Have you been searching for a stock that might be well-positioned to maintain its earnings-beat streak in its upcoming report? It is worth considering Sandisk Corporation (SNDK - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Computer- Storage Devices industry.
When looking at the last two reports, this company has recorded a strong streak of surpassing earnings estimates. The company has topped estimates by 68.29%, on average, in the last two quarters.
For the most recent quarter, Sandisk Corporation was expected to post earnings of $14.5 per share, but it reported $23.41 per share instead, representing a surprise of 61.45%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $3.54 per share, while it actually produced $6.2 per share, a surprise of 75.14%.
Price and EPS Surprise
Thanks in part to this history, there has been a favorable change in earnings estimates for Sandisk Corporation lately. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the stock is positive, which is a great indicator of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with its solid Zacks Rank.
Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Sandisk Corporation has an Earnings ESP of +4.13% at the moment, suggesting that analysts have grown bullish on its near-term earnings potential. When you combine this positive Earnings ESP with the stock's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), it shows that another beat is possibly around the corner. The company's next earnings report is expected to be released on August 5, 2026.
With the Earnings ESP metric, it's important to note that a negative value reduces its predictive power; however, a negative Earnings ESP does not indicate an earnings miss.
Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, but that may not be the sole basis for their stocks moving higher. On the other hand, some stocks may hold their ground even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.
Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
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, /PRNewswire/ -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating whether certain officers and directors of Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ZETA) breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders.
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NEW YORK, July 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Gross Law Firm issues the following notice to shareholders of Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FUTU). Shareholders who purchased shares of FUTU during the class period listed are encouraged to contact the firm regarding possible lead plaintiff appointment.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of INTC either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
The Trump Administration has not been shy about taking ownership stakes in what it views as critical suppliers of goods and services key to U.S. interests.
In recent years, the U.S. government has taken interests in semiconductor giant Intel Corp. (INTC -6.45%), rare-earth miner MP Materials (MP -7.26%), and lithium producer Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC -2.23%).
"The U.S. government has negotiated stakes in dozens of companies," reports CNBC. "Some U.S. ownership stakes have been opportunistic, while others have been a part of a broader economic strategy."
Now, there's a rising belief that the U.S. government will take ownership stakes in key artificial intelligence companies. Last month, Senator Bernie Sanders wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times suggesting that citizens consider nationalizing certain powerful companies that control critical AI technologies.
Image source: Getty Images.
"Artificial intelligence will almost certainly be the most transformational technology in the history of the world," Sanders wrote. "The question, then, is not whether A.I. will change the world. It will. The question is: Who will own and control that future? Who will benefit from it, and who will be hurt by it?"
Sanders's solution is to establish a sovereign wealth fund that can facilitate such direct stakes. AI investors should take note.
"I will soon be introducing the American A.I. Sovereign Wealth Fund Act," Sanders revealed. "This legislation would give the public a direct ownership stake in the largest A.I. companies in our country. How? It would create a sovereign wealth fund through a one-time 50 percent tax -- not on the profits of OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI and other companies, but paid with something far more valuable than that: the stock."
Sanders specifically lists xAI -- the AI division of Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX -3.49%) -- as a potential target of partial nationalization. How seriously should investors be taking this? Betting markets offer some insight into what might happen next.
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Previous to SpaceX's historic IPO, betting markets were surprisingly bullish on the U.S. government nationalizing the company. In August of 2025, for example, certain betting markets had odds of the space company being nationalized by January of 2027 at around 11%, though limited trading volumes make this somewhat suspect.
As the year has rolled on, however, the odds of SpaceX being nationalized by the start of next year have consistently fallen. Current odds hover at roughly 4%. Considering the track record for things like this in prediction markets, it's fair to say that these are just guesses.
Of course, the government could always begin nationalization -- or at least the process of taking a direct stake -- after January of 2027. We just don't have betting markets for predicting such a situation. But if recent history is any indication, investors should not be surprised to see governments more directly involved in the AI sector's evolution.
HomeIndustriesAerospace/DefenseThe newest timeline has Starship due to take flight on FridayJuly 24, 2026, 1:17 p.m. ET
SpaceX's Starship rocket launch has faced a number of delays. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesSpaceX shares are headed for their ninth down day in the past 11 sessions as delays with the Starship rocket weigh on investor sentiment.
The aerospace company had initially planned for Starship to return to flight a week ago, less than a month after the rocket’s 12th test. But it was forced to abort the test after facing issues with its engines.
Three Oversold REITs With Strong FundamentalsRexford Industrial Realty NYSE: REXR said it is pursuing a broad portfolio realignment, planning to sell approximately $2 billion of non-core industrial assets while using a substantial portion of the proceeds to reduce debt, repurchase shares and selectively fund higher-return investments.
Chief Executive Officer Laura Clark said the planned dispositions encompass roughly 8 million square feet of properties identified through a first-half asset-by-asset review. The assets generally have more limited value-creation potential, elevated competitive supply, shorter remaining lease terms and in-place rents substantially above current market levels, according to the company.
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Hunting for High-Yield Bargains? 2 REITs to ConsiderRexford expects the vast majority of the sales to close this year and said it is already in advanced discussions involving a substantial portion of the planned dispositions. Clark said the company’s retained core portfolio will comprise approximately 43 million square feet of assets that it believes have stronger long-term growth, cash-flow durability and embedded value-creation potential.
Debt Reduction and Repurchase Capacity Chief Financial Officer Michael Fitzmaurice said Rexford updated its full-year disposition outlook to $1.5 billion to $2 billion. The company expects to use about $1 billion of projected proceeds to repay debt maturing in 2027 rather than refinancing it at higher interest rates.
Rexford expects the debt repayment to reduce net debt to adjusted EBITDA to approximately 3.5 times from 4.5 times at the end of the second quarter. Fitzmaurice said the company intends to pay off all but $575 million of its 2027 maturities during 2026, with the remaining amount repaid when it matures in March 2027. The company reduced its 2026 interest-expense guidance to $105 million.
The board also authorized a new $1 billion share-repurchase program. During the second quarter, Rexford spent $100 million to repurchase approximately 3 million shares at a weighted average price of $36 per share. Over the past year, the company has bought back about 15 million shares for $550 million, representing approximately 6% of shares outstanding, Fitzmaurice said.
Management did not disclose expected cap rates or pricing for the asset sales while negotiations remain underway. Clark said the company expects proceeds to be redeployed in a manner that is neutral to accretive to 2027 funds from operations per share. Fitzmaurice said the company sees debt savings, share repurchases and the removal of future rent roll-down risk as contributors to that outcome.
Second-Quarter Results and Updated Outlook Second-quarter Core FFO was $0.63 per share, up $0.02 from the first quarter. Fitzmaurice attributed the increase to accretive share repurchases, settlement income and lower general and administrative expense.
Cash same-property net operating income growth was 1.5%. Net effective same-property NOI growth was negative 0.5%. Same-property ending occupancy was 95.1%, up 30 basis points from a year earlier. Total liquidity at quarter-end was approximately $1.3 billion. Rexford raised the midpoint of its full-year Core FFO-per-share outlook by $0.01, citing better-than-expected same-property NOI growth, lower G&A expense and second-quarter settlement proceeds. The company said the increase is partly offset by projected dilution from the timing of capital recycling activity.
It also increased its same-property NOI growth outlook by 75 basis points at the midpoint on both a cash and net effective basis. Average same-property occupancy guidance was raised to a range of 95.3% to 95.7%, a 15-basis-point increase at the midpoint. Cash re-leasing spreads are now expected to range from negative 15% to negative 10% for the year.
Rexford lowered G&A guidance to $57 million from its original $60 million target. Clark said the company identified an additional $3 million in G&A savings during the quarter, bringing total identified savings since 2025 to $22 million.
The company recorded a $625 million impairment charge during the quarter related to its shortened holding period for non-core assets targeted for sale. Fitzmaurice said the non-cash charge is excluded from Core FFO and does not indicate impairment risk across the broader portfolio. He also said tax losses associated with the sales are expected to offset tax gains, eliminating the need for a special dividend.
Southern California Leasing Conditions Chief Operating Officer John Nahas said the broader infill Southern California industrial market recorded positive net absorption in the second quarter, while overall vacancy declined 30 basis points. Market rents, however, declined by slightly more than 1% sequentially as landlords continued to compete for leases amid elevated supply in certain areas.
Positive absorption occurred in the Inland Empire West and San Diego markets, while Greater Los Angeles posted its second consecutive positive quarter. Orange County continued to record negative absorption, though Nahas said touring activity has recently increased there. He described demand for spaces below 50,000 square feet as healthy and said activity in spaces exceeding 100,000 square feet was also improving, partly due to corporate demand for Class A properties.
Rexford executed 2.1 million square feet of leases during the second quarter, bringing year-to-date leasing volume to 6.2 million square feet, up 2 million square feet from the first half of 2025. Quarterly cash re-leasing spreads were negative 11.3%, primarily reflecting rent roll-downs from leases signed at the peak of the market.
The company’s average occupancy declined about 60 basis points sequentially due largely to several larger move-outs in Inland Empire West, including one related to a tenant bankruptcy. Nahas said that space was re-leased after quarter-end, with occupancy scheduled to begin in September. Fitzmaurice said occupancy is expected to decline by 15 to 100 basis points in the third quarter before accelerating in the fourth quarter.
Development Pipeline Rexford started one new development project during the quarter, 16425 Gale in the City of Industry. Nahas said the cross-dock project will feature a demisable layout and is expected to be completed in late 2027.
Management said no assets from its repositioning and development pipeline, which is expected to generate approximately $50 million of annualized NOI once fully leased, are included in the planned sales. The company said it remains focused on projects expected to produce returns above stabilized market cap rates.
About Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE:REXR)Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc NYSE: REXR is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the acquisition, ownership and operation of industrial properties in Southern California. The company's portfolio is concentrated in infill locations across key supply-chain markets, where it targets modern distribution centers, logistics facilities and light manufacturing spaces. Rexford's strategy emphasizes buildings that offer proximity to major transportation routes and labor pools, catering to tenants in e-commerce, third-party logistics and manufacturing industries.
Since its founding in 2013, Rexford Industrial Realty has executed a disciplined growth plan driven by property acquisitions, selective development projects and strategic value-add initiatives.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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The Fidelity High Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:FDVV) pays a 2.8% trailing yield on $10.03 billion in assets, and the title’s 3.3% figure refers to the sector-tilt overlay Fidelity applies to reweight the portfolio toward higher-yielding equities. FDVV distributed $1.729 per share over the trailing twelve months across four quarterly payments, most recently $0.519 on June 23, 2026. The question for holders is whether that income stream is durable given how much of FDVV now sits in mega-cap tech rather than traditional yield sectors.
How FDVV Generates Its Income This dividend-focused ETF tracks the Fidelity High Dividend Index, which starts with large- and mid-cap US stocks that pay above-average dividends and then applies a sector reweighting so that no single sector dominates purely because it yields the most. Rather than letting utilities and REITs swell to 30% of the fund, the index caps sector drift and redeploys capital into dividend payers inside technology, financials, and consumer staples. FDVV’s sector-balanced approach aims to provide diversified dividend exposure without overconcentration in traditional high-yield sectors.
The result is a portfolio of 112 holdings with an expense ratio of 0.15%. Technology sits at 26% and financials at 21%, with real estate contributing 9%. Income safety depends less on structural yield mechanics and more on the fundamentals of a concentrated set of large positions.
The Holdings That Drive the Distribution Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) is FDVV’s largest single position at 6%. Apple sits in the fund for reasons beyond its yield of 0.31%. Coverage is the relevant metric: Apple pays $1.04 annually against $8.24 in diluted trailing EPS, leaving a payout ratio near 13%. Q2 FY26 operating cash flow of $53.92 billion and a fresh $100 billion buyback authorization mean the dividend is effectively an afterthought against Apple’s cash generation.
Broadcom at 3% shows similar coverage. The $0.65 quarterly dividend is trivial against Q2 FY26 free cash flow of $10.26 billion, roughly 60% of revenue. AI semiconductor revenue grew 143% year over year in the quarter, and management guided Q3 FY26 revenue to $29.4 billion. The dividend is safe; the risk is valuation, with the stock down 8% in the past month.
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Coca-Cola at 2% is the classic dividend anchor. The quarterly payment rose from $0.51 in 2025 to $0.53 in 2026, extending a streak of annual increases back to 1999. A yield of 2.5%, net margin of 28%, and 2026 free cash flow guided near $12.2 billion mean the payout is covered several times over.
Duke Energy at 1% is the regulated-utility ballast. The quarterly dividend of $1.065 is supported by regulated cash flow, and 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $6.55 to $6.80 comfortably covers the $4.24 annual dividend. Operating cash flow fell 31% in Q1 on higher interest expense, and utility leverage remains elevated. The dividend is safe within a normal rate-case environment.
