Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Tyler Williams, the counselor to the Treasury Secretary responsible for steering the department’s digital asset and blockchain policy, has left his position after roughly 17 months on the job. His exit removes one of the most influential voices shaping US crypto regulation at a moment when several major initiatives, from a federal Bitcoin reserve to stablecoin legislation, remain works in progress.

From Galaxy Digital to the Treasury and back out Williams was appointed on February 26, 2025, stepping into a role that put him at the intersection of the Trump administration’s aggressive digital asset agenda and the institutional machinery of the Treasury Department. Before joining the administration, Williams served as Global Head of Policy and Regulatory Counsel at Galaxy Digital, one of the largest crypto-native financial firms in the world.

He also had prior government experience. During Trump’s first term, Williams held the title of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy, giving him a rare combination of both public-sector credibility and private-sector crypto fluency.

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During his tenure, Williams was involved in several of the administration’s marquee crypto priorities. He contributed to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a piece of legislation aimed at finally drawing clean jurisdictional lines between the SEC and CFTC. He also played a role in discussions around establishing a federal Bitcoin reserve. After approximately 17 months, he was gone. No splashy resignation letter. No successor announcement.

What Williams was working on The stablecoin legislation push has been one of the administration’s clearest policy priorities, aimed at creating a federal framework for stablecoin issuers rather than the patchwork of state-by-state regulation that currently exists. Williams was a central figure in those conversations, helping to coordinate the Treasury’s position with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which Williams contributed to, attempts to answer a question the industry has been asking for years: when is a token a security, and when is it a commodity? Williams was also reportedly involved in the planning stages of the federal Bitcoin reserve effort, helping to evaluate the mechanics and risks of such a program.

What crypto investors should watch The most immediate question is who replaces Williams, and how quickly. A fast appointment of someone with comparable expertise would signal that the administration’s crypto priorities remain intact. A prolonged vacancy would suggest the opposite.

Traders should also monitor the legislative calendar. If the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act or stablecoin legislation begins to lose momentum in congressional committees, that could be an indirect consequence of weakened Treasury advocacy. For Bitcoin specifically, the federal reserve concept required sustained internal championing at the Treasury level. Without Williams in the room making the case, the idea could easily lose priority among competing demands for the Secretary’s attention.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

American Bitcoin (@ABTC), the Trump-backed Bitcoin mining and treasury company listed on Nasdaq, reported its strongest production quarter on record while still posting a significant net loss, underscoring the tension between operational momentum and Bitcoin price headwinds.

Record production, but losses persist The company mined approximately 932 $BTC in Q2 2026, its highest quarterly production on record, up from around 817 Bitcoin mined in Q1 2026. Mining revenue climbed to $67.0 million, an increase of roughly 8% from $62.1 million in the prior quarter. Cost to mine came in at approximately $36,500 per Bitcoin in Q2, essentially flat versus the $36,200 recorded in Q1.

The Miami-based company, co-founded by @EricTrump, reported a net loss of $57.2 million for the quarter, narrowing from the $81.8 million loss recorded in Q1, though the bottom line remained deep in negative territory as a $71.2 million non-cash loss on digital assets absorbed almost the entirety of its operating income. Bitcoin's price fell about 11% during the three months of the quarter, a key factor behind the shortfall.

Treasury grows, leadership changes American Bitcoin closed the quarter holding approximately 8,002 $BTC, up from 7,021 at the end of March, a 14% sequential increase. At prevailing prices, that stockpile is worth roughly $512 million. The 14% increase in a single quarter suggests the company is mining and holding rather than selling into the market to cover operational costs.

American Bitcoin Corp. is a majority-owned subsidiary of Hut 8 Corp. Rather than build data centres of its own, it runs on Hut 8's existing infrastructure, which is intended to give it lower costs than a mining firm starting from scratch.

The quarter also brought a notable leadership change. President Matt Prusak announced his departure to join AI energy firm Giga Energy. @EricTrump, who serves as co-founder and chief strategy officer, has repeatedly stated the goal is to build the preeminent American Bitcoin powerhouse. CEO Mike Ho said the company's view is straightforward: Bitcoin is a growing capital asset, and despite headwinds in Q2, the team delivered its highest quarterly production on record and grew its strategic reserve past 8,000 Bitcoin.

American Bitcoin completed a 1-for-15 reverse stock split last month to maintain its Nasdaq listing after its shares fell below the exchange's minimum bid requirement. The Q2 results also came in well below Wall Street expectations, with analysts having forecast EBITDA of $113.8 million and normalized earnings of $0.30 per share.

Sources:
American Bitcoin Q2 2026 Results, PR Newswire
Trumps' American Bitcoin Posts Record BTC Output, Narrows Q2 Loss, CoinTelegraph
American Bitcoin posts $57.2 million Q2 loss while its Bitcoin stash tops 8,000, Cryptopolitan

For the better part of six years, Michael Saylor’s playbook was simple: buy Bitcoin, then buy more Bitcoin. Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, built its entire corporate identity around relentless accumulation. Now it’s selling.

The company offloaded approximately 1,638 BTC for around $104.7 million in late July and early August 2026, boosting its USD cash reserves from $3.2 billion to $4.0 billion.

Where the money is going The Bitcoin sale wasn’t about cashing out for a yacht. About $81 million of the proceeds went toward repurchasing preferred shares and paying dividends on its STRC preferred stock, the financial instrument Strategy created as part of its capital structure expansion.

The company also raised $290.6 million through common stock sales during the same period.

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This wasn’t even the first sale. Back in June 2026, Strategy sold 32 BTC for roughly $2.5 million specifically to cover STRC preferred distributions. That transaction was small enough to fly under the radar. The latest sale, at 50 times the size, is harder to ignore.

After the sale, Strategy still holds 842,138 BTC.

The debt cleanup The Bitcoin sales are only one piece of a broader capital restructuring effort. In May 2026, Strategy repurchased $1.5 billion in 0% convertible senior notes due 2029, paying $1.38 billion for them. The discount, about $120 million, is the kind of trade that makes CFOs look smart at board meetings.

That debt buyback was funded from existing cash reserves, not from new Bitcoin purchases.

The company has also overhauled how it reports its Bitcoin exposure. Instead of simply trumpeting total BTC held, Strategy now provides net exposure figures that account for senior claims like preferred stock and convertible debt.

Why the shift matters Strategy has preferred shareholders expecting dividends. It has convertible debt holders with claims on the balance sheet. It has a $4 billion cash pile that needs to earn its keep. Managing all of this requires selling Bitcoin sometimes, and that’s a fundamentally different posture than “never sell.”

Strategy has been the single largest corporate Bitcoin holder for years, and its buying activity has at times moved markets. If the company shifts from net buyer to occasional seller, that removes a reliable source of demand that traders have come to expect.

For Strategy’s own shareholders, the restructuring creates a different risk profile. The company is less of a pure-play Bitcoin bet and more of a complex financial entity with multiple classes of securities, each with different claims on the underlying assets.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

A woman walks past an office of Countrywide banking and home loans in Sun City, Arizona, 27 October 2007. Mortgage behemoth Countrywide Financial reported a quarterly loss of over one billion USD 26 October, its first shortfall in 25 years, but projected profits ahead as conditions improve. The largest US mortgage finance group, which has seen its finances ravaged by a persistent housing slump, disclosed a third quarter loss of 1.2 billion USD compared with a profit of 648 million USD for the same period a year ago. AFP PHOTO / Richard A. BROOKS (Photo credit should read RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Vishal Garg went to buy a house about twelve years ago and ran into a wall he has been arguing with ever since.

"It was like, wait, I'm gonna have to sell all this stuff. That and pay capital gains on it. And then take the cash. To put it in the house," the Better Home & Finance chief executive said in an interview. "Why can't I just pledge the stuff. Instead of cash?"

Worse, he said, was the sequencing. "What if you don't win the house that you're gonna buy? But the broker's like, yeah, you got to get the money in cash. Otherwise, you know, the seller's not going to take your bid seriously." A buyer sells the assets, books the tax, and only then finds out whether the bid was accepted.

In March, Better and Coinbase announced a fix. Borrowers pledge bitcoin or USDC and get two loans: a conforming first-lien mortgage written to Fannie Mae's guidelines, and a separate privately financed loan that funds the cash down payment, secured by the tokens and by a second lien on the house. The Wall Street Journal reported the same day that Fannie Mae would accept crypto-backed mortgages for the first time. The first loan closed in early June for a couple in their early thirties in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Better says the waitlist ahead of the summer rollout represented roughly $250 million in potential volume, and that 41% of those applicants did not have enough cash for a down payment.

Garg is blunt about where the money to buy these loans comes from. "This is a bank eligible asset. We have Banks lined up to buy these. And fund these. Some of the biggest banks in the country," he said. He expects it to be the route by which "digital assets make their way into the banking system."

What it actually costsThe collateral ratios explain who the product is for. Pledging bitcoin requires 250% of the down payment amount, so a $100,000 down-payment loan needs $250,000 of BTC. USDC, which does not move, requires 125%. There are no margin calls, and a falling bitcoin price does not change the mortgage terms. Liquidation is triggered only by a 60-day payment delinquency, the same trigger as a conforming loan.

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That is a coherent design, and it describes a borrower who is short of cash rather than short of money. Redfin found 12.7% of young recent buyers had used cryptocurrency to help fund a down payment. The National Association of Realtors put the median first-time buyer age at an all-time high of 40 in late 2025, with first-timers a record-low 21% of buyers, a figure the Mortgage Bankers Association disputes using federal loan data. Census figures put homeownership among households under 35 at 35.2% in the second quarter of this year.

Lending against an asset the borrower keeps using is not new. Doug Ricket, CEO and co-founder of PayJoy, said on the On The Margin podcast that a phone can do the job a house does. "Our original invention was we secured the smartphone. Like the smartphone is kind of like the house for a mortgage," he said. PayJoy underwrites thin-file borrowers across Latin America, Africa and South Asia by locking the handset if payments lapse, a model better known as digital collateral.

Ricket draws a hard line on how that collateral gets priced. "One way to lend to the poor is to charge a thousand percent interest rate and have a lot of them default, but you make money on the few stupid people you catch and you squeeze all the money out of them. And that's not the payjoy way," he said. PayJoy's loans carry a one-time fixed finance charge and "0% accruing interest," which is unusual in tech-enabled consumer credit.

