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MiCA is the European Union’s first comprehensive rulebook for crypto, and on July 1, 2026, its transition period ends for good. This guide explains what MiCA does, why USDT got delisted while USDC did not, and what the hard deadline means for exchanges and users.

Summary

MiCA becomes fully enforceable across the European Union on July 1, 2026, after which crypto firms without a MiCA license can no longer legally serve EU users. The regulation introduced a single framework for crypto across all EU member states, with strict rules for stablecoins, exchanges, and other crypto service providers. MiCA compliance kept USDC listed on regulated European exchanges, while USDT was delisted after its issuer chose not to seek authorization. Table of Contents

What MiCA actually regulatesThe stablecoin rules and why USDT got delistedCASPs: the rules for exchanges and service providersThe July 2026 deadline and the great narrowingA worked example: what a token and an exchange each faceWhat MiCA leaves unsettledMiCA in the global pictureWhat it means for everyday usersFrequently Asked Questions MiCA, short for Markets in Crypto-Assets, is the European Union’s first comprehensive law governing crypto-assets and the companies that deal in them, creating one common rulebook across all twenty-seven member states in place of the patchwork of national approaches that came before. Formally known as Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, it entered into force in mid-2023 and has rolled out in phases ever since, and it now sits at a decisive moment: on July 1, 2026, the transition period that let existing crypto firms keep operating under old national rules expires for good, and Europe’s market supervisor has been blunt that there will be no extensions. 

After that date, any company offering crypto services to European Union clients without a proper MiCA license is simply breaking the law. This guide explains what MiCA is, the categories it creates, why some stablecoins survived in Europe while others were delisted, what a crypto company must do to comply, and what the hard 2026 deadline means for exchanges and ordinary users alike.

The significance of MiCA is hard to overstate, because the European Union is one of the largest economic blocs on earth and MiCA is the most ambitious attempt yet to bring crypto fully inside a traditional financial-regulation framework. Before MiCA, a crypto exchange or token issuer operating in Europe faced a confusing mix of national rules, with one regime in Germany, another in France, another in Malta, and gaps everywhere in between. 

MiCA replaces that fragmentation with a single, harmonized system: get authorized once, and you can passport your services across the entire bloc. The trade-off is that the bar to get authorized is high, the obligations are heavy, and the deadline to clear them is now days away rather than years off. The result is a market being reshaped in real time, with a small number of licensed winners, a large number of firms facing exit, and a stablecoin landscape that already looks very different inside Europe than outside it.

What MiCA actually regulates MiCA divides the crypto world into categories and applies different rules to each, so the first step in understanding it is learning what those categories are. At the top level, MiCA governs two kinds of actors: the issuers of crypto-assets and the providers of crypto-asset services. For issuers, MiCA sorts tokens into three buckets.

The first is electronic money tokens, or EMTs, which are stablecoins pegged to a single official currency, such as a euro-pegged or dollar-pegged coin. The second is asset-referenced tokens, or ARTs, which are stablecoins backed by a basket of things, multiple currencies, commodities, or other assets, rather than a single currency. The third is a catch-all category of other crypto-assets, which covers utility tokens, governance tokens, and unbacked cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether, the assets most exchanges handle every day.

Each bucket carries different obligations. The two stablecoin categories face the strictest treatment, because regulators view stablecoins as the part of crypto most capable of threatening the wider financial system, a concern sharpened by the 2022 collapse of the TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin that wiped out tens of billions of dollars. EMT and ART issuers must hold proper reserves, grant holders redemption rights, and meet governance and disclosure standards. 

The other crypto-assets face lighter rules, mainly requirements to publish an honest whitepaper before offering a token to the public and to avoid market abuse. Notably, MiCA largely excludes non-fungible tokens, unless they are issued in a large fungible series that makes them function more like ordinary tokens, and it excludes assets already covered by existing financial law, such as securities. The category a token falls into determines almost everything about how MiCA treats it, which is why getting the classification right is the starting point for any issuer.

The stablecoin rules and why USDT got delisted The most visible effect of MiCA so far has been on stablecoins, and the clearest way to understand the rules is through what happened to the two largest dollar stablecoins. Under MiCA, a stablecoin can only be offered by European Union-regulated platforms if its issuer is authorized, which for a single-currency stablecoin means holding an e-money or credit institution license and meeting MiCA’s reserve, redemption, and governance requirements. 

The reserve rules are strict: an EMT must back its tokens fully, holding one hundred percent of reserves in safe, segregated accounts, while an ART must keep at least a substantial portion segregated at regulated credit institutions. MiCA also bars stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield to holders, a deliberate choice to stop stablecoins from competing with bank deposits and drawing money out of the banking system.

This is where the two giants diverged. Circle, the issuer of USDC, pursued authorization through a European subsidiary and obtained MiCA approval for USDC and its euro stablecoin EURC, making them compliant and freely offered across European Union exchanges. Tether, the issuer of USDT, the largest stablecoin in the world, did not apply for MiCA authorization and confirmed its token was not compliant. The consequence was swift: major European Union-regulated exchanges, including the regional arms of the largest global platforms, delisted USDT and other non-compliant stablecoins for their European users. 

The nuance worth understanding is that USDT is not banned from existence in Europe; users can still hold it in self-custody and trade it on decentralized exchanges. What changed is that a MiCA-licensed exchange can no longer offer it, which fragments liquidity and pushes European users toward compliant alternatives like USDC. Every stablecoin authorized under MiCA so far has been an EMT, a single-currency token, and USDC’s compliance versus USDT’s non-compliance has become the textbook illustration of the rules in action.

CASPs: the rules for exchanges and service providers Beyond token issuers, MiCA’s other major target is the companies that provide crypto services, which the regulation calls crypto-asset service providers, or CASPs. This category is broad: it covers exchanges, brokers, custodians, wallet providers that hold customer assets, trading platforms, and firms that advise on or place crypto-assets. 

If your business touches customer crypto in almost any commercial way, you likely need a CASP authorization to keep serving European Union clients. The obligations that come with that authorization are extensive and closely mirror those imposed on traditional financial firms, which is the entire point: MiCA aims to make crypto service providers behave like regulated financial institutions rather than lightly governed startups.

A CASP must meet requirements covering customer identity verification and anti-money-laundering controls, the safekeeping and segregation of customer assets, governance and capital standards, market-conduct rules that prohibit insider trading and market manipulation, and clear disclosure of risks to customers. Authorized CASPs also become subject to the European Union’s operational-resilience framework, which mandates cybersecurity and incident-reporting standards, and to the crypto travel rule, which requires them to pass along sender and recipient information on transfers, the same obligation that has applied to bank wires for decades. 

The reward for shouldering all of this is passporting: once a firm is authorized in any one member state, it can offer its services across all twenty-seven without seeking separate licenses in each, turning a fragmented continent into a single market. The burden is that running these programs at scale, across a global customer base, is expensive and demanding, which is exactly why so many firms are struggling to clear the bar before the deadline.

The July 2026 deadline and the great narrowing Everything about MiCA now points toward a single date, and understanding the phased rollout explains why that date matters so much. MiCA did not arrive all at once. The stablecoin rules for EMTs and ARTs took effect in mid-2024. The full CASP authorization regime took effect at the end of 2024, the point from which firms needed a MiCA license to operate. 

But MiCA included a grandfathering provision, a transition period that let firms already operating legally under their national rules continue doing so while they applied for full MiCA authorization. Member states set their own transition windows within the limits MiCA allowed, ranging from short windows ending in 2025 to the full eighteen-month period ending on July 1, 2026. That final date is the bloc-wide cutoff, the moment the transition ends everywhere at once.

What makes the deadline dramatic is how few firms have actually cleared the bar. As the cutoff approached in 2026, roughly a couple of hundred firms held some form of full MiCA authorization across the entire union, but the number cleared to run an actual crypto trading platform was strikingly small, in the low double digits, with a number of member states having issued zero trading-platform licenses at all. Industry executives openly warned that a large majority of exchanges currently operating may fail to secure a license and be forced to exit the European market, and reports emerged of major global exchanges facing rejection in specific countries. 

Europe’s market supervisor reinforced the message with no room for ambiguity: no member state may extend the transition beyond July 1, 2026, and after that date, operating without authorization is a breach of European Union law, not a paperwork gap. The picture, then, is of a great narrowing, a market being compressed from a crowded field into a small set of licensed survivors, with the rest required to wind down their European operations or leave.

A worked example: what a token and an exchange each face To make the rules concrete, it helps to walk through how MiCA treats two typical cases, a stablecoin issuer and an exchange, because the abstract categories become much clearer in motion. Imagine a company issuing a euro-pegged stablecoin and wanting European users to hold and trade it on regulated platforms. 

Under MiCA, that token is an electronic money token, so the issuer must hold an e-money or credit institution license, back every token fully with reserves held in safe, segregated accounts, grant holders the right to redeem their tokens for the underlying currency on demand, publish a compliant whitepaper, and accept that it cannot pay holders any interest or yield. If the company does all of this and secures authorization, its stablecoin can be offered across the bloc; if it does not, regulated exchanges must refuse to list it, exactly the fork in the road that separated the compliant dollar stablecoin from the non-compliant one. The token’s fate under MiCA is decided entirely by whether its issuer accepts this package of obligations.

Now imagine an exchange that wants to keep serving European customers. Its path runs through CASP authorization. It must apply to a national regulator in some member state, prove it meets MiCA’s standards for governance, capital, and the safekeeping and segregation of customer assets, stand up the identity-verification and anti-money-laundering machinery that turns it into an obliged entity under European law, implement the travel rule so it passes sender and recipient information on transfers, meet the operational-resilience and cybersecurity requirements, and submit to ongoing supervision and market-conduct rules. If the regulator grants authorization, the exchange can passport that single license across all twenty-seven member states and operate bloc-wide. 

If it cannot meet the bar or applies too late, it must stop serving European Union clients once the transition ends, winding down in an orderly way. The two journeys share a logic: MiCA offers a single, valuable prize, legal access to the entire European market, in exchange for accepting obligations modeled on those that govern banks and regulated financial firms.

What this worked example reveals is the deeper character of MiCA. It is not a light-touch registration that lets crypto firms keep operating much as before with a new label. It is a serious authorization regime that demands real reserves, real controls, real segregation of customer money, and real accountability, and it forces every issuer and service provider to decide whether the prize of European market access is worth the cost of meeting those demands. 

For well-resourced firms with a long-term commitment to Europe, the answer is often yes, and they have built the compliance machinery to clear the bar. For many smaller or offshore operators, the cost is too high or the timeline too short, which is why the market is narrowing toward a smaller set of licensed survivors. The categories and rules described earlier are not bureaucratic abstractions; they are the concrete hurdles that decide, token by token and firm by firm, who gets to operate in Europe after the transition closes.

What MiCA leaves unsettled For all its ambition, MiCA leaves important questions open, and the gaps are as revealing as the rules. The largest unsettled area is decentralized finance. MiCA is built around identifiable issuers and service providers, the companies it can authorize and supervise, but a genuinely decentralized protocol has no company at its center, no firm to hold a license or answer to a regulator. MiCA states that fully decentralized arrangements, those provided without any intermediary, fall outside its scope, which sounds clean until you ask what “fully decentralized” actually means. 

The market supervisor has not yet defined the term precisely, and most real protocols sit somewhere in the middle, with a governance token, a development team, a foundation, or a front-end operator that a regulator might decide counts as an intermediary. The result is genuine uncertainty about which DeFi protocols MiCA captures and which it does not, a gap that will be filled by future guidance and enforcement instead of the text itself.

Other tensions are surfacing as the rules meet reality. MiCA places caps on how widely very large stablecoins denominated in non-European currencies, such as dollar stablecoins, can be used as a means of payment within the bloc, a provision aimed at protecting European monetary sovereignty but one that complicates life for a market where most trading is dollar-denominated. 

There are overlaps with other European financial laws, such as payment services rules, that can double the compliance burden for some stablecoin activities and have prompted worries about the competitiveness of euro stablecoins. And politically, the dossier has grown charged, with some member states floating the idea of a mechanism to switch off foreign stablecoins seen as a systemic threat. 

None of these unsettled questions undermines MiCA’s core achievement of creating a single framework, but they are reminders that a law this sweeping cannot anticipate everything, and that MiCA will keep evolving through guidance, enforcement, and amendment for years after the headline deadline passes.

MiCA in the global picture MiCA does not exist in isolation, and seeing it alongside parallel efforts elsewhere reveals where global crypto regulation is heading. The same years that produced MiCA also produced the United States’ first comprehensive federal stablecoin law, the United Kingdom’s move toward its own crypto regime under its financial regulator, and Hong Kong’s stablecoin ordinance, among others. 

