driven secular demand trends.

Although momentum has recently slowed, small-cap tech stocks have outperformed larger peers in the past year, and are trading at more attractive valuations. After gaining more than 60% in the past twelve months, Invesco’s small-cap technology ETF (PSCT) is trading at 18.3x forward earnings, a 29% discount to the S&P 500 Technology Sector (XLK), which has a forward P/E of 25.9x.

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Although small caps can offer significant upside potential, investors should assess their risk tolerance. Due to high volatility and risk, small caps are not for everyone. When any investment research firm issues a small-cap recommendation, for example, the stock can surge quickly due to low liquidity. This makes it even more crucial to ensure small-cap tech stocks have strong fundamentals, and Seeking Alpha’s quantitative tools can help investors achieve this objective.

How I Chose Top Small-Cap Tech Stocks Using Seeking Alpha’s Stock Screener, I filtered for small-cap tech stocks with Strong Buy Quant Ratings and solid Growth and Revision Factor Grades. I then narrowed the list by filtering for stocks with forward EPS growth rates above 30%. My small-cap tech basket includes two AI software names and a cloud communications company, showcasing accelerating momentum and bullish revisions, while trading at attractive earnings multiples. Moreover, their underlying businesses have little direct dependence on the hyperscaler capex cycle that has fueled the AI infrastructure boom.

1. Sprout Social, Inc. (SPT) Market Capitalization: $688.93M

Quant Rating: Strong Buy

Sector: Information Technology

Industry: Application Software

Quant Sector Ranking (as of 9/4/2026): 31 out of 530

Quant Industry Ranking (as of 9/4/2026): 5 out of 166

A provider of social media management software, Sprout Social’s revenue has continued to climb as the company expands the capabilities of its agentic AI offerings and business intelligence solutions. Sprout’s revenue grew by a CAGR of 25% over the past five years, and is projected to reach $494.61M in FY 2026. Exceptional price performance and earnings revisions helped drive the stock’s quant rating into Strong Buy territory in August.

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Broadening adoption among higher-value customers and increased renewal rates helped lift Sprout’s Q2 2026 revenue by 11% YoY. The number of customers generating at least $50K in ARR grew 16% YoY to 2,127, while customers with ARR above $30K now account for 60.1% of total subscription revenue. Total remaining performance obligations (RPO) surged 16% YoY, and multi-year deals now represent about half of Sprout’s contract mix.

Sprout Social Investor Presentation

Sprout raised its Q4 exit operating margin from 15% to 17%, citing a headcount reduction that is expected to yield $50M in annualized cost savings. The results contributed to an improving outlook, backed by 9 upward earnings revisions to no downward revisions in the last 90 days. Forward EPS growth of 45.49% underpins a solid factor grade, alongside surging operating cash flow.

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Trading at only 10x earnings vs. the sector’s 22x, Sprout continues to look attractively priced, in my opinion, even with the recent momentum, supporting an A+ Valuation Grade. Meanwhile, forward PEG - a crucial valuation metric that combines P/E and growth - sits at a whopping 71% discount to the sector. Long-term earnings visibility and an attractive valuation make Sprout a strong AI-fueled small cap to consider.

2. Pagaya Technologies Ltd. (PGY) Market Capitalization: $1.91B

Quant Rating: Strong Buy

Sector: Information Technology

Industry: Application Software

Quant Sector Ranking (as of 9/4/2026): 16 out of 530

Quant Industry Ranking (as of 9/4/2026): 1 out of 166

The top quant-rated Application Software stock, Pagaya offers AI-powered products to help lenders and institutional partners make better loan decisions. PGY soared after a huge Q2 earnings beat, and is now up more than 40% in the past three months for an outstanding Momentum Grade.

As the chart below illustrates, the stock’s accelerating price performance and bullish EPS revisions led to a dramatic turnaround in its Quant Rating over the past six months.

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The company achieved record network volume of $3.5B in Q2 2026, up 33% YoY. The network expansion helped drive revenue up by 19% to $387M, while adjusted EBITDA jumped 43%, demonstrating strong operating leverage as the business scales.

Pagaya Investor Presentation

Based on record EPS and strong visibility on the remainder of 2026, PGY raised full-year net income guidance by 25%. Anchored in a forward EPS growth rate of 70.94%, PGY showcases an A+ Growth Grade. PGY’s long-term EPS growth rate (3-5Y CAGR) of 139% is especially impressive when compared to the sector median of 19%.