Seven senators want it rescindedOn April 30, seven senators wrote to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, naming Better and Coinbase, and asked him to "rescind any approval of this decision and prohibit the Enterprises from taking on crypto-related asset risks." Dick Durbin and Elizabeth Warren signed first, followed by Jeff Merkley, Chris Van Hollen, Richard Blumenthal, Bernie Sanders and Mazie Hirono.

Their objection turns on the same 250% number Better presents as prudence. The structure "requires a homebuyer to pay up to an additional 2.5 times the dollar amount in crypto to qualify for the loan," the senators wrote. "This not only inherently concedes that crypto is a risky asset, but in addition, forces a homebuyer to pay interest on two loans." They estimated the combined financing "could run as much as 1.5 percent higher than the standard Fannie Mae mortgage," and warned that this "incentivizes borrowers to simply walk away from their loan, leaving the American taxpayer to pay the price." They asked for answers by May 30. FHFA has not published a response.

Alys Cohen of the National Consumer Law Center and Corey Frayer of the Consumer Federation of America went further in a June op-ed, writing that the federal government "risks repeating the mistakes that led to the 2008 foreclosure crisis." Their verdict: "That is not an innovation for consumers, it is an invitation for disaster."

The market has not helped the pitch. Bitcoin hit roughly $123,000 last October and traded near $62,800 in February. It has spent July in the low $60,000s, around half its high.

Where Garg wants to take itBitcoin is the opening position. "We do Bitcoin and USDC and there are plans to do all major token assets. So SpaceX stock, Tesla stock coinbase stock better stock. Apple stock, Amazon stock top 50 companies," Garg said. Not memecoins: something with "liquidity" and "institutional following." Ethereum and Solana are next.

He goes further than that. Parents will pledge retirement accounts so their children can buy, he said, an idea that sits alongside the growing market for crypto in retirement accounts. Buyers will photograph a house and let software do the rest. "Have your AI agent apply on better.com. And, you know, be able to say, like, okay, you can bid up to this much for this house," he said. Eventually people will own fractions of homes and move between them. "The only reason that doesn't exist today is the friction."

Underneath all of it is a claim about young people and asset allocation. "As a young person today, you are short inflation. Your short home price appreciation," Garg said.

What a pledged token isThe tokenized-equity leg runs into a question nobody has settled, which is what a token actually entitles its holder to. That question is live right now in the tokenization of everything trade.

Chan Ahn, founder and CEO of Tessera, said on the On The Margin podcast that his firm launched a tokenized SpaceX product in February. He is candid about how it works. "There's no KYC process, and this is intentional, not an oversight," he said. His case for it is access: the private market "was always gate kept to top 0.1 % through paperwork, minimum tickets and geography."

Chris Turner, co-founder of Kula, said on the On The Margin podcast that most tokenized assets are a claim rather than a holding. "It's giving a contractual exposure to the economic upside of that particular asset. But you don't own the asset," he said. What he builds instead is the other thing: "You own the token and the token is the asset, you own the asset. It's different."

A mortgage underwriter pricing collateral needs to know which of those two it is holding.

The other half of the tradeBetter is rewiring its funding at the same time. In February it agreed a partnership with Framework Ventures to deploy up to $500 million through Sky's stablecoin ecosystem, with Framework taking a $45 million stake of roughly 10%. Better expects the shift to cut its cost of capital by more than 100 basis points and has said tokenized funding could put customer rates below 5% while the industry charges above 6%.

It needs the help. Better funded $1.64 billion of loans in the first quarter, up 89% year over year, on $47.5 million of revenue, and still lost about $70 million. Its market capitalization is around $400 million. The company says it has funded more than $110 billion since 2016, and it fired roughly 900 employees on a Zoom call in December 2021, a moment Garg has spent years answering for.

None of which appears to have dented his appetite for the bet. "The risk is we make a product and no one comes, but that's not, that's not what's happened," he said. And on the future generally: "It's not important to think about the future. It's important to make the future happen."

Users can convert their XRP into FXRP and use it as collateral on Ethereum to borrow RLUSD without selling their holdings.

Flare has announced that its FXRP token can now be used as collateral in Sentora’s RLUSD vault on Morpho, marking a new step for XRP in decentralized finance. The update allows XRP holders to access lending markets on Ethereum without selling their underlying holdings.

The integration follows Sentora’s approval of FXRP for use in its institutionally managed RLUSD vault, announced on August 3, 2026. The vault holds about $280 million in RLUSD and now includes a dedicated FXRP/RLUSD market on Morpho Blue.

FXRP Approved as Ethereum Lending Collateral According to a press release sent to CryptoPotato, this is the first time a version of XRP has been accepted as collateral in an institutional lending vault on Ethereum mainnet. Users can mint FXRP through Flare’s FAssets system, transfer it to Ethereum through Stargate, and borrow RLUSD while keeping exposure to XRP.

The lending market is open to all users and does not require a whitelist before participation. A supply cap has been introduced at launch, with the limit expected to change as liquidity grows.

Commenting on the milestone, Flare Co-founder and CEO Hugo Philion said limited infrastructure had restricted XRP’s use in decentralized finance for years. He added that the approval shows institutional risk managers now recognize FXRP as collateral on Ethereum rather than simply another bridged asset.

Echoing that view, Sentora Co-founder and Chief Technology and Product Officer Jesus Rodriguez said the integration brings XRP into on-chain credit markets. He noted that the development expands the practical use of XRP across decentralized lending.

Risk Controls and Future Development Before approving the asset, Sentora completed a review covering market behavior, price oracles, liquidity, and liquidation mechanisms. The company said FXRP will continue to undergo the same monitoring process applied to other approved collateral assets.

You may also like: Bitmine Buys Another 10,399 ETH, Treasury Nears 5.8 Million Coins Ethereum’s Network Is Booming, So Why Is ETH Still Underperforming? Four in a Row: Will XRP Buck Its Bearish August Streak? Morpho Blue isolates each lending market, limiting potential risks to the specific FXRP/RLUSD pool. The structure also gives the market its own oracle system and liquidation parameters.

Under this setup, borrowers will pay interest based on market utilization and must maintain enough collateral to avoid liquidation. Flare is developing Smart Accounts that will allow users to complete the process directly from XRP Ledger wallets. The company is also working on direct FXRP transfers from the XRP Ledger to Ethereum.

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The XRP Ledger Foundation (XLRP) has extended public node access to the XRP Ledger (XRPL) with a new partnership with Ankr. Under the deal, Ankr will provide a network of public nodes on XRPL across the globe. The release comes just days before the expected xrpld v3.3.0 mainnet upgrade.

A Look At XRP Ledger & Ankr’s Partnership The new infrastructure aims to facilitate the interaction between developers and users with XRP Ledger, while eliminating the need to run their own nodes and enhancing the network’s reach.

The XRP Ledger Foundation stated in a post on X “We’re expanding public infrastructure access to the XRP Ledger for developers and users with Ankr. Globally distributed XRPL nodes from New York to Singapore to give you the best connectivity.”

XRPL dUNL validator Vet also commented on the rollout. He wrote, “Adding more public XRP Ledger infrastructure for developers and users, without having them run their own nodes.” He mentioned that Ankr has launched a node RPC network with nodes distributed all over the world and a monitoring website for the XRPL network. “Full history access will be available at a later time,” he said.

The interface in the newly launched portal offers XRP Ledger mainnet and testnet free JSON-RPC endpoints. In addition, there is a real-time overview view of network health, block height, median latency, global reach, request volume and average requests per second.

There is a Quickstart section to give developers ready-to-use examples in cURL and JavaScript. In addition, it features a panel that lists all active nodes in Singapore, New York, Amsterdam and San Francisco, with traffic automatically rerouted to the most appropriate node.

Adding more public $XRP Ledger infrastructure for developers and users, without having them run their own nodes.@ankr has setup a globally distributed XRPL node RPC infra for this purpose and a website for monitoring and data – https://t.co/ZTySuoekEg

Full history access will… https://t.co/eBtf1FTvqg pic.twitter.com/yOY9NPxmkX

— Vet (@Vet_X0) August 3, 2026

It marks a notable feat for the XRPL network after the fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment went live last week with 85.71% consensus support.

About The Upcoming Version 3.3.0 Upgrade Amid the node infrastructure rollout, RippleX Head of Product Jazzi Cooper will be readying the xrpld v3.3.0 release set for next week, contingent on validator approval. Announcing five proposed amendments, Cooper said, “XRPL has already proven it can support tokenized assets at scale. Now it’s time to put these assets to use: global transfers, trading, collateralizing, and settling.” She added that the release “includes five amendments that move XRPL significantly closer to that goal.”

The proposed amendments on XRP Ledger include the introduction of Confidential MPT, which introduces privacy to the Multi-Purpose Tokens with the application of zero-knowledge proofs. Batch will support atomic settlement and delivery versus payment workflows. Permission Delegation will enable institutions to delegate limited transaction permissions without relinquishing their signing power.

Meanwhile, Sponsored Fees and Reserves will allow banks, issuers and platforms to pay for the transaction fee and account reserves for their users. Dynamic MPT will enable issuers to change certain properties of the selected tokens after issuance. However, Cooper reminded that “these amendments will only activate following validator approval” on XRP Ledger.

In brief Flare's FXRP is now accepted as collateral in Sentora's RLUSD vault on Morpho. XRP holders can borrow Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin on Ethereum without selling their XRP. The integration is the first time an XRP-based asset has been approved as collateral in an institutionally curated Ethereum lending vault. XRP holders can now borrow Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin against their holdings on Ethereum without selling their tokens after Flare's FXRP was approved as collateral in Sentora's RLUSD Main vault.

Announced on Monday by layer 1 blockchain developer Flare, the integration lets users convert XRP into Flare's FXRP token, bridge it to Ethereum, deposit it as collateral on the Morpho lending protocol, and borrow RLUSD. Because the loan is backed by collateral rather than a sale, borrowers retain exposure to XRP's price while accessing dollar-pegged liquidity.

