The AI boom didn't stop Google from hiring nearly 12,000 people By You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
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Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images As companies make rounds of job cuts and double down on AI spend, Google's parent company Alphabet is expanding its workforce.
Alphabet reported blockbuster second-quarter earnings, with revenue climbing 24% year over year to $119.8 billion. The company revealed in its earnings report that it increased head count by 11,830 employees, from 187,103 to 198,933, between June 30, 2025 and June 30, 2026.
The chart below shows how Alphabet's workforce has grown from the end of the first quarter of 2025 through the end of the second quarter of 2026.
The biggest jump in Alphabet's head count of the last couple of years came in the second quarter of 2026, when the company added over 4,000 workers, accounting for more than one-third of net hiring over the past year.
Since 2022, companies including Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have cut thousands of jobs. Google laid off 12,000 employees in 2023 and has conducted several smaller rounds of cuts since, impacting thousands of employees in total.
Google employees from around the country rallied last week to demand stronger protections against layoffs. Roughly 4,500 employees signed a petition about job security addressed to CEO Sundar Pichai and three senior executives at the tech giant.
While Google didn't share which roles it has hired more of over the last year, the company said in its earnings on Thursday that it's prioritizing long-term AI growth and doubling down on its AI buildout.
The tech giant raised its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to between $195 billion and $205 billion, up from a previous estimate of up to $190 billion. The company said its demand for AI infrastructure continues to outpace available capacity.
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Ana Altchek You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Madison Hoff You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Madison Hoff is a reporter on Business Insider’s economy team. She covers the labor market, inflation, spending, and other data. In addition to covering new estimates and trends, her workforce reporting includes career pivots, job searching, and side hustles.She also covers downsizing, particularly people selling their houses to pursue RV living. She has also reported on how much teachers spend out of pocket and what it’s like being a caregiver.Her stories often cover the state of the economy, what experts are saying, and how people are navigating the workplace or their careers.Previously, she was a junior reporter and data editorial fellow on the Strategy team.A few of her stories:
Job-market trend: Welcome to the 'Great Freeze': Why companies aren't firing, workers can't grow, and the unemployed can't get jobsJob-market trend: Everyone's focused on AI — but it's aging Americans who are quietly rewiring the job marketCareer pivot: I retired early from my federal job and took a part-time job at TJ Maxx. I'm happier and less stressed.Downsizing/RV living: An empty-nester couple who traded in a $400K house for an $80K RV explain their favorite parts of retirement on the roadJob searching: People who haven't had steady work for at least a year are networking, doing temporary jobs, and soul-searchingSide hustles: A millennial who used side hustles to pay off debt explains the lucrative and easy ones she recommendsTeacher spending: A teacher who spent more than $5,000 of her own money to make a cozy classroom explains why it helps kids learn Google AI Tech More Layoffs
GOOG stock is down after earnings. See the chart and price action here. A 33-Quarter Buyback Streak EndsAlphabet bought no stock in Q1, breaking a 33-quarter run, and Q2 confirmed this was a strategic reset, not a temporary pause.
Repurchases remained at zero, compared with $13.24 billion in the same quarter last year. Across the first half, Alphabet repurchased nothing after spending $28.31 billion during the comparable 2025 period.
The buyback halt was not caused by an exhausted authorization. A sizable balance remained available when 2026 began, giving management ample room to continue repurchases. Instead, Alphabet redirected cash toward the escalating infrastructure demands of AI.
AI Spending Overwhelms Cash FlowCapital expenditures rose from $27.85 billion in Q4 2025 to $35.67 billion in Q1 2026. They then jumped to $44.92 billion in Q2. Quarterly capex exceeded $39.07 billion in operating cash flow, pushing free cash flow to negative $5.86 billion.
The trajectory is becoming steeper. Alphabet raised its 2026 capex outlook to $195 billion to $205 billion, up from $180 billion to $190 billion. The new range carries a $200 billion midpoint, matching the headline figure.
On the company’s earnings call, management said technical-infrastructure investment would continue pressuring free cash flow.
Shareholder Returns Take a Back SeatThis marks a dramatic reversal in capital allocation. Alphabet repurchased $45.71 billion of stock in 2025, after spending $62.222 billion in 2024 and $61.5 billion in 2023.
Buybacks had steadily reduced the share count and helped absorb dilution from employee compensation. They also provided a recurring source of demand for the stock.
Now, servers, chips, networking gear and data centers have moved ahead of financial engineering. The shift reflects confidence in AI demand, but it also raises the hurdle for returns. Alphabet must generate enough incremental revenue and profit to justify spending on a historic scale.
The Bottom LineFor shareholders, the immediate equation has changed. Less cash is supporting the stock through repurchases, while more cash is locked into long-lived infrastructure. Depreciation and operating costs will follow as those assets enter service.
Alphabet’s buyback machine did not slow because the company ran out of authorization — it stopped because AI became the priority.
After two consecutive quarters at zero, the evidence points to a new capital-allocation regime, with shareholder returns taking a back seat to the largest infrastructure buildout in Alphabet’s history.
GOOG Stock Price Activity: Alphabet shares were down 6.16% at $320.86 at the time of publication Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Over the past month, GOOG has declined about 5.7% versus a 0.7% rise in the S&P 500 and is up roughly 1% year-to-date compared to the index’s 7.7% gain.
Photo: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Amazon (AMZN, Financials) is the e-commerce and cloud computing giant now under scrutiny by the U.S. Senate for suspicions that Chinese influence had a role in decisions made about its online marketplace.
A source citing people involved in the inquiry said Republican aides on the Senate Small Business Committee said they uncovered evidence of potential negligence related to China-based activities.
The investigation comes after reports that Amazon employees in China were allegedly selling favors to merchants who wanted to get better treatment on the platform.
One inventor told committee researchers that an intermediary promised to leverage connections with Amazon workers in China to assist fix marketplace problems in exchange for money.
The allegations challenge Amazon's control of third-party merchants, which constitute around 60% of the products sold on the platform.
Some shops have complained for years about unexpected suspensions, inconsistent enforcement and difficulty appealing penalties. Those challenges produced the need for middlemen who say they have access to internal decision-making.
The probe comes on top of wider regulatory challenges facing Amazon, including antitrust claims and allegations of deceptive business practices. The corporation has denied any misconduct in those cases.
Now investors will watch to see if the Senate committee would seek testimony, documents or policy changes from Amazon.
Big tech companies and spending on artificial intelligence and its infrastructure have been one of the biggest stories in the stock market this year, ever since Amazon (AMZN -4.53%), Alphabet (GOOG -6.68%) (GOOGL -6.80%), Microsoft, and Meta Platforms disclosed plans to spend $700 billion on capital expenditures this year.
Of that, Amazon was the biggest spender at $200 billion, with Alphabet close behind at $185 billion. But in the company’s second-quarter earnings call with analysts, Alphabet executives announced plans to join Amazon in the $200 billion club, spending its capex primarily on servers, connectivity, storage, and memory for data centers.
Alphabet stock fell 6% the next day. Will Amazon also raise its capex spending when it reports earnings on July 30? And just as importantly, will Amazon stock face the same fate as Alphabet?
Image source: Amazon.
Why is Alphabet raising capex?Alphabet, the parent company of Google, spent $44.9 billion on capex in the second quarter, with 60% of that on servers and 40% on data centers and networking equipment. It had previously projected full-year capex to be in a range of $180 billion to $190 billion; it now anticipates spending between $195 billion and $205 billion.
“We're still in a supply constraint environment. I think we've said this now for multiple quarters in a row, we are seeing very strong demand, both from external cloud customers as well as across the business. Our goal is to invest as long as we see an attractive return on that investment,” CFO Anat Ashkenazi said.
In short, Alphabet says that demand is outpacing computing capacity, even though Alphabet is accelerating its spending.
Overall earnings for Alphabet were exceptionally strong, with revenue of $119.79 billion, up 24% from a year ago. Google Cloud revenues were $24.76 billion, up 82% from a year ago.
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How likely is it for Amazon to also raise capex?I believe it’s very likely. First, consider that Amazon is a much larger cloud provider than Alphabet. Amazon Web Services has the greatest global share of the cloud computing market at 28%, followed by Microsoft at 21% and Google Cloud at 14%.
Second, Amazon has been very public and bullish about its capex. In a letter to shareholders in April, CEO Andy Jassy posted a lengthy statement on Amazon’s website justifying the company’s planned spending and saying it would be a “meaningful leader” in AI.
We’re not investing approximately $200 billion in capex in 2026 on a hunch. The recent OpenAI commitment (over $100 billion) is an example of this, but there are several other customer agreements completed (and unannounced), or deep in process. Of the AWS capex we expect to spend in 2026, much of which will be monetized in 2027-2028, we already have customer commitments for a substantial portion of it. And third, there are indications that major hyperscalers are accelerating their AI spending. BNP Paribas analyst Stefan Slowinski recently predicted in an investor report that Microsoft, the No. 2 cloud computing company by market share, would spend a whopping $262 billion on capex in its 2027 fiscal year. (Microsoft reports its fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2026 earnings on July 29, but the company had previously disclosed $104.3 billion in capex spending through its first three quarters.)
What to expect from Amazon’s earningsFirst, I would be shocked if Amazon did not increase its projected capex, but I also expect the market to react poorly because of it. Investors are very focused on the pressure big tech’s capex spending is putting on free cash flow, and I understand why there are concerns that Alphabet, Amazon, and the rest won’t be able to realize a profit from all this spending.
But as Jassy points out, Amazon isn’t spending blindly. As long as Amazon’s spending and planned investment are backed by customer commitments and the demand for more computing power exists, then Amazon looks to be a long-term winner. Any dip in the stock following earnings could be an appealing opportunity to acquire more shares.
Amazon.com Inc. AMZN shares fell about 4% in trading on Thursday after a report said a US Senate panel is investigating whether the company allowed China to exert undue influence over its online marketplace.
According to Bloomberg, Republican staff members on the Senate Small Business Committee have been examining potential “Amazon negligence related to Chinese influence” and have uncovered “compelling evidence,” citing committee correspondence and interviews.
The reported investigation adds to Amazon’s existing regulatory challenges, including antitrust lawsuits and allegations of deceptive business practices, both of which the company has denied.
The latest inquiry expands scrutiny of the e-commerce giant beyond domestic competition issues to its international marketplace operations.
The congressional investigation follows a Bloomberg report describing an international bribery network involving Amazon employees based in China.
According to the report, some employees allegedly accepted payments from merchants in exchange for administrative favors and competitive advantages on Amazon’s marketplace.
As part of the investigation, committee researchers interviewed independent merchant Jack Nekhala, a Staten Island inventor who sells mattress sheet fasteners.
Nekhala said he shared recordings of conversations with an intermediary who claimed to have contacts among Amazon employees in China capable of manipulating seller accounts in exchange for payment.
Committee researchers were particularly interested in understanding how employees based in China could influence Amazon’s marketplace, according to Nekhala.
Another individual who works with Amazon sellers told Bloomberg that committee staff also requested referrals to additional merchants for interviews, although the person declined to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the committee’s work.
Third-party sellers and broader regulatory scrutiny remain in focusIndependent third-party merchants account for roughly 60% of products sold through Amazon’s online marketplace.
According to the report, many sellers have long complained about unexpected account suspensions, arbitrary enforcement actions and limited access to effective customer support.
Some merchants have reportedly turned to intermediaries offering connections to Amazon insiders who could reverse suspensions or restore product listings in exchange for payments.
The latest investigation comes as Amazon continues to reshape parts of its business.
On July 22, the company confirmed workforce reductions within its core Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) division following broader layoffs affecting approximately 16,000 employees earlier this year.
Amazon said the latest cuts were intended to streamline operations and redirect resources toward projects delivering direct customer value and commercial impact.
Internal communications indicated that role reductions primarily affected teams within AGI Data Services and AGI Information. The company's AGI division includes work on Nova foundation models, custom AI chips and quantum computing hardware.
Wall Street analysts were broadly positive on Amazon before the development.
Citi analyst Ronald Josey reiterated a Buy rating on July 16 with a $325 price target. KeyBanc also maintained a Buy rating the same day, assigning a $335 price target.
According to TipRanks data, the broader analyst consensus remains a Strong Buy, with an average price target of $318.98, representing an implied upside of approximately 36.41% from current levels.
I keep hitting the buy button on Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD | AMD Price Prediction) even though the trailing P/E stares back at me at 207, and I want to explain why in plain terms. My conviction here rests on hyperscalers refusing to let one vendor own 85% of the AI accelerator market forever. The anti-monopoly math only requires AMD to be the credible number two, and the receipts say it already is.
The Anti-Monopoly Math The consensus $11.50 to $16.00+ EPS target for 2027/2028 only requires AMD to hold a 7% to 12% merchant accelerator share, and roughly 12% to 15% of the multi-GPU rack-scale tier, while the total addressable market keeps expanding and EPYC keeps taking server CPU share. Hyperscalers have a self-interest to fund exactly that outcome, because a single-vendor supply chain is a boardroom liability. So they are writing the checks. Meta committed to up to 6 GW of AMD Instinct GPUs. OpenAI signed on as a core preferred partner for 6 gigawatts. Oracle is building a 50,000-GPU AI supercluster on the AMD Helios rack design. That is the second-source demand curve showing up in ink.
The Data Behind the Conviction Q1 FY2026 revenue landed at $10.25 billion, up 37.9% YoY, with Data Center alone at $5.775 billion, up 57% YoY. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.37 beat the $1.29 consensus, extending a streak in which four of the last five quarters cleared the bar. FY2025 free cash flow reached $5.519 billion, up 129.48%, and Q2 2026 guidance calls for revenue of roughly $11.2 billion, about 46% YoY growth. The balance sheet backs the ambition: net debt/EBITDA of -0.16 and interest coverage of 28.2x. That is a net-cash company funding its own hyperscaler pursuit.
Why Not the Obvious Alternative NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) is the reflex trade. I own it too. I am not adding to it here because the anti-monopoly thesis is the mirror image of NVIDIA’s dominance, and the growth math already sits on a larger base. NVIDIA’s stock is up 27.13% over one year. AMD’s is up 256.99% over the same window, because the market is repricing the second source. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is the other name people mention, and I pass because AMD’s net margin of 12.5% and FCF growth of 252.96% YoY sit on the opposite side of Intel’s well-known margin struggles, while EPYC keeps winning sockets at AWS, Google Cloud, Azure and Tencent.
The Real Risk China export controls are the real one. The MI308 restrictions cost AMD roughly $800 million in Q2 25 inventory charges and about $440 million net for FY2025. That is not a rounding error. I keep buying anyway because the Meta, OpenAI, and Oracle commitments are non-China demand, and the domestic hyperscaler pipeline is what the valuation is discounting.
Forward Conviction The forward P/E of 70 is rich, and I do not pretend otherwise. But if AMD merely holds its second-source seat while the AI TAM keeps compounding, the earnings arrive. Until a hyperscaler cancels a gigawatt, my buy button stays active.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and AMD didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
Astera Labs: Consistent Revenue IncreasesAstera Labs (ALAB -3.07%) develops and markets semiconductor-based connectivity solutions for cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
It expanded its operations in Taiwan in June 2026, while reporting a net income margin of 26% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
Advanced Micro Devices: Managing Massive ScaleAdvanced Micro Devices (AMD -3.21%) primarily generates revenue by developing microprocessors, chipsets, and graphics processing units for various hardware clients.
It committed over $10 billion to the Taiwan ecosystem in May 2026, and reported an EBIT margin of 14% for the quarter ended March 28, 2026.
Why Revenue Matters for Retail InvestorsRevenue represents the total money a business brings in before any expenses are subtracted. This metric helps investors measure a company’s overall size, market footprint, and long-term trajectory.
Quarterly Revenue for Astera Labs and Advanced Micro DevicesQuarter (Period End)Astera Labs RevenueAdvanced Micro Devices RevenueQ2 2024$76.8 million (period ended June 2024)$5.8 billion (period ended June 2024)Q3 2024$113.1 million (period ended Sept. 2024)$6.8 billion (period ended Sept. 2024)Q4 2024$141.1 million (period ended Dec. 2024)$7.7 billion (period ended Dec. 2024)Q1 2025$159.4 million (period ended March 2025)$7.4 billion (period ended March 2025)Q2 2025$191.9 million (period ended June 2025)$7.7 billion (period ended June 2025)Q3 2025$230.6 million (period ended Sept. 2025)$9.2 billion (period ended Sept. 2025)Q4 2025$270.6 million (period ended Dec. 2025)$10.3 billion (period ended Dec. 2025)Q1 2026$308.4 million (period ended March 2026)$10.3 billion (period ended March 2026)Data source: Company filings. Data as of July 17, 2026.
