Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

The recommendations of Wall Street analysts are often relied on by investors when deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock. Media reports about these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts changing their ratings often affect a stock's price. Do they really matter, though?

Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about Baidu Inc. (BIDU - Free Report) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage.

Baidu Inc. currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.62, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 21 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.62 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.

Of the 21 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 15 are Strong Buy and one is Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 71.4% and 4.8% of all recommendations.

Brokerage Recommendation Trends for BIDU

Check price target & stock forecast for Baidu Inc. here>>>

The ABR suggests buying Baidu Inc., but making an investment decision solely on the basis of this information might not be a good idea. According to several studies, brokerage recommendations have little to no success guiding investors to choose stocks with the most potential for price appreciation.

Do you wonder why? As a result of the vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover, their analysts tend to rate it with a strong positive bias. According to our research, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" recommendation.

In other words, their interests aren't always aligned with retail investors, rarely indicating where the price of a stock could actually be heading. Therefore, the best use of this information could be validating your own research or an indicator that has proven to be highly successful in predicting a stock's price movement.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision.

ABR Should Not Be Confused With Zacks RankIn spite of the fact that Zacks Rank and ABR both appear on a scale from 1 to 5, they are two completely different measures.

The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.

Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide.

On the other hand, earnings estimate revisions are at the core of the Zacks Rank. And empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns.

There is also a key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank when it comes to freshness. When you look at the ABR, it may not be up-to-date. Nonetheless, since brokerage analysts constantly revise their earnings estimates to reflect changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in predicting future stock prices.

Is BIDU a Good Investment?Looking at the earnings estimate revisions for Baidu Inc., the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has declined 21.2% over the past month to $6.82.

Analysts' growing pessimism over the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates lower, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to plunge in the near term.

The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) for Baidu Inc. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Therefore, it could be wise to take the Buy-equivalent ABR for Baidu Inc with a grain of salt.

12:15pm: Welcome to X, Mr Huang Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD) (Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD), Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD)) CEO Jensen Huang posted on X for the first time on Friday, sharing a multi-company letter that defends open-weight AI models as essential to US technology leadership.

Huang, who joined the platform last month but had not posted until now, used his debut message to promote a letter signed by Nvidia and roughly 20 other organizations, including Meta, Microsoft and Palantir.

The letter argues that open models strengthen safety, accelerate innovation and support national AI sovereignty, and that US leadership should not rest on a single frontier model alone.

For my first post, I’m sharing a letter @NVIDIA signed on why open models matter.

AI will transform every industry, power every company, and be built by every country.

Open models strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty.… pic.twitter.com/t02bi51N4C

— Jensen Huang (@JensenHuang) July 24, 2026 11:00am: Inflation still Fed's primary concern The US labour market continues to show little sign of meaningful deterioration despite softer hiring in June, according to Bank of America, leaving inflation as the Federal Reserve's primary concern ahead of next week's policy meeting.

The bank noted that while June payroll growth came in below expectations, the broader picture remains solid. The three-month average of job gains is still comfortably above the level needed to keep pace with population growth, while the unemployment rate has held steady at 4.2%.

More recent indicators have also remained encouraging. Bank of America said ADP private payroll growth has eased in recent weeks, but suggested that slowdown likely reflects a normalization after unusually strong hiring earlier this year. At the same time, weekly jobless claims continue to point to a stable labour market.

"Bottom line: the labor market appears healthy heading into the July FOMC meeting, leaving the focus squarely on inflation risks," analysts wrote.

10am: Mixed open It's another mixed open on Wall Street, with the Dow adding around 100 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq Composite started down 0.2% as technology shares seemed to be extending yesterday's selloff.

Charter Communications was the biggest Nasdaq 100 faller, sliding 6% after earnings, while other fallers include Marvell, Lumentum, Micron, Western Digital, ARM, Seagate and Intel, all down over 3.8%.

American Express has dropped 4.8%, the biggest Dow faller, but Verizon tops the leaderboard with a 3.5% gain, followed by Salesforce and IBM.

8am: Dow called higher but tech to remain a drag  Wall Street is set for a tentative recovery on Friday after the previous session's technology selloff wiped roughly $800 billion from the market value of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech giants, with the world also waking to a new US tariff regime. 

Dow Jones futures were up 199 points or 0.4%, while S&P 500 was expected to add 0.2% and Nasdaq futures were broadly flat, having surrendered an earlier gain of around 0.25%.

The day before, the Nasdaq had tumbled 2.2% to 25,138 due to the worst session for the Mag 7 since the original "tariff tantrum" day. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% to 7,408, while the Dow shed 507 points, or 1%, to close at 51,712.

Investors dumped technology stocks after results from Tesla and Alphabet failed to ease concerns about surging AI spending. Higher oil prices also reignited inflation worries and pushed Treasury yields to their highest levels of the year.

After WTI crude reached a seven-week high of $93.5 a barrel the previous afternoon, prices eased to $89.8 on Friday morning.

Security concerns remain elevated after strikes in the Red Sea, which led some tanker operators to reroute vessels onto even longer journeys.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump confirmed new tariffs covering more than 99% of US goods imports under Section 301 rules.

The levies, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, take effect Friday and are designed to enforce restrictions on "forced labour" imports, the White House said.

"Today's action will begin to correct what is both a human rights abuse and distortive trade practice to improve the welfare of workers everywhere," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said.

Yale Budget Lab estimates the measures will lift the average statutory tariff rate to 12.8%.

In company news, Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) gained 3% in premarket trading after beating second-quarter expectations and issuing a stronger outlook.

American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) has fallen 2.3% despite an earnings beat, while Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ, XETRA:BAC) is down 1.3% and NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE) has slipped 0.7% following mixed quarterly updates.

Elsewhere, a senior Korean official said Samsung and SK Hynix are expected to announce “very large-scale” contracts with leading US technology companies during President Lee Jae-myung’s visit to Silicon Valley, which starts today.

NextEra Energy (NEE -0.30%) reported its second-quarter financial results on June 24. The utility giant generated robust earnings growth, as its adjusted earnings per share surged 9.5%. The company is benefiting from strong power demand growth from AI data centers and other catalysts.

Here’s a closer look at that report and whether investors should buy the utility stock right now.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Another strong showingNextEra Energy reported $2.4 billion, or $1.15 per share of adjusted earnings, in the second quarter, up 9.5% compared to the year-ago period. Both the utility’s businesses, FPL and Energy Resources, delivered strong results.

The company’s regulated electric utility in Florida, FPL, generated $1.4 billion in net income, up nearly 11% year over year. It continues to benefit from Florida’s economic growth, adding more than 90,000 customers over the past year. That’s driving heavy capital spending ($12 billion to $13 billion this year) to support the state's growing power demand. FPL is seeing robust demand from data center developers and other large customers.

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Meanwhile, its clean energy infrastructure development platform, NextEra Energy Resources, reported earnings growth of more than 18% to about $1.3 billion. It placed 1.1 gigawatts (GW) of new projects into service over the past three months to support growing power demand from other utilities and large customers. The company also energized a new 137-mile transmission line in New Mexico to strengthen grid reliability in the state.

