Acuity Brands prudce roste po silných výsledcích za 3. čtvrtletí 2026. Tržby dosáhly 1,2 miliardy USD a upravený zisk na akcii (EPS) činil 5,31 USD, nad odhady.
Rising to a level it hasn't reached in months, Acuity Brands (AYI +17.64%) stock is rocketing higher today after the company reported strong third-quarter 2026 financial results this morning. At the opening of today's market session, shares of the industrial lighting company were priced at $349.89, a level it hasn't seen since mid-January.
As of 2:40 p.m. ET, shares of Acuity are up 19.8%.
Image source: Getty Images.
Beating analysts' estimates is just part of the story Reporting Q3 2026 sales of $1.2 billion, a 2% year-over-year increase, Acuity surpassed the consensus among analysts that the company would report revenue of $1.18 billion.
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At the bottom of the income statement, the company also provided better results than what Wall Street expected. Whereas analysts had anticipated the company posting adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $5.19, it reported $5.31, a 4% increase over the same period last year.
It wasn't only the income statement that gave investors something to celebrate.
Acuity reported Q3 2026 free cash flow of $462 million, a more than 30% increase over the $355 milion that it reported in Q3 2025.
Is Acuity stock a buy on today's news? For those seeking a conservative industrials stock, Acuity is worth strong consideration right now. The company is reporting strong free cash flow, which it's using to boost its financial health. Since the start of its fiscal year, Acuity has generated $520 million in operating cash flow and allocated $200 million to reducing debt. Trading at 22.4 times trailing earnings -- a discount to the S&P 500 P/E of 31.6 -- Acuity stock appears to be a bargain right now.
Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Resources Investor Relations Journalists Agencies Client Login Send a Release News Products Contact , /PRNewswire/ -- The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE: THG) expects to issue its second quarter financial results after the market closes on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The company expects to webcast a discussion of its results on Wednesday, July 29, at 10:00 a.m. ET, through its website at hanover.com.
About The Hanover
The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. is the holding company for several property and casualty insurance companies, which together constitute one of the largest insurance businesses in the United States. The company provides exceptional insurance solutions through a select group of independent agents and brokers. Together with its agent partners, The Hanover offers standard and specialized insurance protection for small and mid-sized businesses, as well as for homes, automobiles, and other personal items. For more information, please visit hanover.com.
Ares Management znovu omezila výběry z vlajkového private credit fondu ASIF poté, co ve 2. čtvrtletí investoři požádali o odkup 14,4 % podílů. Fond povolil jen 5 % podílů.
Director, Co-Founder and CEO, at Ares Management Michael Arougheti attends the Milken Conference 2025 in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
SummaryCompaniesMost withdrawal requests came from less than 1% of shareholder base, largely outside U.S.ASIF Q2 redemption requests jump to 14.4% from 11.6% in prior quarterRequests from U.S. private wealth investors accounted for just 2.4% of sharesJune 25 (Reuters) - Ares Management (ARES.N), opens new tab again capped withdrawals at its flagship private credit fund after redemption requests rose in the second quarter, according to a filing released Thursday.
Investors sought to pull 14.4% of shares from the $22.6 billion Ares Strategic Income Fund (ASIF) in the second quarter, up from 11.6% in the previous quarter. The fund limited withdrawals to 5% of shares, the customary threshold for such vehicles.
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Wealthy individuals have pulled money from non-traded private credit funds in recent months over concerns about lending standards and how software companies that borrowed heavily from direct lenders will navigate AI disruption.
Investors pulled a combined $12.9 billion from private credit funds for wealthy individuals in the first five months of 2026, according to investment bank Robert A. Stanger.
Most requests were concentrated among a small number of non-U.S. institutions and family offices, representing less than 1% of ASIF's more than 20,000 shareholders, the fund said. They accounted for nearly half of second-quarter requests.
Peer Apollo (APO.N), opens new tab has also recently flagged that withdrawal requests at its $26 billion private credit fund moderated from U.S. and increased from offshore.
Nearly two-thirds of repurchase requests at ASIF were submitted by investors who had tendered in the prior quarter.
"Optically, not a great update; however, the devil is in the details, and we are quite encouraged by the finer disclosure," TD Cowen analyst Bill Katz said, noting that the pattern of repurchase requests does not suggest widespread angst, while repeat requesters indicate redemption pressures are not building.
US PRIVATE WEALTH CHANNELWithdrawal requests from U.S. private wealth investors, ASIF's largest shareholder segment, represented only 2.4% of shares and declined 35% from the prior quarter.
The segment also accounted for nearly half of second-quarter inflows, ASIF said.
CEO Michael Arougheti said earlier this month that U.S. high-net-worth individuals were growing their alternatives exposure and not redeeming at the rate markets expected.
ASIF, launched in 2022, said its Class I shares had generated an annualized total return of 10.27% since inception, representing a 187-basis-point premium to broadly syndicated bank loans.
Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Accelerates onsemi’s evolution, building on its strength in power and sensing to become a leading provider of intelligent systems — expanding from AI data centers into Physical AIIncreases onsemi’s total addressable market by $30 billion to $243 billion by 2030Positions onsemi at the intersection of Power, Sense, Connected Compute and Control — the four pillars of Physical AI — which enable machines to sense, decide, act and adapt in the physical worldWould combine complementary portfolios to drive significant customer value and deepen customer engagements SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. & SAN JOSE, Calif., June 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- onsemi (Nasdaq: ON) and Synaptics Incorporated (Nasdaq: SYNA) today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which onsemi has agreed to acquire Synaptics in an all-stock transaction, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $7 billion. The transaction value reflects a fixed exchange ratio of 1.350 shares of onsemi common stock for each Synaptics share and represents an approximately 19% premium to the volume weighted average closing prices of onsemi and Synaptics over the last 10 trading days.
The combination would accelerate onsemi’s evolution toward global leadership in intelligent systems. By adding Synaptics’ differentiated Edge AI compute franchise and strong portfolio of human-machine interface and wireless connectivity solutions, onsemi is expected to extend its capabilities beyond power and sensing to intelligent systems, delivering greater value to a broad range of end markets. Building on onsemi’s expertise in automotive, industrial and AI data center, the combined platform is intended to position onsemi at the center of Physical AI, with the potential to expand onsemi’s TAM by $30 billion to $243 billion by 2030.
“As artificial intelligence moves beyond the cloud and into the physical world, including automotive and industrial, the next phase of innovation will depend on systems that can sense, decide, act and adapt in real time,” said Hassane El-Khoury, President and CEO of onsemi. “This shift towards Physical AI will require Power, Sense, Connected Compute and Control to work together seamlessly. The addition of Synaptics helps position onsemi at the intersection of these four pillars, enabling us to capture a significantly larger AI opportunity that extends beyond AI data center and into edge applications. This transaction would add immediate connected compute capabilities, expand our software and ecosystem reach and position onsemi to deliver greater value as customers increasingly seek intelligent systems.”
“Today’s announcement marks an important step in accelerating Synaptics’ growth and leadership in Edge AI and Physical AI,” said Rahul Patel, Synaptics President and CEO. “Together with onsemi, we will combine Synaptics’ strengths in AI-native compute, connectivity, and human-machine interface with onsemi’s leadership in intelligent power and sensing to offer customers integrated solutions and development platforms across every layer of the Edge AI stack, deepening customer engagement and expanding across a greater total addressable market. The all-stock structure allows our shareholders to participate in the compelling growth and value creation opportunities ahead, and I look forward to working with the onsemi leadership team to help realize the full value of this combination.”
Compelling Strategic and Financial Rationale
The combination is expected to deliver substantial value:
Enables capabilities from AI Infrastructure to Physical AI: onsemi is already well-positioned across the AI infrastructure ecosystem, from the energy grid to the data center core. This transaction is expected to extend that reach to the intelligent edge, enabling onsemi to address additional end markets while enhancing its capabilities to become a provider of integrated, system-level solutions across Power, Sense, Connected Compute and Control. This compelling combination would enable systems that can sense, decide, act and adapt in real time across Physical AI applications, including autonomous driving, robotics, and AR/VR.
Adds a proven, scalable Edge AI connected compute platform to onsemi: Synaptics’ Astra platform combines purpose-built AI processors and NPUs for multimodal intelligence with an industry-leading wireless connectivity portfolio spanning Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS and a full open-source software stack for rapid deployment.
Complementary portfolios designed to unlock significant revenue growth with scale: The combination of two highly complementary portfolios would allow onsemi to accelerate its innovation and product roadmap to capture higher dollar content per platform while fostering deeper long-term customer engagement. This is anticipated to increase onsemi’s exposure to higher-value, differentiated system solutions with embedded IP and software, supporting improved mix, margin expansion and durable growth.
Attractive financial profile: The transaction is expected to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS within 18 months of closing, with an expected $200 million in annual synergies and gross margins consistent with onsemi’s long-term financial model. onsemi remains committed to maintaining its existing capital return policy during the pendency period.
Transaction Details
Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, Synaptics stockholders will receive 1.350 shares of onsemi common stock for each share of Synaptics common stock held at the time of closing, implying pro forma ownership of approximately 12% for Synaptics stockholders on a fully diluted basis.
As part of the transaction, one member of the Synaptics Board of Directors is expected to join onsemi’s Board of Directors.
The transaction is expected to close in mid-2027, subject to approval by Synaptics stockholders, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
onsemi and Synaptics Reiterate Previously Provided Financial Outlooks
As part of today’s announcement, onsemi is reiterating its financial outlook for the second fiscal quarter of 2026 provided on May 4, 2026. Synaptics is reiterating its financial outlook for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026 provided on May 7, 2026.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
onsemi will host a conference call for the financial community at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on June 25, 2026, to discuss the transaction announcement. A live webcast and related presentation materials will be available on onsemi’s IR site at http://www.onsemi.com. The webcast replay and presentation will be available following the call. Investors and interested parties can also access the conference call by pre-registering here.
Advisors
Morgan Stanley served as lead financial advisor to onsemi. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC also served as a financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal counsel to onsemi. Qatalyst Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor and Baker McKenzie served as legal counsel to Synaptics.
About onsemi
onsemi (Nasdaq: ON) delivers intelligent power and sensing technologies that enable electrification, energy efficiency, safety, and automation across automotive, industrial, and AI data center end-markets. With a highly differentiated and innovative product portfolio, onsemi helps customers solve complex challenges to achieve higher efficiency, improved performance, and lower system cost, while supporting a safer, cleaner, and more energy‑efficient world. The company is part of the S&P 500® index. Learn more at www.onsemi.com.
About Synaptics Incorporated
Synaptics (Nasdaq: SYNA) is driving innovation in AI at the Edge, bringing AI closer to end users and transforming how we engage with intelligent connected devices, whether at home, at work, or on the move. As a go-to partner for forward-thinking product innovators, Synaptics powers the future with its cutting-edge Synaptics Astra™ AI-Native embedded compute, wireless connectivity, and multimodal sensing solutions. We’re making the digital experience smarter, faster, more intuitive, secure, and seamless. From touch, display, and biometrics to AI-driven wireless connectivity, video, vision, audio, speech, and security processing, Synaptics is a force behind the next generation of technology enhancing how we live, work, and play.
Contact Information
onsemi
Parag Agarwal
Vice President - Investor Relations & Corporate Development
onsemi
(602) 244-3437 [email protected]
Krystal Heaton
Director, Head of Public Relations
onsemi
(480) 242-6943 [email protected]
Synaptics
Munjal Shah
Vice President – Investor Relations
Synaptics
(408) 518-7639 [email protected]
This communication relates to a proposed business combination transaction between Synaptics Incorporated and ON Semiconductor Corporation. This communication includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on Synaptics’ and onsemi’s current expectations, estimates and projections about the expected date of closing of the proposed transaction and the potential benefits thereof, their respective businesses and industries, management’s beliefs and certain assumptions made by Synaptics and onsemi, all of which are subject to change. Some of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “strategy,” or “anticipates,” or the negative of those words or other comparable terminology that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes.
These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Synaptics’ or onsemi’s actual results and performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Factors and risks that may impact future results and performance include, but are not limited to, the following factors: (1) the risk that the conditions to the closing of the transaction are not satisfied, including the risk that required approvals from regulators or the stockholders of Synaptics for the transaction are not obtained; (2) litigation relating to the transaction; (3) uncertainties as to the timing of the consummation of the transaction and the ability of each party to consummate the transaction; (4) risks that the proposed transaction disrupts the current plans and operations of Synaptics or onsemi, including restrictions during the pendency of the transaction that may impact the ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; (5) the ability of Synaptics and onsemi to retain and hire key personnel; (6) competitive responses to the proposed transaction; (7) unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the transaction; (8) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the transaction; (9) the combined companies’ ability to achieve the growth prospects and synergies expected from the transaction, as well as delays, challenges and expenses associated with integrating the combined companies’ existing businesses; (10) uncertainty as to the long-term value of onsemi’s common stock; (11) legislative, regulatory and economic developments; and (12) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as Synaptics’ and onsemi’s response to any of the aforementioned factors. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the proposed transaction, will be more fully discussed in the proxy statement/prospectus that will be included in the Registration Statement on Form S-4 that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. While the list of factors presented here is considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements.
In addition, actual results are subject to other risks and uncertainties that relate more broadly to Synaptics’ overall business, including those more fully described in Synaptics’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) including its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 28, 2025, and its quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q for the current fiscal year, and onsemi’s overall business and financial condition, including those more fully described in onsemi’s filings with the SEC including its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, and its quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q for its current fiscal year. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and speak only as of the date made, and neither Synaptics nor its management undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute, or form a part of, an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Important Additional Information about the Transaction and Where To Find It
The proposed transaction will be submitted to the stockholders of Synaptics for their consideration. In connection with the proposed transaction, onsemi will file with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 that will include a proxy statement of Synaptics and that also constitutes a prospectus of onsemi. Each of Synaptics and onsemi will provide the proxy statement/prospectus to Synaptics stockholders. Synaptics and onsemi also plan to file other documents with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction. This document is not a substitute for any prospectus, proxy statement or any other document which Synaptics or onsemi may file with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. You may obtain copies of all documents filed with the SEC regarding this transaction, free of charge, at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). In addition, investors and stockholders will be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by the parties on Synaptics Investor Relations at https://investor.synaptics.com/ (for documents filed with the SEC by Synaptics) or onsemi Investor Relations at https://investor.onsemi.com/ (for documents filed with the SEC by onsemi).
Participants in the Solicitation
Synaptics, onsemi, and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and other members of management and employees, under SEC rules may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Synaptics stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of Synaptics stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction, and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the proxy statement/prospectus when it is filed with the SEC. You can find more detailed information about Synaptics’ executive officers and directors under the headings “Proposal 1 – Election of Directors,” “Director Compensation,” “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Named Executive Officer Compensation Tables,” “CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure,” “Pay Versus Performance Disclosure” and “Beneficial Ownership of Certain Stockholders” in its definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on September 16, 2025. To the extent holdings of Synaptics common stock by the directors and executive officers of Synaptics have changed from the amounts of Synaptics common stock held by such persons as reflected therein, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC, which are available at https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=817720&owner=exclude under the tab “Ownership Disclosures”. You can find more detailed information about onsemi’s executive officers and directors under the headings “The Board of Directors and Corporate Governance,” “Compensation of Executive Officers” and “Stock Ownership” in its definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 2, 2026. To the extent holdings of onsemi common stock by the directors and executive officers of onsemi have changed from the amounts of onsemi common stock held by such persons as reflected therein, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC, which are available at https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1097864&owner=exclude under the tab “Ownership Disclosures”. Additional information about Synaptics’ executive officers and directors and onsemi’s executive officers and directors can be found in the above-referenced Registration Statement on Form S-4 when it becomes available.
Eastman Chemical zvýšila dividendu už 16. rok v řadě a za rok 2025 vyplatila 381 milionů USD při volném cash flow 424 milionů USD. Firma uvádí, že nový závod na methanolýzu přidal v roce 2025 asi 60 milionů USD do zisku.
Eastman Chemical (NYSE: EMN | EMN Price Prediction) is a Kingsport, Tennessee specialty materials company whose molecular recycling (methanolysis) facility is reshaping its cash flow profile. Trading at $72.49 with a 4.56% yield, the question for income investors is straightforward: can the company keep funding the payout through a cyclical chemicals trough?
Dividend Snapshot Metric Value Annual Dividend $3.34 Dividend Yield 4.56% Consecutive Years of Increases 16 years Most Recent Quarterly Rate $0.84 (ex-date June 15, 2026) Dividend Aristocrat Status No (needs 25 years) The Cash Flow Math Works, Even in a Down Year Eastman paid $381 million in dividends in 2025 against $424 million in free cash flow (operating cash flow of $970 million minus capex of $546 million). FY2025 adjusted EPS came in at $5.42, while the dividend run rate is roughly $3.32 per share.
Metric Value Assessment Earnings Payout (Adj.) ~61% Healthy FCF Payout ~90% Elevated OCF Coverage 2.5x Strong The FCF cushion narrowed in 2025 versus $688 million in 2024, but 2026 capex guidance of about $400 million should restore breathing room.
Leverage Is the Real Watch Item Metric Value Net Debt $4.59B EBITDA (TTM) $1.37B Net Debt / EBITDA ~3.4x Cash on Hand (Q1 2026) $665M Leverage above 3x EBITDA is elevated for a cyclical, but the $665 million cash balance and targeted $125 to $150 million in 2026 cost reductions provide insulation.
16 Straight Raises, Including Through 2020 Year Annual Dividend Paid 2025 $381M 2024 $379M 2023 $376M 2022 $381M 2021 $375M The quarterly rate has climbed from $0.46 in 2016 to $0.84 today, and management held the line through the pandemic.
Management Calls Out the Catalyst CEO Mark Costa said on the FY2025 call: “We continued to prioritize stockholder returns and raised the dividend for the 16th consecutive year. In total, we returned approximately $500 million through dividends and share repurchases.” He added: “In 2025, we generated operating cash flow approaching $1 billion, a clear validation of our disciplined approach to cost and working capital management.” The Kingsport methanolysis facility, contributing about $60 million of incremental earnings in 2025 with $30 million more targeted in 2026, is the secular growth engine.
Verdict: Safe, With Leverage as the Asterisk Dividend Safety Rating: Safe. The adjusted-earnings payout near 61% is comfortable, OCF covered the dividend 2.5x, and the recycling ramp adds structural cash flow. EMN screens favorably for income if the methanolysis economics and 11x forward P/E mark a cyclical trough. The risk case builds if olefin pricing weakens further and net debt drifts above $4.59 billion, which would pressure capital allocation. For now, the payout is well covered.
ANDOVER, Mass., June 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MKS Inc. (NASDAQ: MKSI), a global provider of enabling technologies that transform our world, today announced the expansion of its Atotech equipment manufacturing site in Guangzhou, China.
With an investment of USD 25 million, the expansion will add approximately 323,000 square feet of manufacturing and operations space and is expected to double the site’s production capacity upon completion, which is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.
This investment reinforces MKS’ ongoing commitment to customers across Asia, where localized manufacturing, speed, and responsiveness are increasingly critical. The expansion is driven by sustained growth in AI-related markets — particularly in semiconductor, advanced packaging, and advanced PCB applications — where customers demand greater scale, faster turnaround, and closer technical collaboration.
The new facility expansion is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing operations, enhancing capabilities across production, final assembly, logistics, and testing and validation. Beyond increased manufacturing capacity, the site will continue to support R&D activities, while strengthening global technology collaboration with customers and original equipment manufacturers.
To support more sustainable operations, the facility will incorporate a photovoltaic power system designed to supply a significant portion of its daytime electricity demand, contributing to improved energy efficiency and long-term sustainable growth.
“Expanding our operations in Asia strengthens our ability to support customers in one of the world’s most dynamic electronics manufacturing hubs,” said Dave Henry, Executive Vice President, Global Strategic Marketing and General Manager, Materials Solutions Division. “By increasing capacity, enhancing operational efficiency, and advancing innovation, we are improving responsiveness to customer demand while building a strong foundation to support the next wave of AI-driven growth globally.”
“This expansion reinforces Guangzhou’s strategic role within our global manufacturing network,” said Tassilo Thuene, Vice President and General Manager, Equipment Business, Materials Solutions Division. “With added capacity, enhanced testing and validation capabilities, and greater operational flexibility, we are well positioned to meet evolving customer requirements and enable the next wave of innovation in advanced electronics and AI-related applications.”
The expanded facility is designed to streamline production flows, reduce complexity, shorten lead times, and improve delivery reliability. Once fully ramped, the site is expected to generate significant additional annual output, further strengthening MKS’ position in high-growth electronics markets.
About MKS Inc.
MKS Inc. (NASDAQ: MKSI) enables technologies that transform our world. We deliver foundational technology solutions to leading edge semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial applications. We apply our broad science and engineering capabilities to create instruments, subsystems, systems, process control solutions and specialty chemicals technology that improve process performance, optimize productivity and enable unique innovations for many of the world’s leading technology and industrial companies. Our solutions are critical to addressing the challenges of miniaturization and complexity in advanced device manufacturing by enabling increased power, speed, feature enhancement, and optimized connectivity. Our solutions are also critical to addressing ever-increasing performance requirements across a wide array of specialty industrial applications. Additional information can be found at www.mks.com.
