Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shares are in the spotlight, with earnings on deck, key growth metrics in focus and a technical setup showing the stock trading below every major moving average.

Earnings Preview & HistoryPlanet Labs is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal-year 2027 earnings on September 3 after market close. Analysts estimate a loss of 2 cents per share along with revenue of $104.12 million. For the prior quarter, Planet Labs reported EPS of negative 3 cents, beating the consensus estimate of negative 4 cents by 25%. The company also posted revenue of $94.15 million, beating the consensus estimate of $89.85 million by 4.78%.

Backlog, Defense Growth, FY27 Guidance in FocusInvestors will be closely tracking backlog and remaining performance obligations, which stood at approximately $906 million and $816 million, respectively, at the end of the first quarter, up more than 70% year-over-year, as a key indicator of future revenue visibility. Defense and intelligence segment growth will also be in focus, given it grew more than 65% year-over-year last quarter and has become the company’s primary growth driver, alongside any updates on international contract wins and the pace of Pelican satellite deployments.

Commentary on full-year fiscal 2027 guidance, currently set at $425 million to $441 million in revenue with adjusted EBITDA between breakeven and $10 million, along with progress toward sustained positive free cash flow, should offer additional signals on whether Planet Labs can justify its valuation heading into the back half of the year.

Planet Labs Trades Below Every Major Moving AverageFrom a trend perspective, PL is still in a defensive posture: it’s trading 13.8% below its 20-day SMA, 19.6% below its 50-day SMA, 37.7% below its 100-day SMA, and 27.3% below its 200-day SMA. That "below all the key averages" setup typically means rallies can run into supply faster than they find follow-through.

The moving-average structure also leans bearish, with the 20-day SMA below the 50-day SMA and a death cross in August (the 50-day SMA below the 200-day SMA). In longer-term trend work, that combination often signals the stock needs time (and multiple closes back above key averages) before the trend picture improves.

MACD is the cleaner momentum lens right now: it’s below its signal line and the histogram is negative, which points to fading upside pressure versus the prior upswing. In plain terms, when MACD sits below its signal line, it usually means momentum is cooling unless buyers can push price back into a stronger uptrend.

Near-term levels are tight, which can make Tuesday’s open important if volatility picks up with the futures tone:

Key Resistance: $21.00 — a round-number area that can cap rebounds before the stock can work back toward its short-term moving averages Key Support: $19.50 — a nearby floor traders may defend, sitting right around the current trading area Read Next

Planet Labs Shares DropPL Price Action: At the time of publication, Planet Labs shares are trading 1.91% lower at $19.47, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Image via Shutterstock

This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Seagate has already handed investors gains that dwarf Nvidia's returns over the past year, and Wall Street analysts think the storage giant still has a long way to run before this AI trade exhausts itself.

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Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX | STX Price Prediction) has quietly become one of the loudest AI stories on the market. Shares are up 202.07% year to date and 385.3% over the past year, riding a wave of hyperscaler orders for mass-capacity hard drives.

CEO Dave Mosley told investors last month that “As AI accelerates data generation and its value, we see durable long-term demand for mass capacity storage,” and the numbers back him up. With shares near $829.76, the question is whether Seagate can push through to $1,000 in 2027.

Wall Street Sees Even More Upside From Here The Street is unusually aggressive on this storage name. The consensus 1-year price target sits at $1,125, with 18 Buy and 4 Strong Buy ratings against just 2 Hold calls. That implies analysts see roughly 36% upside from current levels, well above our $1,000 bull case.

Why the optimism? Fiscal 2026 revenue grew 34.06% to $12.20 billion, and net income more than doubled to $3.18 billion. Q4 revenue jumped 48.49% year over year to $3.63 billion, and non-GAAP EPS of $5.71 topped estimates by 12.11%. Seagate has now beaten EPS expectations for four consecutive quarters, which suggests forward numbers may still be too low.

Path to $1,000 Per Share in 2027 Trailing valuation looks eye-watering at 61x earnings, but the forward multiple tells the real story. Forward P/E stands at 24x, roughly in line with the S&P 500’s forward multiple near 22x.

Management guided fiscal Q1 2027 to non-GAAP EPS of $7.30 on revenue of $4.1 billion. If that quarterly run-rate sustains through fiscal 2027, annual EPS could clear $28 to $30. At $1,000, shares would trade around 33x to 36x forward earnings. Rich, but defensible for a business compounding revenue at a 20%+ target rate.

Here is what could push STX to $1,000:

Locked-in hyperscaler demand. Mosley told analysts that “Nearline capacity almost fully allocated through calendar 2027,” with build-to-order contracts covering pricing and configurations for the entire fiscal year. HAMR ramp accelerating. Mozaic HAMR drives are qualified with five of the world’s largest cloud customers, and Mozaic 4 delivers “up to 44 terabytes per drive,” “over 30% more capacity compared to the first generation” with minimal added cost. Margin expansion. GAAP gross margin hit 52.3% in Q4, up from 37.4% a year earlier. Value-based pricing and mix shift into higher-capacity drives should continue. Structural AI tailwinds. Mosley described a “period of structural growth,” citing autonomous vehicles producing “up to four terabytes per hour” and compliance retention stretching “five to 10 years.” Balance sheet cleanup. Seagate retired $1.40 billion in debt in fiscal 2026, freeing up capital that management said would likely return to share buybacks. Recent History Shows $1,000 Is Within Reach A move from $829.76 to $1,000 requires roughly 20% upside. That is well within STX’s demonstrated range. The stock has already returned 1,015.99% over five years and 3,605.64% over ten.

Even more telling, shares gained 8.55% in the past month alone, and the 52-week high of $1,144.18 shows the market has already priced STX above $1,000 this year. Getting back there is more of a re-rating than a leap.

Bottom Line on $1,000 Hitting $1,000 requires roughly 20% upside from here, a modest ask for a stock that has already tripled off its 2025 base. Wall Street’s $1,125 consensus, a four-quarter beat streak, exabyte capacity sold out through calendar 2027, and a Fitch upgrade to investment grade all point in the right direction.

Hyperscaler concentration and tariff risk remain real. Still, if the Mozaic ramp holds and cloud CapEx stays elevated, we’ve outlined the blueprint for how Seagate could see outsized returns in 2027. Storage is only one slice of the AI buildout, though. We profiled seven other suppliers powering the data-center boom, from cooling to networking, in a free report you can grab here.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

, /PRNewswire/ -- GFL Environmental Inc. (NYSE: GFL) (TSX: GFL) ("GFL" or the "Company") today announced that it has closed the acquisition of SECURE Waste Infrastructure Corp. ("SECURE") pursuant to the terms of the previously announced arrangement agreement between GFL and SECURE (the "Transaction").

The Transaction was financed through a combination of capacity under the Company's revolving credit facility, the issuance of 75,126,306 GFL subordinate voting shares (the "GFL Subordinate Voting Shares") and a new US$1 billion senior secured term loan ("Senior Secured Term Loan"). The Senior Secured Term Loan matures on or about August 28, 2033 and bears interest at SOFR +200 basis points or approximately 5.0% after giving effect to cross currency interest rate swaps entered into by the Company.

"We are excited to welcome the over 2,000 SECURE employees to the GFL family, including Allen Gransch and other SECURE management who are staying on to lead the SECURE business as both employees and shareholders of GFL," said Patrick Dovigi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GFL. "The acquisition of SECURE reinforces our goal of creating long-term equity value for our shareholders and is expected to significantly accelerate the achievement of the multi-year financial targets we outlined at our investor day in early 2025. Our significantly enhanced scale following the acquisition will allow us to materially increase our capital deployment capacity while maintaining our targeted year end Net Leverage1 in the mid 3s. We look forward to updating our 2026 guidance to include SECURE when we report our third quarter later this year."

Mr. Dovigi concluded, "The Senior Secured Term Loan transaction closed at the end of August and was significantly oversubscribed, a continued testament to our long-standing relationship with high-quality debt investors, many of whom have been with us for well over a decade. The loan transaction did not impact our credit rating, and we remain committed to pursuing a path to investment grade in the near-to-medium term."

It is expected that the SECURE common shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange at the close of business on or about September 2, 2026. The GFL Subordinate Voting Shares received by the SECURE shareholders in connection with the Transaction will begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange on or about September 2, 2026 under the ticker symbol "GFL".

_____________________

(1)

A non-IFRS measure; see "Non-IFRS Measures" for an explanation of the composition of non-IFRS measures. Due to the uncertainty of the likelihood, amount and timing of effects of events or

circumstances to be excluded from these measures, GFL does not have information available to provide a quantitative reconciliation of such projections to comparable IFRS measures.

About GFL

GFL is the fourth largest diversified environmental services company in North America, providing comprehensive solid waste management services from its platform of facilities throughout Canada and 19 U.S. states. GFL has a workforce of more than 17,000 employees across its organization.

Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable U.S. and Canadian securities laws, respectively, including statements relating to the expected financial and other benefits of the Transaction to GFL, GFL's expected credit rating profile, growth plans and leverage. Forward-looking information includes all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts and may relate to our future outlook, financial guidance and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding our financial performance, financial condition or results, business strategy, growth strategies, budgets, operations and services. Particularly, statements regarding our expectations of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities and the markets in which we operate are forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "outlook", "forecasts", "projection", "prospects", "strategy", "intends", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", "believes", or "potential" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved", although not all forward-looking information includes those words or phrases. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, intentions, projections, guidance, potential or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts nor assurances of future performance but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances.

Forward-looking information is based on our opinions, estimates and assumptions that we considered appropriate and reasonable as of the date such information is stated, is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to certain assumptions set out herein; our ability to obtain and maintain existing financing on acceptable terms; our ability to source and execute on acquisitions on terms acceptable to us; currency exchange and interest rates; commodity price fluctuations; our ability to implement price increases and surcharges; changes in waste volumes; labour, supply chain and transportation constraints; inflationary cost pressures; fuel supply and fuel price fluctuations; our ability to maintain a favourable working capital position; the impact of competition; the changes and trends in our industry or the global economy; changes to trade agreements, restrictions on trade, including sanctions, export controls, import duties, quotas, treaties, tariffs, trade wars, changes to trade and investment policies and other governmental actions; and changes in laws, rules, regulations, and global standards. Other important factors that could materially affect our forward-looking information can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of GFL's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2025 and GFL's other periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in Canada. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these risks carefully in evaluating our forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. There can be no assurance that the underlying opinions, estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Although we have attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors not currently known to us or that we currently believe are not material that could also cause actual results or future events to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. The forward-looking information contained in this release represents our expectations as of the date of this release (or as the date it is otherwise stated to be made), and is subject to change after such date. However, we disclaim any intention or obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable U.S. or Canadian securities laws.

Non-IFRS Measures

This release makes reference to certain non-IFRS measures. These measures are not recognized measures under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of our financial information reported under IFRS. Rather, these non-IFRS measures are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of our operating performance and thus highlight trends in our core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. We also believe that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of issuers. Our management also uses non-IFRS measures in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, to prepare annual operating budgets and forecasts and to determine components of management compensation.