Total Return and Distribution Trend This dividend-focused ETF has returned 11% year-to-date and 19% over the trailing year, ahead of the S&P 500’s 9% YTD and 18% one-year figures. Five-year total price return of 93% exceeds the S&P 500’s 71%. The distribution has grown at a 5% rate, and the fund’s payout ratio of 54% leaves room for continued increases. FDVV’s recent outperformance reflects the strength of its sector-balanced dividend approach.
Weighing FDVV’s Income Durability The payout looks durable. The top four positions each cover their dividends with wide margins of cash flow, and the sector-tilt methodology prevents the fund from reaching for yield in structurally weak areas. The trade-off is that this portfolio behaves partly like a large-cap growth fund, with a headline yield of 2.8% rather than the 3.3% to 3.6% offered by peers that lean harder into pure dividend factors. Holders seeking maximum current income may prefer those alternatives; holders willing to accept a lower yield for tech exposure and higher recent total return get a defensible income stream from FDVV.
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Meta Platforms (META) fell 0.21% premarket as bond investors pushed for higher yields on a $12 billion financing backing its data center in El Paso, Texas. Earl
A 3D-printed Meta logo and word "AI" are seen in this illustration taken July 20, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
July 24 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O), opens new tab is rolling out new features for its Meta AI service in select markets, allowing the chatbot to complete certain tasks autonomously, the company said on Friday.
The updated Meta AI, powered by the company's new Muse Spark 1.1 model, is designed to understand user context and execute tasks without constant prompting.
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Here are some details:
Meta said new upgrades to its AI will help deliver daily briefings by summarizing calendar events and can be set up for recurring tasks such as weekly meal plans or trend updates.
The company is initially releasing these capabilities in select markets via the Meta AI app and meta.ai, with plans to expand to more regions and platforms including WhatsApp.
The Facebook parent said users retain control over how they interact with the AI and incognito chats remain available for private conversations.
"This is our next step toward personal superintelligence: an AI that knows your context, is there for you whenever you need it," Meta said in a blog post.
Separately, the company on Friday launched a new app called "Seller" to offer dedicated selling tools to merchants using the company's Facebook Marketplace platform.
Meta is scheduled to report second-quarter results after market close on July 29.
Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
So many social media apps. What if we just ... combined a few? Matteo Della Torre/NurPhoto via Getty Images Facebook helped make TikTok huge by showing its users tons of ads for the Chinese video company.
Now Facebook may end up becoming something that … looks and feels a lot like TikTok.
That's the takeaway from a product update Meta's social network provided Friday: Starting this fall, it is going to start testing a version of the Facebook app that essentially turns it into a TikTok-like video player, as a default setting.
Per Tom Allison, the Meta executive who oversees Facebook, the test will provide a "reimagined experience that puts a subset of people who we think want more video on Facebook into full-screen video the moment they open the app," which is exactly what you get when you open TikTok.
Allison says people in the test will be able to opt out of the new setting and return to classic Facebook — and that people who stick with the video-first option can always toggle back and forth to see a traditional Facebook feed.
The company plans on rolling out the test in some "video-heavy countries" this fall and may bring it to the US in 2027, Allison writes. A Meta rep didn't offer more details about timing or anything else.
Here, we need to note that a test is a test, not a final product decision. On the other hand, Meta and other platforms test stuff all the time, and don't always go out of their way to tell you about it in advance. So I'm taking this as a serious signal.
Allison dropped the news about the new format in a longer announcement highlighting other changes on the service, including a stand-alone app for Facebook Marketplace power users. So this one hasn't gotten much attention yet. I expect we'll hear more about it this fall.
But this is also not surprising. It's the logical endpoint to a direction Meta, and many social media platforms, have been moving toward for years: away from seeing posts and updates from your friends and people you know, and toward an always-on video experience that just shows you an endless stream of clips it thinks you might like. "Everything is television," as writer and podcaster Derek Thompson put it last year.
There are a couple different reasons why everyone is headed this way. For starters, the platforms would like users to stick around the platforms, so that the platforms can show them more ads. And they'd love a way to show them more video ads, so they can grab some of the giant ad business that still exists on traditional TV.
But it's also an acknowledgment that social media isn't really "social" anymore and hasn't been for a while: Most people who use the platforms are passive consumers, not active posters. So the companies can't rely on a stream of things from your friends and family to keep you engaged. They have to find stuff from strangers instead.
"We show recommendations because you might follow 200 accounts, and one in 10 of them posted. So we've got 20 things [to show you]. And we can reorder those 20 things 20 factorial ways, but that's only so much upside," Instagram boss Adam Mosseri told me last year. "Whereas if we look at the billion things posted in a given day, and we find something you're interested in, there's more upside."
It's also why the platforms are so eager to keep showing you more video given any opportunity: Click on a video post in Instagram and the app immediately starts showing you a TikTok-style never-ending stream of videos; Elon Musk's X does the same thing.
So what Facebook is testing is the logical next step: just giving you all the video it thinks you want — and which it definitely wants you to see — from the start.
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Peter covers media and technology for Business Insider; previously he has worked at Vox, Recode, AllThingsD, and Forbes. He was also the first hire at Silicon Alley Insider, Business Insider's predecessor.
Media Social Media Facebook More Meta TikTok Advertising
Your face can now earn your Facebook account a verification badge.
On Friday, Meta Platforms launched Facebook Verified, a badge that confirms there’s a real person behind a profile. The process works through selfie-based verification.
A Facebook user can record a short video selfie, which will then be used by facial-recognition technology to check against existing profile photos to confirm a match.
[Video: Meta]Once a user is verified, their badge will appear across Facebook Marketplace, Dating, Groups and a user’s profile to start. Meta has plans to eventually add the badges to posts in feeds as well.
Subscribe to the Daily newsletter.Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day
Users only have to verify once through the free process, which has no subscription fee.
Prior to this launch, Facebook users could receive a verified badge through purchasing a Meta Verified subscription, which currently has plans ranging from $14.99 to $499.99 a month per profile.
The badges for Facebook Verified appear to look different than the familiar blue ones that users pay for. Facebook Verified will be rolled out in phases, starting in select markets, with plans for global expansion.
Tesla (TSLA -3.22%) needs no introduction. The Elon Musk-led technology business ranks 11th among the world's most valuable companies. And it's working on interesting projects to usher in what its management calls a world of "amazing abundance."
The company's ascent proves just how much of a favorite it is among market participants. If you'd invested $10,000 in Tesla stock exactly 10 years ago, here's how much you'd have today.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Tesla has been a monster winner. On a total return basis, its shares have skyrocketed 2,420% in the past 10 years (as of July 23), turning $10,000 into $252,400 today. If you had put that same amount of capital into an S&P 500 exchange-traded fund, you'd have $40,760 in total return right now.
The stock's biggest catalyst has been the company's phenomenal growth. From an unknown automotive start-up to an electric vehicle (EV) leader, Tesla delivered over 480,100 EVs in the quarter ended June 30. That's up from 14,400 cars in Q2 2016.
That kind of expansion supported incredible revenue gains. Tesla's top line went from $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2016 to $28.2 billion in Q2 of this year.
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It's hard to say exactly what Tesla's operations will look like 10 years from now. But management has high hopes. The business could be collecting massive profits and cash flow from self-driving and robotics technology, as well as its energy segment.
But with the stock trading at a nosebleed price-to-earnings ratio of 343, success appears to be fully baked in.
Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The bearish Tesla set-up we flagged ahead of Wednesday's report has delivered most of what it can. Two ways forward: bank the entire gain, or press the same playbook against another priced-for-perfection name reporting in two weeks.
Heading into Tesla's second-quarter report, I argued the risks were skewed to the downside. Greeting a delivery beat with selling was a classic tell of expectations "priced for perfection." While revenue of $28.2 billion beat handily, up 26% year over year, adjusted earnings of 34 cents per share missed the consensus (50 cents) by a wide margin. Operating margin compressed to 1.4%, and a 142% surge in capital spending swung free cash flow negative. Combining disappointing EPS, a call for patience (this is the pattern with Tesla) on robotaxi, and the stock slid roughly 14.5% Thursday, through our short put strike, and closed near the move targeted by the trade. Investors are apparently more interested in the "show" rather than the "tell" in Tesla earnings.
Which brings us to the less glamorous but more important part of trading: what to do when a position works. Our bearish structure has captured the bulk of its maximum potential value. When most of the possible profit is already in hand, the math flips against you — what's left to earn is small relative to what you'd give back if the stock snaps back (a possibility I consider quite unlikely). So that leaves us with a couple reasonable paths:
Path one: take the money and run. Close the position, book the gain, and wait for another fat pitch. There is never anything wrong with this. There's an old saw in investing: "One never loses money taking profits." Platitudinous admittedly, but we'll reserve a more nuanced approach for another day.
Path two: bank most of it, and press. Make a similar play with "house money". Somewhat emboldened, redeploy a portion of the profits toward another high-multiple pioneering company whose valuation and price action make it vulnerable to disappointment: Palantir, which reports August 3rd.
The counterpoints on PalantirPalantir is a remarkable company, one of my favorites actually. But several counterpoints deserve weight heading into the print. The stated ambition to grow revenues tenfold without scaling the sales force is, to put it charitably, ambitious. Competition among LLM providers is likely to intensify, and enterprise customers increasingly look to deploy large language models directly rather than through an intermediary platform. The total addressable market, while large, is finite — and international sales are likely to be constrained by the understandable preference for local vendors wherever national security is concerned.
The numbers, while good, were less good last quarter. Commercial backlog growth slowed to 12% in the first quarter, per Bloomberg, down from 21% in the fourth quarter of 2025. And even net of its recent declines, Palantir trades at a material premium to its software peer group — and well above its own historical EV/sales average.
For context, the average move in Palantir from one week before earnings (about where we are now) through two weeks after (consistent with August regular way expiration) is approximately 26%!
Palantir, YTD
The options market is pricing a one-day earnings move of 9.5% — larger than the past four quarters delivered, but substantially below the long-term average of more than 14%. That suggests August options, expensive as they appear at 65% implied volatility, may be reasonably priced, particularly if you use spreads, selling one expensive option against another to neutralize the volatility premium.
So, what to do.
Step 1: Close the TSLA position — sell the August 360/330 put spread, banking at ~$23, well more than a double from the price at which we put it on.
Step 2 (for those pressing): Buy the PLTR August 21st $120/$95 put spread for ~$6.50, funded with a portion of the TSLA proceeds.
Risk is defined to the debit paid.
Max profit: the $25 spread width less the debit, if PLTR closes at or below $95 at expiration — a decline of roughly 23% from current levels, in line with the historical three-week earnings window.
The short $95 put materially offsets the 65% vol premium embedded in the long strike.
Like the Tesla trade, the Palantir put spread offers defined risk, and for those using the proceeds from the winner in Tesla, less than the "house money" (profits) collected on the first trade.
Tesla (TSLA) avoided a formal federal safety investigation into its door-release design, but regulators said the complaints exposed a broader gap in existing ve
Tesla briefly lost its $1 trillion market capitalization on Friday as shares extended losses following a disappointing second-quarter earnings report, underscoring investor concerns over the electric vehicle maker's profitability and the growing scrutiny surrounding CEO Elon Musk's long-term vision.
Tesla stock fell as much as 3.65% during Friday's session to an intraday low of $308, reducing the company's market value to approximately $996.1 billion.
The shares later recovered enough to push Tesla's valuation back above the $1 trillion mark, although the stock remained under pressure after Thursday's steep post-earnings decline.
The latest move follows a 14% plunge after the company's quarterly results, as investors reacted to weaker-than-expected profits despite stronger vehicle deliveries and rising revenue.
Tesla reported second-quarter operating profit of $398 million, down from $923 million a year earlier and well below Wall Street's expectation of $1.7 billion, according to FactSet.
The company sold around 480,000 vehicles during the quarter, up 25% year over year and roughly 80,000 more than analysts had projected.
However, weaker pricing, an unfavorable vehicle mix, lower regulatory credit sales, rising costs and higher research spending weighed heavily on profitability.
For many investors, the earnings miss itself was less significant than growing questions about whether Musk can continue to justify Tesla's premium valuation through future growth initiatives.
During the earnings call, Musk reiterated his long-term ambitions for Tesla, highlighting continued growth in robotaxis and humanoid robots while introducing the idea of the Megapod, a modular artificial intelligence data center built with Tesla hardware.
“We’re working on what we believe is the most ambitious buildout of advanced infrastructure manufacturing capacity ever in history,” he said.
Despite the earnings disappointment, Wall Street analysts largely maintained their ratings on the stock.
According to FactSet, the average analyst price target declined by only $8 to $392.
Analysts broadly characterized Tesla's elevated spending as part of a broader transition toward autonomous driving, robotics and AI infrastructure.
RBC analyst Tom Narayan maintained optimism around Tesla's robotaxi and humanoid robot opportunities while stating that nothing is “fundamentally wrong with the business.”
Tesla's valuation continues to stand apart from traditional automakers.