These frameworks differ in detail, but they converge on a striking number of core principles: stablecoin issuers should hold full, high-quality reserves; they should be licensed and supervised; holders should have clear redemption rights; service providers should enforce identity checks and anti-money-laundering controls; and the whole apparatus should be brought inside the regulatory perimeter that governs traditional finance. MiCA, having arrived early and comprehensively, has functioned as something of a reference point that later frameworks echo and respond to.

This convergence matters for anyone trying to understand the trajectory of the industry. The era in which crypto operated in a regulatory vacuum, where an exchange could serve a global audience with minimal oversight, is closing, and MiCA is one of the clearest markers of that shift. The picture that emerges is of a maturing market in which access increasingly depends on compliance, in which the same stablecoin can be freely available in one jurisdiction and delisted in another based purely on its issuer’s regulatory posture, and in which the cost of operating legally has risen sharply. 

For Europe specifically, MiCA’s promise is a safer, more transparent market with clear rules and a public register of authorized firms and tokens that anyone can consult. Its cost is a heavier compliance burden, a narrower field of providers, and reduced access to some popular global assets. Whether that trade favors consumers or stifles innovation is the live debate, but the direction is set: in Europe, crypto is now a regulated activity, and after July 1, 2026, that is true without exception.

What it means for everyday users For an ordinary person using crypto in Europe, MiCA changes the landscape in concrete ways worth understanding before the deadline instead of after. The most immediate effect is on which platforms and tokens you can use. If you rely on an exchange that has not secured a MiCA license, that platform may be forced to stop serving European Union clients after July 1, 2026, which in practice can mean frozen new deposits, halted trading features, and eventually a forced withdrawal of your funds, sometimes during a period of low liquidity and high fees. The protective move is to check, today instead of on July 2, whether the platforms you use have secured or are clearly on track to secure authorization, and to favor those that have. An unauthorized service operating after the deadline offers reduced legal protection and potential restrictions on access to your own assets.

The second effect is on stablecoins. If you hold a non-compliant stablecoin on a European Union-regulated exchange, you may find it delisted, with trading pairs removed and liquidity drying up, which is why many European users have shifted toward MiCA-authorized options. You can still self-custody whatever you like, but the convenient on-ramps and trading pairs increasingly favor compliant tokens. The broader takeaway is that MiCA, for all its complexity, ultimately aims to make the European crypto market safer and more transparent for users by ensuring the exchanges they trust meet real standards and the stablecoins they hold are genuinely backed. The cost of that safety is fewer choices and more friction, and a transition period that, for some platforms and tokens, ends abruptly. 

The practical wisdom is simple: understand which of your platforms and assets are compliant, make any moves before the deadline instead of during the disruption, and treat MiCA authorization as a meaningful signal that a service has accepted real regulatory accountability.

Frequently Asked Questions What does MiCA stand for and what is it? MiCA stands for Markets in Crypto-Assets. It is the European Union’s first comprehensive law for crypto-assets and the companies that deal in them, formally Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. It replaces the previous patchwork of national rules with one harmonized framework across all twenty-seven member states, covering token issuers and service providers like exchanges, custodians, and wallet providers. Its goals are to protect consumers, prevent market abuse, ensure stablecoins are properly backed, and bring crypto inside the same kind of regulatory perimeter that governs traditional finance, while letting authorized firms operate bloc-wide.

Why was USDT delisted in Europe but not USDC? Under MiCA, a stablecoin can only be offered by European Union-regulated platforms if its issuer is authorized and meets MiCA’s reserve, redemption, and governance rules. Circle pursued authorization through a European subsidiary and obtained MiCA approval for USDC and its euro stablecoin EURC, so they remain available. Tether did not apply for MiCA authorization and confirmed USDT was non-compliant, so European Union-regulated exchanges delisted it. USDT is not banned outright; it can still be self-custodied and traded on decentralized exchanges, but licensed European platforms can no longer offer it.

What happens on July 1, 2026? That is when MiCA’s transition period ends across the entire European Union. The transition, or grandfathering, let firms already operating under national rules keep going while they applied for full MiCA authorization. After July 1, 2026, any company providing crypto services to European Union clients without a proper MiCA license is breaking European Union law. The market supervisor has stated there will be no extensions. Because relatively few firms have secured licenses, especially to run trading platforms, many exchanges may be forced to exit the European market or wind down their services there.

What is a CASP under MiCA? A CASP is a crypto-asset service provider, MiCA’s term for companies that offer crypto services such as exchanges, brokers, custodians, wallet providers holding customer assets, and trading platforms. To serve European Union clients, a CASP needs MiCA authorization, which comes with obligations modeled on traditional finance: identity checks and anti-money-laundering controls, segregation and safekeeping of customer assets, governance and capital standards, market-conduct rules against manipulation and insider trading, operational-resilience requirements, and the crypto travel rule. Once authorized in one member state, a CASP can passport its services across all twenty-seven.

Does MiCA regulate DeFi and NFTs? Only partly, and with significant uncertainty. MiCA largely excludes non-fungible tokens unless they are issued in a large fungible series that makes them behave like ordinary tokens. For decentralized finance, MiCA says fully decentralized arrangements provided without any intermediary fall outside its scope, but it has not precisely defined “fully decentralized.” Since most protocols have a governance token, a development team, a foundation, or a front-end operator, regulators may decide some of them have an intermediary that MiCA captures. So the treatment of many DeFi protocols remains unsettled and will be clarified through future guidance and enforcement.

How does MiCA affect ordinary crypto users in Europe? Mainly through which platforms and tokens you can use. If an exchange you use has not secured a MiCA license, it may have to stop serving European Union clients after July 1, 2026, which can mean halted deposits and trading and eventually forced withdrawals. Non-compliant stablecoins may be delisted from regulated exchanges, with liquidity shifting to compliant ones like USDC. The protective steps are to check whether your platforms are authorized, move before the deadline instead of during any disruption, and treat MiCA authorization as a signal that a service has accepted real regulatory accountability. You can still self-custody assets freely.

This article is educational information, not legal or financial advice. MiCA implementation, license counts, stablecoin compliance status, and deadlines can change, and details reflect reporting available as of June 25, 2026. Confirm current requirements and the status of specific platforms and tokens through official sources such as the European Securities and Markets Authority register before relying on anything described here.

In contrast to comparable features provided by centralized exchanges, dSLTP uses Orbs-powered decentralized infrastructure. By expanding on its current integration of the Orbs-powered dLIMIT and dTWAP protocols, the launch broadens SushiSwap’s range. One of DeFi’s most established decentralized exchanges, SushiSwap, has included dSLTP, the Orbs Layer-3 technology-powered stop-loss and take-profit protocol. Through decentralized stop-loss and take-profit orders, users may automate trade execution from inside the SushiSwap trading interface thanks to the integration.

By expanding on its current integration of the Orbs-powered dLIMIT and dTWAP protocols, the launch broadens SushiSwap’s range of sophisticated trading capabilities. In order to control risk, safeguard gains, and lessen the need for continuous market monitoring while retaining complete custody of their assets, users may now establish automatic orders that execute when predetermined price goals are met.

Currently, dSLTP is accessible on SushiSwap for Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, and Katana, giving traders in several blockchain ecosystems access to sophisticated order capabilities. In contrast to comparable features provided by centralized exchanges, dSLTP uses Orbs-powered decentralized infrastructure.

The protocol maintains the composability and transparency of decentralized finance by enabling stop-order automation without the need for centralized servers, custodians, or off-chain execution mechanisms.

“Stop-loss and take-profit orders are among the most widely used tools in trading, yet they’ve largely been unavailable in a decentralized environment,” said Ran Hammer, Vice President of Business Development at Orbs. “By bringing dSLTP to SushiSwap, we’re giving traders the ability to automate risk management and execution without sacrificing the transparency and self-custody that make DeFi unique. It’s another milestone in closing the gap between centralized and decentralized trading experiences.”

A variety of execution settings, including as trigger prices, optional limit prices, order expiry dates, and percentage-based trading strategies, may be configured by traders via the interface. The SushiSwap interface allows for immediate order monitoring, modification, and cancellation.

When an asset drops below a defined price, stop-loss orders instantly take effect, assisting traders in reducing their exposure to downside risk under erratic market circumstances. Take-profit orders enable users to lock in profits in accordance with their trading strategy by triggering when a target price is met. When combined, the order types provide traders a framework for automated profit-taking and risk management.

The launch is the most recent addition to Orbs’ expanding collection of decentralized trade protocols. In addition to dLIMIT, dTWAP, Liquidity Hub, and Perpetual Hub, dSLTP is intended to provide on-chain markets with sophisticated execution capabilities that are often associated with conventional finance and centralized exchanges.

Advanced order types are becoming more and more crucial for traders looking for more accuracy, efficiency, and control as decentralized exchanges continue to develop beyond simple token swaps. Now that dSLTP is operational on SushiSwap, customers may access institutional-grade trading capabilities while staying entirely on-chain.

One of DeFi’s most well-known decentralized exchanges, SushiSwap was first introduced on Ethereum in 2020 and is now available on other chains. SushiSwap, a leader in community-governed DeFi infrastructure, is a reliable source of on-chain trading volume and provides a wide range of trading and liquidity options.

Content writer by profession. A crypto lover and has passion for writing. Follows the developments of digital currency right from its launch, years ago.

Key Takeaways American Financial raised its dividend 10% in 2025, marking 20 consecutive years of increases. AFG declared a $1.50 per share special dividend in February 2026, totaling about $125 million. AFG returned nearly $260 million via dividends and buybacks in first-quarter 2026. American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG - Free Report) has one of the most shareholder-friendly capital allocation policies in the U.S. insurance sector. AFG regularly generates capital that is needed to support underwriting operations. Returning excess capital to shareholders in the form of regular and special cash dividends and through opportunistic share repurchases is an important and effective component of American Financial’s capital management strategy.

AFG's shareholder return profile is a major investment attraction. The combination of growing regular dividends, frequent special dividends, opportunistic buybacks and strong underwriting profitability has enabled the company to deliver substantial cash returns to investors over time.

In August 2025, AFG increased its annual dividend by 10% to $3.52 per share, marking its 20th consecutive year of dividend increases. The company's 10-year dividend CAGR is approximately 12.3%. This increase in AFG’s annual dividend reflects its confidence in the company’s financial condition, liquidity and prospects for long-term growth.

AFG, the specialty property & casualty insurer, supplements its regular dividend with large special dividends when excess capital accumulates. In February 2026, the board declared a special cash dividend of $1.50 per share. The aggregate amount of this special dividend will be approximately $125 million. This special-dividend policy has become a major component of the company's total shareholder return strategy and distinguishes it from many peers that rely primarily on regular dividends and buybacks.

Management opportunistically buys back stock when valuations are attractive. During the first quarter of 2026, AFG repurchased approximately $60 million of shares, reducing share count and enhancing per-share earnings growth. AFG returned nearly $260 million to the shareholders through a combination of regular dividends, special dividends and share repurchases in the first quarter of 2026. AFG’s entrepreneurial, opportunistic culture and disciplined operating philosophy continue to position it well for long-term success.

What About Its Peers?RLI Corp. (RLI - Free Report) has one of the most shareholder-friendly capital return programs in the property & casualty insurance industry. The company combines a steadily growing regular dividend, frequent special dividends and opportunistic share repurchases to return excess capital to shareholders while maintaining underwriting discipline. The company has increased its regular dividend for 51 consecutive years, placing it among the longest dividend-growth records in the insurance sector.

First American Financial Corporation (FAF - Free Report) follows a balanced capital-return strategy that combines a steadily growing dividend with opportunistic share repurchases. FAF generally uses a combination of regular dividend increases and selective share repurchases to distribute excess capital. FAF has increased its dividend for more than 15 consecutive years, reflecting management's commitment to returning capital through various housing market environments.

AFG’s Price PerformanceShares of AFG have gained 11.1% in the past year, outperforming the industry.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

AFG’s Expensive ValuationThe stock is overvalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-book ratio of 2.46, above the industry average of 1.41.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Estimate Movement for AFGThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for AFG’s second-quarter 2026 has moved down 1.6%, and the third-quarter 2026 EPS has moved up 13.5% in the past 60 days. The same for full-year 2026 and 2027 EPS has moved up 3.5% and 2%, respectively, in the past 60 days.