EBITDA represents, for the applicable period, net income (loss) from continuing operations plus (a) interest and other finance costs, plus (b) depreciation and amortization of property and equipment, landfill assets and intangible assets, plus (less) (c) the provision (recovery) for income taxes, in each case to the extent deducted or added to/from net income (loss) from continuing operations. We present EBITDA to assist readers in understanding the mathematical development of Adjusted EBITDA. Management does not use EBITDA as a financial performance metric.

Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure used by management and other users of our financial statements including, our lenders and investors, to assess the financial performance of our business without regard to financing methods or capital structure. Adjusted EBITDA is also a key metric that management uses prior to execution of any strategic investing or financing opportunity. For example, management uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure in determining the value of acquisitions, expansion opportunities, and dispositions. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA is utilized by financial institutions to measure borrowing capacity. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adding and deducting, as applicable from EBITDA, certain expenses, costs, charges or benefits incurred in such period which in management's view are either not indicative of underlying business performance or impact the ability to assess the operating performance of our business, including: (a) (gain) loss on foreign exchange, (b) (gain) loss on sale of property and equipment, (c) change in value on Call Option, (d) share of net (income) loss of investments accounted for using the equity method, (e) share-based payments, (f) transaction costs, (g) acquisition, rebranding and other integration costs (included in cost of sales related to acquisition activity), (h) Founder/CEO remuneration and (i) other. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, change in value on Call Option has been added back to EBITDA. We use Adjusted EBITDA to facilitate a comparison of our operating performance on a consistent basis reflecting factors and trends affecting our business. As we continue to grow our business, we may be faced with new events or circumstances that are not indicative of our underlying business performance or that impact the ability to assess our operating performance.

Acquisition EBITDA represents, for the applicable period, management's estimates of the annual Adjusted EBITDA of an acquired business, based on its most recently available historical financial information at the time of acquisition, as adjusted to give effect to (a) the elimination of expenses related to the prior owners and certain other costs and expenses that are not indicative of the underlying business performance, if any, as if such business had been acquired on the first day of such period and (b) contract and acquisition annualization for contracts entered into and acquisitions completed by such acquired business prior to our acquisition (collectively, "Acquisition EBITDA Adjustments"). Further adjustments are made to such annual Adjusted EBITDA to reflect estimated operating cost savings and synergies, if any, anticipated to be realized upon acquisition and integration of the business into our operations. Acquisition EBITDA is calculated net of divestitures. We use Acquisition EBITDA for the acquired businesses to adjust our Adjusted EBITDA to include a proportional amount of the Acquisition EBITDA of the acquired businesses based upon the respective number of months of operation for such period prior to the date of our acquisition of each such business.

Net Leverage is a supplemental measure used by management to evaluate borrowing capacity and capital allocation strategies. Net Leverage is equal to our total long-term debt, as adjusted for fair value, deferred financings and other adjustments and reduced by our cash, divided by Run-Rate EBITDA.

Run-Rate EBITDA represents Adjusted EBITDA for the applicable period as adjusted to give effect to management's estimates of (a) Acquisition EBITDA Adjustments (as defined above) and (b) the impact of annualization of certain new municipal and disposal contracts and cost savings initiatives, entered into, commenced or implemented, as applicable, in such period, as if such contracts or costs savings initiatives had been entered into, commenced or implemented, as applicable, on the first day of such period ((a) and (b), collectively, "Run-Rate EBITDA Adjustments"). Run-Rate EBITDA has not been adjusted to take into account the impact of the cancellation of contracts and cost increases associated with these contracts. These adjustments reflect monthly allocations of Acquisition EBITDA for the acquired businesses based on straight line proration. As a result, these estimates do not take into account the seasonality of a particular acquired business. While we do not believe the seasonality of any one acquired business is material when aggregated with other acquired businesses, the estimates may result in a higher or lower adjustment to our Run-Rate EBITDA than would have resulted had we adjusted for the actual results of each of the acquired businesses for the period prior to our acquisition. We primarily use Run-Rate EBITDA to show how GFL would have performed if each of the acquired businesses had been consummated at the start of the period as well as to show the impact of the annualization of certain new municipal and disposal contracts and cost savings initiatives. We also believe that Run-Rate EBITDA is useful to investors and creditors to monitor and evaluate our borrowing capacity and compliance with certain of our debt covenants. Run-Rate EBITDA as presented herein is calculated in accordance with the terms of our revolving credit agreement.

All references to "$" in this press release are to Canadian dollars, unless otherwise noted.

For further information:
Patrick Dovigi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
+1 905-326-0101
[email protected]

SOURCE GFL Environmental Inc.

Apple's next CEO inherits a trillion-dollar empire and a glaring weakness that rivals have exploited for years. A top tech analyst says fixing one product could determine whether Apple leads the AI era or gets left behind.

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Daniel Newman, CEO of Futurum Group, used a CNBC interview on August 31 to argue that incoming leadership at Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) inherits a company with an unresolved AI problem alongside a fortress balance sheet.

Newman told CNBC, “Tim accomplished a lot in his time. It’s very hard to look at 2,200%+, becoming the world’s most valuable company by market cap.” He noted that Apple surpassed $5 trillion in market cap last month and that Cook spent $877 billion on buybacks, described in the segment as more than the entire Magnificent Seven combined. As of Monday, the stock trades at $314.76, up 17.92% year to date and 37.98% over the past year.

Tim Cook’s Apple Created Enormous Wealth In Newman’s assessment, Cook-era numbers are strong in absolute terms but undifferentiated relative to peers. “The performance was good. It was very good. But it was really kind of equal among peers. And Tesla, of course, blew it away on more of these massive trends that they were able to pick up in tailwinds,” he said.

Newman argues that Apple underperformed Google, Amazon, Tesla, and NVIDIA during the recent AI boom, and Apple’s diversification bets outside the phone did not connect: the headsets flopped, the car efforts failed, and the smart home never gained traction.

Financially, the current business runs hot. Apple reported Q3 FY2026 revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.36% year over year, with EPS of $2.02 versus an estimated $1.8914. iPhone contributed $54.3 billion, up 22%, and Services hit $30.7 billion, up 12%.

Why Siri Could Decide Apple’s AI Future Newman’s main point is that Apple still controls the surface where users meet AI, even if its AI assistant has lagged. “Siri hasn’t been as successful as I think many people had hoped. But having said that, the partnerships with Google, the fact that they are still the experience layer that so many of us are experiencing it on an Apple device, especially on the phone in the mobile side,” he said. Owning the interface layer differs from owning the underlying model, and Newman argues that leverage still matters.

On the Q3 call, Tim Cook said: “We were tremendously excited to unveil the all-new Siri AI, a completely reimagined version of Siri that is profoundly capable, deeply personal, and integrated seamlessly across our platforms.” R&D spending rose to $11.7 billion in Q3 2026, up from $8.9 billion year over year, and operating expenses climbed 23% year over year.

Why CEO John Ternus Could Signal a Return to Engineering Newman argues the bigger question is whether smartphones will remain the dominant device: “The question is, is the handset going to be the device of the future? We’ve seen the headsets kind of flop. Cars didn’t work out. Apple’s smart home never really became a thing,” he said.

Against that backdrop, Newman frames the leadership change as a deliberate tilt toward product invention: “Ternus is more of a hardware, he’s more of an engineering side, you know, go back to the Steve Jobs era. And they need that. They need to reinvent themselves, because I think getting Siri right is the first step.”

Key Takeaways Cook leaves Apple with enormous scale, cash flow and control over one of the world’s most important consumer computing platforms. But Newman argues that the next CEO will need to turn that distribution advantage into real AI leadership. Getting Siri right may be the first test.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 114.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,435 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,931 shares during the quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $19,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Objective Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0% Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $572.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $592.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $610.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several brokerages have recently commented on META. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.22.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on META

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

Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI strategy remains a potential long-term catalyst. Analysts point to its roughly $60 billion AI investment program as a way to improve ad targeting, monetization and possibly challenge Google in search and digital advertising. Meta’s $60 Billion AI Machine Could Dethrone Google Search by Year-End Positive Sentiment: Meta-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an initial public offering. A successful listing could provide a valuation reference for Meta’s investment and highlight the value of its strategic holdings. Meta- and Google-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms gets regulatory nod for IPO Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary describes META as undervalued after its shares fell well below their prior record, citing second-quarter revenue growth of 28% to $60.8 billion and the potential for a recovery. Prediction: Meta Stock Reclaims Its All-Time High Before 2029 Neutral Sentiment: Meta has begun removing fraudulent advertisements in India that used explicit content to distribute malware. The action limits immediate user risk but underscores continuing challenges in ad-quality enforcement and platform trust. Meta removes ads for fraud apps posing as porn after India sounds alarm Negative Sentiment: Meta agreed to an approximately $17 billion to $18 billion settlement with U.S. states over allegations that its platforms harmed children and teens. The agreement requires stronger age verification and other safeguards, creating a substantial financial cost and potentially higher compliance expenses. Explainer: Settlement requires Meta to check young users’ ages Negative Sentiment: Research claiming Temu spent as much as $962 million on advertising tied to fake creators raises additional concerns about content moderation, advertiser oversight and reputational risk on Meta’s platforms. Temu spent up to $962 million on ads that helped finance an army of fake creators on Meta platforms Insider Activity In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Profile (Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason

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Texas’ public automated-vehicle records now show 45 Cybercabs under Tesla Robotaxi, LLC, alongside 269 Model Ys, giving the Sept. 3 Austin launch a more consequential backdrop: Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is beginning to assemble the purpose-built fleet it says will power its autonomous ride-hailing ambitions.

Tesla’s Texas authorization for commercial automated vehicles is not new. Under Texas’ rules, an approved operator can maintain an active vehicle list by adding and deleting specific vehicles under its authorization. In other words, the meaningful development is that Cybercabs are now appearing in that existing fleet, not that Tesla suddenly received permission to operate them.

The latest reporting based on the Texas DMV database shows the Cybercab count rising from an initial seven vehicles to 45. That represents roughly 14% of Tesla Robotaxi’s 314 authorized vehicles in the state, with the rest consisting of Model Ys.

That mix matters: Tesla has explicitly positioned the Cybercab as something different from the modified Model Ys currently used for Robotaxi service.

Tesla’s Robotaxi ShiftTesla said in its latest quarterly filing that it had started production of Cybercab, which it describes as a “purpose-built autonomous EV designed to be the workhorse of our Robotaxi fleet.” The company also said engineering test drives of production Cybercabs had begun on public roads and that employee rides started at Gigafactory Texas in July.

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That makes the growing Texas fleet more than a display of new hardware. It offers an early glimpse of Tesla’s intended transition from using existing vehicles for autonomous rides toward a vehicle designed specifically for that business.

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Tesla’s own Robotaxi site currently says autonomous rides are being offered in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, as well as Miami, Orlando, and Tampa, and that Cybercab will offer rides in additional areas “in the future.”