About the Atotech Brand
Atotech, a brand within the Materials Solutions Division of MKS, develops leading process and manufacturing technologies for advanced surface modification, electroless and electrolytic plating, and surface finishing. Applying a comprehensive systems-and-solutions approach, the Atotech portfolio includes chemistry, equipment, software, and services for innovative and high-technology applications. These solutions are used in a wide variety of end-markets, including datacenter, consumer electronics and communications infrastructure, as well as in numerous industrial and consumer applications such as automotive, heavy machinery, and household appliances.
With its well-established innovative strength and industry-leading global TechCenter network, MKS delivers pioneering solutions through its Atotech brand – combined with unparalleled on-site support for customers worldwide. For more information, please visit us at atotech.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 regarding MKS’ manufacturing and operations expansion plans, expected production capacity and output, ability to support customer needs, and anticipated demand and growth opportunities in high-growth electronics markets. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact should be considered to be forward-looking statements. Actual events or results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements set forth herein, including as a result of the factors described in MKS’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. MKS is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this press release.
SpaceX plánuje příští měsíc začít stavět 8mílové potrubí Starpipe do texaských zařízení pro starty Starship. Potrubí má být v provozu do 26. ledna a má urychlit starty rakety.
SummaryCompaniesSpaceX plans to start building 8-mile pipeline next monthProject would fuel more launches of Starship moon rocketPipeline is part of sprawling SpaceX gas plans in TexasWASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - SpaceX (SPCX.O), opens new tab plans to begin next month building an eight‑mile (13-km) natural gas pipeline called "Starpipe" to its Texas launch facilities, according to county filings, as Elon Musk’s company seeks to ramp up launches of its next‑generation Starship rocket.
Starpipe, which will end at SpaceX’s Texas company town of Starbase, is expected to be in service by January 26, according to a document filed last month with the Texas Railroad Commission by SpaceX affiliate Lone Star Mineral Development and reviewed by Reuters.
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The pipeline plan, previously reported by Rio Grande Valley Business Journal, signals Musk's intent to accelerate Starship's development and lay the groundwork for a faster flight rate. The 40‑story rocket is central to SpaceX’s push to expand its Starlink broadband network, deploy orbital AI data center satellites, and eventually carry astronauts to the moon and Mars.
Designed to be fully reusable, Starship uses about 630,000 gallons (2.4 million liters) of liquid methane per launch, currently delivered by hundreds of tanker trucks in an hours-long process incompatible with Musk's expansion plans. Starship has completed 12 test launches since 2023, but Musk aims to ramp up to dozens, hundreds and eventually thousands of launches a year.
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
SPACEX'S BIG GAS PLANSThough it is unusual for a space company to build its own natural gas pipeline for launchpad fuel, Starpipe might only be an initial step in a longer-term plan for SpaceX, which has spent years exploring its own drilling operations near Starbase and throughout Texas, according to a Reuters review of Cameron County land records.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told CNBC on June 12, when the company went public, that the company planned to build pipelines and process its own propellant, and was looking into drilling its own natural gas.
Extracting natural gas would be a challenging pursuit for a company with no oil and gas experience, said Stan Lindsey, an oil and gas consultant in Texas.
“I’m not saying it's beyond the realm of possibility … it’s possible they got a really nice prospect," Lindsey said. But if those drilling plans fall short, he added, “they’ve got a fallback position” with Starpipe.
SpaceX has signed over 100 paid-up oil and gas leases with Texas property owners since 2023, the land records show.
Starpipe would begin on an 83-acre (34-hectare) piece of land at the Port of Brownsville that SpaceX is in talks to lease from the city for 50 years, a port official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are private.
Engineering plans SpaceX filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, included in a public notice issued last August, show SpaceX wants to build a liquefaction facility at Starbase to process the piped-in natural gas into liquid methane.
"Certainly that would make the most efficient sense," said William Farrar, a longtime oil and gas lawyer in Texas and geoscientist.
The company could tap into Enbridge's Valley Crossing Pipeline expansion project that would run close to Starpipe's start point, Lindsey said.
Enbridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SPACEX WANTS TO OWN SUPPLY CHAINSpaceX's move into gas infrastructure, typically the domain of energy and pipeline firms, underscores its longstanding strategy of controlling as much of its supply chain as possible, a capital‑intensive approach that has helped the company outpace rivals in rocket and spacecraft development.
The effort positions SpaceX to manage an unusually broad chain of resources, stretching from natural gas deep beneath Earth's surface to the moon, where Musk wants to use lunar material for AI‑focused satellite production, an ambitious and untested goal.
The pipeline’s 16‑inch (406-mm) diameter suggests fuel demand exceeding what Starship would require for 25 launches, the annual cadence currently approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.
SpaceX ultimately aims to deploy thousands of solar‑powered, AI‑focused satellites whose combined energy output could approach one-fifth of the U.S. power grid, according to its initial public offering prospectus.
Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Joe Brock and Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Joey Roulette is a space reporter for Reuters covering the business and politics of the global space industry, often focusing on space power competition and how commercial interests intersect with international relations. He was part of a team that won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in national reporting for Reuters' coverage of Elon Musk's business empire. On the space beat for roughly a decade, Joey previously worked for the New York Times, the Verge, and various publications in Florida.
Apple od roku 2012 odkoupil vlastní akcie za 851 miliard USD a 30. dubna přidal dalších 100 miliard USD na odkupy akcií. Firma se tak blíží hranici 1 bilionu USD v kumulovaných zpětných odkupech.
Investors are certainly familiar with just how profitable Apple (AAPL 5.56%) is. Its reported net income margin in the fiscal 2026 second quarter (ended March 28) was a fantastic 26.6%. Pricing power and brand loyalty help drive bottom-line performance.
This kind of financial strength has allowed the business to take care of its shareholders. To be more specific, there are 850 billion reasons (and counting) why investors love Apple stock.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Apple started its capital returns program in 2012. Since then, the business has repurchased $851 billion worth of shares, a truly massive figure that exceeds the current market capitalizations of all but 18 publicly traded companies.
On April 30, Apple added $100 billion in capacity for additional stock buybacks. This adds to the $64 billion remaining on its prior authorization. In total, this means it won't be long until Apple eclipses $1 trillion in cumulative share repurchases.
Today's Change
(
-5.56
%) $
-16.29
Current Price
$
276.79
All else equal, buybacks introduce a tailwind to earnings per share (EPS) because they reduce the number of shares outstanding. In the past decade, Apple's diluted EPS has risen at a compound annual rate of 15.5%. During that time, the diluted outstanding share count shrank by about 33%.
Apple's stock price has soared 1,140% in the last 10 years (as of June 23). Investors should credit some of this performance to the leadership team's capital allocation policy.
Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Tržby společnosti Meta Platforms meziročně vzrostly o 33 % na 56,3 miliardy USD díky růstu zapojení do AI. Na 2. čtvrtletí 2026 očekává tržby 58 až 61 miliard USD.
Key Takeaways Meta Platforms posted 33% year-over-year revenue growth to $56.3 billion, aided by AI engagement. META saw Reels watch time rise 10%, while AI-translated videos reach 500M weekly viewers. Meta Platforms expects Q2 2026 revenues of $58B-$61B as it expands AI infrastructure. Meta Platform (META - Free Report) is benefiting from its accelerating growth into artificial intelligence (AI), which is driving significant top-line growth and positioning the company for further upside.
META’s release of the Muse family of models and the upgraded Meta AI assistant has positioned the company as a leader in personal superintelligence, with billions of users now accessing these AI-powered features. This surge in AI-driven engagement is translating directly into top-line growth, as evidenced by a 33% year-over-year increase in total revenues to $56.3 billion for the first quarter of 2026.
The company’s focus on integrating AI into its platforms, which includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads, is driving user as well as advertising engagements. AI is heavily dependent on data, of which META has a trove, driven by its more than 3.56 billion daily users. Meta Platforms continues to see strong engagement trends with Instagram Reels, where watch time increased by 10% and Facebook video time increased by 8% globally in the first quarter of 2026. AI-translated videos are now watched weekly by more than 500 million users on Facebook and Instagram. Threads continue to grow with more than 500 million monthly active users.
Meta Platforms’ generative AI advertising tools are gaining strong traction, with more than 8 million advertisers using at least one GenAI ad creative tool in the first quarter of 2026. Video generation tools improved conversion rates by more than 3% while adoption among small and medium businesses has been particularly strong.
Meta Platforms is spending heavily on expanding AI infrastructure, which is expected to benefit the company’s top-line growth. For the second quarter of 2026, the company expects total revenues between $58 billion and $61 billion.
META Faces Stiff CompetitionMeta Platforms is facing stiff competition from competitors like Snap (SNAP - Free Report) and Reddit (RDDT - Free Report) . Both Snap and Reddit are expanding their portfolio in the AI space.
Reddit’s investments in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools remain noteworthy. The launch and adoption of Reddit Max, an automated, AI-powered campaign tool, enabled advertisers to achieve a 17% reduction in cost per action and a 25% increase in conversion rate in the first quarter of 2026. About 50% of Max campaign advertisers now use AI-powered creative features, and brands like Cozy have reported a 35% higher ROAS and a 28% lower cost per acquisition with these tools.
Snap has reached 956 million monthly active users and 483 million daily active users in the first quarter of 2026, driven by the continued adoption of Augmented Reality Lenses, Spotlight and AI-powered features. Key growth drivers include its AI-powered automation solutions, AI Sponsored Snaps, Sponsored Snaps, Promoted Places, Dynamic Product Ads and subscription offerings, including Snapchat+, Memories Storage and Lens+.
META’s Share Price Performance, Valuation, and EstimatesMETA’s shares have lost 15.6% in the year-to-date period, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s return of 14.9%.
META Stock Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
META shares are overvalued, with a forward 12-month Price/Sales of 5.09X compared with the Internet - Software’s 3.54X. META has a Value Score of C.
META Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $33.01 per share, which has increased by a penny over the past 30 days. This suggests 40.53% year-over-year growth.
Meta Platforms currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Five researchers out of Google’s core AI team in seven days, and the market noticed. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) shares fell 5.09% over the past week to $345.29, and dropped another 1.14% Thursday morning to $341.34. The catalyst is talent, the subtext is product, and the spread between the two is where investors are getting nervous.
What Maggie Germain told CNBC On CNBC’s Closing Bell Overtime Wednesday, reporter Maggie Germain laid out why the exits look like a pattern rather than coincidence. When the host pressed whether pre-IPO equity alone explained the moves, Germain pointed at a hole in Google’s product lineup. “Google at this point doesn’t have something that competes with Codex and Claude Code, and that’s where researchers are really gravitating,” she said. Coding assistants are the wedge product for enterprise AI sales right now, and the labs building the best ones are hoovering up Google’s bench.
The standouts are real names. Noam Shazeer, a Gemini co-lead and one of the original authors of the Transformer paper, is heading to OpenAI. John Jumper, the Nobel laureate behind AlphaFold, is going to Anthropic. Two more DeepMind researchers are reportedly headed to Anthropic as well, and DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis acknowledged “the most ferociously competitive talent market the tech industry has ever seen.” The newer departures sit below Shazeer or Jumper in seniority, yet the cadence is the story.
Why pre-IPO equity changes the math Both Anthropic and OpenAI have confidentially filed S-1s, which converts a researcher’s grant from “maybe valuable someday” into “valuable on a defined timeline.” Polymarket traders are pricing the competitive gap quite directly. As of Thursday, the market gives Anthropic a 98.2% implied probability of holding the top model on Chatbot Arena by June 30, with Google at just 0.3%. Over one month, Anthropic’s odds rose 22.2 points while Google’s fell 17.7.
Compounding the mood, Gemini 3.5 Pro was reportedly pushed from a June release to July. Talent churn alongside a product slip compounds the credibility problem with enterprise buyers.
The numbers that complicate the panic Strip out the last week and the underlying business is still firing. Q1 FY26, reported April 29, delivered EPS of $5.11 against a $2.63 estimate on revenue of $109.90 billion, up 21.8% year over year. Google Cloud grew 63% to $20.03 billion, with backlog nearly doubling sequentially to over $460 billion. CEO Sundar Pichai told investors that Gemini’s API processed more than 16 billion tokens per minute, up 60% from the prior quarter, per Alphabet’s Q1 FY26 8-K.
So why the selloff. Capex hit $35.67 billion in Q1, more than doubling year over year, with FY26 guidance of $175 billion to $185 billion. Investors are being asked to fund a hyperscale build while watching the people who would justify that spend walk to competition. GOOGL’s composite sentiment score has fallen 19.16 points in seven days and 24.88 over thirty. Year to date, the stock is still up 10.46%, and over one year, up 107.64%. The selloff reflects positioning rather than a break in the business.
How the rivals are trading If you assumed talent flowing into the OpenAI and Anthropic camps was juicing their cloud backers, the price action disagrees. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is down 3.55% on the week and 24.10% year to date to $355.23, weighed by the same AI capex anxiety dragging Alphabet. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which backs Anthropic and committed roughly 5 gigawatts of Trainium capacity to it, is down 1.36% on the week to $230.05, up just 1.49% year to date.
What to keep an eye on The July Gemini release is the readable catalyst. If 3.5 Pro lands and clears the 1500 Chatbot Arena threshold the market currently prices at 25%, the talent narrative softens. If it slips again or debuts middling, the question stops being about five researchers and starts being about whether enterprise customers stay parked in Vertex AI when Codex and Claude Code keep shipping. Polymarket is currently pricing an 80% chance GOOGL closes lower on June 25, which tells you where the very short-term crowd has placed its chips.
Stifel snížil cílovou cenu Microsoftu na 400 USD kvůli obavám ze silného tlaku na marže a přehnaných odhadů zisku. Akcie MSFT mezitím klesly na nové 52týdenní minimum.
Microsoft MSFT shares inched lower and printed a fresh 52-week low this morning after a senior Stifel analyst, Brad Reback, lowered his price target on the tech behemoth to $400.
As sentiment shifts from blind AI enthusiasm to cold financial scrutiny, MSFT’s relative strength index (RSI) has crashed into the late 20s, indicating “oversold” conditions that often trigger a near-term reversal.
Still, Reback recommends some caution in playing Microsoft stock that’s already down more than 25% year-to-date.
In his research note, Reback argued the current consensus estimates for Microsoft are “somewhat” ignoring the potential for severe margin compression ahead.
“Severe costs associated with running and scaling Azure’s rapid growth will create unprecedented friction,” he told clients.
According to the Stifel analyst, MSFT’s gross margins (2027) could shrink by 450 basis points on a year-over-year basis to about 63%, significantly below Street’s optimistic consensus of 66.5%.
This dramatic contraction is almost entirely structural – driven by explosive capex and subsequent heavy depreciation costs of building, cooling, and maintaining specialized AI data centers.
Note that MSFT shares are currently trading decisively below their major moving averages (MAs), reinforcing that bears remain firmly in control.
Stifel trimmed its price objective on Microsoft shares also because it believes the consensus EPS estimates for FY27 are inflated by a full dollar.
Wall Street currently expects the titan’s full-year per-share earnings to come in at $19.45, a number analyst Brad Reback sees as highly unrealistic given its surging finance lease obligations and upper single-digit operating expense growth.
This structural expenditure leaves very little room for traditional enterprise cost-cutting measures to balance the scales.
Plus, he also highlighted a continuous decline in organic free cash flow as a major corporate red flag.
If FCF fails to rebound in FY27, Microsoft’s historical flexibility to “aggressively” fund growing shareholder dividends and execute massive share buyback plans will face restrictive boundaries – the analyst added.
All in all, Stifel’s research report perfectly encapsulates a broader, sector-wide realignment hitting the entire technology architecture space.
The market is aggressively transitionary; investors are no longer content with magnificent top-line annualized AI run rates (such as Microsoft's recent $37 billion metric) if it requires tracking toward an astronomical $190 billion in annual capital spending to secure it.
As capex intensity across the enterprise software sector balloons, Wall Street is enforcing a stricter valuation discipline, punishing firms whose near-term cash return profiles are being swallowed by multi-year infrastructure cycles.
For MSFT stock, breaking out of this bearish cycle will require proving to a newly skeptical market that its heavily funded Copilot and Azure AI products can efficiently convert into highly profitable, high-margin software recurring revenue rather than remaining capital-guzzling utilities.
Microsoft od 1. srpna zdraží konzole Xbox kvůli rostoucím nákladům na komponenty; Xbox Series S 512GB podraží o 100 USD na zhruba 500 USD a Series X začne asi na 750 USD.
Hours after Apple announced price increases for MacBooks and iPads, Microsoft said consumers can also expect to pay more for Xbox game consoles, reflecting rising component costs.
Starting Aug. 1, Xbox Series S consoles containing 512GB of storage will go up by $100 to about $500, Microsoft said Thursday, while models with 1TB will increase by $150 more. The entry-level Xbox Series X will now start at about $750.
"Last October, we increased XBOX console price by $20-$70 in the U.S.," the company said in a blog post. "We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options."
Microsoft said "console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027."
Memory manufacturers such as Micron and SK Hynix have a limited capacity, and they are prioritizing high-bandwidth memory for artificial intelligence infrastructure, such as Nvidia's graphics processing units. Manufacturers are raising prices to reflect higher demand, resulting in wider profit margins.
That puts a strain on consumers looking to buy devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers. Apple's announcement on Thursday came after CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal that price increases had become inevitable.
"The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles," the Xbox unit said in the post. "Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make."
Microsoft said the 2 TB Xbox Series X, introduced in 2024, will no longer be available.
Microsoft shares sank almost 4% on Thursday. Apple's stock dropped 5%.
Skoro 400 lokálních a regionálních novin podalo žalobu na OpenAI a Microsoft kvůli údajnému porušení autorských práv. Tvrdí, že jejich články byly použity k tréninku ChatGPT a Microsoft Copilot bez souhlasu.
A coalition of publishers of nearly 400 local and regional newspapers has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement.
The lawsuit alleges that the companies stole the newspapers’ copyrighted news articles, used that content to build and train commercial AI products, including ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, and reproduced or repurposed the content without permission or compensation, Platkin LLP, the law firm that filed the suit, said in a Wednesday (June 24) post on LinkedIn.
Platkin LLP was founded this year by former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and a team of litigators from the attorney general’s office, according to the firm’s LinkedIn profile.
Matthew Platkin said in the post that the lawsuit “seeks to ensure these local publications creating original content will have meaningful protections in the AI era.”
“AI systems do not critically evaluate city council and community meetings,” Platkin said. “They don’t investigate local crimes and corruption, publish obituaries, or cover the new restaurant opening downtown. Local reporters do. This lawsuit is not about stopping AI innovation, but ensuring that innovation happens fairly and within the bounds of the law.”
Neither Microsoft nor OpenAI immediately replied to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
The New York Times filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI in December 2023, alleging copyright infringement. The newspaper claimed the tech companies used its content without permission to develop their AI products.
Reached by PYMNTS at the time, an OpenAI spokesperson said the firm respects the right of content creators and owners and is “committed to working with them to ensure they benefit from AI technology and new revenue models.”
In December, a federal judge directed OpenAI to provide millions of anonymized ChatGPT logs in a copyright case brought by The New York Times and other media organizations. The publishers contended that the logs were necessary to determine whether the AI system reproduced protected articles.
OpenAI and Microsoft also face a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by a group of authors who accuse the companies of misusing the authors’ books to train AI software, while OpenAI faces a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster, who allege the company scraped their articles to train its AI.
3M v 1. čtvrtletí zvýšila upravené organické tržby v segmentu Safety & Industrial o 3,2 % a provozní marži o 100 bazických bodů. Firma čeká za letošek asi 3% růst organických tržeb a EPS 8,50–8,70 USD.
Key Takeaways 3M's Safety & Industrial segment posted 3.2% adjusted organic sales growth in Q1 2026.MMM's segment margin rose 100 bps on volumes, productivity and capital discipline.3M expects about 3% organic sales growth and EPS of $8.50-$8.70 in 2026. 3M Company (MMM - Free Report) continues to gain from the strong momentum in its Safety & Industrial segment, a key contributor to its growth. An increase in demand across personal safety, industrial adhesives and tapes, abrasives and electrical has been aiding the segment’s momentum. Sales in the personal safety, industrial adhesives and tapes, abrasives and electrical markets collectively increased in the mid-single-digit range in the first three months of 2026.
A rise in demand for electrical infrastructure products like medium voltage cable accessories and insulation tapes also supported performance. The segment’s adjusted organic sales grew 3.2% year over year in the first quarter. Its adjusted operating margin also improved 100 basis points year over year, supported by higher sales volumes, productivity initiatives and disciplined capital allocation. However, continued investments aimed at business expansion and tariffs partially offset the results. Weakness in the roofing granules business is also concerning for 3M.
Backed by strong operational execution, 3M has provided a positive outlook for 2026. The company expects adjusted organic sales growth of about 3% year over year and projects adjusted earnings in the range of $8.50-$8.70 per share, indicating continued earnings growth from 2025 levels.
Segmental Snapshot of MMM’s PeersAmong 3M’s major peers, Honeywell International Inc. (HON - Free Report) is witnessing solid momentum in its Building Automation segment, driven by ongoing strength in both the building solutions and building products businesses. In the first quarter of 2026, Honeywell’s segment’s revenues increased 11% year over year. It contributed approximately 20.6% to Honeywell’s total revenues during the quarter.
