Market Signal Briefing

This ETF is getting an oil-fueled boost.

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD +0.13%) is one of the largest and most popular ETFs focused on dividend stocks. The fund offers a high current income yield (3.5% over the last 12 months). It has also delivered robust returns over the years.

While the fund delivered an underwhelming performance last year -- it only generated a 0.4% return -- it has gone hyperbolic in early 2026, surging nearly 15%. That has vastly outperformed the S&P 500's less than 1% rise this year. Here's the secret fuel source driving its outperformance.

Image source: Getty Images.

A hidden fuel source The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF tracks an index (Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index) designed to measure the performance of 100 top dividend stocks. It screens companies based on several factors, including dividend yield and five-year dividend growth rate.

The fund's 100 holdings provide fairly broad exposure to the stock market. However, it has a high sector weighting to energy stocks (19.9% at the end of last year, its largest sector allocation). The fund's high exposure to energy stocks weighed on its returns last year, as falling oil prices hurt its performance.

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However, this year has been a different story. Crude prices have rallied sharply in 2026. Brent oil, the global benchmark price, has surged 15% to more than $70 a barrel. Oil has risen due to the potential for supply disruptions in Venezuela and Iran. The U.S. military captured Venezuela's former president and charged him with narcoterrorism. Meanwhile, there's growing concern about an escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

Loaded with top oil dividend stocks The rise in crude prices has been a boon for this ETF as two of its top holdings are oil companies. Chevron (CVX 0.57%) is its fourth-largest holding, accounting for 4.21% of its assets, while ConocoPhillips (COP 1.00%) ranks sixth at 4.19%. It also has meaningful weightings to SLB (2.7% of the fund), EOG Resources (2.36%), and Valero Energy (2.19%). All five of these energy stocks have surged this year:

CVX data by YCharts

However, this oil-fueled upside catalyst isn't why the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF holds these energy stocks. They're in the fund because they're excellent dividend stocks.

For example, Chevron recently increased its dividend by 4%, extending its growth streak to 39 consecutive years (the second-longest dividend growth streak in the oil patch). The oil giant has grown its payout at a 6% compound annual rate over the last five years (faster than the S&P 500's 5% growth rate). Chevron also offers a much higher dividend yield than the S&P 500 (currently 3.9% versus 1.2% for the broader market index). This combination of a high yield and an above-average dividend growth rate is right in this ETF's sweet spot.

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ConocoPhillips also pays a high-yielding dividend that is growing at an above-average rate. The oil giant currently yields 2.9% and increased its dividend by 8% late last year. The oil company's stated goal is to deliver dividend growth within the top 25% of S&P 500 companies.

Both oil companies should have plenty of fuel to continue increasing their high-yielding dividends. Chevron expects to grow its already robust free cash flow by more than 10% annualized through 2030. That assumes oil averages around $70 a barrel. Meanwhile, ConocoPhillips expects to add $7 billion to its annual free cash flow by 2029 (assuming $70 crude oil), nearly double last year's level. That should give them plenty of fuel to continue increasing their high-yielding payouts.

Oil-fueled dividends The oil patch is home to a plethora of top dividend stocks. That's why the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF currently has a high sector weighting. The fund's oil stock investments have been a boon this year, as a rally in the oil market has helped fuel big gains for investors in this dividend ETF. With more dividend growth ahead from its oil holdings, the fund could continue to produce high-octane returns for investors over the long haul.

Matt DiLallo has positions in Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chevron. The Motley Fool recommends ConocoPhillips and EOG Resources. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - February 21, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Ardent Health, Inc. (NYSE: ARDT) between July 18, 2024 and November 12, 2025, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important March 9, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

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

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Ardent Health class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=50392 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than March 9, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

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

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made misrepresentations regarding Ardent Health's accounts receivable. Defendants publicly reported Ardent Health's accounts receivable on a quarterly basis. They further stated that Ardent Health employed an active monitoring process to determine the collectability of its accounts receivable, and that this process included "detailed reviews of historical collections" as a "primary source of information." Further, defendants represented that Ardent Health considered "trends in federal and state governmental healthcare coverage" and that its "management determines [when an] account is uncollectible, at which time the account is written off." When defendants began to reveal increased claim denials by third-party payors, they downplayed the issue, stating that the increased payor denials were "turning [] more into a slow pay versus not getting paid," and did not write-off the uncollectible accounts. In addition, defendants represented that Ardent Health maintained professional malpractice liability insurance in amounts "sufficient to cover claims arising out of [its] operations[.]" In truth, Ardent Health did not primarily rely on "detailed reviews of historical collections" in determining collectability of accounts receivable nor did "management determine[] [when an] account is uncollectible." Instead, Ardent Health's accounts receivable framework "utilized a 180-day cliff at which time an account became fully reserved." This allowed Ardent Health to report higher amounts of accounts receivable during the Class Period, and delay recognizing losses on uncollectable accounts. And Ardent Health did not even maintain professional malpractice liability insurance in amounts "sufficient to cover claims arising out of [its] operations[.]" In truth, Ardent Health's professional liability reserves were insufficient to cover "significant social inflationary pressure in medical malpractice cases the past several years," which had been an "increasing dynamic year-over-year" in Ardent Health's New Mexico market. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Ardent Health class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=50392 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

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

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

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

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

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/284681

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

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, /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that purchasers or acquirers of CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV) securities between March 28, 2025 and December 15, 2025, inclusive (the "Class Period"), have until Friday, March 13, 2026 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the CoreWeave class action lawsuit. Captioned Masaitis v. CoreWeave, Inc., No. 26-cv-00355 (D.N.J.), the CoreWeave class action lawsuit charges CoreWeave as well as certain of CoreWeave's executives with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the CoreWeave class action lawsuit, please provide your information here:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases-coreweave-inc-class-action-lawsuit-crwv.html

You can also contact attorney J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at [email protected].

CASE ALLEGATIONS: CoreWeave purports to be an AI cloud computing company. On March 10, 2025, less than three weeks before CoreWeave conducted its initial public offering ("IPO"), CoreWeave announced a deal worth up to $11.9 billion to deliver AI infrastructure to OpenAI, a leading AI company, the complaint alleges. And on July 7, 2025, CoreWeave allegedly announced a definitive agreement to acquire Core Scientific, Inc., one of the largest owners and operators of digital infrastructure for high performance computing in North America, in an all-stock transaction.

The CoreWeave class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) defendants had overstated CoreWeave's ability to meet customer demand for its service; (ii) defendants materially understated the scope and severity of the risk that CoreWeave's reliance on a single third-party data center supplier presented for CoreWeave's ability to meet customer demand for its services; and (iii) the foregoing was reasonably likely to have a material negative impact on CoreWeave's revenue.

The CoreWeave class action lawsuit alleges that on October 30, 2025 Core Scientific announced it had not received enough shareholder votes to approve its merger agreement with CoreWeave and, as a result, terminated the merger agreement. On this news, the price of CoreWeave shares fell by more than 6%, the complaint alleges.

Then, the CoreWeave shareholder class action alleges that on November 10, 2025, CoreWeave announced lowered revenue guidance for 2025, citing "delays related to a third-party data center developer who is behind schedule." Subsequently, on November 11, 2025 during an interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," after host Jim Cramer challenged the initial characterization of the delays at issue, CoreWeave's CEO, defendant Michael Intrator, conceded that the delays implicated not just one data center, but a single data center provider – i.e., that more than one data center owned by the same provider was potentially affected, the complaint alleges. On this news, the price of CoreWeave's shares fell more than 16%.

Finally, on December 15, 2025, the CoreWeave investor class action lawsuit alleges that The Wall Street Journal published an article reporting new information concerning the data center provider delays, revealing that the scope and severity of data center delivery issues were greater than defendants acknowledged. Specifically, the article allegedly revealed that weather-related delays would push back the completion date of a Denton, Texas data center cluster intended for OpenAI by several months, that other data centers would be delayed due to revised design plans, that Core Scientific was CoreWeave's building partner behind the delayed data centers, and that Core Scientific began flagging these delays nine months before CoreWeave announced lowered revenue guidance in November 2025. On this news, the price of CoreWeave shares fell an additional 3.4%, the complaint alleges.

THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased or acquired CoreWeave securities during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the CoreWeave class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the CoreWeave class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the CoreWeave class action lawsuit. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff of the CoreWeave class action lawsuit.

ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the world's leading complex class action firms representing plaintiffs in securities fraud and shareholder rights litigation. Our Firm ranked #1 on the most recent ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report, recovering more than $916 million for investors in 2025. This marks our fourth #1 ranking in the past five years. And in those five years alone, Robbins Geller recovered $8.4 billion for investors – $3.4 billion more than any other law firm. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs' firms in the world, and the Firm's attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest ever – $7.2 billion – in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig. Please visit the following page for more information:

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/services-litigation-securities-fraud.html

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices.

Contact:

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
J.C. Sanchez
655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101
800-449-4900
[email protected]

SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP

Emmanuel Rosner of Wolfe Research just made a bullish call on Tesla's Robotaxi business.

In early February, Wolfe Research analyst Emmanuel Rosner published a report detailing his forecast for Tesla (TSLA +0.03%) stock. At the center of his analysis is Tesla's autonomous vehicle (AV) operation, known as Robotaxi.

Let's dive into Rosner's model and assess how transformative Robotaxi could become for Tesla in the long run. Is now the time to pour into Tesla stock before its artificial intelligence (AI) vision comes to light?