The Sept. 3 event is therefore arriving at an important moment. Tesla’s official event page confirms the Cybercab launch event in Austin runs through Sept. 3, while the fleet records show the vehicle is already being incorporated into the state’s authorized autonomous-vehicle system.

Tesla’s Autonomy TestFor investors, the more important question now shifts from what the Cybercab looks like to how quickly Tesla can turn it into a fleet.

The Elon Musk-led company has spent years promising that autonomy could transform Tesla’s economics. A purpose-built vehicle with no conventional driver controls is a much clearer test of that proposition than a driverless ride using a vehicle originally designed for consumers.

Investors should watch what happens after the Sept. 3 event: how many Cybercabs actually enter commercial service, where they operate, and how quickly Tesla can expand the fleet. Forty-five vehicles do not establish a scaled robotaxi business, but their appearance in Texas’ authorized fleet marks a tangible step from Tesla demonstrating autonomy to building the hardware needed to commercialize it.

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© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

A top Wall Street analyst is sounding the alarm on a fast-growing OpenAI revenue stream that targets the exact same advertiser budgets powering Alphabet's most profitable business.

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OpenAI’s advertising business is still tiny compared with Google Search, but D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria says the growth trajectory should have Alphabet investors paying attention.

Luria told CNBC on Monday that OpenAI’s advertising business has reached roughly a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, up from about $100 million just six months ago.

That’s still a tiny fraction of Google’s Search advertising business, but Luria warns OpenAI’s ad business will likely take pieces of Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) existing market share rather than create new incremental demand.

OpenAI’s Ad Run Rate Has Jumped From $100 Million to $1 Billion Google Search remains the dominant intent-based ad surface on the internet. Alphabet reported Google Search & other revenue of $63.27 billion in Q2 fiscal 2026, up 17% year over year. Luria’s estimate is that Google’s search advertising will generate roughly $250 billion this year.

“Google’s search advertising will maybe be $250 [billion] this year. So $1 billion starts taking little bits of share. And let’s not forget that was $100 million run rate just six months ago,” Luria said. In his view, OpenAI is in a position to have an advertising business in the tens of billions, which could start to pose a threat to Alphabet.

Why Google Search Is the Most Vulnerable Ad Budget Luria argues that a ChatGPT ad is the closest existing substitute for a Google Search ad because both reach a user at the moment of active information-seeking with clear intent. “Buying an ad on ChatGPT is the most equivalent to buying Google Search,” he said, adding that share will come “mostly from Google Search, because that’s the most equivalent ad from the ad buyer’s perspective.”

However, Alphabet’s CEO Sundar Pichai told analysts that “Since expanding AI mode globally last October, we have surpassed 1 billion monthly active users” and that the Gemini App has 950 million monthly active users. Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said Google “continues to be encouraged with monetization performance on queries that show AI Overviews, even as we’ve expanded overviews to more commercial queries.”

So Alphabet is fighting back against the increased competition from OpenAI.

Finite Attention Puts YouTube and Meta in the Fight As Well Luria also drew a line between the enterprise AI market, which he treats as expandable, and the consumer ad market, which he called more zero-sum. “The consumer segment is finite because we only have so many hours in the day, and advertisers can only catch us to the extent that we’re engaged,” he said. If time shifts into AI conversation, it comes out of traditional media, social media, and YouTube, making Google doubly exposed through Search and YouTube.

Meta (NASDAQ:META) sits on the other side of that finite-attention pie. The company reported Q2 Family of Apps ad revenue of $59.4 billion, up 27% year over year, with ad impressions up 14% and average price per ad up 12%. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “On a dollar basis, our Ads business is reporting faster year-over-year revenue growth than any other company’s reported ad business.“

Key Takeaways OpenAI’s $1 billion advertising run rate is still small next to Google Search. The risk for Alphabet is the trajectory and the similarity of the product: both platforms monetize users actively looking for information. If ChatGPT advertising grows into the tens of billions, Luria argues Google Search could be the first place those dollars come from.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Amazon (AMZN -2.10%) has underperformed the broader market over the past five years. Over this period, the company has dealt with a CEO change (which was technically slightly over five years ago), a rare net loss, macroeconomic headwinds, increased competition in the cloud computing industry, and several other challenges. That said, there is still a lot to like about the company's business, and, in my view, the e-commerce specialist is likely to outperform broader equities over the next five years. Here's how much the stock could be worth by 2031.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Key profit drivers Amazon is investing heavily in its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions. The company is now expecting $220 billion in capex this year. The tech leader is already seeing the results from these efforts. In the second quarter, Amazon's revenue increased by 20% year over year to $200.6 billion. The company's cloud computing segment, Amazon Web Services (AWS), posted $42.2 billion in net sales, up 37% year over year.

Amazon said that was the segment's fastest growth rate in 18 quarters. AWS accounts for most of Amazon's operating profits. Second quarter operating income jumped 43% to $27.5 billion. AWS's operating income was $16.6 billion, up almost 63% compared to the year-ago period. The company's net earnings per share (EPS) were $5.75, up from $1.68 reported in the year-ago quarter, although that figure included the positive impact of equity investments.

Over the next few years, several things will pull Amazon's EPS growth in opposite directions. Analysts actually expect the company's EPS to decline in 2027 compared to this year. Why? Largely because of its significant capex. Amazon's current expensive AWS investments and AI build-out are front-loaded, but the initial investment in data centers can generate significant revenue for years after. Amazon isn't blindly investing money either.

As the company has argued, it is currently capacity-constrained. It needs more investment to meet the demand for its cloud and AI products and services. That means that even if EPS falls next year, it could grow at a good clip from 2028 to the early 2030s, as Amazon more than recoups its investments. Several other factors could improve the company's profits and margins. Consider that Amazon is increasingly relying on internally developed AI chips.

That's much cheaper than buying from external providers. Amazon has also said that its Trainium franchise can beat comparable GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) in price-performance and should help AWS improve margins. What's more, Amazon could, eventually, start selling its Trainium chips to external customers, another potential growth avenue. But what about the company's other segments?

E-commerce still generates most of its sales, and that won't change in the next five years. Amazon could see improved profits and margins in e-commerce too, as it increasingly relies on AI to cut costs and boost engagement and gross merchandise volume. Don't expect significant gains within this unit. But at Amazon's scale, even minor improvements could have a meaningful impact on the entire business.

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Amazon's stock price in five yearsAmazon's shares are currently trading at about $261 apiece. The company's forward price-to-earnings ratio is 21.8, compared to an average of 23.8 for consumer discretionary stocks. That valuation seems more than fair for a company of Amazon's stature that is posting strong financial results and boasts several important avenues for growth. Let's assume Amazon's earnings grow at a compound annual rate of 12% through the next five years, while its forward P/E stays constant throughout this period. The stock will be worth about $460 by the end of our period.

That's a healthy 12% annualized return. Can Amazon actually pull that off? It all depends on our assumptions, including the 12% average earnings grow. That would require Amazon's net income to jump significantly in 2028 and to maintain a healthy pace through 2031, given it will likely decline next year. But as we have seen, the company's investments could help it meet the demand for services in its most important segment, AWS, while the cloud computing giant continues to seek productivity gains through relying more on custom AI chips.

What about assuming that the market will price Amazon's future earnings at similar levels in five years? If the company can show that its AI build-out is justified, which it could do over the next few years -- provided AWS sales growth remains healthy -- this assumption may also prove reasonable.

Of course, this estimate may turn out to be wrong in either direction. But a bullish outlook for Amazon's medium term seems justified given recent financial results and the general trajectory of the cloud computing and AI industries. So, I'd advise investors to purchase the company's shares and hold onto them through 2031.

One aspect of market psychology is that investors often think in terms of one quarter at a time. Nvidia (NVDA -1.32%) may have broken this habit in its fiscal 2027 second-quarter report. During the earnings call, management provided something public companies rarely give quite this early: a forecast for next year's growth.

Below, I'll detail why Nvidia's growth is redefining the debate about whether the artificial intelligence (AI) build-out is late-cycle theater or still in the early innings. Moreover, the analysis will touch on two important points that have haunted Nvidia stock for nearly a year: how much of this growth forecast does Wall Street actually believe, and whether Nvidia needs to regain its position in China's market to keep its empire running.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

What was Wall Street expecting for Nvidia's fiscal 2028? Nvidia's preliminary fiscal 2028 outlook is straightforward. Revenue is expected to rise 70% year over year. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress framed that figure as "supply constrained." Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang made it clear that demand for the company's processors is growing by more than that. In essence, a 70% growth rate is what Nvidia's supply chain can "confidently deliver," especially with shortages of memory and other parts of the AI chip stack creating bottlenecks to production.

For reference, Wall Street analysts were modeling about 44% revenue growth for Nvidia's fiscal 2028, which begins Jan. 31, 2027. Given the Street's consensus estimate of $397 billion of revenue in fiscal 2027, that implies fiscal 2028 sales of roughly $574 billion. When applying Nvidia's 70% forecast rate to the same starting base, next year's expected revenue sits closer to $675 billion.

Here's where it really gets lucrative: If I use a higher fiscal 2027 revenue figure based on Nvidia's current run rate, the implied sales for next year land closer to $700 billion. In either case, the gap between Wall Street's expectations and Nvidia's new reality is roughly $100 billion in revenue.

What's astounding is that Nvidia is no longer growing off a small base of data center sales. Given its current trajectory, Wall Street must accept that a business already measured in hundreds of billions of dollars of annual sales can go on to add yet another several hundred billion in growth in just a single year. Under these conditions, procuring GPUs is no longer the constraint for AI training and inference. Instead, the pain points revolve around high bandwidth memory, packaging, power supply, and land.

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During the fiscal second quarter, Hopper-architecture products shipped to China accounted for less than 1% of Nvidia's data center revenue. Moreover, these shipments were dilutive to Nvidia's gross margin. Kress made it clear that "given ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, there is no China data center compute revenue in our forward outlook."

Think about that for a minute: Nvidia expects to generate $108 billion in sales in the third quarter, alongside a 70% growth rate in 2028, and the Chinese market is merely an option rather than a core pillar supporting the company's sales foundation. This matters for a few reasons. First, this level of growth, excluding China, discredits a convenient bearish argument that Nvidia would need a large presence in that market to sustain its dominance in AI processors.

Second, and more subtly, Nvidia's growth outlook over the next 18 months underscores that AI labs, neoclouds, enterprises, and sovereign buyers are becoming just as important as the hyperscalers. Kress quantified the non-hyperscale cohort as representing "roughly half of our data center business." When demand for its wares is this broad, the fact that it continues to cede ground in an important market like China is only a disappointment, not a thesis-killer.

Third, Nvidia's position in data centers remains undeniable, despite increasing competition from Advanced Micro Devices and custom silicon designers like Broadcom. Nvidia's outlook suggests the company is still fighting effectively to win incremental server demand in a contested AI infrastructure landscape. A vendor in Nvidia's position does not "need" China the way a competitor like AMD needs to prove it can expand globally at a comparable scale. For Nvidia, China is purely a source of incremental dollars and a strategic hedge, not a key engine powering its future growth.