The long-term EPS growth rate is a key element in the stock’s attractive valuation framework, with forward PEG at a 96% discount to the sector. PGY is also trading at a significant sector discount based on a forward P/E ratio of 6x, in addition to attractive EV/EBITDA, price/sales, and price/cash flow multiples.

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While I strongly believe PGY offers solid potential upside, investors should also weigh its elevated risk profile. PGY’s 24M beta of 2.52 indicates the stock has been substantially more volatile than the broader market. PGY also carries a short interest of 15.87%. However, when you consider the AI fintech’s strong fundamentals, exceptional growth, and attractive valuation, the reward could outweigh the risk.

3. Ooma, Inc. (OOMA) Market Capitalization: $642.36M

Quant Rating: Strong Buy

Sector: Information Technology

Industry: Application Software

Quant Sector Ranking (as of 9/4/2026): 21 out of 530

Quant Industry Ranking (as of 9/4/2026): 3 out of 166

A provider of cloud-based communication technologies, including telephony, messaging, and video solutions, OOMA has crushed the Russell 2000 in the past year, driving an A+ Momentum Grade. The company is targeting a fast-growing Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and equipment market, which OOMA projects could reach $34.4B by 2029.

OOMA vs. Russell 2000 (IWM): 1Y Price Return

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Rapid growth in core business subscription and services drove Q2 FY27 revenue up by 25% YoY to $83.2 million, while EBITDA jumped by 74%. OOMA management said it expects profitable growth to continue as it expands AirDial, its analog phone line replacement solution, and integrates the FluentStream and Phone.com acquisitions. The Q2 surge in EBITDA has contributed to a solid Growth Grade, underpinned by a forward EPS growth rate of 32.02%.

Ooma Investor Presentation

Showcasing strong earnings visibility over the next three years, OOMA’s EPS and revenue outlook have increasingly improved. OOMA has seen a string of bullish EPS revisions from sell-side analysts in the past three months for a top-notch factor grade.

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Despite incredible price performance, the stock’s forward PEG represents a 41% discount to the sector, although elevated GAAP P/E metrics have weighed on the valuation grade. OOMA wraps up my small-cap tech picks, a basket of stocks showcasing strong forward earnings growth, solid EPS revisions, and accelerating momentum.

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Beyond Mega Tech: Top Small Caps With Big Earnings Growth Despite volatility fueled by concerns over an AI bubble, and shifting interest rate expectations, the market has proven resilient amid improving investor sentiment. Tech stocks have remained steady, driven by huge earnings beats by leading software companies and growing EPS targets. However, high concentration around large AI stocks has remained a top risk among fund managers, and investors may be seeking growth outside mega caps. Select small-cap tech stocks can offer similar earnings growth upside through businesses not directly tied to the hyperscaler capex cycle. In this article, I recommended three Strong Buy small-cap tech stocks offering exposure to AI and communications technology tailwinds. The three stocks showcase robust forward earnings growth, solid momentum, and bullish earnings revisions.

We have many stocks with strong buy recommendations, and you can filter them using Stock Screens to suit your specific investment objectives. Alpha Picks might be ideal if you're interested in two monthly stock picks of the top "strong buy" Quant stocks. Check out our new Alpha Picks app in the Apple App Store!

If you're looking for more frequent investment ideas, consider the PRO Quant Portfolio. It's a weekly rebalanced selection of our Top 30 Quant Strong Buy stocks, spanning multiple regions and market caps.

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

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given that any particular security, portfolio, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. The author is not advising you personally concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security or other matter. You alone are solely responsible for determining whether any investment, security or strategy, or any product or service, is appropriate or suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal and financial situation. Steven Cress is the Head of Quantitative Strategy at Seeking Alpha. Any views or opinions expressed herein 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.

Key Takeaways CRCL's growth case is supported by USDC expansion, Arc and CPN, but valuation remains demanding.Circle lifted RLDC margin guidance as better platform economics offset pressure from lower reserve yields.CRCL still faces heavy reserve-income reliance, rising spending and limited room for execution setbacks. Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL - Free Report) offers exposure to stablecoin adoption, payments and blockchain infrastructure, but the growth case carries a demanding valuation. The question is whether expanding utility and improving economics can justify that premium.

New products and better margins support the bull case. Rate sensitivity, reserve-income reliance and rising investment spending keep the risk-reward balance from becoming one-sided.

Circle’s Growth Case Extends Beyond Reserve IncomeManagement continues to target roughly 40% compound annual growth in USDC circulation over several years through the cycle. Circle is also building revenue sources around Arc and Circle Payments Network (CPN), broadening the business beyond reserve income.