Powerful growth still aheadNextEra Energy believes it will continue growing briskly for years to come. Its baseline expectation is to deliver more than 8% compound annual adjusted earnings per share growth through 2032, with a target to maintain that same growth rate from 2032 to 2035. It has multiple growth catalysts. FPL has roughly 21 GW of large-load interest from data center developers and other large power users, including 12 GW in advanced discussions that could begin delivery as soon as 2028. Meanwhile, NextEra Energy Resources has 35.1 GW in its backlog, most of which it expects to deliver by the end of the decade. It also remains on track to restart its Duane Arnold nuclear power plant by 2029 to support Google’s growing power demand and was selected to develop two large-scale transmission projects in Illinois.

While NextEra already has robust growth in its existing businesses, it aims to further enhance its strong growth profile by combining with Dominion. That $67 billion deal will create the world’s largest regulated electric utility. NextEra expects the deal will accelerate its earnings growth rate to more than 9% annually through 2032, with a target of maintaining that rate through 2035. Dominion’s electric utility in Virginia is benefiting from strong power demand growth from data centers, and the combined company would be better positioned to support it.

NextEra’s robust growth has helped power its stock, which is up more than 22% over the past year. As a result, it currently trades at more than 22 times forward earnings, which is higher than its peers (19 to 21 times range) and the S&P 500 (21.5x).

However, that’s still a fairly attractive value to pay for this leading utility stock. It’s the largest player in the space and growing faster than most of its peers. It could generate double-digit average annual total returns from here by adding its growth rate to its current dividend yield (2.8%). That’s a strong return from a lower-risk investment, making NextEra still look like a compelling buy after its earnings report.

Experian today announced that Fastly (NASDAQ: FSLY), a leading global edge cloud platform, has joined the growing Experian Agent Trust™ ecosystem. Together,

Key Takeaways Digital Realty beat Q2 estimates as revenues rose 28.9% and core FFO per share increased 13.9% year over year.DLR posted record signed lease backlog and strong bookings, with renewal rental rates rising sharply.DLR raised 2026 core FFO and revenue guidance after expanding capacity through acquisitions and land buys. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 core FFO per share, excluding net promote, of $2.13, up 13.9% from a year ago. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.98 by 7.6%.

Total operating revenues rose 28.9% year over year to $1.92 billion and beat the consensus mark of $1.66 billion. Strong bookings, a record backlog and sharp renewal rent increases supported the quarter. The company raised its 2026 core FFO guidance.

As a result, the stock was trading almost 3% higher during the pre-market session today.

DLR's Bookings Reflect Broad-Based DemandDigital Realty signed bookings expected to generate $307 million of annualized GAAP base rent at 100% share. At DLR's share, bookings totaled $208.5 million, with the 0-1-megawatt category contributing $87.8 million and interconnection adding $20.5 million.

Digital Realty Builds Record Revenue VisibilityThe backlog of signed but not yet commenced leases reached a record $1.9 billion of annualized GAAP base rent at 100% share. Digital Realty's share was $1.4 billion.

The weighted-average lag between new lease signing and contractual commencement was nine months. In July, the company also signed two hyperscale leases representing $410 million of annualized GAAP base rent at 100% share, or $205 million at DLR's share.

DLR Benefits From Strong Renewal PricingDigital Realty signed renewal leases representing $262 million of annualized cash rental revenues. Rental rates increased 25.4% on a cash basis and 32% on a GAAP basis, reflecting a favorable pricing environment. Portfolio occupancy ended the quarter at 90.2%, up from 89.7% a year earlier.

DLR Expands Capacity Through InvestmentsDigital Realty acquired Kansas City-area land for about $475 million to support up to 2 gigawatts of utility power. It also purchased a 64% stake in three fully leased Northern Virginia data centers containing 288 megawatts of IT capacity at a gross value of about $7.8 billion.

Other investments included two Malaysian data centers and adjacent land for about $134 million, Marseille land for $53.1 million and Atlanta-area land for $20 million. The global portfolio ended June with roughly 3.1 gigawatts of in-place IT capacity and 8.5 gigawatts of buildable capacity.

Digital Realty Maintains Financial FlexibilityTotal debt stood at roughly $18.6 billion at quarter-end. Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA remained at 4.7 times, while fixed-charge coverage improved to 5.2 times from 4.7 times a year ago.

From the prior earnings release through June 30, DLR sold about 6.2 million shares through its at-the-market program for net proceeds of approximately $1.2 billion. Year-to-date proceeds totaled about $2.5 billion from 13.5 million shares.

DLR Raises 2026 OutlookDigital Realty raised its 2026 core FFO per share outlook, excluding net promote, to $8.15-$8.20 from $8.00-$8.10. The revised range stands above the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.04.

The company also lifted its revenue outlook, excluding promote income, to $6.85-$6.95 billion from $6.65-$6.75 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is now projected at $3.75-$3.85 billion, while development capital expenditures, net of partner contributions, are expected at $4.25-$4.75 billion.

Currently, DLR carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Upcoming Earnings ReleasesWe now look forward to the earnings releases of other REITs like Regency Centers (REG - Free Report)  and Ventas (VTR - Free Report) , both slated to report on July 29.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Regency Centers’ second-quarter 2026 FFO per share is pegged at $1.20, implying a 3.45% year-over-year increase. REG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ventas’ second-quarter 2026 FFO per share is pegged at 96 cents, calling for a 10.3% year-over-year jump. VTR currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

LOS ANGELES, July 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Schall Law Firm , a national shareholder rights litigation firm, reminds investors of a class action lawsuit against First Solar, Inc. (“First Solar” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ: FSLR) for violations of §§10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors who purchased the Company's securities between February 26, 2025 and February 24, 2026, inclusive (the “Class Period”), are encouraged to contact the firm before August 24, 2026.

A common question among income investors is on the better investment between Realty Income NYSE:O and Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD), two of the most common dividend assets. 

Realty Income has become a $60 billion behemoth and a dividend aristocrat after hiking dividends for over 31 consecutive years. It has no expense ratio and has a dividend yield of 5%.

SCHD ETF has recently hit $100 billion in assets under management (AUM) and a tiny expense ratio of 0.03%. So, which is a better investment?

Realty Income is a top company in the real estate investment trust (REIT) industry. Its business model is relatively simple. It acquires freestanding commercial properties and then leases them to tenants across various creditworthy clients. Its top clients are companies like Dollar General, 7-Eleven, Walgreens, Family Dollar, and Life Time Group.

The company uses a net lease structure that lets its clients handle everything related to the properties, including taxes, insurance, and maintenance. At the same time, it has rent escalation clauses, enabling it to have a good revenue visibility in the future.

Realty Income uses long-term debt, equity, and retained cash flow to fund its property acquisitions. This approach helps it to have low financing costs over time. For example, its 2035 bonds are yielding 5.4%, slightly higher than the government bond yield of 4.7%. 

Realty Income is known for its trademarked phrase “The Monthly Dividend Company” in that it pays dividends each month. This makes it a popular company among people in fixed income.

The company has expanded both organically and through acquisitions. It bought Spirit Realty in 2023 in a $9.3 billion deal and Encore Boston Harbor in a $1.7 billion deal. It also bought CIM Real Estate Finance Trust, American Realty Capital, and VEREIT.