Is Nvidia stock a good buy? Nvidia stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 23. This is a rather modest valuation compared to the highs it reached during the early cycles of the AI revolution. When paired with the company's reaccelerating data center growth, it's hard not to see Nvidia as a terrific value right now.

NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.

But take a look at Nvidia's price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG ratio) as well. The PEG ratio measures a company's price relative to its expected future earnings growth. As a rule of thumb, any positive PEG ratio of less than 1 suggests a stock is undervalued. Currently, Nvidia's PEG is around 0.6. To me, it's clear the market is not paying up for the earnings path that Nvidia's management just outlined.

The takeaway here is simple: Nvidia's multiyear guidance is not a victory lap. It's a declaration that the bottlenecks to the AI build-out revolve around physical components, and that a meaningful return to the Chinese market is not something that the company would need in order to achieve a financial performance that the Street is under-predicting by a mile. At a forward earnings multiple that has somehow compressed even as the company's earnings power continues to compound, Nvidia stock is still worth owning.

Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,719 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,451,000. Advisortrust Partners LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 20.2% during the first quarter. Advisortrust Partners LLC now owns 67,142 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,344,000 after purchasing an additional 11,283 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 253.3% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 384,034 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,728,000 after buying an additional 275,337 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,416,580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after buying an additional 68,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 275,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,676,000 after buying an additional 81,635 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 1.7% Shares of NASDAQ:WMT opened at $104.87 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.79 and a 1-year high of $135.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $834.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $111.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.24.

Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The retailer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Walmart had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 21.83%. The company had revenue of $187.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Walmart has set its Q3 2027 guidance at 0.620-0.640 EPS and its FY 2027 guidance at 2.800-2.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current year. Walmart News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Walmart this week:

Positive Sentiment: Walmart agreed to pay $50 million to settle U.S. Justice Department allegations involving improperly filled opioid prescriptions. Although the settlement carries a financial cost and reputational risk, it is viewed favorably because it resolves litigation that had exposed the company to potentially billions of dollars in civil penalties. Walmart described the payment as immaterial. Walmart escapes major legal penalty for a fraction of the cost Positive Sentiment: Walmart’s U.S. marketplace sales increased 52%, supported by a broader product selection, greater use of fulfillment services and international expansion in Mexico and Canada. Sustaining this momentum could improve e-commerce growth and marketplace profitability. Walmart’s Marketplace Momentum Builds Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial reaffirmed its buy rating and set a $155 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. This reflects confidence in Walmart’s long-term earnings and growth prospects. Benzinga analyst rating Neutral Sentiment: Commentary highlights Walmart’s 53-year record of dividend increases and notes that the stock is well below its peak. However, its dividend yield remains relatively low and its valuation is still elevated compared with the broader market. Walmart dividend analysis Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lowered its fiscal 2027 EPS estimates, signaling expectations for slower earnings growth or increased cost pressure. Walmart’s recent earnings-related share-price weakness also indicates that investors remain sensitive to the company’s premium valuation. FY2027 EPS Estimates for Walmart Cut Insider Buying and Selling In other Walmart news, EVP David W. Guggina sold 11,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.82, for a total transaction of $1,435,203.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,985,527.94. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 2,900 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.34, for a total value of $308,386.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 569,153 shares in the company, valued at $60,523,730.02. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,292 shares of company stock worth $8,421,143. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $137.00 to $131.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 21st. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Walmart from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.88.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Walmart

Walmart Profile (Free Report)

Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operates a broad portfolio of store formats and digital services. Its core business includes large-format supercenters, discount department stores, neighborhood grocery stores and a membership warehouse chain, Sam’s Club. The company’s merchandising mix covers groceries, household goods, apparel, electronics and pharmacy services, supplemented by private-label products and category-specific offerings. Walmart pairs its physical store network with online platforms and mobile applications to provide omnichannel shopping, fulfillment and delivery options for consumers and businesses.

The company was founded by Sam Walton, who opened the first store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962; it is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Walmart Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT – Free Report).

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Walmart (WMT +1.41%) shares recently traded with a total market capitalization of around $820 billion, roughly $180 billion below the $1 trillion mark it crossed in February, and I do not think this exit is permanent, given how the underlying business is performing.

On Feb. 3, 2026, Walmart became the first traditional retailer to close a trading day with a market value of $1 trillion, with shares up 2.9% at $127.71. It was the 11th U.S. company to finish a session with a 13-digit valuation, joining a group made up almost entirely of technology names.

The milestone landed just days into John Furner's tenure as chief executive after he succeeded Doug McMillon. The stock had climbed more than 28% over the prior year and over 14% in the first weeks of 2026.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why it fell back out The drop came fast. Walmart shares tumbled 9% after its August earnings report, not because results were weak, but because the outlook disappointed investors who had priced in perfection. Over the past 12 months, the market cap has fallen about 8%, and the company now ranks 18th globally by value. Part of the issue is that forward price-to-earnings had expanded to nearly 45 times, leaving almost no cushion for a guidance number that came in short of expectations.

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What the business actually did this year Here is what makes me think Walmart's removal from the trillion-dollar club is temporary. In the quarter ended July 31, Walmart posted revenue of $187.9 billion, up 5.9%, beating estimates. Global e-commerce sales grew 23%, marking the 10th consecutive quarter of 20% or better growth for Walmart United States. Operating income jumped 28.8% to $9.38 billion, and on an adjusted constant-currency basis, it rose 17.4%. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.81, up 19.1%.

The higher-margin pieces are doing the heavy lifting. Global advertising revenue rose 38%, and membership fee revenue climbed 17%, with Walmart+ net additions hitting a second-quarter record. International membership income grew 28%. Store-fulfilled delivery increased 40% in the quarter. These businesses carry far better economics than moving boxes through a supercenter, and they are compounding.

The tech and logistics build-out Walmart is no longer really just a big-box retailer in how it operates. By early 2026, roughly 65% of stores were serviced by automated distribution centers. The company has leaned into artificial intelligence, same-day delivery, and expanded pharmacy, which helped drive a 12% increase in memberships. Management also raised full-year fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.80 to $2.87 from the prior $2.75 to $2.85. That is a company raising expectations, not lowering them.

Why $1 trillion will come back Do the math on what it takes. Walmart needed about $125.47 per share to cross the threshold in February. The stock now trades meaningfully below that, so the gap is roughly 20% to 22%. With earnings growing near 19% and the e-commerce, advertising, and membership engines all expanding at double-digit rates or better, closing that gap does not require much of a heroic rerating.

The near-term drag is real. Third-quarter guidance calls for net sales growth of only 3% to 3.75% in constant currency, with a 125-basis-point headwind that Walmart expects to persist through fiscal 2027. Tariff refunds of $2.9 billion also boosted recent gross margins and will not repeat.

I also think Walmart is a reliable place where people to shop. There's a certain familiarity and trust that shoppers have with the brand, which gives it a strong position in people's minds. When a company is growing revenue by nearly 6% on a $750 billion annual run rate, while its highest-margin segments are growing between 17% and 38%, the $1 trillion mark starts to look less like a ceiling and more like a level the company could revisit over time.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 1, 2026) - Stakeholder Gold Corp. (TSXV: SRC) (OTCQX: SKHRF) (WKN: A2QEP1) ("Stakeholder" or the "Company") is pleased to report the final diamond drill assay results for hole BA2601, completing a fully mineralized 498-metre discovery hole at the Loki Critical Mineral Zone on its 100%-owned Ballarat Gold-Copper Project ("Ballarat") in the prolific White Gold District of the Yukon Territory. Stakeholder also reports significant results from the three-dimensional (3D) inversion modelling of the Company's VTEM (electromagnetic) and magnetic geophysical data over the Loki area (Figures 1–4).

The newly received assays cover the upper (1–226 m) and lower (451–498 m) portions of hole BA2601, completing the full 498-metre hole and confirming mineralization throughout. The additional data show that copper-nickel-cobalt and platinum-group-element (PGE) mineralization extends through much of the upper hole, hosted in the same mineralized pyroxenite intrusion reported in the central interval on August 18, 2026. New and previously released intervals are summarized in Table 1; the property and the location of hole BA2601 are shown in Figure 1, and the completed hole in cross-section in Figure 2.

Highlights

Full hole completed – mineralized top to bottom: Final assays complete the 498-metre hole (BA2601), confirming broad mineralization through the upper hole and materially extending the copper-nickel-cobalt-PGE system defined in the initial (226–451 m) release.

Standout upper-hole copper-nickel-cobalt grades: New intervals underscore the strength of the system, including 3 m at 110–113 m of 1,650 ppm Cu, 266 ppm Ni and 127 ppm Co (including 1 m at 111–112 m of 2,390 ppm Cu), 13 m at 91–104 m of 670 ppm Cu, 2 m at 133–135 m of 1,020 ppm Cu, and 1 m at 141–142 m of 1,180 ppm Cu.

Compelling platinum-palladium credits: The upper hole delivered 2 m at 98–100 m of 316 ppb Pt+Pd and 3 m at 141–144 m of 191 ppb Pt+Pd (including 2 m of 252 ppb Pt+Pd), directly associated with the copper-nickel-cobalt mineralization.

3D inversions define a major new target: Independent 3D inversions of the VTEM and magnetic data confirm BA2601 was collared in a large, coincident magnetic and resistive body – interpreted as the mineralized ultramafic intrusion – while a separate, ~1.45 km² conductive zone lies just ~1.4 km to the south, representing a compelling, entirely untested geophysical target for follow-up.

Full-Hole Results Confirm Broad Mineralization – BA2601 (Loki Critical Mineral Zone)

Figure 1. Plan-view property map showing the location of hole BA2601, Loki Critical Mineral Zone

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3082/312258_6bd12804c4ad7ba5_001full.jpg

Hole BA2601 was drilled to 498 metres to test the Loki Critical Mineral Zone, and with the newly received upper- and lower-hole assays, the hole is now complete and confirms mineralization from end to end. Mineralization occurs as disseminated, blebby and locally net-textured to massive magmatic sulphides (pyrrhotite, pentlandite and chalcopyrite) within a broad pyroxenite intrusion, and the additional assays demonstrate that anomalous copper, nickel and cobalt, together with platinum and palladium, continue through much of the upper hole. Selected newly reported intervals are summarized in Table 1; the previously released central interval (226–451 m, reported August 18, 2026) is indicated on the cross-section in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Cross-section of completed hole BA2601, Loki Critical Mineral Zone – previously released interval indicated

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3082/312258_6bd12804c4ad7ba5_002full.jpg

ZoneFrom
(m)To
(m)Length
(m)Cu
(ppm)Ni
(ppm)Co
(ppm)Pt
(ppb)Pd
(ppb)Pt+Pd
(ppb)Cu-Ni-Co sulphide zone3133287410368121628Cu-Ni-Co sulphide zone8084478014396231537PGE zone8285363418234383877Cu-Ni-Co sulphide zone911041367017645392866PGE zone98100265226540182134316Cu-Ni-Co sulphide zone11011331,650266127232043including11111212,390412158262349Cu-Ni-Co sulphide zone116127115822474213Cu-Ni-Co sulphide zone13313521,02016172272855PGE zone133134180216463434790Cu-Ni-Co sulphide zone14114211,18017660200176376PGE zone14114435871224410289191including141143281014951134118252* Cu-Ni-Co sulphide zone25426061,190159123161934* including25825913,7306415144456100* PGE zone32332631949426474390* including324325122988236258120* PGE zone38038554633115842100* including3803811100182011865183Cu-Ni-Co sulphide zone47147218241625213Table 1: BA2601 intercepts at cut-offs of 500 ppm Cu (copper zones) and 50 ppb Pt+Pd (PGE zones); "including" sub-intervals at 2,000 ppm Cu / 100 ppb Pt+Pd. An asterisk (*) marks intervals between 226 and 451 m that were previously released on August 18, 2026; all other intervals are newly reported. Grades are length-weighted averages; copper, nickel and cobalt in ppm and platinum and palladium in ppb. Reported intervals are drill-core lengths; true widths are not yet determined.