The consensus estimate for AFG’s 2026 and 2027 EPS and revenues indicates a year-over-year increase.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

New Solution Combines AI-Powered Creative Optimization In-Flight with Contextual Signals to Deliver More Relevant Advertising Experiences Across Streaming Environments

Announcement Wraps Omnicom Media's Cannes News Blitz Revealing First-Mover Partnerships That Connect Brand Content to Platform Programming, Viewing Experiences and Consumer Expectations

, /PRNewswire/ -- Omnicom Media, an Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) connected capability, and NBCUniversal have co-developed a new solution to bring greater contextual intelligence and creative relevance to CTV advertising. The initiative combines audience and performance data from Omnicom's Acxiom identity solution with NBCUniversal's contextual signals to power Dynamic Contextual Content (DCC), a new approach to CTV advertising that aligns tailored creative messaging with specific episodes and environments in-flight.

The initiative is designed to help brands develop adaptive creative experiences tailored to how consumers engage with streaming content in real time. By pairing contextual signals with AI-powered creative production and optimization, the companies are creating a more intelligent, self-optimizing CTV system that enables brands to rethink how creative performance is measured and delivered.

For example, a travel brand could run a connected TV campaign across NBCUniversal programming tied to summer travel planning. Based on contextual signals combined with real-time engagement data, the travel brand could adapt its creative mid-flight based on the more optimally performing content environment.

The DCC solution grew out of Omnicom Media's Connected Content study, which examined consumer sentiment around the current state of advertising and explored the factors that drive engagement across content and delivery experiences. The research found that while streaming environments have evolved rapidly, creative formats and delivery systems have not kept pace with how audiences actually experience CTV content today.

"Consumers expect advertising to feel more connected to the experience they are having in the moment," said Megan Pagliuca, Chief Product Officer at Omnicom Media. "Today, even premium CTV advertising is often delivered without consideration for the context surrounding it. Through this collaboration with NBCUniversal, we are bringing together data, content intelligence, and AI-powered creative capabilities to help brands move from simply reaching audiences to delivering relevance within the moments that matter most."

How It Works

Acxiom audience data is paired with NBCUniversal content metadata to identify priority shows, episodes, environments, and moments. Advertisers can then map tailored creative variants - enabled by the Omnicom Production AI-driven content and production engine - to the content moments where they are expected to resonate most strongly with their specific audiences, moving from fixed creative assets to in-flight creative optimization. Creative versioning is informed by performance measurement and integrated into Omni's Video Content. With this integration, brands understand which combination of contextual tags and creative versions are driving business objectives.

"Marketers are navigating a fragmented, highly competitive ecosystem while being held to performance metrics," said Ryan McConville, Chief Product Officer and EVP, Ad Products & Solutions, NBCUniversal. "By pairing NBCUniversal's content metadata with Omnicom's audience and performance data, we can make creative optimization actionable and open up more relevant, effective ways for brands to engage their customers."

The collaboration reflects a broader shift in the streaming marketplace, where marketers are increasingly focused not only on reaching audiences at scale, but also on improving the quality and contextual relevance of each advertising exposure.

The Dynamic Contextual Content solution is currently in beta and is expected to be live in the US by end of year.

CONTACT: [email protected]

About Omnicom Media
Omnicom Media, an Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) Connected Capability, is the world's largest global media management network. Powered by the Omni Intelligence Platform, Omnicom Media agencies leverage $75.6 billion in billings, 40,000+ specialists across 70+ markets, and the industry's most powerful portfolio identity, commerce, and intelligence assets to design dynamic Growth Ecosystems that enable the world's most ambitious businesses to grow faster and smarter. The Omnicom Media portfolio includes global media agency brands OMD, Initiative, PHD, UM, Hearts & Science, and Mediahub; core Omnicom Integrated Media offerings Acxiom, the world's premier identity solution, and the Flywheel digital commerce practice; and specialty services across the cloud consulting, creator, financial, healthcare, and sports & entertainment categories.  For more information visit omnicommedia.com

SOURCE Omnicom Media

Key Takeaways GlobalFoundries' Q1 gross margin rose 510 bps to 29%, as revenues increased 3% to YoY $1.63B.GFS saw Communications Infrastructure and Data Center revenues jump 32%, helped by a richer AI mix.GlobalFoundries expects silicon photonics revenues to roughly double in 2026 as SiGe demand stays strong. GlobalFoundries Inc. (GFS - Free Report) is starting to show that its AI opportunity is not limited to direct exposure to GPUs or leading-edge logic chips. Instead, the company is benefiting from the broader infrastructure required to support AI, including silicon photonics, silicon germanium, automotive semiconductors, embedded memory and industrial connectivity.

The first quarter of 2026 suggests that strategy is beginning to pay off. While first-quarter revenues increased a modest 3% year over year to $1.63 billion, the more important story was profitability. Gross margin (Non-IFRS) expanded to 29%, up from 23.9% a year earlier, a remarkable 510-basis-point improvement and the largest year-over-year expansion in more than three years. Management now expects another quarter of roughly 28.5% gross margin despite ongoing investments in capacity and technology. The improvement was driven by a richer revenue mix, with Communications Infrastructure and Data Center revenues climbing 32% to $230 million. Management expects silicon photonics revenues to roughly double in 2026 and forecasts high-30% growth for the broader segment.

The margin implications could be meaningful. Management described silicon germanium, another key optical networking, as margin accretive and said demand is strong enough that capacity at its Vermont fab is oversubscribed well into 2027. GlobalFoundries is expanding capacity in silicon photonics, FDX and high-performance SiGe to meet customer demand, but these investments are being targeted toward higher-value technology corridors rather than broad commodity capacity.

GlobalFoundries is also extending its AI exposure into physical AI, including robotics and industrial automation. The company expects Home and Industrial IoT to become a key beneficiary of physical AI beyond 2026, even though that segment declined in the first quarter due to shipment timing and inventory normalization. Its partnership with Inova Semiconductors for a robotics control reference platform supports this longer-term strategy.

At 29% non-IFRS gross margin, GlobalFoundries is close to a key profitability milestone. If silicon photonics continues to scale, automotive remains resilient and Technology Services grows as expected, 30% may not be the ceiling. It may be the beginning of a more profitable phase for the company.

Can GFS Outpace Silicon Photonics Rivals Like TSM & UMC?GlobalFoundries is not alone in targeting the fast-growing silicon photonics market. Among its closest competitors is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM - Free Report) , which is advancing co-packaged optics through its COUPE platform. Leveraging its leadership in advanced process technologies and packaging, TSM is well-positioned to serve hyperscalers and AI chip designers seeking higher-bandwidth interconnect solutions. However, GlobalFoundries differentiates itself with a specialized optical networking portfolio that combines silicon photonics, silicon germanium, packaging, testing and manufacturing services.

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC - Free Report) is also expanding its presence in silicon photonics. The company recently announced a strategic partnership to develop thin-film lithium niobate photonics for AI infrastructure and plans to launch its first silicon photonics process design kit in 2027. UMC is also evaluating hybrid bonding, TSV and chiplet integration to support future co-packaged optics applications, underscoring the industry's growing focus on AI networking technologies.

GFS’ Stock Price Performance & Valuation TrendShares of GlobalFoundries have surged 133.7% in the past six months, outperforming the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry’s 48.4% growth.

GFS 6-Month Price Performance

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

GFS stock is currently trading at a premium to its industry peers, with a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 47.61, as shown in the chart below.

P/E (F12M)

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Earnings Estimate Revision of GFSGFS’ earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have trended upward in the past 60 days to $1.89 and $2.62 per share, respectively. The revised estimates for 2026 and 2027 imply year-over-year growth of 9.9% and 38.6%, respectively.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

Key Takeaways Labcorp is expanding oncology, neurology and genetic testing to support long-term growth.LH's Q1 2026 revenues increased 5.8%, aided by acquisitions, partnerships and network expansion.Labcorp's AI, automation and launchpad savings initiatives aim to improve efficiency and margins. Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH - Free Report) , or Labcorp, is well-poised for growth in the coming quarters owing to its progress on its strategic priority to lead in important specialty testing areas, which are growth drivers for both its businesses. Strategic partnerships and acquisitions help the company broaden its patient and provider network while deepening its presence in key markets. Additionally, it leverages AI and technology to enhance margins and customer experience. Yet, macroeconomic pressures and adverse currency swings pose risks for Labcorp.

In the past year, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has risen 3.2% compared with 2.2% growth of the industry and a 23.3% increase of the S&P 500 Composite.

The renowned healthcare diagnostics company has a market capitalization of $21.20 billion. Labcorp’s earnings yield of 6.9% is well ahead of the industry’s 4.3% yield. In the trailing four quarters, the company delivered an average earnings surprise of 3.31%.

Let’s delve deeper.

Tailwinds Supporting LH StockTargeted Development in High-Growth Areas: Labcorp’s continued expansion in faster-growing specialty testing areas, such as oncology, women’s health, autoimmune disease and neurology, is strengthening its growth profile. In the first quarter of 2026, Neurology delivered double-digit growth, driven by an expanded Alzheimer's testing portfolio. Oncology benefited from several newly launched liquid biopsy tests and wider availability of MRD solutions. The MRD portfolio includes the Plasma Detect ID for patients with stage I–III breast cancer or stage I–IIIA non-small cell lung cancer, as well as the Labcorp Plasma Detect Genome for stage III colon cancer, which is now available nationwide.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The integration of Invitae has further expanded the company’s reach in genetic testing solutions. Labcorp is also collaborating with Illumina to advance precision oncology through applications of next-generation sequencing (NGS) solutions across the healthcare ecosystem. The Labcorp OnDemand consumer health platform delivered double-digit growth in the first quarter, supported by its expanded offerings.

Strategic Acquisitions and Partnerships to Drive Growth: In recent years, Labcorp has built a significant number of strategic relationships with health systems and regional/local laboratories, expanding its patient and provider network, and strengthening its presence in key markets. In the first quarter of 2026, enterprise revenues grew 5.8% year over year, with net acquisitions contributing 1.4%.

Recent activities include the purchase of select assets of Crouse Health’s Laboratory Alliance of Central New York’s (Lab Alliance) laboratory business and an agreement to manage their daily inpatient lab operations. Labcorp also acquired select assets of New York-based Empire City Laboratories, became the first U.S. commercial laboratory with an agreement to implement Roche’s cobas Mass Spec solution, and signed a new multi-year partnership agreement with SOMOS.

Focus on Operational Efficiency: The company continues to benefit from its launchpad initiatives, which target $100-$125 million in savings annually. In the first quarter of 2026, Labcorp expanded its collaboration with PathAI to deploy an FDA-cleared digital pathology platform across its national anatomic pathology labs and hospital lab partnerships. Together with Amazon Web Services and Datavant, the company is developing a new AI-powered real-world data platform to accelerate Alzheimer's research. More recently, Labcorp teamed up with Optum.ai to simplify laboratory operations by advancing AI.

Across its core operations, AI and automation are already deployed in areas such as pathology, cytology and microbiology. Labcorp’s generative AI tool, Test Finder, is designed to simplify lab test selection and is also integrated into Labcorp Diagnostic Assistant.

What Ails Labcorp?Macroeconomic Risks: Labcorp’s operations are heavily dependent on the demand for diagnostic testing and drug development services from patients, physicians, hospitals, medical device companies, and others. In recent times, volatilities in global economic conditions, including inflation, have significantly reduced the demand for these services, affecting the customers’ ability to pay and, consequently, the profitability of the company. Added to this, the escalation of the present geopolitical tensions and retaliatory tariffs is putting pressure on the supply chain and services, increasing the prices of offerings. In the first quarter of 2026, the cost of revenues went up 5.3% year over year.

Exposed to Currency Headwind: Labcorp's huge exposure in international markets makes it vulnerable to currency fluctuations. With the recent upward trend observed in the value of the U.S. dollar, further acceleration expected by analysts in this value will cause the company’s revenues to face a tough situation overseas.

LH Stock’s Estimate TrendThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Labcorp’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 1 cent to $18.00 in the past 30 days. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 revenues is pegged at $14.71 billion, implying 5.4% growth compared to the last year.

Other Key PicksSome other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) , Align Technology (ALGN - Free Report) and Integra LifeSciences (IART - Free Report) .

Globus Medical has an earnings yield of 5.9% compared with the industry’s negative 3.5% yield. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 26.3%. GMED shares have rallied 39.2% against the industry’s 7.5% decline over the past year.

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

Align Technology, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 10.3% compared with the industry’s 5.5% growth. Shares of the company have dipped 9% against the industry’s 6.9% growth. ALGN’s earnings outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 7.8%.