The company trades at roughly 175 times projected 2026 earnings, compared with an average multiple of about 24 times for the rest of the Magnificent Seven, according to the provided data.
Bill Birmingham, managing director at Rex Shares, said in a Barron's report that the valuation reflects investors' focus on future software and autonomous technologies rather than current vehicle sales.
“The valuation is already saying that investors are paying less attention to vehicle deliveries and more attention to whether high-margin software, autonomy, power, and eventually robot revenue arrive quickly enough to offset structurally lower auto margins,” he added.
Canaccord analyst George Gianarikas also maintained a Buy rating, although he reduced his price target by $40 to $410 following the earnings release.
“We have walked this Tesla tightrope before,” says Canaccord analyst George Gianarikas. “History has taught us, betting against Elon Musk is usually a fool’s errand.”
Meanwhile, Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management used the selloff to increase its Tesla exposure.
According to the firm's daily trading disclosures, Ark purchased approximately $51.2 million worth of Tesla shares across four exchange-traded funds following the earnings release.
The worrying sign for Wall Street’s hyperscalers following Alphabet’s Q2 2026 earnings is that it’s not enough to beat revenue expectations anymore; investors demand capex control.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) tumbled 7.7% following its earnings call, which was largely comprised of good news. The Google parent recorded its 12th consecutive quarter of strong revenue gains, comfortably beating expectations.
In terms of revenue, Alphabet’s quarterly results weighed in at $119.8 billion compared to $116.93 billion expected by LSEG, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) fell $0.04 short of expectations, reaching $2.85.
Alphabet’s cloud businesses also recorded more than $24 billion throughout the quarter, while its net profit tripled to more than $112 billion.
The Google Gemini app also posted significant growth, with a confirmed 950 million monthly active users.
Despite this, Alphabet’s stock experienced a steep decline due to more signs that the company’s capital expenditure is gathering momentum. With sell-offs triggered by the Google parent’s quarterly earnings, investors may be set for a period of heavy volatility for Wall Street hyperscalers as capex continues to fall under the microscope.
Why are Investors Selling Alphabet? Wall Street’s Magnificent Seven collective of AI-focused market giants has continued to stagnate as investors come to terms with heavy capital expenditure trends.
However, it’s this heavy spending on AI infrastructure that is prompting widespread revisions over the long-term value of hyperscalers.
The reason investors are selling Alphabet stock despite its Q2 revenue beat is that the company increased its capital expenditure estimate for the full year to $205 billion, representing another jump from the $190 billion recorded last quarter.
Alphabet’s chief financial officer, Anat Ashkenazi, put the capex increase down to growing demand and the company’s attempts to accelerate the delivery of capacity to accommodate it. She also confirmed that there’s an expectation that capex will continue to increase "significantly" in 2027, with more details set to be revealed at a later date.
"Investors are uneasy about capex because Alphabet’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio currently stands at 26.48x, and speculative spending opens the door to more uncertainty over whether the company can ever reach such lofty revenue streams in the future," explained Vsevolod Smirnov, CMO at Just2Trade.
"Alphabet has more than tripled in value during the AI hype phase, and its recent struggles are merely a result of investors looking at the stock’s fundamentals and asking ‘what’s next?’"
Earnings Fears for Mag7Another stock that’s been more heavily impacted by Q2 capex is Tesla, which revealed that capital expenditures have surged 142% year-on-year in the second quarter to $5.79 billion, with more than $25 billion in capex expected this year.
With a seismic P/E of 347x, Tesla’s stock is more prone to coming under investor scrutiny, and its losses of more than 13.5% since Wednesday morning suggest that there’s set to be far more volatility ahead as spending continues to increase.
Although Tesla isn’t a hyperscaler by definition, its spending mirrors concerns about the rate of spending throughout its high-tech counterparts.
At their current capex rates, LSEG has estimated that the likes of Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Oracle are set to spend more on their capital expenditures than they generate in free cash flow by 2027, which directly calls into question the sustainability of these major AI buildouts.
Make or Break Earnings SeasonThe challenges faced by Alphabet and Tesla have underlined the importance of the upcoming earnings season for the Magnificent Seven and hyperscaler firms.
Over the weeks ahead, we’re likely to see far greater levels of volatility as investors seek out indications as to whether runaway spending rates are set to continue impacting stocks for the foreseeable future.
Worryingly, with the likes of Alphabet and Tesla already confirming that more spending is on the way, Q2 earnings could become a difficult period if more Mag7 players follow a similar trajectory, even despite revenue beats.
Capital expenditures will be firmly in the spotlight during the weeks ahead as we continue to look for cues as to whether more spending is ahead and if their impact could drive more doubt about the sky-high valuations throughout the S&P 500’s leaders.
What’s Next for the AI Rally? The stuttering start to Q2 earnings season will be fuelling claims that we’re in the midst of an AI bubble, but it’s also worth remembering that the scale of the potential that the technology holds is unprecedented compared to previous tech bubbles on Wall Street.
Last year’s estimates from UN Trade & Development suggested that the AI market was projected to reach a value of $4.8 trillion by 2033, cementing its emergence as a dominant frontier technology.
This could assist high-spending hyperscalers in living up to their valuations despite significant free cash flow risks in the short term.
This uncertainty over the trajectory of the AI boom will fuel more volatility in the wake of earnings season, which could provide some short-term trading opportunities for investors who are more bullish on the future prospects of the industry.
Disclosure: On the date of publication, Dmytro Spilka did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer. Dmytro Spilka does not intend to make a trade in any of the securities mentioned above in the next 72 hours.
Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.
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SummaryAlphabet Inc. delivered a stunning Q2, with diluted EPS surging from $2.31 to $9.11 year-over-year.GOOGL’s equity gains from SpaceX and Anthropic are legitimate, reflecting early, successful investments rather than accounting gimmicks.Cloud segment operating income soared 81.8%, and selling TPUs is a rational monetization strategy in a competitive, supply-constrained AI market.I view the recent GOOGL selloff as a compelling buying opportunity, with negative FCF justified by aggressive, high-confidence investments in compute capacity.This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, The Pragmatic Investor. Learn More » Pla2na/iStock via Getty Images
Thesis Summary Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOGL) (GOOG) second quarter was stunning in many ways.
Diluted EPS jumped from $2.31 to $9.11 YoY, but investors don’t like the reasons.
Meanwhile, the Cloud segment printed 80% operating growth, but again, the market
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of GOOGL either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Alphabet (GOOG +0.30%) (GOOGL +0.61%) is one of the largest companies in the world, sitting in third place right now. It's widely considered an artificial intelligence (AI) leader, something that wasn't true just a year and a half ago. It just had another phenomenal announcement and showcased once again why it's a strong candidate for best AI stock to own.
Furthermore, Alphabet's stock sank following this announcement, underscoring the market's short-sightedness. The market wants profits now with no spending, and those two things are incompatible. This unrealistic expectation makes now a great time to buy Alphabet shares if you've missed out, and the discount may not last for long.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Google Cloud continues to amaze Alphabet is a conglomerate based around the Google family of products. That means that it's an advertising business, but is quickly trying to pivot to become an AI-first one. Despite its Google Search business being a pretty mature business unit, it saw revenue growth of 17% year over year in Q2. That makes it the strongest-performing Google Platform -- quite the feat for its size. Part of Google's revenue comes from AI-driven search results, but there is a more focused AI business unit: Google Cloud.
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Google Cloud is where investors are going to see the most immediate benefit of AI revenue, as there are several clients running AI workloads on Google Cloud's servers. The computing capacity is rented out to these clients, creating a continuous revenue flow for Alphabet. This division posted an incredible quarter during Q2, with revenue rising 82% year over year. That's a significant acceleration over Q1's 63% growth.
As another boost, Google Cloud's operating margin rose from 32.9% in Q1 to 35.6% in Q2. There are major improvements going on here, and with a $514 billion backlog to churn through (Google Cloud generated $24.8 billion in revenue during Q2), there is a ton of growth ahead for the foreseeable future.
However, Alphabet must spend money to continue growing Google Cloud, which caused it to increase its capital expenditure guidance to $195 billion to $205 billion for the year. That sank the stock, as the market was already concerned that Alphabet was spending too much. I think this is just short-term thinking by the market, as Alphabet's spending strategy is clearly paying off.
With the stock selling off following earnings, I think now is the perfect time to hop in and buy shares. Sales on Alphabet's stock don't come around often, and you should consider taking advantage of this one. The Google parent is building a durable AI business here.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of GOOG either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
I keep hitting the buy button on Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN | AMZN Price Prediction) for a reason that barely makes the headlines: the custom silicon business sitting inside AWS. Everyone argues about retail margins and NVIDIA‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) next quarter while I quietly load up on the company that is building its own chips at a scale most investors have not priced in.
Here is what pulled me back to the buy button this quarter. Andy Jassy told analysts on the Q1 2026 call that Amazon’s chip business is running at over $20 billion annually and growing triple-digit percentages year over year. If those chips were sold standalone, the annual revenue run rate would be $50 billion, which Jassy says makes it one of the top three data center chip businesses in the world. A top-tier semiconductor company is hiding inside a retailer’s segment reporting, and the market is treating it like a footnote.
The data-grounded case is straightforward. First, the commitments are real. Amazon has over $225 billion in Trainium revenue commitments, with Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta, and Uber signed on. Second, the price-performance edge is durable. Trainium2 delivers about 30% better price performance than comparable GPUs and is largely sold out, and Trainium3 is 30% to 40% more price performant than Trainium2, with much of Trainium4 already reserved. Third, this is showing up in the P&L. AWS grew 28% year over year in Q1 2026 to $37.587 billion, the fastest pace in 15 quarters, at a 37.7% operating margin. Jassy said Trainium should eventually deliver several hundred basis points of operating margin advantage versus buying chips elsewhere.
Why This Instead of NVIDIA I own the picks-and-shovels play by owning Amazon. NVIDIA trades at a trailing P/E of 31, a price-to-sales of 20, and a price-to-book of 25. Amazon trades at a P/E of 35 for the entire company, and the market gives roughly zero credit to the chip unit at semiconductor multiples. NVIDIA is priced for perfection. Amazon is priced as if the chips do not exist. When Wall Street starts valuing the silicon at anything close to peer multiples, I want to already be inside.
The Real Risk The check has to clear. Free cash flow trailing twelve months fell 95% to $1.2 billion because property and equipment spending jumped $59.3 billion year over year. Long-term debt has climbed to $119.1 billion from $65.6 billion. The 2026 CapEx plan is roughly $200 billion. If AI demand slows, that spending stops looking visionary and starts looking indulgent.
I keep buying anyway because the balance sheet absorbs it. Interest coverage sits at 35.2x. Return on equity is 22.3%. Operating cash flow was $139.51 billion in FY 2025. Jassy said AWS backlog is $364 billion, before Anthropic’s $100 billion deal. The customers are already committed for years of the capacity being built.
The stock is up 11.96% over the past year and 578.98% over ten years. Analysts sit at 62 buy ratings, 4 holds, zero sells. My buy button stays active because a chip company is being built inside my position while I pay retailer multiples.
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The race to build artificial intelligence infrastructure at a trillion-dollar annual clip is eroding the free cash flow and increasing balance-sheet risk at so-called hyperscalers, warned Moody's Ratings.
In a research note released this week, Moody's said that the spending surge is forcing even the world's most cash-rich corporations like Alphabet and Microsoft to lean heavily on debt, stock sales and off-balance-sheet moves to fund their AI ambitions.
"Previously, these companies relied on asset-light structures centered on software, intellectual property, and scalable cloud services that required modest capital investment," Moody's said in the Wednesday note. "The transition from asset-light to asset-heavy models requires unprecedented levels of investment and capital raising."
The moves "threaten credit quality" for the six companies tracked by Moody's, which include Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Oracle and CoreWeave, according to the report.
The ratings firm projects that capital expenditures — or capex, which are investment for physical assets like data centers — will hit $785 billion in 2026 before reaching about $1 trillion next year.
The shift breaks a decades-long Silicon Valley formula that created the world's most valuable companies. Software costs little to replicate, yielding fat profit margins and fortress balance sheets. Generative AI, by contrast, demands a vast physical footprint: warehouses crammed with expensive and energy-hungry servers and chips.
To finance the expansion, tech giants are increasingly turning to Wall Street, resulting in booming profits for the financial industry.
Direct debt across the six hyperscalers has reached approximately $460 billion, according to Moody's. Tech companies are also tapping public markets for cash, including Google-parent Alphabet, which last month announced an $85 billion equity sale.
Leasing data centersThe ratings firm noted that because AI hardware and infrastructure require massive upfront investment while revenue materializes over a longer time horizon, free cash flow across the sector is coming under pressure.
To keep direct debt off their balance sheets, hyperscalers are leaning on off-balance-sheet financing, mostly through long-term data center leases, the report explained.
Moody's said that lease commitments across the group have ballooned to $1.2 trillion. More than $820 billion of that total is from leases that haven't started yet, meaning the data centers are still being built.