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How Tesla Robotaxi could become a $250 billion business The headline figure in Rosner's report is that Robotaxi could reach $250 billion in revenue by the middle of the next decade. Let's dig into how the analyst derived such an enormous sum:

Rosner estimates that by 2035 the ride-hailing market will be split 30% from autonomous vehicles and 70% human drivers. Of this addressable market, Tesla is expected to capture 50% of robotaxis on the road. Assuming a price of $1 per mile, Rosner suggests that Tesla's total robotaxi opportunity carries an equity value worth $2.75 trillion. While the math implies Tesla could be on the cusp of generating hundreds of billions of dollars in new revenue from Robotaxi over the next decade, smart investors understand there are some risks associated with Rosner's forecast.

Image source: Getty Images.

What risks come with Tesla Robotaxi? I see a few risks that come with Rosner's robotaxi analysis.

First, financial models are highly sensitive and primarily driven by assumptions. Currently, most vehicles on the road are combustion engine cars. While many auto manufacturers are exploring self-driving vehicles, the technology is yet to scale in a meaningful way. On top of that, even if autonomous platforms become commercialized, it's not yet known how quickly consumers would adopt these services.

This is all to say that the market size for autonomous vehicles is very much a "best guess" at this point. If the market and the splits wind up being smaller than Rosner's model suggests, Tesla's opportunity could shrink consierably.

Second, developing Robotaxi costs Tesla billions of dollars across research and development (R&D) and capital expenditures (capex). This enormous capital outlay will continue to put pressure on the company's gross margins and free cash flow until Robotaxi scales -- should that ever come to fruition.

Lastly, Tesla's valuation suggests that at least some of the optimism around the company's AI ambitions is already priced into the stock.

TSLA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.

The fact of the matter is that a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 200 is rich for any type of business -- let alone a company whose main source of sales -- electric vehicles (EVs) -- is in decline, and little-to-no measurable traction has been made in Robotaxi yet.

For now, Tesla is continuing to slow-roll Robotaxi as it works closely with regulatory authorities. All the while, Alphabet's Waymo is already completing rides and generating revenue in several cities across the country.

This isn't to say that Robotaxi won't be transformative for Tesla. In the long run, autonomous vehicles could very well be a new source of sales and profits for the company.

However, despite the enormous potential of Robotaxi, I think a more realistic scenario is for Tesla stock to pull back before it soars to new highs. Until the company proves that Robotaxi is moving the needle financially, it will remain a capital-intensive, money-losing headwind weighing on Tesla's AI vision.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - February 21, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: KD) between August 7, 2024 and February 9, 2026, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important April 13, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action first filed by the Firm.

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

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Kyndryl class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=38139 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 13, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

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

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Kyndryl's financial statements issued during the Class Period were materially misstated; (2) Kyndryl lacked adequate internal controls and at times materially understated issues with its internal controls; (3) as a result, Kyndryl would be unable to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2025; and (4) as a result, defendants' statements about Kyndryl's business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Kyndryl class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=38139 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

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

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

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

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

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/284709

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

Ready to Announce with Confidence? Send us a message and a member of our TMX Newsfile team will contact you to discuss your needs.

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Why ExxonMobil could be the steady dividend powerhouse that protects your portfolio in the next downturn.

ExxonMobil (XOM 2.58%) is proving that scale, discipline, and cash flow still matter. With $52 billion in operating cash flow, rising production from Guyana and Brazil, and 43 straight years of dividend growth, this energy titan may offer stability amid volatile markets. The upside may not be explosive, but the durability could be powerful.

Stock prices used were the market prices of Feb. 13, 2026. The video was published on Feb. 19, 2026.

Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick Orford is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

Canopy Growth grows marijuana, but it hasn't been the best steward of investor capital.

Canopy Growth (CGC +2.56%) is a high-risk investment that should be considered only by the most aggressive investors. That's the big story and, ultimately, why I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. But if you are considering it, you'll want to think about these key facts before you hit the buy button.

Canopy Growth is a penny stock One of the first major warning signs is that the stock is trading around $1. That's penny stock land, an area of the market that is known for being high risk. Stock prices generally only fall that low when a company is struggling. Sure, there could be a huge upside opportunity if a penny stock turns around, but there's material downside risk if the company's business doesn't prove sustainable over the long term.

Image source: Getty Images.

Notably, penny stocks often struggle to tap the capital markets for cash through stock sales. And when they do, the cost is very high given the low stock price, with investors feeling the hit via increased shareholder dilution.

Canopy Growth just recapitalized its balance sheet In addition to the stock price, Canopy Growth's financial strength is a potential issue. In early 2026, the company recapitalized its balance sheet. There were several transactions involved, with the company effectively pushing out its debt maturities. That's a positive; however, to get the deal done, it had to offer incentives, including warrants. This isn't the type of thing a financially strong company usually has to do.

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Canopy Growth is buying another business Despite the low stock price and questions about the company's financial strength, it is still moving ahead with the acquisition of MTL Cannabis. This move is expected to improve the company's geographic positioning in the marijuana sector, but the all-stock deal will increase Canopy Growth's share count. The stock involved here will increase dilution and will make it harder for the company to turn a profit.

Canopy Growth is mired in red ink There are clearly several material red flags when you consider Canopy Growth. One of the biggest is the company's ongoing losses. In fact, it has never been profitable. Sure, the losses appear to be getting smaller, but that isn't enough to make this high-risk penny stock worth buying.

Most investors should probably watch Canopy Growth from the sidelines. If the business can become sustainably profitable, it may be worth reconsidering it. But until that point, I wouldn't touch it.

Walmart's stock has had a strong start to the year.

As consumer confidence has collapsed, investors have increasingly turned to more defensive names when it comes to retailers. This has helped Walmart's (WMT 1.52%) stock get off to a strong start to the year, up about 13% year to date, as of this writing.

With the retail giant recently reporting its fourth-quarter results, let's take a closer look to see whether the stock's momentum can continue.

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Solid sales continue One of the more interesting things about the Walmart story over the past few years is that the retailer has been attracting more affluent shoppers. This has been an important growth driver, especially as lower-income consumers have been stressed due to inflation and tariffs. This showed up once again in Q4, with the company calling out strength in households earning more than $100,000 a year, while sales from households making below $50,000 were weak.

Overall, Walmart saw its revenue rise 5.6% to $190.66 billion, surpassing the $190.43 billion consensus, as compiled by LSEG. Walmart U.S. store sales increased by 4.6% to $129.2 billion, while same-store sales also rose by 4.6%. The number of transactions increased by 2.6%, while the average ticket climbed 2%.

E-commerce sales, meanwhile, climbed 27%. Walmart credited its Sparky agentic commerce tool for helping improve customer engagement, with customers using the AI agent spending 35% more than non-users. The company also saw a 41% surge in U.S. ad revenue in the quarter.

Internationally, sales jumped 11.5% to $31.2 billion, and were up 7.5% in constant currencies. The growth was led by Walmex (Mexico), China, and Flipkart (India e-commerce). International e-commerce sales grew by 17%, and international ad revenue rose 10%.

Sam's Club U.S., its warehouse store concept, saw sales (excluding fuel) increase by 4% to $21.7 billion. Same-store sales, excluding fuel, also grew by 4%. Transactions rose 5.3%, while the average ticket fell by 1.3%. E-commerce sales soared 23%. Membership fees rose 6.1% year over year.

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 12% to $0.74. Despite tariff pressure, the company saw its gross margin increase by 13 basis points in the quarter and operating income rise 10.8%, or 10.5% in constant currency, helped by investments in automation and the growth of higher-margin businesses like advertising.

Image source: Getty Images.

Looking ahead, Walmart projected its first-quarter sales to rise between 3.5% to 4.5%, with adjusted EPS of between $0.63 to $0.65.

For the full year, it's looking for revenue growth of 3.5% to 4.5% and adjusted EPS of between $2.75 to $2.85. However, that was short of the $2.96 consensus.

Is the stock a buy? While I think Walmart is doing a great job driving revenue growth and is seeing nice operating leverage through automation, ad revenue, and AI, I'm not buying the stock when it's trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of above 40 times. That multiple is just difficult to justify, given its mid-single-digit revenue growth and low single-digit operating income growth.

The stock likely remains a defensive safe haven, but the upside looks limited.

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

© panida wijitpanya / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Bill Ackman built his fortune through Pershing Square Capital Management by taking large positions in companies he believes in, often concentrating his bets rather than diversifying broadly. This approach has included activist campaigns and short positions, like his notable bet against Herbalife (NYSE:HLF). 

Ackman’s strategy emphasizes deep research into high-quality businesses with durable growth. In the fourth quarter, his fund made several adjustments. He completely exited its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), and increased his stake in Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN | AMZN Price Prediction) by about 65%, bringing the total to roughly 9.6 million shares, which now represents 14% of the portfolio.

But there was only one new stock Ackman bought in Q4: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META). Does the social media and artificial intelligence (AI) giant belong in your portfolio, too? Here’s why Ackman is so bullish about Meta.

Going Big on Meta Pershing Square purchased approximately 2.7 million shares of Meta Platforms valued at around $1.8 billion. This makes Meta the fund’s fifth-largest holding, accounting for about 11% of the $15.5 billion portfolio, behind Brookfield (NYSE:BN), Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER), Amazon, and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG). The move was decidedly opportunistic as it occurred after Meta’s stock suffered a sharp drop following its third-quarter earnings due to investor concerns over its AI-related capital expenditures.