Realty Income has moved to expand its business to other areas. Most recently, it formed a joint venture with Cloud Capital to invest in hyperscale data centers in a deal worth $6 billion. It will invest $1.4 billion and have a 45% equity stake in three assets in Northern Virginia.

SCHD, on the other hand, is one of the largest dividend ETFs in the world with over $100 billion in assets. This fund invests in companies that have consistently paid and increased their dividends. 

It invests in companies across most industries and excludes REITs. Some of its top firms in the fund are Abbott Laboratories, Merck, UnitedHealth, Amgen, Procter & Gamble, and Home Depot. 

The fund has added billions of dollars in the past few months, and this trend may continue because it is widely seen as an anti-AI fund. 

SCHD and Realty Income are different assets and target different investors. In terms of returns, SCHD has been a better investment by far. Its total return this year was 22%, higher than Realty Income’s 17.8%. 

The same happened in the last five years. SCHD jumped by 55%, while Realty Income soared by 22% in this period. It is also a more diversified fund, with losers being offset by gainers. Realty Income, on the other hand, is an individual company that may be exposed to risks in the real estate industry.

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when LyondellBasell (LYB - Free Report) reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 31. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis oil refiner and chemical company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $3.56 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +474.2%.

Revenues are expected to be $8.9 billion, up 16.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 21.38% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. 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.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for LyondellBasell?For LyondellBasell, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -5.07%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that LyondellBasell will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that LyondellBasell would post earnings of $0.31 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.49, delivering a surprise of +58.06%.

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

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

LyondellBasell doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

An Industry Player's Expected ResultsAmong the stocks in the Zacks Chemical - Diversified industry, Eastman Chemical (EMN - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $1.8 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +12.5%. This quarter's revenue is expected to be $2.37 billion, up 3.5% from the year-ago quarter.

Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for Eastman Chemical has been revised 4.9% down to the current level. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of +0.93%, reflecting a higher Most Accurate Estimate.

When combined with a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell), this Earnings ESP makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Eastman Chemical will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed EPS estimates just once.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

The market expects AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 31. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis drugmaker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +23.2%.

Revenues are expected to be $16.81 billion, up 9% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.11% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction).

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. 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.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for AbbVie?For AbbVie, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -1.01%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that AbbVie will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that AbbVie would post earnings of $2.62 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.65, delivering a surprise of +1.15%.

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

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

AbbVie doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, seen here via video link alongside Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, said the world needs open-weight AI models. Jeffrey Dastin/Reuters In his first-ever post on X, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called attention to how some of the biggest names in AI and tech are rallying together to defend the future of open-weight AI models.

"AI will transform every industry, power every company, and be built by every country," Huang wrote on X. "Open models strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty."

On Friday, Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, Mistral, and others signed an open letter that urges US policymakers not to crack down on open-weight AI models.

For my first post, I’m sharing a letter @NVIDIA signed on why open models matter.

AI will transform every industry, power every company, and be built by every country.

Open models strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty.… pic.twitter.com/t02bi51N4C

— Jensen Huang (@JensenHuang) July 24, 2026 Their statement amounts to a full-throated endorsement of open-weight AI models at a time when top Trump administration officials have suggested they might take action against Moonshot AI, the creator of the Kimi K3, the world's most powerful open-weight AI model.

"Our AI leadership will be judged not by one frontier AI model, but by whether the United States builds a strong, open ecosystem that diffuses into every sector," the signatories wrote in the letter.

The two biggest absences in the list are OpenAI and Anthropic, widely viewed as the world leaders in the frontier AI model race. Unlike Anthropic's Fable 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6-Sol, Kimi K3 as an open-source model will soon be available for download and customization. Both companies would stand to gain if the US government either directly blocks or significantly impedes China-based open model makers like Moonshot AI. Google also did not sign the letter.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman later said he was "glad to see" the support for open weight models.

"i want the US to win in AI both in open source and proprietary models," Altman wrote on X.

While SpaceX is not listed as a signatory, Elon Musk later signaled his support for the message.

"This has my full support," Musk wrote on X, quoting Huang's tweet. "Jensen is right."

While the letter does not mention Moonshot specifically, its authors portray the broader development of open AI models as akin to how open software revolutionized computing in the 1980s.

"Open source did more than lower the cost of software; it created a shared foundation of knowledge on which generations of American engineers and entrepreneurs built their institutional sovereignty," they wrote.

China has thus far dominated the development of open-weight AI models, despite the US' legendary reputation in the creation of open-source software. Two of the biggest modern names in open software, Mozilla and the Linux Foundation, also signed onto the letter.

In the US, Nvidia's Nemotron model is one of the largest open weight models, though its performance pales in comparison to rivals like Kimi K3. Alexandr Wang, chief AI officer of Meta, has said that his Meta Superintelligence Labs team remains committed to open models and is developing an open variant of its Muse Spark model. Reflection AI, a startup founded by former Google DeepMind researchers, is also preparing its own open model.

On Wednesday, Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, publicly accused Moonshot of developing Kimi K3 by distilling the model from Anthropic's Fable 5. Distillation, the process of training a less powerful model on the outputs of a more powerful one, is a controversial but commonly used practice in AI development. At the same time, companies like Anthropic have accused their Chinese counterparts of abusing the distillation process to the point of essentially ripping off their intellectual property.

Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that the US could sanction companies that engage in such distillation, which he compared to theft.

The letter defends the distillation process more broadly, but does open the door to the possibility that companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta would support a crackdown on those proven to be bad actors.

"Unlawful efforts to extract value from closed models raise legitimate concerns," they wrote. "Those concerns should be addressed through targeted legal and commercial frameworks rather than sweeping restrictions on techniques that play an important role in AI innovation."

In total, a combination of 25 companies, organizations, and platforms signed on to the letter. They are the 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, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral, Mozilla, Nvidia, Palantir, Perplexity, Reflection, Replit, ServiceNow, Telnyx, and Y Combinator.

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Brent D. Griffiths You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.

Brent Griffiths is a senior reporter at Business Insider who covers AI and tech.Previously, he worked at the Washington Post as a researcher on Power Up and the Finance 202. He started his career at Politico where he worked on the web production team and covered breaking news. His passion for covering politics has only grown since he cut his teeth covering the presidential campaign as a student journalist. He's also contributed to the Almanac of American Politics.

AI Microsoft

Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?

Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about Micron (MU - Free Report) .

Micron currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.32, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 41 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.32 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.

Of the 41 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 32 are Strong Buy and five are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 78.1% and 12.2% of all recommendations.

Brokerage Recommendation Trends for MU

Check price target & stock forecast for Micron here>>>

The ABR suggests buying Micron, but making an investment decision solely on the basis of this information might not be a good idea. According to several studies, brokerage recommendations have little to no success guiding investors to choose stocks with the most potential for price appreciation.

Do you wonder why? As a result of the vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover, their analysts tend to rate it with a strong positive bias. According to our research, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" recommendation.

In other words, their interests aren't always aligned with retail investors, rarely indicating where the price of a stock could actually be heading. Therefore, the best use of this information could be validating your own research or an indicator that has proven to be highly successful in predicting a stock's price movement.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision.

ABR Should Not Be Confused With Zacks RankAlthough both Zacks Rank and ABR are displayed in a range of 1--5, they are different measures altogether.

