Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stock rose nearly 1% on Monday as investors continued buying mega-cap technology stocks in a broader risk-on session. The Nasdaq is up almost 1% while the S&P 500 has gained 0.37%.

Attention is also shifting to the company’s July 29 earnings report after Bank of America said healthy advertising demand and expanding AI monetization could support upside.

Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating on Meta and maintained its $835 price forecast. The firm said improving ad demand, disciplined hiring and the potential to generate revenue from AI infrastructure could drive further upside.

Strong Advertising Trends Seen Driving BeatBank of America raised its second-quarter estimates and now expects revenue of $60.6 billion and earnings of $7.50 per share, above Wall Street expectations of $60.2 billion in revenue and $7.18 in earnings per share.

The analysts said advertising demand remained healthy during the quarter despite macroeconomic uncertainty. They also cited favorable foreign exchange trends and lower headcount following Meta’s workforce reductions as additional earnings tailwinds.

For the third quarter, the firm expects Meta to guide for revenue of $60.5 billion to $63.5 billion. It also believes the company could narrow the upper end of its full-year expense outlook because of recent layoffs, although higher memory costs could push full-year capital expenditure guidance to between $135 billion and $150 billion from the current $125 billion to $145 billion range.

AI Monetization Remains The Biggest CatalystBank of America said investor attention during the earnings call will likely center on Meta’s ability to generate returns from its massive AI investments.

The analysts highlighted several potential catalysts, including licensing Meta’s AI models, expanding Business Agent products, subscription offerings and the possibility of leasing excess AI computing capacity to third parties.

Following reports that Meta could lease computing capacity to Anthropic, the firm added $5 billion of estimated AI compute revenue for 2027 and $11 billion for 2028. Those changes increased its 2027 revenue forecast to about $316 billion and raised its 2027 earnings estimate to $35 per share.

Bank of America also expects investors to seek updates on Meta’s custom AI chips, infrastructure efficiency, AI coding tools and the roadmap for advanced large language models, saying greater visibility into AI monetization could support a higher valuation.

Valuation Still Attractive, Says BofAThe brokerage argued Meta continues to trade at an attractive valuation despite its strong performance. It estimates the stock trades at about 19 times expected 2027 GAAP earnings, below its roughly 10-year average multiple of 21 times.

Bank of America said the market still underappreciates the long-term earnings potential from AI-powered advertising improvements, new AI-driven businesses and future cost savings from Meta’s custom silicon strategy.

Earnings And Analyst OutlookMeta is scheduled to report second-quarter results on July 29.

Wall Street expects earnings of $7.18 per share, up from $7.14 a year earlier, on revenue of $60.22 billion, compared with $47.52 billion last year.

The stock carries a consensus Buy rating with an average analyst price forecast of $809.76. Recent analyst actions include:

Wedbush maintained Neutral with a $671 price forecast on July 16. UBS maintained Buy and lowered its price forecast to $766 on July 13. Citizens maintained Market Outperform and lowered its price forecast to $800 on July 10. META Stock Price Activity: Meta Platforms shares were up 0.92% at $651.98 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Investors are watching Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG | GOOG Price Prediction) ahead of its Q2 2026 results due Wednesday, July 22, after the bell. With shares near $355 and Anthropic’s valuation exploding, this report could scramble how investors read the numbers.

An Anthropic Windfall Waiting to Land Last quarter set a high bar. Alphabet posted an EPS beat of 94.1%, with $5.11 versus $2.63 expected, while revenue climbed 21.79% YoY to $109.9 billion. Google Cloud grew 63% to $20 billion, and backlog nearly doubled to $462 billion.

Since then, the story has taken an even bigger turn. Alphabet holds roughly 14% of Anthropic, a stake worth approximately $135 billion at Anthropic’s latest $965 billion valuation. At the end of Q1, Anthropic was marked at $380 billion. Bank of America estimates the markup will drive roughly $80 billion in unrealized gains this quarter, prompting the firm to forecast EPS of $8.38, well above the Street.

Consensus Estimates Metric Consensus Growth (YoY) Q2 2026 Revenue ~21% Q2 2026 EPS ~32% Q2 2025 Revenue (baseline) $96.43B Q2 2025 EPS (baseline) $2.31 BofA Q2 2026 EPS (Anthropic-boosted) $8.38 Look Past the Anthropic Mark to the Real Business I’ll be reading right past the headline EPS. A markup this large is a one-off accounting event, and investors still need to treat it that way, since it otherwise won’t give a clear picture of how the underlying business is performing. The real signal sits in Google Cloud, where Anthropic is a major TPU customer.

You should watch three things. First, cloud growth. Last quarter’s 63% YoY print came with CFO Anat Ashkenazi admitting “our cloud revenue would have been higher if we were able to meet the demand”. Any acceleration off the $20 billion base tells you TPU capacity is catching up.

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Second, backlog. The $462 billion cloud backlog nearly doubled QoQ, and management expects just over 50% to convert to revenue within 24 months. Another leap would confirm the AI infrastructure thesis.

Third, capex discipline. Alphabet already raised 2026 capex to $180 to $190 billion and flagged 2027 will “significantly increase”. Free cash flow fell 46.63% YoY in Q1. Another downdraft could pressure the stock even with a blowout headline.

Search matters too. AI Overviews drove 19% Search growth last quarter, and any deceleration would revive competitive fears.

A Print That Needs a Translator This quarter will hand Alphabet a spectacular headline number thanks to Anthropic, and a possible October Anthropic IPO could push the valuation higher still. But the market has already seen this movie. Prediction markets assign a 97.4% probability of a beat. What will actually move the stock is whether cloud growth reaccelerates and capex stays productive. That is the report inside the report.

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Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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At $254.96, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN | AMZN Price Prediction) screens as undervalued. The stock has recovered 10.46% year to date while Wall Street debates whether $200 billion in annual capex is genius or lunacy. The fundamentals say genius.

Amazon runs the largest cloud infrastructure business on the planet, the largest online marketplace in the West, a $70 billion advertising engine, and a custom silicon operation that management says would generate a $50 billion run rate if sold standalone. AWS delivered 28% year-over-year growth in Q1 2026, the fastest pace in 15 quarters, on a $150 billion annualized base. The market prices this like a mature retailer, while the underlying business mix is a growth compounder.

Why Amazon Looks Cheap for What It Actually Is Custom silicon arbitrage: Trainium delivers about 30% better price performance than comparable GPUs, Trainium3 is nearly fully subscribed, and Amazon holds over $225 billion in Trainium revenue commitments. Jassy said at scale the program will deliver “tens of billions of dollars of CapEx” in savings each year plus several hundred basis points of margin advantage. Amazon is renting NVIDIA capacity to customers while stacking its own zero-marginal-cost silicon underneath.

Capex land grab: Prediction markets assign a 96.7% probability that 2026 capex clears $190 billion. That spend locks in multi-gigawatt commitments from OpenAI (2 GW of Trainium), Anthropic (up to 5 GW), and Meta. AWS backlog stands at $364 billion, excluding Anthropic’s $100 billion deal.

Bedrock as enterprise nervous system: It serves over 125,000 customers, nearly 80% of the Fortune 100, and processed more tokens in Q1 than all prior years combined. Customer spend grew 170% quarter over quarter.

The Bear Case: Cash Flow Is Cratering Trailing free cash flow collapsed 95% to $1.2 billion. Long-term debt jumped to $119.1 billion from $65.6 billion, and Amazon is tapping the bond market for at least $25 billion more. AWS operating margin compressed to 37.7% from 39.5%. Q1 net income was flattered by $16.8 billion in non-recurring Anthropic gains.

The Hold Case: Wait for the Capex Curve to Bend Amazon’s capex will not peak in 2026. Data-center leases take six to 24 months to monetize, and depreciation is front-loaded against ramping revenue. A patient investor could wait for the free cash flow inflection in 2027. The stock trades at a forward P/E of 29, not screamingly cheap, and one-year performance of 12.64% lags the S&P 500’s 21.32%.

What the Numbers Actually Say Amazon trades at $254.96 against an analyst consensus target of $314.27, implying roughly 23% upside. Coverage is deep with 66 analysts: 15 Strong Buy, 47 Buy, 4 Hold, and zero Sell ratings. Year to date AMZN is up 10.46% against the S&P 500’s 10.69%, matching the index despite the heaviest capex load in the sector.

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The trailing P/E of 29 sits near a decade low. Jefferies named Amazon its top hyperscaler pick with a $320 target.

The Setup: A Rare Configuration at a Reasonable Multiple At $254.96, Amazon looks mispriced relative to its growth profile.

The path to appreciation is mechanical. AWS is compounding 28% on a $150 billion base, Trainium demand is contractually locked through Trainium4 in 2027, and Bedrock is the default AI stack for 80% of the Fortune 100. That combination usually commands a premium multiple. Amazon currently trades at a discount to peers with slower growth profiles.

A P/E of 29 on a business growing operating income 29.6% with a $364 billion visible backlog is asymmetric. Downside is bounded by prediction-market conviction that shares hold the $240 to $245 range with better than 90% probability, while the consensus target implies 23% upside.

What invalidates the thesis: an AWS deceleration below 20%, margin compression through 35%, or evidence that Trainium bookings are slipping. None of that is currently visible.

Amazon is spending like a monopolist because it is building one, and the market is still pricing it like a retailer.

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Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

MSFT stock is moving. See the chart and price action here.  Valuation CaseThe valuation argument reflects both durability and margin expansion. Microsoft still trades at a premium, with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 20.284, according to Benzinga Pro.

Morningstar believes the market underestimates long-term cash flow growth, supported by strong free cash flow, consistent double-digit revenue gains and rising operating leverage. A growing mix of subscription and cloud revenue improves earnings quality and reduces volatility.

Cloud and AI LeadershipCloud and AI remain central to the thesis. Microsoft stands among a small group of hyperscale providers offering broad platform and infrastructure services. 

Its investment in OpenAI strengthens its role in enterprise AI adoption. This positioning supports long-term demand across industries adopting automation and data-driven tools.

Azure as the Core EngineAzure drives much of Microsoft’s growth. The platform generates roughly $75 billion in annual revenue and continues expanding at nearly 30%. Its hybrid cloud model allows companies to shift workloads gradually while maintaining existing systems. The flexibility lowers adoption friction and strengthens customer retention over time.

Ecosystem AdvantageMicrosoft’s installed base across Windows, Office and enterprise tools creates a powerful funnel into Azure. Customers can move data and applications seamlessly into the cloud within the same ecosystem. This structure increases switching costs and deepens customer relationships as Azure also serves as a foundation for AI, analytics and Internet of Things workloads.

The company’s transition to cloud-based software is largely complete. Office 365, LinkedIn, Dynamics 365, and the Power Platform now run on subscription models. Office maintains dominance in productivity software, while premium tiers increase revenue per user. Gaming is also shifting toward cloud delivery and recurring revenue streams.

Key RisksThe Bottom LineMorningstar’s thesis depends on sustained execution. Continued leadership in cloud and AI, combined with expanding margins, supports the view that Microsoft trades more like a value opportunity than a fully priced growth stock.