With Ackman’s significant bet on Meta, investors may wonder if the stock fits their own holdings. Although Pershing Square’s position highlights Meta’s potential, individual risk tolerance and diversification needs vary, so it might not be a good fit for you, but below are the main reasons Ackman has outlined for his bullish stance.

Why the Billionaire Is Bullish on Meta In 2025, Meta generated $200 billion in revenue, up 22% year-over-year, driven by its core Family of Apps segment, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This segment relies on advertising, while the Reality Labs division — focused on wearables and metaverse projects — incurs losses that represent about 25% of overall profits.

Meta leads the digital advertising market, which Pershing Square views as a fast-growing sector. The company has over 3.5 billion daily active users across its apps, with user growth at 7% in Q4. A key factor is Meta’s integration of AI, which enhances user engagement through content recommendations and improves ad targeting using first-party data. Its AI-driven ad ranking has delivered about four times more revenue impact than simply increasing ad load, with both ad prices and impressions accelerating. 

Nvidia‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) Jensen Huang recently praised Meta as the top AI deployer, stating in a CNBC interview that its approach yields real rewards from massive investments. He noted Meta’s shift to generative AI has transformed its business, driving earnings growth and justifying continued spending.  

AI also supports self-serve tools for advertisers and opens new opportunities like business AI assistants and wearables. Pershing Square notes Meta’s history of cost control, such as the 2023 “Year of Efficiency” initiative, and recent cuts in Reality Labs spending. The fund believes front-loading AI investments will drive long-term earnings growth, especially after a planned spending increase in 2026.

Meta Platforms is Cheap On valuation, Meta trades at 22 times next-twelve-months price-to-earnings, which Pershing Square considers attractive given growth prospects. Excluding Reality Labs losses, the core advertising business is valued at a forward P/E of under 20 times. Meta’s competitive edges include scale effects, where more users improve platform utility and data enables precise targeting. Meta’s strong balance sheet and high-margin core operations also provide flexibility for investments. 

Pershing Square sees Meta as well-positioned among AI beneficiaries, with leadership in ads, data infrastructure, and research. Since initiating the position, Meta’s shares rose 2% through year-end and 3% year-to-date in 2026.

Key Takeaway Investors should, of course, conduct their own due diligence before purchasing any stock, assessing factors like financial goals and market conditions. That said, Ackman presents strong, compelling arguments for Meta Platforms through Pershing Square’s analysis, emphasizing its advertising dominance, AI upside, and an undervalued core business.

Is Pfizer's 6% yield a rare opportunity hiding in plain sight, or are investors overlooking a major risk that could reshape its future?

Pfizer (PFE 0.73%) offers a rare mix of scale, stability, and a 6% dividend yield that few large caps can match. With steady cash flow, modest valuation, and analyst upside, this defensive giant may be quietly positioning for a rebound. I explore whether this is a true income opportunity or a misunderstood value play in 2026.

Stock prices used were the market prices of Feb. 13, 2026. The video was published on Feb. 19, 2026.

Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Pfizer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick Orford is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

NanoViricides (NYSE-A:NNVC) earlier this week provided an update on the advancement of its broad-spectrum antiviral candidate NV-387, outlining progress in Mpox clinical development and confirming orphan drug designation filings for multiple indications.

Speaking to Proactive, CEO Dr Anil Diwan said the company has completed the full clinical trial application required to initiate a Phase 2 study of NV-387 in the Democratic Republic of Congo for Mpox. Import permissions have been secured and the next steps involve site evaluation, approvals and training before dosing begins.

Diwan noted that although the WHO’s global Public Health Emergency declaration has been lifted, Mpox continues to spread in parts of Africa. He stated that cases “continue to increase in cases” and disperse despite vaccine deployment, supporting the rationale for continued development.

Importantly, NanoViricides confirmed the Phase 2 study is fully funded. The company raised approximately $5.5 million in November and maintains a quarterly spend of about $1.8 million.

Proactive: Alright welcome back inside our Proactive newsroom, and joining me now is Dr Anil Diwan, CEO of NanoViricides. Dr Diwan, great to see you again, how are you?

Dr Anil Diwan: I'm fine. How are you?

I'm doing very well. I know you've had some news out recently. I thought it'd be a great opportunity to get you on to talk about an orphan drug designation that you have filed an application for. We'll get to that in just a second. But also, you've got some news out about the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mpox. I know you've done a phase one study and you're now fully funded for a phase two study. Why don't we start there and talk to me a bit about what's going on?

NV-387 is an extremely broad spectrum drug. We have been fortunate in being able to discover it and bring it to this stage. It worked against many different diseases. We decided to focus on monkeypox for further development because it was a shorter pathway. At that time there was a worldwide epidemic declaration, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO.

We were getting accelerated in the programs by the regulatory agency in Africa. We submitted the required summary documents. Although the WHO emergency declaration has come off globally, the emergency declaration in the African region persists because monkeypox is not going away. Cases continue to increase and disperse despite vaccines being deployed.

We were asked to complete a full-fledged clinical trial application, which has now been done. We also obtained import permission for the drug into the DRC. We have passed all of those steps. The next stage is evaluating and approving clinical sites, training them, and then starting dosing. Documentation is in preparation and we think it will take a few weeks.

In the financials you mentioned this is fully funded. You're ready to go when that documentation comes in?

Yes. We raised about $5.5 million in November. We spend about $1.8 million per quarter. Based on that, we have sufficient money to complete this clinical trial. There are no issues with financing.

You're also filing for orphan drug designation for NV-387. What does that mean?

Previously we were working on RSV, which is an $8 billion market. However, clinical trial costs were very high and biotech financing has been poor over the last four years. We needed a faster pathway. RSV and influenza require long, protracted trials.

We evaluated diseases where NV-387 showed strong animal model results — monkeypox, smallpox, and measles. We focused first on monkeypox because of the emergency.

In the US, we assessed how to move rapidly and potentially attract non-dilutive funding. Discussions led us to the orphan drug strategy for NV-387 as a viable pathway with significant benefits, including potentially quicker regulatory approvals.

Smallpox, Mpox and measles represent meaningful markets globally. Measles cases are rising in the US, with more than 25 states affected. When a measles case occurs, large groups must quarantine. If an approved drug were available, prophylactic doses could potentially reduce spread.

We have now filed orphan drug designation applications for NV-387 for the treatment of measles, Mpox, and smallpox.

What sort of timeline are you looking at to hear back from the FDA?

These designation applications are typically handled in three to four months. We are not waiting and are already progressing next steps.

If designated, there are significant benefits: R&D tax credits, fee reductions or waivers, and seven-year marketing exclusivity. Clinical trials are usually smaller and shorter for orphan indications. If an outbreak is ongoing, they can be completed more quickly.

There is also a possibility of accelerated approval after Phase 2, with confirmatory work continuing afterward. That would allow the drug to be sold earlier, which is a benefit for the company.

Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style

While it's clear that the business has significant upside, what about the stock price?

Shares of chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA +0.94%) have been one of the clearest ways to play the artificial intelligence build-out. And investors who foresaw this have profited. The stock is up more than 750% over the past three years as companies turned to Nvidia to power their AI plans.

Nvidia's business momentum remains extraordinary, even today. But the hard part about investing is that a great business and a great stock are not the same thing, especially once the market has already priced in years of strong demand. In other words, Nvidia can keep executing at an impressive speed yet still deliver only ordinary shareholder returns over the next five years.

So, where exactly could Nvidia stock realistically end up in five years?

Image source: Getty Images.

AI spending is still ramping Nvidia's most recent quarter showed why investors are still upbeat about the AI boom. In its fiscal third quarter of 2026 (ended Oct. 26, 2025), the AI chipmaker's revenue rose 62% year over year to $57.0 billion. And that impressive rate was an acceleration from the prior quarter, when revenue rose 56% year over year to $46.7 billion.

Key to the quarter's growth, of course, was its AI-focused data center business. Nvidia said data center revenue rose 66% year over year to $51.2 billion in the quarter.

"Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out," said Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang in the company's fiscal third-quarter earnings release.

Meanwhile, recently announced full-year spending plans from some of the world's biggest tech companies suggest that Nvidia's data center momentum should persist. Amazon (AMZN +2.59%) said it expects to invest about $200 billion in capital expenditures across the company in 2026, explicitly pointing to AI among the drivers. Meta Platforms guided to 2026 capital expenditures (including principal payments on finance leases) of $115 billion to $135 billion. And Alphabet said its 2026 capital expenditures are anticipated to be in the range of $175 billion to $185 billion.

Those budgets, of course, aren't comprised entirely of dollars going to Nvidia. But they are a clear signal that hyperscalers are still aggressively building capacity, and GPUs remain a central input to that build-out.

So, in the short term, Nvidia should continue to see explosive business growth.

A five-year forecast The longer-term question is not whether AI is here to stay. It most certainly is. The more pertinent question is what the AI hardware market looks like once the initial capacity land-grab cools.

Additionally, one pressure point is that Nvidia's customers are incentivized to reduce their dependence on any single supplier. Some are already scaling internal silicon programs. Amazon, for example, recently highlighted momentum in its custom chips and said Trainium and Graviton have a combined annual revenue run rate of over $10 billion, growing at a triple-digit year-over-year rate. Programs like this could lead to Nvidia's pricing power softening over time.