“XRP is one of the largest assets in crypto and one of the least used in DeFi. That gap came down to infrastructure,” co-founder and CEO of Flare, Hugo Philion, said in a statement. “XRP is now collateral that an institutional risk team underwrites on Ethereum mainnet, which is a stronger form of recognition than another bridge listing.”

The model is similar to Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), which lets Bitcoin holders use their BTC in Ethereum-based decentralized finance without selling it. FXRP is designed to do the same for XRP, giving holders access to Ethereum lending markets.

The lending market runs on Morpho Blue, which uses isolated lending markets designed to contain risk if problems arise with a specific asset. Sentora said it reviewed FXRP's market behavior, oracle design, liquidity, and liquidation mechanics before approving it as collateral.

The launch builds on Ripple's effort to establish RLUSD as an enterprise-focused stablecoin. In August 2024, Ripple began testing RLUSD on Ethereum and the XRP Ledger for cross-border payments. In December 2024, the company received approval from the New York Department of Financial Services ahead of the stablecoin's launch. Last month, Mastercard said it will support settlement of regulated stablecoins including RLUSD, Circle's USDC, and SoFi's SoFiUSD.

“[Sentora] just took a major step to make XRP useful onchain,” Co-Founder, CTO-CPO of Sentora, Jesus Rodriguez wrote on X. “XRP is one of crypto’s largest and most liquid assets. Yet it remains surprisingly underused in onchain credit. That changes today.”

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In brief BlackRock launched a tokenized money market fund for stablecoin reserve management. The fund records ownership on Solana, Ethereum, and Tempo while investing entirely in cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries. The product targets institutional investors as tokenized Treasury funds continue to grow. BlackRock is expanding onto Solana with a new money market fund designed for stablecoin reserves, adding the blockchain to its list of tokenized investment products.

The world's largest asset manager on Monday launched the BlackRock Daily Reinvestment Stablecoin Reserve Vehicle (BRSRV) alongside tokenized on-chain shares of its existing BlackRock Select Treasury-Based Liquidity Fund (BSTBL).

"Cash remains a foundational building block for investors, corporations, and financial institutions," Jon Steel, Global Head of Product and Platform for BlackRock's Cash Management business, said in a statement. “As demand grows for high-quality reserve assets to support stablecoins and other tokenized financial products, these funds provide clients with additional choice in how they access and use money market fund investment solutions across traditional and digital markets.”

In a prospectus filed with the SEC on Friday, BlackRock said ownership is recorded on Solana, Ethereum, and Tempo, with investors holding shares through approved wallets managed by transfer agent Securitize.

“The Fund issues OnChain Shares through a permissioned system that operates in connection with one or more public, permissionless blockchains, which, as of the date of this Prospectus, include Ethereum, Tempo, and Solana, and may include other supported networks in the future,” BlackRock wrote.

The fund invests entirely in cash, short-term U.S. Treasury securities, and overnight repurchase agreements backed by Treasuries.

According to BlackRock, the fund does not invest in cryptocurrencies.

“The Fund will continue to invest in accordance with the requirements in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act and the terms of this Prospectus,” BlackRock wrote. “The Fund will not invest in any digital assets, including any virtual currencies.”

Wallets must be whitelisted and tied to verified identities, allowing the transfer agent to restrict transfers or, in some cases, freeze, revoke, or reissue tokenized shares. The fund also has a $3 million minimum initial investment.

BlackRock said the fund is structured to qualify as an eligible reserve asset under the GENIUS Act, the U.S. law governing payment stablecoins. Its prospectus also notes that future regulatory changes could affect whether stablecoin issuers can continue using the fund as a reserve asset, while blockchain outages or smart contract flaws could disrupt transactions.

The launch builds on BlackRock's broader tokenization strategy. The firm introduced the BUIDL tokenized money market fund in March 2024, which now manages more than $2.6 billion in assets.

BlackRock joins Morgan Stanley, and Fidelity, which have also introduced products aimed at stablecoin reserve management following the passage of the GENIUS Act.

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A profitable quarter still ended with about half the buffer it started with, and the Big Four audit Tether commissioned in March has yet to produce an audited statement.

Original Image Credits: photodaria / Shutterstock.com

Posted August 3, 2026 at 8:31 am EST.

Tether reported roughly $1.5 billion in net operating profit for the second quarter on Friday, and disclosed in the same release that the cushion sitting between USDT holders and the company’s obligations had fallen to $4.11 billion, about half what it was three months earlier.

The BDO attestation puts total assets at $187.75 billion against $183.64 billion in liabilities as of June 30. Excess reserves stood just above $8.23 billion at the end of March. A quarter that generated $1.5 billion in profit therefore closed with roughly $4 billion less headroom than it opened with.

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Gold and Bitcoin Did the Damage Profit and buffer moved in opposite directions because they sit in different parts of the balance sheet. Treasuries and repurchase agreements produced the earnings. The buffer absorbed markdowns on the assets Tether has spent two years accumulating. Gold slid about 15% to just over $4,000 an ounce, which cut the value of a bigger pile of metal to $18.84 billion from $19.84 billion. The bitcoin price used in the report dropped to $58,600 from $68,200, taking that position to $5.80 billion from $6.62 billion.

Tether bought through both declines, adding 14 tons of gold to reach 146.2 metric tons and about 1,796 BTC to reach 98,933. Those two holdings together now sit near $24.6 billion, close to 13% of total assets. Measured against the $184.6 billion of USDT in circulation, the remaining buffer works out at roughly 2.2%.

Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino presented the quarter as a stress test survived. “Through all of the volatility, USD₮ remained fully backed with our reserves still exceeding liabilities by $4.11 billion,” he said in the release. Tether also cut secured lending by $2.38 billion, or 15%, without naming borrowers or the collateral involved.

The Audit Has Still Not Landed On the audit, Tether said in the quarterly release only that “the Big Four audit process continued.” The company engaged a Big Four firm in March for the first full audit of its reserves, and four months on the quarterly disclosure is still an attestation from BDO. The difference matters: an attestation confirms figures on a single date, while an audit examines how assets were valued and managed across the whole period. Circle, which issues USDC, already reports audited accounts.

USDT issuance grew just $446 million over the quarter, though Tether said its share of a shrinking stablecoin market climbed above 60%.

Related Listen: Stripe Bid $53B for PayPal: Who Actually Wins Stablecoin Payments?

AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.

, /PRNewswire/ -- Building on a track record of delivering advanced sensing technologies for the Space Development Agency's (SDA) proliferated low Earth orbit architecture, Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) was selected by Sierra Space to provide infrared sensing payloads, onboard signal-processing capabilities and mission support for the for the Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 (AMDT3) Tracking Layer.

Sierra Space will integrate Leidos' infrared sensing payloads into 18 missile warning and tracking satellites that will provide persistent detection and tracking of hypersonic and other advanced missile threats from low Earth orbit. Together, Sierra Space and Leidos are combining proven satellite integration and flight-tested sensing technologies to field operational capability for one of the nation's highest priorities in missile defense.

"AMDT3 will build upon proven technologies to accelerate global missile defense capability," said Cindy Gruensfelder, president of Leidos Defense. "Leidos has already demonstrated these technologies on orbit, and with Sierra Space, we will rapidly transition that proven capability into an operational missile defense constellation that will help protect the nation against advanced missile threats."

Leidos' payloads combine infrared sensing with onboard digital signal processing that enables mission-relevant tracking data to be generated directly aboard the satellite, reducing latency and allowing actionable tracking information to be delivered faster to the warfighter. The company will also provide ground support equipment, mission expertise, operations support and sustainment throughout the program.

The AMDT3 award extends Leidos' contributions across SDA tranches 0, 1 and 2, reflecting the customer's continued confidence in the company's proven performance and rapid execution. Leidos' four Tranche 0 payloads have successfully operated on orbit since 2023, producing tracks of real-world events. Leidos is also delivering 14 missile warning and tracking sensors for Tranche 1 and 16 for Tranche 2, plus two dedicated missile defense sensors for Tranche 2.

As SDA expands the tracking layer to provide greater global coverage and enhanced missile defense capabilities, Leidos' flight-proven technologies will help deliver the resilient, proliferated sensing architecture needed to support homeland defense, theater operations and the broader objectives of Golden Dome for America.

The AMDT3 award advances Leidos' NorthStar 2030 strategy by expanding the company's position in space sensing, onboard digital processing and integrated national security technologies while continuing its evolution from technology demonstration to operational missile defense capability.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with approximately 50,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $17.2 billion for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026. For more information, visit www.leidos.com.

Certain statements in this announcement constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These statements are based on management's current beliefs and expectations and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These statements are not guarantees of future results or occurrences. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the "Risk Factors" set forth in Leidos' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Leidos does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statements were made.

Media Contact:

Philip Carder
(571) 926-6698
[email protected]

SOURCE Leidos Holdings, Inc.

Key Takeaways Atlassian to report fiscal Q4 results on Aug. 6 with revenue guidance of $1.653-$1.661B.TEAM's cloud, AI offerings and enterprise adoption are expected to support quarterly growth.TEAM may face pressure from softer IT spending, competition and continued investment costs. Atlassian (TEAM - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 6, 2026.

Atlassian projects fiscal fourth-quarter revenues between $1.653 billion and $1.661 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.66 billion, suggesting growth of 19.8% from the year-ago reported figure.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NET’s second-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.48 per share, suggesting growth of 51% from the same quarter last year. The consensus mark has been revised upward in the past 30 days.

Atlassian surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise being 21.47%.

Factors to Consider Before TEAM’s Q4 EarningsThe growing adoption of Atlassian’s cloud-based offerings, driven by the ongoing digital transformation of enterprises and the rising popularity of hybrid work environments, is likely to have favored the company’s to-be-reported fiscal fourth-quarter performance. Continued migration from on-premises deployments to the cloud and healthy demand from enterprise customers are expected to have remained key growth drivers.

Strong demand for Atlassian’s core collaboration offerings, including Jira and Confluence, along with increasing adoption of AI-powered workflow solutions such as Rovo and Teamwork Collections, is likely to have acted as a major catalyst in the to-be-reported quarter. The company’s strategy of embedding generative AI capabilities across its platform is expected to have encouraged greater customer engagement and product expansion.