MMM’s another peer, Carlisle Companies Incorporated’s (CSL - Free Report) Carlisle Construction Materials segment decreased 5.1% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. Carlisle’s segment’s revenues were offset by the weakness in the new construction market. It contributed approximately 72.2% of Carlisle’s total revenues during the quarter.
The Zacks Rundown for MMMShares of 3M have gained 10% in the past year against the industry’s decrease of 4%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, 3M is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40X, above the industry average of 15.78X. MMM carries a Value Score of D.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MMM’s earnings for 2026 has increased a penny in the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
MMM stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Visa spustila Visa Destinations, mobilní cestovní platformu, která má zákazníkům nabízet doporučení, průvodce městy a kurátorské zážitky. Služba je zatím dostupná v několika světových destinacích.
Visa has launched a travel platform as it moves to expand its role beyond payments.
Visa Destinations, announced Thursday (June 25), is live now in Paris, London, Dubai, Milan, Rome, Mexico City, New York City, Miami, San Francisco and Thailand.
“Travel is expected to grow 10% annually over the coming years. It consistently shows resilience to the world’s events and consumers protect it,” Katya Petelina, head of global cross-border and global sales and commercial operations at Visa, said in a news release.
She also cited company research showing that customers will cut back everyday spending to save up for travel.
“With Visa Destinations, we are accompanying travelers throughout their journey and helping them discover the moments that make a destination memorable, while giving our issuers and merchant partners a meaningful way to participate in the economic growth that travel creates.”
Available to Visa customers via a mobile first platform, Visa Destinations provides “tastemaker recommendations, city guides, and curated experiences” in keeping with what Visa calls its pivot from “being the way to pay for travel to becoming a travel companion.”
Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows the increasing importance of digital tools for travelers and travel companies.
The data shows that 93% of those companies now offer at least one embedded finance capability, with digital wallets the most common. The research also indicates that companies tie these tools to higher conversion rates and fewer abandoned bookings, as well as gains in efficiency and quicker product rollout.
“The shift reflects how travel platforms are being built,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this year. “Search, booking, payments and loyalty are being woven into a single flow. Keeping the customer inside that flow reduces friction and creates more opportunities to capture spend.”
In other travel news, PYMNTS wrote recently about the resurrection of global business travel, with spending in that sphere projected between $1.62 trillion and $1.69 trillion for the calendar year, according to estimates cited by the Global Business Travel Association industry group, an all-time high that surpasses the record set before the pandemic.
“What makes business travel particularly significant in 2026 is not the volume of trips being taken. It is the nature of those trips,” PYMNTS wrote.
“Organizations are traveling with greater intention, focusing on activities that create measurable business value. Those journeys increasingly revolve around supplier relationships, customer acquisition, market expansion and strategic partnerships—the very activities that generate future trade and payment flows.”
Ford přiznal, že samotná AI nestačila k vyřešení problémů s kvalitou, a proto znovu najal asi 350 zkušených technických specialistů. Firma je zapojila do revizí návrhů a mentorování mladších inženýrů.
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Ford scored a big quality award on Thursday. The company is praising veteran workers. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Ford staged a quality comeback. The automaker credits part of the turnaround to pairing AI with something more old-school: veteran engineers.
Executives at Ford told reporters this week that the company had hired, promoted, or brought back about 350 experienced technical specialists as part of a sweeping effort to fix vehicle-quality problems. Those engineering veterans have helped mentor younger staff, lead design reviews, and improve the AI and automated quality tools Ford uses to catch defects before vehicles reach customers, they said.
They also offered a striking admission: AI and automation were not enough on their own.
"Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but it's only as good as information you use to train it," Charles Poon, Ford's vice president of vehicle hardware engineering, said. "Mistakenly, we thought that by just introducing artificial intelligence and ingesting the design requirements that we had, that would produce a high-quality product."
Poon said Ford had not done enough in prior years to preserve the knowledge of its most experienced engineers, some of whom left the company before their expertise was fully integrated into Ford's systems. He said quality problems often showed up at the boundaries between teams, where design, manufacturing, software, and hardware collide.
Quality win, recall hangover
Ford just improved its standing in one of the auto industry's biggest yearly tests. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images The comments came as Ford celebrated a major milestone.
Consumer data analytics firm JD Power named Ford the top mass-market brand in its latest initial-quality study, trailing only Porsche and Genesis overall, according to the study released Thursday. Ford narrowly beat Lexus, which has long been one of the strongest performers in the rankings.
That's a big turnaround. Just three years ago, Ford ranked 15th out of 25 major automakers in the same study.
For years, Ford has faced headwinds on its product quality. In 2025, Ford issued 152 recalls, nearly doubling the previous record set by General Motors in 2014 with 77 safety bulletins.
As of Thursday, Ford had issued 51 recalls this year, according to the NHTSA's dashboard. That's still more than double Chrysler, the next-closest automaker, which had issued 19.
Ford executives said many of the continued recall issues are tied to vehicles and platforms designed between 2013 and 2020, calling recalls a "lagging indicator." They framed the JD Power win as proof that a new approach is taking hold, and said internal data shows "clear improvement" in newer vehicles.
Still, the initial-quality study measures problems in new vehicles, not long-term durability, making it an early signal rather than a full verdict on whether Ford has solved its recall problem.
Ford says it changed how it catches problems
Ford says it's been making manufacturing quality improvements since 2023. Bloomberg/Getty Images Ford launched its quality reset in 2023.
In that time, Kumar Galhotra, Ford's COO, said the company has more than doubled its technical specialist population. Those specialists now lead mandatory design reviews and look for failure points before parts ever reach the plant floor.
"They hunt for failure points before a part ever reaches the plant floor," he said.
The company also created an industrial system team to bring engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain closer together. Before that approach, Galhotra said Ford had previously relied too heavily on a "find and fix" approach — identifying problems after they appeared and trying to resolve them quickly.
Now, Ford says it is trying to prevent problems before they happen.
Ford previously told Business Insider that it had developed two bespoke AI-enhanced scanning tools that helped validate that cars were properly assembled before rolling off the lot. The tools, called AiTriz and MAIVs, both debuted in 2024.
While Ford has previously said the tools are helping improve product quality, the company did not say whether the 350 specialists worked directly on them.
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Ben Shimkus You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Ben Shimkus is a reporter for the Business News desk. He writes about cars, transportation, retail, and jobs. Ben's reporting has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Verge, Automotive News, USA Today, AutoBody News, LGBTQ Nation, TopSpeed, and Out Magazine. He's also held staff writing positions at The U.S. Sun and the Daily Mail. He graduated from NYU with a Master's in journalism in 2024. Email Ben at [email protected] or message him privately on Signal at bshimkus.41.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) Analyst/Investor Day June 24, 2026 2:15 PM EDT
Company Participants
Cristiano Amon - CEO, President & Director
Antonios Pialis - Executive VP & General Manager of Data Center for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Tim Davis - Co-Founder, President, Chief Product Officer & Secretary
Tony Pialis
Nakul Duggal - EVP, Group GM of Automotive, Industrial, Embedded IoT, & Robotics - Qualcomm Technologies
Brett Adcock - CEO, CFO, Secretary & Director
Chris Lattner - Co-Founder & CEO
Clément Delangue - Co-Founder, President, CEO & Director
Akash Palkhiwala - Executive VP, CFO & COO
Conference Call Participants
Brett Simpson - Arete Research Services LLP
Satya Nadella - Microsoft Corporation
Mark Zuckerberg - Meta Platforms, Inc.
Tareq Amin - Al-Mustaqbal Lil-Thaka Al-Istinai Company
David Reger - Neura Robotics GmbH
Panos Panay - Amazon.com, Inc.
Rick Osterloh
Christopher Caso - Wolfe Research, LLC
James Schneider - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
Joseph Cardoso - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
Presentation
Brett Simpson
Arete Research Services LLP
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Qualcomm's 2026 Investor Day. It's great to be here in New York, and it's great to see so many familiar faces.
Now a lot of you have been asking me recently why I joined Qualcomm. And well, I think it's pretty clear. I think we have a really compelling investment case. And today is an opportunity to really share with you why we're so excited about what lies ahead for Qualcomm. We've got a lot to share with you today.
Before we jump into things, I just want to say a big thanks to everyone involved from Qualcomm and making this day possible. It's a huge amount of work. I really had no idea how much man hours goes into put an event like this on. And just wanted to say thanks to everyone. It's really amazing. And I also wanted to say a big thanks to all the executives from
Carnival vykázal rekordní tržby, upravený čistý zisk i zákaznické zálohy ve 2. fiskálním čtvrtletí. Investory ale znepokojil slabší výhled a akcie po výsledcích klesly zhruba o 5 %.
Carnival NYSE: CCL just reported its second fiscal quarter, and it’s clear from the numbers that the company is sailing in the right direction. But warning signs of rough waters ahead spooked investors.
Carnival Today
$28.26 -0.65 (-2.24%)
As of 03:29 PM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.
52-Week Range$23.45▼
$34.03Dividend Yield2.12%
P/E Ratio12.73
Price Target$35.13
Based on the latest figures, Carnival continues to execute one of the stronger post-pandemic recoveries in travel. For the three months ended May 31, Carnival posted record levels of revenue, adjusted net income, net yields, and customer deposits. Even with geopolitical tensions and significantly higher fuel costs, the company’s net income rose more than 20%.
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But the company’s forward guidance did little to calm nerves, and that overshadowed an otherwise positive quarterly performance. The stock slid sharply after earnings were announced and closed the day down roughly 5%.
Most analysts still like the stock, but investors should recognize that with real strengths come risks.
Strong Quarterly Results Beat ExpectationsCarnival’s second-quarter results were convincing. Net income came in at $537 million, 5% lower than a year earlier, though adjusted net income, which strips out one-time items, reached $569 million, up more than 21% year-over-year. Overall, revenue of $6.66 billion represented a 5.3% increase over the same period a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was a record $1.58 billion, up from $1.5 billion a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were 39 cents, and adjusted EPS rose more than 15% to 41 cents, up from 35 cents in the prior-year period and above analysts’ expectations.
The company also said it repurchased more than $450 million of company stock and, with a dividend yield of 2%, distributed $207 million in dividends in the latest quarter.
Healthy Margins Despite Higher Fuel CostsWhile the headline figures were impressive, the unit economics were also encouraging. Net yields in constant currency rose 2.2% for the quarter. Continued price discipline showed up as well, as adjusted daily cruise costs per bed, excluding fuel, held essentially flat year-over-year.
Predictably, fuel was the most visible cost challenge during the quarter. Carnival noted that the increase in earnings per share came despite fuel prices and currency movements, which lowered per share earnings by 6 cents, equal to an overall hit of $73 million for the quarter.
Given 30% higher fuel costs, gross margin yields were down 3.9%. But with adjusted earnings still hitting records, the operating model appears to be holding.
An additional bright spot was a 5.6% improvement in fuel consumption per available lower berth day, suggesting that operational efficiency was at least partially offsetting price pressures.
Debt Reduction Continues to Strengthen the Balance SheetThe latest numbers also showed Carnival’s recovery continuing after more than three years in the making. When the global cruise industry shut down during the pandemic, Carnival took on enormous debt to survive, suspended its dividend, and watched its stock collapse from the low $50s to nearly $7 in the space of a few months.
Its recovery has been methodical and convincing. As of May 31, long-term debt had dropped to $23.4 billion, continuing a steady decline from $32 billion near the end of 2022. The company’s net interest expense improved in the latest quarter to $285 million from $341 million a year earlier.
Strong Demand Faces External RisksThe rest of the year looks strong for the company, though concerns remain.
On the plus side, customer deposits, or the amount consumers have paid to book a cruise months in advance, hit a record $9 billion by the end of the quarter, up more than $450 million compared with the prior year record. In all, Carnival has booked 93% of its capacity and expects record net yields for the rest of the year, the company’s CEO said.
That positive outlook, however, is paired with cautionary forward concerns. The ongoing tensions in the Middle East have significantly cut into Carnival’s operations in the Mediterranean Sea, and concerns linger about demand and net yields going forward.
While earnings for the second quarter came in above analysts’ expectations, revenue missed fractionally from what analysts projected. Further instability in high-tourist areas could continue to cut into passenger bookings.
Further, energy costs remain a significant variable that can shift results quickly. And weather disruptions, macroeconomic slowdowns, or a shift in consumer spending priorities could each push a slowdown that’s not easy to offset. The consumer discretionary sector is always subject to volatility, and competitors, such as Royal Caribbean NYSE: RCL and Norwegian Cruise Line NYSE: NCLH, are stepping up their offerings.
Current Price$28.73High Forecast$45.00Average Forecast$35.13Low Forecast$28.70Carnival Stock Forecast Details
Overall, though, Wall Street analysts like what they see. Of the 26 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a 12-month average target price of $35.13 per share, up more than 20% from current levels.
Finally recovering from its collapse five years ago, shares are up roughly 12% over the past three months. That upside got even more attractive after the pullback that occurred after Carnival reported second-quarter earnings—a reaction similar to what occurred after its first-quarter report.
In all, 21 analysts recommend Buy, while five have the stock as a Hold. The highest price target is $45, while the lowest is $28.70 per share.
Carnival Appeals Most to Aggressive InvestorsFor investors, the choices seem clear. Carnival Corporation has just delivered its best-ever quarter by several key measures, and the record customer deposit balance suggests demand is not fading.
Aggressive investors who are willing to accept cyclicality and balance-sheet risk could likely find the stock interesting. For those who believe in the durability of consumer travel demand, Carnival offers a combination of strong fundamentals, forward momentum, and a meaningful upside.
Conservative investors seeking above a 2% dividend yield, more predictable results, and greater balance-sheet strength might prefer other options.
Should You Invest $1,000 in Carnival Right Now?Before you consider Carnival, you'll want to hear this.
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The AI boom is creating opportunities across semiconductors, cloud computing, enterprise software, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and automation.
Inside this report, you’ll find 10 companies positioned to benefit as artificial intelligence moves from hype to real-world deployment and becomes a core growth driver for corporate America.
The semiconductor market has seen immense growth over the past year, and that momentum continues with Micron Technology (MU) blowing analyst expectations out of the water. Expect ETFs offering pure play exposure to the memory semiconductor industry to benefit in at least the near-term future.
Key Takeaways Micron beat analyst expectations on Wednesday, reporting EPS of $25.11 and revenue of $41.5 billion, while also raising Q4 revenue guidance to $49 billion to $51 billion. A multi-year agreement with Anthropic and soaring memory component demand from data center construction are cementing Micron’s role as a critical component in the AI infrastructure ecosystem. Numerous ETFs are benefiting from Micron’s earnings performance, including DRAM, RAM, and VLUE, which all include Micron as a top allocation. Micron Surpasses Q3 Earnings Expectations After the closing bell on Wednesday, Micron announced Q3 earnings, beating analyst expectations across the board. The company reported EPS of $25.11 and revenue of $41.5 billion, exceeding analyst expectations of $20.39 and $35.1 billion, respectively. Looking ahead to Q4, the company anticipates revenues of $49 billion to $51 billion, surpassing Wall Street expectations of $43.2 billion, according to Yahoo Finance.
On Monday prior to earnings, Micron announced a multi-year agreement with Anthropic to supply memory and storage chips to the AI developer. This deal links the demand of flagship AI models to how the infrastructure is designed, supplied, and deployed at scale.
The continued construction of data centers is driving demand for memory components known as DRAM. Micron announced DRAM revenue of $31.3 billion, beating analyst expectations of $27.5 billion.
Pure-Play Memory Strategies Capitalizing Since its inception in early April, the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) has seen returns of over 150%, and inflows of $17.5 billion. The fund provides pure-play exposure to the companies driving the physical hardware of the AI sector, requiring companies to derive at least 50% of their revenues directly from the memory components industry.
DRAM maintains a highly concentrated portfolio, with three holdings — Micron (24.25%), Samsung Electronics Co (005930) (26.49%), and SK Hynix (000660) (24.26%) — accounting for approximately 75% of the fund’s assets. Micron’s recent earnings beat serves as a major driver for the fund, due to its concentrated portfolio.
For investors seeking increased exposure to the AI memory industry, Roundhill Investments recently launched the Roundhill T-REX 2X Long DRAM Daily Target ETF (RAM). With an expense ratio of 125 basis points, the fund provides leveraged exposure to DRAM, seeking to replicate 2X the daily performance of the underlying ETF, offering investors a tactical way to magnify daily returns.
Broader Funds Benefiting Among other funds with high allocations to Micron is the iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (VLUE). Following the fund’s semiannual May rebalance, Micron now accounts for a 23.4% weighting in the fund, with the next highest weight being Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 4.7%.
The fund tracks the MSCI USA Enhanced Value Index, which focuses on isolating value stocks from the MSCI USA Index, with a heavy emphasis on the tech sector. The strategy employs a sector-neutral and fundamentals-based methodology, to capture value across the broader market.
Due to strong earnings and cash flow growth, Micron’s fundamental metrics, forward and trailing P/E ratio, remain relatively low at 9.11 and 23.70, respectively. This is significantly lower and more value-oriented than the broader AI market, in which a company like Nvidia (NVDA) has forward and trailing P/E ratios of 22.68 and 30.47.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Equity ETF Content Hub.
Lockheed Martin získal dvě zakázky od amerického ministerstva obrany v hodnotě 8,2 miliardy USD a 35,3 miliardy USD. Tyto kontrakty mají do roku 2032 výrazně zvýšit jeho tržby.
Lockheed Martin (LMT +2.85%) stock jumped 2.8% through 1:15 p.m. ET Thursday on no obvious good news.
No obvious good news today, that is to say. But if you scroll back just a couple of days through the defense contract announcements posted by the U.S. Department of Defense on its website, I think you'll quickly find the reason why investors are so keen on LockMart stock today.
Image source: Getty Images.
An $8.2 billion contract -- and Lockheed stock falls On Tuesday, DOD announced an $8.2 billion contract will go to Lockheed Martin to increase the number of Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs) it can produce per year, and also the number of PrSMs the Army buys from Lockheed Martin.
Granted, the contract is spread over six years, ending in 2032, making the annual revenue increase only about $1.4 billion. Still, it seems strange that this news sent Lockheed Martin's stock down 2.4% yesterday!
A $35.3 billion contract, and Lockheed stock barely budges Speaking of yesterday, yesterday's headline was Lockheed winning a $35.3 billion Missile Defense Command contract to produce Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Interceptor missiles -- used to shoot down exoatmospheric ballistic missiles -- also through 2032. Priced near $12.7 million per unit (about three times the cost of a Patriot missile), this contract envisions Lockheed producing an astounding 2,800 THAAD interceptors.
And over the next six years, it will add nearly $5.9 billion to Lockheed's annual revenue haul.
Today's Change
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What it means for Lockheed stock So two days of contracts just grew Lockheed's annual revenue haul by about $7.3 billion. Even on the defense giant's already sizable $75.1 billion revenue stream, that's close to a 10% increase. And Lockheed stock is only back to flat because of it?
Sounds like a buying opportunity to me.
Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Lockheed Martin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Lockheed Martin zvýšil dividendu už 23. rok v řadě a na konci roku 2025 vykázal rekordní backlog ve výši 194 miliard USD. Volný peněžní tok dosáhl 6,908 miliardy USD a firma čeká 6,5 až 6,8 miliardy USD v roce 2026.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT | LMT Price Prediction) is a stock worth owning for decades because its revenue is effectively underwritten by the U.S. government and a global alliance system that does not negotiate down its threat environment to suit a recession. For a retirement investor who has already paid tuition chasing momentum, it fits the profile of a long-duration anchor position to research for reinvestment and patience.
Pillar 1: A Business Built Like Infrastructure Lockheed ended 2025 with a record $194 billion backlog, more than 2.5 years of sales, anchored by sole-source and duopoly franchises: the F-35, PAC-3, THAAD, Aegis, Sikorsky rotorcraft, and the Orion spacecraft. Customers are locked into these platforms for decades. CEO Jim Taiclet noted on the Q1 2026 call that factory production is already up more than 60% from just two years ago, supported by seven-year framework agreements on Patriot and PrSM that aim to lift munitions output three to four times current rates. The Pentagon’s FY 2027 budget request totals $756.8 billion for procurement and RDT&E, with $52.9 billion earmarked for critical munitions. That is the demand stream feeding the backlog.
Pillar 2: Income That Compounds Without Drama Lockheed has now raised the dividend for 23 consecutive years, with the quarterly payout climbing from $0.22 in 1999 to $3.45 in 2026 and zero cuts through the 2008 crisis, COVID, or the 2022 rate shock. The current yield sits near 2.64%, and management returned $3.0 billion in buybacks during 2025 with $9.1 billion of repurchase authorization in place. FY2025 free cash flow reached $6.908 billion, and 2026 guidance calls for $6.5 billion to $6.8 billion. That cash funds the payout, the buyback, and roughly $2.5 billion to $2.8 billion in capital expenditures without straining the balance sheet.
Pillar 3: It Survives Cycles Other Stocks Do Not Defense outlays are tied to geopolitics, not GDP. The beta of 0.106 reflects that decoupling. Allied procurement is structural: Goldman Sachs flagged the +€800 billion ReArm Europe Plan 2030 as a megatrend, and Lockheed is positioned as lead integrator for the Golden Dome missile defense initiative. The F-35 is, as Taiclet put it, “superior to every other airplane in the world today that we face”, and the Pentagon’s request includes 855 F-35 aircraft over the program horizon.