Broker recommendations are the sole basis for calculating the ABR, which is typically displayed in decimals (such as 1.28). The Zacks Rank, on the other hand, is a quantitative model designed to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.

Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide.

In contrast, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions. And near-term stock price movements are strongly correlated with trends in earnings estimate revisions, according to empirical research.

In addition, the different Zacks Rank grades are applied proportionately to all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide current-year earnings estimates. In other words, this tool always maintains a balance among its five ranks.

Another key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank is freshness. The ABR is not necessarily up-to-date when you look at it. But, since brokerage analysts keep revising their earnings estimates to account for a company's changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in indicating future price movements.

Is MU a Good Investment?Looking at the earnings estimate revisions for Micron, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has increased 20.3% over the past month to $73.85.

Analysts' growing optimism over the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to soar in the near term.

The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for Micron. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Therefore, the Buy-equivalent ABR for Micron may serve as a useful guide for investors.

SK Hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY) ADRs are down 6% in Friday morning trading to $158.56 as a Korea-led memory selloff pulls the entire chip complex lower. Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) stock is off 6% to $929, SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) shares are down 9% to $1,467, and Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) stock is trading 6% lower at $523.48.

The Roundhill Memory ETF (CBOE:DRAM) is down 7% to $54, confirming a broad group retreat rather than a single-name story. The NASDAQ 100 is down 1% and has now fallen for a third straight session to a one-month low, so today’s memory weakness is riding on top of a broader tech pullback.

The move caps a volatile stretch for the memory/storage group after a huge run higher, and the pullback still leaves the sector deeply in the green for the year.

Korea-Led Selloff Sparks Sympathy Move The catalyst traces to an overnight KOSPI selloff in South Korea led by Samsung and SK Hynix. U.S. memory names have become increasingly bundled with the KOSPI given its heavy weighting to those two, so weakness in Seoul is flowing straight through to Micron, SanDisk, and Western Digital shares.

Layered on top is a broader tech pullback. The NASDAQ has fallen three sessions in a row after results from Alphabet‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), with U.S.-Iran escalation adding pressure.

Notably, Micron is falling even after Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the company’s “very significant allocation” of memory chips to Tesla on Thursday’s earnings call. That underscores today’s action as a group and macro move, not a Micron-specific problem.

Pullback Inside a Massive Rally Today’s drop lands inside one of the sharpest sector runs in years. Micron stock is up 227% year to date (YTD), SanDisk shares have gained 526% YTD, and Western Digital stock is up 209% YTD, all fueled by AI memory demand and blowout earnings.

Micron’s fiscal Q3 2026 revenue landed at $41.46 billion, up 345.7% year over year (YoY), with non-GAAP EPS of $25.11 against a $20.28 consensus. Micron guided Q4 revenue to $50 billion plus or minus $1 billion and EPS to $31, and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra highlighted “the strategic value of memory in the AI era.”

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Micron Technology didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

SanDisk’s most recent quarter posted revenue of $5.95 billion with EPS of $23.41, and Western Digital delivered $3.34 billion in revenue with non-GAAP EPS of $2.72. None of those numbers explain today’s drop, which is why the DRAM ETF’s decline is a cleaner read on the sector rotation.

Micron stock now trades at a forward P/E ratio of 6x, and analyst price targets sit near $1,507, meaningfully above current levels. SanDisk shares carry a heavier trailing P/E ratio of 55x, which helps explain why the highest-multiple names in the group are giving back the most today.

Sentiment and Prediction Markets Flash Caution Polymarket traders are pricing a 97% probability that Micron stock closes lower today, with the week likely settling near $920. Longer-dated markets show only a 12% probability that Micron shares finish July above $1,100, suggesting limited near-term bounce conviction.

Reddit sentiment on Micron cooled from a bullish reading of 62 earlier in the week to a neutral 54, mirroring the fade in retail enthusiasm. The VIX has jumped to 18.7, up 12.4% on the day, though it remains inside its normal range.

What to Watch SK Hynix reports earnings on July 29, and pre-print positioning may explain part of today’s Korea-side pressure. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) stock is also weak at $97, suggesting that the softness extends beyond memory into the broader semiconductor complex.

Investors can watch for whether Micron and SanDisk shares hold their recent breakout levels into the close, and whether any updates from the next Korean session shift the tone. The DRAM ETF’s top three holdings, Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, account for 72% of the fund’s net assets, so investors should consider keeping their position sizes modest given that concentration and today’s volatility.

The AI memory super cycle thesis remains intact on the earnings side, but sentiment has clearly rotated. Traders may want to watch for whether today’s lows hold or give way as the session moves toward Friday’s close.

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Micron Technology didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways BlackBerry raised fiscal 2027 revenue guidance after first-quarter revenues climbed 26% to $152.9 million.QNX revenues rose 26% to $72 million, supported by the strong development licenses performance.Secure Communications revenues grew 24% to $74 million on government demand, retention and recurring sales. BlackBerry (BB - Free Report) kicked off fiscal 2027 on a strong note, delivering better-than-expected first-quarter results and raising its fiscal year outlook. The performance was anchored by strong QNX and Secure Communications businesses, but the key question remains whether this momentum can sustain.

Quarterly revenues came in at $152.9 million, marking a 26% year-over-year increase. Profitability was equally impressive, with adjusted EBITDA more than doubling to $36 million.

QNX remained the key catalyst, with revenues climbing 26% year over year to $72 million. The segment benefited from broad-based strength, particularly in development licenses, which hit their highest level in eight quarters. This metric serves as an early indicator of future royalty streams, reflecting customer investments in new software platforms that will take years to reach production.

Beyond automotive, General Embedded Markets and Physical AI are emerging as a fast-growing opportunity, expanding QNX’s reach into industrial automation, robotics and medical devices.

Additionally, the company continues to advance Alloy Kore, a platform expected to significantly increase software content per vehicle, boost average selling price by multiples and driving backlog. While still early, management remains positive about securing a design win within the current fiscal year.

Secure Communications also delivered a standout quarter, with revenues increasing 24% year over year to $74 million. The segment is witnessing improved performance anchored by government demand, recurring revenues and customer retention. Rising demand for digital sovereignty and cybersecurity modernization by governments across the globe is creating a powerful tailwind.

Encouraged by the strong start, BlackBerry now expects total revenues between $594 million and $621 million compared with $584-$611 million projected earlier.

The strong start to fiscal 2027 and subsequent outlook revision reinforces that BlackBerry’s turnaround strategy is gaining traction. However, the path is not without challenges. Secure Communications remains exposed to deal-timing variability and this could impact performance.

In addition, some of BlackBerry’s most exciting opportunities, such as physical AI, robotics and the Alloy Kore platform, remain in the early stages, introducing execution risk. Heavy reliance on the automotive industry is a concern. The QNX platform remains heavily exposed to vehicle production cycles and OEM spending, which, in turn, are highly dependent on macro conditions. BlackBerry faces increasing competitive pressures in both QNX and cybersecurity businesses.