3D Geophysical Inversion Results Define a Major New Target

The Company has received preliminary results from independent three-dimensional inversions of its airborne VTEM (versatile time-domain electromagnetic) and airborne magnetic datasets over the Loki area. The magnetic susceptibility inversion resolves a large, coherent magnetic body at Loki, into which hole BA2601 was collared, and the VTEM resistivity inversion shows this same body is relatively resistive – a signature consistent with a sulphide-bearing ultramafic intrusion. The preliminary 3D models are shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. 3D inversion models of the Loki Critical Mineral Zone: (a) VTEM resistivity and (b) magnetic susceptibility, with hole BA2601 in both

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3082/312258_6bd12804c4ad7ba5_003full.jpg

In plan view, the magnetic and resistive Loki body is spatially distinct from a ~1.45 km² conductive zone that the VTEM inversion places approximately 1.4 kilometres to the south (Figure 4) – opening up a second, entirely untested target within the system. The coincident magnetic-resistive signature at Loki is consistent with a sulphide-bearing ultramafic intrusion, while the separate southern conductor represents a discrete, untested geophysical target for future drill testing.

Figure 4. Plan-view depth slices from the 3D inversions: (a) VTEM resistivity at 150 m and (b) magnetic susceptibility at 200 m below surface

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3082/312258_6bd12804c4ad7ba5_004full.jpg

"Our first drill hole into Loki confirms a large ultramafic intrusion carrying copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum and palladium - a critical mineral suite found on almost all the world's critical mineral lists," stated Christopher Berlet CEO and Director of Stakeholder.

"Geophysics has now also confirmed that large, untested conductive anomalies are located nearby and within the intrusive structure itself. Our next steps are to: refine the geophysical targets that have already been identified, drill test the conductive anomalies found near to our first metal discovery hole and continue the work required to identify similar structures along the full 35-km trend of the Loki ultramafic intrusion which is found on the southern section of Stakeholder's 100% titled land position in the center of the rapidly evolving White Gold District."

Sampling and Quality Assurance / Quality Control

Drill core from hole BA2601 was logged, photographed and sampled at the core facility in Dawson, Yukon, where the core was sawn in half and one half was submitted for analysis at one-metre sample intervals. Samples were sent to the Bureau Veritas (BV) preparation laboratory in Whitehorse, Yukon, where they were crushed, and a split was pulverized to 85% passing 200 mesh.

At the BV laboratory in Vancouver, British Columbia, platinum, palladium and gold were determined by 30-gram fire assay with an ICP-ES finish (BV method FA350), and copper, nickel, cobalt and additional elements by 1:1:1 aqua-regia digestion with an ICP-ES/MS finish (BV method AQ201). Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd. is an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited laboratory that is independent of the Company. As part of its quality-assurance / quality-control program, the Company inserts certified reference materials (standards), blanks and duplicate samples into the sample stream and reviews all quality-control results upon receipt of assays.

Adam Fage, M.Sc., P.Geo. states:

"The completed BA2601 assays confirm that copper, nickel and cobalt, together with platinum and palladium, extend through a broad interval of the Loki ultramafic intrusion rather than being confined to a single zone. Coincident 3D magnetic and resistivity models show the intrusion is a large, discrete body, and the separate conductor to the south gives us a second, independent target. Our focus now is to use these results to vector toward higher-tenor sulphide accumulations within the system."

Adam Fage MSc., P.Geo is an independent geological consultant and the Qualified Person for the Company, as defined by NI 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the contents of this press release.

About Stakeholder Gold Corporation

Stakeholder holds 100% ownership of a substantial 1,140-claim, 22,700-hectare land package spanning 20 km of the Coffee Mine Project's "Northern Access Route (NAR)", positioned through the geographical center of the dynamic White Gold District of the Yukon Territory, Canada. Stakeholder also maintains in good standing 10 claims located inside the adjacent Coffee Mine Project, which is being developed by Talamore Mining Corp. These combined claim holdings are referred to collectively as the Ballarat Gold-Copper Project ("Ballarat").

Within its extensive contiguous claim holdings, Stakeholder is advancing exploration on two highly compelling exploration targets - the Skye Gold Zone and the Loki Critical Mineral Zone - two independent exploration targets separated by some 8 km, prospective for new gold and critical mineral discoveries respectively, on either side of the Northern Access Route (NAR), in the heart of the White Gold District.

https://stakeholdergold.com/projects-overview/ballarat-gold-copper-project/

Stakeholder also generates recurring cash flow from the production and sale of exotic stones through its 100%-owned Brazilian subsidiary Mineração VMC Ltda. ("VMC"). VMC is currently producing from 4 independent stone quarries and is actively pursuing opportunities to expand the sale and export of exotic stone building materials from Brazil.

https://victoriaminingcorp.ca

Christopher J. Berlet B.A.Sc.(Mining), CFA, CEO & Director of Stakeholder is responsible for the content of this press release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information. All information, other than information of historical fact, constitute "forward-looking statements" and includes any information that addresses activities, events or developments that the Corporation believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including the Corporation's strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance.

When used in this news release, the words "estimate", "project", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe", "hope", "may" and similar expressions, as well as "will", "shall" and other indications of future tense, are intended to identify forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is based on current expectations and applies only as of the date on which they were made. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Corporation to fund the exploration expenditures required under the Agreement. Other factors such as uncertainties regarding government regulations could also affect the results. Other risks may be set out in the Corporation's annual financial statements, MD&A and other publicly filed documents.

The Corporation cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Corporation does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/312258

Source: Stakeholder Gold Corp.

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AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,377 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,896,000. Home Depot makes up 0.9% of AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Home Depot by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,918 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $10,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Home Depot by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Home Depot by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 11,587 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Home Depot during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,773,000. Finally, Financial Advisors Network Inc. raised its holdings in Home Depot by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 2,368 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. 70.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Home Depot in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $343.00 to $342.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Home Depot from $409.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Home Depot from $435.00 to $410.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Home Depot from $422.00 to $421.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $375.54.

View Our Latest Research Report on HD Home Depot Stock Down 0.5% HD opened at $328.52 on Tuesday. The Home Depot, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.10 and a fifty-two week high of $426.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $341.00 and a 200-day moving average of $338.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $327.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.95.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.73 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $47.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.24 billion. Home Depot had a net margin of 8.41% and a return on equity of 106.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.68 earnings per share. Home Depot has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.690-15.278 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $2.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $9.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Home Depot’s payout ratio is presently 65.22%.

Insider Transactions at Home Depot In other news, EVP Michael F. Rowe sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.76, for a total transaction of $239,099.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,764.88. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa Wynn Roseborough sold 2,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.77, for a total value of $807,130.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,622,834.97. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,154 shares of company stock worth $3,132,798. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Home Depot Profile (Free Report)

The Home Depot, Inc (NYSE: HD) is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and an integrated online platform offering a broad range of products and services for do-it-yourself consumers, professional contractors and businesses. The company was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Since opening its first stores at the end of the 1970s, Home Depot has grown into a multinational retailer known for its orange-branded stores and wide assortment of home improvement merchandise.

Home Depot’s core business includes the sale of building materials, lumber, tools, hardware, appliances, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies, lawn and garden products, and home décor.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Home Depot Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason

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Bcwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 45,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,159,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEP. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 14,857.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,068,777,000 after buying an additional 48,923,629 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,018,813,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,200,274,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of PepsiCo during the second quarter worth $487,558,000. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 16,146.5% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,586,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,936,000 after buying an additional 3,564,348 shares during the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In PEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore set a $150.00 price objective on PepsiCo in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on PepsiCo from $163.00 to $161.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered PepsiCo from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $170.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $134.00 price target on shares of PepsiCo in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of PepsiCo from $162.00 to $152.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.90.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on PEP PepsiCo Stock Down 0.5% Shares of PEP opened at $140.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $191.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.35. PepsiCo, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.73 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $139.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $24.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.95 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 54.63% and a net margin of 10.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. PepsiCo’s dividend payout ratio is 77.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling In other news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total transaction of $404,666.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 74,825 shares in the company, valued at $10,441,080.50. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Profile (Free Report)

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) is a multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. The company develops, manufactures, markets and sells a broad portfolio of branded food and beverage products, including carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks, bottled water, sports drinks, juices, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, salty snacks, cereals, and other convenient foods. Its leading consumer brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Quaker, Lay’s, Doritos and Cheetos, among others.

Formed through the 1965 merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCo has grown into a global business with integrated manufacturing, distribution and marketing operations.

See Also Five stocks we like better than PepsiCo Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PEP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP – Free Report).

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Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,124 shares of the chip maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,531,000. Intel accounts for 0.6% of Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Intel by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 593,043 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $21,883,000 after purchasing an additional 86,189 shares during the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intel in the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Intel in the fourth quarter worth about $185,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Intel by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 255,261 shares of the chip maker’s stock worth $9,419,000 after acquiring an additional 13,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Intel during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,441,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.53% of the company’s stock.