Further, Amazon is explicitly focused on bringing prices down for AI chips.

"Customers are starving for better price performance," said Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

None of this is to say Nvidia will not be a strong business five years from now. But it is a high-risk stock operating in a fast-changing part of the market, and the outcome range is wide. If AI spending normalizes, if competition closes some of the performance gap, or if large customers keep scaling with in-house built alternatives, Nvidia can still grow, but at a slower rate (though probably not until Nvidia benefits from another year of blistering growth, first).

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In short, I believe Nvidia's business continues to grow nicely, but its pricing power erodes over time as customers push harder on cost and alternatives mature. That combination can still deliver returns of 10% to 12% annually, but investors should not expect a repeat of the last few years.

How does that work out for the stock?

The math is simple: Starting from about $188 per share today, 10% annual compounding over five years implies a stock price of about $303. At 12%, it is about $331.

That is a solid outcome, especially given that it's from a premium valuation, as shares trade at about 47 times earnings today.

I would treat Nvidia as a business that can keep doing well, but one where the next five years are more likely to look like normal compounding than another once-in-a-cycle surge. If you own it, the key is sizing and expectations -- because the biggest risk is that the industry changes faster than the market's optimism does.

Stock Market Data, Stock Market and Exchange, Stock Market Crash, Dollar Sign, Moving Down

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I hadn’t seen my boy in years. He wasted no time laying into my career decisions.

“Why are you messing around with the finance stuff? The blogging? No future in it.”

Well, good to see you too, buddy.

“You have real value in the software thing you’re doing. Stick with that.”

His advice was to leave Wall Street to him. He worked for a big-name firm. At the time of our run in, we were five or so years out of undergrad.

In true contrarian form, I ignored him. And it’s a good thing! Here we are talking stocks together and the software startup he wanted me to focus 100% on? The thing never made much money. I sold my stake in 2018 and never looked back.

My point? Wall Street guys don’t know the world outside of Manhattan.

But people listen to these Wall Street types like their word is scripture—and it’s anything but. Because these guys don’t have jobs that are down in the mainstream economy day to day. They don’t actually know what’s happening on the ground. They’re getting their information secondhand, thirdhand. They’re smart people, sure. They just don’t have the info.

And that is why we use analyst sentiment as a contrarian indicator. Kind of like magazine covers—by the time the suits catch a trend, that trend might be about to turn. So we actually want to find stocks where analysts are disinterested, or outright negative, or just asleep at the wheel. Because that is where the value hides—especially when those hated stocks are paying fat dividends.

MORE FOR YOU

I have my eye on five of them right now, yielding 6.5% to 15.6%. But first, let me show you just how asleep at the wheel the pros really are. You and I both know how they get their access—it’s with honey, not vinegar. So naturally, consensus ratings on most stocks tend to be overwhelmingly bullish.

But even I was surprised by how ridiculous it’s gotten. Take a look at consensus analyst recommendations on the S&P 500’s components:

S&P 500 Ratings

S&P Global Market Intelligence

Buys make up about 80% of the calls. The remaining 20%? Mere Holds. Not a single Sell among them!

Remember: These ratings generally pertain to the coming 12 months. That’s an astonishingly optimistic view of every single S&P 500 component—especially with this many economic question marks floating around.

But if we venture outside of the S&P 500, we do find a few more bearish ratings. And those are much more meaningful to us. Because despite analysts’ well-understood bent, investors are still willing to follow their lead. Sell calls have far more room for upgrades that can trigger buying, which can trigger more upgrades, and turn into a virtuous cycle of higher ratings and share prices.

Which is exactly why we contrarians should always keep an eye on the Sell bin: names like these 6.5% to 15.6% payers are packed with potential on sentiment alone.

Now, let’s see if these names pass more than just the vibes test.

5 Sell Rated Dividend Stocks With High YieldsI’ll start with HP Inc. (HPQ, 6.5% yield), the personal computing and printing technology company that only recently started pinging my high-yield radar. In theory, that could happen from a massive dividend hike, but more often than not? It’s because shares have started tanking.

HPQ Price Chart

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HP’s product lineup is actually quite wide. Its Personal Systems division spans commercial and consumer desktops, notebooks and workstations—plus point-of-sale systems, displays, even endpoint security. Printing covers consumer and commercial printers, supplies, solutions, and 3D printing. And then there’s Corporate Investments, a business incubation and investment division.

HPQ is cratering because those first two arms are being significantly impacted by what’s being called a “memory crisis”—memory-chip producers simply can’t keep up with the simultaneous demand from AI data centers and consumer electronics. This is driving up prices—DRAM pricing is expected to grow another 14% in 2026, while NAND pricing is set to explode by 140%—and forcing companies to re-price their offerings to salvage margins.

Combine all of that with a continued decline in print interest, plus the sudden early February exit of CEO Enrique Lores (who moved over to PayPal (PYPL)), and there’s not much for us to like about HPQ right now. In fact, I’m surprised the consensus isn’t worse. HPQ could be considered a “Bearish Hold” at this point; 8 pros call it a Hold, versus 4 Buys and 5 Sells.

HPQ, to its credit, has been dutifully raising its dividend every year for a decade now, including a 3%-plus hike to 30 cents per share near the end of 2025. And the payout still seems plenty safe at just 40% of current-year EPS estimates. But we could be looking at a falling knife as long as memory woes persist. If and when that changes, it might warrant another look from our corner.

Wendy’s (WEN, 7.0% yield) is another “Bearish Hold” (4 Buys/20 Holds/5 Sells) in the midst of a complete stock collapse. The burger slinger’s shares have been cut in half over the past year and lost 70% of their value since this point in 2023. That has sent our yield skyward!

WEN Price Chart

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And as if the chart needed more drama, shares have been whipping around on fresh headlines. WEN surged 14% on Wednesday after activist investor Trian Fund Management said it was exploring strategic options, including a potential takeover of the company. As of this writing, the stock is already in retreat from that move. This kind of volatility tells you traders are speculating on deal chatter—not betting on a fundamental turnaround just yet.

The fast-food industry’s 2025 woes were well-reported, and they certainly weren’t limited to Wendy’s, the No. 2 U.S. hamburger quick-service restaurant in the nation. No. 1 McDonald’s (MCD) and No. 3 Burger King—part of Restaurant Brands International (QSR)—also suffered slumping sales in 2025.

But while MCD and QSR managed to find their footing thanks to improved lineups and stronger promotions, Wendy’s simply didn’t. It recently reported an 11.3% drop in same-restaurant sales for the final quarter of 2025 and provided an EPS outlook that was well short of expectations (56-60 cents vs. 86 cents). The pros now see 2026 earnings tanking by around 33%-34%.

It’s not for lack of a turnaround plan—Wendy’s launched “Project Fresh” last year to stem the bleeding. But a look at the details shows a lot of back-end focus (“optimizing labor,” “enhance brand relevance,” “digital and equipment efficiency”). It’ll close 5% to 6% of its 5,800-plus restaurants. It’ll cut back on breakfast in some locations. But where’s the plan that actually gets diners back through the door? I’m not seeing it.

Wendy’s is also doing all this under an interim CEO; Kirk Tanner departed in July 2025 for Hershey’s (HSY). Not exactly a vote of confidence.

That said: Wendy’s turnaround isn’t necessarily doomed for failure. Problem is, recent results hint toward a revival taking longer than expected. Plus, a new leader might very well want to tweak the plans based on his or her expertise.

But your yield is every bit as juicy as a Dave’s Double, so if WEN can maintain the dividend at current levels, this could end up being a deep dividend value for our portfolios. Shares just need to stay on the grill a little longer for now.

Let’s move on to a few more truly hated names—and a couple that we might actually want to keep our eye on.

American Assets Trust (AAT, 7.3% yield) is a modest real estate investment trust (REIT) at just 31 buildings across the Pacific Coast, Hawaii and Texas—but those buildings include 4.3 million square feet of office space, 2.4 million square feet of retail space, 2,302 multifamily units, and 369 hotel suites.

On its face, the 7%-plus yield on a REIT like AAT would be less alarming than it would be on a Wendy’s or HP, just given the industry’s income-friendly nature. But AAT is just like those two companies in that its currently high yield has much less to do with its (glacially) growing payout and much more to do with its sinking share price.

AAT Price Chart

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No wonder “the Street” is sour on the name. AAT not only has zero Buy calls, but it also has a thin analyst following of just four names (2 Holds, 2 Sells). That small amount of coverage is telling, too—rather than place a Sell call on shares, it’s common for analysts to simply bow out and not risk peeving management. (Can you blame them?)

The company is coming off a brutal 2025 that saw funds from operations (FFO) drop to $2.00 per share, from $2.58 in 2024. The good news? It’s partly an effect of difficult year-over-year comparisons thanks to one-time leases. The bad news? It’s also a reflection of an extremely weak West Coast office market that’s not expected to get better anytime soon.

But it could get better eventually. Signs are showing a potential bottoming out in markets such as San Francisco and San Diego. There are other draws for our contrarian radar, too. AAT trades at about 9 times FFO estimates for 2026 and 2027. It yields 7%-plus thanks to sluggish shares. And that distribution is less than 70% of those FFO estimates—which, from that view, is pretty safe.