While these obligations don't show up as traditional debt, Moody's says it considers them as debt-equivalent liabilities that will bind companies to significant rent payments down the line.
Despite the warning, Moody's noted that Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta retain among the strongest corporate balance sheets in the world, making it unlikely that their investment grade ratings are under imminent threat.
The immediate pressure is concentrated on lower-rated entities like Oracle and specialized AI cloud provider CoreWeave. Oracle carries a rating of Baa2 with a negative outlook, placing it just two notches above junk status.
Meanwhile, CoreWeave operates within the high-yield market with a Ba3 rating, relying on complex private debt structures to finance its GPU hardware fleets.
Circular ecosystem Moody's also pointed to structural circularity within the AI boom. Some of the multibillion-dollar backlogs reported by hyperscalers stem from strategic deals with pre-IPO artificial intelligence labs including OpenAI and Anthropic, Moody's noted.
The firms have invested billions into AI labs that, in turn, spend heavily on cloud computing from those same companies, creating what Moody's described as a circular AI ecosystem.
The overlapping relationships heighten risks because many of the industry's biggest companies are increasingly dependent on the same AI customers and the same assumptions about future demand, Moody's said.
Even so, the tech giants have significant strengths that help offset those risks.
Demand for AI computing remains robust, cloud businesses continue to grow and hyperscalers have signed hundreds of billions of dollars in long-term customer contracts that should provide predictable revenue. Those deals support the industry's largely-strong credit profiles, even amid the spending boom.
Still, investors should recognize that the tech industry's financial profile is undergoing a structural change unlike anything seen in the cloud era, according to Moody's.
"Investors will increasingly focus on these companies' ability to realize an adequate return on investment," the ratings firm said.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD, XETRA:AMD) saw its price target raised to $600 from $450 by Wedbush following the chipmaker’s Advancing AI 2026 event, with the analysts writing that new partnerships and improving supply chain conditions increased confidence in the company’s data center AI growth trajectory.
AMD hosted its Advancing AI 2026 event on Wednesday and Thursday, featuring a keynote presentation from CEO Lisa Su and management followed by an investor roundtable. Wedbush noted that management avoided discussing near-term financial performance ahead of AMD’s second-quarter 2026 earnings report, leaving the event focused primarily on the company’s broader AI strategy.
The analysts wrote that AMD is increasingly positioning itself as an “end-to-end compute franchise” spanning GPUs, CPUs, networking, software, client computing and physical AI, while highlighting a broad group of enterprise and frontier AI partners.
“Net, we came away incrementally more constructive on AMD's competitive trajectory,” Wedbush wrote, adding that conversations with server vendors and supply chain participants around the event pointed to continued acceleration in AI infrastructure investment and opportunities across the broader ecosystem.
Wedbush wrote that newly announced agreements with Microsoft and Anthropic provided greater confidence that AMD’s data center AI silicon and systems revenue will “substantially accelerate” in the second half of 2026 and through 2027.
The analysts also highlighted improving supply conditions, writing that AMD appears to be making progress in addressing constraints and meeting elevated customer demand for data center compute. Based on the event and industry checks, Wedbush increased its assumptions for AMD’s data center CPU and GPU revenue growth in 2026 and 2027, lifting its revenue and earnings expectations.
Wedbush also pointed to AMD’s partnership with Cerebras, writing that the collaboration combines Cerebras’ Wafer Scale Engine technology with AMD systems to target ultra-low-latency AI inference workloads. Initial deployments are expected later this year through Cerebras Cloud.
The analysts wrote that the relationship is likely to be revenue accretive compared with prior expectations for Cerebras and represents further validation of the company’s approach to delivering high-speed AI inference capabilities.
Wedbush also highlighted VAST Data as a potential beneficiary of AI infrastructure spending, writing that the privately held company appears to have emerged as a significant supplier of data management solutions for neocloud and AI model-building customers.
While the analysts noted that VAST’s software licenses can represent a meaningful cost for customers, they wrote that users highlighted benefits including improved storage efficiency, ease of use and faster returns on cloud infrastructure investments.
On Super Micro Computer, Wedbush wrote that industry conversations supported the view that the company’s recent margin expansion could be partly sustainable, potentially driven by a shift toward higher-value deployments and tight supply conditions. However, the analysts noted they would have greater confidence in the margin outlook with additional feedback on changes within Super Micro’s business.
Wedbush said continued AI infrastructure investment should support further growth across the sector, citing conversations with neocloud providers, data center builders, server vendors and component suppliers that pointed to ongoing acceleration in data center expansion.
The analysts also highlighted memory demand tied to AMD’s AI products, noting that newer Instinct offerings are expected to require significantly more high-bandwidth memory. Wedbush wrote that tight NAND and DRAM availability could continue until additional supply comes online in 2028, with price increases potentially starting at 20% in the third quarter and exceeding 30% in some cases.
Shares of AMD are up more than 150% so far this year, trading hands at $538 on Friday afternoon.
I keep buying Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD | AMD Price Prediction) because agentic AI is rewiring what an AI server needs, and the market still prices AMD like it only sells GPUs. It sells the CPU that runs tool calls, the memory that holds context, and the accelerator that does reasoning. That combination keeps my finger on the buy button.
The Thesis: Agentic AI Moves the Bottleneck A standard chatbot query is a one-shot GPU pass. An agent is a loop: GPU reasoning, then a CPU tool call or database query, then a KV-cache update, then the next step. The GPU sits idle while the host CPU runs sandboxed Python, hits SQL, and pings legacy microservices. The CPU stops being a background component and becomes the active traffic controller. That is exactly the workload AMD sells into with EPYC plus Instinct plus ROCm, and it is why Lisa Su told investors on the Q1 call that “inferencing and agentic AI drive increasing demand for high-performance CPUs and accelerators.” AMD owns the x86 server CPU franchise that this stack requires, an advantage its accelerator rivals lack.
The Receipts Data Center revenue hit $5.775 billion, up 57% year over year, in Q1 FY2026, and total revenue landed at $10.253 billion, up 37.85%. Free cash flow ran $2.566 billion, a 252.96% jump. Management guided Q2 to roughly $11.2 billion, about 46% growth, with gross margin widening to around 56%. The balance sheet carries net cash, with debt/equity at 0.071, so this cash flow is not servicing leverage.
The customer roster: OpenAI selected AMD to deploy 6 gigawatts of GPUs, Meta signed for up to 6 gigawatts of Instinct GPUs, and Oracle is standing up a 50,000-GPU Helios cluster. Reddit’s r/stocks caught it too: the top post this month read, “AMD’s Anthropic and Microsoft deals reinforce that AI infrastructure spending remains strong.”
Why Not Just Buy NVIDIA? I own some NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA). Jensen Huang said “Agentic AI has arrived, doing productive work, generating real value and scaling rapidly across companies and industries”, and the numbers are staggering: $81.615 billion in Q1 FY2027 revenue, up 85.2%, with 75.0% non-GAAP gross margin. NVIDIA also owns the interconnect story with NVLink and a purpose-built ARM CPU roadmap in Vera Rubin.
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The problem is the base. NVIDIA is a $5.06 trillion company. AMD is $887.7 billion. NVDA trades at price-to-book of 25.69; AMD sits at 13.77. AMD’s PEG is 1.276, and analysts carry 5 Strong Buy, 37 Buy, and zero Sell ratings. I want the CPU-plus-GPU rack that hyperscalers are diversifying into, at a book multiple roughly half of NVIDIA’s.
The Risk Trailing P/E is 182. That is rich. U.S. export controls on the MI308 already cost AMD an ~$800 million inventory charge in Q2 2025. What keeps the thesis intact is the forward P/E of 76 against 91.2% quarterly earnings growth, and the fact that current guidance excludes China MI308 revenue entirely. The multiple compresses if execution holds.
Why I Keep Buying Polymarket currently prices AMD’s next earnings beat at a 91.5% probability. The 1-year return is 240.18%. I add because the agent loop needs a CPU and a GPU under the same roof, and AMD is the only U.S.-listed name selling both at scale.
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Shares of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Financials) jumped on Wall Street after an Advancing AI event provided a more positive view than analysts expec
Key Takeaways Nokia is expanding beyond telecom through AI networking, cloud connectivity and enterprise infrastructure.NOK's AI and Cloud revenues more than doubled, supported by demand for AI data center networking.Nokia is investing in 5G, Open RAN and optical infrastructure while expanding enterprise opportunities. Nokia Corporation (NOK - Free Report) is evolving beyond its traditional telecom equipment business by expanding into AI networking, cloud connectivity and enterprise infrastructure. As investment in artificial intelligence accelerates, the company is benefiting from rising demand for high-speed networking solutions while continuing to serve wireless operators worldwide. Investors are increasingly evaluating whether this broader business mix can drive sustainable long-term growth despite the cyclical nature of telecom spending.
How Nokia Builds Growth Across Its BusinessNokia operates through four primary business segments: Mobile Infrastructure, Network Infrastructure, Portfolio Businesses and Technology Licensing. Mobile Infrastructure remains the largest contributor, providing radio access products and software for wireless carriers. Meanwhile, Network Infrastructure has become an increasingly important growth engine through its Optical Networks, IP Networks and Fixed Networks businesses, serving telecom operators, cloud providers and enterprise customers.
The Portfolio Businesses segment expands Nokia's software and enterprise offerings, while Technology Licensing generates recurring revenues from one of the industry's largest wireless patent portfolios. This diversified structure helps reduce reliance on any single business while supporting more balanced long-term growth.
Why NOK Is Expanding Beyond Telecom CyclesAI is becoming a major growth driver for Nokia. During the latest quarter, AI and Cloud revenues more than doubled year over year, supported by strong demand for networking infrastructure powering AI data centers. Management also reported robust AI order activity, reinforcing confidence in future revenue opportunities.
Growth in Optical Networks and IP Networks further highlights Nokia's expanding exposure beyond traditional carrier spending. These businesses support hyperscale cloud providers and enterprises building AI infrastructure, creating additional revenue streams that complement the company's mobile networking operations. Similar opportunities are also attracting networking leaders such as Cisco Systems (CSCO - Free Report) and optical networking specialist Ciena Corporation (CIEN - Free Report) as AI infrastructure investment continues to accelerate.
How Nokia Strengthens Its Technology EdgeNokia continues investing in technologies that support long-term competitiveness. Its 5G portfolio, ReefShark chipsets and Open RAN initiatives are designed to improve network performance while lowering customer operating costs. The company also benefits from an extensive patent portfolio that supports recurring licensing revenue in addition to equipment sales.
Management is also expanding manufacturing capabilities and optimizing the business portfolio to focus more heavily on AI networking, optical infrastructure and enterprise solutions. These initiatives strengthen Nokia's position in faster-growing markets while supporting long-term profitability.
What Risks Could Slow NOK's ProgressDespite improving growth prospects, Nokia continues to face several challenges. Telecom capital spending remains cyclical, and customer investment timing can create quarterly revenue volatility. The company also operates in highly competitive networking markets while executing restructuring initiatives designed to improve long-term efficiency.
Additional risks include geopolitical uncertainty, supply constraints and changing global trade conditions, all of which could affect customer demand and project execution. Successfully balancing these challenges while expanding AI-related businesses will remain important for future growth.
How NOK's Ratings Fit the Growth StoryNokia currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) with a Value Score of B, Growth Score of C, Momentum Score of A and VGM Score of B. These ratings reflect a company benefiting from improving AI infrastructure demand and attractive valuation characteristics while still facing execution risks and telecom market cyclicality. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Overall, Nokia is building a more diversified networking business by expanding beyond traditional telecom infrastructure into AI, cloud and enterprise networking. While industry headwinds remain, continued strength in Network Infrastructure, licensing and AI-related demand provides meaningful long-term opportunities. The current Hold rating reflects a balanced outlook as investors monitor execution and the pace of AI-driven growth.
Key Takeaways Nokia delivered an earnings beat as AI and Cloud revenue more than doubled despite mixed revenue.NOK is gaining from AI networking, optical transport and enterprise connectivity growth opportunities.Nokia maintained full-year operating profit guidance while telecom spending remains uneven. Nokia Corporation (NOK - Free Report) offers investors a balanced investment case as growing demand for AI infrastructure helps offset continued weakness in parts of the telecom equipment market. The company is benefiting from investments in cloud networking, optical transport and enterprise connectivity, while traditional carrier spending remains uneven. The key question is whether these emerging growth drivers can support stronger long-term performance despite ongoing industry and execution risks.
Why NOK Delivered a Mixed QuarterNokia's latest quarterly results reflected both progress and persistent headwinds. The company delivered an earnings beat, supported by improved profitability, with comparable gross margin rising to 46% and comparable operating margin reaching 9%. Management also reaffirmed its full-year operating profit guidance, signaling confidence in business fundamentals.