MSFT Stock Price Activity: Microsoft stock was up 2.08% at $402.00 at the time of publication Monday, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Over the past month, MSFT has gained about 7.0% versus a 0.5% decline in the S&P 500 and is down roughly 17% year-to-date compared to the index’s 8.5% gain.

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On the July 16, 2026 episode of Mad Money, a caller identified as D phoned in about his sizable Alibaba (NYSE:BABA | BABA Price Prediction) position and asked Jim Cramer whether patience was still the right call. Cramer’s response was to hold the position and let the investment cycle play out.

Cramer told D, “I think you need to have patience here. I think it’s just down on a dip. It’s really still the best way to play China.“ He then framed his own geopolitical stance, saying, “I am a harder line on the Chinese than most people you see on air. But you know what? I want to try to help people make money, and I think you can make money on Alibaba.“ Cramer also referenced China’s GDP growth figures as “down 20% and 4.4%” during the segment.

Alibaba Is Sacrificing Profits to Build Its AI Future Alibaba, run by CEO Eddie Wu, is in a deliberate reinvestment phase. Fiscal Q4 2026, reported May 13, 2026, showed revenue of $35.28 billion, up 3% YoY, with EPS of $0.09 and an operating loss of $123 million. Adjusted EBITA collapsed 84% to $740 million as the company poured capital into AI infrastructure and quick commerce. Free cash flow ran to negative $2.508 billion on capex of $3.898 billion.

Cloud Revenue Jumps 40% as Alibaba’s AI Bet Takes Off The bright spot was the business’s cloud unit. Cloud Intelligence Group revenue accelerated to 40% growth, with AI-related products at 30% of external cloud revenue, hitting an 11th consecutive quarter of triple-digit AI product growth. CEO Eddie Wu said, “Alibaba’s full-stack AI investments have progressed from incubation to commercialization at scale.”

BABA opened at $114.97 on Monday, July 20, before soaring 5.71% in intraday trading. The stock is down roughly 17.51% year-to-date but up 13.50% over the past month. Wall Street’s consensus target sits at $190.01, with 8 Strong Buy and 30 Buy ratings against just 2 negative calls.

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Cramer Says Balance Alibaba With These 2 Long-Term Winners Cramer paired his Alibaba call with 2 other top long-term ideas: “If you want some long-term winners, look at something like a J&J or Wells Fargo.” Both fit the steady-compounder profile that balances a volatile China ADR.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) posted Q1 2026 revenue of $24.06B, up 9.9% YoY, and raised FY guidance to $100.3B-$101.3B in revenue with adjusted EPS of $11.45-$11.65. It just delivered its 64th consecutive year of dividend increases. Shares are up 23.63% YTD and carry a beta of 0.235.

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), under CEO Charlie Scharf, reported Q1 2026 revenue of $21.45B and EPS of $1.60, returned $5.4B to shareholders including dividends, and now targets ROTCE of 17-18% after the Fed’s asset cap was removed in 2025. It trades at a forward P/E of just 12.

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Stablecoins were supposed to make payment networks less necessary. Visa’s new stablecoin platform, introduced Thursday (July 16), suggests a messier outcome.

The move comes on the heels of Visa’s June announcement that it had joined a 140-plus member Open Standard consortium to launch Open USD (OUSD), a dollar-backed stablecoin.

The technical act of transferring a stablecoin is relatively simple. The institutional act of operating with one is not. In a future that progresses linearly from now, stablecoins may not bypass the networks after all. They may become another product the networks package, govern and monetize.

Visa’s new Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP), now in beta with select clients, gives financial institutions, FinTechs and crypto companies a single managed environment for minting, redeeming, holding and transferring stablecoins. The platform initially supports Open USD and includes wallet infrastructure, bank-account connectivity and institutional controls such as dual approvals, audit logs, secure passkeys and transfer allow lists.

The immediate product pitch is about simplifying stablecoin adoption. The more consequential strategic move is that Visa is positioning itself to manage the operating environment around on-chain money, even when the underlying value no longer travels through a conventional card transaction.

Blockchains provide the settlement rail. Stablecoins provide the digital asset. But neither automatically provides the permissions, workflows, reporting and interoperability that regulated businesses need. Those functions sit above the blockchain, and Visa is attempting to turn them into a managed service.

See also: Nobody Told the ERP That Blockchain Won 

The Real Product Is Not the Stablecoin, It’s the Reconciliation Much of the early stablecoin market was organized around individual issuers, wallets and networks. Institutions had to choose an asset, select one or more blockchains, arrange custody or wallet infrastructure and assemble the compliance and fiat connections around them. That fragmentation created an adoption problem. The more stablecoin and blockchain options emerged, the more integration decisions an institution had to make.

Fast forward to today, and stablecoins may change how money moves without substantially changing who makes that movement usable. Stripe’s failed bid for PayPal had a similar strategic element to Visa’s VSP launch in that the acquisition, had it been successful, aimed to abstract away the infrastructure around stablecoin payments then ultimately sell the resulting capability to businesses and merchants.

A bank or FinTech can’t just go ahead and create a wallet, buy digital dollars and begin moving corporate liquidity across a blockchain. It must determine who has authority to initiate a transaction, who must approve it, which destinations are permitted, how private credentials are protected and how every action will be reconstructed for compliance teams, auditors and regulators. To do that, the bank or fintech must also connect any blockchain activity to bank accounts, treasury systems, liquidity controls and existing accounting processes.

These less glamorous requirements are becoming a potentially valuable enterprise software category.

Read more: Open USD Just Turned the Stablecoin Race Into an Ecosystem Contest

Payment Networks Can Sit Above Everyone Else’s Blockchain Rails The stablecoin debate has often been framed as a competition between legacy payment infrastructure and blockchain-based alternatives. Visa’s platform suggests the lines may be less distinct. The winning stablecoin infrastructure is likely to be the infrastructure that makes the underlying asset and blockchain least visible to the institution using them. This is also something that industry experts have separately and repeatedly stressed in conversation with PYMNTS.

Established payment companies can adopt blockchain settlement while retaining control over the customer relationship, compliance framework and operating interface. Crypto firms can gain access to institutional clients without having to recreate the global distribution and risk-management capabilities of a major network.

The result could be less disruption than recombination.

Tempo Go-To-Market Lead Dan Romero argued on an earlier episode of “From the Block,” the PYMNTS podcast hosted by CEO Karen Webster and Citi Global Head of Digital Assets, Treasury and Trade Solutions Ryan Rugg, that cryptocurrency has evolved into what he called a “barbell economy” split between speculative markets and real-world payments rails.

The survivors in digital assets, Romero said, are the businesses focused on a far less ideological problem: moving money better. Many of crypto’s most ambitious consumer experiments, from decentralized social networks to mass-market apps, never gained traction. Romero himself spent years building Farcaster, a decentralized social protocol, before concluding that much of the sector’s consumer vision “didn’t work.”

“Most of what has happened in crypto over the last decade has not really impacted the real world,” he said.

See more: Stablecoins Are Just Wildcat Banking With Better Wi-Fi

The direction of travel across the stablecoin landscape is a revealing one. Visa is not treating stablecoins merely as a faster settlement instrument or a threat to card volume. It is treating them as a new category of enterprise money that requires distribution, governance and operational tooling.

The card networks became powerful by standardizing how institutions connected to electronic payments. Stablecoins give Visa an opportunity to repeat that play at a different layer of the financial system.

Still, the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Waiting for Certainty: Why Most CFOs Are Holding Back on Crypto and Stablecoins,” the March installment of the 2026 Certainty Project, showed that most middle-market companies remain cautious about digital assets. Usage is limited, with 13% of firms using stablecoins and 5% employing other cryptocurrencies.

Key Takeaways Costco expects to end fiscal 2026 with 940 warehouses, up from 914 at the year's start. Larger relocations, more parking and expanded gas stations aim to remove bottlenecks and add capacity. China, Korea, Japan and Europe support a five- to 10-year international expansion runway. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) continues to expand its physical footprint at a sustained pace of warehouse openings. The company is targeting more than 30 net-new locations annually, supported by a growing real estate pipeline across domestic and international markets. For fiscal 2026, Costco expects 26 net new openings, with two previously planned warehouses shifting into fiscal 2027 rather than being canceled.

Costco began fiscal 2026 with 914 warehouses and expects to finish the year with 940. Most of the fiscal-year openings are planned in the United States, where the warehouse count is estimated to reach 648, while Canada and other international markets also contribute.

The opportunity extends beyond simply entering new markets. Costco is relocating selected high-volume warehouses into larger facilities with more parking and expanded gas stations. These investments are intended to remove operational bottlenecks and create additional selling capacity.

International expansion provides another long runway. Management sees meaningful opportunities across China, Korea, Japan, Spain, France and the United Kingdom, while Canada’s development pipeline is already mapped out for several years. Costco expects strong international expansion to continue over the next five to 10 years, suggesting its warehouse growth strategy remains broad, deliberate and far from mature.

Costco currently operates 933 warehouses, including 641 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 115 in Canada, 43 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, three in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland and New Zealand.

What the Latest Metrics Say About CostcoCostco, which competes with Dollar General Corporation (DG - Free Report) and Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) , has seen its shares drop 6.4% over the past three months compared with the industry’s 2.5% decline. While shares of Dollar General have risen 1.3%, those of Target have jumped 5.7% in the aforementioned period.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Costco's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 42.27, higher than the industry’s ratio of 30.85. However, the stock is trading below its 12-month median level of 44.49, indicating some moderation in valuation despite sustained investor confidence in the stock.

Costco is trading at a premium to Target (with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 16.23) and Dollar General (16.39).

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 9.6% and 13.5%, respectively. For the next fiscal year, the consensus estimate indicates a 7.8% rise in sales and 10.2% growth in earnings.

The consensus estimates for earnings per share for both the current and next fiscal year have increased by 6 cents to $20.42 and $22.50, respectively, over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

watch now

Asymmetric warfare. A long absence. Fierce loyalty. Of course, while many associate these themes with Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," it could also aptly apply to the never-ending saga that is AMC and the army of "ape" traders.

AMC options surged out of the gate this morning with over 300,000 contracts traded as of writing, almost five times the 30-day average and a top 20 stock in the entire market by options volume. Flows were very bullish, with almost 100,000 calls bought, compared to 62,000 calls sold and under 10,000 puts bought, following the film record box office.

In addition to "The Odyssey" breaking records, AMC reported earnings today that beat analysts' expectations and showed double-digit revenue growth.

"America's fascinated with The Odyssey this weekend," AMC CEO Adam Aron said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" this morning. AMC theatres received 4.3 million guests globally across the weekend, Aron added.

AMC 5-day chart

Monday's rally adds to an almost four-month-long climb in AMC shares to just under 150%. That said, for bulls who've been in the stock since its heyday as a retail "meme" favorite after Covid, it's far from a coming-home party. Shares are still down 99% from its all-time high above $700 in 2021. Of course, the options market played a key role in the meme stock mania, often leading underlying shares of AMC.

More than $6 million in options premium exchanged hands Monday, with $5.5 million tied to call contracts.