The Scenario Where It Underperforms Fixed-price classified programs can blow up. Q2 2025 was the proof: EPS came in at $1.46 against a $6.57 estimate after $1.6 billion in pre-tax program losses, including a $950 million reach-forward charge on a classified Aeronautics program. Yet revenue barely moved, the backlog still grew to a record by year-end, the dividend was raised anyway, and Q3 and Q4 returned to beats. Program charges are episodic. The Department of War demand cycle is structural, and that asymmetry is the entire point.
Lockheed Martin’s rising dividend and the structural geopolitical demand cycle frame it as a long-duration anchor position for investors prioritizing income compounding over trading.
BXP podepsala dlouhodobý pronájem asi 320 000 čtverečních stop v Reservoir Place s Boston Dynamics. Firma tam soustředí výrobu, výzkum a vývoj, školení i AI operace.
Key Takeaways BXP leased about 320,000 square feet at Reservoir Place to Boston Dynamics under a long-term agreement.Boston Dynamics will consolidate manufacturing, R&D, training and AI operations. Reservoir Place is part of BXP's Urban Edge portfolio across more than 5M sq. ft. and serves a mix of tenants. BXP, Inc. (BXP - Free Report) signed a long-term lease agreement with Boston Dynamics for approximately 320,000 square feet at Reservoir Place, a 530,000 square foot building located at 1601 Trapelo Road in Waltham, MA. The transaction represents one of the largest innovation-focused office leasing transactions in Greater Boston this year.
Boston Dynamics, a global leader in mobile robotics, plans to transform the leased space into a premier center for robotics and AI innovation. The company intends to consolidate manufacturing, research and development, training and artificial intelligence functions that are currently distributed across multiple locations into the new facility. Boston Dynamics expects to relocate to Reservoir Place in phases beginning in mid-2027.
Reservoir Place was selected for its scale, flexibility and connectivity to support Boston Dynamics' long-term growth while enabling the company to maintain its strong presence in Massachusetts. The project is the result of a collaborative effort among Boston Dynamics, the City of Waltham and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to retain and expand one of the state's most prominent innovation companies.
BXP has owned and operated Reservoir Place since 1998. The property is part of BXP's Urban Edge portfolio, a mixed-use destination spanning more than 5 million square feet across Waltham, Weston and Lexington. BXP’s Urban Edge portfolio is home to a diverse mix of technology, life sciences and professional services companies, offering premium workplaces alongside housing, retail and dining options, hotels, fitness and wellness amenities, and extensive open spaces.
The lease further reinforces Reservoir Place's position as a leading destination for technology and innovation companies in Massachusetts. It also underscores the continued demand for high-quality office space that supports collaboration, attracts top talent and accommodates long-term growth strategies.
ConclusionBXP is expected to benefit from stable, long-term rental income at Reservoir Place through this landmark lease with Boston Dynamics. The addition of a globally recognized mobile robotics leader strengthens BXP's tenant roster, increases occupancy at a key asset and reinforces the appeal of its high-quality office properties to innovation-focused tenants.
In the past three months, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 20.7% compared with the industry's 11.5% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are Cousins Properties (CUZ - Free Report) and Prologis (PLD - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CUZ’s 2026 FFO per share is pegged at $2.94, which indicates year-over-year growth of 3.52%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PLD’s full-year FFO per share is pinned at $6.18, which calls for an increase of 6.37% from the year-ago period.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
Affirm uzavřel partnerství s Backcountry a rozšiřuje tak svou síť obchodníků v outdoorovém segmentu. Zákazníci mohou u nákupu rozdělit platbu do splátek bez pozdních poplatků či skrytých nákladů.
Key Takeaways Affirm adds Backcountry, expanding its footprint in the outdoor recreation market.More merchant partnerships can boost GMV, transactions and user engagement.Flexible payment options may increase conversion rates and average order values. Affirm Holdings, Inc. (AFRM - Free Report) recently announced a partnership with outdoor gear retailer Backcountry, giving shoppers a new way to pay for purchases over time at checkout. Customers buying outdoor equipment, apparel, footwear and adventure gear can select Affirm and split purchases into multiple installments, depending on eligibility.
The offering includes transparent payment schedules, with no late fees or hidden charges. The move expands Affirm’s presence in the outdoor recreation category and adds another merchant to its growing network. AFRM’s active merchant count jumped 44% year over year in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 to 515,000. For Backcountry, the partnership provides customers with added payment flexibility, especially for higher-ticket purchases that can make outdoor activities more accessible.
Outdoor gear purchases can be expensive, particularly for premium equipment and seasonal adventures. By adding Affirm, Backcountry lowers the upfront cost barrier for customers while maintaining pricing transparency. The partnership can improve conversion rates, encourage larger purchases and attract shoppers who want flexibility without relying on traditional credit cards.
The partnership could support higher gross merchandise volume (GMV) for Affirm by generating additional transaction activity. The company’s GMV rose 35% year over year to $11.6 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. It expects to generate GMV of $49.265-$49.565 billion for fiscal 2026.
More merchant integrations also strengthen Affirm’s network effect, helping the company acquire users and increase engagement across categories. For Backcountry, offering AFRM’s BNPL options may lift average order values.
AFRM’s YTD Price PerformanceOver the year-to-date period, shares of Affirm have gained 5.2% against the 16.7% fall of the industry it belongs to.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank & Key PicksAffirm currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader payments space are Klarna Group plc (KLAR - Free Report) , Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (PAY - Free Report) and Remitly Global, Inc. (RELY - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Klarna’s current-year earnings indicates a 105.1% year-over-year improvement. KLAR has witnessed four upward estimate revisions over the past 60 days against no movement in the opposite direction. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $4.44 billion, indicating 26.5% year-over-year growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Paymentus’ current-year earnings indicates a 19.7% year-over-year jump. PAY beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 12%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues implies 19.9% year-over-year growth.
The consensus estimate for Remitly Global’s current-year earnings indicates a 331.3% year-over-year surge to $1.38 per share. It has witnessed one upward estimate revision and no downward movement over the past 60 days. The consensus estimate for RELY’s current-year revenues is pegged at $1.97 billion, implying 20.4% year-over-year growth.
BF.B čeká ve fiskálním roce 2027 zhruba stagnace organických tržeb a pokles organického provozního zisku o 3 % až 5 %. Tahounem zůstávají rozvíjející se trhy, Travel Retail a inovace, zatímco vyspělé trhy dál slábnou.
Key Takeaways BF.B is benefiting from strong growth in emerging markets and Travel Retail, led by Jack Daniel's and New Mix.BF.B's innovation pipeline, including Tennessee Blackberry and New Mix, continues to support portfolio.BF.B expects flat organic sales and a 3%-5% decline in organic operating income in fiscal 2027. Brown-Forman Corporation (BF.B - Free Report) enters fiscal 2027 with a cautious setup. Premium spirits, emerging-market demand and innovation continue to support the portfolio, while weak developed-market consumption limits the recovery.
Brown-Forman’s fiscal 2026 net sales declined 1% on a reported basis to $3.9 billion and were flat organically. Fourth-quarter net sales rose 2% to $912 million and increased 2% organically, but earnings per share fell 62% year over year to 12 cents.
The geographic split explains the flat outlook. Emerging markets increased 14% on a reported basis and 12% organically in fiscal 2026, driven by the Jack Daniel’s family of brands in Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, along with double-digit growth for New Mix in Mexico. Travel Retail net sales rose 6% on a reported basis and 5% organically, helped by higher volumes of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. These gains show demand resilience. New Mix is benefiting from consumer interest in flavor, convenience and value in Mexico, while Brazil is supporting the Jack Daniel’s portfolio through broader distribution and revenue-growth management.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Developed markets remain weak. In the United States, reported net sales declined 7% in fiscal 2026 and were flat organically. The decline reflected the end of the Korbel relationship, the absence of the Sonoma-Cutrer prior-year transition services agreement, lower volumes of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and unfavorable portfolio mix.
Developed International net sales were flat on a reported basis but declined 3% organically. The shortfall was tied to the absence of American-made beverage alcohol from retail shelves in most Canadian provinces, plus declines in Germany and the United Kingdom. Canada declined nearly 60% in fiscal 2026, and management continues to assume American spirits will remain off shelves across most of Canada in fiscal 2027.
Innovation is helping, but it does not remove earnings risk. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Blackberry reached almost 300,000 nine-liter depletions in the United States by fiscal year-end and almost 150,000 nine-liter depletions across six European launch markets. New Mix net sales increased 41% on a reported basis and 33% organically, reflecting share gains in Mexico and its launch in the United States.
The premiumization strategy also remains relevant. Whiskey products’ net sales increased 3% on a reported basis and 1% organically in fiscal 2026, supported by Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Blackberry, favorable foreign exchange and Woodford Reserve growth in the United States. Diageo plc (DEO - Free Report) is a relevant peer for investors watching premium spirits demand, as global beverage-alcohol portfolios face similar shifts in consumer spending. Constellation Brands, Inc. (STZ - Free Report) , a beer, wine and spirits company, offers another comparison point for investors assessing category balance.
Still, fiscal 2027 points to limited near-term upside. Brown-Forman expects organic net sales to be approximately flat and organic operating income to decline 3-5%. The operating-income outlook reflects higher input costs, product-mix pressure from faster ready-to-drink growth and the cost cycle tied to barreled whiskey inventory. Used-barrel sales also remain a drag after non-branded and bulk net sales declined 68% in fiscal 2026.
Financial flexibility provides a counterweight. Brown-Forman generated $1 billion in cash flows from operations in fiscal 2026, up from $598 million in the prior year. Free cash flow increased $462 million to $893 million, and the company returned $827 million to stockholders through regular dividends and share repurchases.
The bottom line is that BF.B’s flat sales outlook looks defensible, but not especially dynamic. Emerging markets, Travel Retail, innovation and premium brands are helping stabilize the business, while developed-market demand, Canada disruption, used-barrel weakness and cost inflation keep earnings visibility constrained.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It has a VGM Score of C, Value Score of C, Growth Score of C and Momentum Score of B. The Rank points to a neutral near-term earnings-revision profile, while the Style Scores suggest mixed factor support, with momentum stronger than value or growth.
For investors, that combination supports a watchful stance rather than a forceful bullish view. BF.B has durable brand equity and stronger cash flow, but fiscal 2027 still depends on whether emerging-market momentum and innovation can offset macro strain in developed markets.
Lucid má za rok 2025 tržby 1,35 miliardy USD, ale čistou ztrátu 2,70 miliardy USD a volný peněžní tok -3,83 miliardy USD. Vlastní kapitál se za rok propadl z 3,87 miliardy USD na 717 milionů USD, tedy o více než 81 %.
Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID | LCID Price Prediction) at $5.19 faces a deteriorating risk/reward setup. The stock sits within striking distance of its 52-week low of $4.47, and the latest filings show a capital structure deteriorating faster than deliveries can compensate.
Lucid builds the luxury Air sedan and Gravity SUV from its Arizona plant, with a Saudi Arabia facility scheduled to add midsize production in 2027. Full-year 2025 revenue reached $1.35B on 17,840 vehicles produced, while the net loss came in at $2.70B and free cash flow at negative $3.83B. Shares are down 75.97% over one year and 97.91% over five.
Why The Bull Case Still Exists At $5 Bulls point to operational acceleration. Q4 2025 revenue jumped 122.9% year over year to $522.73M, beating consensus, and deliveries grew 72%. Management guides 25,000 to 27,000 vehicles in 2026, with Gravity ramping and a midsize platform on deck.
The partnership stack is real. Uber (NYSE:UBER) expanded its robotaxi commitment to a minimum of 35,000 vehicles and raised its equity stake to $500 million. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) powers the Level 4 autonomy stack, Aston Martin licenses Lucid technology, and PIF continues to backstop the balance sheet. Pro forma liquidity stands at $4.7 billion, with runway into the second half of 2027.
The Balance Sheet Metric Bulls Cannot Explain Away Shareholders’ equity collapsed from $3.87B at year-end 2024 to $717M at year-end 2025, an erosion of more than 81% in twelve months. Retained earnings now sit at negative $16.64B. Q1 2026 was worse, with gross margin clocking negative 110.4% and the net loss rising to $1.0 billion versus $366 million a year earlier.
On a single day in early June, the interim CEO, CFO, and SVP of Finance disposed of shares at $5.68. Share count has roughly doubled since 2021, and every capital raise extends that dilution.
The Patience Argument A Hold case rests on the incoming CEO. Silvio Napoli took the role with the stated goal of building “a more self-sufficient company, one that progresses towards funding its own growth.” Guidance has been suspended pending his review. If unit costs compress as promised and Gravity deliveries convert the 2,407-vehicle inventory buildup into revenue, the burn rate could moderate. The cost of waiting, however, is more dilution.
What The Numbers Say Lucid currently trades at $5.19 with a market cap of roughly $2.09 billion. The consensus analyst target sits at $8.40, implying meaningful upside. The ratings split across 12 covering analysts tilts cautious:
Buy: 1 Hold: 8 Sell: 1 Strong Sell: 2 Year to date, LCID has fallen 50.9% against an S&P 500 that is roughly flat to modestly positive. Trailing EPS sits at -$13.14, book value per share is negative $1.064, and Polymarket traders price the odds of a 2026 bankruptcy announcement at 4.05%.
Why The Sell Call Wins At This Price At $5.19, Lucid is a Sell. Q1 2026 free cash flow was negative $1.44 billion. Cash on hand fell to $700 million before the latest raise. The $4.7 billion pro forma cushion only exists because PIF added $550 million in convertible preferred, Uber added $200 million in common, and Lucid sold another $300 million through a registered offering. Every quarter that gross margin stays at negative 110.4% consumes that cushion.
Watch three triggers in 2026: another capital raise that prints more shares, M2 construction delays in Saudi Arabia, and any miss on the 25,000 to 27,000 vehicle production target. The thesis flips only if gross margin turns convincingly positive and the company demonstrates a quarter of materially reduced burn without fresh equity issuance.
At current levels, Lucid’s survival plan and its dilution plan are effectively the same plan, which is a structural challenge for equity holders.
Bank of America vidí u DraftKings rychle rostoucí prediction markets, ale varuje před vyššími náklady a ztrátami až 550 milionů USD letos, nad současným výhledem. Zůstává u hodnocení Neutral.
Draftkings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) shares have been volatile over the past month as investors continue to weigh the potential impact of prediction markets on the company’s growth outlook, according to Bank of America.
The analysts wrote that DraftKings shares have swung between an intraday low of $23.50 and a high of $30 since May, before easing back to around $25, or roughly 17% below recent highs. Shares were down another 4% at about $23.50 on Thursday.
They wrote that the move reflects a growing debate among investors around prediction market volumes, core sports betting trends, and valuation, particularly ahead of major sporting events.
The bank wrote that it has broken down the current “bull-bear” debate across prediction markets, DraftKings’ core business, and earnings outlook, while also raising its long-term prediction market total addressable market (TAM) estimate to $1.9 trillion in annual volume, up from a prior $1.3 trillion. Despite the higher TAM assumption, the firm made no changes to its earnings estimates and maintained a Neutral rating on the stock.
On prediction markets, Bank of America wrote that volumes have been accelerating, with DraftKings reporting annualized activity of about $3 billion in May, and projections suggesting that could rise to roughly $9 billion in June.
The analysts wrote that DraftKings’ market share has increased from around 1.3% in April to over 2% on certain days in June, and could potentially reach 5% to 10% by 2027 if product and marketing initiatives continue to scale. Under that scenario, the firm wrote that prediction markets could generate $500 million to $1 billion in revenue by 2027, with high incremental margins, though market-making activity could introduce additional upside volatility.
However, Bank of America also wrote that higher volumes may come with increased customer acquisition and promotional costs. The analysts estimate potential losses of $300 million to $550 million this year, above DraftKings’ current guidance of $200 million to $300 million.
They wrote that aggressive promotional activity, including offers such as “trade $5 get $200,” alongside lower fee economics and evolving market structure, could pressure near-term profitability until market-making scales further.
On the core business, Bank of America wrote that DraftKings continues to gain share in sports betting, supported by ongoing product improvements and marketing efficiency, with sports net gaming revenue now approaching parity with FanDuel.
At the same time, the analysts wrote that concerns remain around potential cannibalization from prediction markets, structural hold volatility following recent unfavorable sports outcomes, and softness in iGaming trends. They noted that iGaming has seen roughly 400 basis points of market share loss over the past 18 months, while gross gaming revenue growth slowed to low-single digits in the second quarter.
Dell klesl o 6 %, zatímco Western Digital vzrostl o 5 % po silných výsledcích Micronu, které podpořily paměťové a úložné tituly. Trh tak dnes zvýhodňuje dodavatele pamětí před výrobci serverů a PC.
Shares of Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL | DELL Price Prediction) are down 6% in midday trading Thursday, last changing hands near $407 after closing at $434.06 on Wednesday. The slide stands out because it’s happening on a day when memory and storage names are ripping higher.
At the same time, Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) stock is up 5%, trading near $678. The split between a server and PC builder falling while a storage maker rallies tells the story of today’s market action in AI hardware stocks.
Both names have been monster performers in 2026. Dell stock is up 224% year to date through Wednesday’s close, while Western Digital stock has climbed 296% year to date. Today’s divergence isn’t subtle.
Two Sides of the Memory Boom The catalyst behind Western Digital’s move is straightforward. Memory and storage stocks rallied after Micron Technology‘s (NASDAQ:MU) blowout quarterly results “justify elevated valuations” and reinforced the view that AI capital spending keeps accelerating. Memory has been a bottleneck in the AI buildout, and that scarcity is now showing up as pricing power for the suppliers.
Western Digital is a pure-play HDD beneficiary of that dynamic. The company’s most recent quarter showed non-GAAP gross margin of 51% and revenue of $3.34 billion, up 46% year over year. CEO Irving Tan summed up the demand backdrop, stating, “Virtually every AI workload, from training, inference, agentic AI to physical AI, creates data that is stored persistently and cost-efficiently on HDDs.”
Dell’s drop today doesn’t have a single confirmed catalyst, but it likely reflects the flip side of that same memory squeeze. Dell builds servers and PCs that buy memory, so the rising prices lifting Western Digital and peers translate into input-cost pressure for Dell’s box-maker business. It’s the same dynamic behind hardware-cost worries hitting other consumer device names this week.
Margin Pressure Was Already Visible Dell’s most recent earnings made the margin issue concrete. In Q1 FY2027, the company posted revenue of $43.84 billion, up 88% year over year, alongside AI-optimized server revenue of $16.13 billion, up 757% year over year. The top-line growth here is undeniable.
Yet, the same report showed gross margin compressed to 18% from 21% year over year, with management attributing the pressure to a mix shift toward lower-margin AI servers. With memory costs climbing on top of that mix shift, the bear read on Dell today is that the margin math gets harder before it gets easier.
There’s also a simpler explanation worth flagging. After a 224% run this year, some profit-taking in Dell stock is hardly surprising. One red day after that kind of rally isn’t a thesis change.
Peers Follow the Split The divergence is showing up across the complex. SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) and Micron are riding the memory bid alongside Western Digital, while assemblers and hardware makers that purchase those components are mixed at best. Capital appears to be rotating, at least for the session, toward the picks-and-shovels suppliers feeding the AI buildout rather than the box makers stitching the systems together.
Western Digital isn’t a cheap stock here. Sentiment in the WallStreetBets community spiked to a very bullish reading of 82 last week before cooling. That mix of retail enthusiasm and the scale of this year’s run means expectations are elevated.
What to Watch Western Digital reports its Q4 FY2026 results in late July, with the company guiding to revenue of $3.65 billion plus or minus $100 million and non-GAAP EPS of $3.25 plus or minus $0.15. Dell follows with Q2 FY2027 numbers in late August, with management guiding to revenue of $44 billion to $45 billion.
Investors can watch whether today’s split widens into a broader rotation between memory suppliers and hardware assemblers, or fades as the market digests Micron’s results. The next earnings cycle should clarify how much of the memory boom flows to margins, and how much gets absorbed by buyers like Dell.
cbdMD uvítala výzvu Bílého domu, aby Kongres zajistil spravedlivé zacházení s produkty z konopí a upravil federální regulaci. Firma tvrdí, že jasnější pravidla podpoří přístup ke full-spectrum CBD a ochrání poctivé firmy.
As federal reclassification efforts advance and major U.S. exchanges open to compliant operators, cbdMD points to its position as an established, NYSE American–listed company in a maturing cannabinoid category
, /PRNewswire/ -- cbdMD, Inc. (NYSE American: YCBD), one of the nation's most recognized and trusted hemp-derived wellness companies, today welcomed the Administration's call urging Congress to ensure the fair treatment of hemp-derived products under federal law and requesting immediate action to revise federal hemp regulation to ensure fair treatment of hemp products under federal law.
In a letter to congressional leadership this week, the White House Office of Management and Budget identified hemp reform as a priority the Administration strongly supports. The request calls on Congress to ensure fair treatment of hemp-derived products by preserving access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products, while preserving Congress's intent to restrict products that pose health risks. The Administration also urged Congress to adopt a responsible federal framework or, at minimum, extend the current implementation timeline so that lawmakers have time to get the policy right. The request builds on the President's earlier public statements urging lawmakers to protect access to the full-spectrum CBD products that millions of Americans rely on.