However, revenue performance remained mixed as spending by telecom operators varied across regions. Network Infrastructure stood out with strong growth, while AI and Cloud revenues more than doubled from the prior-year quarter. The results suggest Nokia is benefiting from newer growth markets even as parts of its traditional telecom business continue to recover.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Where Nokia Finds Its Biggest CatalystsAI infrastructure is becoming one of Nokia's strongest growth opportunities. Demand for high-capacity networking supporting AI data centers is driving momentum across Optical Networks and IP Networks, while enterprise customers continue investing in cloud connectivity and digital transformation projects. Management also highlighted strong AI order activity, providing additional visibility into future revenue growth.
The company's extensive patent portfolio and licensing business further diversify earnings by generating recurring royalty revenues. Combined with expanding enterprise relationships, these businesses reduce Nokia's dependence on carrier spending alone. Similar trends are benefiting networking companies such as Cisco Systems (CSCO - Free Report) and Arista Networks (ANET - Free Report) as enterprises and cloud providers continue investing in AI networking infrastructure.
What Could Limit Nokia's UpsideDespite improving fundamentals, Nokia continues to face several challenges. Telecom infrastructure spending remains cyclical, making quarterly results sensitive to customer investment timing. The company is also executing restructuring initiatives that are expected to improve long-term efficiency but may continue to create near-term costs and execution risks.
Competition across networking markets remains intense, particularly as vendors race to capture AI infrastructure opportunities. In addition, supply constraints, geopolitical uncertainty and changing trade conditions could influence customer spending and project deployments, creating further variability in financial performance.
How NOK's Valuation Supports the DebateNokia's valuation reflects a balanced outlook. NOK shares continue to trade at reasonable valuation multiples relative to both historical levels and industry peers, indicating that investors recognize the company's improving fundamentals while remaining mindful of execution risks.
As AI networking and enterprise infrastructure become larger contributors to the business, Nokia could benefit from a more diversified earnings profile. However, the pace of telecom market recovery and successful execution of its strategic initiatives will likely remain key factors influencing investor sentiment.
How NOK's Ratings Guide Investors TodayNokia currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), along with a Value Score of B, Growth Score of C, Momentum Score of A and VGM Score of B. These ratings indicate that while the company is benefiting from strong momentum and attractive valuation characteristics, investors may prefer to see further evidence of sustained earnings growth before taking a more bullish view. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Overall, Nokia is strengthening its position in AI networking while maintaining leadership across several communications infrastructure markets. Expanding demand for optical networking, enterprise connectivity and licensing provides encouraging long-term opportunities, but telecom spending cycles and execution risks remain important considerations. The current Hold rating reflects a balanced investment outlook as the company's transformation continues.
Key Takeaways Nokia beat earnings estimates as comparable gross margin rose to 46% and operating margin reached 9%.NOK's AI and Cloud revenue more than doubled, led by Optical Networks and IP Networks growth.Nokia reaffirmed euro 2.1B-2.6B operating profit guidance despite negative quarterly cash flow. Nokia Corporation's (NOK - Free Report) latest quarterly results reflected both encouraging operational progress and ongoing industry challenges. The company reported earnings that exceeded expectations, supported by stronger margins and robust performance in several businesses, but revenue came in slightly below forecasts as telecom spending remained uneven across key markets. The quarter illustrates how Nokia is benefiting from growing demand for AI networking and cloud infrastructure while continuing to navigate restructuring efforts and cyclical carrier investment.
Key Takeaways From Nokia's Quarterly ResultsNokia's latest quarter demonstrated improving operational execution despite a mixed top-line performance. The company reported an earnings beat as stronger margins and disciplined cost management helped offset softer-than-expected revenue. Comparable gross margin increased to 46%, while comparable operating margin reached 9%, reflecting improved profitability even as reported results continued to be affected by restructuring-related charges. Management also reaffirmed its full-year comparable operating profit outlook, indicating confidence that underlying business trends remain on track.
The results suggest Nokia is making progress on improving the quality of its earnings rather than simply pursuing revenue growth. Higher-margin businesses and ongoing efficiency initiatives supported profitability, although uneven customer spending continued to weigh on overall sales performance.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Growth Drivers Behind Nokia's ResultsNetwork Infrastructure remained Nokia's strongest-performing segment, driven by continued momentum in Optical Networks and IP Networks as enterprises and hyperscale cloud providers expanded AI infrastructure investments. AI and Cloud revenues more than doubled from the prior-year period, highlighting the company's growing exposure to structural technology trends beyond traditional telecom spending.
Technology Licensing also remained an important contributor by generating recurring royalty income from Nokia's extensive patent portfolio. Regionally, the company saw encouraging performance across the Americas and EMEA, while results in APAC reflected a more mixed demand environment. Similar AI-driven networking opportunities are also supporting industry peers such as Cisco Systems (CSCO - Free Report) and Ciena Corporation (CIEN - Free Report) as cloud infrastructure investment continues to accelerate.
Why Cash Flow Deserves AttentionWhile profitability improved, cash flow remained an area investors should monitor. Nokia reported negative operating cash flow and free cash flow during the quarter, primarily reflecting working capital movements, restructuring-related cash payments and ongoing capital investments. These factors pressured near-term cash generation despite stronger operating performance.
Even so, the company continues to maintain a solid liquidity position, providing flexibility to fund strategic investments, restructuring initiatives and manufacturing expansion. Management expects cash flow to improve as working capital normalizes and operational efficiencies continue to take effect.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What Nokia's Outlook Says About Future ResultsManagement reaffirmed its full-year comparable operating profit guidance of €2.1 billion to €2.6 billion and continues to expect solid free cash flow conversion over the course of the year. The company also anticipates continued strength in Network Infrastructure, supported by growing demand for Optical Networks and IP Networks tied to AI and cloud deployments.
Alongside these growth opportunities, Nokia continues investing in manufacturing capacity and technology development to support future demand. While telecom spending remains uneven, management believes expanding exposure to enterprise networking and AI infrastructure should help improve the company's long-term financial profile.
How NOK's Ratings Reflect the Financial PictureNokia currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), with a Value Score of B, Growth Score of C, Momentum Score of A and VGM Score of B. These ratings reflect a company that is showing improving operational execution and strong momentum while still working through restructuring activities and uneven revenue trends. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Overall, Nokia's latest financial results point to a business that is gradually strengthening its fundamentals. Margin improvement, Network Infrastructure growth and rising AI-related demand provide encouraging signs for the future, while cash flow execution and telecom market conditions remain important areas to watch. The current Hold rating reflects this balanced financial picture as the company's transformation continues.
SummaryAlibaba is rated bullish with a $203.29 target, implying 71% upside, driven by AI-led transformation and ecosystem integration.Qwen AI agent is deeply embedded in BABA’s e-commerce, enhancing customer engagement and merchant efficiency and driving token-based monetization.BABA’s Cloud+AI segment is now a core growth engine, with external revenue surpassing $5.3B and triple-digit AI growth for 11 straight quarters.SOTP valuation applies 18x P/E to e-commerce and 3x P/S to AI+Cloud, reflecting robust growth, but macro headwinds and high capex remain key risks.Editor's note: Seeking Alpha is proud to welcome Yudan Tian as a new contributing analyst. You can become one too! Share your best investment idea by submitting your article for review to our editors. Get published, earn money, and unlock exclusive SA Premium access.
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
I keep hitting the buy button on NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) because every quarter AI capex grows larger, and NVIDIA collects at each layer. Hyperscalers order racks, sovereigns order factories, enterprises order runtime. That is the conviction.
The Thesis in One Sentence NVIDIA monetizes today’s hardware cycle at rack scale while building the software and networking tollbooth for the next one. Jensen Huang framed it plainly on the last call: “The buildout of AI factories, the largest infrastructure expansion in human history, is accelerating at extraordinary speed.” The custom thesis is the same one management executes: turnkey Blackwell racks proprietary NVLink interconnects capture today’s capex, then NIM microservices, CUDA, and NVLink Fusion fabric licensing turn one-time hardware sales into structural, compounding cash flow.
Three Reasons the Money Keeps Going Here First, operating leverage is delivering. Fiscal 2026 revenue landed at $215.9 billion, up from $130.5 billion the year prior, with net income of $120.1 billion and operating margin of 60.4%. SG&A fell from 9.0% of revenue in FY2023 to 2.1% in FY2026. Companies do not scale like this without pricing power.
Second, the current quarter confirms the story. Q1 FY2027 revenue hit $81.615 billion, beating consensus by 3.16% on non-GAAP EPS of $1.87, a fourth straight beat. Data Center revenue reached $75.246 billion, up 92% year over year, with networking growing 199%. Gross margin came in at 75.0%. Q2 guide points to $91.0 billion in revenue.
Third, valuation remains reasonable. Forward P/E sits at 23 with a PEG of 0.559. Return on equity is 114.3%. Management authorized an $80.0 billion repurchase and lifted the dividend from $0.01 to $0.25 per share. Retirement accounts get paid to wait.
Don't wait: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
Why Not the Obvious Alternatives The two names I get asked about are Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL). Broadcom’s CEO targets over $100 billion in AI revenue by 2027. That is a 2027 aspiration. NVIDIA already printed $75.2 billion in Data Center revenue in a single quarter. Marvell trades at 47x forward earnings, roughly double NVIDIA’s 23 forward multiple, for slower growth. I would rather own the platform every custom silicon design still has to interconnect with.
The Risk I Refuse to Wave Off China is the real risk. Huang called it out directly: “Losing access to the China AI accelerator market, which we believe will grow to nearly $50 billion, would have a material adverse impact on our business.” The company took a $4.5 billion H20 inventory charge and shipped zero H20 units to China in Q1 FY2027. That is real money. It has not changed my thesis because NVIDIA grew Data Center 92% year over year with China effectively zeroed out, and total supply commitments now stand at $119.0 billion. The rest of the world is absorbing the capacity.
Why the Buy Button Stays Active Analyst consensus is 58 buys to 1 sell with a $302.31 target. This works as long as AI factories keep growing, software attach keeps rising, and NVLink remains the fabric everyone standardizes on. Every quarter so far, that is exactly what has happened. Until that pipeline changes, my money keeps going in.
Don't wait: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
Microsoft, Meta and Nvidia are among 25 tech organizations calling on U.S. policymakers to avoid placing “premature restrictions” on open-weight AI models or “sweeping restrictions” on distillation.
In an open letter dated Friday (July 24), the organizations pointed to the benefits of the open-source software movement that began in the 1980s and said that open-weight models make advanced artificial intelligence more accessible, adaptable and widely available.
The letter said open weights enable organizations to build on advanced AI models without having to train one from scratch, let them match the right model to the right job, allow competition that spurs innovation and drives down costs, enable customers to avoid being locked into a single provider, give defenders the tools they need to respond to cybersecurity attackers, and let a broad community improve the models.
“A strong AI ecosystem is not a foregone conclusion,” the letter said. “Policymakers have an important opportunity to act. This includes expanding access to compute for startups and researchers, investing in shared training assets (datasets, tools, evaluation frameworks), and keeping the frontier plural by avoiding premature restrictions on open models that stifle competition or drive innovation overseas. These measures must also look at how strong application layers can expand sovereign use of AI across the economy.”
The letter also addressed distillation, saying this is a widely used technique that reflects the open-source software movement’s tradition of learning from and building upon existing technologies. The letter added that the legitimate concerns raised by unlawful efforts to extract value from closed models should be addressed through targeted legal and commercial frameworks rather than “sweeping restrictions.”
“In shaping this ecosystem, policymakers should be careful not to conflate legitimate model-development techniques with misappropriation,” the letter said.
Together with Microsoft, Meta and Nvidia, the signers of the open letter include American Innovators Network, Andreessen Horowitz, Arcee AI, Arena, Black Forest Labs, Box, CrowdStrike, Dell Technologies, Emergence Capital, Hugging Face, IBM, The Linux Foundation, Mariana Minerals, Mistral, Mozilla, Palantir, Perplexity, Reflection, Replit, ServiceNow, Telnyx and Y Combinator.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella shared the letter in a post on X and said: “Open-weight models are essential to a healthy AI ecosystem. Together with others across our industry, we are outlining a path for open-weight models to strengthen American competitiveness and expand economic opportunity, while protecting national security.”
Nvidia Founder and CEO Jensen Huang shared the letter in what he said was his first post on X, saying: “Open models strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty. The world needs both frontier closed models and frontier open models.”
While OpenAI did not sign the letter, CEO Sam Altman shared Huang’s post in his own post on X and said: “I want the US to win in AI both in open source and proprietary models, and I am glad to see this.”
It was reported July 10 that the Trump administration’s recent restrictions on access to the most advanced U.S. AI models are accelerating enterprise interest in open-source models.
On Tuesday (July 21), it was reported that the White House will examine whether Chinese AI models have been distilled from their U.S. counterparts.