The most popular options contracts by dollar amount were the 2 and 2.5-strike calls expiring Aug. 21, which were on offer for 39- and 20 cents, respectively. The most popular trade by volume was the 3-strike call with the same expiry, which needs a 34% rally to break even.

Traders willing to spend more on premium may want to watch Imax, up 37% the past year with call options showing some life today, but not nearly as busy as AMC trading.

"As a result of Covid there was a lot of experimentation but what Hollywood has learned over the last several years is people love to go to movie theaters," Aron said in the interview. "Studio after studio is turning out movie after movie designed for the big screen."

watch now

Key Takeaways Archer-Daniels-Midland is executing cost-saving initiatives across operations and customer service.ADM remains on track for $500M-$750M in cumulative cost savings over the three-to-five year period.ADM is expanding automation, AI and growth platforms to enhance efficiency and long-term returns. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM - Free Report) continues to advance multiple initiatives to improve operational efficiency and support long-term growth. The company highlighted ongoing cost-saving projects across its manufacturing operations, along with efforts to lower the cost to serve customers and strengthen organizational capabilities. The company is also investing in five growth platforms that provide a balanced mix of short-, medium- and long-term opportunities. According to management, this combination of efficiency initiatives and growth investments is expected to support a steady pace of progress in the years ahead.

The company noted that it will continue to closely monitor external factors that could influence business performance. At the same time, management remains focused on executing the cost savings program launched last year and stated that the company is on track to achieve its targeted cumulative cost savings of $500 million to $750 million over the three- to five-year period beginning in 2025.

Additionally, the company is pursuing initiatives to improve operational efficiency by targeting a meaningful reduction in transaction costs across its global operations. Management plans to achieve this through greater automation and increased use of AI to reduce manual processes, minimize errors and shorten cycle times. These initiatives also extend to supply chain management and freight and logistics networks. To sustain these technical capabilities, ADM recently established a Capability Center in India to build and maintain deep functional expertise in priority areas.

These efficiency efforts also extend to the company's supply chain management and freight and logistics networks. In addition, the company continues to invest in high-growth opportunities designed to generate long-term returns and has established a new senior innovation and growth leadership role to accelerate these initiatives across the enterprise. Overall, ADM’s disciplined execution of productivity initiatives should strengthen its competitive position, enhance operating leverage and provide a solid foundation for sustainable profitability and long-term growth.

The Zacks Rundown for ADMShares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 26.8% in the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 18.1%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, ADM trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, higher than the industry’s average of 16.03.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ADM’s current and next fiscal year earnings implies growth of 37.3% and 6.8%, respectively.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks have been discussed below:

Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FMX - Free Report) operates as a franchise bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages worldwide. FMX currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FMX's current fiscal-year sales and earnings indicates growth of 17.3% and 131%, respectively. FMX delivered a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of nearly 17%, on average.

Black Rock Coffee Bar, Inc. (BRCB - Free Report) offers classic espresso-based drinks, energy drinks, and savory and sweet items under the all-day breakfast brand. BRCB currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRCB’s current fiscal-year sales implies growth of 26.6% from the year-ago actuals. BRCB delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 20.8%, on average.

The Vita Coco Company, Inc. (COCO - Free Report) develops, manufactures, markets and distributes coconut water products under the Vita Coco brand name. COCO currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COCO's current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies growth of 22.3% and 48.7%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. COCO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.7%, on average.

Item 1 of 3 Paramount and Warner Bros logos are seen in this illustration taken December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

[1/3]Paramount and Warner Bros logos are seen in this illustration taken December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

SummaryCompaniesRuling an early win for statesJudge sets August 3 hearing on longer pauseCosts will mount for Paramount if closing delayed past SeptemberJuly 20 (Reuters) - Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O), opens new tab must pause its $110 billion acquisition of Warner ‌Bros. Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab through August 3, a federal judge ruled on Monday after a California-led coalition of states argued the merger would irreparably harm competition.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland handed an early win to the group of states including New York, Colorado and Massachusetts, ​saying they had made a "strong showing" that the deal would unlawfully decrease competition.

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Warner Bros. Discovery shares were ​down as much as 4% on Monday afternoon.

"Today’s decision is an important victory for ⁠all those who would be hurt by this merger, and I look forward to continuing to fight this case," ​said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The judge will hold a hearing on August 3 on whether the deal ​should be delayed throughout the course of the lawsuit, which could take months to reach a final ruling.

Spokespeople for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Paramount has said the lawsuit distorts settled antitrust law, and that delaying the transaction would only ​harm entertainment workers who have already suffered through years of industry disruption.

STATES SUEThe lawsuit, filed in Oakland federal ​court, threatens to derail Paramount CEO David Ellison's bid to transform his company into a major rival of Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab and Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab.

California and ‌11 states ⁠sued on July 13, arguing the deal would create a media behemoth with the power to raise prices in film and television.

Martínez-Olguín agreed with the states that letting the deal close would likely lead to changes that are hard to undo if the merger is ultimately found to be illegal, such as job cuts and sharing of sensitive ​information.

The judge said the ​deal looks likely to violate ⁠antitrust law if it gives the combined company 27% of the market for distribution of widely-released films as the states have alleged. A final determination would come after ​both sides present evidence at trial.

Paramount Skydance's argument that companies like Amazon and Apple ​have entered the ⁠film market recently was not enough to show the merger is lawful, the judge said.

With fewer distributors, studios could find it easier to pressure theater owners for a greater share of ticket revenue, the states have alleged.

A prolonged interruption could ⁠hurt ​Paramount Skydance financially. For each calendar day the merger is delayed past September ​30, Ellison would be on the hook to pay Warner Bros. shareholders a 25-cent-per-share “ticking fee,” or about $7 million a day, according to the merger agreement, opens new tab.

Reporting ​by Jody Godoy in New York and Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Nick Zieminski

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Jody Godoy reports on tech policy and antitrust enforcement, including how regulators are responding to the rise of AI. Reach her at [email protected]

Key Takeaways HCA reports Q2 2026 results July 24, with consensus EPS of $7.41 on revenue of $19.92 billion.HCA is expected to see higher admissions and revenue per admission, supporting year-over-year growth.HCA faces pressure from higher expenses, shorter stays and fewer outpatient surgery cases. Hospital operator HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA - Free Report) is set to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 24, 2026, before the opening bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings is currently pegged at $7.41 per shareon revenues of $19.92 billion.

The second-quarter earnings estimate has witnessed one upward revision against no movement in the opposite direction over the past 30 days. The bottom-line projection indicates year-over-year growth of 8.3%. Also, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues implies a year-over-year increase of 7.1%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

For 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCA Healthcare’s revenues is pegged at $78.57 billion, implying a rise of 3.9% year over year. The consensus mark for 2026 EPS is pegged at $29.87, implying an increase of 5.9% year over year.

HCA Healthcare’s earnings beat estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 10.6%. This is depicted in the figure below.

Q2 Earnings Whispers for HCAOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for the company 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. That’s not the case here.

HCA has an Earnings ESP of +2.41% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

What’s Shaping HCA Healthcare’s Q2 Results?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCA Healthcare’s second-quarter equivalent admissions indicates 2.2% year-over-year growth, whereas our model estimate suggests a 1.7% jump. The consensus mark for revenue per equivalent admission signals a 2.7% rise from a year ago, while we expect 2.1% growth.

The consensus estimate for occupancy is pegged at 72.8%, up from 72% a year ago. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for equivalent patient days indicates a 1.9% year-over-year increase.

While these factors are likely to have positioned HCA Healthcare for growth from the year-ago quarter, rising expenses, lower average length of stay and outpatient surgery cases make an earnings beat uncertain.

Our model estimate for second-quarter total operating expenses indicates a 4.4% increase from a year ago, due to higher salaries & benefits, supply costs and other operating expenses. We expect supply costs to jump 3.3% in the to-be-reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for average length of stay indicates a 0.8% decline from the year-ago period. Moreover, both the consensus estimate and our model estimate for outpatient surgery cases imply a 0.3% fall from a year ago.

Stocks That Warrant a LookWhile an earnings beat looks uncertain for HCA Healthcare, here are some companies from the broader Medical space that you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this time around:

ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. (PMN - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +13.30% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ProMIS’ bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter of a loss of $1.45 indicates 80% year-over-year improvement. It has witnessed one upward revision against no downward movement over the past 60 days.

Alcon Inc. (ALC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.13% and a Zacks Rank of 2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Alcon’s bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter indicates a 1.3% increase from a year ago. The company’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with an average surprise of 3.7%. The consensus estimate for ALC’s revenues is pegged at $2.77 billion, signaling a 7.3% increase.

Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.24% and a Zacks Rank of 2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cardinal Health’s bottom line for the to-be-reported quarter suggests 16.4% year-over-year growth. Its earnings beat estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 10.3%. CAH’s revenues for the to-be-reported quarter are pegged at $65.61 billion, a 9.1% increase from the year-ago period.

Strategic Thermal Labs delivers advanced liquid cooling and thermal engineering solutions for high-performance computing

, /PRNewswire/ -- Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce the sale of Strategic Thermal Labs (STL), a specialist in advanced liquid-cooling technologies, to a wholly owned subsidiary of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE: VRT), a global leader in critical digital infrastructure.

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL), a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm, is pleased to announce the sale of Strategic Thermal Labs (STL), a specialist in advanced liquid-cooling technologies, to a wholly owned subsidiary of Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE: VRT), a global leader in critical digital infrastructure. BGL's Digital Infrastructure investment banking team served as the exclusive financial advisor to Strategic Thermal Labs. Learn more here: https://www.bglco.com/industry-coverage/infrastructure-investment-banking/digital-infrastructure-investment-banking/

Headquartered in Georgetown, Texas, STL is a thermal engineering firm specializing in direct-to-chip liquid cooling, including the design and development of high-performance cold plate solutions. The company provides deep expertise and proven capability in addressing some of the industry's most demanding chip-level density and thermal challenges across data centers, high-performance computing, and AI-driven infrastructure.

Headquartered in Westerville, Ohio, Vertiv provides power, cooling, and IT infrastructure solutions and services that support critical applications across data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments.

Transaction Details

The acquisition extends Vertiv's thermal-chain strategy by strengthening engineering capability at the interface between server-side liquid cooling and supporting infrastructure—an increasingly critical factor in high-density, liquid-cooled environments supporting AI and high-performance computing workloads. The addition of Strategic Thermal Labs supports Vertiv's broader strategy of helping customers address increasing infrastructure complexity through integrated power, thermal, controls, and lifecycle services capabilities. Strategic Thermal Labs adds proven cold-plate design, server-side liquid cooling, and high-density thermal validation expertise and engineering capability that is expected to strengthen Vertiv's ability to simulate and emulate real high-density compute conditions, optimize the interaction between the thermal chain and power train, and support customers across design, integration, commissioning, and lifecycle operations. About BGL's Digital Infrastructure Investment Banking Team

BGL's Digital Infrastructure investment banking team helps clients both create and maximize value across various sectors, including broadband, wireless, data centers & managed services, towers & wireless infrastructure, and digital infrastructure services.

To learn more about BGL's recent transactions in digital infrastructure investment, visit our Transaction page.