Integra LifeSciences, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has an earnings yield of 13.6% against the industry’s negative 3.5% yield. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 16.7%. IART shares have rallied 45.5% against the industry’s 7.4% decline over the past year.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Spark has deployed approximately $150 million in stablecoin liquidity across two Uniswap v4 pools on Ethereum as part of a collaboration aimed at creating shared liquidity and exchange infrastructure for stablecoin issuers.

A Spark spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the initial deployment is live in two pools pairing USDS with PayPal USD (PYUSD) and USDT, with USDS serving as the foundation. Spark described the deployment as one of the largest automated market maker (AMM) liquidity migrations in DeFi.

“These pools represent the initial deployment of approximately $150 million of liquidity and establish the first phase of the Stablecoin FX Layer,” the spokesperson said. “This initial deployment focuses on bootstrapping shared liquidity on Uniswap v4.”

Earlier this month, Standard Chartered identified Uniswap as a potential beneficiary of tokenized assets moving into DeFi. It forecast that total assets held in DeFi could reach $2.7 trillion by 2030, with Uniswap potentially emerging as a liquidity venue for the growing market. 

The deployment announced Thursday lays the groundwork for a planned programmable liquidity system that could reduce the need for banks, financial technology firms and stablecoin issuers to build separate liquidity networks while testing whether Uniswap can make onchain capital more efficient without weakening market depth.

Spark plans programmable liquidity expansionSpark said it plans to introduce its Shared Liquidity Layer and DualPool hook in subsequent phases using Uniswap v4's programmable architecture to coordinate how liquidity is distributed across stablecoin markets.

A liquidity hook enables protocols to seamlessly integrate with platforms for capital access and developing yield and trading strategies.

Spark said a hook is intended to allow capital not immediately needed for trades to be deployed into governance-approved products, liquidity venues and yield-generating strategies.

The implementation of the DualPool hook will go through a separate security review, testing and production-readiness process before deployment. The first phase uses standard Uniswap v4 pools rather than the planned programmable framework.

Spark said the planned framework is intended to give future stablecoin issuers access to shared liquidity rather than requiring them to individually bootstrap pools, coordinate market makers and manage inventory across different venues.

The spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Spark is working with additional partners across the stablecoin ecosystem but is not yet ready to disclose those integrations.

Uniswap seen as winner as tokenized assets move onchainIn a June 15 note to clients, StanChart's bank's head of digital assets research, Geoff Kendrick, said that tokenized treasures, equities, bonds and other assets could bring more trading activity and liquidity to decentralized exchanges as their DeFi use expands. 

DeFi total value locked as of June 25. Source: DefiLlama

This new $150 million migration offers a more immediate test of StanChart's infrastructure thesis, though it involves stablecoins rather than tokenized securities. 

The migration also follows Uniswap’s push into institutional tokenized-asset trading. On Feb. 12, BlackRock said it would bring its $2.1 billion tokenized Treasury fund, BUIDL, to Uniswap, allowing eligible institutional investors and market makers to trade the security through decentralized infrastructure. 

Magazine: Japanese pension fund tips 1% in crypto, G7 urges action on NK hackers: Asia Express

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

© Nikada / E+ via Getty Images

I am opening with our verdict on Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO | CRDO Price Prediction). The stock has rallied 86.94% year to date, and our proprietary model now sees the shares trading almost exactly where they should.

The 24/7 Wall St. price target for Credo is $263.97, which sits a hair below the last close of $268.99. That implies 1.87% downside, a hold rating, and a 90% (high) confidence reading.

Metric Value Current Price $268.99 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $263.97 Upside/Downside -1.87% Recommendation HOLD Confidence Level 90% Why We Could Be Wrong Our 24/7 Wall St. price target sits a touch below where Credo trades today, and that gap is small enough to flip. The bull catalysts are real: the just-closed Dust Photonics acquisition opens a silicon photonics path to 3.2 Tbps, and management is guiding to more than $600 million in optical revenue for fiscal 2027. Treat our target as one datapoint. A full bull case sits below.

From $79 to $269 in a Year Credo has been one of the AI infrastructure trade’s cleanest winners. The stock is up 192.63% over the past year, 23.16% over the past month, and 7.89% in the past week alone. Shares now trade 17% below the 52-week high of $308.67 and well above the $84.25 low.

The fuel is fundamental. Q4 FY26 revenue hit $437 million, up 157.02% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.16 beating the $1.0341 estimate by 12.17%. Full-year FY26 revenue tripled to $1.34 billion, and non-GAAP net income grew more than 5x to $662 million.

The Case for $335 and Higher Our bull-case path lands at $335.34 over the next 12 months, a 24.67% gain. The setup is credible. CEO Bill Brennan guided FY27 revenue growth to more than 80% year over year, with Optical DSPs, SiPho PICs, and ZeroFlap optics each contributing more than $100 million.

He also flagged Neo Cloud customers eventually reaching roughly 20% of total revenue. The Street’s bullish camp is thick: 4 Strong Buy, 13 Buy, 1 Hold, 0 Sell ratings.

The Risks Worth Watching The bear path takes Credo to $207.53, or 22.85% downside. Customer concentration is the headline risk: in Q4, the top customer was 34% of revenue and the second largest was 27%. Inventories also jumped to $250.8 million, and the trailing P/E sits at 108.

In fairness, bulls would counter that the inventory build supports the FY27 optical ramp Brennan described, and the forward P/E is a more digestible 51. Composite sentiment has also slipped 10.03 points over 30 days.

Credo Price Prediction 2026-2030 The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $263.97 is functionally on top of the current quote, our recommendation is hold, and our confidence is 90%. The decisive factor is valuation symmetry: trailing multiples have caught up to FY26’s spectacular growth.

The bullish trigger to watch is whether the FY27 optical ramp tracks ahead of the $600 million bar and Neo Cloud customers diversify the top-line. The bearish trigger is whether the top-two customers slow orders or gross margin slips below the 67% to 69% guide.

Looking further out, here is where our model projects Credo could trade, assuming the optical inflection plays out and AI capex stays elevated.

Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $263.97 2030 $294.24 These projections assume Credo continues converting design wins into revenue. Significant upside could emerge from CPO and NPO traction in FY28, while a hyperscaler capex pause is the largest downside risk.

Paxos built PAXG to remove the operational overhead of holding gold. Storage, custody, and transfer are handled at the token level, backed 1:1 with the world’s finest gold and overseen by federal regulators, so holders get direct exposure to physical gold without the infrastructure burden that comes with it. As gold continues its strongest bull cycle in two decades, more investors are seeking the convenience of tokenized gold: lower-cost, faster to settle, and instantly transferable. PAXG has grown over 300% since 2024 and demand continues to increase. 

Today we're extending PAXG to Solana, the first step in PAXG's multi-chain expansion. You can find more information about where to buy PAXG on Solana here.

What Is PAXG?Pax Gold (PAXG) is a digital token where one token equals one fine troy ounce of physical gold. 

Each ounce is stored in London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accredited vaults. The gold reserves are attested monthly by KPMG, providing token holders with regular, independent verification that every PAXG in circulation is fully backed by physical gold. In addition, the reserves undergo an annual physical audit conducted by Bureau Veritas, an independent inspection and certification body. This audit is limited to physical verification procedures performed on-site and does not constitute an attestation of ownership, valuation, or overall asset backing, but provides an additional layer of independent verification of the vaulted gold. If you hold PAXG, you hold the underlying physical gold under the legal custody of Paxos Trust Company, National Association.

We issue PAXG as a national trust bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), one of the most rigorous oversight frameworks available for a digital asset issuer. That regulatory posture is not incidental and sets us apart in the market. It means your gold is held under legal custody, with monthly public attestations and full bar-serial transparency through our Gold Allocation Lookup tool.

A few specifics that differentiate PAXG from other ways to own gold:

No custody fees. Gold ETFs charge 10 to 40 basis points per year just to hold your position. PAXG charges zero for storage.

Near-instant settlement. On-chain transfers settle in seconds, compared to T+1 for Gold ETFs and T+2 for LBMA bars.

Redeemable for physical bars, unallocated gold, or USD. PAXG is redeemable for LBMA Good Delivery gold bullion bars (requires holder to have 430 PAXG), unallocated Loco London Gold, or USD at current market price. This can be completed through the Paxos site.

No accredited investor gate, no brokerage account, no large bar minimums.

How Is PAXG Created?Every PAXG token begins with physical gold. When demand for PAXG increases, Paxos purchases unallocated gold from our supplier, which is then allocated to LBMA-accredited vaults in London as Good Delivery bars. Once the gold is vaulted, it is tokenized: PAXG tokens are minted on-chain and held in Paxos' inventory wallets. When a customer buys PAXG from Paxos directly, tokens transfer directly from Paxos inventory to their wallet.

Every token in circulation is backed by a specific, auditable bar of physical gold. The flow is always the same direction: gold enters the vault before tokens enter the market.

Why Solana, and Why NowPAXG launched on Ethereum in 2019. In the past two years, the number of holders more than doubled, and average holding size more than tripled from $7,000 to $26,000.

That growth signals the opportunity to expand PAXG into new ecosystems and put it in the hands of more builders and users.

Solana's real-world asset ecosystem crossed $2.5 billion in TVL in May 2026, up from $215 million just twelve months ago. Transaction fees average a fraction of a cent, with sub-second confirmation and 99.9%+ uptime over the past year. It is an ecosystem mature enough to support a regulated, allocated gold token immediately at launch, with an active DeFi base ready to integrate native assets.

We are partnering with Sunrise Defi on our Solana expansion to bring PAXG natively to the ecosystem with active DeFi markets across major Solana DEXs and seamless integration into Solana wallets and aggregators.

Solana is the start of our multi-chain expansion for PAXG. Every piece of infrastructure we are shipping in this launch is designed to extend cleanly to every chain that comes next.

How We Built the InfrastructureGetting here required one foundational upgrade and one new deployment. Both matter for Solana and for every chain that comes after.

ETH PAXG Contract Upgrade

Expanding to new chains starts at the contract level. We upgraded the PAXG token contracts to support omnichain functionality across both EVM and non-EVM networks, with an architecture designed to extend cleanly as we add more chains.

The upgraded contracts maintain all existing compliance controls, the same supply verification that underpins our monthly KPMG attestations, and full auditability of every token in circulation across every chain where PAXG is live.

The upgraded contracts are open source, independently audited by Zellic, and available for review in our PAXG GitHub repository.

Existing Ethereum holders can bridge directly through the Paxos platform or through

LayerZero Stargate

. No re-purchasing, no re-custodying, no new attestation required.

PAXG on Solana: The Token Implementation

The Solana deployment of PAXG is built on the Token-2022 program, Solana's extended token standard that enables native compliance controls at the token level.

This is the same standard Paxos used for PYUSD and USDG on Solana. It lets us enforce the same regulatory requirements that exist on Ethereum without relying on a separate contract layer to do it.

The Permanent Delegate extension ensures PAXG on Solana meets the same regulatory requirements as the Ethereum contract. The result is a Solana-native PAXG token that carries the same compliance posture and supply verifiability as the Ethereum original.

This Is the FoundationThe Solana launch is the first step in PAXG's multi-chain expansion. The contract upgrades and infrastructure we shipped today  are built to add new chains faster with less overhead each time.

Whether you're a builder integrating tokenized gold into a Solana application or an institutional investor looking to learn how to buy PAXG, reach out here to get started or learn more.  

Footnotes:

¹ Solana RWA TVL growth from $215M to $2.5B over twelve months as of May 2026. Source: RWA.xyz. Reported independently by MEXC News and CryptoNews.net.

² Solana lending markets reaching $3.6B: as of December 2025 per DeFiLlama. Verify current figures before publication at defillama.com/chain/Solana as lending TVL fluctuates.

³ Last officially confirmed major outage: February 6, 2024, per the Solana Foundation's June 2025 Network Health Report. As of mid-2025, Solana had gone over 16 consecutive months without a major confirmed outage. 

PAX Gold, the gold-backed token issued by Paxos, is now tradeable on Jupiter, Solana’s dominant DEX aggregator. The integration was made possible through Sunrise DeFi, a liquidity gateway built by Wormhole Labs that handles the messy plumbing of onboarding new assets to Solana.

PAXG is the first gold token regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to land on Solana.

How Sunrise makes it work Instead of forcing each new asset to negotiate with individual DEXes, liquidity providers, and block explorers one at a time, Sunrise bundles the entire onboarding process into a single pipeline. The result is day-one trading access the moment an asset goes live.