"We are encouraged to see the Administration advocating so clearly for responsible, science-backed hemp products that consumers depend on every day," said Ronan Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer of cbdMD. "cbdMD has always believed the future of this category is built on quality, transparency, and clear rules that distinguish responsible operators from bad actors. A federal framework that protects consumer access, promotes safety, and provides certainty for compliant companies is exactly what this industry and the people it serves deserve. We commend the policymakers who are working toward that outcome."
Separately, broader federal cannabis policy developments continue to draw investment, research, and institutional attention to the cannabinoid category. Notably, major U.S. exchanges have begun permitting the listing of the plan-touching operators that comply with federal, state and local medical cannabis framework. Although cannabis reclassification is distinct from the federal treatment of hemp-derived products, recent exchange-listing developments for compliant cannabis operators reflect a market that is moving toward greater legitimacy, transparency, and regulatory maturity. As an established hemp-derived wellness company with recognized brands, national distribution, and a listing on a national securities exchange, cbdMD believes it is well-positioned as the cannabinoid category moves toward greater maturity, transparency, and regulatory clarity.
"We believe cbdMD is purpose built for this next phase of the market," Kennedy added. "Our focus remains on serving our customers with trusted, efficacious products, supporting responsible regulation, and building long-term value for our shareholders as the category continues to evolve. Along the way, we will continue to evaluate the opportunities this evolving environment may present."
About cbdMD, Inc.
cbdMD, Inc. (NYSE American: YCBD) is a leading wellness company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a portfolio of trusted hemp-derived and wellness brands, including cbdMD, Bluebird Botanicals, Paw CBD, ATRx Labs, and the Oasis line of hemp-derived THC beverages. The Company is committed to quality, science, and transparency across its product lines. For more information, visit cbdmd.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding potential changes to the federal regulatory framework for hemp-derived products; the timing or outcome of legislative, administrative, or agency action; the evolution of U.S. capital markets and securities exchange listing practices for the cannabinoid category; and the Company's competitive position and potential opportunities. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties.
Such risks include, without limitation: that Congress or the Administration may not act, may act on a different timeline, or may adopt adverse regulation or regulation different from what is currently proposed; the potential impact of the statutory changes to the federal definition of hemp scheduled to take effect November 12, 2026; the fact that the ongoing federal cannabis reclassification proceedings concern marijuana, are separate from and do not directly govern the regulation of hemp-derived products, and may not conclude on the timeline or with the outcome the Company anticipates; that securities exchange practices regarding the listing of cannabis-related companies may change or may not develop as expected; and other risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement except as required by law.
Contacts
cbdMD, Inc.
Ronan Kennedy
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]
(704) 445-3064
American Financial Group zvýšila dividendu o 10 % na 3,52 USD na akcii v srpnu 2025 a vyplatila i mimořádnou dividendu 1,50 USD na akcii. V 1. čtvrtletí 2026 vrátila akcionářům téměř 260 milionů USD prostřednictvím dividend a zpětných odkupů.
Key Takeaways American Financial raised its dividend 10% in 2025, marking 20 consecutive years of increases. AFG declared a $1.50 per share special dividend in February 2026, totaling about $125 million. AFG returned nearly $260 million via dividends and buybacks in first-quarter 2026. American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG - Free Report) has one of the most shareholder-friendly capital allocation policies in the U.S. insurance sector. AFG regularly generates capital that is needed to support underwriting operations. Returning excess capital to shareholders in the form of regular and special cash dividends and through opportunistic share repurchases is an important and effective component of American Financial’s capital management strategy.
AFG's shareholder return profile is a major investment attraction. The combination of growing regular dividends, frequent special dividends, opportunistic buybacks and strong underwriting profitability has enabled the company to deliver substantial cash returns to investors over time.
In August 2025, AFG increased its annual dividend by 10% to $3.52 per share, marking its 20th consecutive year of dividend increases. The company's 10-year dividend CAGR is approximately 12.3%. This increase in AFG’s annual dividend reflects its confidence in the company’s financial condition, liquidity and prospects for long-term growth.
AFG, the specialty property & casualty insurer, supplements its regular dividend with large special dividends when excess capital accumulates. In February 2026, the board declared a special cash dividend of $1.50 per share. The aggregate amount of this special dividend will be approximately $125 million. This special-dividend policy has become a major component of the company's total shareholder return strategy and distinguishes it from many peers that rely primarily on regular dividends and buybacks.
Management opportunistically buys back stock when valuations are attractive. During the first quarter of 2026, AFG repurchased approximately $60 million of shares, reducing share count and enhancing per-share earnings growth. AFG returned nearly $260 million to the shareholders through a combination of regular dividends, special dividends and share repurchases in the first quarter of 2026. AFG’s entrepreneurial, opportunistic culture and disciplined operating philosophy continue to position it well for long-term success.
What About Its Peers?RLI Corp. (RLI - Free Report) has one of the most shareholder-friendly capital return programs in the property & casualty insurance industry. The company combines a steadily growing regular dividend, frequent special dividends and opportunistic share repurchases to return excess capital to shareholders while maintaining underwriting discipline. The company has increased its regular dividend for 51 consecutive years, placing it among the longest dividend-growth records in the insurance sector.
First American Financial Corporation (FAF - Free Report) follows a balanced capital-return strategy that combines a steadily growing dividend with opportunistic share repurchases. FAF generally uses a combination of regular dividend increases and selective share repurchases to distribute excess capital. FAF has increased its dividend for more than 15 consecutive years, reflecting management's commitment to returning capital through various housing market environments.
AFG’s Price PerformanceShares of AFG have gained 11.1% in the past year, outperforming the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AFG’s Expensive ValuationThe stock is overvalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-book ratio of 2.46, above the industry average of 1.41.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimate Movement for AFGThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for AFG’s second-quarter 2026 has moved down 1.6%, and the third-quarter 2026 EPS has moved up 13.5% in the past 60 days. The same for full-year 2026 and 2027 EPS has moved up 3.5% and 2%, respectively, in the past 60 days.
The consensus estimate for AFG’s 2026 and 2027 EPS and revenues indicates a year-over-year increase.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AFG stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
BlackLine rozšiřuje svou platformu pro finanční operace o Finance Control Console, která má centralizovat řízení AI, dohled a auditní stopu pro oddělení CFO. Firma spustila i program náhledu pro zákazníky a strategické partnery.
Kondigt een preview aan van de Finance Control Console, die gecentraliseerd AI-beheer met menselijke inbreng en geïntegreerde waarneembaarheid biedt June 25, 2026 12:30 ET | Source: BlackLine, Inc.
LOS ANGELES, June 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlackLine, Inc. (Nasdaq: BL) heeft vandaag nieuwe functies op het gebied van governance en waarneembaarheid aangekondigd voor Agentic Financial Operations Platform™, waarmee het de vertrouwensinfrastructuur die financiële bedrijven nodig hebben om AI binnen de CFO-afdeling te implementeren, te beheren en op te schalen, verder versterkt.
Naarmate financiële teams de overstap maken van het gebruik van enkele AI-agents naar het beheer van mogelijk honderdduizenden agents binnen door BlackLine, partners, klanten of externe partijen ontwikkelde applicaties, verschuift de uitdaging van automatisering naar governance en controle. De Finance Control Console™ biedt een gecentraliseerde laag en een commandocentrum dat is ontworpen voor het beveiligen en monitoren van AI-agentprocessen op grote schaal, het handhaven van beleid, het beheren van risico’s en het waarborgen van de verantwoordingsplicht binnen dit steeds complexer wordende ecosysteem. Om te voldoen aan de verplichte compliance- en rapportage-eisen van de CFO-afdeling, biedt de Console de diepgaande transparantie en controleerbaarheid die financiële teams nodig hebben.
Het mandaat voor AI-integriteit
Nu het gebruik van AI snel toeneemt, staan leidinggevenden van financiële afdelingen voor een duidelijk mandaat: de productiviteit van AI benutten zonder de financiële integriteit in gevaar te brengen. Elke AI-gestuurde handeling die van invloed is op de financiële administratie moet traceerbaar en verklaarbaar zijn en voldoen aan vastgelegde controles. Om AI veilig in de kernprocessen van een bedrijf te integreren, moeten CFO’s werken aan een diepgaand inzicht in de operationele context, continue governance en vertrouwen bij auditors.
Door te zorgen voor de governance, verantwoordingsplicht en transparantie die nodig zijn om AI veilig in te zetten, stelt het uitgebreide Agentic Financial Operations Platform van BlackLine bedrijven in staat om de betrouwbare invoering van AI te versnellen en tegelijkertijd de controle te behouden over elke actie en elk resultaat.
"Wij zijn ervan overtuigd dat het volgende tijdperk van de financiële sector aangedreven zal worden door AI, maar beheerd blijft door de financiële sector", aldus Owen Ryan, Chief Executive Officer van BlackLine. "CFO’s kunnen en zullen hun financiële verantwoordelijkheid niet delegeren aan ongereguleerde, niet-transparante AI-modellen. De bedrijven die AI met succes opschalen, zijn de bedrijven die intelligente automatisering combineren met compromisloze verantwoordingsplicht en controle. Door deze vertrouwensinfrastructuur op te zetten, biedt BlackLine de onafhankelijke controlelaag waarmee financiële teams AI veilig kunnen inzetten, elke actie kunnen sturen en het vertrouwen in elk resultaat kunnen behouden."
De basis voor betrouwbare, financiële AI-agentprocessen
Het BlackLine Agentic Financial Operations Platform™, dat aangedreven wordt door Studio360 en Verity™ AI, biedt de operationele basis die nodig is om AI veilig in te zetten en te beheren binnen de CFO-afdeling. Het platform bevat wee fundamentele lagen:
Systeemonafhankelijke gegevenslaag: deze laag koppelt gestructureerde en ongestructureerde financiële gegevens, workflows, beleidsregels, beheer en operationele context binnen alle bedrijfssystemen aan elkaar. Door financiële intelligentie te combineren met de bedrijfscontext biedt het platform de basis die AI nodig heeft om nauwkeurig te functioneren binnen complexe financiële omgevingen.Financieel besturingssysteem: deze laag coördineert financiële workflows, AI-agents en samenstelbare diensten binnen het door de financiële afdeling gedefinieerde beheer, de beleidsregels en governancekaders. Hierdoor kunnen bedrijven steeds complexere financiële processen automatiseren, terwijl zij blijven werken binnen de kaders die door het financiële management zijn vastgesteld. Samen bieden deze mogelijkheden de operationele basis die nodig is om AI veilig in te zetten binnen de CFO-afdeling.
Finance Control Console: het commandocentrum voor door de financiële afdeling beheerd AI
De Finance Control Console vormt de kern van het uitgebreide platform van BlackLine , die leidinggevenden van financiële afdelingen het inzicht, beheer en toezicht biedt dat nodig is om door AI-gestuurde financiële processen op grote schaal te beheren.
Om te voldoen aan strenge compliance-, audit- en governance-eisen biedt de oplossing:
Realtime inzicht in door AI-gestuurde financiële processenGecentraliseerde governance en beleidsbeheerVolledige audittrajecten van geautomatiseerde actiesVerslagen van verklaarbare bedrijfsbeslissingen die voldoen aan compliance- en auditvereistenRisicomonitoring en uitzonderingsbeheer met menselijke tussenkomstToezicht op AI-agents die ontwikkeld zijn door BlackLine zelf of zijn partners, klanten of externe partijen De op open standaarden gebaseerde, interoperabele Finance Control Console stelt bedrijven in staat om AI-processen consistent te beheren binnen hun gehele financiële technologie-ecosysteem. Voor CFO’s fungeert de Finance Control Console als een gecentraliseerd commandocentrum voor het beheer van door AI aangestuurde financiële activiteiten. Door beleid af te dwingen en auditklare gegevens bij te houden, versnelt de oplossing de invoering van AI, terwijl de verantwoordingsplicht, die nodig is om de integriteit van de financiële administratie te waarborgen, behouden blijft.
"De uitdaging waar CFO’s voor staan, is niet meer om te bepalen of AI financieel werk kan verrichten. De uitdaging is om te bepalen of AI kan worden vertrouwd om financieel werk uit te voeren die aan de governancestandaarden voldoet die de financiële afdeling vereist", aldus Jeremy Ung, Chief Technology Officer bij BlackLine. "Met 25 jaar expertise in financiële processen en het vertrouwen van meer dan 4.300 klanten wereldwijd, combineert BlackLine AI, automatisering, ingebouwde controles en governance in een speciaal ontwikkeld platform voor de CFO-afdeling. Hierdoor kunnen financiële bedrijven sneller handelen zonder in te boeten aan vertrouwen, compliance of verantwoordingsplicht."
Lancering van het Finance Control Console Preview Program
BlackLine heeft vandaag zijn Finance Control Console Preview Program aangekondigd, waarmee zakelijke klanten en strategische partners de kans krijgen om de toekomst van AI-governance in de financiële sector mede vorm te geven.
Deelnemers krijgen vroege toegang tot de mogelijkheden van de Finance Control Console, werken mee aan governancekaders en helpen bij het vaststellen van opkomende best practices voor Agentic Financial Operations.
Ga voor meer informatie over het Agentic Financial Operations Platform™ van BlackLine naar BlackLine.com.
Over BlackLine
BlackLine (Nasdaq: BL) biedt een betrouwbare infrastructuur voor de financiële sector in het AI-tijdperk: een toekomst waarin de financiële sector het tijdperk van AI-agents aanstuurt, waarbij intelligentie, integriteit en vertrouwen hand in hand gaan. Het BlackLine Agentic Financial Operations Platform™, aangedreven door Studio360 en Verity™ AI, biedt CFO-afdelingen de mogelijkheid AI op te schalen in de processen van opname tot rapportage (Record-to-Report), van factuur tot betaling (Invoice-to-Cash) en elk ander proces waarbij de financiële afdeling de controle heeft en de integriteit ervan bij elke stap waarborgt.
Door gegevens te bundelen, AI te integreren en betrouwbaarheid in te bouwen in elk proces, tilt BlackLine financiën en boekhouding van louter rapporteren over het bedrijf naar het in realtime aansturen ervan.
Gesteund door investeringen in toonaangevend onderzoek en ontwikkeling, en beveiligingspraktijken van wereldklasse, werken meer dan 4.300 klanten in diverse sectoren samen met BlackLine om hun bedrijven de toekomst in te leiden. Financiële afdelingen nemen het voortouw. Ga voor meer informatie naar blackline.com.
Omnicom Media a NBCUniversal spouštějí Dynamic Contextual Content pro CTV, který propojuje data o publiku s kontextem pořadů a optimalizuje reklamu v reálném čase. Řešení je nyní v beta verzi a v USA by mělo být spuštěno do konce roku.
New Solution Combines AI-Powered Creative Optimization In-Flight with Contextual Signals to Deliver More Relevant Advertising Experiences Across Streaming Environments
Announcement Wraps Omnicom Media's Cannes News Blitz Revealing First-Mover Partnerships That Connect Brand Content to Platform Programming, Viewing Experiences and Consumer Expectations
, /PRNewswire/ -- Omnicom Media, an Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) connected capability, and NBCUniversal have co-developed a new solution to bring greater contextual intelligence and creative relevance to CTV advertising. The initiative combines audience and performance data from Omnicom's Acxiom identity solution with NBCUniversal's contextual signals to power Dynamic Contextual Content (DCC), a new approach to CTV advertising that aligns tailored creative messaging with specific episodes and environments in-flight.
The initiative is designed to help brands develop adaptive creative experiences tailored to how consumers engage with streaming content in real time. By pairing contextual signals with AI-powered creative production and optimization, the companies are creating a more intelligent, self-optimizing CTV system that enables brands to rethink how creative performance is measured and delivered.
For example, a travel brand could run a connected TV campaign across NBCUniversal programming tied to summer travel planning. Based on contextual signals combined with real-time engagement data, the travel brand could adapt its creative mid-flight based on the more optimally performing content environment.
The DCC solution grew out of Omnicom Media's Connected Content study, which examined consumer sentiment around the current state of advertising and explored the factors that drive engagement across content and delivery experiences. The research found that while streaming environments have evolved rapidly, creative formats and delivery systems have not kept pace with how audiences actually experience CTV content today.
"Consumers expect advertising to feel more connected to the experience they are having in the moment," said Megan Pagliuca, Chief Product Officer at Omnicom Media. "Today, even premium CTV advertising is often delivered without consideration for the context surrounding it. Through this collaboration with NBCUniversal, we are bringing together data, content intelligence, and AI-powered creative capabilities to help brands move from simply reaching audiences to delivering relevance within the moments that matter most."
How It Works
Acxiom audience data is paired with NBCUniversal content metadata to identify priority shows, episodes, environments, and moments. Advertisers can then map tailored creative variants - enabled by the Omnicom Production AI-driven content and production engine - to the content moments where they are expected to resonate most strongly with their specific audiences, moving from fixed creative assets to in-flight creative optimization. Creative versioning is informed by performance measurement and integrated into Omni's Video Content. With this integration, brands understand which combination of contextual tags and creative versions are driving business objectives.
"Marketers are navigating a fragmented, highly competitive ecosystem while being held to performance metrics," said Ryan McConville, Chief Product Officer and EVP, Ad Products & Solutions, NBCUniversal. "By pairing NBCUniversal's content metadata with Omnicom's audience and performance data, we can make creative optimization actionable and open up more relevant, effective ways for brands to engage their customers."
The collaboration reflects a broader shift in the streaming marketplace, where marketers are increasingly focused not only on reaching audiences at scale, but also on improving the quality and contextual relevance of each advertising exposure.
The Dynamic Contextual Content solution is currently in beta and is expected to be live in the US by end of year.
CONTACT: [email protected]
About Omnicom Media
Omnicom Media, an Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) Connected Capability, is the world's largest global media management network. Powered by the Omni Intelligence Platform, Omnicom Media agencies leverage $75.6 billion in billings, 40,000+ specialists across 70+ markets, and the industry's most powerful portfolio identity, commerce, and intelligence assets to design dynamic Growth Ecosystems that enable the world's most ambitious businesses to grow faster and smarter. The Omnicom Media portfolio includes global media agency brands OMD, Initiative, PHD, UM, Hearts & Science, and Mediahub; core Omnicom Integrated Media offerings Acxiom, the world's premier identity solution, and the Flywheel digital commerce practice; and specialty services across the cloud consulting, creator, financial, healthcare, and sports & entertainment categories. For more information visit omnicommedia.com
Saia spouští iniciativu REV zaměřenou na rychlejší přepravu, širší logistické služby a lepší sledování zásilek v Severní Americe. Firma zavádí více než 2 000 zlepšení tranzitních časů a standardní garantované doručení v 10:00.
JOHNS CREEK, Ga., June 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Saia Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) a leading provider of less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services, today announced the launch of Saia REV, a new company-wide initiative focused on delivering faster transit times, expanded logistics capabilities and enhanced shipment visibility for customers across North America.
REV, which stands for Rapid, Expanded and Visible, launches this month and brings together a series of strategic investments in technology and Saia’s network, which are designed to help customers’ freight move with greater speed, flexibility and confidence.
The initiative reflects Saia’s continued investment in network optimization, technology, and the customer experience as shipper expectations continue evolving toward greater speed, predictability, and transparency.
“REV is about giving customers more ways to move freight, faster routes across key lanes, and a better overall shipping experience,” said Saia Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Ray Ramu. “Customers need transportation partners that can deliver confidence through dependable service. By investing in technology and our network, we’re continuing to improve their experience - from pickup through delivery.”
As part of the REV rollout, Saia is implementing several improvements:
Faster Transit Times
Saia has made significant investments in technology, network optimization, and its linehaul operations to support faster, more consistent transit times and enable many of the service enhancements being introduced. More than 2,000 transit time improvements across its network will create faster service across key lanes, allowing reductions from five-day to four-day service, four-day to three-day service, and, in some cases, even faster transit schedules.
Enhanced Delivery
Because of the consistency of its transit time performance, Saia has automated its Guaranteed 10 a.m. delivery service, further strengthening its existing guaranteed offerings with increased delivery precision to support an earlier delivery window. While other carriers offer morning delivery as a custom solution, Saia is offering a standard guaranteed 10 a.m. service, which is the earliest by any nationwide LTL carrier in the industry. The company is also introducing a unified expedited service designed for time-sensitive shipments that require additional support.
“Customers increasingly need both speed and predictability because their operations depend on it,” Ramu added. “That commitment is reflected in Saia’s 0.50% cargo claims performance, which also demonstrates the predictability, and care customers can expect when their freight moves through our network. Truly every investment has been made to create a more reliable and seamless transportation experience for our shippers - from pickup through final delivery.”
Greater Shipment Visibility
Another key component of REV is the launch of a new track-and-trace experience that delivers turn-by-turn visibility throughout a shipment’s entire journey - from assigned pickup through final delivery - not just at dispatch. The platform will offer customers dynamic, real-time shipment tracking, updated ETAs, and integrated communication tools designed to improve transparency.
In addition, Saia’s continued investment in digital tools is giving customers a more complete view of their shipping activity, including predictive insights that help anticipate accessorial needs such as liftgate service or limited-access deliveries. At the same time, Saia.com is being refreshed to better reflect the company’s growing capabilities and the customer experience it delivers.