Intel Stock Performance Shares of Intel stock opened at $89.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $451.49 billion, a PE ratio of -42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Intel Corporation has a 52 week low of $23.68 and a 52 week high of $142.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.94.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The chip maker reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.21. Intel had a positive return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 19.79%.The firm had revenue of $16.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.10) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. Intel has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.380-0.380 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Intel Corporation will post 1 earnings per share for the current year. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research analysts have weighed in on INTC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Intel from $45.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. KeyCorp set a $125.00 price target on Intel in a report on Friday, July 24th. HC Wainwright set a $150.00 price objective on Intel in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Intel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Intel in a report on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intel has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.46.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on INTC

Insider Activity at Intel In related news, CEO Lip Bu Tan acquired 105,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $95.00 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,985.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,314,669 shares in the company, valued at $124,893,555. The trade was a 8.70% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

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

Positive Sentiment: Reports that South Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix was considering Intel Foundry to manufacture base dies for next-generation HBM4E memory initially boosted hopes for a major external customer and validated Intel’s manufacturing ambitions. CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s reported purchase of roughly $12 million in Intel shares also signaled management confidence. Intel Stock Notches Up as SK Hynix Considers New Deal Positive Sentiment: Intel could benefit from the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and from large-scale chip-production projects in the United States, including Elon Musk’s reported planned facility near Houston. More domestic manufacturing demand would support the strategic rationale for Intel’s foundry investments, though the project is not confirmed as an Intel contract. Elon Musk Is Spending $119 Billion on a Single Building Outside Houston Neutral Sentiment: SK Hynix subsequently denied the reported HBM4E partnership, removing the immediate catalyst and underscoring that Intel’s potential foundry wins remain uncommitted. SK Hynix Denies Report of Intel Foundry Partnership Negative Sentiment: Analysts continue to question whether AI-related revenue can arrive quickly enough to offset Intel’s rising capital spending and foundry losses. Outside customers currently contribute little foundry revenue, making utilization and execution key risks for the stock. Intel Stock Is Paying Now for Revenue Due Later Negative Sentiment: Competitive concerns remain: coverage argues AMD continues to take share from Intel, while Nvidia’s strong growth in newer data-center products could further pressure Intel’s position in AI hardware. AMD: Still Eating Intel’s Lunch About Intel (Free Report)

Intel Corporation, founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon E. Moore and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a leading global designer and manufacturer of semiconductor products. The company is historically notable for introducing the first commercial microprocessor and for driving the x86 architecture that underpins many personal computers and servers. Intel’s core business spans the design, fabrication and marketing of processors, chipsets and related components for a wide range of computing applications.

Intel’s product portfolio includes client and mobile processors marketed under brands such as Intel Core and Pentium, as well as high-performance Xeon processors for data centers and cloud infrastructure.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Intel Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason Want to see what other hedge funds are holding INTC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC – Free Report).

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Key Takeaways Lowe's valuation discount is offset by softer DIY demand, housing pressure and reduced earnings guidance.Pro growth is expanding through FBM and ADG, adding fulfillment, digital tools and installation capabilities.Online sales rose 15.7%, while Home Services grew and MyLowe's Rewards topped 30 million members. Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOW - Free Report) is trading at a discount to key benchmarks, but that discount comes with weaker near-term demand and earnings expectations. The central question is whether its expanding Pro platform can offset a still-cautious DIY customer.

Pro, online and Home Services are adding growth avenues, while soft housing activity and lower guidance limit near-term visibility. That mix creates a relative valuation discount, but timing remains important.

Lowe's Valuation Offers a Relative DiscountLOW trades at 16.1X forward 12-month earnings, below the Zacks sub-industry's 19.2X, the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector's 22.7X and its five-year median of 17.5X. The gap gives investors a cheaper entry multiple than those reference points.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The discount is not automatically a bargain. Lowe's fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings guidance was reduced to about $12.25 per share, while third-quarter adjusted earnings are expected to decline roughly 7% year over year. A lower multiple therefore partly reflects weaker near-term earnings momentum.

Pro Growth Gives LOW a Durable Demand EngineLowe's is broadening its Pro reach through Foundation Building Materials and Artisan Design Group. FBM adds faster fulfillment, digital tools, trade credit and cross-selling opportunities, while ADG expands design, distribution and installation capabilities for builders and property managers.

The Home Depot, Inc. (HD - Free Report) also reported positive Pro comparable sales that outperformed DIY in its second quarter, offering another sign that professional demand has held up better than DIY among major home-improvement retailers. For Lowe's, deeper capabilities with larger Pros could become more valuable as construction activity improves.

Digital and Services Broaden Lowe's UpsideOnline sales increased 15.7% in the second quarter, while Home Services delivered another quarter of growth. MyLowe's Rewards has more than 30 million members, giving Lowe's a larger base for targeted offers and repeat engagement.

Mylow is another conversion tool. Management said online shoppers who use the artificial intelligence shopping agent convert at three times the rate of those who do not. Better digital engagement, installation services and fulfillment can help Lowe's capture a larger share of project spending.

DIY and Housing Risks Keep LOW in CheckComparable transactions fell 2.1% in the second quarter as customers favored repair, maintenance and smaller projects over larger discretionary work. Lowe's reduced fiscal 2026 comparable-sales guidance to flat from its prior flat-to-up-2% range.

Housing weakness also limits the near-term payoff from expansion. ADG is fully exposed to residential construction, while about 45% of FBM is tied to that market. Builders FirstSource, Inc. (BLDR - Free Report) reported an 8.8% second-quarter sales decline, primarily due to lower housing starts and related headwinds, underscoring the pressure facing construction-linked demand.

Cash Flow Supports Lowe's Long-Term StrategyLowe's generated about $7 billion of operating cash flow in the first six months of fiscal 2026 and spent $1.1 billion on capital expenditures. It also paid $1.3 billion in dividends and repaid $2.4 billion of debt.

That liquidity supports continued investment without ignoring balance-sheet discipline. Lowe's ended the second quarter with $3.2 billion in cash and $5 billion of undrawn revolving-credit capacity, while management expects to reach its 2.75-times leverage target by mid-2027.

LOW's Mixed Signals Argue for PatienceLowe's relative valuation discount and expanding Pro, digital and services platforms support the long-term case, but weaker DIY demand, housing pressure and reduced earnings expectations keep the near-term risk-reward mixed.

LOW currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Its VGM Score of B, Growth Score of B and Momentum Score of B indicate favorable characteristics in those styles, while the Value Score of C is less favorable than the B grades. Because Zacks Style Scores are designed to complement rather than override the Zacks Rank, the current combination argues for patience until the earnings-estimate backdrop improves. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,932 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,248,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in International Business Machines by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 54,996,293 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,290,452,000 after acquiring an additional 518,321 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of International Business Machines by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,605,083 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,679,105,000 after purchasing an additional 336,069 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 22,021,912 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,523,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,976,756 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in International Business Machines by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,063,653 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,893,669,000 after buying an additional 1,049,602 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $2,446,429,000. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting International Business Machines Here are the key news stories impacting International Business Machines this week:

Positive Sentiment: IBM’s acquisition of HRL Laboratories adds silicon-spin qubit, advanced materials and manufacturing expertise that could improve the company’s ability to develop scalable quantum-computing systems. The deal strengthens IBM’s technology pipeline, although commercial benefits may take years to materialize. Can IBM’s HRL Acquisition Boost Its Quantum Computing Capabilities? Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna analyst James Friedman raised his IBM price target to $235, citing several upcoming quantum-computing catalysts. However, his caution indicates that quantum remains an emerging opportunity rather than an immediate earnings driver. Can Quantum Computing Save IBM Stock? Positive Sentiment: A new market report identifies IBM as a leading enterprise blockchain and Blockchain-as-a-Service provider, highlighting its cloud-native offerings and exposure to expected blockchain-market growth. IBM Emerges As a Leading Enterprise Blockchain Provider Neutral Sentiment: Research reports forecast growth in biological computing, computer-based sensing, business service management, UNIX and high-throughput computing. IBM is listed among market participants, but the reports do not announce contracts, revenue changes or specific financial benefits for the company. Negative Sentiment: Coverage says IBM’s stock has fallen sharply after missing second-quarter revenue expectations, reinforcing investor concerns about product and top-line momentum. Quantum initiatives may not offset near-term execution concerns. IBM Stock Falls 19%: Will Quantum Computing Spark a Recovery? Negative Sentiment: A securities law firm announced an investigation into possible securities-law violations following IBM’s significant decline. The announcement is not a finding of wrongdoing, but it adds headline and potential litigation risk. IBM Investment Losses and Pending Securities Fraud Investigation Negative Sentiment: Reports of a senior executive selling approximately $5.8 million of IBM stock may weigh modestly on sentiment, though insider sales can reflect personal financial planning and are not necessarily evidence of deteriorating fundamentals. IBM SVP Sells $5.758 Million in Stock Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth IBM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $290.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen raised International Business Machines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wedbush set a $350.00 price objective on International Business Machines in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler upgraded International Business Machines to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on International Business Machines from $360.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.90. Get Our Latest Report on IBM

International Business Machines Trading Down 0.8% Shares of NYSE:IBM opened at $233.73 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $220.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. International Business Machines Corporation has a 12-month low of $199.19 and a 12-month high of $332.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.91.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 35.65% and a net margin of 15.52%.The firm had revenue of $17.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a $1.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $6.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. International Business Machines’s payout ratio is presently 59.98%.

Insider Activity at International Business Machines In related news, SVP Robert David Thomas sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total transaction of $5,758,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 47,800 shares in the company, valued at $11,009,296. The trade was a 34.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

(Free Report)

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBM’s principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than International Business Machines Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason

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Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 14,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,952,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAT. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar by 220.0% during the fourth quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. grew its stake in Caterpillar by 440.0% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 27 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 93.8% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 31 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research analysts recently issued reports on CAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Caterpillar from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $1,002.00 price objective on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Caterpillar from $877.00 to $897.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $900.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $995.52.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Caterpillar Caterpillar Price Performance Shares of NYSE:CAT opened at $797.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $366.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $889.47 and its 200 day moving average is $838.20. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $410.52 and a 52 week high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. The firm had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.72 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This is a positive change from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Caterpillar News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

Positive Sentiment: July durable-goods orders rose 1.1%, suggesting a manufacturing rebound that could support demand for Caterpillar’s construction, mining and industrial equipment. CAT was identified as one of several industrial stocks positioned to benefit. 4 Industrial Stocks to Grab on Robust Jump in Durable Goods Orders Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reportedly expects stronger earnings for Caterpillar, adding to the constructive analyst outlook surrounding the company. Erste Group Bank Predicts Stronger Earnings for Caterpillar Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s power-generation business is benefiting from rising electricity demand tied to data centers and artificial intelligence. Recent coverage points to a first-ever quarterly sales total above $20 billion and identifies power generation as an increasingly important growth engine. Forget the Industry Labels: Chevron and Caterpillar Are Both Betting on the AI Power Boom Positive Sentiment: The company is applying its autonomous-mining expertise to industrial AI deployment, including field-support tools such as the Cat AI Assistant. Caterpillar also committed $100 million to AI and robotics workforce training, which could improve productivity and strengthen its technology positioning. Caterpillar Commits $100 Million to AI and Robotics Training Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s average brokerage recommendation remains bullish, but the coverage notes that sell-side ratings are often overly optimistic and may have limited predictive value for CAT’s performance. Is Caterpillar a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic? Negative Sentiment: At a high earnings multiple, Caterpillar is increasingly being valued like a technology-growth company. That raises the risk of pressure on the stock if AI-related growth, power-equipment demand or earnings forecasts fail to exceed expectations. How AI Power Demand Transformed Caterpillar into a High-Multiple Tech Play Caterpillar Company Profile (Free Report)

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Caterpillar Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason

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Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 751 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its position in Caterpillar by 0.7% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 1.2% in the second quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Bell Bank grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.6% in the second quarter. Bell Bank now owns 1,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 0.7% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 1,818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Resource Group raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Caterpillar News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Caterpillar this week:

Positive Sentiment: July durable-goods orders rose 1.1%, suggesting a manufacturing rebound that could support demand for Caterpillar’s construction, mining and industrial equipment. CAT was identified as one of several industrial stocks positioned to benefit. 4 Industrial Stocks to Grab on Robust Jump in Durable Goods Orders Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reportedly expects stronger earnings for Caterpillar, adding to the constructive analyst outlook surrounding the company. Erste Group Bank Predicts Stronger Earnings for Caterpillar Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s power-generation business is benefiting from rising electricity demand tied to data centers and artificial intelligence. Recent coverage points to a first-ever quarterly sales total above $20 billion and identifies power generation as an increasingly important growth engine. Forget the Industry Labels: Chevron and Caterpillar Are Both Betting on the AI Power Boom Positive Sentiment: The company is applying its autonomous-mining expertise to industrial AI deployment, including field-support tools such as the Cat AI Assistant. Caterpillar also committed $100 million to AI and robotics workforce training, which could improve productivity and strengthen its technology positioning. Caterpillar Commits $100 Million to AI and Robotics Training Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s average brokerage recommendation remains bullish, but the coverage notes that sell-side ratings are often overly optimistic and may have limited predictive value for CAT’s performance. Is Caterpillar a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic? Negative Sentiment: At a high earnings multiple, Caterpillar is increasingly being valued like a technology-growth company. That raises the risk of pressure on the stock if AI-related growth, power-equipment demand or earnings forecasts fail to exceed expectations. How AI Power Demand Transformed Caterpillar into a High-Multiple Tech Play Analysts Set New Price Targets CAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Caterpillar from $1,125.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $820.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $700.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $995.52. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Caterpillar

Caterpillar Stock Performance Caterpillar stock opened at $797.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $366.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $889.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $838.20. Caterpillar Inc. has a 12 month low of $410.52 and a 12 month high of $1,073.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 55.53% and a net margin of 14.51%.The business had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.72 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were given a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Caterpillar Profile (Free Report)

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Caterpillar Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason

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Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 244,864 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,756,000. Danske Bank A S owned approximately 0.05% of Caterpillar at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAT. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $5,372,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $7,721,000. Brightwater Advisory LLC bought a new position in Caterpillar in the second quarter worth approximately $630,000. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter worth $5,949,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $81,444,000. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Caterpillar Price Performance CAT opened at $797.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $889.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $838.20. Caterpillar Inc. has a 1 year low of $410.52 and a 1 year high of $1,073.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The industrial products company reported $8.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $1.95. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 55.53%. The business had revenue of $20.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 27.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Caterpillar Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This is an increase from Caterpillar’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $1,002.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Caterpillar from $1,050.00 to $1,155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research raised shares of Caterpillar from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,118.00 price target on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $995.52.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Caterpillar

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

Positive Sentiment: July durable-goods orders rose 1.1%, suggesting a manufacturing rebound that could support demand for Caterpillar’s construction, mining and industrial equipment. CAT was identified as one of several industrial stocks positioned to benefit. 4 Industrial Stocks to Grab on Robust Jump in Durable Goods Orders Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank reportedly expects stronger earnings for Caterpillar, adding to the constructive analyst outlook surrounding the company. Erste Group Bank Predicts Stronger Earnings for Caterpillar Positive Sentiment: Caterpillar’s power-generation business is benefiting from rising electricity demand tied to data centers and artificial intelligence. Recent coverage points to a first-ever quarterly sales total above $20 billion and identifies power generation as an increasingly important growth engine. Forget the Industry Labels: Chevron and Caterpillar Are Both Betting on the AI Power Boom Positive Sentiment: The company is applying its autonomous-mining expertise to industrial AI deployment, including field-support tools such as the Cat AI Assistant. Caterpillar also committed $100 million to AI and robotics workforce training, which could improve productivity and strengthen its technology positioning. Caterpillar Commits $100 Million to AI and Robotics Training Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s average brokerage recommendation remains bullish, but the coverage notes that sell-side ratings are often overly optimistic and may have limited predictive value for CAT’s performance. Is Caterpillar a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic? Negative Sentiment: At a high earnings multiple, Caterpillar is increasingly being valued like a technology-growth company. That raises the risk of pressure on the stock if AI-related growth, power-equipment demand or earnings forecasts fail to exceed expectations. How AI Power Demand Transformed Caterpillar into a High-Multiple Tech Play About Caterpillar (Free Report)

Caterpillar Inc is a global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and locomotives. The company’s product portfolio includes earthmoving machines such as excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders and off‑highway trucks, as well as a range of power generation products including generator sets and power systems for industrial and commercial use. Caterpillar serves customers across heavy construction, mining, energy, transportation and related industries with both equipment and integrated technology solutions.

In addition to manufacturing, Caterpillar provides a broad range of aftermarket parts and support services, including maintenance, repair, remanufacturing and fleet management tools.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Caterpillar Securing AI: 5 Most-Upgraded Stocks From the Q2 Reporting Season Insiders Are Betting Big on These 3 Healthcare Stocks 3 Stocks for Investors Who Still Believe Cash Is King Dollar General and Dollar Tree Are Recovering, But Not for the Same Reason

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YouTuber Markiplier's surprise stake in GoPro has sent shares on a two-day tear, but a going-concern warning, a looming dilution overhang, and a sell-side consensus price target well below the current price suggest the rally deserves a hard second look.

GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) is back in focus this morning as the Markiplier stake disclosure that surfaced Monday extends into a second day of aggressive buying. Shares are up 78% to $1.56 in Tuesday morning trading, pushing the stock back above the $1 line for the first time in weeks.

The move builds on a wild prior session for GoPro. GoPro stock closed Monday’s regular session up 46% at $0.88, its best day on record, then added 55% after hours to $1.37, for a combined Monday gain of more than 128%.

The broader market backdrop looks calm by comparison. Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) is down 1% to $708.08, so this GoPro move reads as an idiosyncratic small-cap story rather than a rotation signal.

Markiplier Stake Fuels the Rally Bloomberg reported that YouTube creator Mark Fischbach, known as Markiplier, disclosed an 8.5% stake through a Schedule 13G filing dated August 20, making him GoPro’s largest individual shareholder. The position is worth about $9.3 million.

Fischbach has said he considers GoPro undervalued and wants the company to succeed, though he isn’t taking an activist posture and isn’t seeking board representation. Reporting indicates his view changed after he used GoPro’s Mission 1 Pro ILS interchangeable-lens camera, a product line GoPro launched this summer.

The reaction has an unusual retail flavor. Fischbach’s audience runs into the tens of millions across YouTube, and the disclosure gave that base a concrete reason to pile into a broken-down small cap that was already sitting near its all-time lows. That mix of retail attention and a genuine 8.5% ownership filing helps explain why the move extended so far into after-hours trade Monday.

What Clearing $1 Fixes, and What It Doesn’t GoPro had been trading below $1, out of compliance with the Nasdaq $1.00 minimum bid price requirement. Regaining compliance generally requires the closing bid to hold at or above $1 for at least 10 consecutive business days, so one session above the line doesn’t resolve the listing question.

The bigger risk a spike creates sits inside GoPro’s own filings. The company has sought approval for the potential sale of up to $800 million in Class A shares, including up to $100 million in newly issued stock. A higher share price makes issuance more attractive to management, and that dilution overhang is exactly what existing holders have to weigh against the rally.

The fundamentals haven’t changed either. GoPro’s Q2 2026 revenue was $104.9 million, down 31.3% year over year, with a $51 million net loss and camera unit sell-through down 38% to roughly 291,000 units. The company has disclosed substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern and cut 23% of its workforce this year.

Peer Context and Sell-Side Skepticism Sony Group (NYSE:SONY | SONY Price Prediction) dominates the imaging-sensor supply chain that action cameras depend on, and its scale dwarfs GoPro’s roughly $139 million market cap. The company functions as a structural competitor and a critical component supplier at the same time.

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) holds a much larger outdoor and fitness device franchise and sits in a different weight class entirely. Neither peer is moving on the Markiplier headline, which reinforces how single-name this story is.

The sell side isn’t chasing the surge. The analyst consensus average price target on GoPro is $0.50, below the current share price, with one Sell rating and no Buy ratings. GoPro’s 52-week range is $0.57 to $3.05 and its beta is 2.44, which frames exactly the kind of volatility on display this week.

What to Watch Next Traders can watch for whether GoPro shares hold above $1 through the close and start building the 10 consecutive business days Nasdaq requires. Any move by GoPro to price a shelf takedown into this strength would test how much of the Markiplier premium is durable.

Given the beta and the balance sheet, position sizing should stay small for anyone playing the continuation (we wrote a full playbook on speculating with just 5% of a portfolio, with the sizing and exit rules, in a free guide: here). Through Monday’s close, GoPro stock was down 38% year to date and down 44% over the past year, so a two-day rally doesn’t repair the longer-term chart or the going-concern warning underneath it.

The setup rewards discipline over conviction. A confirmed Nasdaq compliance win, a firm answer on capital raises, or a formal update on the strategic review the board authorized earlier this year would each meaningfully change the risk picture for GoPro stock. Until then, this remains a volatility trade sitting on top of deeply troubled fundamentals.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways AEM cut long-term debt by roughly $950 million in 2025, and ended Q2 with just $197 million.AEM generated $1.3B in Q2 free cash flow on higher gold prices and strong operational results.AEM's 1% debt-to-capital ratio boosts flexibility to fund growth, exploration and shareholder returns. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM - Free Report) continues to prioritize balance sheet strength, underscoring its financial discipline. The company remains focused on paying down debt using excess cash, with total long-term debt reducing by roughly $950 million in 2025. AEM had a total long-term debt of $197 million at the end of the second quarter. It ended the quarter with a significant net cash position of roughly $3.3 billion, driven by an increase in cash. AEM’s long-term debt-to-capitalization is just around 1%, indicating lower financial risks.

Strong free cash flow generation is aiding the reduction in leverage. AEM’s strong liquidity and consistent cash flows enable it to sustain a healthy exploration budget, fund a solid pipeline of growth projects, reduce debt and enhance shareholder value. AEM generated record second-quarter free cash flow of roughly $1.3 billion, driven by higher realized gold prices, cost control and strong operational results.

The company’s consistent focus on reducing debt has strengthened its financial flexibility, enabling it to fund growth initiatives and return capital to its shareholders while reducing dependence on external financing. With a low debt burden, AEM is well-positioned to continue investing in exploration and development projects, providing a meaningful competitive advantage.

Looking across the peer landscape, Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC - Free Report) has taken steps to improve its leverage profile, thanks to strong free cash flow generation. In 2025, Kinross repaid $700 million of debt. With $1.7 billion in available credit (as of June 30, 2026), $4.4 billion in total liquidity and no debt maturities until 2033, Kinross is well-positioned to support growth while strengthening its balance sheet and delivering shareholder value.