Foolish TakeAstera Labs and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are two of the biggest beneficiaries of artificial intelligence’s arrival into the mainstream. AMD’s revenue towers over Astera Labs, illustrating the massive demand for its advanced semiconductor chips used in AI systems.
That said, Astera Labs is growing faster. Its first-quarter revenue of $308.4 million represented a whopping 93% year-over-year increase. This demonstrates how its connectivity solutions are quickly becoming critical components of AI infrastructure.
Astera Labs expects sales to continue accelerating. It forecasted revenue in a range between $355 million to $365 million for Q2. The increase in data centers to expand AI capacity is contributing to the company’s incredible revenue growth.
AMD is no slouch, however. The sales of $10.3 billion in its latest quarter is an outstanding 38% year-over-year increase. It expects to reach revenue of $11.2 billion in the second quarter. On July 22, the company announced a new deal with AI giant Anthropic, and a separate announcement of an expanded partnership with Microsoft on July 20. These reveal that AMD’s sales are likely to see continued growth.
Robert Izquierdo has positions in Advanced Micro Devices, Astera Labs, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Astera Labs. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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AMD president and CEO Lisa Su. Leon Neal/Getty Images AMD is making a bet about the future of AI: one chip shouldn't rule them all.
CEO Lisa Su announced Thursday that AMD is teaming up with chip startup Cerebras on a new approach to AI inference, which is the process of generating responses from AI models.
Increasingly, chipmakers are pursuing "disaggregated inference," which splits workloads across different types of hardware. AMD's partnership with Cerebras shows the company is betting big on this approach.
Traditionally, the same hardware handled both processing a prompt and generating an answer. AMD argues those are fundamentally different jobs. Helios, its latest server system, is designed to process huge volumes of requests, whereas Cerebras' giant, wafer-sized chip specializes in generating near-instantaneous responses.
The partnership will bring Helios into Cerebras' data centers later this year.
Demand for chips from companies like AMD, Nvidia, and Broadcom has skyrocketed in the AI boom. Nvidia dominates chip design for AI training, and the competition has intensified as AI companies shift focus from training models to putting them to work.
The AMD and Cerebras pact aligns with a broader shift that analysts say is already underway, with UBS writing in June that the limitations of current architectures "are driving a shift toward disaggregated inference."
UBS wrote that Nvidia — through its integration of AI hardware startup Groq — and Amazon Web Services are also pursuing similar setups to improve efficiency and lower costs. That said, UBS wrote that disaggregated inference presents new challenges around "orchestration" — or getting different chips to work together seamlessly.
At Advancing AI, AMD unveiled Helios, its latest server system that bundles several types of AI chips, which is its answer to Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 rack. AI labs and cloud giants using AMD's infrastructure include OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, and Anthropic, with which AMD announced a multibillion-dollar infrastructure partnership on Wednesday.
AMD also used the event to take direct aim at Nvidia, claiming that Helios delivers up to 30% more inference tokens per dollar than Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 rack.
"Every Helios can deliver more performance for the largest models, more capacity for longer context, and the bandwidth to scale across thousands of racks," Su said Thursday at AMD's Advancing AI event.
Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at @geoffweiss.25. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.
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Geoff Weiss You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Geoff Weiss is a senior reporter on Business Insider’s tech team, where he writes about AI startups and Y Combinator, the intersection of AI and the media industry, and workplace dynamics within top AI labs and chip companies.Previously, Geoff was on the media desk, covering YouTube and Netflix, and themes like the intersection of Hollywood and the creator economy. His work on Netflix’s video podcasting ambitions and Mr Beast’s lessons for Hollywood won second and first prize, respectively, at the 2025 LA Press Club Awards.Prior to joining Business Insider, Geoff was the senior editor of Tubefilter and a staff writer at Entrepreneur. He graduated from New York University with a degree in English Literature.He can be reached at [email protected], on Signal @geoffweiss.25, and on LinkedIn. Have a tip? Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.Selected stories:Nvidia crushed its quarter — and CEO Jensen Huang said in a leaked all-hands that 'the market did not appreciate it'Nvidia will foot the bill for Trump's new visa fees. Here's what CEO Jensen Huang told staff.Massive AI salaries and RTO are fueling a real estate boom in San Francisco: 'It's going to rain money'The AI talent wars are ricocheting across startups. Here's how they're competing with Big Tech.
Artificial Intelligence AI Stocks More Stock Market Data Centers
AMD and Cerebras are collaborating to advance a workload-optimized approach to ultra-low-latency AI inference infrastructure. AMD Helios™ and the Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine will operate as a single disaggregated inference workflow, combining ultra-high-throughput from AMD Instinct™ GPUs, with ultra-fast token generation of Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine.Cerebras plans to deploy AMD Helios in its data centers, with the joint solution expected to be available first through Cerebras Cloud in the second half of 2026.
SAN FRANCISCO and SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) and Cerebras Systems (NASDAQ: CBRS) announced a technical partnership to deliver a new disaggregated AI inference solution that combines AMD Helios™ rackscale solutions with the Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine. Unveiled at Advancing AI 2026, the solution is designed to deliver the ultra-low latency required for the most advanced AI applications while dramatically increasing the throughput and efficiency.
The joint AMD and Cerebras solution will deploy AMD Helios alongside Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine technology integrated in a single inference workflow for maximum performance and efficiency. AMD Helios will provide a high-performance, scalable throughput engine. Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine technology will provide ultra-fast, ultra-low latency decode and token generation. Together, the two compute engines are expected to deliver up to 5x higher tokens per second per watt (T/s/W) i.
AI inference workloads increasingly have different requirements across latency, throughput, token capacity, cost and scale. High-volume workloads prioritize maximizing token generation, while coding, real-time copilots, live agents and agentic workflows demand faster response times. These differences are driving demand for heterogeneous infrastructure that matches compute technologies to specific workload requirements.
The AMD and Cerebras solution addresses this challenge through disaggregated inference, optimizing the two primary stages of the workflow independently. AMD Helios provides ultra-high throughput, processing prompts and large context windows. The Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine accelerates the memory-bandwidth-intensive token generation, with ultra-low latency. By connecting these best-in-class engines through one integrated workflow, the companies are creating a differentiated platform for ultra-low-latency inference without sacrificing throughput or scale.
“AI inference is becoming one of the largest infrastructure opportunities in AI, and its growing diversity requires a more flexible approach,” said Dr. Lisa Su, chair and CEO, AMD. “AMD Helios delivers leadership performance and scale for the broadest range of inference workloads. Together with Cerebras, we are extending that leadership into the most latency-sensitive applications and creating a powerful new platform for real-time agentic AI.”
“The demand for ultra-fast inference is growing at an unprecedented pace. Cerebras delivers the world’s fastest, ultra-low-latency inference,” said Andrew Feldman, CEO and co-founder, Cerebras. “Partnering with AMD gives us an incredible opportunity to bring that performance to even more customers.”
Fast token generation is becoming increasingly important as AI moves into software development, autonomous agents, robotics, scientific discovery and other applications where response time directly shapes the user experience and the usefulness of the system. The joint solution brings together complementary architectures purpose-built for these demands.
AMD Helios provides the high-throughput prompt engine, rack-scale efficiency and deployment scale required to process large numbers of complex requests. Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine technology provides the ultra-low-latency and decode performance needed to return tokens in real time. The result is a solution designed specifically for the ultra-low-latency segment of the inference market, with AMD Helios as the foundation for high-throughput and balanced inference workloads across the data center.
Cerebras plans to deploy AMD Helios systems in its data centers, with the joint solution expected to become available initially through Cerebras Cloud in the second half of 2026.
Supporting Resources
Follow AMD at Advancing AI 2026 (Press Kit)Learn more about AMD Helios™ rackscale solutionLearn more about AMD Instinct™ AcceleratorsConnect with AMD on LinkedInFollow AMD on XLearn more about the Cerebras Wafer-Scale EngineConnect with Cerebras on LinkedIn | Follow Cerebras on X
About AMD
AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) drives innovation in high-performance and AI computing to solve the world’s most important challenges. Today, AMD technology powers billions of experiences across cloud and AI infrastructure, embedded systems, AI PCs and gaming. With a broad portfolio of AI-optimized CPUs, GPUs, networking and software, AMD delivers full-stack AI solutions that provide the performance and scalability needed for a new era of intelligent computing. Learn more at www.amd.com.
About Cerebras Systems
Cerebras Systems (NASDAQ: CBRS) builds the world’s fastest AI infrastructure. The Cerebras team of pioneering computer architects, computer scientists, AI researchers, and engineers of all types came together to make AI blisteringly fast through innovation and invention. We believe that when AI is fast, it will change the world. Leading global corporations, research institutes, and governments choose Cerebras to run their AI workloads. Cerebras solutions are available on premises and in the cloud. Visit cerebras.ai for more.
AMD CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) such as the features, functionality, performance, availability, scalability, deployment, timing and expected benefits of AMD’s collaboration and joint solution with Cerebras, which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by words such as "would," "may," "expects," "believes," "plans," "intends," "projects" and other terms with similar meaning. Investors are cautioned that the forward-looking statements in this press release are based on current beliefs, assumptions and expectations, speak only as of the date of this press release and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Such statements are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond AMD's control, that could cause actual results and other future events to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: impact of government actions and regulations such as export regulations, import tariffs, trade protection measures, and licensing requirements; competitive markets in which AMD’s products are sold; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry; market conditions of the industries in which AMD products are sold; AMD’s ability to introduce products on a timely basis with expected features and performance levels; loss of a significant customer; economic and market uncertainty; quarterly and seasonal sales patterns; AMD's ability to adequately protect its technology or other intellectual property; unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations; ability of third party manufacturers to manufacture AMD's products on a timely basis in sufficient quantities and using competitive technologies; availability of essential equipment, materials, components (such as memory supply), substrates or manufacturing processes; ability to achieve expected manufacturing yields for AMD’s products; AMD's ability to generate revenue from its semi-custom SoC products; potential security vulnerabilities; potential security incidents including IT outages, data loss, data breaches and cyberattacks; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD’s products; AMD’s reliance on third-party intellectual property to design and introduce new products; AMD's reliance on third-party companies for design, manufacture and supply of motherboards, software, memory and other computer platform components; AMD's reliance on Microsoft and other software vendors' support to design and develop software to run on AMD’s products; AMD’s reliance on third-party distributors and add-in-board partners; impact of modification or interruption of AMD’s internal business processes and information systems; compatibility of AMD’s products with some or all industry-standard software and hardware; costs related to defective products; failure to maintain an efficient supply chain as customer demand changes; AMD's ability to rely on third party supply-chain logistics functions; AMD’s ability to effectively control sales of its products on the gray market; impact of climate change on AMD’s business; AMD’s ability to realize its deferred tax assets; potential tax liabilities; current and future claims and litigation; impact of environmental laws, conflict minerals related provisions and other laws or regulations; evolving expectations from governments, investors, customers and other stakeholders regarding corporate responsibility matters; issues related to the responsible use of AI; restrictions imposed by agreements governing AMD’s notes, the guarantees of Xilinx’s notes and the revolving credit agreement; AMD’s ability to satisfy financial obligations under guarantees, leases and other commercial commitments; impact of acquisitions, joint ventures and/or investments on AMD’s business and AMD’s ability to integrate acquired businesses; impact of any impairment of the combined company’s assets; political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters; future impairments of technology license purchases; AMD’s ability to attract and retain key employees; and AMD’s stock price volatility. Investors are urged to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in AMD’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to AMD’s most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
CEREBRAS DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
Cerebras uses its investor relations page (investors.cerebras.ai), its X account (@cerebras), and its LinkedIn page (linkedin.com/company/cerebras-systems/) to disclose material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, investors should monitor these channels, in addition to following Cerebras’ press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, public conference calls and public webcasts.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed to be forward-looking, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the features, capacity, scalability, performance, timing, data center deployment and implementation, costs and expected benefits and opportunities associated with Cerebras' collaboration and joint solution with AMD, and any assumptions relating to the foregoing. The words “may,” “will,” “shall,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “objective,” or “continue,” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond Cerebras’ control. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: Cerebras’ ability to sustain and manage its growth, access borrowings and other sources of capital on acceptable terms, and deploy available capital to support growth; its history of net losses and ability to achieve and maintain profitability; its limited operating history at its current scale and ability to accurately forecast revenue and appropriately budget and manage expenses; its dependence on a limited number of significant customers, including OpenAI, Group 42 Holding Ltd, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, and AWS, and the potential impact of any reduction in demand from, material adverse development in its relationships with, or failure to meet its obligations to, such customers, including under its Master Relationship Agreement with OpenAI; the timing, execution and expected benefits of its strategic customer, partner and financing arrangements; its historical reliance on sales of hardware systems and the early-stage, rapidly evolving market for its cloud-based offerings and AI infrastructure; its ability to secure sufficient data center capacity and capital to support its cloud-based offerings; its ability to launch new offerings and add new product capabilities; and its ability to compete effectively in the rapidly evolving and competitive market for AI computing solutions.
Cerebras’ actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date they were first issued and are based on information available to Cerebras together with Cerebras’ expectations, estimates, forecasts, projections, beliefs, and assumptions as of such date. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Cerebras’ views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Cerebras undertakes no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
Further information on potential risks that could affect actual results is included in Cerebras’ most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including in Cerebras’ most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by visiting Cerebras’ Investor Relations website at investors.cerebras.ai or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
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i Based on modelling by AMD Performance Labs and Cerebras in July 2026 to determine tokens per second per kilowatt (TPS/kW) at a comparable interactivity point with Kimi 2.6 1T Model comparing an AMD Helios rackscale solution with Cerebras WSE to a Cerebras WSE-only configuration. System manufacturers may vary configurations, yielding different results. MI400-021
WESTMINSTER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- #aiinfrastructure--Liqid® (www.liqid.com), the global leader in software-defined memory and GPU pooling infrastructure, today announced a strategic collaboration with AMD to deliver next-generation AI infrastructure solutions built around the new AMD Instinct™ MI350P GPUs. The collaboration pairs Liqid's GPU pooling solutions with AMD PCIe-based Instinct GPUs to give enterprise and cloud customers scalable, efficient AI infrastructure, without rebuilding their datacenters arou.
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TensorWave, the all-AMD AI cloud specializing in high-performance, memory-intensive workloads, today announced it has adopted the AMD Helios rackscale solution, powered by AMD Instinct™ MI455X GPUs, to advance its infrastructure for frontier-scale inference and training workloads. The 72-GPU AMD Helios rackscale solution integrates AMD Instinct GPUs, 6th Gen AMD EPYC™ CPUs, AMD Pensando™ networking, and AMD ROCm™ software into a unified, open rack-scale platform buil.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vultr, the world's largest privately held cloud infrastructure company, today announced that it is among the first cloud providers to offer the new AMD Instinct™ MI455X GPU and support for AMD Helios rackscale solution at AMD Advancing AI. Vultr is now taking pre-orders available in Q4 to help customers access and operate high-memory, rackscale-accelerated compute for training, inference, fine-tuning, agentic AI and HPC. “Customers are rapidly moving from AI expe.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- #AI--Infobell IT Solutions, a leader in enterprise technology services, is thrilled to announce a collaboration with AMD.
At Advancing AI 2026, AMD launches 6th Gen AMD EPYC™ CPUs, AMD Instinct™ MI400 Series GPUs, AMD Helios™ AI rackscale solutions, AMD Ryzen™ AI Embedded X100 processors and the AMD Kria™ AI SOM and Robotics Developer Platform.AMD Helios delivers up to 30% more inference tokens per dollar than the competition, maximizing output from every rack deployed.AI is accelerating demand for the full range of AMD silicon spanning data center, PCs, edge and embedded processors, driving AMD’s TAM to ~$2 trillion in 2030.Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta, Cerebras, AT&T and Cisco detailed how they are collaborating with AMD to advance AI infrastructure, enterprise capabilities and edge AI. SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today launched its next-generation AI infrastructure and physical AI portfolio at Advancing AI 2026, led by AMD Helios rackscale solutions, now in production to be deployed by leading AI companies at gigawatt scale.