Growing enterprise adoption is likely to have supported the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter results. Atlassian has been witnessing stronger traction among large organizations as customers expand platform usage, standardize on its cloud offerings and increasingly adopt higher-value solutions across multiple business functions.

The continued shift toward subscription-based offerings is expected to have remained a tailwind in the to-be-reported quarter. The company’s recurring revenue model, coupled with expanding cloud adoption and cross-selling opportunities, is likely to have supported top-line growth while improving the overall quality of revenues. Atlassian’s investments in product innovation, AI-powered automation and strategic acquisitions are likely to have strengthened its competitive position during the fiscal fourth quarter.

However, Atlassian’s fiscal fourth-quarter performance might have been affected by softening enterprise IT spending amid persistent macroeconomic uncertainty. Slower customer additions, an increasingly competitive collaboration software market and continued investments in sales, marketing and research and development are likely to have remained near-term headwinds.

What Our Model SaysOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Atlassian this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. However, that’s not the case here.

TEAM currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks to ConsiderHere are a few companies worth considering in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector, as our model indicates that these possess the right combination of factors to exceed earnings expectations in their upcoming releases:

SanDisk Corporation (SNDK - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 5. Currently, it has an Earnings ESP of +4.13% and sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SanDisk’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $34.24 per share, indicating a year-over-year surge of 11,707%. Earnings estimates for the quarter have been revised upward by 5.7% over the past 60 days. Shares of SanDisk have soared 457.3% year to date (YTD).

Western Digital Corporation (WDC - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 5. Currently, it has an Earnings ESP of +3.22% and flaunts a Zacks Rank #1.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Western Digital’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $3.35 per share, calling for a year-over-year increase of 101.8%. Earnings estimates for the quarter have been revised upward by 3 cents in the past 30 days. Shares of Western Digital have surged 217.5% YTD.

MKS Inc. (MKSI - Free Report) is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 5. Currently, it has an Earnings ESP of +2.64% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MKS’ second-quarter earnings is pegged at $2.93 per share, calling for a year-over-year jump of 65.5%. Earnings estimates for the quarter have been revised northward by a penny in the past 30 days. Shares of MKS have rallied 83.5% YTD.

Key Takeaways MKTX beat Q2 earnings estimates despite lower revenues and a year-over-year decline in adjusted EPS.MarketAxess saw emerging markets trading volume rise 12%, while Eurobonds trading volume also increased.MKTX faced weaker high-grade and high-yield trading volumes, higher expenses and lower commission revenues. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (MKTX - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share of $1.95, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.7%. However, the bottom line decreased 2.5% year over year.

Total revenues were $218.4 million, which fell 0.5% year over year. However, the top line beat the consensus mark by 0.5%.

The quarterly results were aided by solid growth in emerging markets and Eurobonds trading volumes. Increased information services, technology services and post-trade services revenues also contributed to the upside. The gains were partly offset by higher expenses and lower commission revenues, along with weaker high-grade and high-yield trading volumes.

MarketAxess’ Quarterly Operational UpdateCommission revenues declined 3% year over year to $186.9 million. The metric missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $188.9 million and our estimate of $196.2 million. Information services revenues of $16.1 million grew 23% year over year. The metric beat the consensus mark of $14.1 million and our estimate of $13.2 million. Post-trade services revenues increased 5% year over year to $11.6 million, while technology services revenues rose 8% to $3.8 million.

Total expenses were $128.5 million, which rose 1% year over year in the quarter due to higher technology and communications costs, professional and consulting fees, and marketing and advertising. The metric was lower than our estimate of $138.3 million.

MarketAxess’ net income fell 4% year over year to $68.3 million but came in higher than our estimate of $67.1 million. The net income margin of 31.3% deteriorated 110 basis points year over year.

MarketAxess’ Trading VolumesThe high-grade trading volume of MarketAxess was $461.1 billion in the second quarter, which declined 4% year over year and lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $473.4 billion. The ADV of the same product category totaled $7.4 million, which fell 4% year over year and missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.6 million.

High-yield trading volume of $96.7 billion fell 8% year over year, while ADV declined 8% to $1.6 billion. Other credit trading volume rose 2% year over year to $40.7 billion, whereas ADV for the same product category increased 2% to $657 million.

Trading volume and ADV of emerging markets rose 12% each on a year-over-year basis to $279 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively. The Eurobonds’ trading volume rose 2% and ADV improved 1% on a year-over-year basis.

The total credit trading volume of $1 trillion rose 1% year over year. Total credit ADV inched up 0.3% to $16.9 billion. Total rates’ trading volume and ADV of this product category each declined 19% on a year-over-year basis.

MarketAxess’ Balance Sheet (As of June 30, 2026)MarketAxess exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $245.8 million, which fell from the 2025-end level of $519.7 million. Total assets of $2.4 billion rose 25.2% from the figure at 2025-end.

The company had $112 million in outstanding borrowings under its credit facility at the end of the second quarter. Total stockholders’ equity of $1.2 billion rose 8.1% from the 2025-end level.

MarketAxess’ Cash FlowsNet cash provided by operating activities was $26.8 million in the second quarter of 2026 compared with $103.7 million in the prior-year quarter. The free cash flow declined 21.3% year over year to $88.9 million in the second quarter of 2026.

MarketAxess’ Capital Deployment UpdateAs of July 29, 2026, $205 million remained available under the board-authorized share repurchase program.

The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of 78 cents per share, which will be paid out on Sept. 2, 2026, to its shareholders of record as of Aug. 19.

MKTX has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.

MKTX’s Zacks RankMKTX currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

How Did Peers Perform?Here are some stocks from the broader finance space that have also reported their quarterly results: RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RNR - Free Report) , Aon plc (AON - Free Report) and The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (HIG - Free Report) . Here's how they have performed:

RenaissanceRe reported second-quarter 2026 operating income of $12.92 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.9%.  The bottom line also improved 5.1% year over year. Total operating revenues declined 6.7% year over year to $2.64 billion. The quarterly earnings benefited from lower expenses, higher net investment income and an improved total combined ratio. However, RNR’s upside was partly offset by lower net premiums earned, weaker underwriting results in the Casualty & Specialty segment and lower fee income.

Aon reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.81 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.1%. The bottom line advanced 9% year over year. Total revenues of $4.2 billion grew 2% year over year. AON’s quarterly results were supported by strong organic revenue growth, healthy client retention, operating margin expansion and disciplined execution. Solid performance across the Commercial Risk, Reinsurance and Health Solutions businesses was partly offset by weakness in Wealth Solutions.

Hartford delivered second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings per share of $3.42, up 6% year over year and above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.12 by 9.6%. Revenues came in at $5.23 billion, which improved 6.8% year over year. HIG’s quarterly results benefited from higher investment income, premium growth in Business Insurance and improving Personal Insurance profitability. Strong new business expansion in Small Business and favorable pricing trends supported results. However, the upside was partly offset by an increased expense level, higher catastrophe losses and weaker Employee Benefits profitability.

Key Takeaways Dutch Bros' Q2 EPS is projected to rise 11.5% YoY to 29 cents, while revenues are seen up 26.1% to $524.2M.BROS may benefit from same-shop sales growth, food rollout and stronger digital engagement in Q2.Higher coffee costs, food rollout expenses and build-to-suit lease costs may pressure BROS' margins. Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS - Free Report) is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 5.

BROS’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 31.6%.

Trend in the Estimate Revision of BROSThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at 29 cents, indicating a rise of 11.5% from 26 cents reported in the year-ago quarter.

For revenues, the consensus mark is pegged at $524.2 million. The metric suggests a rise of 26.1% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

Let us take a look at how things might have shaped up in the quarter to be reported.

Factors Likely to Shape BROS’ Quarterly ResultsDutch Bros’ second-quarter 2026 performance is likely to have benefited from sustained transaction growth, healthy customer demand and continued same-shop sales momentum. The company expects system same-shop sales growth to approach 5% for the quarter, supported by underlying brand strength and transaction growth beyond the unusually successful limited-time offering that aided first-quarter results.

The continued expansion of Dutch Bros’ food platform is likely to have supported second-quarter sales. The program had reached 485 system shops by the end of the first quarter, with attachment rates tracking in the low teens and ahead of initial expectations. Shops offering food continued to generate an approximately 4% comparable-sales lift, while the platform strengthened the morning beverage occasion. Further rollout during the quarter is likely to have supported same-shop sales, transactions and morning-daypart demand.

Strength in company-operated shop revenues and franchising and other revenues is expected to have driven the second-quarter top line. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for company-operated shop revenues is pegged at $485.5 million, up from $380.5 million reported in the prior-year quarter. The consensus estimate for franchising and other revenues is pegged at $38.7 million, compared with $35.3 million a year ago.

Digital engagement and menu innovation may also have supported second-quarter results. Continued adoption of Order Ahead, stronger in-app offer effectiveness and expanded rewards segmentation are likely to have encouraged repeat visits and strengthened customer engagement. The May launch of Myst Energy Refreshers may have provided an additional transaction catalyst by broadening Dutch Bros’ customized energy platform and addressing additional customer occasions.

Pricing and shop expansion are expected to have provided second-quarter top-line support. Dutch Bros carried approximately 1.5 percentage points of pricing into the quarter, benefiting average ticket. The company entered the period with its shop-opening cadence ahead of schedule, while new-shop productivity remained in line with record system-wide AUVs. Strong early performance at converted Clutch Coffee Bar locations and continued openings across existing and new markets may have further expanded the revenue base.

However, elevated input costs are likely to have pressured profitability in the second quarter. Coffee-cost pressure is expected to become more pronounced as 2026 progresses, while expenses associated with the continued food rollout are likely to have weighed on the cost of goods sold. In addition, higher rental expenses stemming from the shift toward build-to-suit leases are expected to have constrained company-operated shop margins in the to-be-reported quarter.

What Our Model Says About BROS StockOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Dutch Bros this time. A stock needs to have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to beat earnings. However, that's not the case here.

Earnings ESP for BROS: Dutch Bros currently has an Earnings ESP of -4.68%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Dutch Bros’ Zacks Rank: The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2.