About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm focused on the global middle market. The firm advises private and public corporations and private equity groups on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructurings, business valuations and opinions, and other strategic matters. BGL has offices in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and New York. The firm is also a founding member of REACH Cross-Border Mergers & Acquisitions, enabling BGL to service clients in 30 countries around the world. Securities transactions are conducted through Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC and a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com.

SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

Key Takeaways MP Materials is favored for stronger long-term growth despite near-term cost pressures.MP's U.S. magnet expansion and government-backed projects strengthen its competitive position.Lynas has commercialized heavy rare earths and secured supply deals with pricing floors. MP Materials (MP - Free Report) and Lynas Rare Earths Limited (LYSDY - Free Report) are among the most prominent players in the global rare earth supply chain and are expected to play key roles in the West’s efforts to secure critical mineral independence and reduce reliance on Chinese supply. 

Las Vegas, NV-based MP Materials is the only fully integrated rare earth producer in the United States. It has capabilities covering the entire supply chain, from mining and processing to advanced metallization and magnet manufacturing. MP has a market capitalization of $8 billion. Perth, Australia-based Lynas, valued at around $11.2 billion, engages in the exploration, development, mining, extraction and processing of rare earth minerals in Australia and Malaysia. 

Rare earths are crucial to the production of high-performance magnets used in EVs, defense and high-tech applications. For investors looking to tap into the long-term growth of the rare earth sector, the key question is which stock one should bet on — MP or LYSDY. To make an informed decision, let us analyze their fundamentals, growth potential and key challenges.

The Case for MP MaterialsMP Materials owns and operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, the only large-scale rare earth mining and processing facility in North America. It also owns the Independence facility in Fort Worth, TX, where it manufactures magnetic precursor products and began producing neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets in December 2025.

The company made significant strategic progress in 2025, including a long-term agreement to supply U.S.-made recycled rare-earth magnets to Apple and a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of War (DoW) aimed at accelerating a domestic magnet supply chain.

Backed by government incentives, the company is constructing the second domestic magnet manufacturing facility (the 10X Facility) in Northlake, TX, which will lift its total U.S. magnet capacity to 10,000 metric tons. MP is also expanding operations at the Independence facility and scaled heavy rare earth separation commissioning activities are set to begin soon at Mountain Pass.

Operationally, MP continues to scale production and downstream manufacturing capabilities. In first-quarter 2026, the company produced a record 917 metric tons of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), up 63% year over year, driven by higher separated-product output. Rare-earth oxide concentrate production also reached a quarterly record of 12,983 metric tons, up 6% year over year due to improved recoveries and operational efficiencies.

Total company revenues rose 49% year over year to $90.6 million in the quarter, supported by stronger performance in both the Materials and Magnetics segments. MP also recognized $42.3 million in income related to its price protection agreement with the DoW.

However, profitability remains under pressure as the company transitions toward higher-value separated rare-earth products and magnetic materials. Cost of sales increased 52% in the quarter, while SG&A expenses rose 39%. Start-up costs surged more than 500% due to magnet production and chlor-alkali facility ramp-ups, while advanced project and development expenses climbed 302%. 

MP Materials reported an operating loss of $24 million in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the year-ago loss of $34.8 million. The company reported adjusted earnings of three cents per share against the year-ago quarter’s loss of 12 cents. Looking ahead, the company expects additional cost pressures as production scales. Start-up costs are also likely to increase further in the coming quarters.

The Case for LynasThe company’s operations are anchored by the high-grade Mt Weld mine in Western Australia. Material from Mt Weld is processed at facilities in Kalgoorlie and the Lynas Malaysia advanced materials plant in Kuantan. Lynas is also developing a Heavy Rare Earth (HRE) processing facility in Texas under a U.S. DoW contract.

Lynas achieved a milestone in 2025 with the production of dysprosium oxide (Dy) and terbium oxide (Tb) on the new production line at Lynas Malaysia. It marked the first commercial production of separated HRE for Lynas and also the first production outside China in decades. 

Lynas reported NdPr production of 1,996 tons in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended March 31, 2026), representing a 32% year-over-year increase. The company also produced eight tons of dysprosium and terbium during the quarter. In March 2026, the company produced samarium oxide, a month ahead of target. This first production of samarium oxide sets Lynas apart as a commercial producer and supplier of both light and heavy rare earths.

Samarium oxide is in high demand for use in high-performance magnets for electronics and aerospace, as well as optical, catalyst and medical applications. Lynas expects to deliver annual initial production of around 400 tons with more upside, once its additional HRE separation capacity is constructed and operational.

Revenues surged 115% to AUD 265 million ($186 million) for the third quarter of fiscal 2026, driven by higher NdPr and REO volumes and stronger NdPr pricing.

Strategically, Lynas continues to secure long-term demand visibility. In March 2026, the company announced the signing of a binding Letter of Intent to finalize a rare earth oxide supply agreement with the U.S. government. This will support the U.S. industrial base and the U.S. government’s rare earths supply-chain resilience efforts. Per the terms, around $96 million previously allocated to the construction of an HRE facility in Texas will now be used to purchase light and heavy rare earth oxide products from Lynas’ existing facilities over a four-year period. The floor price for the supply of NdPr oxide will be $110 per kg.

The company also signed two important agreements with its Japanese partners, Japan Australia Rare Earths B.V. (“JARE”), which provide firm offtake commitments, pricing floors and exposure to upside pricing. The renewal of Lynas Malaysia’s operating license for 10 years in March 2026 significantly enhances regulatory certainty compared with prior shorter-term renewals.

Having largely completed its Lynas 2025 growth plan, which expanded capacity, improved efficiency and enabled HRE production, the company is now focused on its “Towards 2030” strategy. Its two focal points are optimizing performance from the Lynas 2025 capital investments and expanding its resource and scale, boosting downstream capacity and expanding in the metal and magnet supply chain. Lynas continues to develop partnerships with metal and magnet makers to expand the metal and magnet supply chain. 

How do Estimates Compare for MP & LYSDY?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MP Materials’ fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at 22 cents per share, indicating a turnaround performance from the loss of 24 cents in 2025. The estimate for MP Materials’ 2027 earnings is pegged at $1.04 per share, implying 373.4% year-over-year growth. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Lynas’ fiscal 2026 earnings (ending June 2026) is pegged at 21 cents per share, indicating a substantial increase from earnings of one cent in fiscal 2025. The fiscal 2027 estimate of 48 cents indicates 129% year-over-year growth. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Both estimates for MP Materials’ 2026 and 2027 have been revised downward over the past 90 days. Estimates for Lynas’ fiscal 2026 have moved down in the past 90 days, while the estimates for fiscal 2027 have moved up. This is shown in the charts below.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

MP vs. LYSDY: Price Performance & ValuationOver the past three months, MP Materials stock has declined 31.2% compared with Lynas’ 19.8% fall. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

MP Materials is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 12.54 while Lynas is trading at a lower 9.53.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

MP Materials or Lynas: Which Stock is the Better Buy?Both MP Materials and Lynas are strategically positioned to benefit from the robust long-term demand outlook for rare earths. MP continues to enhance its competitive position through government-backed initiatives, expanding magnet manufacturing capacity and greater downstream integration, all of which strengthen its long-term growth prospects. However, its ongoing investments and capacity expansion continue to weigh on costs and near-term profitability.

Lynas has executed well operationally, successfully commercializing heavy rare earth production and securing long-term supply agreements with favorable pricing mechanisms. Nevertheless, despite its operational progress, its projected earnings growth lags MP Materials, whose longer-term growth potential remains stronger despite near-term cost pressures.

MP Materials currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while Lynas has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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

Key Takeaways Nu Holdings reached 135 million customers as quarterly revenues and net income hit records.Mexico posted its first profitable quarter as Nu expanded to 15 million customers in four years.NU's credit portfolio rose 40%, while delinquencies increased and risk-adjusted margins declined. Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU - Free Report) , the parent of Nubank, has built one of Latin America’s largest digital financial platforms. Its branchless model combines credit cards, deposits, loans, payments and investment products in one mobile application. The company ended the first quarter of 2026 with more than 135 million customers across Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, giving it greater consumer reach than many digital-banking rivals.

NU shares have risen about 6.3% over the past month, outperforming close fintech peers SoFi Technologies, Inc. (SOFI - Free Report) and StoneCo Ltd. (STNE - Free Report) over a comparable recent period. SoFi and StoneCo shares have gained 1.1% and roughly 3.8%, respectively. The comparison suggests that investors have responded positively to Nu’s earnings growth, improving efficiency and progress in Mexico, even as the wider fintech group has remained uneven.

However, a rising share price does not remove the risks. NU is expanding lending rapidly, investing in artificial intelligence and preparing for measured entry into the United States. Investors must balance these growth opportunities against higher provisions, credit exposure and a valuation that already assumes continued execution.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Customer Growth Supports the Bull Case for NUNu Holdings’ scale remains its clearest advantage. The company passed 115 million customers in Brazil, 15 million in Mexico and approached 5 million in Colombia. Monthly activity remained strong at 83%, while monthly average revenue per active customer increased to around $16. These trends helped quarterly revenues reach approximately $5 billion for the first time in the first quarter of 2026.

Profitability also improved. First-quarter net income reached a record $871 million, up 41% year over year on an FX-neutral basis. NU’s reported efficiency ratio fell to 17.6%, showing that revenues continue to grow faster than operating expenses. Management expects the full-year ratio to move closer to 20% as delayed marketing, property and investment costs return during later quarters.

Mexico offers another major opportunity. Nu Holdings’ customer base has expanded from slightly more than 2 million to 15 million in four years. The operation also recorded its first quarter of IFRS profitability ahead of management’s internal plan. Mexico remains underbanked, and NU currently controls less than 1% of the profit pool it hopes to address.

AI and New Products of NU Could Lift EngagementManagement is using artificial intelligence to speed product development, improve credit decisions and lower servicing costs. Engineering output increased more than 50% year over year, while AI-based financial tools were already serving above 15 million monthly active users. Nu Holdings’ proprietary models are being used for credit-card decisions and unsecured lending, allowing the company to assess individual loan requests in under one second.

The company is also expanding into small-business banking. NU has approximately 5 million small-business customers in Brazil, many acquired by cross-selling services to existing personal-banking users. This base could support further growth in business cards, deposits, and secured and unsecured loans without large customer-acquisition spending.

Credit Expansion Creates Risk for NUNU’s credit portfolio climbed 40% to $37.2 billion, led by a 53% increase in unsecured lending. Total credit exposure, including available card limits, rose 44% to $70.7 billion. Because credit cards and unsecured loans made up 98% of new exposure, the company had to record larger expected-loss provisions.

Early-stage delinquencies increased to 5% from 4.11% at year-end, while risk-adjusted net interest margin declined to 9.5% from 10.5%. Management attributed most of the change to normal seasonality, portfolio growth and product mix rather than weakening borrowers. Still, investors should closely watch these measures because rapid unsecured lending can produce larger losses during an economic downturn.