Problem is, those FFO estimates imply basically sideways to slightly down profitability over the next two years. Same-store growth was only about 1% in 2025, with little hope for improvement this year. And despite the seemingly low payout ratio, AAT pays out enough that it has little room to reduce its high leverage or develop new properties. Said another way: The dividend might be less certain than the payout ratio suggests if management wants to jump-start the business. We’ll keep watching, but we’re not jumping in yet.

Brandywine Realty Trust (BDN, 10.4% yield) is one of the largest “integrated” (or “hybrid”) REITs in the U.S. Its full portfolio consists of 120 properties, but its “core” portfolio of roughly 60 properties is largely concentrated in Philadelphia and Austin—and is roughly 90% office in nature.

I looked at BDN back in September 2025. At the time, I said:

But let’s keep a really close eye on the dividend. The payout was 107% of FFO through the first half of 2025, and full-year FFO are expected to just barely pay for the dividend. If Brandywine runs into liquidity issues, that 13%-plus yield could be a rug-pull just waiting to happen.Literally that same week, BDN announced its second dividend reduction in three years. (I wish I’d been wrong on that one!)

BDN Price Chart

Ycharts

Again, office properties are having a miserable time of it. No wonder the pros have no love for Brandywine—three Holds, two Sells, and not a single Buy call.

But I want to focus on a few current and emerging positives that might make BDN more appealing for us down the road.

Brandywine still pays out 10% despite its significantly reduced dividend, and that dividend represents just 56% of consensus FFO estimates—a much healthier coverage ratio! The stock trades at just 5.4 times FFO estimates for 2026. And remember, I mentioned in September that “joint ventures have been Brandywine’s Achilles’ heel of late” because of how burdensome the development deals are on BDN. Well, BDN is working on simplifying its JV portfolio—for instance, it bought out its partner at 3151 Market St. (Philadelphia) during the most recent quarter. That’s the kind of cleanup we want to see.

The REIT still has more headwinds than tailwinds, and the environment for its core property type is miserable. Asset sales and balance-sheet cleanup would go a long way toward building confidence in this down-on-its-luck property owner. One for our watch list.

Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD, 15.6% yield), which is coming off its own 2025 dividend cut, is a business development company (BDC) that provides financing to companies with annual EBITDA of between $5 million and $75 million. Its 171-holding portfolio spans about a dozen industries, and it’s concentrated in software (about 19% of the invested portfolio).

GSBD also has zero Buy calls to its name, with a sparse analyst following that breaks down to 4 Holds and 1 Sell. The lack of analyst participation is even more glaring given that GSBD is one of the largest BDCs and is tethered to mega-cap investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS). You’d think that brand name alone would attract more attention!

Why the hate? Goldman Sachs BDC has been underwhelming since its 2015 IPO. It has grossly underperformed since the COVID market rebound. And it slashed its core payout by 29% in 2025. (GSBD also pays supplemental dividends; 1.7 points of its 15.6% yield come from these extra distributions.)

But there are two reasons we should keep watching GSBD despite its historical stank: 1.) It’s cheaply priced at just 72% of its net asset value (NAV)—that’s a 28% discount to what it owns!—and 2.) it has been ditching its legacy portfolio and been much more aggressive making deals of late.

Brett Owens is Chief Investment Strategist for Contrarian Outlook. For more great income ideas, get your free copy his latest special report: How to Live off Huge Monthly Dividends (up to 8.2%) — Practically Forever.

If you're seeking income growth and diversification through the energy sector, Chevron is a top stock to consider today.

Dividend stocks can be an excellent source of passive income for investors. Chevron (CVX 0.57%) is one company that has rewarded dividend investors for years. Despite operating in the volatile oil and gas industry, Chevron and its business model have proven to be resilient; in fact, the company has provided investors with a growing dividend payout for 39 consecutive years.

Here's why Chevron is a smart dividend stock for investors to buy today.

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Chevron's oil and gas advantage Chevron operates as an integrated oil and gas company, with upstream and downstream operations that help diversify its earnings and provide it with resilience in an industry vulnerable to changes in spot gas and oil prices.

In recent years, Chevron has been prudent with its finances, prioritizing a disciplined approach to spending, debt reduction, shareholder returns, and positive cash flow. The company is taking a measured approach to capital expenditures, and last year it achieved $1.5 billion in structural cost reductions. It expects to achieve $3 billion to $4 billion in structural cost reductions by the end of 2026.

Chevron's growth is driven by high-margin assets, including deepwater assets in the Gulf of Mexico (the Anchor and Whale projects). Its acquisition of Hess, which includes Hess' 30% stake in Guyana's Stabroek Block, gives it massive, low-cost, multi-decade production capabilities.

Image source: Getty Images.

In addition, the company produced over 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the Permian Basin. Its drilling rig efficiency has more than doubled since 2022, allowing it to drill development areas at a significantly lower cost. The company is leveraging technology to more efficiently extract oil and gas, and has engineered its portfolio to cover both capital expenditures and dividends even if Brent oil hits below $50 per barrel. This low break-even point provides a safety margin even if oil prices were to fall from here.

Its drilling business is complemented by its downstream operations, which include refining and marketing. Its refineries in the United States have a high Nelson Complexity Index, enabling them to process diverse crude types into high-value products and generate higher refining margins than peers. Its downstream segment alone is projected to generate $4 billion in annual free cash flow through the end of the decade, providing stability to its overall portfolio.

A long history of dividend raises Chevron has done an excellent job of managing its business and its balance sheet over the past several decades. Not only does it offer an attractive dividend yield of 4%, but it has also increased its annual dividend payments for 39 consecutive years. On top of that, it has repurchased shares in 18 of the past 22 years.

Looking ahead, Chevron projects free-cash-flow growth of 10% annually over the next five years. If you're seeking passive income and diversification from the energy sector, Chevron is an excellent choice.

After months of relentless selling, shares of Zillow Group Inc NASDAQ: ZG have quietly done something they haven't managed in weeks. ZG stock just posted three straight days of gains. That may not sound dramatic, but in the context of a nearly 50% collapse and extreme bearish sentiment, it’s worth noting.

Shares now trade around $45, effectively back to where they were in 2014, with nearly two years of gains wiped out over the past five months alone. A sluggish housing market, thanks to elevated mortgage rates over recent months, and a dodgy report last week, has done the stock no favors. Yet with sentiment about as bad as it can get, and price action showing signs of stabilizing, could this run of green days be the start of something? 

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The Fundamentals Don’t Match the Fear The latest earnings report may have accelerated the decline, but it didn’t start it; Zillow shares have been under pressure since September. The thing is, though, last week’s results were far from disastrous. Sure, earnings missed by a few cents, but revenue not only came in above expectations but showed 18% year-on-year growth.

Zillow Group Today

ZG

Zillow Group

$45.42 -0.12 (-0.26%)

As of 02/20/2026 04:00 PM Eastern

52-Week Range$42.25▼

$90.22P/E Ratio504.72

Price Target$78.05

Adjusted EBITDA also increased year-over-year, and margins expanded, helping the company achieve full-year profitability. The chart might not look great, but this is not the report you’d expect from a business in terminal decline.

One of the standout themes from the quarter was strength in rentals. That segment delivered strong growth, particularly in multifamily, and management expects continued expansion into next year. Rentals have become a critical pillar of Zillow’s diversification strategy.

Mortgage revenue also expanded meaningfully, which reinforces Zillow’s broader evolution into an integrated ecosystem spanning buying, selling, renting, and financing. The strategy is increasingly about capturing value across the entire moving journey rather than relying solely on listing fees.

Investor Worries May Be Overblown Part of the recent plunge reflects anxiety around AI disruption and private listing networks. Many investors fear that AI-powered housing portals could undermine Zillow’s dominance. Indeed, this is a trend that is not just focused on Zillow or its peers, but the wider tech space.

But consumer behavior suggests Zillow is set to remain the default destination for home search for the foreseeable future. Competitors might be spending aggressively to gain share, but they've had limited success so far. 

Housing at a Cyclical Low All that being said, Zillow is still facing an uphill battle in the near term. The broader U.S. housing market remains near a cyclical trough due to elevated mortgage rates and affordability constraints. Transaction volumes are subdued, creating a challenging backdrop for any real estate-linked platform.

However, cyclical troughs can also create opportunities for those of us on the sidelines who like to feel they’re getting a bargain. When transactions normalize and the market ticks up again, Zillow’s diversified revenue base and solid margins should set it up for success. At current price levels, the market appears to be pricing in prolonged stagnation, which may prove overly pessimistic. 

Technicals and Analyst Support Align Technically, the stock is deeply oversold, which supports the case for buying the dip. Zillow’s relative strength index (RSI) currently sits around 24, its lowest reading in more than a decade. That signals extreme selling pressure that rarely persists indefinitely without at least a relief rally.

Zillow Group, Inc. (ZG) Price Chart for Saturday, February, 21, 2026

To that point, while this week’s three-day run of gains doesn’t confirm a full reversal, it does suggest that selling pressure may be starting to exhaust itself. When multi-year lows coincide with extreme oversold readings and improving price action, contrarian investors take notice.

Analysts are also starting to point this out, with the team over at Piper Sandler reiterating its Overweight rating last week. They also gave Zillow stock a fresh $70 price target, implying more than 50% in potential upside from current levels. 

Is This a Buy Signal? Any stock exiting a 50% slide carries a certain level of risk, and Zillow is no different. If mortgage rates remain elevated for an extended period and housing continues to stagnate, earnings could remain pressured. The market’s reaction to last week’s miss and guidance warning from management suggests investors will be particularly sensitive to any signs of slowing momentum or weak guidance in the quarters ahead.