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A token like PAXG doesn’t have to sit in limbo for weeks while liquidity slowly materializes across fragmented venues. Sunrise pre-coordinates with Jupiter and other infrastructure partners, including the Solana block explorer Orb, so that trading and price discovery can happen immediately.

The platform has already tested this playbook with other assets. Bittensor’s TAO token was recently onboarded through the same process, suggesting that Sunrise is building a repeatable framework rather than a one-off integration.

Why gold on Solana matters PAXG is one of the more straightforward tokenized assets in crypto. Each token is backed by one fine troy ounce of London Good Delivery gold, held in Brinks vaults. Paxos, the issuer, operates under a New York State trust charter and is regulated by the OCC, which makes PAXG one of the few gold tokens with a clear regulatory pedigree.

Solana’s transaction fees are measured in fractions of a cent, and block times hover around 400 milliseconds.

What this means for investors Solana DeFi users can now trade a regulated gold token without bridging to Ethereum, paying Ethereum gas fees, or dealing with the latency of a slower network.

For Jupiter specifically, each new asset integration adds trading volume and fee revenue. Jupiter already dominates Solana’s DEX aggregation layer, and the Sunrise partnership effectively turns it into the default landing pad for cross-chain assets entering the ecosystem.

Wormhole, the bridge protocol behind Sunrise, suffered a high-profile exploit in 2022 that drained hundreds of millions of dollars. The team has overhauled its security since then, but the history is worth noting for anyone allocating significant capital through this pathway.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Exponent Finance just rolled out the feature that traditional finance has used for decades but DeFi has largely ignored: risk tranching. The Solana-based yield exchange launched its V2 platform on June 24, introducing a system that lets users pick their poison, either principal protection with modest returns or a higher-risk bet chasing outsized yield.

The first market uses ONyc, a reinsurance asset from OnReFinance, split into two tranches. The senior tranche (srONyc) targets roughly 6.4% APY with downside protection baked in. The junior tranche (jrONyc) aims for around 31.4% APY, absorbing more risk in exchange for the juicier number. In English: senior tranche holders get paid first if things go sideways, while junior tranche holders eat the losses first but collect bigger rewards when things go well.

How the tranching mechanics work Think of it like a layered cake where the bottom layer takes all the weight. Junior tranche depositors essentially cushion the senior tranche above them. If the underlying yield underperforms, junior holders absorb the shortfall before senior holders feel anything. If it overperforms, junior holders capture the excess.

The alpha phase launches with a $2.5 million cap, a deliberate constraint designed to stress-test the system with real capital before scaling up. Launch rewards exceeding $200K are available to early participants.

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Alongside the tranching product, V2 introduces Strategy Vaults and what Exponent calls an enhanced liquidity engine. Strategy Vaults are essentially pre-built portfolio positions that automate allocation across different yield opportunities. Rather than manually managing tranche positions, users can deposit into a vault that handles rebalancing according to a defined strategy.

Why this matters for Solana’s yield landscape The choice of a reinsurance asset as the first market is deliberate. Real-world asset (RWA) yields represent one of the fastest-growing segments in DeFi, and reinsurance specifically offers yield that’s uncorrelated with crypto market volatility. Pairing RWA yield with on-chain risk tranching creates a product that looks genuinely different from the usual lending-and-borrowing fare.

Exponent has been building toward this for a while. Since its mainnet launch in 2024, the protocol has recorded billions in trading volume without a security breach. The team has completed 12 tier-1 audits and allocated roughly $1 million specifically toward security measures.

On the funding side, Exponent has raised approximately $7.1 million in total. That includes a $2.1 million seed round in 2024 and a $5 million raise in April 2026.

What this means for investors Risk tranching isn’t a new concept in DeFi. Protocols like Tranche Finance and BarnBridge explored similar ideas during previous cycles, mostly on Ethereum. But adoption was limited, partly due to gas costs and partly because the underlying yield sources weren’t compelling enough to justify the added complexity.

For conservative investors, the senior tranche offers yield with a structural buffer against losses. For more aggressive participants, the junior tranche provides leveraged exposure to yield without the liquidation risk that comes with traditional leverage.

The $2.5 million cap on the alpha phase means this is still a small-scale experiment. Exponent plans to expand beyond the ONyc asset into other yield markets. The real test will be whether the tranching system maintains its target yields as more capital flows in and whether demand balances naturally between senior and junior tranches, because the whole structure depends on enough risk-hungry capital sitting in the junior layer to protect the conservative layer above it.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for AutoZone (AZO - Free Report) . Shares have added about 2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is AutoZone due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for AutoZone, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

AutoZone Q3 Earnings Beat EstimatesAutoZone posted third-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended May 9, 2026) earnings per share of $38.07, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $36.18 by 5.2%. Earnings per share rose 7.7% from $35.36 a year ago.

The company’s net sales increased 8.4% year over year to $4.84 billion, but fell short of the consensus mark of $4.86 billion by about 0.5%. Domestic same-store sales increased 4.1% in the quarter, led by strong commercial momentum.

Sales Growth Accelerates on Commercial MomentumIn the reported quarter, domestic commercial sales totaled $1.4 billion, up from $1.27 billion in the year-ago period. Total sales represented the company’s largest year-over-year growth in more than three years, reflecting faster top-line momentum versus the first half of fiscal 2026. Total company same-store sales rose 3.9% on a constant-currency basis, supported by a 4.1% domestic comp and a 1.6% international comp on the same basis.

The mix of growth also leaned favorably. Domestic do-it-yourself sales rose 2.2% in the quarter, while domestic commercial sales increased 10.4%. The commercial outperformance was driven by better inventory availability at satellite stores, broader Hub and Mega-Hub coverage, and continued gains tied to service speed and delivery improvements.

Profitability Reflects LIFO and Mix PressureGross profit rose to $2.52 billion from $2.35 billion in the prior-year quarter. Gross profit margin was 52.2%, down 57 basis points from the year-ago period. A $20 million non-cash LIFO charge in the quarter, which contrasted with a $16 million LIFO credit in the prior-year quarter, weighed on the year-over-year margin comparison.

Operating profit increased 6.6% to $923.8 million. Operating expenses were 33.1% of sales versus 33.3% last year, indicating modest leverage despite the faster store growth cadence. Net income rose to $641.5 million from $608.4 million a year ago.

Store Growth Push Builds Scale Across RegionsAutoZone continued to add stores at a faster pace. During the quarter, it opened 82 new stores globally, including 57 in the United States, 20 in Mexico and five in Brazil. Total store count ended at 7,856, consisting of 6,766 in the United States, 933 in Mexico and 157 in Brazil.

The company continues to expand its commercial footprint. Mega-Hubs acted as a key driver of improved parts availability, as these locations typically carry a significantly broader SKU count and can lift both commercial and retail demand by shortening delivery times in local markets.

Capital Returns Remain a Key FeatureShare repurchases stayed sizable in the quarter. AutoZone bought back 164,000 shares for $586.3 million at an average price of $3,582 per share, ending the period with $0.8 billion remaining under its current authorization.

Liquidity remained solid alongside a leveraged balance sheet structure typical of the company’s capital strategy. Cash and cash equivalents were $253.7 million as of May 9, 2026, while total debt stood at $9.02 billion, down from $8.8 billion as of May 10, 2025. The company reported a leverage ratio of 2.5x EBITDAR.

Inventory Position Tracks Growth and InflationInventory continued to build as the company invests to support growth initiatives and new stores. Merchandise inventories rose 10.8% year over year to $7.56 billion. Inventory per store increased to $962,000 from $908,000 in the year-ago quarter.

Net inventory, defined as merchandise inventory less accounts payable, remained negative on a per-store basis. Net inventory per store was negative $107,000 compared with negative $142,000 last year, while accounts payable as a percentage of inventory was 111.1% compared with 115.6% a year ago.

Q4 Commentary Centers on Inflation and LIFOThe company expects inflation and ticket growth to moderate in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter, with commentary pointing to a mid-4% range for ticket trends as the company laps higher inflation from the prior year. It also expects a planned non-cash LIFO charge of approximately $30 million for the fourth quarter, which would pressure gross margin and earnings per share versus a more favorable prior-year LIFO comparison.

The company expects weather-related softness late in the quarter, affecting certain heat-driven categories, while reiterating confidence in summer performance given ongoing execution initiatives. Internationally, the company expects a softer macro environment in Mexico and Brazil, with expectations for constant-currency same-store sales in a range similar to the third quarter.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?It turns out, estimates review have trended upward during the past month.

VGM ScoresCurrently, AutoZone has a average Growth Score of C, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with an A. However, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Interestingly, AutoZone has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Key Takeaways Teradyne's Q1 2026 robotics revenues rose 32% year over year to $91 million, its fourth straight gain. AI-related demand made up nearly 70% of Q1 2026 revenues, up from about 60% in the prior quarter. TER expects a large e-commerce customer to triple its 2026 revenue contribution versus 2025. Teradyne (TER - Free Report) is benefiting from the accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across multiple industries, which is driving robust growth in its robotics and test solutions businesses. AI-related demand accounted for nearly 70% of the company’s revenues in the first quarter of 2026, up from about 60% in the previous quarter.

The company’s Robotics division delivered its fourth consecutive quarter of sequential growth, with first-quarter 2026 robotics revenues up 32% year over year to $91 million. This growth is notable because the first quarter is typically a seasonally weaker quarter. The company’s “one sales team” approach is driving results across verticals, and AI revenues now represents 15% of robotics sales.

The company’s robots are now used in environmental sensing within data centers, and Teradyne recently showcased a complex physical AI work cell in partnership with Generalist at NVIDIA’s GTC event. This demonstrates Teradyne’s ability to innovate and integrate AI-driven robotics into high-growth markets such as e-commerce, electronics manufacturing and semiconductors.

Further expanding its portfolio via partnership, in April 2026, Teradyne Robotics and Flex expanded their collaboration, with Flex both deploying Universal Robots cobots and MiR autonomous mobile robots in its own facilities and manufacturing key robotics components for Teradyne’s customers worldwide.

Teradyne continues to expect its large e-commerce customer to triple its revenue contribution in 2026 compared with 2025, which, if executed, would improve scale and utilization in the Robotics segment.

Teradyne Suffers From Stiff CompetitionTeradyne is facing stiff competition from companies such as KLA Corporation (KLAC - Free Report) and Cohu (COHU - Free Report) . Both KLA and Cohu are expanding their footprint in the AI space.

KLA is benefiting from the growing demand for AI space through its leadership in process control and its ability to address growth markets in wafer fab equipment, including high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging.

In May 2026, Cohu secured approximately $5 million in orders for its DiamondX semiconductor test platform from a leading chip manufacturer to support the development and production of next-generation gallium nitride (GaN) power devices for AI data center power architectures.

TER’s Share Price Performance, Valuation, and EstimatesTeradyne shares have surged 120.7% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s growth of 15% and the Zacks Electronics - Miscellaneous Products increase of 70.6%.

TER Stock Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

TER stock is trading at a premium with a forward 12-month Price/Sales of 13.47X compared with the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry’s 7.64X. TER has a Value Score of F.

TER Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $7.09 per share, which has been unchanged over the past 30 days. This suggests 79.04% year-over-year growth.

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

Kalshi has added perpetual futures contracts for Zcash ($ZEC), NEAR Protocol ($NEAR), Dogecoin ($DOGE), and Shiba Inu ($SHIB) to its platform, the latest step in a rapid expansion of the prediction market operator's regulated derivatives business.

Four New Contracts, 13 Crypto Assets Total The additions bring the total number of supported crypto assets to 13, alongside Bitcoin and other altcoins. Zcash perpetuals are offered with up to 2x leverage, while NEAR contracts allow leverage of up to 2.6x. Shiba Inu's perpetual contract, listed under the ticker KSHIB, also carries a maximum leverage ratio of 2x.

The contracts trade under Kalshi's American Perpetuals label, a product line that never expires and instead settles through periodic funding payments between traders. The contracts are available through a structure approved by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and do not carry expiration dates.

Kalshi opened its perpetuals push in late May with Bitcoin, the first such contract ever cleared for trading on a U.S. venue. Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Hyperliquid followed through June under the same regulated framework. Kalshi is the first company in U.S. history to offer regulated perpetual futures to American traders.

Some Contracts Still Awaiting CFTC Sign-Off Kalshi has already secured approval for most of its filed products, though contracts linked to Stellar, Polkadot, and Hedera remain under review by the CFTC. Because such products may vary significantly depending on the assets they reference, the Commission took the view that a voluntary, case-by-case review process under Regulation 40.3 is the appropriate route for listing perpetual contracts, rather than self-certification.