As AI expands from training to inference and agentic workloads, compute demand is accelerating rapidly. AMD delivers an open, full-stack AI platform that gives customers the flexibility to deploy the right compute for every workload.
“The next phase of AI will span frontier models, agents and physical AI, creating new opportunities to bring intelligence everywhere,” said Dr. Lisa Su, chair and CEO, AMD. “Realizing that potential will take the entire industry working together. AMD is partnering across the ecosystem to deliver leadership compute and open platforms that give customers the performance, flexibility and choice to scale AI from the data center to the edge.”
AMD Helios: The Highest Performance Rack-Scale AI Solution
Delivering frontier AI requires a fully integrated rack architecture, with every part of the stack pushing the boundaries of performance. AMD Helios rackscale solutions are built for this, with co-optimized silicon spanning 72 high-performance AMD Instinct™ MI455X GPUs and 18 powerful 6th Gen AMD EPYC™ “Venice” CPUs, connected by AMD Pensando™ front-end, scale-up and scale-out networking, and accelerated by AMD ROCm™ open software. AMD Helios combines leadership compute performance, memory capacity and networking bandwidth to deliver up to 30% more tokens per dollar than the leading competitive solution1.
Leading AI labs and cloud providers are choosing AMD Helios for its open, full-stack performance. They include OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, HUMAIN, Tensorwave, Vultr, Cirrascale and others. Systems will be available from leading OEMs, including Bull, HPE, Lenovo and Supermicro, as well as infrastructure partners Sanmina and Wiwynn.
At Advancing AI, AMD partners detailed how they deploy AMD AI infrastructure at scale for frontier training and inference:
Anthropic and AMD further outlined Wednesday’s strategic partnership announcement to deploy up to 2 gigawatts of AMD Instinct MI455X GPUs in AMD Helios rackscale solutions. The companies are launching a multiyear engineering collaboration to use Claude to accelerate AMD software development. Specifically, the teams will use Claude to optimize workloads for AMD Instinct GPUs and accelerate ROCm software development. AMD will also broadly adopt Claude across its engineering and product development teams.OpenAI and AMD are partnering to optimize the full AI stack, from silicon to software. Leveraging OpenAI’s Triton framework with AMD ROCm software, the companies are optimizing GPT-class workloads on AMD Instinct MI455X GPUs and AMD Helios racks. OpenAI expects to bring Helios online beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026, with deployments accelerating throughout 2027.Meta and AMD are co-designing for gigawatt-scale deployments, optimizing AMD’s full AI compute stack for Meta workloads. Meta is now validating 6th Gen EPYC CPU platforms in its labs and has begun testing and validating workloads on AMD Helios racks as they prepare to deploy at scale.Cerebras and AMD are collaborating to deliver a combined solution of Cerebras ultra-low-latency AI compute and AMD Helios high-throughput rack-scale infrastructure to help improve inference efficiency, scalability and economics for ultra-low-latency inference serving. Delivering the Highest Performance Data Center CPUs and GPUs
6th Gen EPYC processors deliver the broadest server CPU portfolio for agentic AI,2 spanning cloud, enterprise, general-purpose and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads. With leadership per-core performance and the highest thread density3, they enable the most agents per watt, per dollar and per rack.4,5,6 For AI host nodes, 6th Gen EPYC CPUs deliver the speed and memory bandwidth to keep accelerators fully fed. And for general-purpose servers, they bring leadership performance and energy efficiency to run business critical applications and AI support tasks.
With AMD Instinct™ MI400 Series GPUs, AMD delivers powerful performance for cloud, enterprise and HPC workloads. AMD Instinct MI455X GPUs deliver 34x higher token throughput compared to MI355X GPUs7. For high-precision workloads, the AMD Instinct™ MI430X accelerator is the most advanced for HPC and sovereign AI with up to 288 TFLOPS of hardware-based FP64 performance for scientific computing. Instinct MI430X accelerators are powering the next wave of exascale-class supercomputers across the U.S. and Europe.
AMD also launched the Instinct MI350P GPU, bringing seamless AI acceleration to existing infrastructure with leadership token economics. MI350P GPUs deliver up to 4.2x more tokens per second per dollar than the competition8.
Advancing the Open Software Ecosystem
For developers, AMD ROCm is the open software platform with the performance, flexibility and ecosystem support needed to build and deploy AI on AMD hardware. Building on that foundation, AMD is introducing ROCm.ai, an AI-driven development platform that helps developers build, optimize and deploy GPU software faster across AMD platforms. ROCm.ai brings AI-assisted GPU programming to developers by enabling popular coding agents such as Claude, Codex and Cursor to understand AMD platforms and ROCm natively.
ROCm.ai is accelerating software enablement for AMD Instinct MI455X GPUs while optimizing performance. Leading open-source frameworks including PyTorch, Hugging Face, vLLM and SGLang are already enabled on MI455X and seeing great results.
Accelerating Next-Generation AI Infrastructure
AMD is extending its annual cadence of CPU, GPU, networking and rack-scale innovation through 2030. The company shared new details on its roadmaps, including:
Next-generation EPYC server CPUs based on the “Zen 7” architecture are coming in 2028. The “Florence,” “Ferrara” and “Fidenza” CPUs are expected to extend AMD’s leadership in density, performance, performance-per-system dollar and performance-per-watt.“Ravenna” CPUs based on the “Zen 8” architecture are coming in 2030, designed to continue AMD server CPU leadership.Next-generation AMD Instinct MI500 Series GPUs are coming in 2027, with next-generation compute, memory and interconnect technologies for leadership performance.AMD Instinct MI600 Series GPUs are coming in 2028.The next-generation AMD Helios 500 rackscale solution will be powered by AMD Instinct MI500 Series GPUs and AMD EPYC “Verano” CPUs, with next-gen Pensando “Como” and “Monza” networking. The AMD Helios 600 rackscale solution will follow, powered by AMD Instinct MI600 Series GPUs, EPYC “Ferrara” CPUs and Pensando “Palma” and “Levanzo” networking. Scaling AI Across Enterprise
Leading enterprises run on AMD infrastructure, from cloud, hybrid and on-prem data centers to AI-enabled PC fleets. AMD technologies are helping customers scale quickly and accelerate enterprise transformation.
At Advancing AI, AT&T illustrated how it is deploying flexible enterprise AI using AMD technology across cloud, on-premises and air-gapped environments. AT&T is also using AMD Instinct GPUs and ROCm software to power its OTel 2.0 model, an open-source model trained specifically for telecoms.
With the AMD Ryzen™ AI Halo developer platform, AMD delivers performance, efficiency and simplicity that makes local AI development accessible. More AMD Ryzen AI Halo platforms, powered by Ryzen™ AI Max PRO 400 Series processors, will be available later this year from AMD and OEM partners.
Cisco and AMD are collaborating to combine AMD high-performance inference engines, including AMD Ryzen AI Halo systems, with Cisco networking, observability and security capabilities, so enterprises can deploy, govern and manage hybrid and local agentic AI at scale.
Advancing the Next Frontier of Physical AI
As AI expands across cloud, enterprise and local systems, the next frontier is bringing intelligence into machines that perceive, reason and act in the physical world. Building on a long legacy in robotics with AMD FPGAs and adaptive SoCs, AMD introduced AMD Kria™ AI solutions, extending the company’s robotics capabilities from the robot body to the robot brain. AMD uniquely brings AI perception, reasoning and agentic decision-making and control together on a single platform to deliver the performance required for demanding real-world robotic systems.
The portfolio includes new AMD Kria AI system-on-modules (SOMs), powered by the new AMD Ryzen AI Embedded X100 Series processors, and the AMD Kria AI Robotics Developer Platform, the first open, turnkey integrated platform for autonomous robotics combining CPU, GPU, NPU and FPGA compute. Together with an expanded open software ecosystem, AMD Kria AI solutions remove vendor lock-in and help developers and customers accelerate the path from prototype to production for next-generation physical AI systems.
Supporting Resources
Follow AMD at Advancing AI 2026 (Press Kit)Watch the AAI keynote replay About AMD
AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) drives innovation in high-performance and AI computing to solve the world’s most important challenges. Today, AMD technology powers billions of experiences across cloud and AI infrastructure, embedded systems, AI PCs and gaming. With a broad portfolio of AI-optimized CPUs, GPUs, networking and software, AMD delivers full-stack AI solutions that provide the performance and scalability needed for a new era of intelligent computing. Learn more at www.amd.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) such as AI accelerating demand for the full range of AMD silicon, driving AMD’s total addressable market to ~$2 trillion in 2030; compute demand accelerating; the next phase of AI; the features, functionality, performance, availability, timing and expected benefits of AMD products, including, but not limited to, 6th Gen AMD EPYC™ CPUs, AMD Instinct™ MI400 Series GPUs, AMD Helios™ AI rackscale solutions, AMD Ryzen™ AI Embedded X100 processors and the AMD Kria™ AI SOM and Robotics Developer Platform; expected plans, benefits, scalability and deployments with AMD partners including Anthropic, OpenAI, Meta and Cerebras; AMD’s AI infrastructure product roadmaps through 2030; and AMD’s collaboration with AT&T and Cisco, which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by words such as "would," "may," "expects," "believes," "plans," "intends," "projects" and other terms with similar meaning. Investors are cautioned that the forward-looking statements in this press release are based on current beliefs, assumptions and expectations, speak only as of the date of this press release and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Such statements are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond AMD's control, that could cause actual results and other future events to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: impact of government actions and regulations such as export regulations, import tariffs, trade protection measures, and licensing requirements; competitive markets in which AMD’s products are sold; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry; market conditions of the industries in which AMD products are sold; AMD’s ability to introduce products on a timely basis with expected features and performance levels; loss of a significant customer; economic and market uncertainty; quarterly and seasonal sales patterns; AMD's ability to adequately protect its technology or other intellectual property; unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations; ability of third party manufacturers to manufacture AMD's products on a timely basis in sufficient quantities and using competitive technologies; availability of essential equipment, materials, components (such as memory supply), substrates or manufacturing processes; ability to achieve expected manufacturing yields for AMD’s products; AMD's ability to generate revenue from its semi-custom SoC products; potential security vulnerabilities; potential security incidents including IT outages, data loss, data breaches and cyberattacks; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD’s products; AMD’s reliance on third-party intellectual property to design and introduce new products; AMD's reliance on third-party companies for design, manufacture and supply of motherboards, software, memory and other computer platform components; AMD's reliance on Microsoft and other software vendors' support to design and develop software to run on AMD’s products; AMD’s reliance on third-party distributors and add-in-board partners; impact of modification or interruption of AMD’s internal business processes and information systems; compatibility of AMD’s products with some or all industry-standard software and hardware; costs related to defective products; failure to maintain an efficient supply chain as customer demand changes; AMD's ability to rely on third party supply-chain logistics functions; AMD’s ability to effectively control sales of its products on the gray market; impact of climate change on AMD’s business; AMD’s ability to realize its deferred tax assets; potential tax liabilities; current and future claims and litigation; impact of environmental laws, conflict minerals related provisions and other laws or regulations; evolving expectations from governments, investors, customers and other stakeholders regarding corporate responsibility matters; issues related to the responsible use of AI; restrictions imposed by agreements governing AMD’s notes, the guarantees of Xilinx’s notes and the revolving credit agreement; AMD’s ability to satisfy financial obligations under guarantees, leases and other commercial commitments; impact of acquisitions, joint ventures and/or investments on AMD’s business and AMD’s ability to integrate acquired businesses; impact of any impairment of the combined company’s assets; political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters; future impairments of technology license purchases; AMD’s ability to attract and retain key employees; and AMD’s stock price volatility. Investors are urged to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in AMD’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to AMD’s most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
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1Based on AMD Performance Labs estimates as of July 2026, tokens-per-dollar performance was calculated using the Kimi K2 Thinking workload (32K input / 8K output) on an AMD Helios rackscale solution compared to an NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 rack. Results reflect estimated aggregate throughput across low, medium, and high-interactivity operating points and hourly pricing projection of system GPUs based on market conditions. System configurations may vary by manufacturer and may produce different results. MI400-025
2 EPYC-068 - The AMD EPYC server CPU portfolio spans the industry’s broadest ranges of data center deployments, from general-purpose enterprise, cloud, telecom, SMB, and HPC systems to emerging AI environments including sandboxed agentic AI deployments and GPU head node servers. AMD EPYC 6th Generation platforms extend this breadth by uniquely combining high core and thread density of up to 512 threads, advanced memory bandwidth of up to 16 channels of 12.8 GT/s MRDIMM support, next-generation PCIe® Gen 6 connectivity, and select SKUs with boost frequencies up to 5 GHz.
3 EPYC-025D: As of July 2026, 6th Gen EPYC 9996 has 256 cores and 512 threads with SMT enabled which is higher than any other publicly disclosed 1P CPU
4 9xx6-012: Based on estimated performance data for Nvidia, Intel®, and AMD EPYC™ Server Processors for Agentic AI, the AMD EPYC9996 provides the most agents per rack at a 100Kw power envelope per rack.
Compared to the cores per rack of Nvidia Vera (88c) powered server racks:
- The AMD EPYC 9996 (256C) provides 2.08x the cores (and threads with SMT) per rack
- The AMD EPYC 9965 (192C) provides 1.86x the cores (and threads with SMT) per rack
- The Intel Xeon 6980P (128C) provides 1.24x the cores (and threads with SMT) per rack
Source: https://www.amd.com/content/dam/amd/en/documents/solutions/ai/methodology-description.pdf
Agent counts are estimates derived from available CPU thread resources used as a proxy under a consistent theoretical workload. Actual agent capacity and throughput will vary based on workload, model, memory, software, orchestration, and system configuration.
5 9xx6-013: Comparison based on published Top-of-stack core counts and 1Ku pricing for estimated highest Agents / CPU $ and threads / CPU $ AMD EPYC™ 9006 (512 threads), AMD EPYC™ 9005 (384 threads), and Intel® Xeon® 6 (256 threads) SKUs as of 7/22/2026. Threads derived as 2 threads per core (SMT). Intel and Xeon are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Source: https://www.amd.com/content/dam/amd/en/documents/solutions/ai/methodology-description.pdf Agent counts are estimates derived from available CPU thread resources used as a proxy under a consistent theoretical workload. Actual agent capacity and throughput will vary based on workload, model, memory, software, orchestration, and system configuration.
6 9xx6-014: Comparison based on published Top-of-stack core counts and CPU W, Default CPU Power for 6th Gen EPYC, and TDPs for 5th Gen EPYC, Intel® Xeon®, and Nvidia Vera for estimated Highest Agents / CPU W across AMD EPYC™ 9956 (400W Default CPU Power), AMD EPYC™ 9965 (500W TDP), Nvidia Vera (450W TDP), ARM AGI (300W TDP), and Intel® Xeon® 6980P (500W TDP) powered servers as of 7/22/2026. 2 threads per core (SMT). 1 thread per core for ARM AGI.
Starting with the 6th Gen AMD EPYC™ server processor family, AMD uses Default CPU Power to describe processor power consumption, succeeding AMD's historical TDP reference. Default CPU Power reflects total power consumed across the processor's compute and I/O dies for the stated performance target. Default CPU Power and TDP may both serve as processor power references for product comparison, platform planning, and performance-per-watt analysis. Agent counts are estimates derived from available CPU thread resources used as a proxy under a consistent theoretical workload. Actual agent capacity and throughput will vary based on workload, model, memory, software, orchestration, and system configuration. Intel Xeon TDP from ark.intel.com. Nvidia Vera TDP from https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/nvidia-vera-cpu-sets-a-new-standard-for-agentic-workloads-in-ai-factories/. ARM AGI Specifications from https://www.arm.com/products/cloud-datacenter/arm-agi-cpu#Specifications
7 MI400-020: Based on measurements and calculations by AMD Performance Labs in July 2026, for the AMD Instinct™ MI455X GPU to determine measured token throughput at high, medium and low interactivity points run on Deepseek V4 Flash with FP4 serving compared to AMD Instinct™ MI355X GPU. System manufacturers may vary configurations, yielding different results.