CPN had 175 enrolled financial institutions across 58 countries, while annualized total payment volume reached about $23 billion as of July 31. Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN - Free Report) reported record average USDC holdings of $20 billion in its products in the second quarter. Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) said its stablecoin settlement pilot reached a $7 billion annualized run rate and supported nine blockchains as of April, showing that a large payments company is expanding stablecoin settlement capabilities.

CRCL’s Margin Trends Strengthen the Bull CaseRevenue less distribution costs (RLDC) margin improved to 41.2% in the second quarter from 38.2% a year earlier. Net reserve margin also rose to 38.5% from 35.9%, even as short-term rates moved lower.

Circle raised its full-year RLDC margin outlook to 41.7-43.7% from 38-40%. USDC held on Circle’s platform more than doubled year over year to $12.4 billion, supporting better economics under its distribution arrangements.

CRCL’s Valuation Leaves Less Room for ErrorCRCL trades at 7.41 times forward 12-month sales compared with 2.58 times for its Zacks sub-industry and 4.8 times for the S&P 500. The premium leaves less room for slower growth or execution setbacks.

Continued USDC circulation growth, Arc adoption and CPN monetization need to translate into durable revenues and margins. A slower ramp in those areas could make the valuation harder to defend.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Circle’s Rate Exposure Keeps Earnings FragileReserve income represented 95.2% of second-quarter revenues. The reserve return rate fell to 3.48% from 4.14% a year earlier, showing how lower short-term rates can pressure a business still dominated by income earned on reserve assets.

Average USDC circulation increased 25.2% year over year and helped offset the lower yield. Further rate declines would increase the burden on circulation growth and non-reserve products to sustain earnings expansion.

CRCL’s Spending Could Delay Operating LeverageAdjusted operating expenses increased 23% year over year to $146 million in the second quarter. Spending reflected product development, go-to-market infrastructure, Arc marketing, general and administrative needs, infrastructure and artificial intelligence capabilities.

Full-year adjusted operating expense guidance remains $570-$585 million, with management expecting results near the high end. If Arc activity and CPN monetization build gradually, the investment pace could limit near-term operating leverage.

CRCL’s Growth Scores Beat Its Value ProfileCRCL presents a credible growth case, but its premium valuation, rate exposure and spending needs argue against treating growth alone as a buy signal. The setup remains balanced because platform expansion must translate into enough earnings power to support the multiple.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Its Growth Score of B and Momentum Score of A indicate favorable growth and momentum characteristics, while the Value Score of F and VGM Score of C show a weaker valuation profile and a mixed combined style picture. The Rank supports a measured stance rather than a clear short-term buy call. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Seven disputed patents touch products responsible for almost 60% of Apple's fiscal-year-to-date revenue. Summary

Unspecified damages look manageable; a broad product remedy would create the harder problem.

Apple AAPL fell approximately 1.1% to $324.66 Friday as a new patent battle dragged Face ID into the courtroom. Reuters reported that BASF subsidiary trinamiX claims Apple violated seven patents tied to technology that distinguishes real skin from spoofing materials.

The Texas lawsuit reaches across multiple generations of iPhones, iPad Pro models and other Apple devices. TrinamiX is pursuing unspecified damages and an injunction against further infringement. The case remains an allegation, not a judgment, and Apple had not issued a public response when Reuters published its report.

The financial exposure runs straight through Apple's biggest profit engine. Its financial statements show that iPhones and iPads generated a combined $218.22 billion during the nine months ended June 27—59.9% of total revenue. Meanwhile, the stock sits 14.1% above its $284.55 GF Value™, signaling that investors are still paying a premium despite the legal cloud. A licensing payment could be absorbed. A forced redesign would carry a much sharper bite.

Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Uber Technologies (UBER - Free Report) . Shares have added about 7.8% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Uber due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

UBER Q2 Earnings Beat EstimatesUber Technologies reported mixed second-quarter 2026 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the mark.

Quarterly earnings of $1.17 per share, beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 83 cents by 41%. The figure surged 85.7% from 63 cents in the year-ago quarter. Revenues increased 12.2% year over year on a reported basis and 11% on a constant currency basis to $14.19 billion but missed the consensus estimate of $14.21 billion by 0.1%.

Adjusted EBITDA advanced 33% to $2.81 billion. Adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of gross bookings improved to 4.9% from 4.5%, highlighting faster earnings growth relative to platform transaction growth.