The approvals came despite CME Group's lawsuit against the U.S. CFTC and its chairman, alleging that these contracts are swaps. The SEC and CFTC are also requesting public comments to clarify and harmonize definitions of derivatives products, especially swaps.

Last year, crypto exchanges processed $86 trillion in perpetual futures volume, according to data from CoinGecko. The bulk of that activity has historically taken place on offshore platforms, making Kalshi's regulated onshore offering a notable structural shift for U.S. traders.

Sources:
crypto.news: Kalshi launches Zcash and SHIB perps as lawsuit heats up
CFTC: Order for Approval of Kalshi BTCPERP Contract
CoinDesk: U.S. CFTC opens crypto perp door with approval of first regulated firm

From Meme to Multi-Vertical Ecosystem@Floki turns five years old today, and the project looks markedly different from the community-driven meme asset it started as in June 2021. Since its launch, the project has evolved beyond its meme origins to develop a multi-faceted ecosystem including decentralized finance products, NFT marketplaces, and metaverse gaming initiatives. At the core of that buildout sits the Valhalla play-to-earn metaverse, the @FlokiFi locker suite, and the @TokenFi platform, which is targeting the tokenized real-world asset market.

TokenFi is the RWA tokenization platform built by the Floki team and governed by the Floki DAO, powered by its own separate token ($TOKEN). The $FLOKI trading bot also contributes directly to token economics: the Telegram and Discord-based trading bot routes 50% of its fees directly to buy-and-burn, creating real deflationary pressure that is modest but genuine.

The ecosystem incorporates deflationary mechanisms more broadly, with a percentage of fees from products like the FlokiFi Locker and the trading bot used to buy back and permanently burn $FLOKI tokens, reducing overall supply over time.

Institutional Push and the ETP PlayThe most significant strategic development of the past year has been @Floki's move into regulated financial products. The Valour Floki SEK ETP, now trading on Sweden's Spotlight Stock Market, provides both retail and institutional investors with regulated exposure to $FLOKI without requiring direct ownership of the digital asset. It also represents the first ETP linked to a project built on the BNB Chain other than Binance's own token.

Valour's ETP products are fully hedged by underlying digital assets, with custody handled by licensed institutions including Copper, and the company's base prospectuses are approved by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority. A second ETP targeting Switzerland's SIX Swiss Exchange is also in the pipeline. In the project's June 2026 AMA, Floki's core advisor noted that the team has ticked up practically all the boxes for the SIX ETP to go live, but sustainably improved market conditions are needed before it launches.

@Floki also achieved a key regulatory milestone by registering a MiCAR-compliant white paper with ESMA, enabling access to all EU-regulated platforms. The EU ETP listing and MiCAR compliance are distinctions that Dogecoin and Pepe do not have, with Floki leaning into regulation rather than running from it.

The project's five-year arc illustrates an increasingly common pattern in crypto: a meme-origin token attempting to underpin speculative community energy with durable on-chain infrastructure. Whether the utility thesis ultimately drives price recovery remains an open question, but the institutional groundwork being laid today sets a different baseline than most meme-era projects can claim.

Sources:
Floki Monthly AMA with B, June 2026 (Floki Official Blog)
Valour Launches First Regulated ETP for Floki Token in Europe (FW Business)
Floki ETP Receives Liquidity Approval from its DAO (BeInCrypto)

The Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry players like Kulicke and Soffa Industries (KLIC - Free Report) , Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT - Free Report) and Veeco Instruments (VECO - Free Report) are benefiting from massive investment in AI infrastructure. Hyperscalers and cloud providers are expanding data center capacity, driving demand for leading-edge logic chips, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), advanced packaging and optical networking solutions. As AI processors become more complex, advanced packaging technologies have become a major investment area. More advanced process technologies, heterogeneous integration, higher process intensity and sophisticated packaging require additional deposition, etch, annealing, bonding and metrology equipment. Strong growth in memory equipment demand bodes well for industry players.

Industry Description The Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry comprises companies that provide a range of solutions to address the needs of wafer processing facilities, as well as device packaging and test facilities, and semiconductor manufacturing processes. The solutions offered by the industry participants include thin-film processing systems, photonics, process-control tools (that perform macro defect inspections and metrology), metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, advanced packaging lithography, wet etch and clean, laser annealing, and 3D wafer inspection systems. A few industry participants also offer micro-contamination control products and advanced material-handling solutions. Contamination-free transportation, storage and delivery of materials have gained immense significance in recent times.

3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Electronics Industry Miniaturization Enhances Prospects: Industry participants are benefiting from the ongoing transition in semiconductor manufacturing technology. The demand for advanced packaging, which enables the miniaturization of electronic products, remains strong. The consistent shift to smaller dimensions, increasing complexity in transistor design and the rapid adoption of new device architectures, such as FinFET, 3D NAND and GAA, along with the increasing utilization of new manufacturing materials to increase transistor and bit density, are driving the demand for solutions provided by the industry players. Moreover, the emergence of techniques like wafer-level packaging is driving the need for a high-purity manufacturing environment free of contaminants. The rising demand for clean processing, as well as wafer carrier cleaning and conditioning tools, is a key catalyst for industry participants.

Complex Process Driving Demand: The requirement for faster, more powerful, compact and energy-efficient semiconductors is expected to increase rapidly with emerging applications, including AI, high-performance and cloud computing, smartphones, wearable technology, self-driving vehicles, the Internet of Things (IoT), gaming and virtual reality, and smart healthcare. Semiconductor manufacturers like Intel, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductors are primarily looking to maximize manufacturing yields at lower costs. This is making semiconductor manufacturing processes more complex and driving the demand for solutions offered by industry participants. The rapid adoption of IoT-supported factory automation solutions is another contributing factor. The increasing deployment of 5G and the growing demand for edge computing are other key catalysts.

DRAM & HBM Demand Strong: Memory has shifted from being a bottleneck to a major investment opportunity. Memory manufacturers are expanding both greenfield fabs and existing facilities to increase AI server capacity. HBM is emerging as one of the strongest secular growth drivers due to its critical role in AI accelerators and high-performance computing. As GPUs become more powerful, memory bandwidth has become a key bottleneck, prompting memory manufacturers to aggressively expand HBM capacity. The broader DRAM market is also poised for sustained growth as AI applications require significantly larger memory capacity.

Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bullish Prospects The Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry is housed within the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector. It carries a Zacks Industry Rank #4, which places it in the top 2% of more than 250 Zacks industries.

The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bullish near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than two to one.

The industry’s position in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of the positive earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, analysts appear optimistic about this group’s earnings growth potential. Since Jan. 31, 2026, the industry’s earnings estimates for 2026 have increased 48%.

Given the positive industry outlook, there are a number of stocks worth buying. However, before we present the stocks you may want to consider for your portfolio, let us take a look at the industry’s recent stock-market performance and valuation picture.

Industry Beats Sector & S&P 500 The Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry has outperformed the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector and the S&P 500 over the past year.

The industry has jumped 233.1% over this period compared with the S&P 500’s return of 23.4% and the broader sector’s appreciation of 37.1%.

One-Year Price Performance

Industry's Current Valuation On the basis of the trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA ratio, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery companies, we see that the industry is trading at 42.52X compared with the S&P 500’s 18.23X. The industry is trading above the sector’s trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA of 19.7X.

Over the last five years, the industry has traded as high as 44.67X and as low as 4.03X, with the median being 12.7X, as the charts below show.

EV/EBITDA Ratio (TTM)

3 Electronics Stocks to Buy Right Now Kulicke and Soffa: This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) is riding on strong demand for Thermo-Compression Bonding (TCB). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Kulicke and Soffa expects TCB revenues to exceed $100 million in fiscal 2026. The company is expanding production capacity to support approximately $400 million in Advanced Solutions revenue, positioning KLIC to capitalize on the AI packaging cycle.

An expanding portfolio bodes well for Kulicke and Soffa’s prospects. Introduction of new solutions, including the Asterion-TW power semiconductor platform, ProMEM memory suite and advanced dispense products, is noteworthy. KLIC is increasing investments in hybrid bonding and panel-level packaging. These initiatives position the company to capture future demand across HBM, DRAM, power semiconductors and next-generation heterogeneous integration.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kulicke and Soffa Industries’ fiscal 2026 earnings has been unchanged at $3.34 per share over the past 30 days. Shares have jumped 170.6% year to date.

Price & Consensus: KLIC

Ultra Clean Holdings: This Zacks Rank #1 company believes the semiconductor industry is in the early stages of a multiyear AI-driven expansion, supported by hyperscaler investments, leading-edge foundry logic, HBM and advanced packaging demand. UCTT expects momentum to strengthen through the second half of 2026 and into 2027 as customers increase wafer fab equipment spending and fab utilization.

Ultra Clean’s existing manufacturing network supports approximately $3 billion in annual revenues and can scale to roughly $4 billion with only modest incremental capital investment. As volumes rise, UCTT expects higher factory utilization, better operating leverage and continued margin expansion, supported by its UCT 3.0 operational strategy and digital transformation initiatives.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ultra Clean Holdings’ 2026 earnings has climbed 4.7% to $2.46 per share over the past 30 days. Shares have skyrocketed 328.1% on a year-to-date basis.

Price & Consensus: UCTT

Veeco: This Zacks Rank #1 company continues to benefit from strong demand in advanced packaging, logic, memory and silicon photonics, with management highlighting sustained order momentum and increasing visibility into 2027. Veeco expects AI infrastructure investments to drive durable multiyear growth across its semiconductor portfolio.

Veeco secured more than $250 million in orders for MOCVD, wet processing and Ion Beam Deposition systems supporting indium phosphide laser manufacturing for AI data centers. Deliveries begin in 2026 and accelerate significantly in 2027, reinforcing the company's leadership in optical networking technologies as data centers transition from copper interconnects to optics.

The company is increasing manufacturing capacity for Advanced Packaging and Ion Beam Deposition systems while continuing to expand opportunities in HBM, EUV mask blanks, GaN power devices and advanced annealing. Veeco expects these technologies to drive meaningful served available market expansion through 2030, providing multiple long-term growth drivers beyond the current AI cycle.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Veeco’s 2026 earnings has been steady at $1.65 per share over the past 30 days. Shares have appreciated 149% year to date.

Price & Consensus: VECO

For the first time in eight years, Render Network doesn’t have enough GPUs to go around. The decentralized compute platform recorded negative GPU supply availability in Q2 2026, meaning demand for processing power officially outstripped every node the network could throw at it.

The last time this happened was 2018, when Render was a fraction of its current size.

The numbers behind the shortage Render onboarded roughly 60,000 new GPUs across 180 countries in just six months. Every single one was fully utilized immediately upon joining the network.

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AI workloads now account for 35-40% of all network activity, a dramatic leap from under 10% in 2024. The network currently reports approximately 5,600 active GPU nodes handling both rendering and AI compute tasks.

Token burns and the deflationary math Render operates on a Burn-and-Mint Equilibrium model, or BME. When someone purchases compute on the network, tokens are burned. When node operators provide GPU power, new tokens are minted as compensation.

Token burns surged 279% year-over-year, which serves as a direct proxy for how much compute is actually being purchased on the platform.

Why AI changed the equation Render Network originally built its reputation on 3D rendering. Artists, studios, and creators used the decentralized network to process visual effects and animation work. The jump from sub-10% to 35-40% of network activity in roughly two years reflects AI model training, inference, and fine-tuning consuming GPU capacity at unprecedented rates.

Centralized cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure have faced their own GPU shortages over the past two years, pushing some developers and companies toward decentralized alternatives.

What this means for investors The risk side deserves attention. Negative GPU supply means the network is capacity-constrained, which could push potential customers toward competitors if wait times become unacceptable. Decentralized GPU compute is an increasingly crowded space, with projects like Akash Network and io.net also vying for market share.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

NuScale Power (SMR 0.34%), a developer of small modular reactors (SMRs) for nuclear power plants, went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on May 3, 2022. Its stock opened at $10.70 per share on the first day, reached a record high of $53.43 on Oct. 15, 2025, but trades at just over $10 as of this writing. Let's see why NuScale's stock plunged, and if it could stabilize and recover in the second half of the year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why did investors ignore NuScale? NuScale's SMRs can be installed in vessels that are only 65 feet tall and nine feet wide, making them much smaller than conventional nuclear reactors. They're prefabricated and assembled on-site to reduce the time, labor, and costs required to build a nuclear power plant.

NuScale's newest SMR only generates 77 MWe on its own, while conventional nuclear power plants usually generate over 1,000 MWe. However, NuScale's SMRs can be chained together to build smaller plants in areas that aren't well-suited for larger plants.