Item 1 of 3 NVIDIA logo and word "Artificial Intelligence" are seen in this illustration taken July 20, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
[1/3]NVIDIA logo and word "Artificial Intelligence" are seen in this illustration taken July 20, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
SummaryCompaniesTwo dozen companies, including Meta and IBM, sign letterThey urge lawmakers to avoid 'premature restrictions' on open-source AI modelsUS lawmakers propose AI model kill switches after a rogue OpenAI cyberattackSAN FRANCISCO, July 24 (Reuters) - Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and other tech heavyweights made a public case to lawmakers on Friday in favor of open-source AI models, wading into a debate roiling the business and policy worlds over who controls the powerful technology.
In a letter posted on X and also signed by two dozen companies and groups including Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab and IBM , Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that lawmakers should avoid "premature restrictions on open models that stifle competition or drive innovation overseas."
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The letter adds to the growing debate about open-source models that are harder to regulate, such as Nvidia's own and those released in recent weeks by Chinese labs, and the closed-source models controlled by specific companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
In recent months, Silicon Valley business leaders have bristled at the cost of closed source models. The CEOs of Microsoft and defense contractor Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O), opens new tab have publicly argued that open-source models their customers can run inside their own data centers will help control AI costs.
Tech leaders have also chafed at controls that OpenAI and Anthropic build into their models. Hugging Face, the AI coding collaboration site that was hacked by a rogue OpenAI model, this week said that it had to use a Chinese open-source model to defend against the attack because closed-source models have restrictions on use for cybersecurity work.
At the same time, U.S. lawmakers alarmed by the rogue OpenAI cyberattack proposed legislation that would require a "kill switch" for AI models, and President Donald Trump's administration is weighing sanctions on Chinese open-source model makers over alleged theft of U.S. closed-source technology.
The letter from Nvidia and other companies acknowledged the concerns about technology theft but argued they should be addressed "through targeted legal and commercial frameworks rather than sweeping restrictions."
"Relying solely on closed models is not inherently safe: they can be breached, misused, or fail in ways that outsiders cannot detect," the letter said. "Open weight models, on the other hand, allow a broad community of researchers and developers to examine their behavior, identify vulnerabilities, develop safeguards, and improve them over time."
Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Shares in the Magnificent 7 tech stocks have slumped this week amid investors' concerns about massive spending by hyperscalers on artificial intelligence infrastructure amid uncertainty about the global economy due to the resumption of hostilities in the Iran war.
The so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks experienced their biggest one-day drop in over a year on Thursday, with Bloomberg reporting that an index of the group fell 4.8% and erased about $787 billion in market value – the steepest single day decline since April 2025.
The report noted that as of Thursday's close, the Mag Seven index was down about 11% from the record high it reached in late May, with about $2 trillion in market cap wiped out.
As of Friday morning, six of the Mag Seven stocks were down over the last five days of trading, with Tesla down over 19%, while shares in Google parent Alphabet (-8.5%), Amazon (-6.3%), Meta (-6%), Microsoft (-1.3%) and Apple (-0.4%) were also down. By contrast, Nvidia shares are up about 1.9% in the last five days.
TESLA TOUTS 380,000 UNSUPERVISED ROBOTAXI MILES WITH 'ZERO NOTABLE INCIDENTS'
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Lower Manhattan. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Tech stocks' slide steepened after Alphabet and Tesla released their earnings report after Wednesday's trading session, with both companies reporting large capital expenditures this year.
Alphabet announced plans to spend about $200 billion on capex this year, up from a prior estimate of $190 billion, with the higher spending on AI data centers and infrastructure contributing to the company's quarterly cash flow turning for the first time since Google went public, per Bloomberg's report.
"Alphabet's higher investment outlook helps reinforce our view that the AI infrastructure buildout remains a durable theme," said Edward Jones senior analyst Brian Therien. "However, the negative share-price reaction may indicate that investors are becoming more focused on returns generated on AI-related investments."
GOOGLE LAUNCHES GLOBAL STUDY OF MILLIONS OF AI CHATS TO UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company needs to spend as much as it can on capital expenditures without being wasteful. (Richard Bord/WireImage)
Tesla's profits came in well below the estimates of Wall Street analysts amid a ramp up in spending, with CEO Elon Musk saying on the company's earnings call that 2026 will be a "massive capex year" and that the company "should be spending on capex as fast as we can – spend as fast as we can without it being too wasteful."
The company's spending aims to enhance its AI capabilities as well as boosting production of Optimus humanoid robots, as well as robotaxis and autonomous vehicles.
ELON MUSK LOSES TRILLIONAIRE STATUS AFTER TECH SELL-OFF ERASES BILLIONS FROM FORTUNE
Ticker Security Last Change Change % NVDA NVIDIA CORP. 208.76 -3.30 -1.56% AAPL APPLE INC. 321.66 -4.23 -1.30% MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 381.58 -8.76 -2.24% GOOGL ALPHABET INC. 317.69 -24.40 -7.13% AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 233.66 -11.19 -4.57% META META PLATFORMS INC. 606.10 -21.07 -3.36% TSLA TESLA INC. 319.69 -54.32 -14.52% Ryan Lee, senior vice president of product and strategy at Direxion, said in a note that, "While Tesla continues to invest heavily in AI and robotics, monetization remains the central concern following the earnings miss."
"Tesla has become the physical AI story, with the potential to bring artificial intelligence into consumers' everyday lives through autonomous vehicles and robotics. The question is how quickly those investments can begin supporting the valuation," Lee added.
As calls for artificial intelligence regulation continue to pick up steam in Washington, D.C., a group of 25 prominent tech and AI companies have signed a joint letter urging lawmakers not to be overly restrictive, particularly regarding open-weight AI models.
Apparently, the movement is important enough for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to make the letter his first post on the social platform X.
Companies that signed onto the letter include Palantir, Microsoft, Meta, and Dell, among many other big hitters.
Open-weight AI models run on their own infrastructure and can be accessed and modified by anyone. The models can also become more sophisticated without training from the beginning or paying high prices.
Here’s why Huang and other prominent AI CEOs are pushing the letter so strongly.
Image source: Nvidia.
Winning the AI raceCurrently, the leading large language models developed by players like OpenAI and Anthropic are closed-loop and therefore proprietary.
Recently, however, open-weight models coming out of China have started to gain traction and release models that they believe are competitive with U.S. offerings.
A Chinese start-up called Moonshot AI released its Kimi K3 model, which it said can outperform several older models produced by Claude and ChatGPT.
What’s also interesting about this achievement is that China is not supposed to have access to Nvidia’s most advanced chips for training its LLMs, due to export restrictions.
Now, the White House has accused Moonshot of violating these restrictions and of distilling U.S. LLMs. The company has not responded to these allegations as of this writing.
Regardless, these events seem to have executives like Huang concerned that the U.S. may lose its dominance in AI, particularly if regulation is too tight.
“A strong AI ecosystem is not a foregone conclusion. Policymakers have an important opportunity to act. This includes expanding access to compute for startups and researchers, investing in shared training assets (datasets, tools, evaluation frameworks), and keeping the frontier plural by avoiding premature restrictions on open models that stifle competition or drive innovation overseas,” the letter stated.
The letter also acknowledged that open weight models do carry risk because once released, the original developer loses control, and model modifications are difficult to track or rectify.
The pros of open weight LLMs include increased competition and more broadly distributing the benefits of AI, “rather than concentrated in a few hands.”
Why investors should careWhether it’s due to concerns about AI-driven job losses, higher electricity costs, or data centers being built in communities, the topic of AI regulation continues to become more important.
Interestingly, the U.S. company Hugging Face, an open-source AI platform, recently used one of China’s open-weight models to counter a cyberattack launched by renegade OpenAI models.
The company said Claude’s most advanced models were not able to diagnose the attack because of the model’s barriers. However, it’s also easy to imagine how losing control over open-weight LLMs could be daunting.
Investors need to pay close attention to AI regulation for a few reasons.
For one, it could have a significant impact on closed-loop players like Anthropic and OpenAI, which are reportedly gearing up for massive initial public offerings later this year. While open-weight AI models may not necessarily outperform closed-loop ones, they would most likely eat into their margins.
I also think the fact that Huang and so many other executives are pushing this letter so hard also makes it clear that regulation is a big issue and potential risk to the AI trade.
Semiconductor stocks delivered a solid performance in 2025, and that momentum has carried into 2026, fueled by the relentless excitement surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI.
While a recent market pullback has rattled investors, chipmakers tied to AI continue to attract strong interest as sustained demand keeps revenue growth on track.
Given the upbeat sentiment, investing in semiconductor funds such as Janus Henderson Global Technology and Innovation Fund (JNGTX - Free Report) , T. Rowe Price Science & Tech (PRSCX - Free Report) , and DWS Science and Technology A (KTCAX - Free Report) , stands out as an attractive opportunity.
AI Continues to Drive Semiconductor DemandSemiconductor stocks have surged in 2026 as companies ramp up spending on AI infrastructure. Investor enthusiasm is no longer limited to the largest chipmakers. With valuation concerns rising for some industry giants, more capital has flowed into companies specializing in networking hardware, data storage and other AI-related technologies, helping broaden the sector's rally.
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) remains the dominant player in the industry by market value, while soaring demand for AI chips has also boosted memory-chip manufacturers like Micron Technology (MU - Free Report) and semiconductor equipment suppliers such as Applied Materials (AMAT - Free Report) .
Even so, elevated valuations have occasionally triggered profit-taking, leading to short-term declines despite the industry's favorable long-term outlook.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) has climbed 74.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the latest Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) report showed that global semiconductor sales reached $298.5 billion in the first quarter, representing a 25% increase from the previous quarter.
The sector could receive another boost as agentic AI continues to gain traction, with leading technology companies investing billions of dollars in expanding AI infrastructure. Deloitte projects global semiconductor sales to hit $1 trillion in 2026, highlighting the industry's strong growth prospects as AI adoption accelerates.
Although the recent pullback has sparked some caution, the AI-driven growth story remains firmly in place. The current weakness appears to be a temporary correction rather than the end of the sector's broader upward trend.
3 Best ChoicesWe have, thus, selected three mutual funds with significant exposure to semiconductor producers. These funds carry a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and are poised to gain from the above factors. Moreover, these funds have encouraging three- and five-year returns. Additionally, the minimum initial investment is within $5000.
We expect these funds to outperform their peers in the future. Remember, the goal of the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is to guide investors to identify potential winners and losers. Unlike most of the fund-rating systems, the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank is not just focused on past performance but also on the likely future success of the fund.
The question here is: why should investors consider mutual funds? Reduced transaction costs and diversification of portfolio without several commission charges that are associated with stock purchases are primarily why one should be parking money in mutual funds (read more: Mutual Funds: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How They Make Investors Money).
Janus Henderson Global Technology and Innovation Fund aims for long-term growth of capital and specializes in technology. JNGTX invests the majority of its net assets in securities of companies that the portfolio manager believes will benefit significantly from advances or improvements in technology.
Janus Henderson Global Technology and Innovation Fund has a track of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, JNGTX’s returns over the three and five-year benchmarks are 35.6% and 17.4%, respectively. The annual expense ratio of 0.78% is lower than the category average of 0.97%. JNGTX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2.
To see how this fund performed compared to its category and other #1 or 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
T. Rowe Price Science & Tech fund seeks to invest in long-term capital growth by investing at least 80% of net assets in common stocks of companies expected by T. Rowe Price to benefit from the development, advancement and use of science and technology. While most of PRSCX’s assets are invested in U.S. common stocks, other securities may also be purchased, including foreign stocks, futures, and options, in keeping with the fund’s objectives.
T. Rowe Price Science & Tech has a track record of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, PRSCX’s returns over the three and five-year benchmarks are 39.4% and 17.6%, respectively. PRSCX’s annual expense ratio of 0.80% is lower than the category average of 1.01%. PRSCX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1.
To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other #1 or 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
DWS Science and Technology A fund seeks growth of capital. Under normal circumstances, KTCAX invests at least 80% of net assets in common stocks of U.S. companies in the technology sector.
DWS Science and Technology A fund has a track of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, KTCAX’s returns over the three and five-year benchmarks are 34.4% and 17.9%, respectively. The annual expense ratio of 0.88% is lower than the category average of 0.99%. KTCAX carries a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #2.
To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other #1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
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American Airlines reported record Q2 revenue of $16.7 billion (+16% YoY), demonstrating successful premium service transition and commercial market recapture. The company faces a $3+ billion profit gap with legacy peers but is executing initiatives—like loyalty program growth—to close this gap. The airline forecasts a $6 billion boost in fuel prices in 2026, impacting short-term profit forecasts.
Momentum investing is all about the idea of following a stock's recent trend, which can be in either direction. In the "long context," investors will essentially be "buying high, but hoping to sell even higher." And for investors following this methodology, taking advantage of trends in a stock's price is key; once a stock establishes a course, it is more than likely to continue moving in that direction. The goal is that once a stock heads down a fixed path, it will lead to timely and profitable trades.
Even though momentum is a popular stock characteristic, it can be tough to define. Debate surrounding which are the best and worst metrics to focus on is lengthy, but the Zacks Momentum Style Score, part of the Zacks Style Scores, helps address this issue for us.