8 MI350P-007: Based on AMD internal testing (July 2026), on a (1x) AMD Instinct MI350P GPU vs (1x) NVIDIA H200 NVL GPU on the Llama 3.3 70B Instruct (FP8) online serving output-throughput per dollar (tok/s/USD) comparison at ISL/OSL 1024/1024 across concurrency levels 1, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512; median of 3 runs per point. MI350P based server internal AMD estimated pricing as $327,238.40 USD. RTX_PRO_6000 based server public list price reported on OEM website as $265,928.24 USD as of 7/16/2026. Stated results are the peak per-concurrency ratios: MI350P served via AIMS silogenai/aim-instinct-meta-llama-llama-3-3-70b-instruct:0.12.0-rc6; H200 NVL via NVIDIA NIM nvcr.io/nim/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct:2.0.6; RTX PRO 6000 via NVIDIA NIM nvcr.io/nim/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct:2.0.6. Configuration: 8x AMD Instinct MI350P PCIe Card (CDNA4, gfx950, 128 CUs, 144 GB HBM3E, SPX compute / NPS1), vBIOS 113-350P-01-1K1-000A, GPU driver 6.19.13-2353916.24.04, ROCm 7.14.0 (AMD-SMI 26.5.0); host 2P AMD EPYC 9455 (48-core), Dell PowerEdge XE7745, BIOS 1.7.6, microcode 0xb002162, SMT Enabled, Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS, Linux 6.8.0-124-generic || NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000: 8x NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition, vBIOS 98.02.8D.00.01, GPU driver 595.45.04, CUDA 13.2; host 2P AMD EPYC 9455 (48-core), Dell PowerEdge XE7745, BIOS 1.6.4, microcode 0xb00215a, SMT Enabled, Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS, Linux 6.8.0-124-generic. Sever manufacturers may vary configurations, yielding different results. Results may vary due to factors including system configurations, software versions and BIOS settings.
Contact:
Brandi Martina
AMD Communications
(512) 705-1720 [email protected]
Item 1 of 2 AMD logo is seen in this illustration created on June 11, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
[1/2]AMD logo is seen in this illustration created on June 11, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
July 23 (Reuters) - Eric Trump-backed Foundation Future Industries said on Thursday it is partnering with AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab to use its chips to co-develop autonomous humanoid robots for military and industrial use.
The son of U.S. President Donald Trump has been an investor in the start-up since early this year and serves as chief strategy advisor, the company said.
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The Trump family's investments in several companies have drawn scrutiny, particularly its stakes in defense firms that regularly compete for government contracts, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
Eric Trump and his brother, Donald Trump Jr., have also backed Israeli drone-maker XTEND (JFB.O), opens new tab, Unusual Machines (UMAC.A), opens new tab and Powerus.
Under the deal, whose value was not disclosed, Foundation plans to use AMD Ryzen AI Embedded X100 Series processors — introduced by the chipmaker in January, opens new tab this year — to build the second version of its robot, Phantom MK-2.
The start-up, founded in 2024, said it has deployed its Phantom MK-1 robots to contribute in building more than 24,000 cars in 2025.
In October, the company will open a factory capable of building 5,000 Phantom robots annually, with plans to start building another facility early next year with an annual capacity of 50,000 robots, CEO Sankaet Pathak told Reuters.
Each industrial-use robots, leased to customers, cost about $100,000 per year, Pathak said.
On the defense side, the company is developing robots for materials handling and reconnaissance, which are sold to the government at $300,000 a unit, he added.
Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
33% more cores, 2X PCIe Bandwidth and 2.6X higher memory bandwidth supercharge high-performance workloads Powered by 6 th Gen AMD EPYC CPUs and AMD Instinct™ GPUs, comprehensive rack-scale systems, built on DCBBS architecture, are optimized for Cloud, Enterprise, Storage, HPC and AI workloads Industry's broadest portfolio also includes the 72-GPU AMD Helios Platform, designed for large-scale AI training and high-throughput inference , /PRNewswire/ -- Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), an AI, Enterprise, Storage, and 5G/Edge Total IT Solution Provider featuring Data Center Building Block Solutions® (DCBBS), today announced its next-generation H15 server portfolio powered by 6th Gen AMD EPYC™ 9006 Series CPUs, optimized for next generation GPUs including AMD Instinct™, and connected by AMD Pensando™ networking. With up to 256 cores and 512 threads, H15 systems meet the growing compute demands of cloud, enterprise, storage, high-performance computing (HPC), and agentic AI workloads. With breakthrough 1.7x generational CPU performance improvement1, expanded memory and I/O bandwidth, and industry-leading compute density, customers are now able to run more concurrent AI agents, accelerate enterprise applications, and maximize host-node performance while operating within existing power envelopes.
All-New Supermicro Servers with AMD EPYC 9006 Series CPUs "The latest AMD powered additions to our DCBBS family deliver the next generation of AI infrastructure, optimized for high performance, rapid scalability, and peak efficiency," said Vik Malyala, Chief Business Officer at Supermicro. "Backed by our global services team, resilient U.S. supply chain, and consistent investment in US AI innovation, we continue to help customers deploy and scale AI with confidence."
Learn more about Supermicro's portfolio of AMD servers here, and in this video summary.
"As enterprises scale agentic AI, they need infrastructure that delivers exceptional performance, efficiency, and flexibility," said Dan McNamara, senior vice president and general manager, Compute and Enterprise AI, AMD. "By combining the latest AMD EPYC CPUs, Instinct GPUs, and AMD Pensando networking with Supermicro's modular server and rack-scale designs, customers can deploy AI infrastructure faster while improving utilization, reducing energy consumption, and lowering total cost of ownership."
H15 Portfolio Delivers Optimized Infrastructure for Every Workload
The new H15 portfolio includes purpose-built systems optimized for a broad range of enterprise and AI infrastructure deployments:
Hyper – The flagship dual-socket platform engineered for enterprise applications, AI inference, virtualization, and cloud workloads, with advanced thermal design to support the highest-performance AMD EPYC processors.
CloudDC – A single-socket or dual socket server designed for cloud-scale environments and built on the Open Compute Project (OCP) Data Center Modular Hardware System (DC-MHS) specification for compatibility with open data center standards.
GrandTwin® – A high-density 2U, four-node architecture designed for scale-out environments including object storage, virtualization, cloud services, and high-performance computing.
FlexTwin™ – A 1OU, two-node, high-performance, high-density dual CPU compute system that maximizes compute density and power efficiency for cloud-native and hyperscale deployments using liquid cooling.
Petascale Storage – 1U and 2U high-capacity all-flash storage platforms optimized for software-defined storage-based AI data lakes, large-scale analytics, and HPC environments supporting up to 4.8 PB per system.
SuperBlade® - H15 8U 10 SuperBlade represents next-generation, rack-scale breakthrough architecture for HPC, AI inference, agentic AI, and enterprise-class compute workloads with CPU and GPU. The platform supports both single-socket and dual-socket blade configurations - with both air and liquid-cooled versions optimized for maximum density, high performance, and efficiency, across a wide range of infrastructure deployments.
Expanding AMD GPU-Powered AI Infrastructure
Complementing the H15 server portfolio, Supermicro continues to expand its AMD GPU-powered AI infrastructure with new PCIe GPU servers and the rack-scale Supermicro AMD Helios Platform. As shown at Computex 2026, these solutions provide organizations with flexible deployment options ranging from enterprise AI inference to large-scale AI training.
5U PCIe GPU Servers Powered by AMD Instinct™ MI350P GPUs
The Supermicro AS -5126GS-TNRT and AS -5126GS-TNRT2 are designed to maximize the performance of AMD Instinct MI350P PCIe GPUs. Supporting up to ten GPUs in a standard 5U air-cooled platform, these systems deliver exceptional AI acceleration while operating within existing data center power and cooling infrastructures.
By combining Supermicro's high-density PCIe architecture with AMD Instinct MI350P GPUs featuring up to 144GB of HBM3e memory and support for low-precision AI formats, organizations can accelerate AI inference and training while improving infrastructure efficiency, reducing data center footprint, and lowering total cost of ownership.
Open Ethernet Networking with AMD Pensando™ Pollara 400 AI NIC
The AMD Pensando Pollara 400 AI NIC provides high-performance, open Ethernet networking for AI infrastructure, enabling front-end, storage, and scale-out connectivity for AMD Instinct MI350P-based systems with the high bandwidth, low latency, and efficiency required for AI training and inference. Together, AMD Instinct MI350P GPUs and the AMD Pensando Pollara 400 AI NIC enable customers to build open, high-performance AI clusters that scale from a single server to large multi-rack deployments using standard Ethernet infrastructure.
Supermicro AMD Helios Platform
For organizations deploying frontier AI models, Supermicro is collaborating with AMD to deliver the Supermicro AMD Helios Platform, a 72-GPU rack-scale solution designed for large-scale AI training and high-throughput inference.
The liquid-cooled platform combines AMD Instinct MI455X GPUs, 6th Gen AMD EPYC processors, AMD Pensando networking technologies, and the AMD ROCm™ software stack to create an open, high-performance AI infrastructure. Supporting deployments of every size, the platform enables customers to scale efficiently while maximizing performance, energy efficiency, and operational flexibility.
Supermicro's DCBBS brings these technologies together as complete, validated AI infrastructure, enabling organizations to deploy solutions ranging from individual servers to fully integrated rack-scale and data center-level systems. With industry-leading design, manufacturing, liquid cooling, networking, software, and global support services, Supermicro continues to help customers accelerate AI adoption while reducing deployment time, improving energy efficiency, and lowering total cost of ownership.
For a detailed product demonstration led by Supermicro experts, be sure to stop by the Supermicro booth at AMD Advancing AI Day 2026, July 22–23, 2026, at Moscone West in San Francisco. Supermicro will also be displaying the densest EPYC 9006 rack implementation with 96 EPYC 9006 CPUs in a 42U rack using the FlexTwin system which will be shown in the AMD display area.
11.7X performance improvement based on SPECInt Rate 2017 results published by AMD.
About Super Micro Computer, Inc.
Supermicro (NASDAQ: SMCI) is a global leader in Application-Optimized Total IT Solutions. Founded and operating in San Jose, California, Supermicro is committed to delivering first-to-market innovation for Enterprise, Cloud, AI, and 5G Telco/Edge IT Infrastructure. We are a Total IT Solutions provider with server, AI, storage, IoT, switch systems, software, and support services. Supermicro's motherboard, power, and chassis design expertise further enables our development and production, enabling next-generation innovation from cloud to edge for our global customers. Our products are designed and manufactured in-house (in the US, Taiwan, and the Netherlands), leveraging global operations for scale and efficiency and optimized to improve TCO and reduce environmental impact (Green Computing). The award-winning portfolio of Server Building Block Solutions® allows customers to optimize for their exact workload and application by selecting from a broad family of systems built from our flexible and reusable building blocks that support a comprehensive set of form factors, processors, memory, GPUs, storage, networking, power, and cooling solutions (air-conditioned, free air cooling or liquid cooling).
Supermicro, Server Building Block Solutions, and We Keep IT Green are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Super Micro Computer, Inc.
All other brands, names, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, EPYC, AMD Instinct, Pensando, ROCm and the combination thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Cerebras shares gained about 4% on Thursday after the company forged an agreement with Advanced Micro Devices that involves the two chipmakers to work together on artificial intelligence systems.
Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman said at AMD's AI conference in San Francisco that his company's chips will be used in AMD's Helios AI systems installed in Cerebras data centers starting later this year. Server buyers will be able to configure AMD systems with the company's "wafer-scale" chips as well.
At the event, AMD is detailing new chips and its Helios integrated system.
The partnership highlights how important "ultra-low latency" has become for AI firms. Chips like those made by Cerebras are configured to provide the first AI answers as quickly as possible, while making tradeoffs in terms of flexibility and total power. The companies claimed that their system would provide five times higher tokens per second per watt than competitors.
AMD rival Nvidia bought assets from Groq in December for $20 billion to integrate that company's low-latency technology into its systems.
"When something's a necessity, people want to use it, and they want to use it quickly," Feldman said.
Cerebras went public in May and has been a particularly volatile stock in its early days. After going public at $185, the stock shot up as high as $386.34 in its debut before falling below $161 in late June. With Thursday's pop, the shares are trading at $219.80.
In January, Cerebras announced a deal with OpenAI to deliver 750 megawatts of computing power through 2028, a deal worth over $10 billion.
Key Takeaways Nokia's Q2 comparable EPS beat estimates, while revenues rose 8% but missed expectations.NOK saw AI & Cloud demand drive IP Networks and Optical Networks growth in Network Infrastructure.Nokia kept its 2026 operational outlook, with AI & Cloud demand supporting Network Infrastructure growth. Nokia Corporation (NOK - Free Report) reported mixed second-quarter 2026 results, with the bottom line beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate, but the top line missing the same. The company's top line increased year over year, primarily owing to robust growth in Optical Networks and IP Networks within the Network Infrastructure segment, supported by strong AI & Cloud demand.
NOK's Net IncomeNokia reported a net income of €5 million ($5.8 million) or €0.00 per share in the second quarter against a net income of €96 million or €0.02 per share in the year-ago quarter. Accelerated restructuring charges weighed on reported profits despite higher net sales.
Comparable profit was €414 million ($481.4 million) or €0.07 (8 cents) per share, up from €252 million or €0.04 in the year-earlier quarter. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 7 cents.
NOK's RevenuesQuarterly net sales were €4.82 billion ($5.60 billion), up 8% from €4.44 billion in the year-ago quarter. Growth was primarily driven by strength in the Network Infrastructure segment, fueled by robust demand from AI & Cloud customers. However, revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.62 billion.
Net sales from Network Infrastructure totaled €2.04 billion ($2.37 billion), increasing from €1.83 billion in the year-ago quarter. On a constant currency basis, IP Networks recorded 16% year-over-year growth, supported by strong AI & Cloud demand and robust order intake. Revenues from Optical Networks surged 20% year over year, driven by AI & Cloud and telecom provider demand, particularly in the Americas. Meanwhile, Fixed Networks declined 2% year over year, reflecting lower sales of consumer-premise fiber products as Nokia continued to prioritize higher-margin offerings, partly offset by stronger operator-premise fiber optical line terminal sales.
Mobile Infrastructure generated revenues of €2.68 billion ($3.12 billion), up 6% year over year on a reported basis and 7% on a constant currency basis. Growth was driven by strength in Radio Networks and Technology Standards, while Core Software recorded modest growth.
Net sales from Portfolio Businesses were €94 million ($109.3 million), up 6% year over year on both a reported and constant currency basis. Growth was primarily driven by Site Implementation and Outside Plant, which also supported a significant improvement in profitability during the quarter.
Technology Standards (reported under Mobile Infrastructure) contributed €407 million ($473.1 million) compared with €357 million in the year-ago quarter. Net sales increased 15% on a constant currency basis, driven by licensing agreements signed during the quarter, including a benefit from catch-up net sales.
Region-wise, net sales from the EMEA region increased to €2.06 billion ($2.39 billion) from €1.91 billion in the year-earlier quarter, reflecting broad-based growth across businesses.
Revenues in the APAC region increased to €982 million ($1.14 billion) from €913 million in the year-ago quarter, supported by growth across both Network Infrastructure and Mobile Infrastructure.
The Americas region generated net sales of €1.78 billion ($2.07 billion), up from €1.62 billion in the prior-year quarter, driven by strong demand in AI & Cloud, particularly for Optical Networks and IP Networks.
NOK's Other DetailsIn the June quarter, the comparable gross margin was 46%, up from 45.3% in the year-ago quarter. Comparable operating profit increased 18% year over year to €434 million ($504.5 million). Comparable operating margin expanded to 9% from 8.3% in the year-ago quarter.
NOK's Cash Flow & LiquidityIn the June quarter, Nokia used €620 million ($720.7 million) in net cash from operating activities. Free cash flow was negative €732 million ($850.9 million), primarily due to working capital outflows, restructuring-related cash charges and capital expenditures.