Let’s Take a Look at BB’s PeersWithin the cybersecurity space, BlackBerry competes with several giants, including CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) . While BlackBerry’s focus remains on encrypted communications and sovereign-grade infrastructure, CRWD is one of the leading pureplay companies. CRWD entered fiscal 2027 with strong momentum, with the fiscal first quarter revenues rising 26% year over year to $1.39 billion and ARR reaching $5.51 billion (up 24%), alongside record net new ARR of $256 million (up 32%). Management emphasized that as enterprises rapidly adopt AI, cybersecurity has become a critical component, creating a massive demand pipeline.  

CrowdStrike is seeing strong adoption across cloud, identity and next-gen SIEM, with these newer categories exceeding $2 billion in ARR. The company expects fiscal second quarter revenues to be between $1.436 billion and $1.442 billion. CRWD raised its fiscal 2027 net new ARR growth guidance by 520 basis points at the midpoint

Aptiv PLC (APTV - Free Report) Intelligent Systems segment is seeing increased activity around next-generation ADAS, user experience and vehicle architecture solutions. However, in the near-term Aptiv is navigating a volatile macro backdrop amid OEM and auto industry disruptions and inflationary pressure. For the second quarter of 2026, Aptiv expects revenues (excluding its EDS segment, which spun-off into a new publicly traded company, Versigent) to be between $3.2 billion and $3.4 billion.  

APTV has only about 25% of its business outside automotive. The company is seeking to increase penetration in markets such as commercial aerospace and telecom and remains focused on accelerating product development and go-to-market activities.

BB Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of BlackBerry have lost 16.5% in the past month against the Internet-Software industry’s growth of 11%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Regarding the price/book ratio, BB is trading at 6.74, higher than the industry’s multiple of 4.65.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BB earnings for fiscal 2027 has been revised downward over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

BlackBerry currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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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.

LOS ANGELES, July 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Schall Law Firm , a national shareholder rights litigation firm, reminds investors of a class action lawsuit against Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Regeneron” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ: REGN) for violations of §§10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors who purchased the Company's securities between August 1, 2025 and May 15, 2026, inclusive (the “Class Period”), are encouraged to contact the firm before September 14, 2026.

Key Takeaways JNJ, ABT, and GM have all recently raised guidance. Each has seen post-earnings strength, with near-term momentum supported by the updated outlooks. Guidance upgrades are a solid indicator of fundamental business strength. The 2026 Q2 earnings season will continue at a rapid pace in the coming weeks, with many notable companies on the reporting docket. The big banks helped kick the period off positively, though post-earnings reactions haven’t been great for all that have reported.

But General Motors (GM - Free Report) , Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Free Report) , and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) have been nice standouts so far, all raising guidance and seeing strength post-earnings.

Guidance upgrades are generally one of the most bullish things to watch for in earnings season, as renewed outlooks can often lead to positive EPS revisions, the strongest driver of a stock’s near-term movement.

General Motors Raises AgainGeneral Motors posted a double-beat relative to our consensus expectations, with EPS reflecting a positive surprise of 14%. Sales of $48.0 billion came in 3% above our consensus sales estimate.

The company raised its full-year 2026 EBIT adjusted guidance for the second time this year, with adjusted EPS guidance also getting raised. And for the cherry on top, it also lifted its automotive operating cash flow outlook, overall reflecting a rock-solid release.

EPS revisions for its current fiscal year got an additional boost from the lifted outlook, with the trend overall remaining positive for the entire last year. The profitability picture of automotive players is always the key driver behind sentiment, and the updated guidance across key profitability metrics remains a huge positive for GM’s share momentum overall.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Abbott Laboratories Bounces BackAbbott Laboratories similarly posted a double-beat relative to our consensus expectations, with adjusted EPS of $1.31 reflecting a 2.3% beat while sales of $12.6 billion came in roughly 1% ahead of expectations.

The company lifted its adjusted EPS guidance to $5.45-$5.60, modestly higher than the previous $5.38-$5.58 per share range. It also reaffirmed its current-year comparable sales guidance, now expecting accelerating revenue and earnings growth in the second half of the year.

The stock has had a rough YTD performance overall, but the release has helped keep momentum going in a positive direction. Importantly, it reflects the first instance of the stock seeing positive gains over the last four quarters.

The EPS revisions picture for its current fiscal year has finally started to show positive momentum following the release, with the more recent revisions definitely holding more weight from a near-term perspective. Continued positivity on the revisions front will support further share momentum, with the current 17.3X forward 12-month earnings multiple trading at a significant discount to the 23.3X five-year median.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Johnson & Johnson Keeps Cruising Johnson & Johnson beat on both the top and bottom line in its recent release, continuing a streak of earnings excellence. In fact, the company has posted a double-beat in nine consecutive quarters.

Strong operational performance led the company to increase both its current fiscal year sales and adjusted EPS guidance, with JNJ now on track to meet its 2026 target of more than $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time in its history.

EPS revisions for its current fiscal year have followed the upgrade, continuing the bullish trend established over the past year. The stock overall reflects a highly defensive investment given its consistent revenue-generating nature throughout many economic cycles.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Bottom Line

Guidance upgrades are always a bullish development to watch for in earnings releases, commonly leading to positive post-earnings share reactions. While it isn’t a guarantee that a stock will pop just because it raised its outlook, it still remains a favorable factor from a fundamental standpoint. Companies raising guidance, particularly on the earnings front, always deserve some level of attention from investors.

All three stocks above - General Motors (GM - Free Report) , Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Free Report) , and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) – have recently upped their outlooks. While they may not be as flashy as high-flying tech stocks amid the AI craze, their improving business fundamentals can’t be overlooked.

Shareholders in biotechnology, life sciences, and diagnostics solutions company Danaher (DHR -0.58%) have had an interesting week. Their stock crashed early in the week on the release of its second-quarter earnings, only to recover somewhat through the week and start Friday morning having declined 12.1% on the week.

Danaher mixed earnings report Investors can be forgiven for wondering why the stock declined after the company's second-quarter earnings beat estimates and management raised its full-year earnings per share (EPS) guidance to $8.45-$8.60 from a $8.35-$8.55 previously.

Today's Change

(

-0.58

%) $

-1.11

Current Price

$

191.39

The answer lies in the fact that $0.07 to $0.08 of the increase in guidance comes from the earlier-than-expected acquisition of the medical technology company Masimo. In addition, Danaher reduced its full-year core sales growth expectations in its highest margin business, biotechnology.

Full-Year Core Sales Growth Guidance

At April

At July

Second Quarter Adjusted Operating Profit Margin

Biotechnology

6%

Up mid-single-digit

41%

Life Sciences

Up slightly

3%-4%

21%

Diagnostics

Up low-single-digits

Up slightly

24.5%

Total Company

3%-6%

Up mid-single-digit

27.1%

Data source: Company presentations. Table by the author.

What the guidance change means It's not a huge change in overall company sales growth expectations. Still, the reduction in growth expectations for the biotechnology could impact full-year profit margin expectations.

The disappointing news in biotechnology came down to consumables sales coming in "below our expectations as a few large shipments for programs at our commercial customers moved out of the quarter. To give you some additional color, this was a shift in shipment timing at a few large commercial drug manufacturers for molecules that were specced into" according to CEO Rainer Blair on the earnings call.

Image source: Getty Images.

Analysts were quick to ask why the shipments wouldn't simply move to the third and fourth quarters, with Blair outlining that a few chromatography resin shipments had moved out of the year.