Below, we take a look at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) , which currently has a Momentum Style Score of B. We also discuss some of the main drivers of the Momentum Style Score, like price change and earnings estimate revisions.
It's also important to note that Style Scores work as a complement to the Zacks Rank, our stock rating system that has an impressive track record of outperformance. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). Our research shows that stocks rated Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy) and Style Scores of "A or B" outperform the market over the following one-month period.
You can see the current list of Zacks #1 Rank Stocks here >>>
Set to Beat the Market?Let's discuss some of the components of the Momentum Style Score for JPM that show why this company shows promise as a solid momentum pick.
Looking at a stock's short-term price activity is a great way to gauge if it has momentum, since this can reflect both the current interest in a stock and if buyers or sellers have the upper hand at the moment. It's also helpful to compare a security to its industry; this can show investors the best companies in a particular area.
For JPM, shares are up 1.38% over the past week while the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry is up 0.22% over the same time period. Shares are looking quite well from a longer time frame too, as the monthly price change of 4.41% compares favorably with the industry's 4.59% performance as well.
While any stock can see a spike in price, it takes a real winner to consistently outperform the market. Over the past quarter, shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. have risen 11.71%, and are up 17.99% in the last year. In comparison, the S&P 500 has only moved 4.48% and 17.65%, respectively.
Investors should also pay attention to JPM's average 20-day trading volume. Volume is a useful item in many ways, and the 20-day average establishes a good price-to-volume baseline; a rising stock with above average volume is generally a bullish sign, whereas a declining stock on above average volume is typically bearish. JPM is currently averaging 10,013,792 shares for the last 20 days.
Earnings OutlookThe Zacks Momentum Style Score also takes into account trends in estimate revisions, in addition to price changes. Please note that estimate revision trends remain at the core of Zacks Rank as well. A nice path here can help show promise, and we have recently been seeing that with JPM.
Over the past two months, 8 earnings estimates moved higher compared to none lower for the full year. These revisions helped boost JPM's consensus estimate, increasing from $22.32 to $24.39 in the past 60 days. Looking at the next fiscal year, 9 estimates have moved upwards while there have been no downward revisions in the same time period.
Bottom LineTaking into account all of these elements, it should come as no surprise that JPM is a #1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Momentum Score of B. If you've been searching for a fresh pick that's set to rise in the near-term, make sure to keep JPMorgan Chase & Co. on your short list.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 24, 2026) - NovaRed Mining Inc. (CSE: NRED) (OTCQB: NREDF) ("NovaRed" or the "Company") is pleased to report a geological interpretation of a large, regional, high-intensity magnetic anomaly underlying the Wilmac Copper-Gold Project (the "Project"). This anomaly (see Figure 1) is interpreted to represent the western (i.e. South Princeton) portion of a large, composite batholith that includes the intrusive complex documented at the Copper Mountain Camp. This proposed composite batholith is interpreted to have been structurally segmented and vertically displaced across two regional-scale fault systems: the Boundary Fault and the Whipsaw Fault.
"The magnetic anomaly underlying the Wilmac Project is not a stand-alone feature," said Brian Goss, Chief Executive Officer of NovaRed Mining Inc. "It is interpreted to be the western segment of a much larger batholith that has been pulled apart and vertically displaced by two regional faults. The Copper Mountain Camp, actively producing copper and gold today, sits on the upthrown eastern block east of the Boundary Fault. The Wilmac anomaly sits on the downthrown western block — deeper, largely unexposed, and largely undrilled. The Whipsaw Fault represents an additional structural discontinuity that further segments the system to the west. What this means for exploration is significant: we may be looking at a single, laterally extensive magmatic system expressed in multiple fault blocks, each with independent potential to host porphyry copper-gold mineralization."
Geological Interpretation
High-resolution airborne and ground magnetic surveys, together with the Volterra 3DIP/AMT geophysical dataset acquired from the previous optionee (see News Release dated April 15, 2026), have enabled the development of a coherent regional geological interpretation of the large, high-intensity magnetic anomaly underlying the Project.
The Copper Mountain Mine and its associated intrusive complex are spatially associated with a large, broad, high-intensity magnetic anomaly east of the Boundary Fault. Geological mapping in the Copper Mountain camp documents a multi-phase intrusive complex at surface, comprising monzonite, syenite, diorite, gabbro and pyroxenite phases that collectively constitute a composite batholith. This batholith is the interpreted source of the intense magnetic anomaly in the Copper Mountain area and is the causative intrusive complex driving porphyry copper-gold mineralization currently being mined.
A comparably large, high-intensity magnetic anomaly underlies the Wilmac Project to the west, separated from the Copper Mountain anomaly by the regionally significant Boundary Fault. The Boundary Fault is a west-side-down structure, interpreted to have displaced the western block downward relative to the Copper Mountain block. The magnetic anomaly west of the Boundary Fault, underlying the Trojan-Condor Corridor of the Wilmac Project, is interpreted to represent a segment of the same batholith — now buried to greater depth on the downthrown western side of the Boundary Fault — with comparatively small intrusive exposures documented at surface across the Project (including pyroxenite, hornblendite, gabbro and diorite) interpreted to represent only the uppermost apophyses and cupolas of the underlying intrusive complex.
The Whipsaw Fault is interpreted to represent an additional, sub-parallel structural discontinuity that further segments the batholith comprising the primary South Princeton anomaly. Gabbro and diorite intrusions mapped along Whipsaw Creek — the "Whipsaw Stocks" — are interpreted as limited surface expressions of the intrusive complex in a fault block west of the Boundary Fault and east of the Whipsaw Fault. Soil geochemistry, IP chargeability, and AMT resistivity data from the Lamont and Trojan-Condor Corridor areas (see news releases dated May 11 and May 13, 2026) are broadly consistent with this interpretation, documenting anomalous copper, fertile magma signatures (Sr/Y), and transitional magma oxidation states (V/Sc) across multiple fault blocks.
Regional Context and Significance
Segmentation of a large composite batholith by regional faults is a well-documented geological phenomenon. In the Copper Mountain Camp, the intrusive complex is exposed at surface on the eastern, upthrown block. To the west, across the Boundary Fault, the equivalent intrusive complex is interpreted to be preserved at depth, shielded from erosion by its downthrown structural position and, in the eastern portion of the Project, partially covered by the Eocene Princeton Group cover sequence. This configuration is interpreted to have preserved deeper, potentially mineralized portions of the hydrothermal system that are believed to have been removed by erosion in the Copper Mountain block.
The existence of three structurally controlled segments of the batholith — the Copper Mountain block (east of the Boundary Fault), the Whipsaw block (west of the Boundary Fault and east of the Whipsaw Fault), and the Lamont block (west of the Whipsaw Fault) — implies that each segment may represent a spatially distinct target for porphyry copper-gold mineralization, with exploration potential interpreted to be largely independent across segments.
Figure 1 – Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI) map for the Wilmac Cu-Au Project and surrounding area. The area outlined in red is a previous operator's property boundary, within which the high-resolution airborne survey was flown. The results have been plotted with respect to regional TMI results available in the public domain. Note the segmented appearance of the intense magnetic anomaly evident to the southeast (the South Princeton and Copper Mountain Complex anomalies).
To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9977/306501_898ab697b47db82b_002full.jpg
Next Steps
Building on this regional interpretation, the Company is advancing its 2026 field program, comprising four IP/AMT geophysical surveys across the North Lamont, West Lamont, Wilmac, and Plume grids, an expanded soil sampling campaign, and an initial drill program subject to receipt of an approved drill permit (see News Release dated June 17, 2026). The 2026 program is designed to systematically test the geophysical and geochemical response of the Lamont block, with the objective of defining drill targets that test the interpreted buried intrusive complex at depth.
Wilmac Copper-Gold Project Overview
The Wilmac Copper-Gold Project comprises 16,078 hectares of mineral tenures located within the Quesnel porphyry belt in the Similkameen Mining Division of British Columbia, southwest of Princeton. The Project is situated in a well-documented copper-gold porphyry belt and is interpreted to host potential for identification of one or more copper-gold alkalic porphyry occurrences similar in age and deposit type to those hosting the nearby Copper Mountain Mine, which currently hosts Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 345 million tonnes grading 0.26% copper and 0.12 g/t gold (Hudbay Minerals Inc., "Hudbay Provides Annual Reserve and Resource Update with Mine Life Extensions and Improved Three-Year Production Outlook," news release dated March 27, 2026; mineral reserves estimated in accordance with CIM Definition Standards incorporated by reference in NI 43-101).
The Project is separated from the Copper Mountain camp by the regionally significant Boundary Fault. Saleken (2013) interpreted the geological setting west of the fault to be analogous to that of the Copper Mountain Intrusive Complex, but at a shallower level of erosional exposure, with numerous small, high-level diorite, gabbro and pyroxenite intrusions interpreted to represent the uppermost portions of an underlying intrusive complex.
Located immediately west of Highway 3, the Project is road-accessible within a well-established mining district with existing infrastructure and support services.
References
Saleken, L. (2013). Compilation Report on the Tulameen Project Property, Whipsaw Target Area, Assessment Report 33,626A, filed January 31, 2013, 149 p.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this news release, including the geological interpretations described herein, has been reviewed and approved by Rick Walker, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). Mr. Walker is not independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101.
About NovaRed Mining Inc.
NovaRed Mining Inc. (CSE: NRED) (OTCQB: NREDF) is a mineral exploration company focused on the identification, acquisition, exploration and development of copper-gold porphyry projects in British Columbia, leveraging an artificial intelligence-enhanced geospatial technology platform that it developed to identify and evaluate prospective mineral properties. The Company's optioned Wilmac copper-gold project comprises 16,078 hectares located within the Quesnel porphyry belt in the Similkameen Mining Division, southwest of Princeton and approximately 10 kilometres west of Hudbay Minerals Inc.'s producing Copper Mountain Mine. For more information, visit novaredmining.com.
Readers are cautioned that the discussion of mineralization on adjacent or similar properties, including the Copper Mountain Mine, is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization or potential of the Wilmac copper-gold project. The Company has no interest in, or right to acquire any interest in, any such adjacent properties.
ON BEHALF OF NOVARED MINING INC.
Brian Goss
Chief Executive Officer
E: [email protected]
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the geological interpretation of the magnetic anomaly as representing the western portion of a large, composite batholith that includes the intrusive complex documented at the Copper Mountain Camp; the interpretation that the magnetic anomaly may indicate that there are three structurally controlled segments of the batholith that represent a spatially distinct target for porphyry copper-gold mineralization; the planned exploration program that the Company intends to undertake in 2026, subject to financing; and that the Company will be able to exercise its options respecting the claims comprising the Wilmac Project.
Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company at the date of this news release, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Such assumptions include, without limitation, the availability of adequate funding in order to exercise the option agreements respecting the Wilmac Copper-Gold Project and complete the proposed exploration programs; receipt of all necessary permits and authorizations for planned exploration; the availability of qualified personnel and geophysical contractors; favourable weather and field conditions; access to the Project area; the accuracy of current geological interpretations; and the continued cooperation of the optionor under the terms of the option agreement.
Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Important risk factors include, but are not limited to: the continued availability of capital and financing; the ability to satisfy option earn-in requirements on the timelines contemplated; adverse weather or terrain conditions that may delay or prevent fieldwork; risks inherent in mineral exploration activities; tenure grant, renewal and permitting outcomes, including under British Columbia's revised mineral tenure system; Indigenous and community consultation requirements; changes in applicable laws and regulations; the ability to retain key personnel and contractors; litigation; failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations; and general economic, market or business conditions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities laws.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/306501
Source: NovaRed Mining Inc.
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Verizon (VZ) shares are rising after the company announced its Q2 earnings today. While the telecom giant reported a slight earnings per share (EPS) beat, reve
Verizon Communications (VZ) fell 0.36% premarket after reporting second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.30 a share, ahead of the $1.28 analysts expected, while
U.S. stocks traded mixed midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 100 points on Friday.
The Dow traded up 0.20% to 51,815.71 while the NASDAQ declined 0.13% to 25,105.02. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.04% to 7,411.02.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Real estate shares jumped by 2.3% on Friday.
In trading on Friday, information technology stocks fell by 0.8%.
Top Headline
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, while revenue narrowly missed expectations.
Adjusted earnings came in at $1.30 per share, above the analyst consensus estimate of $1.27, according to Benzinga Pro. Revenue totaled $34.25 billion, missing the $35.11 billion estimate. GAAP diluted earnings per share fell 22% year over year to 92 cents, while net income declined 22.9% to $3.9 billion.
Verizon raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $4.99 to $5.04 from its previous forecast of $4.95 to $4.99. The updated outlook is above the analyst consensus estimate of $4.96.
Equities Trading UP
Equities Trading DOWN
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 4.3% to $88.26 while gold traded up 0.5% at $4,070.10.
Silver traded up 1.5% to $58.94 on Friday, while copper rose 0.2% to $6.3565.