As of June 30, 2026, the company had €4.35 billion ($5.06 billion) in cash and cash equivalents, with long-term interest-bearing liabilities of €1.92 billion ($2.23 billion).
Outlook of NOKFor 2026, Nokia expects comparable operating profit in the range of €2.1-€2.6 billion, reflecting a technical revision from the previous range following the reclassification of two businesses as discontinued operations. Operationally, the company's outlook remains unchanged. Free cash flow conversion is projected at 55-75% of comparable operating profit, while capital expenditure is estimated to be in the range of €800-€900 million.
The company continues to expect Network Infrastructure net sales to grow 12-14% in 2026 on a constant currency and portfolio basis, including 18-20% growth for the combined IP Networks and Optical Networks businesses, supported by sustained demand from AI & Cloud customers.
NOK’s Zacks RankNOK currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Upcoming ReleasesArista Networks Inc. (ANET - Free Report) is scheduled to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on Aug. 8. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 89 cents per share, suggesting growth of 21.92% from the year-ago reported figure.
Arista has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 19.86%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 8.31% in the last four reported quarters.
Amphenol Corporation (APH - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 29. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.19 per share, implying growth of 46.91% from the year-ago reported figure.
Amphenol has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 24.01%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 14.08% in the last four reported quarters.
Corning Incorporated (GLW - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 28. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 76 cents per share, implying growth of 26.67% from the year-ago reported figure.
Corning has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 23.89%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 2.41% in the last four reported quarters.
Boeing (BA) edged out Airbus at the Farnborough Airshow, but the relatively quiet order race showed how much the aerospace industry's priorities have changed.Bo
Nike is trading at a deep discount to its previous highs, potentially undervaluing future earnings. Management is restructuring the business for sustainable long-term growth.
Artificial intelligence has already transformed the markets for semiconductors, networking equipment, and data centers. Now it is reshaping something far less glamorous but arguably even more important: energy.
The race to build AI infrastructure is turning electricity into a strategic asset, and natural gas sits at the center of that equation. While investors have spent the past two years chasing chipmakers, the next bottleneck may not be compute at all. It may be the fuel needed to power it. That shift could create new winners — and expose risks many investors haven’t yet priced into energy and technology stocks.
AI’s Appetite Is Colliding With Energy Reality AI data centers need around-the-clock electricity. Unlike solar or wind generation, natural gas plants can deliver constant baseload power, making them the preferred choice for many new AI campuses.
Matthew Smith, chief investment officer of Chronometer Partners, argued on the Invest Like the Best podcast that the U.S. is heading toward a structural natural gas shortage beginning in 2028. His firm’s 18-month research effort concluded that the country could face a supply deficit even before AI demand reaches full scale.
Here’s what the numbers tell us:
Metric Current Expected by 2030 U.S. natural gas production 110-112 Bcf/day ~132 Bcf/day LNG exports ~15 Bcf/day ~35 Bcf/day U.S. electricity generated by natural gas Over 40% Growing reliance Those figures reveal the problem. Production is expected to rise about 20 Bcf per day, but LNG export commitments alone consume much of that increase before accounting for new AI data centers. According to Smith, the market could create a “knife fight” for available natural gas supplies.
Natural gas producers could benefit from stronger pricing, while utilities owning gas-fired generation may see fuel costs climb. AI hyperscalers could also face a meaningful increase in operating expenses. Smith estimates energy currently represents roughly 10% of AI compute costs but could rise to 20% or even 30% if gas prices were to double or triple over time.
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Conversely, alternative power sources become more attractive as electricity prices increase.
Companies tied to nuclear generation could see greater demand as policymakers look for dependable, carbon-free baseload power. Solar assets also become more valuable when wholesale electricity prices rise because they can capture higher market prices without fuel costs. Meanwhile, equipment suppliers benefiting from today’s AI infrastructure boom could eventually see orders moderate if rising energy costs slow new data center construction.
Granted, this isn’t a near-term certainty. New production, pipeline expansions, or faster permitting could ease some pressure. Even so, LNG export projects already under construction are backed by multibillion-dollar contracts that are unlikely to disappear, limiting the flexibility of domestic supply.
Key Takeaway In short, AI’s biggest constraint may soon shift from chips to energy. Investors have largely focused on Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), and the hyperscalers, but the companies supplying the fuel that powers AI deserve equal attention.
Regardless of whether natural gas prices spike exactly as projected, one conclusion appears difficult to escape: AI is becoming an energy story as much as a technology story. Smart investors should broaden their watch lists beyond semiconductors and consider how natural gas producers, nuclear power companies, and electricity infrastructure providers fit into the next phase of the AI investment cycle.
If the coming battle for energy turns into the “knife fight” some industry experts expect, those sectors may prove just as essential as the processors inside the data centers.
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American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL, XETRA:A1G) shares fell about 8% Thursday after the carrier reported better-than-expected second quarter results but issued a cautious outlook for the third quarter amid rising fuel costs.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.15 per share for the quarter, ahead of Wall Street expectations of $0.03 per share.
Revenue reached a record $16.74 billion, up 16.3% from a year earlier and broadly in line with analyst estimates.
The company highlighted strong demand across its commercial operations, with revenue growth across premium, Main Cabin, domestic and international segments. Premium passenger unit revenue increased 13.4% year over year, while Main Cabin passenger unit revenue rose 8.8%. Domestic passenger unit revenue increased 10.6%, while international performance was supported by growth across the Atlantic, Pacific and Latin America regions.
Corporate travel demand also remained strong, with managed corporate revenue rising 26% year over year during the quarter.
However, higher fuel expenses continued to pressure results. American reported fuel costs increased by more than $2.2 billion, or 83%, compared with the same period last year. The company said stronger revenue performance helped offset nearly half of the increase.
“American delivered year-over-year revenue growth of more than 16% in the second quarter, exceeding our initial expectations and continuing the momentum we’ve built across the business,” American CEO Robert Isom said.
“This performance reflects the strength of our commercial strategy, driven by our four pillars: elevate the customer experience, grow the global network, drive premium revenue and lead in loyalty.”
Looking ahead, American expects third quarter revenue to increase 16% to 19% year over year. The company anticipates average fuel prices of about $3.75 per gallon in the quarter and expects costs excluding fuel and profit sharing to rise 2.5% to 4.5%.
American forecast third quarter adjusted earnings per diluted share ranging from a loss of $0.70 to a loss of $0.10, below analyst expectations for a profit of roughly $0.28 per share.
For the full year, the company expects adjusted earnings per diluted share between a loss of $0.65 and a profit of $0.65.
American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL, XETRA:A1G) shares fell about 8% Thursday after the carrier reported better-than-expected second quarter results but issued a cautious outlook for the third quarter amid rising fuel costs.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $0.15 per share for the quarter, ahead of Wall Street expectations of $0.03 per share.
Revenue reached a record $16.74 billion, up 16.3% from a year earlier and broadly in line with analyst estimates.
The company highlighted strong demand across its commercial operations, with revenue growth across premium, Main Cabin, domestic and international segments. Premium passenger unit revenue increased 13.4% year over year, while Main Cabin passenger unit revenue rose 8.8%. Domestic passenger unit revenue increased 10.6%, while international performance was supported by growth across the Atlantic, Pacific and Latin America regions.
Corporate travel demand also remained strong, with managed corporate revenue rising 26% year over year during the quarter.
However, higher fuel expenses continued to pressure results. American reported fuel costs increased by more than $2.2 billion, or 83%, compared with the same period last year. The company said stronger revenue performance helped offset nearly half of the increase.
“American delivered year-over-year revenue growth of more than 16% in the second quarter, exceeding our initial expectations and continuing the momentum we’ve built across the business,” American CEO Robert Isom said.
“This performance reflects the strength of our commercial strategy, driven by our four pillars: elevate the customer experience, grow the global network, drive premium revenue and lead in loyalty.”
Looking ahead, American expects third quarter revenue to increase 16% to 19% year over year. The company anticipates average fuel prices of about $3.75 per gallon in the quarter and expects costs excluding fuel and profit sharing to rise 2.5% to 4.5%.
American forecast third quarter adjusted earnings per diluted share ranging from a loss of $0.70 to a loss of $0.10, below analyst expectations for a profit of roughly $0.28 per share.
For the full year, the company expects adjusted earnings per diluted share between a loss of $0.65 and a profit of $0.65.
Key Takeaways AAL posted record Q2 revenues of $16.74 billion as premium and Main Cabin demand strengthened. Passenger yield rose 11.9%, while premium unit revenues gained 13.4% and corporate revenues climbed 26%. Fuel expense surged 83.3%, squeezing operating margin to 2.7% and prompting cautious 2026 guidance. American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 earnings (excluding 4 cents from non-recurring items) of 15 cents per share, down 84.2% year over year but well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 3 cents. The result represented a 400% earnings surprise.
Operating revenues rose 16.3% to a record $16.74 billion and surpassed the consensus mark of $16.70 billion by 0.2%. Revenue growth was strong across all entities and cabins, with premium, Main Cabin, domestic and international all increasing meaningfully year over year. Total revenue per available seat mile increased 10.3%.
AAL’s Passenger Revenues Gain on Higher PricingPassenger revenues climbed 15.9% year over year to $15.21 billion. Cargo revenues increased 29.7% to $273 million, while other revenues advanced 17.9% to $1.25 billion.
Passenger yield rose 11.9% to 22.33 cents, reflecting stronger pricing. Passenger revenue per available seat mile increased 10% to 18.59 cents. Revenue passenger miles grew 3.6%, while capacity, measured in available seat miles, expanded 5.4%.The passenger load factor (% of seats filled with passengers) declined 1.5 points to 83.2%.
American Airlines Sees Broad Cabin and Regional StrengthPremium passenger unit revenues increased 13.4% year over year, outperforming an 8.8% rise in Main Cabin unit revenues. Managed corporate revenues advanced 26%, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
Domestic passenger revenues rose 17.1% to $10.73 billion, aided by a 10.6% increase in passenger unit revenues. International passenger revenues grew 13.2% to $4.49 billion. Pacific revenues jumped 24.6%, Atlantic revenues increased 12.8% and Latin America revenues improved 11.4%.
AAL Faces a Sharp Increase in Fuel ExpenseTotal operating expenses rose 22.9% year over year to $16.29 billion. Aircraft fuel and related taxes surged 83.3% to $4.88 billion, reflecting a 77.1% increase in the average fuel price to $4.05 per gallon.
Salaries, wages and benefits increased 5.9% to $4.64 billion. Maintenance, materials and repairs rose 10.8% to $1.03 billion, while regional operating expenses increased 7.5% to $1.34 billion. CASM excluding special items, fuel and profit sharing advanced 2.9% to 13.93 cents.
American Airlines’ Margins Contract Despite Revenue GrowthGAAP operating income fell 60.7% year over year to $446 million. The reported operating margin narrowed to 2.7% from 7.9%, as elevated fuel costs outweighed the benefit of record revenues.
Adjusted operating income declined 61.7% to $453 million, while the adjusted operating margin contracted to 2.7% from 8.2%. GAAP net income totaled $71 million, or 11 cents per diluted share, compared with $599 million, or 91 cents, a year earlier.
AAL Expands Loyalty and Improves OperationsAAdvantage enrollments increased more than 30% year over year, while spending on the company’s co-branded Citi credit cards grew 8%. Changes to Basic Economy offerings and checked-bag fees contributed to a 5-point increase in the upsell rate to Main Cabin.
On-time arrival performance improved 2.8 points. The rebanking of the Dallas-Fort Worth hub reduced system misconnections by nearly 25% and helped unit revenues at the hub outperform the system average by 4 points.
AAL Maintains Strong LiquidityAAL ended the quarter with $11.3 billion in total available liquidity. Cash totaled $1.03 billion, while short-term investments were $6.74 billion at the end of June.
Operating cash flow for the first six months of 2026 increased to $4.69 billion from $3.42 billion a year ago. Capital expenditures and aircraft purchase deposits totaled $1.63 billion. The company paid $4.65 billion toward long-term debt and finance leases while issuing $4.52 billion of long-term debt.
AAL Issues Cautious Q3 and 2026 GuidanceFor the third quarter, AAL, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), expects revenues to increase 16-19% year over year, with capacity growth of 3-5%. CASM excluding special items, fuel and profit sharing is projected to rise 2.5-4.5%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Management expects third-quarter adjusted results between a loss of 70 cents and a loss of 10 cents per share. The outlook assumes an average fuel price of approximately $3.75 per gallon and a $1.7 billion year-over-year increase in fuel expense. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2026 earnings is currently pegged at 31 cents per share.
For full-year 2026, American Airlinesnow anticipates adjusted results ranging from a loss of 65 cents to earnings of 65 cents per share. Previously, the carrier had expected adjusted earnings in a range of a loss of 40 cents to earnings of $1.10 per share.
The revised outlook assumes a roughly $6 billion headwind due to high jet fuel prices. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2026 earnings is currently pegged at 57 cents per share. Despite strong travel demand and rising ticket prices, American Airlines and other airline operators are grappling with the volatility of fuel prices, resulting in an uncertain environment.
Q2 Performance of Other Airline CompaniesDelta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 earnings (excluding 88 cents from non-recurring items) of $1.56 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51. Earnings declined in double digits (% wise) from a year ago as sharply higher fuel costs pressured profitability.
Revenues rose on a year-over-year basis to $17.67 billion but missed the consensus estimate of $17.76 billion. Broad demand strength lifted adjusted total revenue per available seat mile (“TRASM”), 12.4%, while premium and diversified revenue streams continued to expand.
United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.99 per share, down 48.6% year over year but above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92 by 3.7%.
Operating revenues rose 16% to $17.67 billion and were essentially in line with the $17.68-billion consensus mark. A 12.1% increase in TRASM and broad-based gains across premium, loyalty and cargo revenues supported the top line despite sharply higher fuel costs.
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.
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HomeIndustriesTelecommunicationsThe Ratings GameThe Ratings GameHowever, that doesn’t mean Starlink won’t be an overhang on wireless stocksJuly 23, 2026, 1:57 p.m. ET
SpaceX’s Starlink business has cast a shadow over AT&T’s stock recently, but a Wolfe Research analyst says investors are worrying prematurely — if they even have to be concerned at all.
“Starlink may bully its way into mobility, but it would take years to acquire and clear the right spectrum,” Wolfe’s Peter Supino wrote in a note to clients titled “Starlink Shmarlink!”
Key Takeaways V reports fiscal Q3 results on July 28 with the consensus mark suggesting 8.4% EPS and 11.6% revenue growth.V has a positive Earnings ESP, a favorable rank and has topped earnings estimates for four straight quarters.Payment volumes, cross-border spending and digital payments to support Visa's quarterly growth. Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) is set to report its third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on July 28, 2026, after market close. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings is currently pegged at $3.23 per share on revenues of $11.35 billion.
The estimate for fiscal third-quarter earnings has witnessed one upward movement and no downward revisions over the past 60 days. The bottom-line projection indicates a year-over-year increase of 8.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues suggests year-over-year growth of 11.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
For fiscal 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Visa’s revenues is pegged at $45.37 billion, implying a rise of 13.4% year over year. The consensus mark for EPS is pegged at $13.13, suggesting a jump of around 14.5% on a year-over-year basis.
The payments juggernaut has a robust history of surpassing earnings estimates. It beat estimates in each of the last four quarters, with the average being 3.2%???. This is depicted in the graph below:
Q3 Earnings Whispers for VisaOur proven model predicts a likely earnings beat for the company this time around as well. 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. That is precisely the case here.
Visa has an Earnings ESP of +0.12% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Factors Shaping Visa’s Q3 ResultsThe Zacks Consensus Estimate suggests a 7.2% increase in total Gross Dollar Volume from the previous year, while our model predicts 7.3% growth. The growing adoption and popularity of digital payment methods are likely to contribute positively to Visa's overall fiscal third-quarter results.
As the company draws revenues as a set percentage of total transaction value every time a customer makes payments with a debit/credit card, higher spending means more revenues in the form of transaction processing fees. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal third-quarter total processed transactions implies 9.2% year-over-year growth.