NU’s Estimate RevisionsWhile earnings estimates for both 2026 and 2027 have been revised marginally downward over the past 60 days, the consensus mark has remained unchanged in recent times. However, these figures suggest year-over-year growth of 33.87% and 38.07%, respectively.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Is NU Stock Fairly Valued?NU trades at approximately 13.48 times forward earnings. That is well below SoFi Technologies’ forward multiple of about 24.53 times but considerably above StoneCo’s 4.9 times. The discount to SoFi appears reasonable because SoFi operates in the competitive U.S. market and receives a higher growth premium. Nu Holdings’ premium over StoneCo reflects its larger customer platform, stronger earnings expansion and broader consumer-banking opportunity.

NU's Valuation

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

NU is not an obvious bargain. StoneCo offers a much cheaper valuation, while SoFi Technologies provides exposure to U.S. lending and financial technology. Investors choosing Nu Holdings over StoneCo or SoFi are betting that its Latin American scale, Mexico expansion and credit models will continue producing above-average growth.

NU Stock Recommendation: HoldNu Holdings has a strong long-term story built around customer growth, low operating costs and a rising presence beyond Brazil. Mexico’s first profitable quarter, higher customer revenues and record net income show that the business can scale effectively. AI tools and small-business products may create additional growth, while NU’s valuation is more reasonable than SoFi Technologies’ multiple.

However, the stock’s recent 6.3% rise, growing unsecured-credit exposure and higher provisions call for patience, and NU must ensure that rapid lending growth will not weaken asset quality. It seems prudent for existing investors to retain their positions, but new buyers may wait for a better entry price.

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

Tempus AI (NASDAQ:TEM) will acquire Personalis (NASDAQ:PNSL) in a stock deal valued at $1.5 billion, expanding its reach in the market for tests that monitor cancer recurrence after treatment.

Personalis shareholders will receive $16.25 per share, a 6% premium to Friday's closing price and a 28% premium to the unaffected 30-day volume-weighted average price.

The deal is structured as an all-stock transaction, though Tempus has the option to pay up to 50% of the consideration in cash, with a maximum exchange ratio of 0.3356 Tempus shares for each Personalis share.

Shares of Tempus fell more than 8% Monday, while Personalis dropped 11.5%.

The acquisition builds on a partnership the companies established in November 2023, when Tempus invested in Personalis and began commercializing its NeXT Personal minimal residual disease (MRD) test.

Personalis' technology, which tracks circulating tumor DNA to detect cancer recurrence and monitor treatment response, has Medicare coverage in three indications.

"MRD is a large and rapidly growing market with the potential to truly transform how cancer patients are monitored, helping clinicians make faster and more informed decisions when cancer recurs," said Eric Lefkofsky, CEO of Tempus.

Personalis reported preliminary second-quarter revenue of $22.4 million, with 10,384 clinical tests delivered in the quarter, a 33% increase in volumes from the prior quarter.

The deal, approved by both companies' boards, is expected to close in late 2026 or early 2027, pending Personalis shareholder approval and regulatory clearance.

Key Takeaways NBIS is expanding AI cloud capacity, products and partnerships while demand continues to exceed supply.C3.ai is restructuring operations, expanding AI adoption and improving enterprise product execution.NBIS reaffirmed its 2026 guidance, while AI faces revenue and profitability challenges Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS - Free Report) and C3.ai, Inc. (AI - Free Report) are capitalizing on the rapid adoption of AI, but they are pursuing distinct growth strategies to capture the expanding market opportunity. While Nebius is building an AI-native cloud infrastructure platform with a focus on hyperscale computing capacity, C3.ai is strengthening its enterprise AI software business through organizational changes, product enhancements and broader adoption of AI across its operations.

Both companies remain focused on expanding their AI capabilities and scaling their businesses to meet rising enterprise demand. However, their growth strategies, execution priorities and business models differ significantly, making the comparison important for investors seeking exposure to the AI sector.

Let’s evaluate their fundamentals, growth prospects, market challenges and valuations to determine which stock presents a stronger investment opportunity.

The Case for NBISNebius is rapidly expanding its AI-native hyperscaler platform by investing aggressively in capacity, products, customers and capital to strengthen its position in the AI infrastructure market. During the first quarter of 2026, the company increased its contracted power capacity from more than 2 gigawatts to more than 3.5 gigawatts and now expects to reach at least 4 gigawatts by the end of 2026. It also announced a new Pennsylvania facility that will support 1.2 gigawatts of power when fully operational. More than 75% of its contracted capacity is now owned, supporting its strategy of building a vertically integrated full-stack AI cloud platform. Management stated that the company is executing across four key pillars, capacity and scale, product and functionality, customers and demand, and capital, while remaining focused on disciplined execution across each area.

The company continues to expand beyond compute into cloud services that cover the complete AI lifecycle, including bare-metal infrastructure, multi-tenancy, inference and emerging agentic capabilities. NBIS strengthened its software and AI offerings through the acquisitions of Tavily, Eigen AI and Clarifai, which added experienced AI engineers and researchers while improving inference optimization, Token Factory capabilities and agentic search functionality. Management emphasized that these acquisitions accelerate product development, deepen customer engagement and strengthen Nebius' position as a full-stack AI cloud provider capable of serving a broader range of AI workloads.

Nebius is further reinforcing its AI leadership through an expanded partnership with NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) . The company achieved NVIDIA Exemplar Cloud status for GB300 training workloads, making it one of only a small number of cloud providers recognized across multiple GPU generations. Management noted that the partnership extends beyond hardware, providing differentiated GPU supply, closer collaboration on future NVIDIA platforms and deeper software integration for inference and agentic AI workloads. These initiatives strengthen Nebius' vertically integrated AI cloud platform while supporting future deployments built around NVIDIA's latest technologies.

Customer demand for Nebius' AI infrastructure remains exceptionally strong across AI-native companies, enterprises and software vendors, as well as industries including fintech, physical AI, life sciences, manufacturing, energy and pharmaceuticals. Management stated that several customers typically compete for every GPU brought online, while first-quarter pipeline generation increased 3.5 times sequentially. Demand continues to exceed available capacity, allowing the company to maintain strong pricing across GPU generations, extend contract durations, increase average contract values and receive growing customer prepayments to secure future AI capacity. The company also highlighted increasing momentum for its inference-focused Token Factory platform as AI adoption expands across enterprise and developer workloads.

Nebius delivered outstanding financial and operational performance during the first quarter, reflecting the strength of its expanding AI cloud business. Group revenue increased 684% year over year, while the Nebius AI business recorded 841% revenue growth and reached an annualized run-rate revenue of $1.9 billion. Group adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 32%, while the Nebius AI business achieved a 45% adjusted EBITDA margin. The balance sheet was further strengthened by a $4.3 billion convertible note offering, a $2 billion equity investment from NVIDIA and record customer prepayments, increasing cash and cash equivalents to $9.3 billion. Supported by this momentum, the company reaffirmed its 2026 guidance for annualized run-rate revenue of $7-$9 billion, group revenue of $3-$3.4 billion and an adjusted EBITDA margin of around 40%.

However, Nebius expects quarterly adjusted EBITDA margins to fluctuate during 2026 as it invests ahead of future capacity deployment. Management indicated that margins are likely to decline in the second quarter because infrastructure investments and operating expenses will be recognized before newly deployed capacity begins generating revenue. The company has also increased its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $20-$25 billion from the previous $16-$20 billion range to support additional AI infrastructure planned for 2027. Nebius expects to utilize a combination of asset-backed financing, corporate debt, customer prepayments and other funding alternatives while maintaining a disciplined capital structure.

The Case for AIC3.ai is gaining from a broad restructuring initiative aimed at strengthening execution across the business. The company has reorganized its sales, products, services and federal operations under new leadership while introducing a strategic plan with clearly defined objectives. Product development has been consolidated under a single organization responsible for designing, developing, quality-assuring and delivering products, while the services organization has been redesigned with dedicated customer teams to support deployments through completion. Management highlighted that these changes are intended to improve customer satisfaction, enable more successful deployments and support the expansion of enterprise customer relationships.

The company is expanding its AI-first strategy by integrating agentic AI tools across the organization to improve productivity and execution. The company stated that its product teams are now using AI tools for programming activities, while legal, finance, sales and marketing functions have also adopted these agentic technologies. Sales teams are utilizing these tools to enhance market development, business development and customer penetration strategies. Management added that employees across every function are operating with an agentic AI-first mindset as the company focuses on execution and improving overall business performance.

C3.ai also highlighted several operational strengths, including a strong liquidity position and continued customer engagement. In fourth-quarter fiscal 2026, it signed nine initial production deployments, bringing the cumulative total to 417, with 251 remaining active through ongoing deployments, extensions or subscription and consumption agreements. Management also stated that cost reduction initiatives are progressing as planned and are expected to improve operating efficiency, free cash flow and support the company's long-term objectives.

However, C3.ai continues to face challenges from weak financial performance and declining revenue. Management acknowledged that the company's recent performance has been disappointing, describing sales execution as unacceptable and attributing the decline in revenue, remaining performance obligations and profitability primarily to poor sales discipline. The company reported quarterly revenue of $51.6 million, a non-GAAP operating loss of $54.4 million, a non-GAAP net loss of $48.8 million and negative free cash flow of $54.8 million.

C3.ai also indicated that uncertainty remains as it implements its new go-to-market strategy. On the last earnings call, management stated that the company has changed its sales organization and go-to-market approach, making it difficult to predict the future mix between software revenue, professional services, prioritized engineering services and demonstration licenses.

Share Performance for NBIS & AIIn the past six months, NBIS stock has surged 79.8% while AI lost 30.1%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Valuation for NBIS & AIIn terms of Price/Book, NBIS shares are trading at 6.21X, higher than AI’s 2X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

How Do Estimates Compare for NBIS & AI?Over the past 60 days, analysts have marginally revised estimates upward for NBIS’ bottom line for the current year.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

For AI, estimates have been revised significantly upward over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

NBIS or AI: Which Stock is the Better Investment?While NBIS sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, C3.ai has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Consequently, in terms of Zacks Rank, NBIS seems to be a better pick at the moment. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Bitmine hält 4,8 % des gesamten ETH-Umlaufs von 120,7 Millionen

Bitmine hat in nur 12 Monaten bereits 96 % des Weges zur „Alchemie der 5 %" zurückgelegt

Bitmine hat in der vergangenen Woche 5,5 Millionen Stammaktien zurückgekauft, die im Rahmen des zuvor angekündigten Aktienrückkaufprogramms in Höhe von 4 Milliarden US-Dollar genehmigt worden waren.

Bitmine wurde am 26. Juni 2026 in den Russell 1000 Large-Cap-Index aufgenommen

Die Vorzugsaktien der Serie A von Bitmine werden an der NYSE unter dem Symbol BMNP gehandelt

Bitmine verfügt über 4.917.189 gestakte ETH, was bei einem Kurs von 1.879 US-Dollar pro ETH einem Wert von 9,2 Milliarden US-Dollar entspricht. MAVAN (Made in America VAlidator Network) ist eine führende Ethereum-Staking-Plattform für BMNR und institutionelle Anleger

Bitmine hält Anteile an Eightco im Wert von 58 Millionen US-Dollar (NASDAQ: ORBS), das mittlerweile zu den wenigen börsennotierten Aktien weltweit zählt, die Anlegern ein indirektes Engagement in OpenAI ermöglichen

Die Kryptowährungsbestände von Bitmine sowie die gesamten Barmittel und marktfähigen Wertpapiere und die „Moonshots" belaufen sich auf insgesamt 11,5 Milliarden US-Dollar, darunter 5,78 Millionen ETH-Token, Barmittel und marktfähige Wertpapiere in Höhe von 385 Millionen US-Dollar sowie sonstige Kryptowährungsbestände.