But if you’re willing to stomach that risk, the opportunity might be too hard to pass. A combination of improving price action, extremely oversold technicals, continued revenue growth, and analyst upside creates a compelling story. Expectations are low, sentiment is washed out, and the stock sits at decade-old price levels.

Three consecutive up days may not prove that the bottom is in. But after a 50% slide, it may be one sign that the market is now looking at Zillow with fresh eyes.

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

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Ethereum price continued its strong downward trend on Friday as geopolitical risks rose and demand for cryptocurrencies waned.

Summary

Ethereum price may continue the downward trend this year. Technical analysis shows that it has invalidated the inverted head-and-shoulders pattern. The upcoming Donald Trump attack on Iran may push prices lower. Ethereum (ETH) token dropped to $1,937, down sharply from the all-time high of $4,943, and key factors suggest that it has more downside, potentially to the key support level at $1,500.

Ethereum price technical points to more downside  The weekly timeframe chart shows that the ETH price has remained under pressure in the past few months. It has dropped in the last five consecutive weeks, and is hovering near its lowest level since May last year.

The coin has dropped below the key support level at $2,145, invalidating the inverted head-and-shoulders pattern, a common bullish reversal sign in technical analysis.

Ethereum has dropped below the 50-week and 200-week Weighted Moving Averages. It has also moved below the Supertrend indicator, a sign that bears remain in control.

The Relative Strength Index has moved to the oversold level of 30. Therefore, the most likely scenario is where it continues falling so that the RSI can become extremely oversold, which will then lead to a rebound.

ETH price chart | Source: crypto.news  Ethereum institutional demand is waning  The other main bearish catalyst for Ethereum is that demand from institutional investors has waned in the past few months.

One sign for this is the fact that demand for spot Ethereum ETFs has waned. These funds shed over $130 million in assets on Thursday, bringing the monthly outflow to over $450 million. They have suffered outflows in the last four consecutive months.

Another sign of waning demand is that the futures open interest has continued falling in the past few months and now stands at $23 billion, down from the year-to-date high of $41 billion.

Donald Trump is locked and loaded on an Iran attack  Geopolitics may also contribute to the Ethereum price crash as cryptocurrencies are no longer safe-haven assets.

All indications are that Donald Trump will attack Iran, as the US has accumulated a large armada in the region. In a statement on Thursday, he warned Iran of an attack that may happen in the next 10 to 15 days.

An Iranian attack would have a major impact on financial assets. For example, it would lead to higher crude oil prices, which may lead to higher inflation. This is important as this week’s Federal Reserve minutes showed that some Fed officials are considering rate hikes if inflation remains at an elevated level.

Still, on the positive side, Ethereum has some potential bullish catalysts, including soaring transactions, active addresses, and fees. Also, key metrics in its ecosystem, like the DeFi total value locked has jumped to a record high in ETH terms. Also, its staking queue continues rising, while its market share in the real-world asset tokenization industry is soaring.

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Vitalik Buterin proposes personal LLMs to augment decentralized governancevitalik buterin is advocating the use of personal large language models to help participants navigate and execute decentralized governance more efficiently. The core idea is to let individuals run or control their own models and use cryptography to preserve privacy and sovereignty.

As reported by Longbridge, the approach pairs locally run LLMs with tools such as zero-knowledge proofs, trusted execution environments, and fully homomorphic encryption to safeguard sensitive signals while enabling verifiable participation. As reported by Decrypt, Ethereum would act as a privacy-preserving settlement layer for agent-to-agent interactions, handling payments, attestations, and access control.

Why personal LLMs could improve DAO efficiency and legitimacyPersonal LLMs could reduce decision fatigue by summarizing proposals, highlighting risks, and flagging conflicts with prior votes or constitutional rules. They can also help audit smart contracts or interpret formal specifications, subject to human review and constraints.

As reported by Cointelegraph, Buterin’s broader governance stance favors pluralism and limits on pure token-weighted power, which aligns with LLMs that inform voters rather than replace them. Academic work on agentic AI in DAOs indicates models can approximate community preferences while remaining auditable, according to arXiv research.

Institutional observers generally see the settlement-layer role as plausible but dependent on coordination, compliance, and accountability. “It’s realistic” for Ethereum to underwrite agentic commerce and governance, said Joni Pirovich, founder and CEO of Crystal aOS.

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Near-term implications for DAOs, privacy, and human oversightin the near term, DAOs experimenting with LLM agents will likely prioritize safeguards against governance capture and off-chain influence. Critics of token governance warn that concentrated holders can shape outcomes, a risk that AI tooling alone does not remove, as reported by The Defiant.

Privacy features will matter as much as voting mechanics. Even with strong cryptography, metadata such as timing and usage patterns can leak signals that erode privacy guarantees, as reported by CryptoSlate.

Cost and latency remain practical bottlenecks. Generating proofs or relying on heavyweight cryptography can be expensive and slow, complicating user experience for routine voting or attestations, as outlined by vitalik.eth.limo.

At the time of this writing, Ethereum (ETH) traded near $1,987, providing neutral context for governance experiments without implying any investment view. market levels do not alter the technical or policy considerations discussed here.

Feasibility, risks, and an implementation roadmap for AI-assisted DAOsEarly feasibility hinges on starting narrow: use LLMs for proposal triage, risk summaries, and policy consistency checks, while keeping humans in the loop for binding decisions. Technical scope should expand only as privacy, accountability, and identity controls mature.

A practical roadmap begins with opt-in assistants that learn voter preferences from public statements and past votes, plus transparent logs of model prompts and outputs. DAOs can then pilot private signaling via ZK attestations, introduce rate-limited credentials to deter sybils, and require human sign-off on all on-chain actions.

Risk management should treat models as advisors subject to audits, red-teaming, and stake- or reputation-slashing if misbehavior is proven. Over time, DAOs can add formal verification checks, reproducible inference pipelines, and circuit- or enclave-verified computations where cost is justified by impact.

Identity, reputation, and accountability requirements for DAO agentsSybil resistance is foundational. DAOs need personhood or membership credentials that bind one human to one agent without exposing real-world identity.

Reputation should track model and operator performance over time, weighting past accuracy, disclosure of uncertainties, and adherence to constitutional constraints. Negative events, such as biased advice or missed risks, must reduce trust scores.

Accountability requires tamper-evident logs, reproducible prompts, and attestations about model versions and safety settings. Independent reviewers should be able to verify that an agent’s recommendation matched its recorded inputs and declared policy.

Appeals and overrides must be explicit: humans can suspend or reverse an agent’s action, with clear procedures for emergency brakes and post-mortems when safeguards trigger.

Privacy trade-offs: ZK, TEE, FHE costs and metadata leakageZero-knowledge proofs enable private eligibility checks and vote validity without revealing identities. TEEs offer speed but rely on hardware trust and attestation supply chains.

FHE promises computation on encrypted preferences but imposes significant performance costs today. No method fully eliminates metadata leakage, so traffic shaping and batching are important complements.

DAOs should combine cryptography with process design: minimum reveal policies, delayed disclosures, and differential privacy where feasible. Privacy budgets and threat models must be documented and auditable.

FAQ about Vitalik ButerinHow would Ethereum function as a privacy-preserving settlement layer for AI agents and governance interactions?Ethereum would settle payments, credentials, and attestations while cryptography keeps voter identities and preferences private, as reported by Decrypt.

Which cryptographic tools (ZKP, TEE, FHE) are needed to protect voter privacy and model accountability, and how practical are they today?ZK proofs secure private validity, TEEs reduce latency with hardware trust, and FHE enables encrypted computation; practicality is limited by cost and complexity, according to vitalik.eth.limo.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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According to Santiment, XRP MVRV indicator stays in the negative as the majority of cryptocurrencies remain undervalued heading into the weekend.

In a recent tweet, Santiment analyzed the 30-day MVRVs of major cryptocurrencies, including XRP. Based on this indicator, XRP is slightly undervalued with its 30-day MVRV being in the negative at -4.1%.

📊 According to the 30-day MVRV's of crypto's large caps, which identifies overvalued and undervalued assets based on average trader returns, here are where things stand:

Undervalued:
📌 Ethereum $ETH: -14.3%

Slightly Undervalued:
📌 Bitcoin $BTC: -6.9%
📌 Chainlink $LINK:… pic.twitter.com/Qu08RBaw1S

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 20, 2026 At the time of writing, XRP was trading sideways near $1.44, up 2.43% in the last 24 hours, with analysts signaling that a major move might be brewing.

XRP volatility has dropped to levels last seen before a major 2024 rally, with technical traders highlighting a compression setup.

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This price setup has $1.39 as key support and $1.44 as near-term resistance that could open a move toward $1.50 to $1.62 if reclaimed.

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With volatility near prior cycle lows, analysts indicate that the timing and direction of the next breakout might depend on how long this low volatility consolidation phase might last.

XRP expands in RWA tokenizationIn a recent tweet, Evernorth CEO Asheesh Birla highlighted XRP's growth in the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market. He added that this signifies that institutional blockchain adoption is accelerating on XRPL.

The RWA activity growth is significant as it suggests that XRP Ledger is seeing meaningful traction from institutions that value guardrails mirroring existing market infrastructure.

The Evernorth CEO also highlighted RLUSD’s growth as another major signal for XRP Ledger. RLUSD rose to over $1 billion in issuance within months last year, and its distribution keeps expanding, including a full integration on Binance in the past week.