The consensus mark for total payment volumes indicates an 8.8% year-over-year increase. We expect the metric for U.S. operations alone to jump nearly 7% year over year. Similarly, our model predicts 14% year-over-year growth in Latin America and 14.6% in CEMEA.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for data processing revenues indicates 13.6% growth in the fiscal third quarter from the year-ago level of $5.15 billion, while our estimate suggests a 15.3% increase. Similarly, the consensus mark for service revenues suggests 12% year-over-year growth, whereas we expect the metric to grow 13% from $4.33 billion.
Furthermore, the consensus estimate for international transaction revenues indicates 7.9% growth from a year ago. Continuous growth in cross-border volumes is expected to have supported the metric. The FIFA World Cup 2026 event is likely to have provided a boost in June 2026.
The factors stated above are expected to have positioned Visa for strong year-over-year growth in the fiscal third quarter and an earnings beat. However, rising expenses and client incentives (a contra-revenue item) are likely to have partially offset the positive impact of higher volumes.
We expect adjusted total operating expenses for the quarter under review to increase 15.9% year over year due to increased Personnel, Professional Fees, Marketing, and Network and Processing expenses. Also, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for client incentives is pegged at $4.58 billion for the to-be-reported quarter.
Visa Price Performance & ValuationVisa's stock has gained only 0.8% in the year-to-date period. It still outperformed the industry’s 10.1% fall butunderperformed the S&P 500’s increase of 9.3%. In comparison, its peers like Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) and American Express Company (AXP - Free Report) have decreased 6.8% and 5.7%, respectively, during this time.
YTD Price Performance – V, MA, AXP, Industry & S&P 500 Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Now, let’s look at the value Visa offers investors at current levels.
The company’s valuation looks somewhat stretched compared with the industry average. Currently, Visa is trading at 24.34X forward 12-month earnings, above the industry’s average of 16.95X, but still remains below its five-year median of 25.82X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
In comparison, Mastercard is trading at 24.93X forward 12-month earnings. American Express, on the other hand, is trading at 18.25X now.
How Should You Play Visa Ahead of Q3 Earnings?Visa enters its fiscal third-quarter earnings report with several factors working in its favor. The company has consistently delivered earnings beats, carries a Zacks Rank #2, and has a positive Earnings ESP, a combination that historically increases the likelihood of another earnings surprise. Healthy payment volumes, resilient cross-border spending, expanding Value-Added Services and growing stablecoin initiatives should continue supporting solid revenue and earnings growth. The FIFA World Cup-related travel activity in June may have provided an additional boost to international transaction revenues.
Beyond the quarter, Visa's long-term investment case remains compelling. The company continues to benefit from the secular shift toward digital payments while successfully expanding into adjacent businesses such as fraud prevention, data services and blockchain-based settlement infrastructure. Its strong cash generation also enables substantial share repurchases and dividend growth, reinforcing shareholder returns.
That said, investors should not ignore the risks. Regulatory scrutiny in the United States and overseas, rising operating expenses, higher client incentives and increasing competition from fintechs and real-time payment networks could weigh on margins over time. In addition, Visa's valuation remains above the industry average, leaving less room for disappointment if results or guidance fall short of expectations.
Overall, with favorable estimate revisions and durable business fundamentals, Visa appears well-positioned heading into earnings. Existing investors should remain confident, while prospective investors may find the stock attractive as the long-term growth story remains intact.
Key Takeaways PG is set to report Q4'26 results, with 2.3% y/y sales growth expected.PG faces margin pressure from commodity costs, tariffs and higher financing expenses.PG's innovation and pricing strength continue supporting steady organic sales growth. The Procter & Gamble Company (PG - Free Report) , also known as P&G, is set to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on July 29, before the opening bell. The company is expected to have witnessed year-over-year sales growth in the to-be-reported quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $21.4 billion, indicating a 2.3% rise from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. The consensus mark for PG’s earnings is pegged at $1.41 per share, indicating a decline of 4.7% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. The consensus mark for earnings has moved down by a penny in the past seven days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues is pegged at $87.1 billion, indicating a 3.3% rise from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. The consensus mark for PG’s earnings is pegged at $$6.88 per share, indicating a rise of 0.7% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. The consensus mark for earnings has moved down 0.3% in the past 30 days.
PG has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 2.7%, on average. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 1.9% in the third quarter of fiscal 2026.
PG’s Q4 Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Procter & Gamble 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. But that is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Procter & Gamble currently has an Earnings ESP of -0.23% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Key Trends to Watch Ahead of PG's Q4 EarningsProcter & Gamble’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results are expected to reflect the mounting pressures from elevated commodity costs, rising tariffs and higher financing expenses, which are expected to have weighed on its margin performance. The gross margin has been contracting despite productivity gains, while tariff headwinds and higher interest and taxes threaten earnings growth.
On the last reported quarter’s earnings call, management acknowledged ongoing pressure from raw materials, packaging, transportation and other supply-chain-related expenses, which have been weighing on the cost of goods sold and limited margin expansion. Management maintained its fiscal 2026 outlook, but earnings are expected to trend toward the lower end of 1-6% growth, as cost headwinds persist and investments step up.
PG projects all-in sales growth of 1-5% for fiscal 2026, including an estimated one-percentage-point tailwind from foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestitures. Organic sales growth is expected to be in line with or rise 4%.
We expect the core cost of products sold to increase 2.6% year over year in fourth-quarter fiscal 2026. Our model predicts the core gross margin to contract 20 bps year over year to 48.9%.
Management also highlighted that trade-related costs are creating incremental pressure on sourcing, manufacturing and cross-border supply chains. Given PG’s global footprint, tariffs can disrupt cost structures across multiple categories and geographies, limiting the company’s ability to fully offset impacts through productivity alone. While selective pricing actions and supply-chain adjustments provide partial mitigation, tariffs remain largely outside management’s control and can compress margins if sustained.
However, PG’s resilient performance underscores the power of its brand portfolio and disciplined operating strategy. Despite a mixed consumer backdrop, the company continues to generate steady organic sales, supported by pricing strength and broad-based category growth. Procter & Gamble continues to leverage its strong portfolio of daily-use products, wherein performance directly drives consumer brand choice, to deliver steady organic growth.
Our model predicts year-over-year organic sales growth of 0.4% for PG in the fourth quarter and 1.3% for fiscal 2026. Our model estimates organic sales growth of 2% for Beauty and 1% for the Fabric & Home Care segment, with flat organic sales for the Health Care segment. Organic sales for the Fabric & Home Care, and the Grooming segments are expected to decline 1% each in the fiscal fourth quarter.
The company’s integrated strategy, built on innovation, market expansion and productivity, has enabled it to adapt to shifting consumer dynamics and maintain competitiveness.
Innovation execution is a key swing factor. The company is rolling out major product upgrades and new formats across core franchises, with management repeatedly emphasizing that sustainable growth will come from superior performance rather than price-led tactics. PG’s focus on core categories and innovation continues to fuel performance, likely aiding organic sales in the fiscal third quarter.
Procter & Gamble’s Price Performance & ValuationPG shares have gained 4% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s return of 2.6%. However, the stock has underperformed the Zacks Consumer Staples sector and the S&P 500’s growth of 8.4% and 9.5%, respectively.
PG’s YTD Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From the valuation standpoint, Procter & Gamble is trading at a forward 12-month P/E multiple of 21.1X, exceeding the industry’s average of 18.64X but below the S&P 500’s average of 20.85X. PG’s valuation appears pricey relative to the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Given the premium valuation, investors may face significant risks if the company's future performance does not meet expectations. The consumer goods market is becoming increasingly competitive, and Procter & Gamble’s innovation and market expansion may not suffice to drive significant growth. Macroeconomic challenges and heightened competition may impede the company's ability to sustain its current growth trajectory.
Stocks With the Favorable CombinationHere are some companies, which, according to our model, 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 growth 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.
Newell Brands Inc. (NWL - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +5.36% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is likely to register growth in the top line when it reports second-quarter 2026 numbers. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $1.97 billion, which indicates growth of 1.7% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Newell Brands’ quarterly earnings per share of 19 cents implies a decline of 20.8% from the year-ago quarter’s actual. The consensus mark has been unchanged in the past 30 days. NWL has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.7%, on average.
Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (CHD - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.65% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is likely to register declines in the top and bottom lines when it reports second-quarter 2026 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CHD’s quarterly EPS is pegged at 89 cents, down 5.3% from the year-ago period. The consensus mark has been unchanged in the past 30 days.
The consensus estimate for CHD’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $1.5 billion, which implies a decline of 0.2% from the prior-year quarter. Church & Dwight has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.5%, on average.
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Apple and Ford are working together on software systems for future vehicles. AP/Getty/Business Insider Apple is moving deeper into Ford's cars.
On Thursday, the companies announced that Ford will integrate Apple Maps into the next generation of its lower-cost electric vehicles, called the universal EV platform.
The deal gives Apple a much larger role in Ford's next-generation electric vehicles. Their partnership has historically centered on CarPlay, the tech giant's phone-projection system. Apple's new partnership will now power built-in navigation and help inform Ford's next hands-free driving system.
And there's a big change for Android users: Drivers will not need an iPhone to use Apple Maps.
The navigation system will run natively on the vehicle's displays and communicate with other parts of the car, providing traffic information, destination searches, EV route planning, and battery preconditioning.
Ford tells Business Insider that the system could also enable location-aware features, such as automatically opening a driver's garage door when the vehicle arrives home.
That tech is set to debut in the yet-unveiled $30,000 EV pickup truck, which is expected to reach dealerships in 2027.
The partnership will also extend into autonomous driving tech. Ford's Latitude AI subsidiary will use road-level information from Apple Maps to develop a next-generation hands-free driving experience.
The companies said the system is intended to work seamlessly from a highway's entrance ramp to its exit ramp.
"This partnership is designed to make advanced technology simple, useful, and intuitive in our customers' everyday lives," a Ford representative said in a statement sent to Business Insider.
Technology is at its best when it feels simple, intuitive and genuinely useful. That’s the idea behind our new midsize electric vehicle, the first on our Universal Electric Vehicle Platform.
To give @Ford customers the ultimate driving experience, we’re proud to be working with… pic.twitter.com/NMgvGfUplQ
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) July 23, 2026 The partnership puts Ford on a very different technology path compared to its EV rivals.
Its decade-old Detroit nemesis, General Motors, has moved away from Apple CarPlay in its newer EVs — and GM CEO Mary Barra has said it plans to eventually phase out both CarPlay and Android Auto across its entire lineup.
GM is instead building around its own interface and Google's automotive software, and has highlighted its software business as a high-margin profit driver during recent earnings calls.
Tesla and Rivian have also resisted adding Apple's software into their vehicles, preferring to control their vehicles' central screens and software ecosystems. Both offer individual Apple services or integrations: Rivian added a native Apple Music app and Apple Key integration, while Tesla lets owners use its vehicle app through the Apple Watch.
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Ben Shimkus You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Ben Shimkus is a reporter for the Business News desk. He writes about cars, transportation, retail, and jobs. Ben's reporting has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Verge, Automotive News, USA Today, AutoBody News, LGBTQ Nation, TopSpeed, and Out Magazine. He's also held staff writing positions at The U.S. Sun and the Daily Mail. He graduated from NYU with a Master's in journalism in 2024. Email Ben at [email protected] or message him privately on Signal at bshimkus.41.
Key Takeaways GM beat Q2 earnings estimates and appears better positioned on stronger fundamentals and clearer visibility.Tesla posted record deliveries, but higher SG&A and R&D costs drove a 57% drop in operating income.GM's pricing discipline, $6.3B in first-half free cash flow and 0.39 forward sales multiple support its edge. U.S. legacy automaker General Motors (GM - Free Report) and electric vehicle (EV) and tech giant Tesla (TSLA - Free Report) have released their second-quarter 2026 results. While General Motors surpassed earnings estimates, Tesla missed expectations despite record deliveries as higher SG&A and R&D expenses drove a 57% year-over-year decline in operating income.
Tesla is betting high on autonomous vehicles (AVs) and humanoid robots as its next growth frontier. It is ramping up its unsupervised robotaxi ambitions and riding on increasing FSD (Full Self Driving) subscriptions. Meanwhile, General Motors is benefiting from strong demand for full-size pickups, SUVs and commercial fleet vehicles. The company has maintained pricing discipline instead of relying on heavy discounts, which is supporting margins.
Year to date, shares of Tesla have lost 17%, while GM has inched up roughly 1%. Let’s compare their growth drivers and challenges to see which stock is placed better post second-quarter results.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Case for TeslaTesla’s EV sales are showing signs of stabilization, with second-quarter deliveries reaching a record 480,126 vehicles, supported by growth across major regions and stronger Model Y demand. A rising order backlog and increased FSD adoption provide better volume visibility, although sustained growth will depend on pricing discipline and product execution.
Beyond vehicles, Tesla’s Energy Generation and Storage business remains an important diversification opportunity. Storage deployments increased 41% year over year to 13.5 GWh in the second quarter of 2026, while revenues grew to $3.14 billion. Demand for Megapack and Powerwall, supported by data center growth and broader electrification trends, could create a meaningful long-term growth avenue.
Tesla’s biggest upside opportunity lies in autonomy, software and robotics. Robotaxi service is now live in seven U.S. metros, with unsupervised operations ramping in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa. Tesla reported more than 380,000 unsupervised Robotaxi miles across six cities with no notable incidents. Cybercab production has also begun, and Optimus manufacturing lines have been installed, strengthening Tesla’s long-term vision.
However, execution risks remain significant. Tesla’s 2026 capital spending is expected to exceed $25 billion, putting pressure on free cash flow, which turned negative in the second quarter. Energy margins also remain volatile, while declining regulatory credit revenue removes a previous earnings support. Lower vehicle pricing is weighing on automotive gross margins.
Competition in EVs is intensifying, and Tesla is attempting to scale multiple businesses simultaneously. While autonomy, AI and robotics offer huge long-term potential, they also require significant investment and successful execution. Tesla’s balance sheet and technology advantages provide a strong foundation, but the stock’s future returns will depend on whether these emerging businesses can eventually justify the current level of investment and expectations.
The Case for General MotorsGeneral Motors is benefiting from its leadership position in the U.S. market. It has maintained pricing discipline, keeping incentives below industry averages for more than three years, which has supported profitability despite inflationary pressures. GM North America EBIT-adjusted margin improved to 8.6% in the second quarter, returning to its target range, while the upcoming next-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra launches and additional full-size SUV capacity could support future growth.
GM is also making progress in areas that can diversify earnings. Its China operations returned to profitability after restructuring efforts, with equity income improving year over year. Meanwhile, software and digital services represent a long-term opportunity. Growing OnStar subscriptions and Super Cruise adoption could create higher-margin recurring revenue streams, with recognized and deferred software revenues expected to expand meaningfully. New businesses such as GM Energy, GM Defense and GM Insurance further strengthen the company’s ability to generate revenues beyond vehicle sales.
Strong cash generation also bodes well. GM generated $6.3 billion in adjusted automotive free cash flow during the first half of 2026 and continued aggressive share repurchases while maintaining a strong automotive cash balance. The company’s raised 2026 outlook reflects improving execution and confidence in its core operations.
However, near-term challenges remain. Tariffs, commodity inflation and onshoring costs are expected to weigh on profitability, while major truck launches could create temporary production disruptions. EV weakness has also forced GM to restructure its battery and manufacturing footprint, resulting in significant charges. Shipping disruptions affected wholesale volumes in the Middle East, and management expects conditions in the region to remain uncertain.
Overall, GM’s strong U.S. franchise, improving cost discipline and shareholder returns provide a solid foundation. However, near-term cost pressures and EV-related challenges remain.
Valuation & Estimates CheckGM is trading at a forward sales multiple of 0.39. Tesla, meanwhile, trades at a significantly higher valuation, reflecting investor expectations for its AI and autonomous driving businesses. With Tesla continuing to invest aggressively and many of its AI initiatives still years away from generating meaningful earnings, the valuation leaves relatively little room for execution missteps. While GM carries a Value Score of A, Tesla has a Value Score of F.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GM and TSLA’s 2026 EPS has moved up by 3 cents each to $12.88 and $2.16, respectively, over the past seven days.
Our TakeBoth Tesla and GM carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) but the risk-reward profiles are different. Tesla offers significant upside if autonomy, AI and robotics develop as management expects, but investors are paying a premium for businesses that still require substantial execution.