REV also expands the role of Saia Logistics as part of Saia’s broader strategy to provide more comprehensive transportation and logistics support beyond traditional LTL services. Earlier this year, Saia rebranded LinkEx, its full-service third-party logistics (3PL) and supply chain management company, to Saia Logistics to better align its portfolio of logistics solutions, including truckload brokerage, expedited shipping, warehousing, international freight forwarding, final mile delivery, and on-site transportation management services.
As part of the initiative, and to support the growing demand for complex delivery solutions, Saia Logistics is rolling out multiple, expanded final mile capabilities including:
Residential delivery,White glove service,Room-of-choice delivery,
Debris removal, andTwo-person delivery teams.
“REV brings the spirit of Saia’s ‘It’s a Yes’ campaign to life by expanding the ways the company can say yes to customers, whether that means faster transit times, enhanced visibility, broader logistics capabilities or more flexible service options,” said Ramu. “It reflects Saia’s ongoing investment in service enhancements, enabling technology and operational improvements that will continue evolving alongside customer needs and expectations.”
For more information about Saia, visit Saia.com.
About Saia Inc.
Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) is a full-service freight and logistics provider with a national footprint built to deliver reliable, flexible shipping solutions. With industry-leading operations and a strong emphasis on the customer experience, the company helps keep freight - and businesses - moving. Saia offers customers a wide range of less-than-truckload, brokered truckload, expedited transportation, and other logistics services. Headquartered in Johns Creek, Georgia, the company operates 218 terminals providing national service. Saia has repeatedly been recognized for its people-centric, safety-driven, and sustainability-minded focus. For more information on Saia, Inc., visit Saia.com.
For more information, contact:
Jeannie S. Jump
Saia Senior Marketing and Corporate Affairs Specialist
Phone: 770-232-4069 · E-mail: [email protected]
GlobalFoundries v 1. čtvrtletí zvýšila hrubou marži na 29 % z 23,9 % a výnosy vzrostly o 3 % na 1,63 miliardy USD. Růst táhl segment Communications Infrastructure a Data Center, kde výnosy stouply o 32 %.
Key Takeaways GlobalFoundries' Q1 gross margin rose 510 bps to 29%, as revenues increased 3% to YoY $1.63B.GFS saw Communications Infrastructure and Data Center revenues jump 32%, helped by a richer AI mix.GlobalFoundries expects silicon photonics revenues to roughly double in 2026 as SiGe demand stays strong. GlobalFoundries Inc. (GFS - Free Report) is starting to show that its AI opportunity is not limited to direct exposure to GPUs or leading-edge logic chips. Instead, the company is benefiting from the broader infrastructure required to support AI, including silicon photonics, silicon germanium, automotive semiconductors, embedded memory and industrial connectivity.
The first quarter of 2026 suggests that strategy is beginning to pay off. While first-quarter revenues increased a modest 3% year over year to $1.63 billion, the more important story was profitability. Gross margin (Non-IFRS) expanded to 29%, up from 23.9% a year earlier, a remarkable 510-basis-point improvement and the largest year-over-year expansion in more than three years. Management now expects another quarter of roughly 28.5% gross margin despite ongoing investments in capacity and technology. The improvement was driven by a richer revenue mix, with Communications Infrastructure and Data Center revenues climbing 32% to $230 million. Management expects silicon photonics revenues to roughly double in 2026 and forecasts high-30% growth for the broader segment.
The margin implications could be meaningful. Management described silicon germanium, another key optical networking, as margin accretive and said demand is strong enough that capacity at its Vermont fab is oversubscribed well into 2027. GlobalFoundries is expanding capacity in silicon photonics, FDX and high-performance SiGe to meet customer demand, but these investments are being targeted toward higher-value technology corridors rather than broad commodity capacity.
GlobalFoundries is also extending its AI exposure into physical AI, including robotics and industrial automation. The company expects Home and Industrial IoT to become a key beneficiary of physical AI beyond 2026, even though that segment declined in the first quarter due to shipment timing and inventory normalization. Its partnership with Inova Semiconductors for a robotics control reference platform supports this longer-term strategy.
At 29% non-IFRS gross margin, GlobalFoundries is close to a key profitability milestone. If silicon photonics continues to scale, automotive remains resilient and Technology Services grows as expected, 30% may not be the ceiling. It may be the beginning of a more profitable phase for the company.
Can GFS Outpace Silicon Photonics Rivals Like TSM & UMC?GlobalFoundries is not alone in targeting the fast-growing silicon photonics market. Among its closest competitors is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM - Free Report) , which is advancing co-packaged optics through its COUPE platform. Leveraging its leadership in advanced process technologies and packaging, TSM is well-positioned to serve hyperscalers and AI chip designers seeking higher-bandwidth interconnect solutions. However, GlobalFoundries differentiates itself with a specialized optical networking portfolio that combines silicon photonics, silicon germanium, packaging, testing and manufacturing services.
United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC - Free Report) is also expanding its presence in silicon photonics. The company recently announced a strategic partnership to develop thin-film lithium niobate photonics for AI infrastructure and plans to launch its first silicon photonics process design kit in 2027. UMC is also evaluating hybrid bonding, TSV and chiplet integration to support future co-packaged optics applications, underscoring the industry's growing focus on AI networking technologies.
GFS’ Stock Price Performance & Valuation TrendShares of GlobalFoundries have surged 133.7% in the past six months, outperforming the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry’s 48.4% growth.
GFS 6-Month Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
GFS stock is currently trading at a premium to its industry peers, with a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 47.61, as shown in the chart below.
P/E (F12M)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings Estimate Revision of GFSGFS’ earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have trended upward in the past 60 days to $1.89 and $2.62 per share, respectively. The revised estimates for 2026 and 2027 imply year-over-year growth of 9.9% and 38.6%, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
GFS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Key Takeaways Labcorp is expanding oncology, neurology and genetic testing to support long-term growth.LH's Q1 2026 revenues increased 5.8%, aided by acquisitions, partnerships and network expansion.Labcorp's AI, automation and launchpad savings initiatives aim to improve efficiency and margins. Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH - Free Report) , or Labcorp, is well-poised for growth in the coming quarters owing to its progress on its strategic priority to lead in important specialty testing areas, which are growth drivers for both its businesses. Strategic partnerships and acquisitions help the company broaden its patient and provider network while deepening its presence in key markets. Additionally, it leverages AI and technology to enhance margins and customer experience. Yet, macroeconomic pressures and adverse currency swings pose risks for Labcorp.
In the past year, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has risen 3.2% compared with 2.2% growth of the industry and a 23.3% increase of the S&P 500 Composite.
The renowned healthcare diagnostics company has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion. Labcorp’s earnings yield of 6.9% is well ahead of the industry’s 4.3% yield. In the trailing four quarters, the company delivered an average earnings surprise of 3.31%.
Let’s delve deeper.
Tailwinds Supporting LH StockTargeted Development in High-Growth Areas: Labcorp’s continued expansion in faster-growing specialty testing areas, such as oncology, women’s health, autoimmune disease and neurology, is strengthening its growth profile. In the first quarter of 2026, Neurology delivered double-digit growth, driven by an expanded Alzheimer's testing portfolio. Oncology benefited from several newly launched liquid biopsy tests and wider availability of MRD solutions. The MRD portfolio includes the Plasma Detect ID for patients with stage I–III breast cancer or stage I–IIIA non-small cell lung cancer, as well as the Labcorp Plasma Detect Genome for stage III colon cancer, which is now available nationwide.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The integration of Invitae has further expanded the company’s reach in genetic testing solutions. Labcorp is also collaborating with Illumina to advance precision oncology through applications of next-generation sequencing (NGS) solutions across the healthcare ecosystem. The Labcorp OnDemand consumer health platform delivered double-digit growth in the first quarter, supported by its expanded offerings.
Strategic Acquisitions and Partnerships to Drive Growth: In recent years, Labcorp has built a significant number of strategic relationships with health systems and regional/local laboratories, expanding its patient and provider network, and strengthening its presence in key markets. In the first quarter of 2026, enterprise revenues grew 5.8% year over year, with net acquisitions contributing 1.4%.
Recent activities include the purchase of select assets of Crouse Health’s Laboratory Alliance of Central New York’s (Lab Alliance) laboratory business and an agreement to manage their daily inpatient lab operations. Labcorp also acquired select assets of New York-based Empire City Laboratories, became the first U.S. commercial laboratory with an agreement to implement Roche’s cobas Mass Spec solution, and signed a new multi-year partnership agreement with SOMOS.
Focus on Operational Efficiency: The company continues to benefit from its launchpad initiatives, which target $100-$125 million in savings annually. In the first quarter of 2026, Labcorp expanded its collaboration with PathAI to deploy an FDA-cleared digital pathology platform across its national anatomic pathology labs and hospital lab partnerships. Together with Amazon Web Services and Datavant, the company is developing a new AI-powered real-world data platform to accelerate Alzheimer's research. More recently, Labcorp teamed up with Optum.ai to simplify laboratory operations by advancing AI.
Across its core operations, AI and automation are already deployed in areas such as pathology, cytology and microbiology. Labcorp’s generative AI tool, Test Finder, is designed to simplify lab test selection and is also integrated into Labcorp Diagnostic Assistant.
What Ails Labcorp?Macroeconomic Risks: Labcorp’s operations are heavily dependent on the demand for diagnostic testing and drug development services from patients, physicians, hospitals, medical device companies, and others. In recent times, volatilities in global economic conditions, including inflation, have significantly reduced the demand for these services, affecting the customers’ ability to pay and, consequently, the profitability of the company. Added to this, the escalation of the present geopolitical tensions and retaliatory tariffs is putting pressure on the supply chain and services, increasing the prices of offerings. In the first quarter of 2026, the cost of revenues went up 5.3% year over year.
Exposed to Currency Headwind: Labcorp's huge exposure in international markets makes it vulnerable to currency fluctuations. With the recent upward trend observed in the value of the U.S. dollar, further acceleration expected by analysts in this value will cause the company’s revenues to face a tough situation overseas.
LH Stock’s Estimate TrendThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Labcorp’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 1 cent to $18.00 in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 revenues is pegged at $14.71 billion, implying 5.4% growth compared to the last year.
Other Key PicksSome other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) , Align Technology (ALGN - Free Report) and Integra LifeSciences (IART - Free Report) .
Globus Medical has an earnings yield of 5.9% compared with the industry’s negative 3.5% yield. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 26.3%. GMED shares have rallied 39.2% against the industry’s 7.5% decline over the past year.
GMED sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Align Technology, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3% compared with the industry’s 5.5% growth. Shares of the company have dipped 9% against the industry’s 6.9% growth. ALGN’s earnings outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 7.8%.
Integra LifeSciences, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has an earnings yield of 13.6% against the industry’s negative 3.5% yield. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 16.7%. IART shares have rallied 45.5% against the industry’s 7.4% decline over the past year.
CRH dnes dokončila zrušení svých 5% a 7% prioritních akcií. Stažení 5% prioritních prioritních akcií z obchodování na Euronext Growth Dublin se očekává s účinností od 7:00 BST zítra, v pátek 26. června 2026.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Further to the announcement made on March 13, 2026, CRH (NYSE: CRH) today announces that the separate schemes of arrangement to cancel the Company’s 5% preference shares and 7% preference shares became effective today, June 25, 2026, and that the preference shares have been cancelled.
Cancellation of the admission of the 5% preference shares to trading on Euronext Growth Dublin is expected to occur with effect from 7:00 a.m. (BST) tomorrow, Friday June 26, 2026.
About CRH
CRH is the leading provider of building materials critical to modernizing infrastructure. With our team of 83,000 people across 4,000 locations, our unmatched scale, connected portfolio, and deep local relationships make us the partner of choice for transportation, water, and reindustrialization projects, shaping communities for a better tomorrow. CRH (NYSE: CRH) is a member of the S&P 500 Index. For more information, visit www.crh.com.
Credo Technology Group oznámila za 4. fiskální čtvrtletí tržby 437 milionů USD, meziročně o 157 %, a non-GAAP EPS 1,16 USD. Za celý fiskální rok 2026 tržby ztrojnásobila na 1,34 miliardy USD.
I am opening with our verdict on Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO | CRDO Price Prediction). The stock has rallied 86.94% year to date, and our proprietary model now sees the shares trading almost exactly where they should.
The 24/7 Wall St. price target for Credo is $263.97, which sits a hair below the last close of $268.99. That implies 1.87% downside, a hold rating, and a 90% (high) confidence reading.
Metric Value Current Price $268.99 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $263.97 Upside/Downside -1.87% Recommendation HOLD Confidence Level 90% Why We Could Be Wrong Our 24/7 Wall St. price target sits a touch below where Credo trades today, and that gap is small enough to flip. The bull catalysts are real: the just-closed Dust Photonics acquisition opens a silicon photonics path to 3.2 Tbps, and management is guiding to more than $600 million in optical revenue for fiscal 2027. Treat our target as one datapoint. A full bull case sits below.
From $79 to $269 in a Year Credo has been one of the AI infrastructure trade’s cleanest winners. The stock is up 192.63% over the past year, 23.16% over the past month, and 7.89% in the past week alone. Shares now trade 17% below the 52-week high of $308.67 and well above the $84.25 low.
The fuel is fundamental. Q4 FY26 revenue hit $437 million, up 157.02% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.16 beating the $1.0341 estimate by 12.17%. Full-year FY26 revenue tripled to $1.34 billion, and non-GAAP net income grew more than 5x to $662 million.
The Case for $335 and Higher Our bull-case path lands at $335.34 over the next 12 months, a 24.67% gain. The setup is credible. CEO Bill Brennan guided FY27 revenue growth to more than 80% year over year, with Optical DSPs, SiPho PICs, and ZeroFlap optics each contributing more than $100 million.
He also flagged Neo Cloud customers eventually reaching roughly 20% of total revenue. The Street’s bullish camp is thick: 4 Strong Buy, 13 Buy, 1 Hold, 0 Sell ratings.
The Risks Worth Watching The bear path takes Credo to $207.53, or 22.85% downside. Customer concentration is the headline risk: in Q4, the top customer was 34% of revenue and the second largest was 27%. Inventories also jumped to $250.8 million, and the trailing P/E sits at 108.
In fairness, bulls would counter that the inventory build supports the FY27 optical ramp Brennan described, and the forward P/E is a more digestible 51. Composite sentiment has also slipped 10.03 points over 30 days.
Credo Price Prediction 2026-2030 The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $263.97 is functionally on top of the current quote, our recommendation is hold, and our confidence is 90%. The decisive factor is valuation symmetry: trailing multiples have caught up to FY26’s spectacular growth.
The bullish trigger to watch is whether the FY27 optical ramp tracks ahead of the $600 million bar and Neo Cloud customers diversify the top-line. The bearish trigger is whether the top-two customers slow orders or gross margin slips below the 67% to 69% guide.
Looking further out, here is where our model projects Credo could trade, assuming the optical inflection plays out and AI capex stays elevated.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $263.97 2030 $294.24 These projections assume Credo continues converting design wins into revenue. Significant upside could emerge from CPO and NPO traction in FY28, while a hyperscaler capex pause is the largest downside risk.
VNET Fiber investuje do Calix Agent Workforce Cloud na platformě Calix One, aby zrychlil růst tržeb a snížil provozní náklady. Zároveň rozšiřuje své služby do segmentu vícebytových domů.
Building on a 15-year partnership with Calix—yielding 660 percent residential subscriber growth with 10 percent ARPU lift year-over-year and 133 percent small business growth in 2026—Velocity Network is now capturing the MDU market while investing in secure agentic AI with the Calix One platform to compete and win against legacy competitors
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) announced today that Velocity Network (VNET Fiber) is investing in Calix Agent Workforce™ Cloud on the AI-native Calix One™ platform to accelerate revenue growth while lowering operational expense (OPEX). Building on their legacy of winning residential and business markets through the strength of differentiated subscriber experiences, the provider is now also deploying SmartMDU™ to further advance their growth.
"We have gone all-in with Calix because Calix One scales with us and gives us a clear path to lead with secure agentic AI," said Brad Wiertel, chief operating officer at VNET Fiber.
Share This strategy builds on 15 years of leveraging the Calix platform and SmartLife™ to win strong subscriber loyalty, earning a Net Promoter Score℠ (NPS®) of 87. With SmartHome™, VNET Fiber achieved 660 percent residential subscriber growth in just over two years and a nearly 10 percent average revenue per user (ARPU) jump year-over-year through personalized, value-based offers built on a secure residential managed service. By deploying SmartBiz™, VNET Fiber has already achieved 133 percent of their annual SMB subscriber goal for the year, outperforming targets year over year since 2024 while giving small businesses a fully managed way to secure and operate their networks at scale.
VNET Fiber is now advancing to the next phase of their success: expanding to serve MDUs while adopting secure agentic capabilities with the Calix One platform. With SmartMDU, VNET Fiber is extending a proven growth strategy into a high-opportunity market, enabling residents to benefit from the same experience-led approach that has driven their single-family residential and business subscriber growth. At the same time, Agent Workforce Cloud will help the VNET Fiber team proactively identify expansion opportunities and service issues while lowering OPEX. Supported by agentic workflows, VNET Fiber teams can stay focused on delivering exceptional experiences.
Brad Wiertel, chief operating officer at VNET Fiber, said: “We are competing with legacy providers and winning because we move faster, stay local, and deliver more value through managed services. We have gone all-in with Calix because Calix One scales with us and gives us a clear path to lead with secure agentic AI. We are using it now to continue our aggressive growth goals, remove friction, and operate more proactively—all while delivering the local experiences that our subscribers love.”
Michael Weening, president and chief executive officer at Calix, said: “Agentic is creating a once-in-a-generation opportunity for service providers. The winners will use AI securely to transform operations, accelerate experiences, and create a competitive advantage that scales. Building on their success across residential, business, and now MDU, VNET Fiber continues the visionary leadership that has kept them competitive and defined their success for the last 15 years. Their decision to embrace agentic capabilities early reinforces what we are seeing across the industry: Experience-led strategies amplified by agentic workflows are becoming the winning playbook. We are proud of what we have built together and excited to support the next phase of VNET Fiber’s success.”
Calix customers can access the Calix AI Leadership Playbook, explore the award-winning “AI Academy” in Calix University, or register for upcoming Calix Customer Success webinars.
Learn how Calix One helps service providers transform their operations and accelerate experiences to compete and win in any market.
About Calix
Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) is an AI platform company that enables service providers to transform their operations and accelerate delivery of differentiated experiences—so they can compete and win in the markets and communities they serve.
Through the AI-native Calix One platform, service providers can securely and privately activate agentic AI alongside their human teams to acquire new subscribers, grow existing subscriber revenue, and build loyalty across residential, business, municipal, and MDU markets. More than 1,200 customers of all sizes leverage the Calix One platform, which has evolved over 15 years at an investment of more than $2 billion.
Calix innovation cycles are underpinned by a strong financial balance sheet and a people‑first culture that routinely earns broad industry recognition—winning 81 culture and innovation awards since 2025 alone, as well as Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2026.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release, except as required by law. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from current expectations based on risks and uncertainties affecting Calix’s business. The reader is cautioned not to rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Additional information on potential factors that could affect Calix’s results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov.
Calix and the Calix logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Calix and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Calix’s trademarks can be found at https://www.calix.com/legal/trademarks.html. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter Score℠ and Net Promoter System℠ are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) Q4 2026 Earnings Call June 25, 2026 8:30 AM EDT
Company Participants
Courtney Aquilla - Vice President of Finance & Investor Relations
Ricardo Cardenas - CEO, President & Director
Rajesh Vennam - Senior VP & CFO
Conference Call Participants
Lauren Silberman - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division
Gregory Francfort - Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Research Division
Christopher Carril - KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Research Division
Andrew Charles - TD Cowen, Research Division
Danilo Gargiulo - Bernstein Institutional Services LLC, Research Division
David Palmer - Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division
Sara Senatore - BofA Securities, Research Division
Brian Harbour - Morgan Stanley, Research Division
Jon Tower - Citigroup Inc., Research Division
Dennis Geiger - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division
Andrew North - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division
James Salera - Stephens Inc., Research Division
Peter Saleh - BTIG, LLC, Research Division
Jacob Aiken-Phillips - Melius Research LLC
Andrew Strelzik - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research
John Ivankoe - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
James Sanderson - Northcoast Research Partners, LLC
Brian Vaccaro - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division
Jeffrey Bernstein - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division
Presentation
Operator
Greetings, and welcome to the Darden Fiscal Year 2026 Fourth Quarter Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] This conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time.
I will now turn the call over to Ms. Courtney Aquilla. Thank you. You may begin.
Courtney Aquilla
Vice President of Finance & Investor Relations
Thank you, Kevin. Good morning, and thank you for participating on today's call. Joining me are Rick Cardenas, Darden's President and CEO; and Raj Vennam, CFO.
As a reminder, comments made during this call will include forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our
A month has gone by since the last earnings report for AutoZone (AZO - Free Report) . Shares have added about 2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is AutoZone due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for AutoZone, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
AutoZone Q3 Earnings Beat EstimatesAutoZone posted third-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended May 9, 2026) earnings per share of $38.07, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $36.18 by 5.2%. Earnings per share rose 7.7% from $35.36 a year ago.