Stocks Poised to Beat on EarningsIn the to-be-reported quarter, Sweetgreen’s earnings are expected to register a 35% year-over-year increase. SG’s earnings missed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average miss being 42.4%.

CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +20.30% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

In the to-be-reported quarter, CAVA’s earnings are expected to increase 6.3% year over year. CAVA’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, with the average surprise being 16.6%.

Brinker International, Inc. (EAT - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.12% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

In the to-be-reported quarter, Brinker earnings are expected to register a 23.3% year-over-year decline. EAT’s earnings surpassed estimates in all of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 6.8%.

12h37 ▪ 6 min read ▪ by Evans S.

Summarize this article with:

Bitget has upgraded BGBTC, its yield-bearing Bitcoin asset, with daily BTC rewards, faster large-volume redemptions and stronger risk controls. The exchange has also selected Chainlink CCIP as its main cross-chain infrastructure. The move places BGBTC at the center of a wider shift: Bitcoin is increasingly expected to remain liquid, productive and usable across several financial activities.

In brief Bitget has upgraded BGBTC with daily BTC rewards and faster redemptions. Chainlink CCIP will support BGBTC’s secure cross-chain distribution. Gauntlet will provide independent oversight of the underlying yield strategies. Bitget turns idle Bitcoin into a more flexible capital asset Bitget developed BGBTC around a simple problem. Bitcoin holders often have to choose between keeping BTC untouched or moving it into separate yield strategies that add complexity and risk. The new model follows the same capital-efficiency logic seen when Bitget expanded tokenized equities into broader margin and yield use cases.

BGBTC is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin and distributes daily rewards denominated in BTC. Users therefore keep exposure to Bitcoin while receiving a return generated through the product’s underlying strategies. The structure is designed to make long-term holdings more productive without converting rewards into a separate token or fiat currency.

The asset also has uses beyond passive holding. Bitget says BGBTC can serve as futures margin, lending collateral and an eligible asset for Launchpool and PoolX. This means the same Bitcoin-backed position can support several activities instead of remaining isolated inside an earn account.

That flexibility changes the economic role of BTC on the platform. BGBTC is not merely a wrapped representation designed for transfers. It becomes working capital. A holder can maintain Bitcoin exposure, earn BTC rewards and deploy the asset elsewhere within the Bitget ecosystem.

Chainlink CCIP expands distribution while Gauntlet watches risk The most technical part of the upgrade is Bitget’s adoption of Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol. CCIP will act as the canonical infrastructure for moving BGBTC across supported networks. Bitget already uses Chainlink Proof of Reserve, which provides an additional transparency layer around the assets backing the product.

Cross-chain distribution matters because yield-bearing Bitcoin becomes less useful when it remains trapped on one platform or blockchain. CCIP is intended to give BGBTC a standardized route into a wider multi-chain environment. This could increase its potential use in lending, collateral management and decentralized applications.

Chainlink has already positioned CCIP and Proof of Reserve as core tools for connecting tokenized assets across networks. Its growing role in institutional infrastructure was also visible as Chainlink strengthened its technical position in the real-world asset market.

Bitget is pairing that infrastructure with an independent Curator framework. Gauntlet, a quantitative risk-management company active in decentralized finance, will oversee the strategies supporting BGBTC’s yield. The arrangement separates strategy monitoring from asset custody and introduces outside review into the product’s operation.

This distinction is important. A 1:1 Bitcoin reserve explains what backs BGBTC, but it does not by itself explain how rewards are produced. The Curator is expected to assess portfolio exposure, monitor risk and support the sustainability of the yield strategies. That oversight does not eliminate risk, but it creates clearer responsibility around how the underlying capital is managed.

Bitget pushes Bitcoin from passive ownership to active yield BGBTC reflects a broader change in the Bitcoin market. Holding BTC was once treated as the final strategy. Today, exchanges, asset managers and DeFi platforms increasingly want Bitcoin to generate income, secure loans or support derivatives positions without being sold.

Bitget is building around that demand. Large-volume fast redemption is meant to improve liquidity for bigger users, while daily BTC rewards make performance easier to track. Futures margin and lending utility also give BGBTC several sources of practical demand inside the platform.

However, active yield introduces questions that passive custody does not. Users need to understand where returns come from, how redemption works under stress and what happens if an underlying strategy performs poorly. Proof of reserves confirms backing, but it should be accompanied by clear reporting on yield sources, fees and risk exposure.

The upgrade therefore represents more than a new Bitcoin product. It connects centralized custody, decentralized infrastructure and professional risk management within one structure. That matches the wider direction already visible as Bitget combines crypto and traditional markets through its Universal Exchange strategy. BGBTC gives that model a Bitcoin-focused layer, where the asset can generate rewards while remaining available for trading and collateral. The real test will not be the initial yield. It will be whether Bitget can preserve liquidity, transparency and reliable redemptions when market conditions become difficult. Active Bitcoin is attractive when markets are calm. Its credibility is built when volatility returns.

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Evans S.

Fascinated by Bitcoin since 2017, Evariste has continuously researched the subject. While his initial interest was in trading, he now actively seeks to understand all advances centered on cryptocurrencies. As an editor, he strives to consistently deliver high-quality work that reflects the state of the sector as a whole.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

Circle has acquired nearly 1,000 blockchain patents from IBM, giving the USDC issuer what it describes as the largest blockchain patent portfolio in the United States.

Summary

Circle acquired nearly 1,000 issued patents spanning more than 680 patent families. The portfolio covers blockchain, banking, insurance, cloud security, and enterprise infrastructure. Circle has not disclosed the purchase price or explained whether it could enforce the patents against competitors. CRCL initially gained about 2%, but later fell after Morgan Stanley cut its target to $38. Circle takes control of IBM’s blockchain portfolio Circle announced the acquisition on July 27, saying it had purchased core assets from IBM’s blockchain patent portfolio. The transaction covers more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide.

The intellectual property spans blockchain systems, financial services, banking, insurance, supply-chain verification, enterprise infrastructure, and secure cloud operations. Circle did not disclose the financial terms.

Circle said the portfolio would support USDC, the Circle Payments Network, its Arc blockchain, and tools designed for artificial intelligence agents. The two companies also plan to consider further commercial agreements.

“Intellectual property is critical to advancing our mission and expanding adoption of onchain infrastructure,” Circle General Counsel Sarah Wilson said.

Wilson added that the acquisition would expand Circle’s ability to develop infrastructure for internet-based finance.

Patent deal raises concerns over possible enforcement Circle’s announcement did not state whether the company intends to license the patents, use them defensively, or enforce them against other blockchain businesses.

That lack of detail has prompted questions about how Circle could use its newly acquired intellectual property. In an Aug. 3 commentary, Fortune’s Jeff John Roberts warned that the patents could become legal leverage against competitors or startups.

Roberts argued that Circle could theoretically seek licensing payments, bring infringement cases, or transfer patents to separate entities that pursue enforcement. However, Circle has not announced plans to take any of those actions.

The concerns also stem from IBM’s mixed record in commercial blockchain development. IBM previously backed several enterprise blockchain projects, including supply-chain and trade-finance platforms, but many failed to achieve broad adoption.

A large patent portfolio does not necessarily indicate that the underlying products reached commercial success. Still, issued US patents can give their owner the right to restrict others from using covered inventions, subject to their validity and scope.

Circle has also not announced a public defensive patent pledge comparable to commitments used by some other digital-asset companies. Such pledges generally promise that patents will not be used offensively against developers acting in good faith.

US blockchain firms face new intellectual property risk Circle’s position as the largest US holder of blockchain-related patents could affect companies building stablecoin, payments, interoperability, and enterprise ledger products.

The practical impact will depend on the language of individual patent claims and whether Circle chooses to enforce them. Any infringement dispute would also face review in US courts, where defendants can challenge whether a patent is valid or applies to their technology.

For Circle, the acquisition may provide protection as it expands beyond reserve income from USDC. Arc, Circle Payments Network, cross-chain services, and agent-based payment tools could expose the company to a broader set of technology competitors.

It may also strengthen Circle’s bargaining position in licensing or partnership negotiations. Still, without an enforcement policy, developers and competitors have limited visibility into whether the portfolio will function mainly as a defensive shield or a commercial asset.

CRCL falls despite initial reaction to IBM deal Fortune reported that Circle shares rose about 2% following news of the acquisition. That gain did not hold as separate concerns about the company’s USDC business weighed on CRCL on Aug. 3.

Circle shares fell nearly 5% to around $59 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight and cut its price target from $106 to $38. The bank cited weaker USDC supply forecasts, pressure on reserve income, and a potential shift toward lower-margin transaction revenue.

Morgan Stanley reduced its USDC supply estimates by 33% for 2027 and 44% for 2028. The downgrade was separate from the IBM patent acquisition, although both developments reflect Circle’s attempt to establish revenue sources beyond interest earned on USDC reserves.

Investors will now watch for details on how Circle intends to integrate, license, or enforce the patents. Until the company provides those details, claims that it will use the portfolio against competitors remain speculative.

Key Takeaways MACOM Technology is expected to post Q3 EPS of $1.34 and revenues of about $335.1 million.MTSI's data center business was projected to grow nearly 35% sequentially on 800G and 1.6T demand.Industrial & Defense growth, higher utilization and better yields may support further margin expansion. MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (MTSI - Free Report) is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 results before market open on Aug. 6.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings is pinned at $1.34 per share, indicating a 48.9% year-over-year increase. The consensus estimate for the bottom line has remained unchanged over the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MACOM Technology’s third-quarter revenues is pegged at approximately $335.1 million, suggesting a 32.9% jump from the year-ago quarter’s sales of $252.1 million.

MACOM Technology’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 1.78%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for the upcoming quarterly results.

Factors Likely to Have Shaped MTSI’s Q3 PerformanceMACOM Technology’s third-quarter performance is likely to have benefited from strong growth across the data center business. During the last earnings call, management projected nearly 35% sequential growth in this segment, supported by rising deployments of 800G and 1.6T optical connectivity products, strong demand for photodetectors and increasing production of pluggable optical modules. The company also raised its fiscal 2026 data center growth outlook from more than 40% to more than 60%, reflecting strong customer demand.