UBER's Bookings and Engagement Accelerate

Gross bookings grew 24% year over year on a reported basis and 22% year over year on a constant-currency basis to $58.02 billion, while trips increased 18% to 3.87 billion, reflecting expanding platform usage.

Mobility bookings rose 22% year over year on a reported basis and 20% on a constant currency basis to $28.98 billion, supported by continued demand for rides across Uber’s global platform.

Delivery gross bookings advanced 26% year over year on a reported basis and 25% on a constant currency basis to $27.46 billion, while Freight bookings increased 25% year over year on a reported basis as well as on a constant currency basis to $1.57 billion. Growth across all three offerings demonstrated the breadth of the company’s platform during the quarter.

Monthly active platform consumers, or users completing at least one Mobility ride or Delivery order in a month, increased 16% year over year to 208 million. Trips per monthly active consumer rose 2%, signaling higher engagement alongside user growth.

Uber's Mobility Growth Supports Profits

Mobility revenues increased 1% year over year to $7.36 billion and remained flat on a constant-currency basis. Business model changes limited reported revenue growth even as the underlying value of transactions completed through the platform expanded.

Mobility segment operating income climbed 28% year over year to $2.21 billion. The improvement showed that the company converted higher bookings and platform activity into stronger segment profitability.

The Mobility business remained Uber’s largest revenue contributor. Its profit growth also provided an important counterbalance to rising corporate general and administrative expenses and platform research and development spending.

UBER's Delivery and Freight Revenues Surge

Delivery revenues jumped 28% year over year on a reported basis and 26% on a constant-currency basis to $5.24 billion. The segment continued to benefit from higher order activity and growing consumer participation across the platform.

Delivery operating income surged 38% year over year to $1.05 billion. The growth rate exceeded the segment’s revenue increase, reflecting improved operating leverage as the business scaled.

Freight revenues rose 26% year over year on a reported basis and 25% on a constant-currency basis to $1.58 billion. The segment’s operating loss narrowed to $24 million from $26 million a year ago, indicating modest progress toward improved profitability despite continued losses.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

Uber exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $4.87 billion compared with $5.55 billion at the end of the prior quarter. Long-term debt, net of the current portion, was $10.7 billion, compared with $10.5 billion at the end of prior quarter.

Operating cash flow was $2.86 billion in the reported quarter. The free cash flow was $2.79 billion.

The company repurchased $518 million of common stock during the reported quarter.

Uber Issues Q3 Growth Outlook

For the third quarter of 2026, Uber expects gross bookings between $58.25 billion and $60.25 billion. The range implies constant-currency growth of 18-22%, with an anticipated currency headwind of roughly 1 percentage point to reported growth.

Non-GAAP earnings are projected between 84 cents and 88 cents per share, representing year-over-year growth of 28-35%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected in the range of $2.86 billion to $2.96 billion.Top of FormBottom of Form

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates review.

The consensus estimate has shifted 18.48% due to these changes.

VGM ScoresCurrently, Uber has a nice Growth Score of B, a score with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock has a score of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for value investors.

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

OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Uber has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Nvidia NVDA , the artificial-intelligence chip king, climbed roughly 2% to $230.69 in Friday premarket trading after locking in an October debut for the first RTX Spark Windows computers. Lenovo and Acer will lead the charge. The message is clear: Nvidia wants serious AI processing on the user's desk, not just inside a distant data center.

RTX Spark packs a Blackwell graphics processor alongside a Grace central processor developed through Nvidia's MediaTek partnership. Nvidia's product update promises one petaflop of AI performance, up to 128 gigabytes of unified memory and the firepower to run demanding AI agents locally. Investors still need two crucial numbers—price and expected shipments. Those figures will decide whether RTX Spark becomes a major PC catalyst or an expensive specialist machine.

The bigger prize remains the data center, which produced $89 billion—or roughly 92.5%—of Nvidia's latest quarterly revenue. But RTX Spark opens another front without weakening that core money machine. The GuruFocus chart captures the setup: Nvidia carries an elite 95 out of 100 GF Score, with profitability and growth near the top of the scale, while GF Value is the obvious weak spot. Translation: the business is firing on nearly every cylinder, but the stock's valuation leaves little room for a stumble.

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Shopify (SHOP - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 1.1% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

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

Shopify Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise on Strong GMV GrowthShopify reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 42 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.69%. The figure increased 20% year over year.