Decentralized exchange growth on XRP Ledger also indicates increasing on-chain participation. DEX activity on XRPL hit a 13-month high in terms of transactions per day at the start of 2026. Increased trading volume implies deeper liquidity, tighter spreads and more capital efficiency.

Tether has pulled the plug on offshore Chinese yuan-backed stablecoin CNH₮, saying that new tokens will no longer be issued from them anymore.

In a press release on Saturday, Tether said, “We continuously evaluate our stablecoin offerings to ensure they align with real-world usage, long-term sustainability, and the needs of the communities that rely on them.”

The CNH₮ shutdown will happen in two stages. Stage one is already in effect. Minting is over. Stage two comes one year from now. At that point, redemption support for CNH₮ will end. Before that deadline hits, Tether said it will send out a reminder notice.

Until the final redemption date, holders can still redeem their CNH₮, as redemptions will continue under Tether’s existing Terms of Service, according to the press release, which also told users to redeem as soon as possible and not wait until the last minute.

Tether said the reason is simple. CNH₮ did not see enough steady demand. Usage stayed low compared to other tokens in the lineup. The company said the activity levels did not justify the cost and operational work needed to maintain the product at its internal standards.

Tether’s USDT supply falls below $184 billion At the same time, the stablecoin market data from Artemis Analytics shows that USDT supply has fallen by about $1.5 billion so far in February. January already showed a smaller drop. If this pace continues, February could post the biggest monthly decline since December 2022, shortly after Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX collapsed.

USDT supply peaked in early January just under $187 billion. By February 18, it had slipped below $184 billion. Even with that decline, the overall supply reached $304.6 billion in February, up from $302.9 billion at the end of the previous month.

USDC, issued by Circle Internet Group Inc., climbed to $75.7 billion. That is nearly a 5% increase this month. On transaction volume, stablecoins are still active. In 2025, total stablecoin transfers jumped 72% to $33 trillion. USDC handled $18.3 trillion of that volume. USDT processed $13.3 trillion.

In its Q4 2025 earnings report, Tether said, “The Reserves for Tether tokens in circulation amount to $181,223,149,214. The Liabilities of the Company amount to $174,445,364,503 of which $174,356,634,812 relates to digital tokens issued. The Value of the assets composing the Reserves as of 30 September 2025 exceeds the value of the liabilities of the Company by $6,777,784,711.”

3 mins mins

What Vitalik’s cypherpunk principled, non-ugly Ethereum meansvitalik buterin’s stated aim is an Ethereum that is cypherpunk principled and “not ugly,” preserving core values while reducing protocol complexity. The emphasis falls on censorship resistance, zero-knowledge friendliness, safety, and simplicity baked into the base layer.

In practical terms, “non-ugly” signals fewer ad‑hoc patches and cleaner execution paths that are easier to reason about and verify. The direction contemplates future, system-level improvements without discarding the existing network, prioritizing tight interoperability.

Why a system-level language shift like RISC-V mattersAs analyzed by ChainCatcher, migrating smart‑contract execution toward a RISC‑V target could streamline architecture and reduce reliance on special‑case precompiles. The report highlights potential gains for zk virtual machines, which may generate proofs more efficiently against a well‑specified instruction set.

Editorially, the proposal is framed as additive rather than a restart. As reported by The Block, Vitalik Buterin described the goal as “cypherpunk principled, non‑ugly … tightly integrated and interoperable with the present‑day system.” The framing underscores coexistence first, with future optional migration paths.

according to Odaily, developer critiques warn that proof‑system speedups alone do not erase complexity; some heavy operations could still require precompiles or syscalls. These voices also flag maintainability and fragmentation risks during any multi‑year transition.

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According to Crypto2Community, ethereum foundation co‑executive director Tomasz Stańczak has affirmed that EVM compatibility remains central and that a RISC‑V backend would be additive. In that approach, Solidity and Vyper contracts continue working, while new toolchains can target an alternative execution path.

in the near term, developers should expect a coexistence period rather than a hard cutover. That implies compilers, debuggers, and auditors validating bytecode equivalence and behavior, with bridges or wrappers ensuring old‑to‑new interoperability where needed.

Based on data from Yahoo Scout, ETH traded near $1,987 at the time of this writing. market context does not determine protocol design, but it frames how stakeholders weigh timelines, risk, and migration readiness.

FAQ about cypherpunk principled, non-ugly EthereumIs Ethereum planning to migrate from EVM to RISC-V and how would that transition work in practice?Current discussion centers on adding a RISC‑V backend alongside the EVM, not replacing it. A practical path would prioritize backward compatibility, incremental rollouts, opt‑in adoption, and rigorous auditing before broader use.

How would RISC-V improve zero-knowledge proving performance and scalability on Ethereum?A stable, simple instruction set can reduce circuit complexity for zk proving, enabling faster, cheaper proofs. Benefits depend on compiler maturity, opcode coverage, and how precompiles or syscalls are handled in practice.

Governance would likely require clear benchmarks, security reviews, and formal equivalence checks before endorsing any new execution target beyond pilots or testnets.

Developer readiness matters: mature compilers, auditable toolchains, and smooth interoperability are essential to avoid ecosystem fragmentation during any optional, staged migration.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry a high degree of risk. Always conduct your own research (DYOR).

Bitcoin tests key resistance levels as bulls eye a return to $70,000. Analyze the technical triggers and market sentiment driving the next BTC move.

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Published: 02/21/2026

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Categories: Bitcoin

Bitcoin ($BTC) is currently navigating a pivotal consolidation phase following a volatile start to February 2026. After hitting an all-time high of $126,100 in late 2025, the flagship cryptocurrency faced a sharp correction, dropping toward the $60,000 support zone earlier this month. As of today, February 21, 2026, Bitcoin is showing signs of recovery, trading near $68,162. The question for many traders is whether the current momentum is sufficient to propel the $Bitcoin price back above the psychological $70,000 threshold.

Will Bitcoin Price Reach $70,000?The current technical setup suggests that Bitcoin is testing a significant overhead supply zone. Based on recent price action, the $70,000 to $71,000 range has acted as a "wall" for bulls. However, with the Stoch RSI showing a bullish crossover in the oversold region and price action stabilizing above the $65,000 support, the path toward $70,000 remains the primary short-term target. A sustained break above $68,500 is the immediate prerequisite for this move.

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Bitcoin Price Analysis: The 4-Hour Chart OutlookThe 4-hour chart reveals several critical layers of price action that traders must monitor:

Resistance and Support LevelsImmediate Resistance: The first hurdle lies at $68,500, followed closely by a secondary resistance at $69,500.The 70K Barrier: The $70,000 mark is not just a psychological level but aligns with previous rejection points seen in mid-February.Critical Support: On the downside, $65,077 remains the "line in the sand." If BTC falls below this, a retest of the $60,000 psychological floor becomes likely.

Momentum IndicatorsThe Stoch RSI (3, 3, 14, 14) is currently trending upward in the upper bounds (around 96.37). While this indicates strong buying momentum, it also suggests the asset is entering "overbought" territory on the short-term timeframe. This typically precedes a minor cooling-off period or a sideways consolidation before the next leg up.

Market Sentiment and Macro FactorsThe broader crypto news landscape in February 2026 has been dominated by a mix of "Extreme Fear" and cautious optimism. According to recent data from Santiment, the "Lambo" memes and retail FOMO have largely dried up, which contrarian analysts view as a healthy sign for a sustainable bottom.

IndicatorStatusMarket ImpactFear & Greed Index14 (Extreme Fear)Historical Buy SignalInstitutional FlowsPositive (Europe ETFs)Long-term SupportFederal ReserveHawkish SignalsPressure on Risk AssetsBitcoin Price Prediction: What will Happen to BTC Price?For those looking to trade the current range, comparing platforms is essential to ensure low slippage during high-volatility breaks. Check our exchange comparison to find the best liquidity providers for BTC/USD.

Bullish Scenario: A daily close above $69,500 would likely trigger a liquidations-driven spike toward $72,000, effectively reclaiming the $70k handle.Bearish Scenario: Failure to breach $68,500 could result in a "double top" on the 4-hour chart, leading back to the $64,000 - $65,000 zone.Regardless of the direction, securing your assets in hardware wallets is recommended during these periods of high macro uncertainty.

Conclusion: The Road to $70,000Bitcoin is in a "wait-and-see" mode. While the technicals on the 4-hour chart lean bullish with the recovery from the $64,000 lows, the overhead resistance at $70,000 remains formidable. If the current neutral sentiment shifts toward a relief rally, the end of February could see Bitcoin firmly back in the $70,000 - $75,000 range.

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The flipping point between the two investment assets is close, Kiyosaki said. But, it could be a century away in reality.

The famed New York best-selling author made the headlines on Friday again as he outlined his latest bitcoin purchase, and doubled down on his belief that BTC is (or will eventually) be a better investment option than gold.

It’s worth noting that some of Kiyosaki’s recent statements have caused significant backlash due to a lack of consistency, and some interpreted them as simply false.

Bought 1 More BTC The author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series took it to X to highlight his latest purchase of a whole bitcoin for $67,000. He outlined two major reasons for his decision now:

# 1: Because the Big Print will begin when the US debt crashes the dollar and “The Marxist Fed” begins printing trillions in fake dollars.

#2: The magical 21 millionth Bitcoin is getting close to being mined.