Industrial & Defense (I&D) is likely to have remained another bright spot. MACOM Technology’s revenues from this segment reached record levels in the previous quarter, backed by healthy defense spending, growing radar and electronic warfare programs, and increasing demand from the company's top defense customers. Management expected this business to post nearly 10% sequential growth in the third quarter, supported by a healthy pipeline of production programs and modernization projects.

Telecom may also have contributed, although at a slower pace. Management had guided for low single-digit sequential growth, supported by improving cable infrastructure demand and ongoing activity in satellite communication programs. While major LEO production ramp-ups are expected to contribute more meaningfully in fiscal 2027, current low-rate production programs are likely to have provided incremental revenues during the to-be-reported quarter.

Operational execution is also expected to have remained a tailwind in the third quarter. Higher factory utilization, improving manufacturing yields and expanding production capacity are expected to have supported another quarter of gross margin expansion. Management had guided for adjusted gross margin of 59-60%, operating margin near 30%, and adjusted EPS between $1.31 and $1.37.

Q3 Earnings Whispers for MACOM TechnologyOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for MTSI this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. However, that’s not the case here.

MACOM Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks to ConsiderHere are a few companies worth considering in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector, as our model indicates that these possess the right combination of factors to exceed earnings expectations in their upcoming releases:

SanDisk Corporation (SNDK - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 5. Currently, it has an Earnings ESP of +4.13% and sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SanDisk’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $34.24 per share, indicating a year-over-year surge of 11,707%. Earnings estimates for the quarter have been revised upward by 2.8% over the past 30 days. Shares of SanDisk have soared 411.7% year to date (YTD).

Western Digital Corporation (WDC - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 5. Currently, it has an Earnings ESP of +3.22% and sports a Zacks Rank #1.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Western Digital’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $3.35 per share, calling for a year-over-year increase of 101.8%. Earnings estimates for the quarter have been revised upward by a penny in the past 30 days. Shares of Western Digital have surged 216.2% YTD.

MKS Inc. (MKSI - Free Report) is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 5. Currently, it has an Earnings ESP of +1.59% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MKS’ second-quarter earnings is pegged at $2.94 per share, calling for a year-over-year jump of 66.1%. Earnings estimates for the quarter have been revised upward by a penny in the past seven days. Shares of MKS have rallied 86.1% YTD.

Key Takeaways BorgWarner to report Q2 results on Aug. 5, with EPS seen at $1.26 and revenues at $3.58 billion.BWA's partnerships and Eldor acquisition support electrified propulsion despite soft vehicle production.BorgWarner expects battery sales to fall again in 2026, weighing on growth despite margin guidance. BorgWarner Inc. (BWA - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 5, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings per share (EPS) and revenues is pegged at $1.26 and $3.58 billion, respectively.

For the second quarter, the consensus estimate for BorgWarner’s earnings has moved a penny over the past 30 days. Its bottom-line estimates imply growth of 4.1% from the year-ago reported numbers.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BWA's quarterly revenues implies a year-over-year decline of 1.5%. The company's earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 11.08%. This is depicted in the graph below:

Q1 HighlightsBorgWarner’s adjusted earnings of $1.24 per share in the first quarter of 2026 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.16 by 6.83%. Revenues of $3.53 billion topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.47 billion by 1.74% and increased 0.5% year over year.

Things to NoteBorgWarner’s partnerships with FinDreams Battery and onsemi, along with the Eldor hybrid systems acquisition, continue to strengthen its electrified propulsion portfolio across batteries, power electronics, and ignition systems. Its battery energy storage systems are cell-chemistry and form-factor independent, allowing the company to expand beyond mobility into stationary and data center applications.

Even though global vehicle production remains soft, BorgWarner still expanded its adjusted operating margin by 50 basis points to 10.5% in the first quarter of 2026 while adjusted EPS rose 12%, thanks to aggressive cost controls, operational discipline, and the exit from weaker charging businesses. The company expects full-year adjusted operating margin guidance in the range of 10.7-10.9% despite inflation and lower battery sales compared to 10.7% in 2025.

Partnership with FinDreams Battery and onsemi, along with a resilient margin forecast for full-year 2026, are likely to have bolstered the company’s performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

However, BorgWarner’s battery segment remains a major weak spot. The company expects battery sales to decline again in 2026 because of lower North American EV incentives and weaker European EV demand. The battery business alone represents a roughly 150-basis-point headwind to annual sales growth. Also, despite diversification efforts, over 80% of BorgWarner’s sales still come from the light vehicle market. The company expects weighted vehicle production to remain flat to down 3% in 2026.

Weakness in the battery segment and a decline in vehicle production are likely to have impacted BorgWarner’s performance in the second quarter.

Let’s have a look at our estimates for BWA’s segmental performance.

We expect Turbos & Thermal Technologies revenues to be $1.41 billion, suggesting a 5% year-over-year decline. For the Drivetrain & Morse Systems segment, we project sales of $1.46 billion, indicating a 2.4% year-over-year increase. We expect PowerDrive Systems sales to be $611 million, suggesting a rise of 5.2% year over year. For the Battery & Charging Systems segment, we project sales of $92.7 million, indicating a 41.7% year-over-year decline.

Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for BorgWarner for the quarter to be reported, as it does not have the right combination of the two key ingredients. A positive Earnings ESP, combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: BWA has an Earnings ESP of +0.62%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: It currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Earnings Releases From Auto SpaceGeneral Motors Company (GM - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.57 per share, up 41.3% year over year. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.13 by 14.06%. Revenues increased 1.9% to $48.03 billion and surpassed the consensus estimate of $46.56 billion by 3.15%. Strong pricing, lower costs and disciplined incentives supported results. General Motors raised its full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to $14-$16 billion from $13.5-$15.5 billion. Adjusted earnings are now projected at $12-$14 per share, up from the prior range of $11.50-$13.50.

Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 33 cents per share, which declined 17.5% year over year. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 50 cents by 34%. Revenues advanced 25.5% to $28.24 billion and surpassed the consensus estimate of $25.81 billion by 9.41%. Tesla expects 2026 capital expenditures to exceed $25 billion and rise further over the next two to three years.

Genuine Parts Company (GPC - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.15 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.10 by 2.38%. The bottom line increased 2.4% from $2.10 in the year-ago quarter. Revenues rose 6% year over year to $6.54 billion and surpassed the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion by 2.36%. Genuine Parts reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted earnings guidance of $7.50-$8 per share and total sales growth outlook of 3-5.5%. Genuine Parts ended June with $2.3 billion of liquidity, including $559 million in cash.

Key Takeaways Shake Shack's Q2 revenue estimate implies 17.2% growth, while EPS is projected to fall 29.6%.Smoky BBQ and Clubhouse launches drove traffic and ticket growth, supporting same-Shack sales.Digital guest counts and app downloads rose over 35%, while new openings likely aided revenues. Shake Shack Inc. (SHAK - Free Report) is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 5, before the opening bell.

SHAK’s earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, and missed on the remaining one occasion, with an average surprise being negative 15.5%.

Trend in the Estimate Revision of SHAKThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at 31 cents per share, down 29.6% year over year. In the past 30 days, earnings estimates for the to-be-reported quarter have been revised downward by 3 cents.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $417.8 million, indicating 17.2% growth from the prior-year actual.

Let us take a look at how things might have shaped up in the quarter to be reported.

Factors Likely to Shape SHAK’s Quarterly ResultsShake Shack’s second-quarter performance is likely to have benefited from continued momentum in same-Shack sales, supported by positive traffic trends, menu innovation and targeted marketing investments. Management noted that the company entered the quarter with improving sales momentum, aided by the successful launch of its Smoky BBQ platform, including the BBQ Boneless Baby Back Rib Sandwich, which drove strong guest response early in the quarter.

Menu innovation is expected to have remained a key traffic driver. The company highlighted strong nationwide performance from the Clubhouse Pimento Cheeseburger and Chicken Sandwich introduced in March, while management indicated that the BBQ menu platform significantly exceeded expectations in May and was driving both traffic and ticket growth. Continued beverage innovation and a robust pipeline of limited-time offerings are also likely to have supported guest engagement in the quarter.

Digital engagement and expansion are likely to have supported second-quarter growth. Digital-channel guest count and app downloads rose more than 35%, while higher visit frequency lifted digital customer lifetime value by roughly 20%. Meanwhile, contributions from new restaurants likely aided revenues after Shake Shack raised its 2026 company-operated opening target to 60-65 locations.

On the profitability front, Shake Shack’s earnings are expected to decline year over year, as persistent commodity inflation, particularly higher beef costs, likely remained a headwind. Higher expenses related to restaurant expansion, repairs and maintenance, and sales-driving initiatives may also have partly offset productivity gains.

Nonetheless, continued improvements in labor productivity, supply-chain efficiencies and process optimization are likely to have provided some support. These initiatives might have helped mitigate elevated beef costs and contributed to restaurant-level margin expansion in the quarter to be reported.

What Does the Zacks Model Unveil for SHAK Stock?Our proven model doesn’t predict that Shake Shack is likely to beat earnings estimates this quarter. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. Unfortunately, this is not the case here, as you will see below.

SHAK’s Earnings ESP: Shake Shack has an Earnings ESP of -3.99%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Shake Shack’s Zacks Rank: The company has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) at present.

Stocks Poised to Beat on EarningsHere are a few stocks from the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector, which, according to our model, have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this reporting cycle.

Sweetgreen, Inc. (SG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +11.54% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the to-be-reported quarter, Sweetgreen’s earnings are expected to register a 35% year-over-year increase. SG’s earnings missed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average miss being 42.4%.

CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +20.30% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

In the to-be-reported quarter, CAVA’s earnings are expected to increase 6.3% year over year. CAVA’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, with the average surprise being 16.6%.

Brinker International, Inc. (EAT - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.12% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

In the to-be-reported quarter, Brinker earnings are expected to register a 23.3% year-over-year decline. EAT’s earnings surpassed estimates in all of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 6.8%.

According to official announcements, to support the MultiversX (EGLD) network upgrade, Bithumb will suspend EGLD deposit and withdrawal services starting from August 6 at 18:00 KST. The upgrade is scheduled to take place at 2:00 KST on August 7, and deposit/withdrawal services will resume once the network stabilizes. Trading functions remain unaffected.