Revenues jumped 33.7% year over year to $3.58 billion and surpassed the consensus mark by 4.36%.

The upside reflected broad-based Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) growth and higher payments penetration. GMV increased 31.6% to $115.57 billion, while Shopify Payments penetration expanded three percentage points to 68% of global GMV.

SHOP’s Merchant Solutions Revenue JumpsMerchant Solutions revenues increased 37.4% year over year to $2.78 billion. Growth was primarily driven by higher GMV, increased payments penetration and strength in partner revenue shares and financial services.

Shopify Payments expanded into the United Arab Emirates, bringing availability to 40 countries. Payments penetration in Europe rose more than 350 basis points (bps), supported by newer market launches and additional local payment methods.

Shop Pay GMV advanced 53% year over year. Shopify added more local payment options to Shop Pay and continued expanding installment adoption, giving buyers additional ways to complete purchases.

Shopify’s Subscription Business Maintains MomentumSubscription Solutions revenues rose 22% year over year to $802 million. Standard-plan monthly subscriptions were the largest growth contributor, supported by strong merchant net additions.

Monthly recurring revenue increased 19% year over year to $221 million. Plus represented 34% of MRR and also grew 19%, reflecting continued demand from larger and more complex merchants.

SHOP’s Commerce Channels Deliver Broad GrowthInternational GMV advanced 37%, while North America GMV grew 28%. Europe posted 34% constant-currency GMV growth, highlighting continued geographic breadth.

Offline GMV climbed 32% and B2B GMV surged 76%. Shopify expanded native B2B capabilities beyond Plus, allowing more merchants to manage wholesale and direct-to-consumer operations from the same administration platform.

The company also added or expanded relationships with brands including Holt Renfrew, Guess, Avon, Arhaus and Canada Goose. These wins support Shopify’s unified-commerce push across online, physical retail and wholesale channels.

Shopify’s AI Tools Gain Merchant AdoptionAI-driven traffic and orders to Shopify stores tripled year over year. New-buyer orders from AI channels came in at nearly twice the rate of other channels, while 75% of AI-attributed orders originated outside the top 100 product categories.

Sidekick handled nearly 34 million conversations during the quarter. Daily active merchants using the tool increased 3.6-fold, daily sessions rose 4.8-fold, and merchants created more than 36,000 custom apps, up from 12,000 in the prior quarter.

Shopify’s Catalog contains more than 1 billion products. AI searches powered by Catalog converted at twice the rate of searches relying on scraped data, demonstrating the value of accurate and structured product information.

SHOP’s Profitability Benefits From Operating LeverageGross profit increased 31.2% year over year to $1.71 billion.

Merchant Solutions gross profit rose 39%, with margin improving slightly as growth in higher-margin revenue streams offset pressure from increased payments volume. Subscription Solutions gross margin remained just below 80%, in line with the first quarter. Shopify maintained that level despite increased Sidekick usage, reflecting cost efficiencies as adoption of the AI assistant scaled.

Operating expenses were $1.22 billion, or 34% of revenues, compared with 37.7% a year earlier. Sales and marketing represented less than 14% of revenues, improving about 160 bps.

Operating income increased 47% to $623 million as gross profit dollars grew faster than expenses. Transaction and loan losses were 3.9% of revenues, with Shopify Capital serving as the largest driver during the quarter.

Shopify’s Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Stay StrongShopify ended the quarter with $1.66 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $3.29 billion in marketable securities. Loans and merchant cash advances totaled $2.18 billion, while the company repurchased $1.42 billion of common stock.

Net cash provided by operating activities increased to $658 million from $428 million. Free cash flow rose to $654 million from $422 million, while the free cash flow margin expanded to 18% from 16%.

SHOP’s Q3 Outlook Signals Continued ExpansionFor the third quarter of 2026, Shopify expects revenue growth in the low-30% range. Gross profit dollars are projected to increase in the mid-to-high-20% range.

Operating expenses are expected to equal 33% to 34% of revenues. Free cash flow margin is projected in the high-teens to low-20% range, including less than one percentage point of benefit from the merchant cash advance accounting change.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates revision.

VGM ScoresAt this time, Shopify has a great Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a B. However, the stock has a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the bottom 20% quintile for this investment strategy.

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

OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Shopify has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Phillips 66 (PSX - Free Report) . Shares have added about 23.9% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Phillips 66 due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for Phillips 66 before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

Phillips 66 Q2 Earnings Top Estimates on Higher Realized Refining MarginsPhillips 66 reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $9.41 per share, up 295.4% from $2.38 per share a year ago. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.68 by 22.5%.