There's a good reason to believe the shipments will proceed, as shipments can be lumpy in biotechnology. The sell-off appears to be a significant overreaction to an otherwise positive report. If you like the stock long-term, then it could be a good time to pick some up.

Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Danaher. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Honeywell Technologies (NASDAQ: HON) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend payment of $0.70 per share on the Company's

Key Takeaways AB InBev is expected to post Q2 revenues of $16.3B and EPS of $1.09, both rising y/y.Premium brands, pricing and product mix are expected to have supported growth despite mixed regional volumes.China softness, currency swings, and elevated marketing and input costs may limit margin expansion. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD - Free Report) , also known as AB InBev, is slated to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 30, before the opening bell. The leading alcohol beverage company is likely to register year-over-year growth in its top and bottom lines when it reports quarterly numbers.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AB InBev’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $16.3 billion, indicating 8.6% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. For second-quarter earnings, the consensus mark is pegged at $1.09 per share, suggesting 11.2% growth from the prior-year reported figure. The consensus mark has been unchanged in the past 30 days.

In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.8%. It has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 4.6%.

Factors Likely to Impact BUD’s Q2 ResultsAB InBev’s second-quarter 2026 results are expected to have benefited from disciplined revenue management, continued premiumization and strong brand momentum. The company’s focus on increasing revenue per hectoliter through pricing actions and a favorable product mix, supported by its portfolio of mega brands, is likely to have driven top-line growth. Sustained investments in marketing and brand building, coupled with major global events, are also expected to have strengthened consumer engagement and supported sales in the quarter.

The company’s premium and super-premium portfolio is anticipated to have remained a key growth catalyst. Strong demand for brands such as Corona and Michelob Ultra, along with continued expansion in higher-margin categories, is likely to have supported an improved price mix. The ongoing shift toward premium offerings, complemented by innovation-led product launches, may have helped sustain revenue growth despite mixed volume trends across certain regions.

AB InBev’s expanding presence in the Beyond Beer and non-alcoholic beverage categories is also likely to have contributed to second-quarter performance. These segments continue to gain traction amid evolving consumer preferences and increased demand for differentiated beverage options. Management’s efforts to scale these faster-growing categories are expected to have generated incremental revenues while strengthening the company’s long-term growth prospects.

On the cost front, productivity initiatives and an efficient operating model are expected to have supported profitability. Continued cost-saving measures and operational efficiencies may have partly offset pressures from foreign exchange volatility and elevated input costs. However, increased sales and marketing spending, particularly on global events and brand activations, could have constrained margin expansion during the quarter.

Meanwhile, persistent macroeconomic pressures and region-specific challenges are likely to have weighed on the company’s performance. Volume softness in select markets remains concerning, particularly in China, where inventory adjustments and channel realignment may have pressured revenues. Currency fluctuations and shifting consumer demand patterns could also have affected near-term performance, especially in markets facing uncertain economic conditions.

Q2 Earnings Whispers for BUD StockOur proven model conclusively predicts an earnings beat for AB InBev this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

AB InBev presently has an Earnings ESP of +1.60% and a Zacks Rank #3.

BUD’s Valuation Picture & Stock PerformanceThe stock has a forward 12-month price-to-earnings of 17.53X compared with the five-year high of 22.58X and the Beverages - Alcohol industry’s average of 15.53X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The recent market movements show that BUD shares have risen 25.6% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry's 15.9% return. The stock has also underperformed the Zacks Consumer Staples sector and the S&P 500’s growth of 9.4% and 9.2%, respectively.

BUD Stock's Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Other Stocks With the Favorable CombinationHere are some other companies that, according to our model, also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

Fomento Economico Mexicano (FMX - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +37.42% and sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company is likely to register growth in the top and bottom lines when it reports second-quarter 2026 numbers. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $12.9 billion, which indicates a rise of 19.3% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FMX’s quarterly earnings per share of 82 cents implies a surge of 95.2% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. The consensus mark has moved down 10.9% in the past 30 days. FMX has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 17%, on average.

Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.61% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is likely to register growth in the top and bottom lines when it reports second-quarter 2026 numbers. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $2.4 billion, which indicates growth of 14.5% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Monster Beverage’s quarterly earnings per share of 59 cents implies a rise of 13.5% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. The consensus mark has been unchanged in the past 30 days. MNST has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.6%, on average.

Mondelez International (MDLZ - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.97% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is likely to register an increase in the top line when it reports second-quarter 2026 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MDLZ’s quarterly EPS is pegged at 67 cents, down 8.2% from the year-ago period. The consensus mark has been unchanged in the past 30 days.

The consensus estimate for Mondelez International’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $9.2 billion, which implies an increase of 2.5% from the prior-year quarter. MDLZ has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.4%, on average.

RTX Corporation delivered a robust Q2 2026, with 16% organic sales growth, $2.9B free cash flow, and a record $289B backlog. I raised RTX's full-year sales outlook by $2.5B and EPS guidance by 5.5%, driven by strength in Raytheon, Pratt aftermarket, and Collins OE. Execution risks remain—supply chain capacity, inventory absorption, and margin pressures—but the diversified growth and backlog provide substantial revenue visibility.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 24th, 2026

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW – Free Report) by 53.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,018,036 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 353,749 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.10% of ServiceNow worth $106,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,753 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $2,919,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ServiceNow by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 837 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $861,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in ServiceNow by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 1,519 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its position in ServiceNow by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC boosted its stake in ServiceNow by 205.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 906 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. 87.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ServiceNow Stock Performance Shares of NOW stock opened at $92.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $95.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. ServiceNow, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.24 and a 52 week high of $210.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.77.

ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The information technology services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.04. ServiceNow had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ServiceNow, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes NOW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on ServiceNow from $160.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on ServiceNow in a report on Monday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Argus lowered their price target on ServiceNow from $180.00 to $134.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of ServiceNow in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ServiceNow from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.39.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ServiceNow

Insider Activity at ServiceNow In other ServiceNow news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 16,445 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.14, for a total transaction of $1,482,352.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,712,312.60. This represents a 35.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul Edward Chamberlain sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.23, for a total value of $130,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,919,243.90. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,144 shares of company stock worth $1,730,097. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Key ServiceNow News Here are the key news stories impacting ServiceNow this week:

Positive Sentiment: ServiceNow beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, showing that demand for its workflow and AI products remains healthy. Positive Sentiment: The company raised its annual subscription revenue forecast again, which signals management confidence in continued growth. Positive Sentiment: AI-related momentum was a major highlight, with AI contract value topping $1 billion and multiple reports saying customers are adopting ServiceNow’s AI platform more aggressively. Positive Sentiment: Several analysts turned more constructive after earnings, including price-target increases and reaffirmed buy/overweight ratings. Neutral Sentiment: New partnerships and customer wins, including Experian, Leidos, TeamViewer, and Exclusive Networks, support the long-term platform story but are less likely to move the stock immediately. Article Title Negative Sentiment: Some investors remain worried that new AI tools from OpenAI and others could pressure legacy enterprise software, which has created volatility even after the earnings beat. ServiceNow Company Profile (Free Report)

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is a cloud computing company that builds enterprise software to manage digital workflows and automate business processes. Its offerings are designed to replace manual work and legacy systems with cloud-based, service-oriented applications that support IT operations, customer service, human resources, security response and other enterprise functions.