General Motors, meanwhile, is delivering stronger fundamentals today, supported by its profitable core business, disciplined operations and shareholder returns at a much lower valuation. With fewer execution hurdles and clearer earnings visibility, GM appears better positioned post second-quarter results.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
I reiterate a Strong Buy on General Motors with a $104 price target, reflecting 30% upside from $80. The next-generation Silverado and Sierra cycle, higher full-size SUV availability, OnStar growth, lower EV losses and continued share repurchases should drive adjusted EPS toward my 2027 estimate of $14.88. I arrive at my price target by applying a 7x FWD non-GAAP P/E to my 2027 estimated EPS of $14.88.
Momentum investing is all about the idea of following a stock's recent trend, which can be in either direction. In the "long context," investors will essentially be "buying high, but hoping to sell even higher." And for investors following this methodology, taking advantage of trends in a stock's price is key; once a stock establishes a course, it is more than likely to continue moving in that direction. The goal is that once a stock heads down a fixed path, it will lead to timely and profitable trades.
Even though momentum is a popular stock characteristic, it can be tough to define. Debate surrounding which are the best and worst metrics to focus on is lengthy, but the Zacks Momentum Style Score, part of the Zacks Style Scores, helps address this issue for us.
Below, we take a look at Goldman Sachs (GS - Free Report) , a company that currently holds a Momentum Style Score of A. We also talk about price change and earnings estimate revisions, two of the main aspects of the Momentum Style Score.
It's also important to note that Style Scores work as a complement to the Zacks Rank, our stock rating system that has an impressive track record of outperformance. Goldman Sachs currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). Our research shows that stocks rated Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy) and Style Scores of "A or B" outperform the market over the following one-month period.
You can see the current list of Zacks #1 Rank Stocks here >>>
Set to Beat the Market? In order to see if GS is a promising momentum pick, let's examine some Momentum Style elements to see if this investment bank holds up.
Looking at a stock's short-term price activity is a great way to gauge if it has momentum, since this can reflect both the current interest in a stock and if buyers or sellers have the upper hand at the moment. It is also useful to compare a security to its industry, as this can help investors pinpoint the top companies in a particular area.
For GS, shares are up 0.95% over the past week while the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry is up 0.22% over the same time period. Shares are looking quite well from a longer time frame too, as the monthly price change of 1.98% compares favorably with the industry's 3.67% performance as well.
While any stock can see a spike in price, it takes a real winner to consistently outperform the market. Over the past quarter, shares of Goldman Sachs have risen 21.27%, and are up 53.06% in the last year. On the other hand, the S&P 500 has only moved 5.37% and 20.16%, respectively.
Investors should also take note of GS's average 20-day trading volume. Volume is a useful item in many ways, and the 20-day average establishes a good price-to-volume baseline; a rising stock with above average volume is generally a bullish sign, whereas a declining stock on above average volume is typically bearish. Right now GS is averaging 1,972,181 shares for the last 20 days..
Earnings OutlookThe Zacks Momentum Style Score also takes into account trends in estimate revisions, in addition to price changes. Please note that estimate revision trends remain at the core of Zacks Rank as well. A nice path here can help show promise, and we have recently been seeing that with GS.
Over the past two months, 7 earnings estimates moved higher compared to none lower for the full year. These revisions helped boost GS's consensus estimate, increasing from $59.53 to $68.83 in the past 60 days. Looking at the next fiscal year, 7 estimates have moved upwards while there have been no downward revisions in the same time period.
Bottom LineTaking into account all of these elements, it should come as no surprise that GS is a #1 (Strong Buy) stock with a Momentum Score of A. If you've been searching for a fresh pick that's set to rise in the near-term, make sure to keep Goldman Sachs on your short list.
Key Takeaways CINF is expected to post $3 billion in Q2 revenues, up 8.4%, while EPS is expected to be $1.82, down 7.6%.Premiums may rise on pricing, exposure growth, new business and stronger Cincinnati Re contributions.Higher bond yields may lift investment income, but rising losses and operating costs could pressure results. Cincinnati Financial Corporation (CINF - Free Report) is expected to witness an improvement in its top line but a decline in its bottom line when it reports second-quarter 2026 results on July 27, after the opening bell.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CINF’s second-quarter revenues is pegged at $3 billion, indicating 8.4% growth from the year-ago reported figure.
The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.82 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CINF’s second-quarter earnings has moved 5 cents north in the past seven days. The estimate indicates a year-over-year decline of 7.6%.
Solid Earnings Surprise HistoryCINF’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 27.54%.
What the Zacks Model Unveils for CINFOur proven model predicts an earnings beat for Cincinnati this time around. This is because the stock has the right combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) that increases the chances of an earnings beat.
You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Earnings ESP: CINF has an Earnings ESP of +7.22%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate of $1.96 is pegged higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.82.
Zacks Rank: CINF carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Factors Likely to Shape Q2 ResultsPremiums are likely to have benefited from greater exposure, improved pricing, higher property and casualty agency new business, increased standard-lines new business, stronger contributions from Cincinnati Re, agent-centered model and policy-by-policy pricing. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $2.7 billion.
Performance at Personal Lines is likely to have benefited from higher rates, a higher level of insured exposures, increased policy retention rates and changes in policy deductibles or mix of business. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Personal Lines revenues is pegged at $898 million.
Better agency renewal and new business written premiums due to higher renewal pricing are likely to have favored premiums at Excess and Surplus lines. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Excess and Surplus lines revenues is pegged at $191 million.
Robust operating cash flow and higher bond yields are expected to have boosted net investment income. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for investment income, net of expenses, is pegged at $313.5 million.
However, total benefits and expenses are likely to have risen due to higher insurance losses, policyholder benefits, underwriting and acquisition costs, interest expense and other operating expenses.
Disciplined underwriting and a favorable catastrophe environment are likely to have supported underwriting profitability.
Other Stocks to ConsiderSome other P&C insurance stocks with the right combination of elements to deliver an earnings beat this time around are:
Axis Capital Holdings (ACGL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.82% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $3.23 per share, indicating a 1.8% year-over-year decrease.
ACGL’s earnings beat estimates in the last four reported quarters.
The Hanover Insurance (THG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.39% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $3.88 per share, indicating a 10.1% year-over-year decrease.
THG’s earnings beat estimates in the last four reported quarters.
The Allstate Corporation (ALL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.59% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $5.61 per share, indicating a 5.6% year-over-year decrease.
ALL’s earnings beat estimates in the last four reported quarters.
Key Takeaways QCOM to report fiscal Q3 2026 earnings on July 29, with sales estimated at $9.71 billion and EPS at $2.22.Qualcomm expanded Snapdragon across smartphones and AI PCs, supporting broader market reach.QCOM faces smartphone competition, pricing pressure and mixed Android demand despite AI momentum. Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings after the closing bell on July 29. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales and earnings is pegged at $9.71 billion and $2.22 per share, respectively. Earnings estimates for QCOM for fiscal 2026 have increased 0.4% to $10.78 over the past 60 days, and those for fiscal 2027 have also increased 1.7% to $10.88.
QCOM Estimate Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings Surprise HistoryThe chip manufacturer delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.28%, on average, beating estimates on each occasion. In the last reported quarter, the company pulled off an earnings surprise of 3.11%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Qualcomm for the fiscal third quarter. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Qualcomm currently has an ESP of -0.58% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Factors Shaping Upcoming ResultsDuring the to-be-reported quarter, Qualcomm introduced two new Snapdragon mobile platforms to enhance performance, deliver advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and improve user experiences across the mid-range and entry-tier smartphone markets. The launches strengthened the company's smartphone offerings and reinforced its presence in high-volume device categories. This is likely to have led to incremental handset revenues.
The company also expanded its AI PC portfolio with the launch of the Snapdragon C platform, extending its reach into the entry-tier laptop market. Offering AI-powered computing, reliable performance and improved power efficiency at an affordable price point, the platform enables the company to address a broader customer base. Early processor demand from PC manufacturers ahead of new device launches is expected to support chipset shipments, providing a favorable contribution to Qualcomm's fiscal third-quarter results.
In the quarter under review, Qualcomm continued to diversify its business by expanding its presence across PCs, connected devices and edge AI applications. The company's broader Snapdragon platform is expected to increase its exposure to multiple high-growth markets while reducing its reliance on the smartphone segment over time. These strategic initiatives are expected to strengthen Qualcomm's long-term growth prospects and are likely to have a positive impact during the June quarter.
Despite strong momentum in AI, PCs and automotive, Qualcomm continues to face intense competition in its smartphone chipset business. Memory supply constraints and related price increases affect device economics. Management expects handset revenues from Chinese customers to bottom in the fiscal third quarter, assuming weaker low-tier handset units sequentially, which can weigh on the licensing revenue mix. The company is witnessing increasing pricing pressure from rival chipmakers, particularly in the Android market, which could weigh on margins. At the same time, continued investments in AI, automotive, data center and XR technologies are likely to have kept operating expenses elevated during the quarter. Mixed demand in the global smartphone market, especially in the entry-level segment, might have also limited chipset shipments.
Price PerformanceOver the past year, Qualcomm has gained 9.8% compared with the industry’s growth of 61%, underperforming competitors like Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO - Free Report) . While Broadcom has gained 38.7%, Intel has surged 329.6% over the said time frame.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Key Valuation MetricFrom a valuation standpoint, Qualcomm appears to be relatively cheaper compared to the industry and below its mean. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 16.07 forward earnings, lower than 30.2 for the industry and the stock’s mean of 16.58.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Investment ConsiderationsBy strengthening its leadership in on-device AI, premium Snapdragon platforms and connected-edge technologies, Qualcomm is well-positioned to diversify its revenue base beyond smartphones. Continued momentum in Automotive and IoT, expanding AI capabilities and the company's entry into the data center market are expected to support long-term revenue growth, improve product diversification and strengthen earnings potential.
However, persistent weakness in the Android smartphone market due to industry-wide memory supply constraints, coupled with customer concentration and intense competition in the semiconductor industry, is expected to weigh on near-term revenues. In addition, geopolitical uncertainties, evolving trade policies and the gradual transition of major customers toward in-house chip development are likely to remain key challenges for the company’s growth and profitability.
End NoteQualcomm continues to maintain a strong competitive position, supported by its robust technology portfolio and leadership in wireless communications. Upward revisions in earnings estimates also reflect improving investor confidence. However, persistent competitive pressures in the handset market, customer concentration and an uncertain macroeconomic environment could limit near-term upside, making the stock less attractive ahead of the quarterly results.
Existing investors may continue to hold the stock, supported by its attractive valuation, strong product lineup and ongoing efforts to diversify its business across multiple end markets, which should provide a solid foundation for sustainable long-term growth.
Intel’s stock rally leaves little room for merely decent second quarter results.
INTC stock is moving ahead of earnings. See the chart and price action here. INTC Rally Raises the Earnings BarIntel’s second-quarter earnings arrive after Thursday’s close, and Wall Street expects revenue of $14.4 billion, up from $12.86 billion a year earlier. Analysts project earnings of 19 cents per share, versus a 10-cent loss last year, according to Benzinga Pro data.
The estimates imply meaningful progress, but the stock already reflects a much stronger recovery.
Intel’s recent execution supports part of the optimism. The chipmaker has topped revenue estimates for seven straight quarters and has beaten earnings estimates in three consecutive quarters and seven of the past ten.
What to WatchAnother beat may be required to defend Intel stock’s current valuation.
The bigger test will come from guidance and margins. Traders need evidence that stronger demand can translate into durable profit growth.
Management’s comments on data center demand, foundry economics and manufacturing yields could matter more than headline revenue. Any sign of higher costs or slower growth could pressure shares quickly.
Artificial intelligence remains central to Intel’s bull case. Investors will watch for demand across server processors and enterprise infrastructure.
Cost reductions add another complication. Intel has cut jobs within its Data Center and AI group. The move may improve efficiency, yet it could raise questions about underlying demand. Analysts could press management on whether the cuts reflect discipline or weaker growth expectations.
Thursday’s report, therefore, carries an unusually high bar. A clean beat, stronger margins and confident guidance could extend Intel’s rally, while mixed results may expose the gap between turnaround enthusiasm and current fundamentals.
After a near-tripling, Intel must prove the story has moved beyond hope.
INTC Stock Price Activity: Intel stock was down 3.12% at $99.42 at the time of publication Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Over the past month, INTC has declined about 21.9% versus a 0.6% rise in the S&P 500 and is up roughly 168% year-to-date compared to the index’s 7.7% gain.
Photo: Shutterstock
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. But finding a growth stock that can live up to its true potential can be a tough task.
By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.
However, the task of finding cutting-edge growth stocks is made easy with the help of the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects.
Our proprietary system currently recommends Shopify (SHOP - Free Report) as one such stock. This company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.
Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And returns are even better for stocks that possess the combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).
Here are three of the most important factors that make the stock of this cloud-based commerce company a great growth pick right now.
Earnings GrowthArguably nothing is more important than earnings growth, as surging profit levels is what most investors are after. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.
While the historical EPS growth rate for Shopify is 34.6%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 57.5% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 13.5%.
Impressive Asset Utilization RatioAsset utilization ratio -- also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio -- is often overlooked by investors, but it is an important indicator in growth investing. This metric shows how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.
Right now, Shopify has an S/TA ratio of 0.84, which means that the company gets $0.84 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.76, it can be said that the company is more efficient.
While the level of efficiency in generating sales matters a lot, so does the sales growth of a company. And Shopify looks attractive from a sales growth perspective as well. The company's sales are expected to grow 27.4% this year versus the industry average of 0%.
Promising Earnings Estimate RevisionsBeyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
There have been upward revisions in current-year earnings estimates for Shopify. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 0.6% over the past month.
Bottom LineShopify has not only earned a Growth Score of B based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above, but it also carries a Zacks Rank #1 because of the positive earnings estimate revisions.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
This combination indicates that Shopify is a potential outperformer and a solid choice for growth investors.
Key Takeaways Pfizer's sNDA for Talzenna plus Xtandi received FDA priority review in HRR gene-mutated mCSPC.The application seeks to expand Talzenna combo use to an earlier stage of metastatic prostate cancer.Pfizer expects an FDA decision on the Talzenna plus Xtandi sNDA in the last quarter of 2026. Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) announced that the FDA has accepted the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for Talzenna (talazoparib), an oral PARP inhibitor, in combination with Xtandi (enzalutamide), an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPI), for an expanded use in prostate cancer.
The sNDA is seeking approval of Talzenna in combination with Xtandi for treating men with homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene-mutated metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC), also known as metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC).
With the FDA granting a priority review to the sNDA, a decision from the regulatory body is expected in the last quarter of 2026.
If approved, the sNDA would expand the use of Talzenna plus Xtandi to mCSPC, an earlier stage of the disease. Prostate cancer remains the second most common cancer among men globally.
Talzenna was initially approved in the United States, the EU and several other regions as a monotherapy for adults with deleterious or suspected deleterious gBRCAm HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Later, Talzenna, in combination with Xtandi, received FDA approval for treating men with HRR gene-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The regimen is also approved in the EU for adults with mCRPC in whom chemotherapy is not clinically indicated. The combo is currently authorized in around 60 countries, with indications varying by region.
PFE’s Price PerformanceYear to date, shares of Pfizer have gained 3.1% compared with the industry’s rally of 12.2%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PFE’s sNDA Based on Phase III TALAPRO-3 StudyThe sNDA for the Talzenna plus Xtandi combo in mCSPC was based on data from the phase III TALAPRO-3 study.
Data from the same showed that treatment with Talzenna plus Xtandi reduced the risk of radiographic progression or death by 52% versus placebo plus Xtandi, with consistent benefit seen across patients with BRCA and non-BRCA HRR gene alterations.
The safety profile was similar to the known profiles of each agent, while no new safety signals were reported either.
The phase III TALAPRO-3 study enrolled 599 patients with mCSPC, who had received at most three months of androgen deprivation therapy (chemical or surgical), with or without an approved ARP inhibitor in this setting. Eligible patients in the study were randomized to receive Talzenna 0.5 mg/day plus Xtandi 160 mg/day, or placebo plus Xtandi 160 mg/day.