Total revenues and other income increased 56.2% to $52.04 billion from $33.52 billion a year earlier. The top line surpassed the consensus estimate of $36.17 billion by 43.9%.

The strong quarterly results were driven by higher refining margins. The refining system achieved 96% crude capacity utilization and a clean product yield of 86%.

Refining Profit Surges on Wider MarginsRefining adjusted pre-tax income jumped to $3.09 billion from $392 million in the year-ago quarter. The segment benefited from stronger market crack spreads, favorable mark-to-market impacts and solid operating performance across the refining system.

Worldwide realized refining margins increased to $24.08 per barrel from $11.25 per barrel a year earlier. Total processed inputs averaged 2.05 million barrels per day (MMBbl/d), while turnaround expenses increased to $123 million from $53 million in the prior-year quarter. Refining adjusted EBITDA totaled $3.31 billion.

Phillips 66 Midstream Sets Volume RecordsMidstream adjusted pre-tax income increased 7.4% to $785 million. The segment’s adjusted EBITDA reached $1.05 billion, driven by higher margins and volumes following the absence of disruptions caused by Winter Storm Fern in the prior quarter.

Natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline throughput to market averaged 943,000 barrels per day (Bbl/d), while fractionation volumes reached a record 1.02 MMBbl/d. Phillips 66 achieved record liquefied petroleum gas export volumes and brought the 220-million-cubic-feet-per-day (MMcf/d) Dos Picos II gas plant to full production.

Chemicals Results Improve on PricingChemicals adjusted pre-tax income rose sharply to $404 million from $20 million in the prior-year quarter. The improvement primarily reflected stronger margins across Chevron Phillips Chemical Company’s olefins and polyolefins operations.

Global olefins and polyolefins capacity utilization was 91% compared with 92% a year ago. The ethylene-to-high-density-polyethylene chain cash margin increased to 43.6 cents per pound from 7.4 cents per pound, providing a significant earnings tailwind despite slightly lower utilization. Chemicals adjusted EBITDA was $528 million.

Marketing and Renewables ReboundMarketing and Specialties generated adjusted pre-tax income of $514 million compared with $660 million a year earlier.

Renewable Fuels posted pre-tax income of $544 million, reversing a loss of $133 million in the year-ago period. Higher regulatory-credit pricing, increased production and favorable mark-to-market impacts supported the turnaround. Renewable fuel production increased to 53,000 Bbl/d from 40,000 Bbl/d a year ago.

Balance Sheet and Cash FlowsPhillips 66 generated $7.26 billion of operating cash flow. Excluding working-capital movements, operating cash flow totaled $4.32 billion. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $5.89 billion from $2.50 billion a year earlier.

As of June 30, 2026, Phillips 66 had total debt of $20.6 billion and net debt of $16.47 billion. Quarter-end liquidity included $4.10 billion of cash and $6.40 billion of committed credit capacity.

Phillips 66 Advances Growth & Shareholder ReturnsPSX returned $887 million to shareholders during the quarter. This included $508 million in dividends and $379 million in share repurchases. Capital expenditures and investments totaled $726 million, comprising $469 million of growth spending and $257 million of sustaining capital.

The company announced plans to construct the 300 MMcf/d Zeus Gas Plant in the Permian Basin and a 100,000 Bbl/d Coastal Bend NGL fractionator in Corpus Christi. CPChem also continued advancing the Golden Triangle Polymers and Ras Laffan Polymers projects, with full operations expected in 2027.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?It turns out, estimates review have trended upward during the past month.

The consensus estimate has shifted 8.99% due to these changes.

VGM ScoresAt this time, Phillips 66 has a great Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a B. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for this investment strategy.

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

OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Interestingly, Phillips 66 has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry PlayerPhillips 66 is part of the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry. Over the past month, Par Petroleum (PARR - Free Report) , a stock from the same industry, has gained 18.9%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended June 2026 more than a month ago.

Par Petroleum reported revenues of $2.97 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +56.8%. EPS of $10.10 for the same period compares with $1.54 a year ago.

For the current quarter, Par Petroleum is expected to post earnings of $4.84 per share, indicating a change of -18.7% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -9.5% over the last 30 days.

Par Petroleum has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of A.

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Fastly (FSLY - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 6.9% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

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

Fastly Q2 Earnings Beat as Security Growth Spurs 2026 Outlook HikeFastly reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 15 cents per share versus a loss of 3 cents a year ago. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 114.29%.