The company’s net sales increased 8.4% year over year to $4.84 billion, but fell short of the consensus mark of $4.86 billion by about 0.5%. Domestic same-store sales increased 4.1% in the quarter, led by strong commercial momentum.
Sales Growth Accelerates on Commercial MomentumIn the reported quarter, domestic commercial sales totaled $1.4 billion, up from $1.27 billion in the year-ago period. Total sales represented the company’s largest year-over-year growth in more than three years, reflecting faster top-line momentum versus the first half of fiscal 2026. Total company same-store sales rose 3.9% on a constant-currency basis, supported by a 4.1% domestic comp and a 1.6% international comp on the same basis.
The mix of growth also leaned favorably. Domestic do-it-yourself sales rose 2.2% in the quarter, while domestic commercial sales increased 10.4%. The commercial outperformance was driven by better inventory availability at satellite stores, broader Hub and Mega-Hub coverage, and continued gains tied to service speed and delivery improvements.
Profitability Reflects LIFO and Mix PressureGross profit rose to $2.52 billion from $2.35 billion in the prior-year quarter. Gross profit margin was 52.2%, down 57 basis points from the year-ago period. A $20 million non-cash LIFO charge in the quarter, which contrasted with a $16 million LIFO credit in the prior-year quarter, weighed on the year-over-year margin comparison.
Operating profit increased 6.6% to $923.8 million. Operating expenses were 33.1% of sales versus 33.3% last year, indicating modest leverage despite the faster store growth cadence. Net income rose to $641.5 million from $608.4 million a year ago.
Store Growth Push Builds Scale Across RegionsAutoZone continued to add stores at a faster pace. During the quarter, it opened 82 new stores globally, including 57 in the United States, 20 in Mexico and five in Brazil. Total store count ended at 7,856, consisting of 6,766 in the United States, 933 in Mexico and 157 in Brazil.
The company continues to expand its commercial footprint. Mega-Hubs acted as a key driver of improved parts availability, as these locations typically carry a significantly broader SKU count and can lift both commercial and retail demand by shortening delivery times in local markets.
Capital Returns Remain a Key FeatureShare repurchases stayed sizable in the quarter. AutoZone bought back 164,000 shares for $586.3 million at an average price of $3,582 per share, ending the period with $0.8 billion remaining under its current authorization.
Liquidity remained solid alongside a leveraged balance sheet structure typical of the company’s capital strategy. Cash and cash equivalents were $253.7 million as of May 9, 2026, while total debt stood at $9.02 billion, down from $8.8 billion as of May 10, 2025. The company reported a leverage ratio of 2.5x EBITDAR.
Inventory Position Tracks Growth and InflationInventory continued to build as the company invests to support growth initiatives and new stores. Merchandise inventories rose 10.8% year over year to $7.56 billion. Inventory per store increased to $962,000 from $908,000 in the year-ago quarter.
Net inventory, defined as merchandise inventory less accounts payable, remained negative on a per-store basis. Net inventory per store was negative $107,000 compared with negative $142,000 last year, while accounts payable as a percentage of inventory was 111.1% compared with 115.6% a year ago.
Q4 Commentary Centers on Inflation and LIFOThe company expects inflation and ticket growth to moderate in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter, with commentary pointing to a mid-4% range for ticket trends as the company laps higher inflation from the prior year. It also expects a planned non-cash LIFO charge of approximately $30 million for the fourth quarter, which would pressure gross margin and earnings per share versus a more favorable prior-year LIFO comparison.
The company expects weather-related softness late in the quarter, affecting certain heat-driven categories, while reiterating confidence in summer performance given ongoing execution initiatives. Internationally, the company expects a softer macro environment in Mexico and Brazil, with expectations for constant-currency same-store sales in a range similar to the third quarter.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?It turns out, estimates review have trended upward during the past month.
VGM ScoresCurrently, AutoZone has a average Growth Score of C, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with an A. However, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Interestingly, AutoZone has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
AMN uzavřela partnerství s Brightfield, které propojí TDX se svými analytickými nástroji pro přesnější plánování pracovní síly a benchmarking nákladů ve zdravotnictví. WorkWise získá prediktivní vhledy pro datově řízené rozhodování.
Key Takeaways AMN partnered with Brightfield to strengthen healthcare workforce intelligence and market transparency.The alliance combines Brightfield's TDX with AMN analytics to improve planning and cost benchmarking.AMN's WorkWise ecosystem gains predictive insights to support proactive, data-driven workforce planning. AMN Healthcare (AMN - Free Report) recently announced a strategic partnership with Brightfield to strengthen its healthcare workforce intelligence capabilities. By combining Brightfield's third-party Talent Data Exchange (TDX) with AMN's proprietary workforce analytics, the collaboration is expected to provide healthcare organizations with deeper market transparency and more informed labor planning.
From an investor's perspective, the partnership is likely to reinforce AMN's technology-enabled workforce solutions portfolio and enhance the value proposition of its WorkWise ecosystem. The move also reflects the company's continued focus on AI-driven analytics and data-backed decision support, which could support stronger client engagement over the long term.
Likely Trend of AMN Stock Following the NewsShares of AMN have traded flat since the announcement yesterday. In the year-to-date period, shares of the company surged 101.2% against the industry’s 18.9% decline. The S&P 500 increased 7.4% in the same time frame.
The Brightfield partnership is likely to strengthen AMN Healthcare's long-term growth strategy by enhancing the depth and credibility of its workforce intelligence offerings. The integration of independent market data with AMN's proprietary analytics is expected to improve workforce planning, labor cost benchmarking and predictive decision-making for healthcare clients, making its WorkWise ecosystem more differentiated.
As healthcare providers increasingly seek data-driven solutions to manage labor shortages and rising workforce costs, the enhanced platform is likely to support higher client retention, attract new customers and create additional cross-selling opportunities across AMN's broader total talent solutions portfolio.
AMN currently has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
More on the AllianceThe collaboration combines Brightfield's TDX, which provides independent workforce market intelligence across both clinical and non-clinical roles, with AMN Healthcare's proprietary workforce analytics, clinical labor insights and real-time intelligence generated through its technology platforms and extensive client network. The integrated solution is expected to offer healthcare organizations a more comprehensive and validated view of workforce costs, labor rate competitiveness and broader market dynamics, enabling stakeholders across clinical, operational and financial functions to make more informed workforce decisions. The partnership also leverages the companies' AI-driven analytics capabilities to translate workforce data into actionable strategies aligned with clients' operational, financial and clinical objectives.
The alliance further strengthens AMN's broader WorkWise ecosystem strategy by enhancing its predictive workforce planning, analytics and decision-support capabilities. Through the expanded intelligence platform, healthcare organizations are expected to benchmark labor rates against independent market data, improve transparency in workforce cost discussions through third-party validation, optimize workforce mix and utilization and identify opportunities to better manage labor spending. By providing richer market intelligence and predictive insights, the collaboration is designed to help healthcare systems transition from reactive staffing decisions to more proactive, data-driven workforce planning in an increasingly complex healthcare labor market.
Favorable Industry Prospect for AMNPer a report by Grand View Research, the global healthcare staffing market size was valued at $82.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow from $87.9 billion in 2026 to $143.2 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2026 to 2033.
Growth is attributed to the increased knowledge of the benefits of temporary employment, job-related incentives and the availability of opportunities globally.
A Recent Development by AMNRecently, AMN announced the acquisition of Jaide Health, an AI-enabled medical interpretation and translation platform, to expand language access for patients with Limited English Proficiency across the healthcare journey. The move enhances AMN’s Language Services capabilities by extending language assistance to important touchpoints before and after treatment while maintaining the critical role of qualified human interpreters for clinical, sensitive and complex discussions.
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) , West Pharmaceutical (WST - Free Report) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG - Free Report) .
Globus Medical, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reported a first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.12 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.1%. Revenues of $759.9 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.0%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
GMED has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 10.2% compared with the industry’s 12.6% growth. The company’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 26.3%.
West Pharmaceutical, currently flaunting a Zacks Rank #1, reported first-quarter 2026 EPS of $2.13, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26.8%. Revenues of $844.9 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.5%.
WST has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 13.9% compared with the industry’s 9.5% growth. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 19.4%.
Intuitive Surgical, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $2.50, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.2%. Revenues of $2.77 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.2%.
ISRG has a long-term estimated growth rate of 14.6% compared with the industry’s 12.6% growth. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.8%.
Key Takeaways Teradyne's Q1 2026 robotics revenues rose 32% year over year to $91 million, its fourth straight gain. AI-related demand made up nearly 70% of Q1 2026 revenues, up from about 60% in the prior quarter. TER expects a large e-commerce customer to triple its 2026 revenue contribution versus 2025. Teradyne (TER - Free Report) is benefiting from the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across multiple industries, which is driving robust growth in its robotics and test solutions businesses. AI-related demand accounted for nearly 70% of the company’s revenues in the first quarter of 2026, up from about 60% in the previous quarter.
The company’s Robotics division delivered its fourth consecutive quarter of sequential growth, with first-quarter 2026 robotics revenues up 32% year over year to $91 million. This growth is notable because the first quarter is typically a seasonally weaker quarter. The company’s “one sales team” approach is driving results across verticals, and AI revenues now represents 15% of robotics sales.
The company’s robots are now used in environmental sensing within data centers, and Teradyne recently showcased a complex physical AI work cell in partnership with Generalist at NVIDIA’s GTC event. This demonstrates Teradyne’s ability to innovate and integrate AI-driven robotics into high-growth markets such as e-commerce, electronics manufacturing and semiconductors.
Further expanding its portfolio via partnership, in April 2026, Teradyne Robotics and Flex expanded their collaboration, with Flex both deploying Universal Robots cobots and MiR autonomous mobile robots in its own facilities and manufacturing key robotics components for Teradyne’s customers worldwide.
Teradyne continues to expect its large e-commerce customer to triple its revenue contribution in 2026 compared with 2025, which, if executed, would improve scale and utilization in the Robotics segment.
Teradyne Suffers From Stiff CompetitionTeradyne is facing stiff competition from companies such as KLA Corporation (KLAC - Free Report) and Cohu (COHU - Free Report) . Both KLA and Cohu are expanding their footprint in the AI space.
KLA is benefiting from the growing demand for AI space through its leadership in process control and its ability to address growth markets in wafer fab equipment, including high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging.
In May 2026, Cohu secured approximately $5 million in orders for its DiamondX semiconductor test platform from a leading chip manufacturer to support the development and production of next-generation gallium nitride (GaN) power devices for AI data center power architectures.
TER’s Share Price Performance, Valuation, and EstimatesTeradyne shares have surged 120.7% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s growth of 15% and the Zacks Electronics - Miscellaneous Products increase of 70.6%.
TER Stock Performance
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TER stock is trading at a premium with a forward 12-month Price/Sales of 13.47X compared with the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry’s 7.64X. TER has a Value Score of F.
TER Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $7.09 per share, which has been unchanged over the past 30 days. This suggests 79.04% year-over-year growth.
Teradyne currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Newell Brands v 1. čtvrtletí zvýšil normalizovanou hrubou marži o 70 bazických bodů na 33,2 % a provozní marži o 30 bazických bodů na 4,8 % díky produktivitě a cenám.
Key Takeaways NWL improved Q1 2026 normalized gross margin by 70 bps and operating margin by 30 bps through productivity.Newell is using automation, SKU rationalization and supply-chain optimization to drive efficiency.NWL's organizational realignment aims to improve accountability, strengthen commercial capabilities. Newell Brands Inc.’s (NWL - Free Report) productivity mechanism plays a vital role in enhancing efficiency and driving higher profitability. The company is executing strategic initiatives to deliver productivity gains through increased automation and stringent cost management. Optimizing category mix, managing revenue growth, streamlining SKUs and improving supply-chain performance are the key pillars of Newell’s operational strategy.
The company has implemented a corporate strategy that prioritizes investments in innovation, brand-building and go-to-market excellence across its brands and markets. NWL is strengthening its commercial capabilities and improving organizational efficiency. Strategic pricing and productivity actions have successfully mitigated inflation and currency translation impacts, contributing to the company’s performance.
Newell is benefiting from productivity and pricing actions, which have been boosting margins for quite some time now. In first-quarter 2026, normalized gross margin improved 70 basis points (bps) to 33.2% as gross productivity and net pricing more than offset inflation, tariff costs and lower volume. Normalized operating margin improved 30 bps to 4.8%, reflecting disciplined cost management even with higher advertising and promotion spending. For 2026, management maintained its normalized operating margin outlook of 8.6-9.2% and expects productivity, selective pricing and targeted promotion actions to help offset a higher commodity and transportation cost outlook.
Newell’s organizational realignment is designed to reinforce its front-end commercial capabilities, sharpen consumer insights and aid brand strength. The company looks forward to boosting accountability, driving operational efficiencies, reducing complexity and allocating more funds for reinvestment. Newell is enhancing its front-end commercial capabilities through consumer-led innovations.
It is strengthening its operations, profitability and long-term competitiveness through disciplined execution of its productivity, simplification and innovation initiatives. NWL's focus on automation, supply-chain optimization, SKU rationalization, simplification and strategic pricing is driving efficiency gains, while organizational realignment is enhancing commercial capabilities, simplifying structures and improving accountability.
NWL’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of Newell have gained 45.4% in the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 1.2%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, NWL trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24X compared with the industry’s average of 18.28X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NWL’s 2026 EPS remains breakeven while that of 2027 indicates year-over-year growth of 11.3%. The company’s EPS estimate for 2026 and 2027 has been stable in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
NWL stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Stocks to Consider in the Consumer Staples SpaceThe Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF - Free Report) , which is a distributor of specialty food products in the United States, 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 Chefs' Warehouse's current financial-year sales indicates growth of 8.3% from the prior-year level. CHEF delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 28.9%, on average.
Nomad Foods Limited (NOMD - Free Report) , which manufactures and distributes frozen foods, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
The consensus estimate for Nomad Foods’ current financial-year sales is expected to rise 0.5% from the year-ago reported figure. NOMD delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.6%, on average.
Medifast, Inc. (MED - Free Report) , which is a leading manufacturer and distributor of clinically-proven healthy living products and programs, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. MED delivered an average earnings surprise of 65.5% in the last reported quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Medifast’s current financial-year sales indicates a decline of 26% from the year-ago number.
KKR oznámila monetizaci přes 900 milionů USD za období od 31. března 2026 do 24. června 2026 a uvedla, že je asi o 66 % nad průměrem za období 2023 až 2025. Akcie po zprávě vzrostly o více než 3 %.
KKR Asset Management (NYSE:KKR) shares added more than 3% on Thursday after the alternative asset manager provided an update highlighting stronger monetization activity and changes to its financial reporting.
The firm announced that monetization activity exceeded $900 million for the period from March 31, 2026, through June 24, 2026, based on information currently available.
Approximately 80% of the amount was attributable to realized performance income, while the remaining 20% came from realized investment income.
KKR noted that the quarter-to-date total is about 66% above the quarterly average of $542 million recorded between 2023 and 2025. The company said it has experienced an acceleration in monetization activity and capital returned to clients so far this year.
In the first quarter of 2026, monetization activity totaled $878 million, representing a 62% increase from the same three-year quarterly average.
The company also announced a change in how it will report realized performance fees from its K-Series Private Equity vehicles beginning with second-quarter 2026 results. Those fees will now be included in Fee Related Performance Revenues within segment earnings and will be subject to a compensation margin of 15% to 20%. Previously, the fees were reported within Realized Performance Income and carried a compensation margin of 70% to 80%.
KKR said the revised reporting approach aligns with current industry practices and is intended to improve comparability for investors. Performance fees from its K-Series Infrastructure vehicles will continue to be reported in Fee Related Performance Revenues.
KKR also said it expects Capital Markets transaction fees of approximately $175 million for the second quarter of 2026, as some transactions initially anticipated to close late in the quarter are now expected to close in the third quarter.
The firm highlighted that its actual second quarter results could differ from current estimates.
Výrobci elektronických zařízení těží z masivních investic do AI infrastruktury a z poptávky po HBM, pokročilém balení a optických sítích. Kulicke and Soffa, Ultra Clean Holdings a Veeco z toho profitují.
The Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry players like Kulicke and Soffa Industries (KLIC - Free Report) , Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT - Free Report) and Veeco Instruments (VECO - Free Report) are benefiting from massive investment in AI infrastructure. Hyperscalers and cloud providers are expanding data center capacity, driving demand for leading-edge logic chips, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), advanced packaging and optical networking solutions. As AI processors become more complex, advanced packaging technologies have become a major investment area. More advanced process technologies, heterogeneous integration, higher process intensity and sophisticated packaging require additional deposition, etch, annealing, bonding and metrology equipment. Strong growth in memory equipment demand bodes well for industry players.
Industry Description The Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry comprises companies that provide a range of solutions to address the needs of wafer processing facilities, as well as device packaging and test facilities, and semiconductor manufacturing processes. The solutions offered by the industry participants include thin-film processing systems, photonics, process-control tools (that perform macro defect inspections and metrology), metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, advanced packaging lithography, wet etch and clean, laser annealing, and 3D wafer inspection systems. A few industry participants also offer micro-contamination control products and advanced material-handling solutions. Contamination-free transportation, storage and delivery of materials have gained immense significance in recent times.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Electronics Industry Miniaturization Enhances Prospects: Industry participants are benefiting from the ongoing transition in semiconductor manufacturing technology. The demand for advanced packaging, which enables the miniaturization of electronic products, remains strong. The consistent shift to smaller dimensions, increasing complexity in transistor design and the rapid adoption of new device architectures, such as FinFET, 3D NAND and GAA, along with the increasing utilization of new manufacturing materials to increase transistor and bit density, are driving the demand for solutions provided by the industry players. Moreover, the emergence of techniques like wafer-level packaging is driving the need for a high-purity manufacturing environment free of contaminants. The rising demand for clean processing, as well as wafer carrier cleaning and conditioning tools, is a key catalyst for industry participants.
Complex Process Driving Demand: The requirement for faster, more powerful, compact and energy-efficient semiconductors is expected to increase rapidly with emerging applications, including AI, high-performance and cloud computing, smartphones, wearable technology, self-driving vehicles, the Internet of Things (IoT), gaming and virtual reality, and smart healthcare. Semiconductor manufacturers like Intel, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductors are primarily looking to maximize manufacturing yields at lower costs. This is making semiconductor manufacturing processes more complex and driving the demand for solutions offered by industry participants. The rapid adoption of IoT-supported factory automation solutions is another contributing factor. The increasing deployment of 5G and the growing demand for edge computing are other key catalysts.
DRAM & HBM Demand Strong: Memory has shifted from being a bottleneck to a major investment opportunity. Memory manufacturers are expanding both greenfield fabs and existing facilities to increase AI server capacity. HBM is emerging as one of the strongest secular growth drivers due to its critical role in AI accelerators and high-performance computing. As GPUs become more powerful, memory bandwidth has become a key bottleneck, prompting memory manufacturers to aggressively expand HBM capacity. The broader DRAM market is also poised for sustained growth as AI applications require significantly larger memory capacity.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bullish Prospects The Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry is housed within the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #4, which places it in the top 2% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bullish near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than two to one.
The industry’s position in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of the positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, analysts appear optimistic about this group’s earnings growth potential. Since Jan. 31, 2026, the industry’s earnings estimates for 2026 have increased 48%.
Given the positive industry outlook, there are a number of stocks worth buying. However, before we present the stocks you may want to consider for your portfolio, let us take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation picture.
Industry Beats Sector & S&P 500 The Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry has outperformed the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector and the S&P 500 over the past year.
The industry has jumped 233.1% over this period compared with the S&P 500’s return of 23.4% and the broader sector’s appreciation of 37.1%.
One-Year Price Performance
Industry's Current Valuation On the basis of the trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA ratio, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery companies, we see that the industry is trading at 42.52X compared with the S&P 500’s 18.23X. The industry is trading above the sector’s trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA of 19.7X.
Over the last five years, the industry has traded as high as 44.67X and as low as 4.03X, with the median being 12.7X, as the charts below show.
EV/EBITDA Ratio (TTM)
3 Electronics Stocks to Buy Right Now Kulicke and Soffa: This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is riding on strong demand for Thermo-Compression Bonding (TCB). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Kulicke and Soffa expects TCB revenues to exceed $100 million in fiscal 2026. The company is expanding production capacity to support approximately $400 million in Advanced Solutions revenue, positioning KLIC to capitalize on the AI packaging cycle.
An expanding portfolio bodes well for Kulicke and Soffa’s prospects. Introduction of new solutions, including the Asterion-TW power semiconductor platform, ProMEM memory suite and advanced dispense products, is noteworthy. KLIC is increasing investments in hybrid bonding and panel-level packaging. These initiatives position the company to capture future demand across HBM, DRAM, power semiconductors and next-generation heterogeneous integration.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kulicke and Soffa Industries’ fiscal 2026 earnings has been unchanged at $3.34 per share over the past 30 days. Shares have jumped 170.6% year to date.
Price & Consensus: KLIC
Ultra Clean Holdings: This Zacks Rank #1 company believes the semiconductor industry is in the early stages of a multiyear AI-driven expansion, supported by hyperscaler investments, leading-edge foundry logic, HBM and advanced packaging demand. UCTT expects momentum to strengthen through the second half of 2026 and into 2027 as customers increase wafer fab equipment spending and fab utilization.