The company’s flagship product family is the Now Platform, a suite of subscription software and platform services that includes IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM), IT Business Management (ITBM), Customer Service Management (CSM), HR Service Delivery, Security Operations and Asset Management.

Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than ServiceNow Premium Retail’s Stress Test Is Separating Winners From Losers D-Wave Quantum or a Quantum ETF: Which Is the Better Bet? GE Vernova Just Sent a Mixed AI Signal to Investors Alphabet Crushed Earnings, But One Number Spooked the Market Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NOW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW – Free Report).

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, /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announces that purchasers or acquirers of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) securities between August 22, 2025 and May 20, 2026, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), have until September 8, 2026 to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the Intuit class action lawsuit.  Captioned Baldwin v. Intuit Inc., No. 26-cv-07086 (N.D. Cal.), the Intuit class action lawsuit charges Intuit as well as certain of Intuit's top executive officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

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

https://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases-intuit-inc-class-action-lawsuit-intu.html 

You can also contact attorneys Ken Dolitsky or Michael Albert of Robbins Geller by calling 800/851-7783 or via e-mail at [email protected].

CASE ALLEGATIONS: Intuit provides financial management, payments and capital, compliance, and marketing products and services.

The Intuit class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) they had overstated Intuit's competitive advantages and growth, as well as the overall strength and sustainability of its business model and operations; (ii) in reality, Intuit was losing significant business in its tax-related business, particularly in its Turbo Tax business, as a result of, among other things, increasing competitive and pricing pressures; and (iii) accordingly, Intuit's previously issued 2026 TurboTax revenue growth guidance was unreliable and/or unrealistic.

On May 20, 2026, during pre-market hours, Reuters published an article entitled "Intuit to cut 17% of global jobs to streamline operations, memo shows," allegedly reporting that Intuit "is laying off about 17% of its workforce, or about 3,000 employees worldwide."  On this news, the price of Intuit stock dropped nearly 4%, according to the complaint.

Later that day, during post-market hours, Intuit issued a press release announcing its fiscal third quarter 2026 results, allegedly reporting weak Q3 2026 tax season revenue, including that TurboTax revenue grew by only 7% year-over-year versus consensus estimates of at least 8% revenue growth.  The Intuit class action lawsuit further alleges that on an accompanying conference call that day, Sasan K. Goodarzi, Intuit's Chairman and CEO, disclosed that TurboTax online paying units were expected to grow by only 2% as total Internal Revenue Service filers were expected to decline by approximately 30 basis points, representing the "most significant industry-wide contraction since the post-COVID tax season."  On this news, the price of Intuit stock dropped over 20%, according to the complaint.

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

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

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

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. 

Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices. 

Contact:

          Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP

          Ken Dolitsky

          Michael Albert

          655 W. Broadway, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101

          800/851-7783

          [email protected] 

SOURCE Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP

Lockheed Martin Q2 Earnings Call RevelationSpeaking on the company’s second-quarter earnings call, CEO Jim Taiclet described what may be one of the biggest strategic shifts underway at the world’s largest defense contractor. Rather than waiting for formal Pentagon requests, Lockheed is increasingly developing weapons and expanding manufacturing capacity before contracts are awarded, betting it can anticipate the military’s future needs.

“We’re not waiting for orders or contracts to close evident mission gaps,” Taiclet said, adding that the company is building technology roadmaps designed to predict customer requirements before they make their way through the government’s procurement process.

The approach is already showing results.

Concept to Testing in 45 DaysTaiclet highlighted Lockheed’s new Sanctum counter-drone system, which progressed from concept to successful live-fire testing in less than 45 days by combining existing technologies—including radar, launchers and missiles—rather than designing an entirely new platform from scratch.

The company is taking the same proactive approach to manufacturing.

Lockheed has been expanding missile production capacity ahead of contracted demand, investing in new factories, automation, robotics and artificial intelligence while increasing international co-production capabilities. Those investments helped position the company to secure a seven-year, $35 billion contract to quadruple production of THAAD missile interceptors, along with several other major awards announced during the quarter.

The mindset extends beyond factories.

Discussing internally funded drone defense programs, Taiclet recalled telling engineers, “Build 1,000 of these,” even before customer orders materialized. The goal, he said, is to demonstrate operational capability first and secure contracts afterward, rather than waiting for government procurement cycles to begin.

For investors, the strategy signals Lockheed’s effort to shape future defense demand through earlier investment, rapid prototyping and internally funded innovation.

As geopolitical tensions continue driving military spending higher, Lockheed appears increasingly willing to spend its own capital to ensure it already has the next generation of weapons ready when governments decide they need them.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

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Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO | AVGO Price Prediction) is the second most important name in AI infrastructure, with shares delivering a 43.48% one-year return through July 22. The 24/7 Wall St. price target sees room to run, though the near-term climb is more measured than the last twelve months.

24/7 Wall St. Price Target for Broadcom Broadcom trades at $389.35. Our 24/7 Wall St. price target is $412.30, implying 5.9% upside over 12 months. The recommendation is buy with 90% confidence. That reflects high conviction tempered by AVGO’s nearly $1.888 trillion market cap, which limits multiple expansion.

Metric Value Current Price $389.35 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $412.30 Upside 5.9% Recommendation BUY Confidence 90% Whiplash After a Blowout Quarter Broadcom’s Q2 FY2026, reported June 3, 2026, delivered revenue of $22.187 billion (up 47.9% YoY), non-GAAP EPS of $2.44, and AI semiconductor revenue of $10.8 billion, up 143% YoY. Shares slid from $495 at filing to $360.45 thirty days later, a 27.2% drawdown against the Nasdaq-100’s -3.8%.

Sentiment rebounded on the July 8 Apple custom AI chip announcement worth more than $30 billion through 2031, and Morgan Stanley’s Portfolio Solutions added Broadcom on July 23 for “diversified exposure to multi-year AI infrastructure spending.” AVGO now trades 6% below its 52-week high of $494.18.

The Case for $500+ CEO Hock Tan guided AI semiconductor revenue to $16 billion in Q3 FY2026, up over 200% year-on-year and a path to in excess of $100 billion in AI revenue for FY2027. Bookings visibility extends to 2028, with Q2 AI bookings of over $30 billion against $10.8 billion shipped.

Google, Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta, and two additional customers each represent multi-gigawatt XPU commitments, with 2027 shipments guided at 10 gigawatts. If sector momentum holds, the bull case points to $532.66 in one year, and the 44 buy ratings vs. zero sells suggest Wall Street shares that view.

What Could Go Wrong Broadcom trades at roughly 66x earnings, with an implied P/E of 48x on the price target. Customer concentration is real: hyperscalers can insource, and Anthropic’s July agreement to buy two gigawatts of GPU capacity from AMD shows the multi-supplier playbook spreading.

Insider activity has skewed toward selling across 62 recent transactions. The bear case sees AVGO at $364.09 over the next year. Bulls counter that management is deliberately building 86 days of inventory ahead of an accelerating second half, signaling confidence.