Moreover, he noted that once the last BTC is mined, the cryptocurrency “becomes better than gold.” Now, there are a couple of things we need to address for this statement. First, yes, it might sound as if this moment is close, given the fact that nearly 20 million bitcoins have already been mined.

However, due to the unique way the Bitcoin network works, the last million will be the hardest to mine and will take a long, long time. Probably so long that most of us won’t be here for that pivotal moment.

The incorporation of a halving event that cuts the mining speed in half every roughly four years ensures that the mining of new BTC will gradually decline over time. Consequently, current estimates indicate that the last bitcoin will be mined around 2140. In other words, Kiyosaki will be almost 200 years old at the time (he was born in 1947).

Second, he now says that BTC will become better than gold once the last bitcoin is mined. However, in a post from just a couple of weeks ago, he said he would opt for BTC every time if he had to choose between the two, as by design, there can only be 21 million (no mention of the last bitcoin to be mined).

You may also like: $27.8B in Unrealized Losses Hit Bitcoin Self-Custody Holders as ETFs Shed $8.5B Bitcoin Range-Bound Under Pressure as Analysts Eye $55,000 CryptoQuant Founder Proposes Freezing Old Bitcoin Addresses to Prevent Quantum Attacks At What Price Did You Buy? Again in February, another of his statements led multiple people on X to scratch their heads. He said at the time that he stopped buying BTC at $6,000. However, in many, many other posts, he was bragging about purchasing more bitcoins at prices of well over $100,000.

Naturally, the ever-vigilant crypto community picked up the inconsistency in his words, and the backlash was severe. Nevertheless, there was no response from the famed investor.

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Google searches for “Bitcoin is Dead” have peaked in recent months, reaching as high as 100 on a relative scale. Other related terms, like Bitcoin going to zero, have also registered multi-year highs during this time. Bitcoin is currently trading around $68k after a 47% price correction since October 2025, and bearish sentiment is at relative highs.

One popular crypto analyst, Rekt Fencer, posted on X:

Image Source: X The analyst was quick to declare that a “generational rally” is underway, and that the premier digital currency will recover swiftly from these psychological lows. However, not everyone shares the sentiment.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) retweeted Rekt Fencer’s post with this caption:

Image Source: X CZ has been very active on the microblogging platform recently, often highlighting the sector’s growth and urging investors to hold on while the market corrects. Even he appeared unsure about the implications of this sudden surge in search metrics for this particular phrase. Many replies on CZ’s thread showed that the buying sentiment is growing, but a sudden price reversal may not be on the cards.

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One user asked Grok AI to overlay the “Bitcoin is dead” and “Bitcoin going to zero” history with the cryptocurrency’s spot price chart. It came up with this:

Image Source: X This chart largely aligns with the notion that when people panic and start searching for “Bitcoin is dead” in large numbers, there is a relative price bottom. The same situation occurred in 2022, when sudden spikes in searches were observed as BTC dropped from $50k to $16k, and in 2018, when the cryptocurrency dropped from $20k to $3k.

The Future Historically, a sudden spike in these Google searches has been a positive sign for Bitcoin, albeit in the long term. None of these previous bottoms led to an immediate price reversal. In reality, the bulls took their time, built up momentum, and eventually made a serious move after a year or so.

As for whether Bitcoin is heading towards a complete demise, the cryptocurrency has been declared dead more than 325 times according to data from Bitcoin is Dead. Each time, it has stunned its critics with new highs, so it could be one of those occurrences again. 

Bitcoin is currently hovering in deeply bearish sub-$70k price levels after posting a low of $60k last month. Many analysts still predict we haven’t reached a bottom, and the index could drop to $50k or even lower in the near future as short orders pile up.

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Is ROBO token on Coinbase’s listing roadmap? Verification statusThird-party crypto reports state that Coinbase has included Robo Token (ROBO) in its listing roadmap. As reported by BitcoinSistemi, the altcoin was added to coinbase’s roadmap.

No official confirmation from Coinbase’s blog, X account, Asset Hub, or status pages is cited in the materials summarized. Absent an official post, the claim should be treated as unverified until reflected on Coinbase-owned channels.

What Coinbase’s roadmap means versus an actual listingA roadmap addition signals an asset is under review; it does not guarantee trading, timelines, or market pairs. Listings generally follow further technical, legal, and operational checks before trading is enabled.

Industry explanations emphasize that roadmap inclusion and exchange availability are distinct steps, with the latter contingent on additional due diligence and compliance reviews. This distinction is consistent with how large U.S. exchanges communicate asset evaluation.

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Roadmap headlines can draw attention and volatility, but they do not ensure liquidity or permanence of support. Market participants face typical risks around rumor-driven price swings and impersonation scams during heightened interest.

As reported by CoinGabbar, “Fabric Foundation launches ROBO token airdrop eligibility portal for OpenMind ecosystem. Check your wallet, X, Discord, GitHub to qualify before Feb 24,…” This claim should be verified carefully before engaging with any portal or signer request.

At the time of this writing, Coinbase Global (COIN) reflected a regular-session close of 171.35 USD and after-hours of 171.05 USD, based on data from Yahoo Finance. Equity performance is contextual and does not indicate outcomes for any token review or listing.

How to verify roadmap and listing updates quicklyOfficial sources: Coinbase blog, X, Asset Hub, status pagesConfirm roadmap additions and any listing change where Coinbase publishes official updates. Check the blog for policy or asset announcements, X for timely notices, Asset Hub for listing status, and status pages for rollout details.

Validate Fabric Foundation ROBO airdrop claims; avoid phishing portalsConfirm airdrop eligibility only through Fabric Foundation’s verifiable announcements and channels. Avoid links shared by unknown accounts, wallet drainer prompts, or sites requesting seed phrases. Treat shortened URLs and lookalike domains as red flags.

FAQ about Coinbase listing roadmapHow do I verify Coinbase roadmap additions and new listings from official sources?Check the company blog, verified X account, Asset Hub entries, and status pages. Cross-reference identical details across these channels before acting.

What’s the difference between being on Coinbase’s roadmap and being listed for trading?Roadmap means under review. Listing means trading is live with supported pairs after technical and compliance checks. Inclusion offers no guarantee or timetable.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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The Injective price isn’t moving quietly anymore. It just ripped 20% intraday, and no, this isn’t one of those random pumps out of nowhere. There’s capital behind it. Real capital.

Pineapple Financial (NYSE: PAPL) has accelerated its INJ buying spree, announcing another $2 million acquisition on February 19, 2026, under its ongoing market cash purchase program. That pushes its treasury play deeper into the Injective ecosystem and signals this isn’t a one-off headline grab.

The firm now holds 7.02 million INJ tokens, according to its DAT dashboard. Oh, and it’s sitting on $20.79 million in capital reserves for continued accumulation. Conviction? They say it hasn’t changed.

Pineapple Expands Injective-First Treasury StrategyLet’s not sugarcoat it but public equity treasury strategies buying crypto isn’t exactly new. But Pineapple positioning itself around Injective specifically? That’s deliberate.

This isn’t just passive exposure. It’s active open-market buying. The company is building around INJ crypto as a strategic asset, and its reserves suggest it’s not done yet.

Meanwhile, supply dynamics are tightening. Onchain data highlights that the exchange balances have dropped. Supply outside exchanges climbed to 98.63 million INJ from this week’s low of 97.90 million. That’s accumulation behavior. Whether you’re watching the Injective price chart or on-chain dashboards, the direction is clear: coins are leaving exchanges.

Injective Price Reacts to Buybacks and BurnNow here’s the main delight. This week saw INJ community BuyBack that completely, burning approximately 54,999 INJ permanently. Deflationary mechanics plus treasury accumulation? That’s not a bad combination if you’re building a bullish narrative.

Adding to that a newly approved proposal, IIP-620, introducing a technical blockchain upgrade. Dynamic gas fees will now be capped within a logically aligned range relative to minimum gas price,which in simple terms, fewer wild fee spikes during congestion.

A new proposal with a technical blockchain upgrade has just been approved in the Injective ecosystem. Now the dynamic gas fee will not be able to increase beyond a logically allowed level aligned with the minimum gas price.

Fees are becoming more stable and predictable, limiting… pic.twitter.com/Oap9H4jhdk

— Injective Core (@Injective_Core) February 20, 2026 More predictability. Less chaos. Markets noticed. When writing, the INJ/USD pair is currently trading at $3.86, giving the network a $386 million market cap. And yes, that 20% intraday surge followed weeks of steady bullish developments.

Falling Wedge Signals Injective Price Breakout?Technically speaking, there’s a 24-month compressed falling wedge pattern reacting bullishly this week. If the upper boundary breaks, short-term targets point toward $8.00. That’s the immediate level being watched for Q1 2026.

Stretch that scenario further and some are eyeing $20 longer term, though let’s be real, that won’t happen overnight.

On-chain metrics? Mixed, but improving.

30-day traders are back in profit based on MVRV 30-D. Longer-term 365-day holders are still underwater. The MVRV Z-score sits negative at 0.799, but it’s curving upward. Recovery mode, not euphoria.

So where does this leave the Injective price prediction narrative?

Somewhere between disciplined accumulation and a potential technical breakout. If the wedge gives way and treasury buying continues, the $8 test could come sooner than skeptics expect. For now, the Injective price is doing what bulls have been waiting months to see, it’s finally reacting and follow through depends on further accumulation demand.

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