It's currently working with Fluor (FLR 0.51%) to deploy six of its 77 MWe reactors to construct a 462 MWe plant for Romania's RoPower. It also recently agreed to deploy up to six gigawatts of its SMR capacity across seven states for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

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Those plans sound promising, but NuScale doesn't expect any of its reactors in Romania and the U.S. to come online until the early 2030s. It repeatedly postponed its first deployments as inflation drove up its costs, challenging the bullish view that SMRs would be a cheaper, faster alternative to conventional reactors for the booming AI market. It also faces intense competition from companies like Oklo (OKLO 3.90%), which are developing even smaller microreactors.

NuScale's constant delays sparked class action lawsuits, and Fluor -- which owned over half of its shares before its public debut -- liquidated its remaining shares this year. Over the past three months, its insiders sold 460 times as many shares as they bought.

Will NuScale's stock bounce back? NuScale will generate most of its revenue from its front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies, licensing fees, and consulting work until it deploys its first commercial SMRs.

For 2026, analysts expect its revenue to rise 79% to $56 million, while narrowing its net loss to $164 million. For 2027, they expect its revenue to more than triple to $173 million with a slightly wider net loss of $171 million. That growth trajectory would be impressive, but it's already priced for perfection at 63 times this year's sales. That high valuation will limit its upside potential as long as the messy macro environment drives investors away from speculative growth stocks.

Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX 1.88%) is in the spotlight for all the right reasons. It just completed the largest initial public offering in history, having raised $75 billion by offering 555 million shares at $135 each plus another $10.7 billion from the underwriters that exercised their options to buy more shares. However, the number of shares available for public trading is still tiny relative to SpaceX's over $2 trillion market cap.

The company's float could increase to as much as 37% in late August. But until then, there's a supply-demand crunch on the stock, which is contributing to its volatility. SpaceX is already down big from its intraday high of $225.64, although as of the close of trading Tuesday, it was still up 4% from its initial trading price of $150 per share.

While long-term investors may not appreciate the volatility or the financial engineering of SpaceX's public market debut, they may be intrigued by the company's bold plans to launch millions of artificial intelligence (AI) data center satellites into orbit.

Here's why SpaceX is betting big on orbital data centers, and if the growth stock is a great buy now.

Image source: Getty Images.

A different type of SpaceX satellite SpaceX isn't profitable, but it has multiple levers that it could pull to unlock growth over the next several decades and beyond. It conducted around 80% of U.S. space launches in 2025 and exited that year with 9,600 Starlink broadband and mobile satellites in orbit. It owns xAI, the social media platform X, and could deploy millions of AI compute satellites -- which SpaceX says would actually be easier to manufacture than Starlink satellites because they won't need to have complex antennas.

The company's first AI satellite design features a 70-meter wingspan and a deployed height of 20 meters. By comparison, the majority of Starlink satellites in orbit are second-generation V2 Mini satellites, which are just 4.1 meters by 2.7 meters. The bigger issue is the added payload weight: AI satellites' compute clusters will have a lot of mass, making them significantly more expensive to launch.

Additionally, SpaceX plans to launch its AI compute satellites into a higher-altitude sun-synchronous orbit. This will make solar power generation predictable. However, it will also make the massive AI satellites more visible at night than most Starlink satellites.

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Satellite manufacturing on an unprecedented scale SpaceX says it aims to have 1 gigawatt (GW) of AI compute satellites in orbit by the end of 2027, then scale that by an order of magnitude in the subsequent three years, reaching 10 GW by the end of 2028, 100 GW by the end of 2029, and 1 terawatt (1,000 GW) by the end of 2030. At a peak output of 150 kW per satellite based on its AI1 satellite design, that would mean 6,667 satellites at 1 GW, 66,667 satellites at 10 GW, 666,667 satellites at 100 GW, and then a mind-numbing 6.67 million satellites at 1 terawatt. To describe that as ambitious would be an understatement. 

To get there, SpaceX is building a more than 11-million-square-foot factory it has dubbed "Gigasat" in Bastrop, Texas, which is just outside Austin. Situated on a more than 1,000-acre site, that factory will handle end-to-end production of AI compute satellites, from the solar panels that will power them to the electronic components and satellite assembly.

Tesla (TSLA 0.45%) investors will be familiar with CEO Elon Musk's preference for vertically integrated manufacturing. Expanding beyond its Fremont, California, factory to large-scale production centers (Gigafactories) in Nevada, New York, Texas, Shanghai, and Germany was an integral part of the strategy that allowed Tesla to grow into a major global automaker. However, Tesla was expanding production while facing the scrutiny that all public companies must accept. Plus, it was capital-constrained and relied heavily on scaling up its Model 3 production to boost cash flow and fund its manufacturing expansion.

SpaceX has a massive advantage in that it is already worth more than Tesla and should have no problem turning to capital markets to raise capital, whether by issuing debt or selling more equity. SpaceX reported a net loss in 2025, yet the market doesn't seem to care, given its growth potential.

In sum, Tesla was consistently trying to prove to public markets that electric vehicles could be profitable and disrupt the automotive industry, whereas SpaceX has a first-mover advantage in a new niche of the data center market where it faces virtually no direct competitors.

AI satellite constellations are far from a sure bet Investors are giving SpaceX the green light to think big on a cosmic scale. Investors buying SpaceX today probably care way more about its timeline for launching AI compute satellites into space rather than the costs of its path to profitability.

But SpaceX will undoubtedly run into challenges along the way to deploying its constellation of satellites. And as the quarters tick by, investor patience could be tested -- especially during market sell-offs or if there's a slowdown in AI spending.

All told, there's no rush to buy SpaceX right now, at a time when sentiment is overwhelmingly positive and investor enthusiasm is through the roof. The better approach would be to keep SpaceX on your watch list and monitor its progress on constructing Gigasat and getting its first AI satellites launched into space. If its big idea pays off, SpaceX will deserve to be worth much more than it is today. But at this time, that's a big "if."

Key Takeaways Sweden's TRV asked the EU to reject broader FSD deployment over automated speeding concerns.Regulators also flagged winter-road performance and the Full Self-Driving name.TSLA won Dutch approval in April, with rollout reaching several European countries. Tesla, Inc.’s (TSLA - Free Report) Full Self-Driving (FSD) system recently gained access to public roads in the Netherlands, marking its first approval in Europe and fueling expectations of a broader rollout across the continent. However, not all countries support the expansion. Sweden’s Transport Administration (TRV) has urged the European Union to reject the wider deployment of FSD in its current form.

A key concern for Swedish regulators is Tesla’s “Speed Offset” feature, which allows FSD-equipped vehicles to travel above posted speed limits, per Reuters. While similar functionality exists in conventional cruise-control systems, regulators argue that the risks are greater when the feature is integrated into an automated driving system. In a letter to the EU’s Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV), the TRV warned that permitting automated systems to exceed legal speed limits routinely could undermine traffic laws and reduce the intended safety benefits of vehicle automation.

Beyond the speed-related issue, European authorities have also raised concerns about FSD’s performance in challenging winter conditions, particularly on snow-covered roads, as well as the potentially misleading nature of the “Full Self-Driving” name. These concerns come as the TCMV prepares to vote on June 30 on whether to extend the Dutch approval across the European Union.

The TRV does not have the authority to determine Sweden’s position in the European committee vote. That role is held by the Swedish Transport Agency (STA), which acts as the nation’s vehicle type-approval authority.

Per Reuters, the STA has been engaged in discussions with both Tesla and the Dutch road authority, RDW, regarding the matter. One reported meeting between Tesla and regulators lasted about two hours on June 4. Per the STA, talks are still ongoing. While the agency has not yet disclosed how Sweden intends to vote, it noted that the concerns highlighted by the Transport Administration continue to be considered as part of its assessment process.

Despite the opposition, Tesla achieved a significant milestone when Dutch regulators approved FSD for use on public roads in April. Since then, the technology has also been introduced in Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania and Estonia, while approval remains under review in Greece. Although Greek officials criticized Tesla for relying on North American data, they acknowledged that FSD could potentially lead to a substantial reduction in traffic accidents.

Tesla maintains that the Speed Offset feature does not compromise safety because drivers remain responsible for the vehicle and can intervene at any moment. Swedish regulators, however, believe this safeguard is insufficient to address the risks associated with automated speeding.

The European version of FSD already differs from the U.S. version. Instead of driving profiles such as “Sloth” and “Mad Max,” European users can adjust settings through “Max Speed” and “Max Speed Offset” options. The system also handles uncertain speed limits differently, displaying an estimated limit accompanied by a question mark when it lacks definitive information. Additionally, the interface labels the system as “FSD (Supervised)” rather than “Full Self-Driving,” likely to reduce the possibility of drivers misunderstanding the technology’s capabilities.

TSLA’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksTesla currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Geely Automobile Holdings Limited (GELHY - Free Report) , Douglas Dynamics, Inc. (PLOW - Free Report) and Garrett Motion Inc. (GTX - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GELHY’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 77.1% and 40.3%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2026 and 2027 has improved 18 cents and 7 cents, respectively, over the past 30 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PLOW’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 16.7% and 31.4%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2026 and 2027 has improved 39 cents and 29 cents, respectively, over the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GTX’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.6% and 20.4%, respectively. The EPS estimate for 2026 has improved 12 cents over the past 60 days, while the EPS estimate for 2027 has improved a penny over the past 30 days.

By PYMNTS  |  June 25, 2026

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European regulators say Amazon’s and Microsoft’s cloud businesses should fall under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The European Commission said in a Wednesday (June 24) press release that it had informed both tech giants of its preliminary finding that they should be considered “gatekeepers” under the DMA for their cloud computing services, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.

“In both cases, the Commission preliminarily finds that AWS and Azure, the largest and second largest cloud computing services in the EU respectively, are an important gateway between businesses and their customers in the EU,” per the release. “This is the case despite them not meeting the DMA’s quantitative thresholds for designation.”

The DMA, which came into force in 2023, established stringent rules for major online platforms, designed to prevent anti-competitive behavior. The “gatekeeper” designation applies to companies with at least 45 million end users and 10,000 business users in Europe, and a yearly turnover of 7.5 billion euros across the continent for the previous three financial years.

Amazon and Microsoft have been given the gatekeeper designation for other services, but the commission said this label should also apply to their cloud business, which have “achieved significant turnover, and their operational capacity and investments seem to have significantly outpaced those of competitors.”

The EC also notes that AWS and Azure seem to have benefitted from increased AI-related demand for cloud services, and “appear to hold an entrenched and durable position in the EU cloud computing sector, as is evidenced by AWS and Azure’s leading market position over many years.”

A spokesperson for Microsoft said th company was still engaging “constructively” with the commission in a statement provided to PYMNTS.

“The cloud sector in Europe is innovative, highly competitive and an accelerator for growth across the economy,” the statement added. “We remain concerned that ignoring the growing power of Google Cloud and Gemini will tilt the market in a harmful way.”

Amazon issued a statement in response to the EC’s preliminary findings, arguing they “disregard the breadth of cloud services available to European customers and risk deterring European investment and innovation.

“AWS faces healthy competition and customers across Europe have more choice, lower prices, and greater flexibility than ever before,” the company said.

“The EU already has comprehensive cloud regulation through the Data Act, and adding another heavy layer of overlapping regulation under the DMA undermines European competitiveness and access to cutting-edge information technology.”

The company also cites a study published by Copenhagen Economics and commissioned by AWS which found more than 200 active European cloud providers that have held a roughly 15% share of revenue since 2022.

Key Takeaways AMD powers 191 TOP500 systems, including four of the world's 10 fastest supercomputers.Data center revenues rose 57% in Q1, fueled by strong EPYC and Instinct product sales. AMD shares have jumped 142.7% year to date, beating the tech sector's 15% gain. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD - Free Report) EPYC CPUs and Instinct GPUs now power four of the world's 10 fastest supercomputers and four of the 10 most energy-efficient systems, underscoring its growing presence in high-performance computing (HPC). The company powers 191 systems on the latest TOP500 list, up 11% year over year, while 41% of the newly added systems use AMD technology.

The achievement aligns with AMD's accelerating data center momentum, which management believes will underpin the company's next phase of AI-driven growth. AI is driving demand not only for AMD’s GPUs but also for high-performance CPUs that orchestrate inference and emerging agentic AI workloads. CEO Lisa Su noted that first-quarter data center revenues surged 57% year over year, fueled by strong EPYC and Instinct sales, while server CPU revenues climbed more than 50%.