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Broadcom didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

How Broadcom Compares to NVIDIA and Marvell NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) is the valuation anchor. NVIDIA posted Q1 FY2027 revenue of $81.6 billion, up 85.2% YoY, with Data Center Networking alone up 199%, competing directly with Broadcom’s Ethernet AI switches. At a trailing P/E near 43x against Broadcom’s 66x, NVIDIA looks cheaper on earnings despite faster growth, making the mega-cap dampener prudent.

Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) is the pure custom-ASIC comp. Marvell delivered Q1 FY2027 data center revenue of $1.83 billion, up 27% YoY, and guided Q2 to $2.7 billion, roughly 35% growth. Next to Broadcom’s Q3 AI guide of $16 billion (up 200%+), AVGO emerges as the runaway leader in custom accelerators, making the $412.30 target reasonable.

Verdict: High Conviction With Sizing Discipline The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $412.30 with a buy rating and 90% confidence reflects a company printing record margins, sitting on a $100 billion-plus FY2027 AI revenue runway, and anchoring dividend-growth ETFs.

The stock suits investors who can stomach the volatility that took AVGO from $495 to $360 in a month, while the bear case still touches $364 for those monitoring a lower entry. This is a core AI infrastructure holding suited for long-term positioning.

Broadcom Price Prediction 2026-2030 Extending the model forward, here is where we see AVGO trading through the decade, assuming the AI infrastructure cycle and Hock Tan’s $100 billion AI revenue goal remain on track.

Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $412.30 2027 $438 2028 $462 2029 $485 2030 $506.76 These projections assume Broadcom converts its 2027-2028 bookings visibility into shipments. Meaningful upside or downside could come from hyperscaler insourcing or acceleration in gigawatts shipped beyond the current 10-gigawatt 2027 plan.

Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Broadcom didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is hitting a physical wall. As large language models grow exponentially in size, the legacy approach of throwing large, monolithic graphics processing units at the problem breaks down during the inference phase.

By physically separating prompt processing from token generation, Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD and Cerebras Systems NASDAQ: CBRS have engineered a structural bypass to legacy computing bottlenecks. This heterogeneous architecture delivers unparalleled efficiency in ultra-low latency environments, immediately positioning both hardware developers to capture the premium enterprise inference market.

Get Advanced Micro Devices alerts:

Cracking Compute: Why Monolithic Chips StumbleUnderstanding how AI models generate text or code reveals why this partnership matters. Inference involves two very different workloads. First, the system must process the prompt and context window, which requires high computational throughput to digest thousands of words in real time. Second, the system generates the response token by token, a process demanding ultra-low latency and immense memory bandwidth.

Monolithic chips attempt to handle both tasks simultaneously, resulting in a bottleneck where the processor wastes time waiting for memory to catch up. The technical combination unveiled at the Advancing AI 2026 event systematically solves this bottleneck.

AMD brings its Helios rack-scale systems to manage the high-throughput prompt processing. Cerebras Systems integrates its Wafer-Scale Engine to handle the rapid-fire token generation. Operating as a single disaggregated workflow, the two distinct computing engines handle the specific tasks they were explicitly designed to execute.

Expanding the Moat: How Hardware Efficiency Builds MarginsAdvanced Micro Devices Today

AMD

Advanced Micro Devices

$540.11 +0.42 (+0.08%)

As of 12:24 PM Eastern

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

52-Week Range$149.22▼

$584.73P/E Ratio177.08

Price Target$478.78

From a fundamental valuation perspective, hardware efficiency translates directly into pricing power. Data center operators are currently constrained by power availability and cooling capacity, making energy efficiency the most critical metric in cloud computing. The joint solution aims to achieve a fivefold increase in tokens per second per watt compared to standalone hardware.

AMD expects the Helios platform to deliver 30% more inference tokens per dollar than legacy monolithic racks. When cloud service providers can generate more output using the same energy footprint, their operating margins expand. That structural total cost of ownership advantage provides both hardware manufacturers with a formidable economic moat as hyperscalers look to optimize their capital expenditures.

Capturing the High-Rent District: Premium Latency MarketsHigh-volume workloads like batch processing prioritize total token generation, but the next frontier of artificial intelligence demands instant reaction times. Applications like autonomous agents, real-time customer service copilots, and high-frequency coding assistants require ultra-low latency. If a cybersecurity protocol takes even two seconds to generate an inference response, the breach has already happened.

Cerebras Systems Today

CBRS

Cerebras Systems

$203.97 -16.03 (-7.29%)

As of 12:24 PM Eastern

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

52-Week Range$160.81▼

$386.34Price Target$299.30

This latency-sensitive segment represents the highest-margin opportunity in the sector, and tier-1 enterprise adoption is already accelerating. Cerebras Systems recently partnered with CrowdStrike to integrate wafer-scale inference into the Falcon AIDR platform, validating the demand for real-time security processing. Concurrently, Microsoft Azure plans to deploy the Helios system across its data centers in the second half of 2026, offering vast distribution channels for the new architecture.

AMD also executed a brilliant capital allocation maneuver by securing a $5 billion equity stake in Anthropic. Rather than just investing cash for a financial return, the agreement locks in commitments to core graphics processing unit capacity for 2027. Securing captive demand from one of the leading foundational model developers derisks forward revenue projections and guarantees high utilization rates for the new disaggregated infrastructure.

Scaling Through the NoiseDespite these structural tailwinds, retail market sentiment often misprices short-term volatility. Shares of Cerebras Systems recently fell about 10% intraday to around $194, well below its post-IPO peak. First-quarter earnings revealed a net loss of 4 cents per share, beating consensus estimates, alongside strong core revenue of $191.3 million. Management warned of a 10-15 percentage-point drop in cloud and service margins over the near term.

Analysts recognize that not all margin compression is created equal. Cerebras Systems is currently renting external third-party compute capacity to fulfill a rapidly growing tier-1 enterprise backlog. This transient capital expenditure is a direct byproduct of outsized demand outstripping current deployment capacity. Sacrificing near-term margins to secure dominant market share is a classic infrastructure growth playbook, not a signal of structural pricing weakness.

The accompanying bearish optics of insider selling require similar contextualization. Liquidations by the chief operating officer and chief accounting officer occurred precisely at the expiration of the May 2026 IPO lock-up period and the standard quarterly 10b5-1 programmatic selling windows.

Executive diversification following a major liquidity event is a routine corporate mechanism, entirely separate from underlying business conviction. Active securities litigation regarding post-IPO volatility represents standard plaintiff posturing that poses a negligible threat to the underlying technology moat.

Completing the Build: Why Disaggregated Compute WinsAMD presents a different fundamental profile, trading near $531 after an impressive 146% year-to-date run. While the valuation is steep, carrying a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 83.94, the underlying growth narrative supports the premium. First-quarter earnings per share reached $1.37, driven by a 37.8% year-over-year revenue expansion. Management has established a firm floor underneath AMD through an active $6 billion share buyback program initiated in May 2025.

The transition toward heterogeneous, specialized compute clusters is no longer a theoretical roadmap. It is actively deploying across major cloud providers. By separating distinct AI inference workloads into optimized hardware streams, this partnership rewrites the economics of data center scaling. Investors evaluating semiconductor exposure might want to monitor how aggressively hyperscalers adopt this disaggregated hardware approach as enterprise deployments accelerate through the end of 2026.

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

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