Bitmine wird weiterhin von einer Gruppe führender institutioneller Investoren unterstützt, darunter Cathie Wood von ARK, MOZAYYX, Founders Fund, Bill Miller III, Pantera, Kraken, DCG, Galaxy Digital und der Privatinvestor Thomas „Tom" Lee, um das Ziel von Bitmine zu unterstützen, 5 % der ETH zu erwerben

, /PRNewswire/ -- (NYSE: BMNR) Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. („Bitmine" oder das „Unternehmen"), ein auf Bitcoin und das Ethereum-Netzwerk spezialisiertes Unternehmen, dessen Schwerpunkt auf dem Aufbau von Kryptowährungsbeständen für langfristige Investitionen liegt, gab heute bekannt, dass sich die Gesamtwert der Bitmine-Krypto-Bestände sowie der Barmittel und marktfähigen Wertpapiere und der „Moonshots"-Bestände auf insgesamt 11,5 Milliarden US-Dollar belaufen.

Bitmine Weekly Update

STAKING: BMNR now staking over 4.9 million ETH as of July 19, 2026

ALCHEMY OF 5%: BMNR ranked #187 by 5D avg daily $ volume Stand 19. Juli 2026, 20:30 Uhr ET, setzen sich die Kryptowährungsbestände des Unternehmens aus 5.777.468 ETH zu einem Kurs von 1.879 US-Dollar pro ETH zusammen (laut Coinbase, NASDAQ: COIN), 207 Bitcoin (BTC), eine Beteiligung in Höhe von 180 Millionen US-Dollar an Beast Industries, eine Beteiligung in Höhe von 58 Millionen US-Dollar an Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS) („Moonshots") sowie Barmittel und marktfähige Wertpapiere in Höhe von insgesamt 385 Millionen US-Dollar. Die ETH-Bestände von Bitmine machen 4,8 % des ETH-Gesamtbestands (von 120,7 Millionen ETH) aus.

„Bitmine hat in der vergangenen Woche rund 5,5 Millionen Stammaktien zu einem Durchschnittspreis von 15,6156 US-Dollar zurückgekauft. Wir betrachten den Rückkauf unserer Stammaktien als wertsteigernd für die Aktionäre", erklärte Thomas „Tom" Lee, Chairman von Bitmine.

Bitmine hat den Rückkauf von 5,5 Millionen Stammaktien im Rahmen des zuvor genehmigten Aktienrückkaufprogramms in Höhe von 4 Milliarden US-Dollar durchgeführt. 

„In der vergangenen Woche haben wir 7.430 ETH erworben. Das geringere Kaufvolumen spiegelt wider, dass Bitmine 5,5 Millionen Stammaktien zurückgekauft hat. Bitmine hat seit Einführung der ETH-Treasury-Strategie am 30. Juni 2025 jede Woche ETH gekauft", erklärte Lee.

Am 16. Juli 2026 veröffentlichte Bitmine die neueste Botschaft des Vorstandsvorsitzenden (Link hier:) für Juli 2026. Der Titel der Botschaft lautet: „ETH is the cure for the Uncanny Valley of Wealth."

Anfang 2026 brachte Bitmine MAVAN (das „Made in American VAlidator Network") auf den Markt, eine Staking-Plattform für institutionelle Anleger. Während MAVAN ursprünglich entwickelt wurde, um die eigene Ethereum-Treasury von Bitmine zu unterstützen, beabsichtigt MAVAN, sein Angebot auszuweiten, um institutionelle Anleger, Verwahrstellen und Ökosystempartner zu bedienen, die eine erstklassige Staking-Infrastruktur suchen. Ein Teil der ETH von Bitmine ist bereits auf der MAVAN-Plattform gestakt.

Stand 19. Juli 2026 beläuft sich die Gesamtmenge der bei Bitmine gestakten ETH auf 4.917.189 (9,2 Milliarden US-Dollar bei einem Kurs von 1.879 US-Dollar pro ETH). „Bitmine hat mehr ETH gestakt als jede andere Organisation weltweit. Im großen Maßstab (wenn die ETH von Bitmine vollständig von MAVAN und seinen Staking-Partnern gestaked wird) beläuft sich die prognostizierte ETH-Staking-Prämie auf annualisierter Basis auf 290 Millionen US-Dollar (unter Zugrundelegung einer 7-Tage-BMNR-Rendite von 2,67 %)", erklärte Lee.

„Die annualisierten Staking-Erträge werden nun auf 247 Millionen Dollar geschätzt. Und diese 4,9 Millionen ETH entsprechen 85 % der 5,78 Millionen ETH, die Bitmine hält. Die eigenen Staking-Aktivitäten von Bitmine erzielten eine 7-Tage-Rendite von 2,67 % (annualisiert)", fuhr Lee fort.

Die Kryptowährungsbestände von Bitmine sind die größte Ethereum-Kasse und die zweitgrößte Kasse weltweit, hinter Strategy Inc., das Berichten zufolge 843.775 BTC im Wert von etwa 55 Milliarden US-Dollar besitzt. Bitmine bleibt die weltweit größte ETH-Treasury. 

Bitmine ist eine der am häufigsten gehandelten Aktien in den USA. Nach Angaben von Fundstrat verzeichnete die Aktie ein durchschnittliches tägliches Handelsvolumen von 579 Millionen US-Dollar (5-Tage-Durchschnitt, Stand: 17. Juli 2026) und belegt damit Platz 187 in den USA – hinter Airbnb (Platz 186) und vor Fastenal (Platz 188) unter 5.704 in den USA notierten Aktien (statista.com und Fundstrat-Research).

Die Geschäftsführung von Bitmine ist der Ansicht, dass der GENIUS Act und das Project Crypto der Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) für die Finanzdienstleistungen im Jahr 2025 ebenso wegweisend sind wie die Maßnahmen der USA vom 15. August 1971, mit denen vor 54 Jahren das Bretton-Woods-System und die Bindung des US-Dollars an den Goldstandard beendet wurden. Dieses Ereignis aus dem Jahr 1971 war der Auslöser für die Modernisierung der Wall Street und führte zur Entstehung der legendären Wall-Street-Giganten sowie der heutigen Finanz- und Zahlungsinfrastruktur. Diese erwiesen sich als bessere Investitionen als Gold.

Die Nachricht des Chairman von Bitmine finden Sie hier:
https://www.Bitminetech.io/chairmans-message

Die Präsentation der Ergebnisse für das gesamte Geschäftsjahr 2025 sowie die Unternehmenspräsentation finden Sie hier: https://Bitminetech.io/investor-relations/

Wenn Sie an aktuellen Informationen interessiert sind, melden Sie sich bitte hier an: https://Bitminetech.io/contact-us/

Informationen zu Bitmine
Bitmine (NYSE: BMNR) ist ein Bitcoin-Miner mit Aktivitäten in den USA. Das Unternehmen setzt sein überschüssiges Kapital ein, um das weltweit führende Ethereum-Treasury-Unternehmen zu werden, und verfolgt eine innovative Strategie für digitale Vermögenswerte für institutionelle Investoren und Teilnehmer an den öffentlichen Kapitalmärkten. Geleitet von seiner Philosophie der „Alchemy of 5 %" setzt das Unternehmen auf ETH als primären Treasury-Reservewert und nutzt dabei protokollnative Aktivitäten, darunter Staking und dezentrale Finanzmechanismen. Das Unternehmen führte im Jahr 2026 MAVAN (Made in America VAlidator Network) ein, eine spezielle Staking-Infrastruktur für Bitmine-Vermögenswerte.

Weitere Informationen finden Sie auf X:
https://x.com/bitmnr
https://x.com/fundstrat

Zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen
Diese Pressemitteilung enthält Aussagen, die „zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen" im Sinne des Private Securities Litigation Reform Act von 1995 darstellen. Die Aussagen in dieser Pressemitteilung, die nicht rein historischer Natur sind, sind zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen, die Risiken und Unsicherheiten beinhalten. Diese zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen sind an Begriffen wie „erwartet", „plant", „prognostiziert", „beabsichtigt", „glaubt", „geht davon aus", „schätzt" und ähnlichen Formulierungen zu erkennen. Dieses Dokument enthält insbesondere zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen zu folgenden Punkten: (i) die Ziele des Unternehmens hinsichtlich des Erwerbs von ETH, einschließlich der Initiative „Alchemy der 5 %" und der Aussage, dass Bitmine dieses Ziel bereits zu 96 % erreicht habe; (ii) die Strategie des Unternehmens zum Aufbau digitaler Vermögenswerte sowie seine Staking-Aktivitäten, einschließlich der Aussage, dass Bitmine über 4.917.189 gestakte ETH im Wert von 9,2 Milliarden US-Dollar verfügt, prognostizierte annualisierte ETH-Staking-Erträge von etwa 290 Millionen US-Dollar (sofern die ETH von Bitmine vollständig durch MAVAN und dessen Staking-Partner gestakt wird) sowie derzeit prognostizierte annualisierte Staking-Erlöse von etwa 247 Millionen US-Dollar; (iii) die geplante Expansion von MAVAN zur Betreuung institutioneller Anleger, Verwahrstellen und Ökosystempartner, die eine erstklassige Staking-Infrastruktur suchen; (iv) das anhaltende Engagement des Unternehmens, im Rahmen seiner ETH-Treasury-Strategie wöchentlich ETH zu erwerben; (v) die Überzeugung des Managements, dass der GENIUS Act und das SEC-Projekt „Crypto" für die Finanzdienstleistungen ebenso transformativ sind wie die Maßnahmen der USA vom 15. August 1971, mit denen das Bretton-Woods-System und der Goldstandard des US-Dollars beendet wurden; (vi) die Erwartungen hinsichtlich des Aktienrückkaufprogramms in Höhe von 4 Milliarden US-Dollar und dessen wertsteigernde Wirkung für die Aktionäre; (vii) Aussagen darüber, dass die Investition des Unternehmens in Eightco Holdings ein indirektes Engagement bei OpenAI darstellt; sowie (viii) das künftige Wachstum und die Weiterentwicklung der Ethereum-Treasury-Strategie des Unternehmens. Bei der Bewertung dieser zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen sollten Sie verschiedene Faktoren berücksichtigen, darunter: die Fähigkeit von Bitmine, mit neuen Technologien und sich wandelnden Marktanforderungen Schritt zu halten; die Fähigkeit von Bitmine, sein laufendes Geschäft, die Ethereum-Treasury-Aktivitäten, Aktienrückkaufmaßnahmen sowie geplante zukünftige Geschäftsvorhaben zu finanzieren; das Wettbewerbsumfeld, in dem Bitmine tätig ist; Marktbedingungen, die den Handelskurs der Stammaktien und der Vorzugsaktien der Serie A des Unternehmens beeinflussen; regulatorische Entwicklungen im Bereich digitaler Vermögenswerte, einschließlich der endgültigen Verabschiedung und Umsetzung des GENIUS Act sowie anderer anhängiger Gesetzgebungsvorhaben und Initiativen der SEC; die Volatilität und Unvorhersehbarkeit der Preise digitaler Vermögenswerte; die Leistung, Zuverlässigkeit und Sicherheit der Staking-Aktivitäten des Unternehmens; Risiken im Zusammenhang mit KI-Systemen und deren Auswirkungen auf die Kryptowährungsmärkte; sowie der zukünftige Wert von Bitcoin und Ethereum. Die tatsächlichen künftigen Entwicklungen und Ergebnisse können wesentlich von den in zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen enthaltenen Angaben abweichen. Zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen unterliegen zahlreichen Bedingungen, von denen viele außerhalb der Kontrolle von Bitmine liegen, einschließlich derjenigen, die im Abschnitt „Risikofaktoren" des Formulars 10-K von Bitmine aufgeführt sind, das am 21. November 2025 bei der SEC eingereicht wurde, sowie allen anderen bei der SEC eingereichten Unterlagen, die von Zeit zu Zeit geändert oder aktualisiert werden. Kopien der von Bitmine bei der SEC eingereichten Unterlagen sind auf der Website der SEC, www.sec.gov, verfügbar. Bitmine übernimmt keine Verpflichtung, diese Aussagen bei Überarbeitungen oder Änderungen nach dem Datum dieser Mitteilung zu aktualisieren, es sei denn, dies ist gesetzlich vorgeschrieben.