Revenues rose 23.3% year over year to $183.32 million and surpassed the consensus mark by 5.34%. Strength across Network Services, Security and Compute supported the upside, while the last-12-month net retention rate climbed to 117%.

FSLY's Platform Strategy Drives Broad GrowthNetwork Services revenues increased 17% year over year to $133.9 million, accounting for 73% of total revenues. Management attributed the performance to higher traffic among its largest customers, along with a smaller contribution from live sporting events.

Fastly also said it is gaining share where performance is critical. The company highlighted major global sporting events that generated record traffic and cited customer wins tied to resilience, flexibility and consolidated edge services.

Fastly's Security Momentum Lifts Revenue MixSecurity revenues advanced 43% year over year to $41.7 million and represented 23% of revenues, up from 20% a year earlier. Management said DDoS protection and bot management grew at triple-digit rates, while its next-generation web application firewall continued to gain traction.

Other revenues, which include Compute and Observability, climbed 69% to $7.7 million. Compute demand benefited from customers building low-latency applications and managing artificial intelligence (AI)-related traffic, supporting a combined Security and Other annual revenue run rate of nearly $200 million.

Fastly's Platform Strategy Gains TractionManagement said customers are adopting more products on Fastly’s unified platform, strengthening cross-sell and upsell activity. The company highlighted triple-digit growth in DDoS protection and bot management, while its web application firewall continued to gain traction.

AI-generated and agentic traffic also remained a demand catalyst. Fastly noted that machine traffic requires real-time decisions around authorization, caching, throttling and blocking, supporting adoption across Security, Compute and Network Services.

The company expanded its product reach through a partnership with Skyfire, designed to verify AI-agent identities and enable transactions at the edge. It also released a C++ software development kit for Fastly Compute to support low-latency AI, gaming and other workloads.

Fastly also highlighted its collaboration with LALIGA on an AI-driven system that detects and stops pirated streams in real time. The project illustrates how the company is pairing content delivery with security and edge-compute capabilities.

FSLY's Customer Metrics Show Deeper AdoptionThe last-12-month net retention rate improved from 113% in the first quarter and 104% in the year-ago quarter. The increase reflected broader product adoption and higher usage across a range of customers as Fastly expanded cross-selling and upselling efforts.

Large customer count was 624 at the end of the quarter. Average annualized spend per large customer was $1.11 million, reflecting broader use of the platform across delivery, security and emerging edge-compute workloads.

The top 10 customers represented 37% of revenues. Revenues from this group grew 48% year over year, while revenues from customers outside the top 10 increased 12%. Remaining performance obligations climbed 38% to $341 million, with the current portion rising 44%.

Fastly Expands Margins & Operating LeverageNon-GAAP gross margin expanded 680 basis points year over year to a record 65.8%. Management attributed the improvement to higher revenues relative to infrastructure costs and continued cost discipline.

Non-GAAP operating expenses were $93.7 million. Non-GAAP operating income totaled $27 million compared with an operating loss of $4.6 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $38.1 million from $8.9 million, while adjusted EBITDA margin reached 21%.

FSLY’s Balance Sheet DetailsAs of June 30, 2026, cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and investments totaled approximately $337 million, up $7 million from March 31, 2026. Fastly ended the quarter with a positive net cash balance of $14 million.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $39.3 million, compared with $25.8 million a year earlier. Free cash flow totaled $3.6 million versus $10.9 million in the prior-year quarter, as infrastructure capital expenditures represented approximately 17% of revenues.

FSLY Raises 2026 Outlook, Sees AI as TailwindFor the third quarter of fiscal 2026, FSLY expects revenues to be in the range of $184-$190 million and non-GAAP earnings of 11-13 cents per share. The company projects non-GAAP operating income of $20-$24 million.

Fastly raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $732-$746 million and non-GAAP earnings outlook to 50-54 cents per share. Non-GAAP operating income is expected between $88 million and $96 million, reflecting an operating margin of approximately 12% at the midpoint.

Management views AI-driven demand as a tailwind across the business. AI tool usage is contributing to traffic growth among some of Fastly’s fastest-growing customers, with the impact most pronounced in Security and Compute and also evident in Network Services.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?It turns out, fresh estimates have trended upward during the past month.

The consensus estimate has shifted 45.33% due to these changes.

VGM ScoresAt this time, Fastly has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a B. However, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the lowest quintile for value investors.