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Intents Volume Hits $24 BillionNEAR Protocol says its Intents cross-chain execution layer has surpassed $24 billion in all-time transaction volume, according to the project's latest monthly development recap. The milestone reflects a sharp acceleration in adoption: the platform had only just crossed $20 billion in early June 2026, having reached $10 billion in January and $5 billion as recently as November 2025.

The growth rate has been notable. The first $5 billion took roughly 305 days, while more recent increments have arrived far faster. The platform has now processed over 25 million swaps and connects assets across dozens of chains. $NEAR Intents uses an intent-driven model in which competing solvers bid to fulfill user requests, handling cross-chain execution, atomic swaps, and bridging without requiring users to manage individual transactions manually.

Protocol 2.13 and a Broader Development PushAlongside the volume update, NEAR Protocol shipped its 2.13 mainnet upgrade on July 20. The release adds quantum-safe signing through the NIST-approved FIPS-204 (ML-DSA) scheme, making NEAR one of the first layer-1 blockchains to deploy a post-quantum signature standard in a live production environment. Dynamic resharding also went live with this upgrade, allowing the network to split shards automatically as demand grows, without requiring validator votes or manual intervention.

The monthly recap covered several additional developments. NEAR Protocol launched staking for AI compute, expanding the protocol's push into AI infrastructure. Confidential Intents, which enables private execution of transactions, was made generally available. The team also published a public roadmap and expanded cross-chain integrations, extending the reach of NEAR's chain abstraction stack.

The protocol's fee mechanics add a tokenomic dimension to the volume growth. 100% of NEAR Intents fees are used to purchase $NEAR directly on the open market, creating buy pressure that scales with transaction volume as the network approaches a deflationary threshold.

Sources:
PR Newswire: NEAR Protocol Brings Quantum-Safe Signing to Mainnet
Crypto Briefing: NEAR Intents Surpasses $20B in All-Time Transaction Volume
CryptoTimes: NEAR Launches Quantum-Safe Mainnet Upgrade With Resharding

For years, $SOL holders have expressed concerns and frustrations over the network’s issuance rate. 

At the current inflation rate of 3.715%, over ~23.4M $SOL (worth ~$1.56B), will be distributed among stakers over the next year, a figure ecosystem leaders argue is counter-productive to the needs of the network.

Fortunately for disgruntled $SOL holders, the network is set to vote on not one, but two critical governance proposals this week designed to resolve Solana’s tokenomics: SIMD-0550, and SIMD-0553.

Voting for SIMD-0550 and SIMD-0553 to Open This Week Nine months after Helius engineer _lostin_ first floated SIMD-0411, $SOL holders are finally able to actionably express their view on $SOL tokenomics. Alongside votes for the recently renamed disinflation proposal, SIMD-0550, $SOL stakers will also be able to vote on SIMD-0553, which aims to introduce a resource-based token burn mechanic.

Early votes are expected to go live today, on August 3rd. Consistent with Solana’s governance mechanics, proposals that receive support from at least 15% of stake are progressed to a final vote, where they are ultimately approved or rejected by the wider Solana ecosystem.

Unlike previous issuance-based proposals, like the infamously polarizing SIMD-0228, both SIMD-0550 and SIMD-0553 are expected to pass with flying colors. Both proposals have been met with resounding public support from all corners of the ecosystem, with the vast majority of network participants eager to see productive changes in $SOL tokenomics.

What can $SOL holders expect from each proposal?

SIMD-0550: Reduce Inflation Authored by Helius engineer _lostin_, SIMD-0550 is the formal successor to SIMD-0411, a proposal originally drafted in November 2025, and the spiritual successor to SIMD-0228. Where SIMD-0228 was divisive due to its complexity, SIMD-0550 is simple, both from a public understanding and a technical implementation.

SIMD-0550 promises to double Solana’s disinflation rate from 15% per year to 30% per year, effectively halving the time it will take for the network to reach its terminal inflation rate of 1.5%. 

According to Helius’ 0xIcihgo, SIMD-0550 implementation reduces the time to terminal inflation by ~3 years, saving an estimated $1.5B in $SOL emissions. Reception to the proposal has been overwhelmingly positive, earning the seal of approval of Solana Labs founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

If approved, SIMD-0550 is expected to have a positive impact on $SOL price action. Advocates argue that reduced emissions will lead to reduced sell pressure from validator operators, who often need to liquidate rewards to meet operational costs.

SIMD-0553: Increase $SOL Burn Where SIMD-0550 is a simple rate-change designed to bring down inflation, SIMD-0553 is a more complex and ambitious proposal. Initially proposed as SIMD-0547, the document was renumbered at formalization, and is now referred to as SIMD-0553.

Authored by Temporal cavemanloverboy, the same engineer who single-handedly orchestrated a 100k-TPS spike of activity on the Solana Mainnet, SIMD-0553 seeks to introduce a resource-base fee burn. If approved, SIMD-0553 would programmatically remove $SOL tokens from circulation based on how much compute they consume.

Currently, Solana transaction costs are calculated based on several variables, including CU (compute unit) consumption, data load, and write locks. Under SIMD-0550, the network would add a base fee to every transaction, which scales based on its complexity.

Specifically, SIMD-0553 recommends charging and burning 0.1 lamport (one-billionth a $SOL) per cost unit requested. Effectively, the more complex the transaction, the higher the burn rate.

Critically, cavemanloverboy has asserted that SIMD-0553 will have a limited impact on non compute-intensive transactions, like market maker updates and validator voting costs, ensuring Solana maintains its competitive advantage for HFT.

Early estimates from various sources suggest that SIMD-0553 could increase Solana’s burn rate from anywhere between 2592-21,600 $SOL per day. 

While implementing a resource-based burn mechanism is encouraged for $SOL scarcity and value accrual, the token is still far from net-deflationary. Blockworks data suggests that, currently, around 62k $SOL enters circulation via issuance everyday. 

However, it’s important to note that this data is drawn from Solana’s existing network activity. At a fundamental level, upcoming technical improvements like Alpenglow, Agave 4.2, and a recent raise on the network’s block limit all facilitate greater scalability and onchain app diversity, which may accelerate resource-based burn rates in the future.

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Key Takeaways BAH shares gained 11.9% in a month as earnings, contract execution and estimates improved.National Security backlog rose 15.2%, while quarterly funding climbed 17% and book-to-bill hit 1.5.Civil revenues fell 16.4%, while modest growth guidance and 2.7 leverage support a measured view. Shares of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (BAH - Free Report) have gained 11.9% over the past month, offering investors a sharp rebound after a difficult stretch. The move follows improving earnings signals and stronger contract activity.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The question is whether better execution and national security demand can extend the recovery. Weakness in the Civil and Commercial business, investment requirements and leverage still argue for a measured view.

Why BAH’s One-Month Rally MattersThe recent gain contrasts with BAH’s 9.5% decline over the past three months and 36.5% drop over the past 52 weeks. That divergence suggests expectations may be improving, but it does not erase the caution reflected in the longer-term trend.

A one-month rebound can become more durable when earnings estimates, contract awards and operating performance move in the same direction. BAH has shown progress in those areas, though the recovery remains early.

BAH’s Earnings Momentum Supports the MoveBooz Allen’s fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 21.5%. Earnings of $1.81 per share rose 22.3% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA increased 7.4% and the adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 130 basis points to 11.9%.

Management credited strong contract execution for profit above expectations. Positive estimate revisions add another favorable signal, indicating that analysts have become more constructive about near-term earnings.

National Security Demand Could Help BAHNational Security revenues increased 1.3% year over year to $2.03 billion. Funded backlog rose 15.2%, quarterly funding climbed 17% and the quarterly book-to-bill ratio reached 1.5, providing support for management’s expectation of better second-half growth.

New defense, intelligence, cyber and advanced technology work could strengthen that trajectory. CACI International Inc (CACI - Free Report) also targets national security missions through software and technology capabilities, making it a relevant peer for assessing federal demand. Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS - Free Report) serves national security customers with digital and mission solutions, including cyber and intelligence work.

Civil Weakness Could Cap BAH’s UpsideCivil and Commercial revenues fell 16.4% to $772 million. Management expects another sequential double-digit decline, which could keep consolidated revenue growth uneven even if National Security improves.

Contract roll-offs, fewer program starts and smaller follow-on awards remain the main pressure points. The mix shift has not prevented margin expansion, but persistent top-line weakness would make continued profit growth harder to sustain.

BAH’s Valuation Leaves Room for DebateBAH trades at 10.91X forward earnings, below its sub-industry, sector and five-year median. That discount may appeal to value-focused investors, particularly if earnings and backlog trends continue to improve.

The lower multiple also reflects real concerns. Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance calls for growth of only 0-4%, planned capital expenditures total about $220 million and the net leverage ratio stands at 2.7. Strategic investment could support future growth, but it also raises execution demands.

BAH’s Mixed Signals Favor a Balanced ViewThe bottom line is that BAH’s rebound has support from better profitability, estimate revisions and national security demand, but Civil weakness and modest revenue guidance limit the case for chasing the stock after its recent gain.

BAH currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), along with a Value Score of A, Growth Score of A, Momentum Score of A and VGM Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Style Scores point to favorable value, growth and momentum characteristics, while the neutral Zacks Rank suggests investors may prefer to wait for clearer evidence that the recovery can broaden and persist.

Key Takeaways Sandisk expects fiscal Q4 revenues of $7.75B-$8.25B and non-GAAP EPS of $30-$33.AI infrastructure growth is supporting enterprise SSD demand, a richer product mix and higher shipments.Multiyear agreements aim to improve revenue visibility, pricing stability and reduce NAND cyclicality. Sandisk (SNDK - Free Report) is set to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 5.

For the to-be-reported quarter, SNDK expects revenues between $7.750 billion and $8.25 billion, driven by both higher bit shipments and improved pricing.  The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $8.3 billion, suggesting 336.64% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

Sandisk expects non-GAAP earnings between $30 and $33 per share. The consensus mark for earnings is pegged at $34.24 per share, up 2.8% over the past 30 days. SNDK reported earnings of 29 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Consensus Estimate Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

SNDK’s earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, with the average being 380.92%. 
 