A severe macroeconomic grid power shortage has quietly transformed physical artificial intelligence (AI) compute capacity into the technology sector's most valuable commodity. By leveraging its vast infrastructure to lease processing power to Anthropic, Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META is aggressively pivoting from a hardware consumer to a commercial cloud landlord, challenging established hyperscalers directly at the compute bottleneck.

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Shorting the Plug: The 100-Gigawatt Grid ShockMeta Platforms Today

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52-Week Range$520.26▼

$796.25Dividend Yield0.32%

P/E Ratio23.71

Price Target$830.45

The conversation around artificial intelligence has historically centered on silicon. Investors constantly ask how many chips a business can buy and how fast it can deploy them. That narrative is rapidly evolving. Banking analysts project a U.S. electricity supply gap exceeding 100 gigawatts by 2030. Upgrading the domestic power grid requires high-voltage transformers and transmission lines that are currently experiencing multi-year manufacturing backlogs.

The primary bottleneck is no longer just securing graphics processing units, but finding an energized facility to plug them in. Companies with existing physical footprints, secured data centers, and locked-in power purchase agreements hold a structural advantage that competitors cannot replicate by raising capital.

Building Business: The 14-Gigawatt InfrastructureMeta Platforms is navigating an immense capital expenditure cycle. Management projects spending between $125 billion and $145 billion in 2026 alone, predominantly directed toward AI hardware and data center expansion.

To the untrained eye, that level of cash burn looks like an operational liability. When a technology enterprise spends that aggressively, market participants typically worry about margin compression, fearing that the upfront costs will erode bottom-line profitability before the investments generate a measurable return.

Viewing this purely as an expense misses the strategic land grab taking place. Meta Platforms is essentially acquiring highly sought-after real estate in a supply-shocked compute market.

The internal initiative, Meta Compute, aims to build approximately 14 gigawatts of AI compute capacity by 2027. Meta Platforms is bypassing the utility grid bottlenecks that currently paralyze smaller developers. The underlying enterprise value is shifting from purely digital advertising yields to the direct ownership of secured, energized infrastructure.

Signing the Lease: Anthropic Rents Meta's PowerThe clearest validation of this infrastructure thesis surfaced with preliminary negotiations to lease data center computing capacity to AI developer Anthropic. The proposed transaction is valued at up to $10 billion over 2 years and structured as monthly installments. The deal reportedly includes mutual early-termination clauses, acting as a pragmatic safety valve should Meta Platforms require the physical capacity for its own internal development.

Why would a tier-one AI developer bypass traditional hyperscalers like Amazon's NASDAQ: AMZN Web Services or Microsoft's NASDAQ: MSFT Azure? The decision comes down to absolute necessity and compute scarcity. Anthropic has faced substantial processing bottlenecks, previously enforcing usage limits on advanced models like Claude Fable because Anthropic lacked the raw capacity to run them at scale. Securing processing power from a social media giant mirrors Anthropic's recent multi-billion-dollar infrastructure lease with SpaceX. Top-tier AI developers are scouring the market for any energized compute they can find, regardless of the provider's primary industry.

Meta Platforms is not treating this as a temporary favor. The strategic hiring of former AWS Senior Vice President Dave Brown to lead Meta Compute signals a formalized assault on enterprise cloud market share. At the May 2026 shareholder meeting, management explicitly validated these commercial cloud ambitions, confirming that they receive weekly inbound inquiries for spare compute capacity. Meta Platforms is taking dormant GPU stockpiles intended for internal open-source model development and generating immediate commercial yield.

Collecting the Rent: High-Margin Infrastructure YieldTransitioning idle hardware into a $10 billion revenue stream creates a highly efficient strategic dynamic. Meta Platforms captures recurring, high-margin revenue from an industry peer while pricing its scarce physical processing power at a premium. This recurring revenue helps subsidize the immense capital expenditure required to build out the 14-gigawatt footprint, directly mitigating the margin compression investors initially feared.

Fundamentally, the underlying business remains remarkably robust. Meta's stock price recently closed at $646.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Price Chart for Monday, July, 20, 2026

Meta has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion and trades at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, compared with a forward multiple of 21.93. When the forward multiple is lower than the trailing multiple, it indicates analysts expect earnings to grow faster than the current share price implies, suggesting a relatively grounded valuation given the broader technology sector's premium pricing.

Profitability metrics underscore a highly efficient operation. Meta Platforms commands a net margin of 32.84% and an exceptional return on equity of 36.93%. A high return on equity indicates that management is efficiently generating profits from shareholders' capital. Building physical data centers is historically a low-margin endeavor, but operating with a 36% ROE implies Meta Platforms knows how to extract maximum value from every dollar deployed. The balance sheet remains flush with liquidity, carrying a current ratio of 2.35 and a conservative debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

During the first quarter, Meta Platforms delivered a $3.77 earnings-per-share beat alongside a 33.1% year-over-year revenue growth. Despite the aggressive capital expenditure cycle, management continues to prioritize shareholder yield. The recent implementation of a 52.5-cent-per-share quarterly dividend provides a crucial baseline of support for long-term investors waiting for the hyperscaler pivot to mature.

The Sublet Trap: When Meta Needs Its Own PowerEvery major business model pivot carries execution risk. The core premise is that Meta Platforms possesses dormant compute stockpiles. Sustained use by external entities like Anthropic could eventually lead to compute rationing for internal open-source Llama model development. If Meta Platforms leases too much power, the organization risks stalling its own AI advancements.

Transitioning to a commercial hyperscaler forces the company into direct, capital-intensive competition with established cloud providers. This shift introduces enterprise-level sales and business-to-business support requirements to an organization that has historically been optimized for consumer data and digital advertising.

Investors tracking insider behavior will notice a net selling trend, reflecting capital distribution among executives. A confirmed transaction occurred on July 7, involving a corporate director liquidating $303,875.00 in equity. While insider selling often reflects routine portfolio diversification or tax obligations, it remains a metric worth monitoring during a structural transition.

Holding the Deed: Why Infrastructure Beats SiliconThe shift from a hardware consumer to a provider of physical infrastructure represents a fundamental evolution in how the market should value Meta Platforms. The secured data centers, power agreements, and localized grid connections are forming a physical moat that competitors will struggle to breach before the end of the decade.

Investors seeking exposure to the structural power shortages in the AI supply chain might want to evaluate companies that already hold energized assets rather than focusing solely on chip designers. Evaluating the upcoming July 29 earnings call for updates on the Anthropic lease and the broader Meta Compute initiative could provide valuable clarity on the pace of this cloud transition. Cautious market participants may prefer to watch how effectively the new enterprise sales division scales operations before allocating fresh capital to the space.

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

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The upcoming report from Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) is expected to reveal quarterly earnings of $2.87 per share, indicating an increase of 24.2% compared to the year-ago period. Analysts forecast revenues of $101.22 billion, representing an increase of 23.9% year over year.

The current level reflects an upward revision of 0.5% in the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter over the past 30 days. This demonstrates how the analysts covering the stock have collectively reappraised their initial projections over this period.

Before a company announces its earnings, it is essential to take into account any changes made to earnings estimates. This is a valuable factor in predicting the potential reactions of investors toward the stock. Empirical research has consistently shown a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and the short-term price performance of a stock.

While investors typically use consensus earnings and revenue estimates as a yardstick to evaluate the company's quarterly performance, scrutinizing analysts' projections for some of the company's key metrics can offer a more comprehensive perspective.

Given this perspective, it's time to examine the average forecasts of specific Alphabet metrics that are routinely monitored and predicted by Wall Street analysts.

Analysts expect 'Revenues- YouTube ads' to come in at $10.76 billion. The estimate points to a change of +9.8% from the year-ago quarter.

It is projected by analysts that the 'Revenues- Google Cloud' will reach $22.79 billion. The estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +67.3%.

According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Revenues- Google advertising' should come in at $81.68 billion. The estimate indicates a change of +14.5% from the prior-year quarter.

Analysts predict that the 'Revenues- Google Search & other' will reach $63.54 billion. The estimate points to a change of +17.3% from the year-ago quarter.

The average prediction of analysts places 'Revenues- Google Network' at $7.08 billion. The estimate points to a change of -3.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Analysts forecast 'Revenues- Google subscriptions, platforms, and devices' to reach $12.82 billion. The estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +14.4%.

Analysts' assessment points toward 'Revenues- EMEA' reaching $33.39 billion. The estimate suggests a change of +18.2% year over year.

The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Revenues- United States' will likely reach $56.66 billion. The estimate indicates a change of +23% from the prior-year quarter.

The consensus estimate for 'Revenues- Other Americas (Canada and Latin America)' stands at $6.93 billion. The estimate points to a change of +20.9% from the year-ago quarter.

The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Revenues- APAC' of $20.54 billion. The estimate indicates a change of +24.6% from the prior-year quarter.

Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Total TAC (traffic acquisition costs)' should arrive at $16.24 billion. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $14.71 billion.

The consensus among analysts is that 'Headcount (Number of employees)' will reach 196,768 . Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 187,103 in the same quarter last year.

View all Key Company Metrics for Alphabet here>>>

Shares of Alphabet have demonstrated returns of -5.8% over the past month compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.6% change. With a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), GOOGL is expected to beat the overall market performance in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock is trading higher by almost 1% on Monday as big-cap technology stocks advance in a broader risk-on session.

The Nasdaq has gained almost 1%, while the S&P 500 is up 0.33%. Technology is leading all sectors with a 0.9% gain.