   Newmont Corporation (NEM - Free Report) remains committed to deleveraging, reducing debt by roughly $3.4 billion in 2025. NEM ended the second quarter with a strong net cash position of $3.4 billion and remains actively focused on managing its debt. At the end of the second quarter of 2026, Newmont had robust liquidity of roughly $13 billion, including cash and cash equivalents of around $9 billion.

The Zacks Rundown for AEMAgnico Eagle’s shares have gained 37.5% over the past year against the Zacks Mining – Gold industry’s rise of 52%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, AEM is currently trading at a forward 12-month earnings multiple of 17.9, a roughly 32.9% premium to the industry average of 13.47X. It carries a Value Score of C.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEM’s 2026 and 2027 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 39.6% and decline of 2.7%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2026 and 2027 have been trending lower over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

, /PRNewswire/ -- Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP advises Fastly, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLY) investors that the firm is investigating potential legal claims arising from alleged false and misleading statements about growth and the impact of macroeconomic trends on the company's business. Current shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm here: https://www.classactionlawyers.com/fastly.

On August 10, 2026, U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar ruled for the second time that key claims in a securities fraud lawsuit against Fastly and its former CEO and CFO will move forward. The lawsuit alleges that between November 2023 and August 2024, the company misled investors about weakening demand and macroeconomic conditions, despite knowing that revenues were declining and that some of Fastly's largest customers had reduced usage of the company's platform. During this period, company insiders reported over $17 million in Fastly stock sales. The November 2023 statement allegedly caused Fastly's stock to trade at artificially inflated prices. Judge Tigar found the complaint sufficiently alleged that this misleading statement was made with knowledge or deliberate recklessness. When Fastly subsequently reported lower-than-expected revenue results in February 2024, its stock price fell 31%.

We are investigating potential wrongdoing by Fastly's directors and officers in connection with these allegations.

If you own Fastly stock, you may have legal options. Visit https://www.classactionlawyers.com/fastly to learn more.

About Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP

Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe represents consumers in class actions and shareholders in derivative actions against corporate officers and directors. The firm is based in San Francisco and, with the help of co-counsel, litigates cases nationwide.

Contact
Dustin L. Schubert
[email protected]
Tel: 415-788-4220

SOURCE Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP

Cathie Wood keeps trimming Roblox while pivoting ARK's capital toward a surprising corner of the energy market, and the pressure on RBLX stock is compounding from a direction most investors are not watching.

Roblox stock is falling harder than its sector fund and its top gaming peer this Tuesday morning, on a session with no company news to explain the underperformance. The identifiable pressure comes from continued selling by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, without any overnight announcement from Roblox (NYSE:RBLX | RBLX Price Prediction) itself. The rotation detail is the story: ARK sold Roblox on the same day it bought a nuclear supplier.

In morning trading, Roblox stock declined 3% to $39.92, extending a punishing stretch that leaves shares down 49% year to date through Monday’s close. Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) stock, by contrast, retreated 0.9% to $217.66, barely moving on the session. However, RBLX stock did recover some of Tuesday morning’s losses by 11:00 a.m. ET.

VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF (NASDAQ:ESPO) declilned 0.6% to $96.80. Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) fell 0.93% to $710.11. Roblox stock is falling several times harder than either its own sector fund or the large-cap technology benchmark, which frames the move as a name-specific unwind rather than a gaming sector event.

ARK Rotates Out of Consumer Platforms, Into Nuclear Power Reportedly, ARK Invest sold roughly $6.5 million of Roblox stock on August 20 and bought roughly $7.6 million of BWX Technologies across three of its funds on the same day. The outlet characterized the firm as continuing to divest Roblox.

BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) manufactures nuclear reactors and fuel for defense applications and components for commercial nuclear plants. The company is now making microreactors that could power AI data centers, so the trade reads as capital moving out of consumer platform growth and toward AI-adjacent power (we picked five stocks positioned for the nuclear restart, utilities and fuel included, in a free report). That is the type of rotation ARK has favored during 2026.

ARK’s daily trade files have shown recurring Roblox sales through August, so today’s price action on Roblox reflects an ongoing trim rather than a single-day event. The offsetting purchase in BWX Technologies lines up with a broader pattern where ARK has redirected capital toward power and infrastructure names positioned to benefit from AI data center buildouts.

A global bond selloff that has lifted the 10-year Treasury note yield to 4.8% only compounds the pressure on unprofitable growth names like Roblox. Duration-sensitive names typically carry the most exposure to rising discount rates, and that macro backdrop helps explain why the ARK trim is landing so hard on Roblox stock today.

Growth Rate and Year-to-Date Slide Point Opposite Directions The tension for Roblox investors sits between two data points that pull in opposite directions. Roblox’s second-quarter 2026 revenue rose 43% year over year to more than second-quarter 2026 revenue rose 43% year over year to more than $1.4 billion.4 billion, and trailing twelve-month revenue reached $5.7 billion. Growth at that scale is unusual for a name trading this far off its highs.

Roblox’s operating performance has held up even as the stock has slid. Daily active users reached 123 million in Q2, up 10% year over year, and free cash flow grew 66% to $294 million. Cash generation like that is atypical for a company still posting large GAAP losses.

Yet, Roblox posted a trailing 12-month net loss of $1 billion billion. Roblox stock carries no P/E ratio because the company is unprofitable, and its price-to-sales ratio has fallen below 5. Analyst consensus price target on Roblox stock still sits at $48.32, above the current quote.

A separate SEC Form 4 filing showed Chief People and Systems Officer Sean Jack Buckley sold 4,321 shares on August 24 at a weighted average price of $38.68, worth $167,13667,136. The sale was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on November 3, 2025, and Buckley retains 87,213 shares directly. That’s a routine, pre-scheduled disposition of a small portion of his holding.

What to Watch Next Take-Two Interactive has its own catalyst wall approaching that Roblox doesn’t have this quarter. NBA 2K27 launches on September 4, and Grand Theft Auto VI is scheduled for November 19, the single largest scheduled catalyst in gaming this year. Take-Two shares had drifted 10% lower over the past month, so today’s flat move on Take-Two Interactive looks more like stabilization than a rally.

Investors could look for signs that ARK’s next daily trade file slows or continues the Roblox trim. Traders may want to keep an eye on whether the $40 level, briefly lost this morning, is reclaimed by Roblox stock into the close.

Position sizing on Roblox should reflect that the stock now trades as a duration-sensitive growth name with an active institutional seller layered on top, so keeping any add on the smaller side makes sense until the ARK flow settles. The fundamental growth story at Roblox remains intact at 43% revenue growth, and price action is likely to stay choppy while this rotation runs.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) chief executive officer Alex Karp has never been shy behind a microphone. However, it seems that investors have been hearing more from Karp since the company's Q2 2026 earnings report.

Palantir Technologies Today

PLTR

Palantir Technologies

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$106.37▼

$207.52158.20

$192.19

Much of Karp's discussion centers on sovereign AI, which involves developing and managing AI systems with a degree of independence in data, technology, operations, and legal aspects.

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This is more than making a policy decision. For governments and enterprise customers to achieve sovereign AI, they will need to reshape their existing ecosystems to connect various layers (e.g., energy, compute, data, models, and applications) into a single, coherent system.

In 2026, the demand for sovereign AI has a total addressable market (TAM) between $100 billion and $160 billion. However, McKinsey, a global consulting firm that advises governments and major companies, forecasts that TAM will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 35% and will total approximately $600 billion by 2030.

That's the growth curve Karp is positioning Palantir to ride, and increasingly, he's framing it as a fork in the road that other AI vendors, including Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT, may have to address more directly.

Palantir and Microsoft Are Betting on Different AI FuturesThat's not showing up clearly in the respective stock prices in the last month. Wall Street keeps pricing PLTR and MSFT as if they're the same trade. On Aug. 12, both stocks fell while chip and networking names rallied, lumped into one "AI software" basket.

That's a perception problem. The fundamentals underneath these two companies are starting to pull in opposite directions, and sovereign AI is driving the split.

Karp isn't being subtle about it. On the company's quarterly conference call, he escalated an argument he'd already been making for months: enterprises that rent their AI stack from a third-party risk handing over the "alpha" that makes them competitive in the first place. In Karp’s framing, Palantir offers a different path: keeping more control over data, models, and compute rather than leasing the full AI stack from outside providers.

The significance of that statement is that it's a direct rebuttal to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's own comments about AI's "second payment," the idea that value captured by AI vendors eventually gets extracted from their enterprise customers.

Karp isn't picking a fight with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella here so much as turning Nadella’s warning into a Palantir sales argument. Nadella published his own essay in July, "The Reverse Information Paradox," warning that companies "pay twice" for AI: once in money, once in the proprietary know-how they hand over to make the model useful. Karp took that admission and pushed it further, arguing on the call that this "second payment" could eventually help train a competitor.

This isn't a new Karp talking point. It's become the bedrock of Palantir's pitch to the market. In July, Palantir published a nine-point "AI sovereignty" manifesto and followed it with a white paper, "Institutional Sovereignty in the Age of AI." The message hasn't changed: renting frontier intelligence can become a tax on your business, not always a shortcut to competitiveness.

Where Microsoft Fits in the Sovereign AI DebateMicrosoft's AI business is built heavily on the model Karp is attacking. Azure sells compute. Copilot sells seats. OpenAI's models sell tokens. Enterprises pay per use, and the data that trains and fine-tunes those systems flows back toward Microsoft and its partners.

That's the contradiction Nadella's own essay doesn't fully resolve. He named the risk accurately, even proposing a "trust boundary" to guard against it, while Microsoft keeps selling the rented compute and models that contribute to the problem in the first place.

For a regulated bank, defense contractor, or hospital system, that arrangement carries real friction. Compliance teams don't love sending sensitive workflows through a shared cloud model. Karp's sovereignty pitch is aimed squarely at that discomfort, and it's why the market's habit of treating PLTR and MSFT as interchangeable "AI plays" undersells a structural difference between them.

Every layer in Karp's sovereignty stack, including energy, compute, data, models, and applications, is a layer Microsoft currently rents to customers rather than hands over. That's the structural gap Palantir is selling against.

Palantir's Dell Deal Shows Sovereign AI in ActionPalantir's May tie-up with Dell Technologies NYSE: DELL, putting Foundry and Ontology on-premises inside Dell's AI Factory with NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA, is old news by now. But it's worth revisiting as evidence, not as the story itself.

The deal gives regulated and air-gapped customers a way to run Palantir's software inside their own walls, with no data ever touching a public cloud. That's the sovereign AI thesis, already shipping.

What Investors Should Watch for in Sovereign AI62nd Percentile

Moderate Buy

5.0% Upside

Healthy

N/A

0.80 Selling Shares

44.09%

See Full Analysis

None of this means Microsoft is losing the AI race.

Azure's scale and the company's relationship with OpenAI remain enormous advantages.

But if sovereignty becomes a bigger purchasing criterion for regulated buyers, Microsoft's cloud-first model is more exposed to that shift than the market's current pricing suggests.

Investors should watch enterprise AI procurement language over the next few quarters. If the words "data residency," "model ownership," and "air-gapped deployment" show up more often, it could be a significant tell.

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