Ultra Clean’s existing manufacturing network supports approximately $3 billion in annual revenues and can scale to roughly $4 billion with only modest incremental capital investment. As volumes rise, UCTT expects higher factory utilization, better operating leverage and continued margin expansion, supported by its UCT 3.0 operational strategy and digital transformation initiatives.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ultra Clean Holdings’ 2026 earnings has climbed 4.7% to $2.46 per share over the past 30 days. Shares have skyrocketed 328.1% on a year-to-date basis.
Price & Consensus: UCTT
Veeco: This Zacks Rank #1 company continues to benefit from strong demand in advanced packaging, logic, memory and silicon photonics, with management highlighting sustained order momentum and increasing visibility into 2027. Veeco expects AI infrastructure investments to drive durable multiyear growth across its semiconductor portfolio.
Veeco secured more than $250 million in orders for MOCVD, wet processing and Ion Beam Deposition systems supporting indium phosphide laser manufacturing for AI data centers. Deliveries begin in 2026 and accelerate significantly in 2027, reinforcing the company's leadership in optical networking technologies as data centers transition from copper interconnects to optics.
The company is increasing manufacturing capacity for Advanced Packaging and Ion Beam Deposition systems while continuing to expand opportunities in HBM, EUV mask blanks, GaN power devices and advanced annealing. Veeco expects these technologies to drive meaningful served available market expansion through 2030, providing multiple long-term growth drivers beyond the current AI cycle.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Veeco’s 2026 earnings has been steady at $1.65 per share over the past 30 days. Shares have appreciated 149% year to date.
NuScale Power se propadá kvůli opakovaným odkladům nasazení SMR, které v Rumunsku a USA nebudou online dříve než na počátku 30. let. Firma čelí žalobám a silnému prodeji insiderů.
NuScale Power (SMR 0.34%), a developer of small modular reactors (SMRs) for nuclear power plants, went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on May 3, 2022. Its stock opened at $10.70 per share on the first day, reached a record high of $53.43 on Oct. 15, 2025, but trades at just over $10 as of this writing. Let's see why NuScale's stock plunged, and if it could stabilize and recover in the second half of the year.
Image source: Getty Images.
Why did investors ignore NuScale? NuScale's SMRs can be installed in vessels that are only 65 feet tall and nine feet wide, making them much smaller than conventional nuclear reactors. They're prefabricated and assembled on-site to reduce the time, labor, and costs required to build a nuclear power plant.
NuScale's newest SMR only generates 77 MWe on its own, while conventional nuclear power plants usually generate over 1,000 MWe. However, NuScale's SMRs can be chained together to build smaller plants in areas that aren't well-suited for larger plants.
It's currently working with Fluor (FLR 0.51%) to deploy six of its 77 MWe reactors to construct a 462 MWe plant for Romania's RoPower. It also recently agreed to deploy up to six gigawatts of its SMR capacity across seven states for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
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Those plans sound promising, but NuScale doesn't expect any of its reactors in Romania and the U.S. to come online until the early 2030s. It repeatedly postponed its first deployments as inflation drove up its costs, challenging the bullish view that SMRs would be a cheaper, faster alternative to conventional reactors for the booming AI market. It also faces intense competition from companies like Oklo (OKLO 3.90%), which are developing even smaller microreactors.
NuScale's constant delays sparked class action lawsuits, and Fluor -- which owned over half of its shares before its public debut -- liquidated its remaining shares this year. Over the past three months, its insiders sold 460 times as many shares as they bought.
Will NuScale's stock bounce back? NuScale will generate most of its revenue from its front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies, licensing fees, and consulting work until it deploys its first commercial SMRs.
For 2026, analysts expect its revenue to rise 79% to $56 million, while narrowing its net loss to $164 million. For 2027, they expect its revenue to more than triple to $173 million with a slightly wider net loss of $171 million. That growth trajectory would be impressive, but it's already priced for perfection at 63 times this year's sales. That high valuation will limit its upside potential as long as the messy macro environment drives investors away from speculative growth stocks.
D-Wave oznámila nový kvantový simulátor s gate-modelem a detekcí chyb, který má od září 2026 zpřístupnit programování odolné vůči chybám. Podporuje až 21 qubitů a je součástí plánu na 100 logických qubitů do roku 2032.
Key Takeaways D-Wave unveiled an error-aware gate-model quantum simulator to advance fault-tolerant computing.D-Wave targets 100 logical qubits and 1M successful operations by 2032 using dual-rail architecture.D-Wave's simulator supports up to 21 qubits with error detection and real-time control tools. D-Wave Quantum (QBTS - Free Report) , or D-Wave, recently announced its forthcoming gate-model quantum computing simulator, a move that expands its gate-model roadmap designed to accelerate the development of commercial, fault-tolerant quantum computing. Detailed at the inaugural Investor Day earlier this month, the roadmap targets 100 logical qubits capable of successfully performing over 1 million operations by 2032 through scalable superconducting dual-rail architecture and quantum error correction.
The stimulator is expected to be the first of its kind designed for error-aware programming, with access scheduled to begin in September 2026. Built around D-Wave’s dual-rail technology, it is designed to give developers greater visibility into errors, helping them design applications and workflows that respond to real processor behavior.
By combining error detection and real-time control, the simulator will give developers new tools and data to better understand quantum behavior, prototype quantum applications and error-correction routines and explore more advanced workflows.
Once available through D-Wave's Leap cloud platform, the simulator will offer a quantum programming toolkit with error-aware capabilities, including tools for modeling quantum processor behavior, error detection and real-time control. It will support up to 21 qubits, include ideal and hardware emulation modes, Monte Carlo simulation of real-time quantum system dynamics and integration with familiar development tools, including the company’s Ocean SDK.
D-Wave also plans to introduce quantum development bundles that will provide access to its forthcoming gate-model quantum simulator and systems. These will include Starter and Premium packages, with monthly access allocations and guidance from D-Wave’s expert team. The company says the bundles are designed to support a range of customer needs, from initial exploration to more advanced research and development.
Updates From QBTS PeersQuantum Computing Inc. (QUBT - Free Report) or QCi announced the completion of acquiring NHanced Semiconductors, Inc. for a combination of cash and QCi stock valued at $73.1 million, subject to customary adjustments, and up to an additional $72.0 million if certain performance targets are achieved. The acquisition marks an important step in QCi’s transition from research-driven innovation and prototyping to scalable commercial production. By adding semiconductor and nanophotonics fabrication capabilities, advanced packaging expertise and specialized engineering talent, QCi is strengthening its operational capabilities and manufacturing readiness.
C3 AI (AI - Free Report) announced that Shell Information Technology International B.V. is extending its long-standing collaboration with the company across its global operations. C3 AI has worked with Shell since 2018 to deploy and operate an enterprise-scale predictive maintenance program. Under a new multi-year agreement, Shell will extend its deployment of C3 AI Reliability to enhance its operations, extending predictive maintenance capabilities beyond equipment anomaly detection.
QBTS’ Price Performance, Valuation & EarningsIn the past three months, QBTS shares have risen 58.6%, far above the industry’s 4.8% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
D-Wave is trading at a forward, five-year Price/Sales (P/S) of 130.99X, significantly higher than its median and the industry average.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimates for D-Wave’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share have steadily narrowed over the past 90 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
D-Wave currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX 1.88%) is in the spotlight for all the right reasons. It just completed the largest initial public offering in history, having raised $75 billion by offering 555 million shares at $135 each plus another $10.7 billion from the underwriters that exercised their options to buy more shares. However, the number of shares available for public trading is still tiny relative to SpaceX's over $2 trillion market cap.
The company's float could increase to as much as 37% in late August. But until then, there's a supply-demand crunch on the stock, which is contributing to its volatility. SpaceX is already down big from its intraday high of $225.64, although as of the close of trading Tuesday, it was still up 4% from its initial trading price of $150 per share.
While long-term investors may not appreciate the volatility or the financial engineering of SpaceX's public market debut, they may be intrigued by the company's bold plans to launch millions of artificial intelligence (AI) data center satellites into orbit.
Here's why SpaceX is betting big on orbital data centers, and if the growth stock is a great buy now.
Image source: Getty Images.
A different type of SpaceX satellite SpaceX isn't profitable, but it has multiple levers that it could pull to unlock growth over the next several decades and beyond. It conducted around 80% of U.S. space launches in 2025 and exited that year with 9,600 Starlink broadband and mobile satellites in orbit. It owns xAI, the social media platform X, and could deploy millions of AI compute satellites -- which SpaceX says would actually be easier to manufacture than Starlink satellites because they won't need to have complex antennas.
The company's first AI satellite design features a 70-meter wingspan and a deployed height of 20 meters. By comparison, the majority of Starlink satellites in orbit are second-generation V2 Mini satellites, which are just 4.1 meters by 2.7 meters. The bigger issue is the added payload weight: AI satellites' compute clusters will have a lot of mass, making them significantly more expensive to launch.
Additionally, SpaceX plans to launch its AI compute satellites into a higher-altitude sun-synchronous orbit. This will make solar power generation predictable. However, it will also make the massive AI satellites more visible at night than most Starlink satellites.
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Satellite manufacturing on an unprecedented scale SpaceX says it aims to have 1 gigawatt (GW) of AI compute satellites in orbit by the end of 2027, then scale that by an order of magnitude in the subsequent three years, reaching 10 GW by the end of 2028, 100 GW by the end of 2029, and 1 terawatt (1,000 GW) by the end of 2030. At a peak output of 150 kW per satellite based on its AI1 satellite design, that would mean 6,667 satellites at 1 GW, 66,667 satellites at 10 GW, 666,667 satellites at 100 GW, and then a mind-numbing 6.67 million satellites at 1 terawatt. To describe that as ambitious would be an understatement.
To get there, SpaceX is building a more than 11-million-square-foot factory it has dubbed "Gigasat" in Bastrop, Texas, which is just outside Austin. Situated on a more than 1,000-acre site, that factory will handle end-to-end production of AI compute satellites, from the solar panels that will power them to the electronic components and satellite assembly.
Tesla (TSLA 0.45%) investors will be familiar with CEO Elon Musk's preference for vertically integrated manufacturing. Expanding beyond its Fremont, California, factory to large-scale production centers (Gigafactories) in Nevada, New York, Texas, Shanghai, and Germany was an integral part of the strategy that allowed Tesla to grow into a major global automaker. However, Tesla was expanding production while facing the scrutiny that all public companies must accept. Plus, it was capital-constrained and relied heavily on scaling up its Model 3 production to boost cash flow and fund its manufacturing expansion.
SpaceX has a massive advantage in that it is already worth more than Tesla and should have no problem turning to capital markets to raise capital, whether by issuing debt or selling more equity. SpaceX reported a net loss in 2025, yet the market doesn't seem to care, given its growth potential.
In sum, Tesla was consistently trying to prove to public markets that electric vehicles could be profitable and disrupt the automotive industry, whereas SpaceX has a first-mover advantage in a new niche of the data center market where it faces virtually no direct competitors.
AI satellite constellations are far from a sure bet Investors are giving SpaceX the green light to think big on a cosmic scale. Investors buying SpaceX today probably care way more about its timeline for launching AI compute satellites into space rather than the costs of its path to profitability.
But SpaceX will undoubtedly run into challenges along the way to deploying its constellation of satellites. And as the quarters tick by, investor patience could be tested -- especially during market sell-offs or if there's a slowdown in AI spending.
All told, there's no rush to buy SpaceX right now, at a time when sentiment is overwhelmingly positive and investor enthusiasm is through the roof. The better approach would be to keep SpaceX on your watch list and monitor its progress on constructing Gigasat and getting its first AI satellites launched into space. If its big idea pays off, SpaceX will deserve to be worth much more than it is today. But at this time, that's a big "if."
Apple CEO Tim Cook says the boom in AI data centers has made price hikes "unavoidable". Justin Sullivan/Getty Images It's possible that AI will bring us all kinds of amazing things in the future.
In the present, AI is making things more expensive.
And Apple just showed us how much more expensive: It is raising prices on some of its Macs and iPads by at least 15% and directly attributing the hikes to the AI boom — specifically the buildout of data centers.
"The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage," the company said in a statement. "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly."
In real-world terms, that means Apple's entry-level MacBook Air now costs $1,299 — up from $1,099. Its cheapest iPad Air, which cost $599 on Wednesday, now costs $749.
Apple had previewed the price hikes last week, when CEO Tim Cook called them "unavoidable." The company hasn't raised the prices of new iPhones, though we'll see what happens when it introduces new models this fall. Apple's statement says it "need[s] to begin raising prices on a number of products," which suggests these may not be the only increases.
Apple's announcement is important for people who want to buy new computers and tablets. But I think it's much more meaningful than that: It's the first time a giant consumer company has come out and told consumers that prices are going up because of AI.
That feels like an important milestone. That's because so much of the AI debate centers around what people think could happen in the future. If you're an AI optimist, it could help us find new wonder drugs or supercharge new industries. If you're a skeptic, you worry that it will create new bioweapons, or hollow out big swaths of the economy.
But today, in the here and now, Apple is saying things are more expensive because of AI.
That idea has been banging around the tech and financial worlds for some time, as the data center push squeezes on computer chips. That's good for some companies, like chipmakers Micron and SK Hynix, and an issue for just about everyone that needs chips for their products, which is… a lot of companies.
Much of this has been opaque to normal people. Now lots of normal people — even those who aren't in the market for new iPads and MacBooks — are going to hear that AI is making iPads and MacBooks more expensive.
That's the kind of data point that sticks in your head. And it's very hard to dislodge.
The AI industry has plenty of money and influence. But tech usually succeeds by bringing people something new or making something radically cheaper. Now tech says the same stuff you bought yesterday costs much more today.
It's hard to argue your way out of that one.
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Peter Kafka You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Peter covers media and technology for Business Insider; previously he has worked at Vox, Recode, AllThingsD, and Forbes. He was also the first hire at Silicon Alley Insider, Business Insider's predecessor.
AI Inflation Data Centers More Apple Tim Cook iPad Policy
Švédská TRV vyzvala EU, aby zamítla širší nasazení Tesla FSD kvůli automatickému překračování rychlosti, zimnímu provozu a zavádějícímu názvu. O rozšíření se má hlasovat 30. června.
Key Takeaways Sweden's TRV asked the EU to reject broader FSD deployment over automated speeding concerns.Regulators also flagged winter-road performance and the Full Self-Driving name.TSLA won Dutch approval in April, with rollout reaching several European countries. Tesla, Inc.’s (TSLA - Free Report) Full Self-Driving (FSD) system recently gained access to public roads in the Netherlands, marking its first approval in Europe and fueling expectations of a broader rollout across the continent. However, not all countries support the expansion. Sweden’s Transport Administration (TRV) has urged the European Union to reject the wider deployment of FSD in its current form.
A key concern for Swedish regulators is Tesla’s “Speed Offset” feature, which allows FSD-equipped vehicles to travel above posted speed limits, per Reuters. While similar functionality exists in conventional cruise-control systems, regulators argue that the risks are greater when the feature is integrated into an automated driving system. In a letter to the EU’s Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV), the TRV warned that permitting automated systems to exceed legal speed limits routinely could undermine traffic laws and reduce the intended safety benefits of vehicle automation.
Beyond the speed-related issue, European authorities have also raised concerns about FSD’s performance in challenging winter conditions, particularly on snow-covered roads, as well as the potentially misleading nature of the “Full Self-Driving” name. These concerns come as the TCMV prepares to vote on June 30 on whether to extend the Dutch approval across the European Union.
The TRV does not have the authority to determine Sweden’s position in the European committee vote. That role is held by the Swedish Transport Agency (STA), which acts as the nation’s vehicle type-approval authority.
Per Reuters, the STA has been engaged in discussions with both Tesla and the Dutch road authority, RDW, regarding the matter. One reported meeting between Tesla and regulators lasted about two hours on June 4. Per the STA, talks are still ongoing. While the agency has not yet disclosed how Sweden intends to vote, it noted that the concerns highlighted by the Transport Administration continue to be considered as part of its assessment process.
Despite the opposition, Tesla achieved a significant milestone when Dutch regulators approved FSD for use on public roads in April. Since then, the technology has also been introduced in Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania and Estonia, while approval remains under review in Greece. Although Greek officials criticized Tesla for relying on North American data, they acknowledged that FSD could potentially lead to a substantial reduction in traffic accidents.
Tesla maintains that the Speed Offset feature does not compromise safety because drivers remain responsible for the vehicle and can intervene at any moment. Swedish regulators, however, believe this safeguard is insufficient to address the risks associated with automated speeding.
The European version of FSD already differs from the U.S. version. Instead of driving profiles such as “Sloth” and “Mad Max,” European users can adjust settings through “Max Speed” and “Max Speed Offset” options. The system also handles uncertain speed limits differently, displaying an estimated limit accompanied by a question mark when it lacks definitive information. Additionally, the interface labels the system as “FSD (Supervised)” rather than “Full Self-Driving,” likely to reduce the possibility of drivers misunderstanding the technology’s capabilities.
TSLA’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksTesla currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (GELHY - Free Report) , Douglas Dynamics, Inc. (PLOW - Free Report) and Garrett Motion Inc. (GTX - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GELHY’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 77.1% and 40.3%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2026 and 2027 has improved 18 cents and 7 cents, respectively, over the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PLOW’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 16.7% and 31.4%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2026 and 2027 has improved 39 cents and 29 cents, respectively, over the past 60 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GTX’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.6% and 20.4%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2026 has improved 12 cents over the past 60 days, while the EPS estimate for 2027 has improved a penny over the past 30 days.
Microsoftu ve 3. čtvrtletí fiskálního roku 2026 klesly tržby z her o 7 % na 5,34 miliardy USD, hlavně kvůli propadu hardwaru Xboxu o 33 %. Firma dál sází na cloudové hraní přes Game Pass a streaming.
Key Takeaways MSFT gaming revenues fell 7% to $5.34B as Xbox hardware revenues dropped 33% in fiscal Q3 2026.Microsoft linked content weakness to tough comparisons; results matched guided declines.MSFT is expanding cloud-delivered gaming via Game Pass, streaming and new first-party titles. Microsoft's (MSFT - Free Report) push to expand its gaming division through content and cloud-streaming investment is being weighed against a soft quarter for the segment, raising the question of whether Xbox can meaningfully reinforce the company's broader cloud ecosystem. The trigger: Xbox content and services revenues fell 5% year over year (down 7% in constant currency) in third-quarter fiscal 2026, while Xbox hardware revenues plunged 33%, dragging total gaming revenues down 7% to $5.34 billion. The decline landed inside an otherwise record quarter, with companywide revenues increasing 18% to $82.9 billion and Microsoft Cloud revenues rising 29% to $54.5 billion, highlighting the gap between gaming's trajectory and the rest of the portfolio.
Microsoft attributed the content and services shortfall to a difficult prior-year comparison that had benefited from strong first-party releases, while hardware weakness reflected lower console unit volumes as the current generation matures. CFO Amy Hood had guided for a mid-to-high single-digit decline in total gaming revenues and a mid-single-digit drop in content and services for the quarter; actual results landed at the softer end of that range, meaning the slide was in line with, not worse than, expectations.
Recent developments suggest Microsoft is leaning on cloud-delivered gaming to tie Xbox more closely to its broader ecosystem rather than console hardware. Xbox Wire's June 2026 Games Showcase introduced new first-party titles, including Ninja Theory's Senua, alongside a 25th-anniversary Xbox Series X|S console and controller edition launching in November. Game Pass' steady cadence of additions through June, such as Forza Horizon 6, Persona 5 Royal and Call of Duty: Vanguard, depends heavily on cloud streaming to reach players across devices. An April 2026 Game Pass Ultimate price adjustment had not yet been factored into fiscal third-quarter results and will first appear in fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 numbers.
With hardware revenues shrinking and cloud infrastructure carrying more of the gaming experience, the segment's expansion may matter less for standalone gaming revenues and more for keeping users anchored to Microsoft's cloud platform.
How Gaming Rivals Compare on GrowthUnlike Microsoft's gaming segment, Electronic Arts (EA - Free Report) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO - Free Report) posted gains in their most recent quarterly results. Electronic Arts reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 net bookings of $1.86 billion, up roughly 4% year over year, with net revenues rising 12% to $2.12 billion on strength in Battlefield 6 and Apex Legends. Take-Two Interactive's fiscal fourth-quarter net bookings held flat at $1.58 billion, though GAAP net revenues grew 6% to $1.68 billion, supported by NBA 2K26 and the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive both leaned on live-service and recurrent consumer spending to offset slower title-driven growth that quarter, a contrast to Microsoft's subscription- and cloud-led approach. Neither Electronic Arts nor Take-Two Interactive operates console hardware, limiting direct comparability with Xbox's mixed results.
MSFT’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesMSFT shares have lost 25% in the past six-month period compared with the Zacks Computer – Software industry’s decline of 26.1%. The Zacks Computer and Technology sector has appreciated 12.8% in the same time frame.
MSFT’s 6-Month Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, MSFT stock appears overvalued, trading at a forward 12-month price/earnings ratio of 18.98X, higher than the industry’s 18.81X. MSFT has a Value Score of D.
MSFT’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MSFT’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $17.33 per share. The estimate indicates 27.05% year-over-year growth.
Microsoft currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