Investors are also looking ahead to Microsoft’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on July 29, with Wall Street closely watching Azure cloud growth, artificial intelligence monetization and capital spending, according to a new Bank of America research note.

Azure Growth Remains The Top MetricBank of America reiterated its Buy rating on Microsoft and maintained its $500 price forecast, saying Azure’s growth trajectory will likely determine investor sentiment after earnings. The firm expects Azure revenue growth of 39.5% in constant currency, near the company’s guidance of 39% to 40%.

The analysts said demand continues to exceed available capacity, while Microsoft’s newly operational Fairwater data center in Wisconsin should help convert its large remaining performance obligation backlog into revenue.

The company ended the previous quarter with $627 billion in commercial remaining performance obligations, with management expecting about 25% of that amount to be recognized over the next 12 months.

Bank of America said Azure growth at or above guidance is likely necessary for the stock to perform well, while a miss could renew concerns about returns on Microsoft’s heavy AI investments.

AI Spending And Copilot Adoption In FocusThe brokerage expects Microsoft to report about $42 billion in fourth-quarter capital expenditures, including leases, up 74% year over year as the company continues expanding AI infrastructure. That spending is expected to pressure free cash flow in the near term.

Beyond infrastructure, analysts said investors will closely monitor adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot and broader AI monetization.

Microsoft ended the previous quarter with 20 million paid Copilot seats after adding 5 million sequentially, while AI annual recurring revenue exceeded $37 billion, up 123% from a year earlier.

Bank of America views continued growth in those metrics as evidence that AI adoption is translating into incremental revenue.

Revenue Outlook And ValuationBank of America forecasts fourth-quarter revenue of $87.4 billion, up 14.4% from a year earlier, and earnings per share of $4.24, broadly in line with Wall Street expectations.

The firm also raised its fiscal 2027 and 2028 revenue and earnings estimates to reflect stronger Azure growth as additional AI capacity comes online.

The analysts said Microsoft’s valuation remains attractive, noting the stock trades at about 19 times their calendar 2027 earnings estimate, below its five-year average multiple of 29 times.

Price ActionMSFT Price Action: Microsoft shares were up 0.90% at $397.35 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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Key Takeaways NIKE is expanding its innovation pipeline with new footwear and technologies across sports categories.NKE plans to extend NIKE Mind and Aero-FIT while launching products tied to running and athletes.NIKE expects stronger performance categories to support Sportswear and Jordan demand recovery. NIKE, Inc.’s (NKE - Free Report) innovation pipeline refers to its strategy of introducing new products, technologies and designs to reignite consumer interest and boost sales growth. As innovation has become a key pillar of NKE’s turnaround strategy, it can help it overcome challenges, including weaker demand, heightened competition and slower digital sales.

NIKE is expanding beyond its traditional franchises by introducing performance-focused footwear and apparel, such as the Pegasus Premium, Vomero 18 and other running and training products. Under its “Sport Offense” strategy, NIKE is increasing investments in key sports categories, including running, basketball, football and women’s sports. The company is emphasizing performance innovation to strengthen its connection with athletes.

The company views NIKE Mind as one of its most promising innovation platforms and plans to expand it beyond its current offerings beginning in spring 2027. Initially introduced in football kits, NKE’s Aero-FIT technology is set to expand into running apparel, where it is expected to enhance athletic performance and comfort. Its upcoming launches, including Caitlin Clark-branded products and the latest Free MetCon line, are expected to strengthen NIKE’s position in key performance categories.

The goal is to develop a steady stream of innovative footwear, apparel and accessories tailored to consumer preferences. Management believes that strong performance in categories such as running, basketball and football will create a “halo effect” for its Sportswear and Jordan brands, which together account for nearly half of the company’s revenues. To revive growth in these segments, NIKE is repositioning these businesses. NIKE Sportswear plans to launch more than a dozen new footwear styles in the second half of fiscal 2027, while leveraging its performance-focused innovations to drive demand.

Overall, NIKE’s strong innovation pipeline has the potential to reignite consumer demand, support higher full-price sales and restore long-term growth. However, the success of this strategy will ultimately depend on how consumers respond to the company’s new product launches in the coming quarters.

NKE’s Competitionlululemon athletica inc. (LULU - Free Report) continues to benefit from the progress with its Power of Three X2 growth strategy. LULU remains focused on its long-term growth strategy, which centers on continuous product innovation, enhancing the guest experience and expanding its international presence to drive sustainable growth. lululemon continues to introduce new fabrics and performance-focused products across its core women’s and men’s businesses while expanding into adjacent categories, such as footwear and accessories.

adidas AG (ADDYY - Free Report) is focused on strengthening its brand appeal through continuous product innovation, operational excellence and strategic growth initiatives. ADDYY remains committed to enhancing profitability and long-term competitiveness by maintaining inventory discipline, improving operational efficiency and advancing its sustainability efforts. In addition, adidas is expanding its global footprint through localized market strategies, increased digital investments and an ongoing expansion of its retail store network.

NKE’S Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of NIKE have lost 33.1% in the past six months compared with the industry’s decline of 28.1%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, NKE trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 23.79X compared with the industry’s average of 20.63X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NKE’s fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 10.8% and 35.4%, respectively. The company’s EPS estimate for fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 has moved south in the past seven days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Key Takeaways Walmart U.S. general merchandise comparable sales rose at a mid-single-digit rate in the quarter.Fashion, hardlines and double-digit private-brand growth drove the strongest share gains in five years. Favorable mix helped expand Walmart U.S. gross margin 29 basis points to 27.8% despite higher fuel costs. Walmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) delivered a notable improvement in its general merchandise business during the first quarter of fiscal 2027, with stronger performance in discretionary categories beginning to contribute more meaningfully to the merchandise mix. The quarter marked an important development as improved general merchandise sales supported gross-margin expansion despite continued cost pressure from higher fuel expenses.

General merchandise comparable sales in Walmart U.S. increased at a mid-single-digit rate during the quarter, representing the highest level of share gains in five years. Growth was led by fashion and hardlines, while private-brand sales increased at a double-digit rate and gained 175 basis points of mix. Marketplace sales in hardlines, home and apparel also grew more than 40%, reflecting continued expansion across these categories.

The stronger merchandise mix helped lift profitability. Walmart U.S. gross profit increased 5.6% to $32.5 billion, while the gross profit rate expanded 29 basis points to 27.8%. The improvement reflected a favorable merchandise category mix, continued inventory management benefits and a stronger business mix driven by digital advertising. These gains were partially offset by higher fuel costs affecting distribution and fulfillment.

The quarter also marked the first time in 18 quarters that merchandise mix contributed positively to Walmart U.S. gross-margin expansion. General merchandise sales grew at a mid-single-digit rate, supported by stronger performance across key categories and approximately 7,200 rollbacks across the assortment, more than 20% higher than a year ago.

Taken together, the first-quarter results suggest that Walmart's general merchandise business is once again becoming a meaningful contributor to merchandise mix and gross-margin performance. Whether this momentum continues will likely depend on the company's ability to sustain growth across higher-value discretionary categories while navigating an elevated cost environment.

How Do Target and Costco Compare?Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) delivered broad-based merchandise momentum in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, with net sales increasing 6.7% and comparable sales rising 5.6%. TGT reported higher sales across all six core merchandising categories, with strength spanning apparel, beauty, food and beverage, hardlines, home furnishings and household essentials. Improved merchandise performance also supported profitability, as Target's gross margin rate expanded 80 basis points to 29%.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) continued to report strong sales momentum in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. The company posted 11.6% net sales growth and a 9.8% comparable sales increase, supported by gains in both traffic and ticket size. COST’s gross margin declined 21 basis points to 11.04%. However, excluding the impact of gasoline prices, Costco’s gross margin improved by 1 basis point, indicating stable underlying merchandise profitability despite external pricing effects.

WMT Stock Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of Walmart have risen 19.4% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 16.8%.

WMT Price Performance Versus Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, WMT trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 37.24, higher than the industry’s average of 33.97.

WMT Valuation Compared to Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 27, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis insurer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.82 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -7.6%.

Revenues are expected to be $3.01 billion, up 8.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Cincinnati Financial?For Cincinnati Financial, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +7.22%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2.

So, this combination indicates that Cincinnati Financial will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Cincinnati Financial would post earnings of $1.93 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.10, delivering a surprise of +8.81%.

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

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

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

Cincinnati Financial appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

An Industry Player's Expected ResultsSelective Insurance (SIGI - Free Report) , another stock in the Zacks Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, is expected to report earnings per share of $1.72 for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate points to a year-over-year change of +31.3%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $1.36 billion, up 3% from the year-ago quarter.

Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for Selective Insurance has remained unchanged. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of +10.92%, reflecting a higher Most Accurate Estimate.

This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), suggests that Selective Insurance will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed EPS estimates just once.

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

Wedbush expects Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, XETRA:INL) to comfortably beat second-quarter expectations when it reports on Thursday, but has kept a 'neutral' rating and $60 price target, warning that the shares are more vulnerable to a shift in market sentiment than to the numbers themselves.

The target sits 37% below the current $95 share price, and is based on around 40 times the broker's 2027 earnings estimate of $1.53, a multiple Wedbush acknowledges is well above Intel's historic norm and its peers.

The broker believes revenues and margins are set to handily beat consensus, driven by server demand and pricing.

Wedbush expects data centre sales to rise around 10% quarter on quarter and 40% year on year, with double-digit increases in average selling prices during the quarter, following first-quarter rises and with a further round reportedly being implemented in the current period.

Personal computer chip pricing appears to be seeing roughly parallel increases, supporting a modest revenue uptick despite a backdrop of slowing PC builds and cost-related demand destruction.

On margins, Intel had guided for a decline in the second quarter due to a one-off benefit from selling salvaged chips and the ramp of its 18A process, but Wedbush expects margins well ahead of guidance as pricing lifts and yields improve faster than expected.

The broker cautioned, however, that strong numbers may not be enough.

It pointed to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, where even a significant beat and a reacceleration in sales failed to prevent a semiconductor sell-off, driven by concerns over Chinese gains in artificial intelligence, US-Iran tensions, inflation's impact on rates, and hyperscaler returns on data centre spending.

Wedbush argued Intel may be better placed to weather some of these worries, since China still needs compute for inference.

But with Intel's valuation well above historical norms and industry peers, the broker believes it is arguably more susceptible to broader market swings than the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor or Nvidia.

Wedbush expects numbers to move meaningfully higher, helped by potential operating cost reductions following another round of job cuts.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results.

Travelers reported quarterly earnings of $10.04 per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $5.38 per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $12.153 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $11.346 billion.

“We are pleased to report excellent second quarter results with very strong underwriting performance across all three segments and a terrific result from our investment portfolio,” said Alan Schnitzer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Travelers shares fell 0.1% to $368.71 on Monday.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on Travelers following earnings announcement.

B of A Securities analyst Joshua Shanker maintained the stock with an Underperform rating and raised the price target from $283 to $307. Evercore ISI Group analyst David Motemaden maintained the stock with an In-Line rating and raised the price target from $329 to $338. Considering buying TRV stock? Here’s what analysts think:

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