Euro zone
European shares were higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.5%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index gained 1.2% London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.8%, while France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4%.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed lower on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 2.73%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index falling 0.98%, China’s Shanghai Composite dipping 1.61% and India’s BSE Sensex falling 0.43%.
Economics
U.S. building permits declined 2.6% month-over-month to an annual rate of 1.374 million in June, above the preliminary reading of 1.367 million. The S&P Global composite PMI climbed to 53.6 in July from 51.9 in the previous month, recording its highest reading since November. The S&P Global manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.8 in July from 53.9 in June, down from market expectations of 54.3. Photo via Shutterstock
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Key Takeaways Verizon beat Q2 EPS estimates, delivered record adjusted EBITDA and raised 2026 guidance.VZ added 184,000 postpaid phone users and 348,000 broadband subscribers, led by wireless and fiber growth.VZ expanded adjusted EBITDA margin to 40.1% as stronger service revenues. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of $1.30 per share for the second quarter of 2026, up 6.6% year over year and ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.27 by 2.4%. Revenues of $34.25 billion declined 0.7% year over year and missed the consensus estimate of $35.26 billion by 2.9%.
The quarter reflected continued strength in profitability and subscriber trends. Verizon delivered 184,000 retail postpaid phone net additions, 348,000 broadband net additions and record adjusted EBITDA while raising its full-year 2026 guidance for the second consecutive quarter.
VZ Revenue Mix Shows Service-Led GrowthMobility and broadband service revenues increased 2.8% year over year to approximately $23.4 billion, supported by continued wireless and broadband momentum. However, total operating revenues slipped to $34.25 billion as wireless equipment revenues declined sharply amid lower upgrade activity and the company's disciplined approach to promotional spending.
Management noted that equipment revenues fell nearly 20%, or more than $1.2 billion, primarily because customers are holding onto devices longer and Verizon is reducing device subsidy spending. The improvement in higher-quality service revenue continued to offset part of this pressure.
Verizon Expands Profitability Despite Revenue PressureAdjusted EBITDA climbed 7.2% year over year to a record $13.7 billion, while adjusted EPS increased 6.6% to $1.30. The adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 40.1% from 37.1% a year ago, reflecting stronger operating leverage and disciplined execution.
Reported profitability, however, reflected sizable special items. Net income declined 22.9% year over year to $3.95 billion, while GAAP EPS fell to 92 cents from $1.18. The decline primarily stemmed from $1.8 billion of pretax special charges, including losses related to business dispositions, asset rationalization and severance expenses.
VZ Subscriber Trends Continue to ImproveVerizon posted 184,000 postpaid phone net additions during the quarter, marking its strongest consumer second-quarter performance in five years. Core prepaid net additions totaled 73,000, extending the company's streak of positive prepaid subscriber growth to eight consecutive quarters.
Broadband remained another bright spot. The company added 348,000 broadband subscribers, including 193,000 fixed wireless access customers and 155,000 fiber broadband customers. Verizon ended the quarter with approximately 17.1 million fixed wireless access and fiber broadband connections while generating more than 550,000 combined mobility and broadband net additions during the quarter.
Verizon Generates Strong Cash FlowCash generation remained robust during the first half of 2026. Cash flow from operations increased 9.9% year over year to $18.4 billion, while free cash flow rose 16.0% to $10.2 billion. Second-quarter cash flow from operations advanced 16.3%, and free cash flow climbed 24.4%, underscoring the company's improving earnings quality.
Capital expenditures totaled $8.2 billion through the first half as Verizon continued investing in network expansion. The company also completed $3.5 billion of share repurchases year to date and raised its full-year buyback target to as much as $4.5 billion. Net unsecured debt stood at $128.7 billion at quarter-end, with the net unsecured debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio at 2.5 times.
VZ Raises 2026 Earnings Outlook AgainEncouraged by strong second-quarter execution, Verizon raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $4.99-$5.04, representing 6-7% annual growth compared with its prior expectation of approximately $4.90-$4.95. The company also increased its mobility and broadband service revenue growth outlook to 2.5-3% from the prior 2-3% range.
Management now expects total retail postpaid phone net additions to finish in the upper half of its 750,000 to 1 million range. Verizon reaffirmed its capital expenditure outlook of $16-$16.5 billion while projecting cash flow from operations growth of approximately 2-4% and free cash flow growth of 9-10% for 2026.
VZ’s Zacks RankVZ currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Upcoming ReleasesArista Networks Inc. (ANET - Free Report) is scheduled to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on Aug. 8. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 89 cents per share, suggesting growth of 21.92% from the year-ago reported figure.
Arista has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 19.86%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 8.31% in the last four reported quarters.
Amphenol Corporation (APH - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 29. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.19 per share, implying growth of 46.91% from the year-ago reported figure.
Amphenol has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 24.01%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 14.08% in the last four reported quarters.
Corning Incorporated (GLW - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 28. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 76 cents per share, implying growth of 26.67% from the year-ago reported figure.
Corning has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 23.89%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 2.41% in the last four reported quarters.
Verizon Communications (VZ), the largest U.S. wireless provider, reported second-quarter earnings above analysts' expectations and raised parts of its full-year
Telecom Earnings Reveal a Sector That Finally Looks HealthierVerizon Communications NYSE: VZ raised its full-year 2026 outlook for mobility and broadband service revenue, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow after reporting improved subscriber trends, lower churn and stronger operating leverage in the second quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman said the company’s customer-focused transformation was producing “a structural and meaningful inflection” in operating and financial performance. Verizon reported 184,000 postpaid phone net additions during the quarter, including its strongest consumer postpaid phone net-add result in five years. Total mobility and broadband net additions exceeded 550,000.
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No Space For Panic: T-Mobile Shrugs Off The Starlink ThreatThe company also reported 348,000 broadband net additions, comprising 193,000 fixed wireless access additions and 155,000 fiber additions. Verizon ended the quarter with more than 17.1 million broadband subscribers and said it remained on track to reach more than 32 million fiber passings by year-end.
Subscriber Growth and Churn Improvement Consumer postpaid phone churn was 0.84% in the second quarter, down from 0.90% in the first quarter and 0.95% in the fourth quarter of 2025. The result marked a six-basis-point improvement from a year earlier. Overall postpaid phone churn improved five basis points year over year.
SpaceX Achieves Escape Velocity With Nasdaq Fast-TrackSchulman said the company has begun growing both accounts and lines, with net new accounts positive for the past two months. During the question-and-answer session, he said Verizon expects positive new account growth in the third quarter as well.
Verizon also continued to grow its prepaid business. Prepaid net additions totaled 73,000, representing the company’s eighth consecutive quarter of positive prepaid additions. Prepaid revenue rose about $90 million, or nearly 5%, from the prior-year period.
The company attributed its improving customer economics partly to reduced promotional spending. Schulman said consumer promotional acquisition costs declined approximately 15% year over year, while promotional retention costs fell about 17%. Chief Financial Officer Tony Skiadas added that upgrade volumes declined nearly 27% from the prior year.
Financial Results and Higher Outlook Mobility and broadband service revenue totaled $23.4 billion in the second quarter, rising 2.8% year over year and improving from 1.6% growth in the first quarter. Wireless service revenue declined 0.7% to $20.8 billion, while total revenue fell 0.7% to $34.3 billion. Skiadas said lower equipment revenue, which declined by more than $1.2 billion, reflected the company’s lower upgrade volumes.
Adjusted EBITDA was $13.7 billion, up 7.2% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA margin reached 40.1%, which Skiadas said was Verizon’s highest reported level. Adjusted EPS increased 6.6% to $1.30.
Free cash flow was $6.4 billion in the quarter and $10.2 billion for the first half, up 16% from the prior-year period. Cash flow from operations for the first six months totaled $18.4 billion, up nearly 10%, while capital expenditures were $8.2 billion.
Verizon now expects:
Full-year mobility and broadband service revenue growth of 2.5% to 3%, the upper half of its prior 2% to 3% range. Third-quarter mobility and broadband service revenue growth approaching 3% year over year. Fourth-quarter mobility and broadband service revenue growth of approximately 4%. Full-year adjusted EPS growth of 6% to 7%. Free cash flow growth of 9% to 10%, up from its prior outlook of about 7% or more. Share repurchases of up to $4.5 billion for 2026, compared with its previous commitment of at least $3 billion. The company repurchased $1 billion of shares in the quarter, bringing year-to-date buybacks to $3.5 billion. It also paid $5.9 billion in dividends during the first half, for total year-to-date shareholder returns of $9.4 billion, according to Skiadas.
New Consumer Offers and Convergence Strategy In mid-June, Verizon introduced a loyalty program available to all customers, along with new Simplicity and Verizon One offerings. Simplicity is a $45 wireless plan that separates device subsidies from wireless pricing. Verizon One combines mobility and broadband for $70, including taxes and fees, on one bill.
Schulman said the new offers are designed to reduce complexity, improve customer retention and lower customer-acquisition costs. He said gross additions since the launch were about 16% above Verizon’s forecasts, while net new accounts were 31% above forecast. He also said migration from the existing base has been about one-third of what the company expected and that Simplicity has been average-revenue-per-account accretive.
Skiadas said app traffic grew by double digits after the launches, which he described as a potential leading indicator of improved churn. Verizon said its loyalty program is funded within its existing operating budget.
Fiber, AI Infrastructure and International Wireline Verizon said it sees an additional growth opportunity in AI infrastructure connectivity. The company recently signed an agreement valued at more than $1 billion with Google to use Verizon dark fiber to connect data centers. Schulman said other expected agreements could collectively represent multiple billions of dollars of revenue over the coming years.
The company said the contracts may involve either dark or lit fiber, depending on customer requirements, and that associated margins are expected to be equal to or greater than Verizon’s existing margin structure. Schulman said the AI infrastructure initiative is expected to begin contributing noticeably to revenue in 2027.
Verizon is also retrofitting certain central offices for inference edge computing. Schulman said a small initial trial of that capability sold out within 24 hours.
Separately, Verizon previously announced an agreement to form a 50-50 joint venture with BT Group plc combining their international wireline operations. The venture is expected to serve more than 3,000 joint enterprise customers and have roughly $4 billion in combined revenue at formation. Verizon expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2027 and generate approximately $200 million in annualized savings versus its current course and speed.
Verizon acquired 82 AWS-3 spectrum licenses for approximately $3.2 billion in FCC Auction 113. Skiadas said the spectrum complements Verizon’s existing holdings and can be deployed without additional capital investment once licenses are issued. The company also said it had paid off substantially all of Frontier’s debt six months ahead of schedule and ended the quarter with net unsecured debt-to-consolidated adjusted EBITDA of 2.5 times.
Finally, Verizon said its board extended Schulman’s employment contract through Dec. 31, 2028.
About Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)Verizon Communications Inc NYSE: VZ is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.
The company's consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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Qualcomm logo is displayed at the company’s booth at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, China, November 5, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
July 24 (Reuters) - Smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM.O), opens new tab has told customers it would raise prices by a percentage in the double digits due to rising costs, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing a letter sent to clients.
The San Diego, California-based company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Its shares were trading down more than 1%.
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Here are some details:
The company sent the letter to customers on Friday, informing them that the price hike will go into effect for products shipped after September 1, the report said.
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
Qualcomm told customers that it could no longer absorb rising supplier costs and had sought alternative components from new suppliers, the report said.
The report comes as Qualcomm grapples with mounting pressure in the smartphone market, squeezed by a memory chip shortage as investment is redirected toward AI infrastructure.
Qualcomm is set to report its third-quarter results on July 29.
Reporting by Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
As of 11:31 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +0.32%) is up 0.72% to 52,082, the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.02%) has gained 0.59% to 7,452, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.58%) is rising 0.09% to 25,161 as blue-chip stocks rebound from yesterday's heavy selling.
Gold is up 0.74% to $4,080.10 as of 11:31 AM ET and the 10-Year Treasury yield is up 0.04% to 4.71%.
Today's biggest movesIntel (INTC -6.14%) shares are falling 4% today as investors weigh heavy capital spending against an earnings beat, while Alphabet (GOOGL +0.42%) is seeing a modest recovery attempt. Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX -3.49%) is under pressure as space industry valuations soften today.
What this means for investorsSpaceX stock dropped to an all-time low today as investors continue to rerate the company’s valuation after its massive initial public offering (IPO) last month. Investors are focusing on buying blue-chip names today, as reports say Pakistan is considering a path to new peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
Intel and Tesla are both slumping after recent earnings reports, leading to underperformance of the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Investors are growing increasingly concerned about the massive increase in capital expenditures among tech companies.
Oil prices and the conflict in the Middle East will likely continue to drive market sentiment into next week, but investors with a long-term outlook should consider using weakness to add to their favorite names.
Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Howard Smith has positions in Alphabet and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Intel, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Intel (INTC) is experiencing pressure this morning despite posting impressive quarterly results and providing optimistic Q3 guidance. Investors seem to be balan