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

OutlookEstimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. It comes with little surprise Fastly has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry PlayerFastly belongs to the Zacks Internet - Software industry. Another stock from the same industry, CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc. (CCC - Free Report) , has gained 11.1% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended June 2026.

CCC Intelligent Solutions reported revenues of $285.93 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +9.8%. EPS of $0.10 for the same period compares with $0.09 a year ago.

CCC Intelligent Solutions is expected to post earnings of $0.11 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +22.2%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged.

CCC Intelligent Solutions has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of B.

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Goodyear (GT - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 9.6% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Goodyear due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

Goodyear Q2 Loss Wider Than ExpectedGoodyear incurred an adjusted loss of 61 cents per share in the second quarter of 2026, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 59 cents. The adjusted loss widened 258.8% year over year, translating into a 3.4% earnings miss.

Net sales fell 4.8% year over year to $4.25 billion but topped the consensus estimate of $4.23 billion by 0.6%. Tire unit volume declined 4% to 36.5 million units as lower consumer replacement demand weighed on results, particularly in the Americas.

Total segment operating income declined to $36 million from $159 million a year ago, while segment operating margin contracted to 0.8% from 3.6%. Excluding the impact of the Chemical business and Dunlop brand sales, segment operating income decreased $79 million.

Lower volume reduced segment operating income by $132 million, while tariffs and other costs were a $100 million headwind and inflation reduced results by $53 million. These pressures were partly offset by $123 million of favorable price and mix versus raw materials and $95 million of Goodyear Forward benefits.

Goodyear Americas Faces Replacement PressureAmericas net sales declined 10.5% year over year to $2.38 billion, while tire unit volume fell 8.7% to 17.4 million. Replacement volume decreased 13% due to lower-tier product rationalization, lower industry sell-in volume in North America and increased competition. OE volume rose 8.7% on market share gains.

The segment posted an operating loss of $10 million against an income of $141 million a year ago, with margin falling to negative 0.4% from 5.3%. Goodyear expects the planned Fayetteville facility closure to improve Americas segment operating income by about $90 million in 2027 and around $270 million annually beginning in 2028.

GT EMEA Improves Despite Soft Replacement DemandEMEA sales increased 2.1% year over year to $1.37 billion, supported by price and mix and favorable currency effects. Tire unit volume slipped to 11.2 million from 11.3 million, as replacement volume fell 7.1% amid consumer market softness, competition and continued rationalization of lower-tier offerings.

The segment operating loss narrowed to $17 million from $25 million, and margin improved to negative 1.2% from negative 1.9%. OE tire unit volume rose 8.3%, marking the 10th consecutive quarter of consumer market share gains.

Goodyear Asia Pacific Extends Margin GainsAsia Pacific net sales rose 8.1% year over year to $496 million, aided by higher volume and price and mix benefits. Tire unit volume increased 5.3% to 7.9 million, with replacement volume up 6.4% on stronger consumer demand and OE volume rising 4.2%, mainly on growth in China and Japan.

Segment operating income increased to $63 million from $43 million, while margin expanded to 12.7% from 9.4%. The improvement reflected favorable price and mix versus raw materials, Goodyear Forward savings and higher volume.

Cash Flow Improves as Net Debt DeclinesCash flow from operating activities was $98 million in the second quarter, improving from an outflow of $180 million a year ago. Free cash flow was negative $69 million compared with negative $387 million in the prior-year quarter.

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $861 million as of June 30, 2026, up from $801 million as of Dec. 31, 2025. Net debt stood at $6.33 billion, down from $722 million year over year. During the quarter, Goodyear issued about $1 billion of senior notes and plans to use the proceeds to repay its 2027 senior notes.

Outlook Calls for Higher Price and Mix BenefitsFor the third quarter of 2026, Goodyear expects global unit volumes to be roughly flat year over year. Price and mix are projected to provide about $110 million of benefit and Goodyear Forward about $70 million, while raw materials are expected to be a roughly $20 million headwind.

The company also expects about $70 million of unabsorbed overhead pressure, roughly $10 million of tariff headwinds and around $95 million of inflation and other cost increases in the third quarter. For full-year 2026, Goodyear expects about $325 million of Goodyear Forward benefits, capital expenditures of roughly $725 million and interest expense of approximately $425 million.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a flat trend in estimates revision.

The consensus estimate has shifted -69.45% due to these changes.

VGM ScoresAt this time, Goodyear has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock has a score of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for this investment strategy.

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

Outlook Goodyear has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.