A regulatory filing seeking approval of Talzenna plus Xtandi in HRR gene-mutated mCSPC is also currently under review in the European Union.
PFE’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderPfizer currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the biotech sector are Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals (KNSA - Free Report) and Liquidia Corporation (LQDA - Free Report) , each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Over the past 60 days, estimates for Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals’ 2026 earnings per share have risen from $1.24 to $1.25, while estimates for 2027 have increased from $1.70 to $1.76 during the same time. KNSA shares have soared 51.3% year to date.
Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals’ earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters, while missing the same on the remaining two occasions, with the average surprise being 1.53%.
Over the past 60 days, estimates for Liquidia’s 2026 earnings per share have risen from $2.97 to $3.02, while estimates for 2027 have increased from $4.81 to $4.92 during the same time. LQDA shares have surged 152.4% year to date.
Liquidia’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, while missing the same on the remaining occasion, with the average surprise being 54.40%.
When Cisco ran 6,986 multi-turn attacks against 15 flagship models, attackers who adapted across the conversation broke through as often as 88.3% of the time. Amy Chang, Cisco's head of AI threat intelligence and security research, brought that finding to the agentic security panel at VB Transform 2026; the number should worry anyone still running single-turn red-teaming programs.
IBM shares came under pressure after weaker-than-expected mainframe sales weighed on the company's outlook. CEO Arvind Krishna joins Bloomberg to explain why he sees the slowdown as temporary, how AI is reshaping enterprise technology spending, and why he's betting on quantum computing as IBM's next major growth engine.
Energy is back in focus midday Thursday. WTI crude oil is up 6% over the past 24 hours to $91.94 per barrel, and Barron's reported that WTI briefly hit $100 per barrel earlier today, its first time above $100 in nearly two months, before settling near $91.94.
Brent oil, the global benchmark, soared about 7% on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel. Crude surged after Yemen’s Houthi militants reportedly attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia has been using the Red Sea to bypass the Strait of Hormuz due to Iranian attacks on ships trying to move through that key waterway. President Trump also threatened “major military punishment” on Iran and the Houthis if they attack again.
Here’s a look at the current situation in the oil market and whether now’s the time to buy oil stocks.
Image source: Getty Images.
The partial bypass is under attackIran has been preventing oil from flowing freely out of the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes earlier this year. While the U.S. and Iran had signed a Memorandum of Understanding that was to reopen the Strait toll-free for 60 days in June, Iran continued to attack ships. That led the U.S. to resume military action against the country.
With tanker flows through the Strait hampered, Saudi Arabia shifted to exporting more oil through the Red Sea via its recently expanded East-West Pipeline. That system can move 7 million barrels per day. However, the Iranian-backed Houthis have threatened to cut off this bypass by attacking ships moving through the Bab el-Mandeb, a straight between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. Doing so would further restrict the flow of oil to global markets.
The continued disruptions to the oil market led Goldman Sachs to warn that Brent could top $120 a barrel next quarter, and average $100 a barrel in 2027. That upside risk assumes that the Strait remains disrupted through next year. A disruption to Bab el-Mandeb could make matters even worse for the oil market by further limiting oil flows.
Time to buy oil stocks?President Trump is reportedly considering a “massive attack” on Iran that would be even bigger than the prior strikes. Such an attack would undoubtedly trigger an Iranian response, likely targeting the oil market. Iran could launch drones and missiles to damage key bypass infrastructure, including Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline and the Red Sea port of Yanbu, as well as the UAE’s bypass pipeline (Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline) and Fujairah port. That could quickly push crude prices up past $120 a barrel.
Despite upside risks to oil prices, oil stocks are only modestly higher this year. Oil giants ExxonMobil (XOM +2.14%) and Chevron (CVX +1.30%) have rallied about 30%, while Brent has surged 65%. They have much more upside potential if crude prices continue to rise.
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Both oil giants entered the year focused on cutting costs to boost profitability amid the initial expectation for lower crude prices. Exxon is in the middle of a multi-year structural cost savings program aimed at shaving $20 billion in costs by 2030, $15.6 billion of which it has delivered as of the first quarter. Meanwhile, Chevron aims to deliver $3 billion to $4 billion in structural cost reductions by the end of this year, along with $1.5 billion in synergies from its merger with Hess. Additionally, both companies are investing heavily in their highest-return, lowest-cost assets to further boost profitability. As a result, both were on track to generate significant profit growth this year at a much lower oil price range ($65-$70 a barrel). With crude well above that level, and potentially heading even higher, they’ll generate significantly higher earnings and cash flow this year.
Surging oil prices make oil stocks look compellingIranian-backed Houthis are trying to disrupt Saudi Arabia’s bypass plan, which is driving up oil prices. This new disruption is part of the growing upside risk for oil prices. Despite the surge, oil stocks are still only up modestly this year. That makes the risk/reward look attractive for an investment in an oil stock like Chevron or Exxon right now.
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Carnival (CCL - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 9.7% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Carnival due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for Carnival Corporation before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Carnival Q2 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Both Increase Y/YCarnival reported better-than-expected second-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended May 31) results, with both adjusted earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The top and bottom lines also increased on a year-over-year basis.
Carnival posted its twelfth consecutive quarter of record net yields and exceeded the March guidance by $100 million, driven by strong commercial execution and improved cost efficiency despite nearly 30% higher fuel costs. Management noted that recent booking trends are beginning to improve, indicating a gradual easing of geopolitical headwinds and reinforcing confidence in demand, pricing and the company's long-term earnings potential.
CCL’s Q2 Earnings & RevenuesIn the quarter under review, the company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 41 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents. In the year-ago quarter, CCL posted an adjusted EPS of 35 cents.
Revenues in the quarter totaled $6.66 billion, beating the consensus mark of $6.64 billion. The metric also increased 5.3% year over year.
During the quarter, passenger ticket revenues amounted to $4.27 billion, up from $4.10 billion reported in the prior-year quarter. Our estimate for passenger ticket revenues was also pegged at $4.23 billion.
Onboard and other revenues increased to $2.39 billion from $2.22 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Our estimate for Onboard and other revenues was pegged at $2.38 billion.
Carnival’s FinancialsAdjusted net income in the quarter amounted to $569 million compared with $470 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $1.58 billion, up from $1.51 billion reported in the prior-year quarter.
CCL’s Balance SheetAs of May 31, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $2.24 billion compared with $1.93 billion as of Nov. 30, 2025. Total debt (current and long-term) as of May 31, 2026, was $24.89 billion compared with $26.64 billion as of Nov. 30, 2025.
Booking Update of CarnivalThe company delivered another exceptionally strong booking performance, with its booked position for the second half of 2026 running ahead of last year at historically high prices on a constant-currency basis. This strength was achieved despite more than a full quarter of heightened geopolitical volatility that primarily affected booking trends for European deployments, particularly in the Mediterranean region. Management maintained pricing discipline by leveraging its occupancy advantage, supporting continued yield strength.
With 93% of 2026 capacity already booked and less inventory remaining for sale than at the same point last year, Carnival is well positioned to achieve record net yields in the back half of 2026. Demand for 2027 and beyond also remains robust, with booking volumes and pricing for future sailings running ahead of prior-year levels since March, including a significant increase in bookings for European itineraries.
The company's booking curve remains the furthest out on record, underscoring the strength of its portfolio of cruise brands and sustained demand generation efforts. Continued demand momentum was also reflected in higher fiscal second-quarter onboard revenues, increased pre-cruise onboard sales and strong customer engagement, providing enhanced revenue visibility.
Customer deposits reached an all-time high of $9.0 billion, surpassing the prior year's record by more than $450 million despite flat capacity growth over the next 12 months. The record deposit balance highlights the continued strength in consumer demand and further reinforces Carnival's strong cash flow profile.
CCL’s Q3 & FY26 OutlookFor third-quarter fiscal 2026, the company expects adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $2.88 billion. It expects fiscal third-quarter adjusted net income to be nearly $1.86 billion. The company expects fiscal third-quarter adjusted EPS to be $1.35.
For fiscal 2026, CCL now expects adjusted EBITDA of approximately $7.11 billion, down from its prior estimate of $7.19 billion. Adjusted net income is projected to be nearly $3.07 billion compared with the earlier expectation of $3.1 billion. Accordingly, adjusted EPS for the year is anticipated to be $2.22, revised up from the previous outlook of $2.21.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?It turns out, fresh estimates have trended downward during the past month.
VGM ScoresCurrently, Carnival has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a C. However, the stock was allocated a score of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Carnival has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS) Q2 2026 Earnings Call July 23, 2026 7:30 AM EDT
Company Participants
Quan Yao - Senior Vice President of Investor Relations
Srinivasan Gopalan - CEO, President & Director
Peter Osvaldik - Executive VP & CFO
John Saw - President of Technology & CTO
André Almeida - Chief Broadband, Enterprise & Emerging Business Officer
Jon Freier - Chief Operating Officer
Conference Call Participants
Sean Diffley - Morgan Stanley, Research Division
Michael Funk - BofA Securities, Research Division
Craig Moffett - MoffettNathanson LLC
John Hodulik - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division
Peter Supino - Wolfe Research, LLC
Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division
Kutgun Maral - Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division
Michael Ng - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
Sebastiano Petti - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
Bryan Kraft - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division
Samuel McHugh - BNP Paribas, Research Division
Presentation
Operator
Good morning. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the conference over to Cathy Yao, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations for T-Mobile U.S.. Please go ahead.
Quan Yao
Senior Vice President of Investor Relations
Good morning. Welcome to T-Mobile's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Joining me on our call today are Srini Gopalan, our President and CEO; Peter Osvaldik, our CFO; as well as other members of the leadership team.
During this call, we will make forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. We encourage you to review the risk factors set forth in our SEC filings. Our earnings release, investors factbook and other documents related to our results, as well as reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP results discussed on this call can be found on our Investor Relations website.
With that, let me now turn it over to Srini.
Srinivasan Gopalan
CEO, President & Director
Thanks, Cathy, and good morning, everyone. We're here in New
Key Takeaways T-Mobile beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates on strong service revenue growth and higher postpaid ARPA.TMUS grew postpaid service revenues 12.6% and raised its 2026 operating cash flow and free cash flow outlook.TMUS generated higher EBITDA and cash flow despite rising operating costs and continued network investments. T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2026 earnings of $3.13 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.49 by 25.7%. Total revenues of $22.79 billion also edged past the consensus mark of $22.74 billion by 0.21% and increased 7.9% year over year.
The strong performance reflected continued growth in service revenues, expanding postpaid average revenue per account (ARPA) and solid customer additions. Postpaid ARPA increased 2% year over year to $152.91, underscoring the company's ability to deepen customer relationships and drive higher monetization.
TMUS Benefits From Service Revenue ExpansionT-Mobile generated total service revenues of $18.98 billion in the second quarter, up 8.9% from the year-ago period. Postpaid service revenues climbed 12.6% year over year to $15.85 billion, supported by higher average postpaid accounts following the UScellular and Metronet acquisitions as well as higher postpaid ARPA.
Total revenues increased 7.9% year over year to $22.79 billion despite a sequential decline from the first quarter, reflecting lower equipment sales. Equipment revenues increased modestly from the prior-year quarter as a richer mix of high-end smartphones offset lower unit volumes, while service revenues continued to be the primary growth engine.
T-Mobile Strengthens Customer MetricsTMUS reported postpaid net account additions of 277,000 during the quarter compared with 318,000 a year ago. Total postpaid accounts increased to 34.7 million from 31.5 million in the prior-year quarter, highlighting continued expansion of the subscriber base despite slower net additions.
Postpaid account churn was 0.99% compared with 0.92% a year ago, primarily reflecting a higher mix of broadband-only accounts. Meanwhile, ARPA rose to $152.91 from $149.87, benefiting from higher fee revenue, increased customers per account, broader adoption of tax and fee-exclusive plans and continued growth in broadband and business accounts.
TMUS Faces Higher Operating CostsOperating expenses increased to $17.30 billion from $15.92 billion in the prior-year quarter. Higher costs of services, equipment sales, selling, general and administrative expenses, and depreciation and amortization all contributed to the increase.
Despite elevated expenses, profitability remained resilient. Net income rose modestly to $3.24 billion from $3.22 billion a year earlier, while diluted earnings per share increased 5.3% year over year to $2.99. Results included the impact of UScellular merger-related costs, including accelerated depreciation, net of tax, amounting to $146 million, or $0.14 per share.
T-Mobile Delivers Healthy Cash GenerationCore adjusted EBITDA increased 11.7% year over year to $9.54 billion, reflecting continued operating leverage as service revenues expanded. Net cash provided by operating activities rose 7.3% year over year to $7.5 billion, demonstrating the company's ability to translate revenue growth into cash generation.
Adjusted free cash flow improved 4.4% year over year to $4.8 billion despite higher capital spending. Cash purchases of property and equipment, including capitalized interest, increased 12.8% to $2.7 billion as the company continued investing in network expansion and integration initiatives. During the quarter, T-Mobile returned $3.3 billion to shareholders through $2.2 billion of share repurchases and $1.1 billion in dividends.
TMUS Raises Cash Flow Outlook for 2026Management reaffirmed its expectation for postpaid net account additions between 950,000 and 1.05 million for 2026 while maintaining its Core Adjusted EBITDA guidance in the range of $37.1 billion to $37.5 billion.
The company raised its outlook for net cash provided by operating activities to $28.4-$28.8 billion from the prior range of $28.1-$28.7 billion. Adjusted free cash flow guidance was also increased to $18.4-$18.8 billion from the previous outlook of $18.1-$18.7 billion, reflecting management's confidence in sustained service revenue growth, disciplined execution and continued cash generation.
TMUS’ Zacks RankTMUS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Upcoming ReleasesArista Networks Inc. (ANET - Free Report) is scheduled to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on Aug. 8. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 89 cents per share, suggesting growth of 21.92% from the year-ago reported figure.
Arista has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 19.86%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 8.31% in the last four reported quarters.
Amphenol Corporation (APH - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 29. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.19 per share, implying growth of 46.91% from the year-ago reported figure.
Amphenol has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 24.01%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 14.08% in the last four reported quarters.
Corning Incorporated (GLW - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2026 earnings on July 28. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 76 cents per share, implying growth of 26.67% from the year-ago reported figure.
Corning has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 23.89%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 2.41% in the last four reported quarters.
SummaryT-Mobile delivered a strong Q2 earnings report, beating on postpaid net adds and net income, and raising free cash flow guidance.TMUS faces investor concerns over forced plan migrations and minor revenue shortfalls, but pricing power and strategic spectrum acquisitions remain intact.Despite cable competitors' wireless growth, TMUS's triopoly position and network investments support continued broadband share gains.I see no flashing red lights; the recent sell-off appears disconnected from fundamentals, and I remain long TMUS.4.06K Followers
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of TMUS, VZ either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
U.S. stocks traded lower midway through trading, with the S&P 500 falling over 1% on Thursday.
The Dow traded down 0.92% to 51,738.04 while the NASDAQ declined 2.03% to 25,169.19. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 1.16% to 7,412.12.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Industrials shares jumped by 2% on Thursday.
In trading on Thursday, communication services stocks fell by 5.2%.
Top Headline
T-Mobile US Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) stock fell around 5% on Thursday after the wireless carrier reported second-quarter results that beat earnings expectations but missed on revenue.
T-Mobile reported adjusted earnings of $2.99 per share, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $2.58, according to Benzinga Pro. Revenue increased to $22.79 billion from $21.13 billion a year earlier but missed the Street estimate of $22.94 billion.
Equities Trading UP
Equities Trading DOWN
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded up 6.8% to $92.74 while gold traded down 2.6% at $4,044.80.
Silver traded down 4% to $57.915 on Thursday, while copper fell 1.8% to $6.3740.
Euro zone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 1%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index dipped 1.3% London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6%, Germany’s DAX declined 1.2%, while France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.6%.
Asia Pacific Markets
Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 gaining 0.46%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surging 1.28%, China’s Shanghai Composite rising 0.25% and India’s BSE Sensex falling 0.47%.
Economics
U.S. initial jobless claims US fell by 22,000 to 187,000 in the week ending July 18, compared to market estimates of 212,000. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index climbed to -0.02 in June from -0.19 in the previous month. Photo via Shutterstock
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