AMD expects server CPU revenues to grow more than 70% in the second quarter, supported by rising adoption of EPYC processors. AMD is on track to launch sixth-gen EPYC Venice later in 2026, with more customers validating platforms than prior generations. Management also raised its view of the server CPU market to greater than 35% annual growth, reaching over $120 billion by 2030.

At the same time, expanding deployments of Instinct GPUs and Helios rack-scale systems position AMD to capitalize on large-scale AI infrastructure investments and drive long-term data center growth. Meta plans to deploy up to 6 gigawatts of Instinct GPUs, with the first 1-gigawatt deployment powered by a custom MI450-based GPU. AMD management continues to target scaling data center AI revenues to tens of billions annually in 2027.

Tough Competition Hurts AMD’s ProspectsAMD’s prospects suffer from stiff competition. NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) and Broadcom (AVGO - Free Report) are major competitors in the Data Center space.

NVIDIA is at the center of AI computing, with its products widely used across data centers, gaming and autonomous vehicles. The company’s newer Hopper 200 and Blackwell GPU platforms are being adopted quickly as customers work to grow their AI infrastructure. Data Center revenues reached $75.2 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, up 92% from a year ago and up 21% sequentially, driven by the ramp-up of Blackwell 300 products and demand for InfiniBand, Spectrum-X Ethernet and NVLink solutions. NVIDIA remains AMD's primary rival in GPU-accelerated supercomputing.

Broadcom is benefiting from strong demand for its networking products and custom AI accelerators. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, AI semiconductor revenues reached a record $10.8 billion, up 143% year over year and above management’s outlook. Broadcom expects AI semiconductor revenue to reach $16 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, up more than 200% year over year. For fiscal 2026, management expects AI semiconductor revenue of $56 billion, up approximately 180% from fiscal 2025. Broadcom also reiterated that AI semiconductor revenue is expected to exceed $100 billion in fiscal 2027.

AMD’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesAMD shares have jumped 142.7% year to date, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s rise of 15%.

AMD Stock’s Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

AMD stock is overvalued, with a forward 12-month price/sales of 14.3X compared with the broader sector’s 6.46X. AMD has a Value Score of F.

AMD's Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.60 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, suggesting 233.3% year-over-year growth.
 

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

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Mid-year is when serious investors stop trading the headlines and start thinking about the next decade. June 2026 has handed long-term buyers a useful gift: meaningful pullbacks in some of the most important AI platforms despite fundamentals that keep getting stronger. Three names stand out as platform-scale businesses already monetizing AI at scale, with runways that extend well beyond this quarter or even this year.

The setup matters. Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s 2026 outlook frames the central question this way: growth based on long-term transformative investments may be masking the true nature of the underlying real economy, and getting the AI capex call right is the key factor for 2026. The three picks below are levered to that capex cycle from three different angles: the chip layer, the cloud layer, and the application/ad layer.

NVIDIA (NVDA) NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) trades at $199.45, roughly 27% below its 52-week high of $236.26. That is a meaningful entry discount on a business that just printed Q1 FY27 revenue of $81.61 billion, up 85% year over year, with Data Center revenue of $75.25 billion and networking up 199%.

The bull case is straightforward. Hyperscaler AI capex is locked in, and NVIDIA is the toll booth. CEO Jensen Huang called it “the largest infrastructure expansion in human history”, and the numbers back him: $119.0 billion in total supply-related commitments, 75% non-GAAP gross margins, and a board that just authorized an additional $80 billion buyback and raised the dividend from $0.01 to $0.25 per share quarterly. Analyst consensus is 95% bullish with a $298.93 target price.

The risk: Q2 FY27 guidance of $91.0 billion ± 2% excludes China data center compute entirely, and export restrictions remain the single largest swing factor on the outlook. Buyers here are paying for the rest-of-world AI build, not Beijing.

Amazon (AMZN) Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) sits at $237.27, 12% below its $278.56 52-week high. The AWS reacceleration story is finally showing up in the numbers: Q1 2026 AWS revenue of $37.59 billion grew 28%, the fastest pace in 15 quarters, at a 38% operating margin.

The platform story has three legs now. AWS is reaccelerating with landmark compute commitments from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. The custom silicon business (Graviton, Trainium, Nitro) crossed a $20 billion annual revenue run rate, growing triple digits year over year. And advertising hit $17.24 billion in Q1, up 24%, on a trailing-twelve-month base above $70 billion. CEO Andy Jassy framed the moment: “We’re in the middle of some of the biggest inflections of our lifetime.” Analyst sentiment is 94% bullish with a $312.99 consensus target.

The risk is the capex bill. Amazon is guiding to roughly $200 billion in 2026 capex, which has already compressed TTM free cash flow to $1.2 billion, down 95% year over year. Long-term debt has climbed to $119.1 billion. Investors buying today are funding an infrastructure cycle whose returns won’t be obvious for years.

Meta Platforms (META) Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is the most contrarian pick of the three. Shares trade at $560.74, down 15% year to date and 19% over the past twelve months. That weakness has happened alongside Q1 2026 revenue growth of 33% and ad revenue of $55.02 billion growing 33%, with ad impressions up 19% and price per ad up 12%.

The bull case rests on three pillars. First, the engagement base: 3.56 billion Family of Apps daily active people, with Morningstar pegging the network at close to 4 billion monthly active users. Second, profitability: operating income of $22.87 billion grew 30%, and the company expects full-year 2026 operating income to exceed 2025 levels. Third, valuation: Morningstar rates Meta 31% undervalued against an $850 fair value estimate as of June 8, 2026, and analyst consensus sits at 89% bullish with an $827.32 target price. CEO Mark Zuckerberg framed the strategy bluntly: “We’re on track to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people.”

The risk is the spend behind that ambition. 2026 capex guidance was raised to $125-145 billion, Reality Labs lost $4.03 billion in Q1 alone, and EU/US regulatory and youth-litigation overhangs have not gone away. Sentiment trackers register the chill: Meta’s composite prediction score sits at 43.84, neutral with a 7-day change of -15.42.

What to Watch From Here The thread connecting these three is platform durability. NVIDIA owns the silicon, Amazon owns the cloud rails plus a fast-growing chip line, and Meta owns the largest attention surface on the planet. Each is plowing record capital into AI. The earnings prints over the next two quarters, capex absorption, AWS growth rate sustainability, and Meta’s ad pricing trajectory, will tell investors whether the spend is producing the durable economic moats the bull case requires.

By PYMNTS  |  June 25, 2026

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Amazon became the largest retailer in the United States in terms of gross merchandise value sometime in 2025, overtaking Walmart, Seeking Alpha reported Thursday (June 25), citing a report by J.P. Morgan.

J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth and his team attributed Amazon’s gains to its selection, pricing and fast delivery, according to the report.

They added that the growth of Amazon’s retail business outpaced that of the broader eCommerce market in the first quarter and that the company is now estimated to hold 47% of the U.S. eCommerce market, per the report.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Basket Breakaway: How Amazon Is Turning Walmart’s Store Traffic Into a Retail Weakness” found that while Walmart draws tens of millions of people into its store every week for groceries, Amazon has pulled ahead in the sale of other retail items and is widening its lead.

PYMNTS Intelligence found that Amazon surpassed Walmart in terms of share of consumer retail spending in the first quarter of 2024.

As of the first quarter of 2026, Amazon holds a 9.3% share of consumer retail spending, up from 8.6% a year earlier, while Walmart holds 7.8% share, equal to the share it held in the first quarter of 2025.

Amazon holds a significant lead in four of seven retail categories, including sporting and hobby goods, musicand books; electronics and appliances; furniture and home furnishing; and clothing and apparel, according to the report.

“These are precisely the goods that travel well in a box, delivered the same day or the next in most cases,” the report said. “Amazon wins them all without owning a single aisle of shelf space.”

Amazon also holds a 0.1 percentage point lead in a fifth category, health and personal care, while Walmart has a greater share of the food and beverages category and the auto parts category, per the report.

Both Amazon and Walmart are currently holding sales events, with Amazon’s Prime Day running June 23-26 and Walmart Deals running June 22-28. An Amazon executive said groceries and household essentials will be a “real focus” of Prime Day, while Walmart is offering deals both online and in stores.

Zug, Switzerland, June 25th, 2026, Chainwire

Anyone can now execute mass payouts across EVM chains and Tron from a single platform and can choose between multiple wallet screening providers.

Just three weeks after releasing major upgrades for crypto payment collection, the Request Network Foundation today announced another expansion of its stablecoin payment platform. The release introduces one-click mass payouts on both EVM and Tron, alongside built-in bridging and token swapping across EVM chains. The update also expands compliance capabilities through the integration of Merkle Science as an additional wallet screening provider.

Together, these capabilities reinforce Request Network’s vision of providing businesses with a simpler, more scalable, and more resilient way to operate stablecoin payments globally.

Users Can Now Disburse at Scale in One Click From a Single Wallet Without Bridging or Swapping

Stablecoins are already widely used to disburse salaries, commissions, affiliate rewards, bug bounties, supplier payments, and customer refunds or withdrawals across the world. While settlements are now faster and cheaper in stablecoins compared to fiat, the operational processes needed to send funds remain complex as recipients usually require payments on multiple chains and in multiple currencies. This has forced finance teams to initiate multiple transactions in separate currencies and from multiple wallets.

Request Network now abstracts away this fragmentation, allowing anyone to initiate mass payouts from a single wallet in a single currency to pay recipients across the top 6 EVM chains (Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and BNB Chain) in USDC and USDT.

Through a single signature, a mass payout can now be initiated even if the individual transactions need to be bridged and swapped to reach their recipient. Request Network protocol automatically retrieves and batches bridge and swap quotes in order to funnel every payment of a batch to its correct destination in just one approval.

To simplify the process further, Request Network also allows any recipient to set and update their payment preferences so payments are always routed to where they should go.

This represents one of the biggest breakthroughs in cross-chain and swapping abstraction, bringing payers and recipients closer than ever before, regardless of the blockchain or currency they trust.

Mass Payouts Now Available on Tron

Alongside EVM mass payouts, Request Network also announced the support of mass payouts on Tron, becoming the first protocol to combine both capabilities.

Thanks to this release, anyone can now send USDT to multiple recipients on Tron in a single transaction, unlocking large-scale payouts on one of the most used chains in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

With this release, anyone can now manage all stablecoin payouts globally from the Request Network protocol.

More Choice for Wallet Screening

Alongside mass payouts, Request Network also announced a partnership with Merkle Science to offer additional wallet screening providers on the protocol.

As a reminder, Request Network offers built-in wallet screening to protect its users from high-risk wallet interactions. When enabled, this feature allows payments to be executed only if the payer or recipient satisfies the preset screening policies, helping businesses to avoid exposure to high-risk wallets which may lead to asset freezing or difficulties off-ramping to fiat.

By expanding its integration of Merkle Science, Request Network just became one of the safest ways to receive crypto onchain, while accommodating for recipients’ preferences.

Tristan Wallaert, CEO of the Request Network Foundation, said: “Stablecoins allowed money to move globally without the usual fiat constraints, but executing payments at scale remains a bottleneck and is forcing users to rely on payment service providers. Anyone should be able to pay by himself hundreds of payments across chains in just a single operation.High risk wallets exposure has tarnished the crypto reputation recently, if we want to provide the best protection to blockchain users they need to be able to use the best screening providers. Sending and receiving payments must become intuitive and safe if we want stablecoins to be a real alternative to fiat.”

Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO of Merkle Science, said: “As stablecoin payments become more global and cross-chain, compliance needs to become just as seamless as the payment experience itself. Our integration with Request Network helps businesses screen wallets with greater confidence, reduce exposure to high-risk activity, and scale onchain payments without compromising trust or operational efficiency”.

About Request Network

Since 2017, Request Network has developed, educated about, and promoted the use of open-source, decentralized and permissionless protocols that provide infrastructure for on-chain payments and related financial flows.

Request Network allows anyone to send and receive crypto at scale, across chains, without custodial intermediaries. The protocol is developed by a community-funded foundation whose mission is to make crypto payments accessible while protecting its participants.

To date, more than $2 billion has moved thanks to Request Network technology.

Press kit

About Merkle Science

Merkle Science provides blockchain analytics and crypto compliance solutions that help businesses detect, investigate, and prevent financial crime across digital assets. Its platform supports wallet screening, transaction monitoring, risk intelligence, and investigations, enabling crypto platforms, financial institutions, and payment providers to manage onchain risk and meet compliance requirements at scale.

Contacts CEO
Tristan Wallaert
Request Network Foundation
[email protected]
Director of Business Operations
Álvaro García
[email protected]