Let us see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement.

Key Factors to Note Ahead of SNDK’s Q4 ResultsSandisk's fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results are expected to have benefited from continued strength in the Data Center business, supported by surging enterprise SSD demand and favorable NAND pricing. Enterprise SSD momentum is likely to have remained strong as hyperscale customers expanded AI infrastructure, while the company began recognizing revenue from its QLC-based Stargate storage platform, complementing its successful TLC SSD portfolio.

AI-driven inference workloads are expected to have remained a key growth catalyst. Technologies such as KV cache, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and increasingly agentic AI require high-capacity, low-latency NAND flash, making enterprise SSDs an essential part of next-generation AI infrastructure. As hyperscalers optimized inference architectures, demand for scalable NAND storage continued to strengthen, supporting higher enterprise SSD shipments and a richer product mix during the to-be-reported quarter.

The Edge segment is also expected to have contributed positively, supported by increasing storage content in premium smartphones and AI PCs. Sandisk highlighted that on-device AI capabilities are driving higher storage requirements and greater adoption of high-performance NAND solutions. Continued demand from PCs, smartphones, automotive and IoT markets likely to have supported revenue growth while enabling Sandisk to prioritize higher-value customer engagements.

Sandisk Shares Outperform Sector & PeersSandisk shares have jumped 411.7% year to date (YTD), outperforming the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s appreciation of 11.7%. The company has outperformed its storage peers, including Western Digital (WDC - Free Report) , Seagate (STX - Free Report) and Micron Technology (MU - Free Report) , over the same time frame, shares of which have returned 216.2%, 210.9% and 188.3%, respectively.

SNDK Stock’s Price Performance    
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Sandisk shares are trading at a premium, as suggested by a Value Score of D. In terms of the forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S), Sandisk is trading at 3.90X, higher than the Zacks Computer-Storage Devices industry’s 3.31X and Micron’s 3.89X. However, SNDK shares are trading at a lower multiple compared with Western Digital’s 10.09X and Seagate’s 9.99X.

SNDK Stock’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Strong AI Demand to Aid SNDK’s ProspectsSandisk’s biggest long-term catalyst is the rapid expansion of AI inference workloads. The company expects inference, reasoning models, agentic AI, KV Cache and RAG applications to require significantly more high-performance NAND storage. As hyperscalers build AI infrastructure, enterprise SSD demand is expected to remain a major growth driver for years.

Sandisk has significantly strengthened its enterprise SSD business with industry-leading TLC SSDs while expanding into high-capacity QLC solutions through its Stargate platform. The company expects both product families to play complementary roles in AI data centers, increasing SNDK’s exposure to its fastest-growing end market.

Sandisk continues to benefit from rising storage requirements in AI PCs, premium smartphones, automotive systems, robotics and IoT devices. The company believes NAND is becoming increasingly important across virtually every major technology platform, providing diversified long-term demand drivers beyond the data center. Sandisk believes its advanced NAND architecture enables industry-leading performance while allowing mid-to-high-teens annual bit growth through technology migrations rather than expensive greenfield capacity additions.

The company’s new business models (NBMs) are expected to reduce the historical cyclicality of the NAND industry. These multiyear agreements provide committed demand, supply assurance, financial guarantees and a combination of fixed and variable pricing, giving Sandisk greater revenue visibility, pricing stability and more durable margins over several years. The company expects the proportion of contracted business to increase over time.

ConclusionSandisk appears well positioned ahead of its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results, supported by robust AI-driven enterprise SSD demand, favorable NAND pricing and expanding adoption of its TLC and QLC storage solutions. The company’s growing exposure to AI infrastructure, disciplined supply strategy and multiyear customer agreements are enhancing revenue visibility and reducing business cyclicality. While its premium valuation may limit near-term upside, sustained momentum in data-center storage and diversified demand across AI PCs, smartphones and automotive markets reinforce Sandisk's long-term growth prospects, making the upcoming earnings release an important catalyst for the stock.

Sandisk currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and has a Growth Score of A, a favorable combination that offers a strong investment opportunity, per the Zacks Proprietary methodology. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Key Takeaways Celestica is benefiting from AI networking demand and hyperscaler spending, boosting growth prospects.CLS is expanding manufacturing capacity and partnering on AI infrastructure to support future demand.CLS saw higher 2026 and 2027 earnings estimates as AI compute and ATS businesses gain momentum. Celestica, Inc. (CLS - Free Report) shares have gained 20.1% in the past six months compared with the Electronics - Manufacturing Services industry’s growth of 26.7%. The stock has outperformed the Zacks Computer & Technology sector and the S&P 500 during the same time frame.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company has underperformed its peers like Jabil, Inc. (JBL - Free Report) and Sanmina Corporation (SANM - Free Report) . Shares of Jabil have jumped 33.4%, and shares of Sanmina have risen 27.3%.

Celestica Gains From Solid AI Traction, Hyperscaler SpendingCelestica is benefiting from robust demand for next-generation Ethernet switches from hyperscalers. The company continues to see strong adoption of 800G networking solutions. It is also preparing for the commercial ramp of 1.6-terabit switch programs in the latter half of 2026. Demand for legacy 400G products has remained resilient in recent quarters.

Growing investments in AI infrastructure are driving expansion of Celestica's AI compute business. Management expects this momentum to continue throughout the remainder of 2026 and into 2027, positioning AI compute as one of the company's fastest-growing businesses. These factors are driving growth in Celestica’s Connectivity & Cloud Solutions segment.

Conditions are also improving in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. This presents a solid growth opportunity for Celestica’s Advanced Technology Solutions segment. Stronger demand for wafer fabrication equipment combined with momentum in industrial, healthcare and aerospace markets is expected to drive higher ATS revenues.

In addition to strong revenue growth, Celestica expects profitability to improve as well. A richer mix of engineering-intensive programs, particularly within its High-Performance Solutions portfolio, supports operating margin expansion.

Celestica continues to invest aggressively in manufacturing capacity to meet rising customer demand. The company is expanding facilities across North America and Asia, including Thailand, Japan and the United States. Focus on diversifying operations and boosting supply chain reliability gives it a competitive edge against other players such as Jabil and Sanmina.

Strategic Collaboration With Industry Leaders is a TailwindAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD - Free Report) is expanding its AI infrastructure portfolio with the upcoming Helios platform to strengthen its position in the hyperscale AI market. Celestica is a key manufacturing and design partner in this initiative. Celestica is providing a scale-up networking switch that serves as the backbone of AMD’s Helios rack architecture.

Celestica’s partnership with OpenAI provides an important long-term growth opportunity. The company will manufacture advanced AI racks developed in collaboration with Broadcom to support OpenAI's custom accelerator roadmap. Initial deliveries are expected later in 2026, with mass production scheduled for 2027. The partnership strengthens Celestica's presence in the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market.

Estimate Revision TrendEarnings estimates for Celestica for 2026 and 2027 have increased over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Key Valuation Metric of CLSFrom a valuation standpoint, CLS is currently trading at a premium compared to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 22.62 forward 12-month earnings, higher than 20.71 for the industry.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

End NoteThe growing proliferation of AI-based applications and generative AI tools across industries presents a solid growth opportunity for Celestica. Growing collaboration with major technology giants like AMD, OpenAI and Broadcom is propelling innovation. Investment in expanding manufacturing capacity to support growing AI infrastructure-related demand will likely reap long-term benefits. Upward estimate revision shows growing investors’ confidence regarding the stock’s growth potential. Owing to these factors, with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Celestica appears to be a strong investment option at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Here are the earnings estimates, what experts are saying ahead of the report and the key items to watch.

SpaceX Q2 Earnings EstimatesAnalysts expect SpaceX to report second-quarter revenue of $6.93 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Analysts expect a quarterly loss of 26 cents per share.

With the company newly public, there are not figures from last year’s second quarter.

SpaceX had revenue of $18.7 billion in fiscal 2025 and reported a net loss of $4.9 billion.

What Experts are SayingSpaceX has attracted many analyst ratings and price targets since going public, along with commentary from top market experts.

"Investors won’t be focused on what the company earned over the past three months, but will likely be looking years down the road," Freedom Capital Markets Chief Market Strategist Jay Woods said in a weekly newsletter.

Woods highlights capital spending as one of the biggest items to watch in the earnings report and in commentary from company management.

"This is expected to be less about the numbers and more about Elon Musk’s vision, his capital spending plans and whether Wall Street is willing to continue funding one of the market’s most ambitious growth stories."

Woods said to look for spending on Starship, Starlink and AI infrastructure and the expected capital returns. Specifically, the market expert said investors should also look for updates on Starlink subscriber growth, government contracts and Starship’s commercialization timeline.

The market expert also said investors should be aware of a lock-up expiration of around 911 million shares on Aug. 6. Those shares held by employees and early investors will be eligible to be sold, adding to the supply of shares available. SpaceX is unlikely to hit other milestones that would unlock more shares yet.

"For one of the year’s most anticipated IPOs, the first earnings report could set the tone for the rest of 2026."

Here are some recent analyst ratings on SpaceX stock and their price targets:

Macquarie: Maintained Outperform rating, with price target $250 HSBC: Initiated with Hold rating, with price target $115 Piper Sandler: Initiated with Neutral rating, with price target $156 Needham: Maintained Buy rating, raised price target from $200 to $250 Evercore ISI: Initiated with Outperform rating, with prices target $230 Key Items to WatchAs the first earnings report as a public company, this could mark a turning point in the SpaceX storyline. The company’s IPO prospectus featured large focus on total addressable market sizes for items like space, AI and more.

Musk is likely to give more details on timelines for some items, including trips to the Moon and Mars.

Those items don’t exactly spark great ideas on the company’s future.

Expect Musk to be overly positive on the company’s future, as he has already warned short sellers betting against the company. With the stock price down, Musk is likely to find more ways to get investors excited about the company’s future.

SpaceX Stock Price ActionSpaceX stock is up 1.9% to $110.37 on Monday versus a 52-week trading range of $104.83 to $225.64. SpaceX stock is down 31.4% from its initial market debut and shares are down 51.1% from their market highs.

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