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Time-Sensitive: Peabody Energy's Inflated Metallurgical Coal Segment Guidance for 2026 Allegedly Concealed Known Operational Failures at Centurion Mine

, /PRNewswire/ -- SueWallSt alerts investors in Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE: BTU) of a pending securities class action. Class Period: October 14, 2024 through May 4, 2026. Find out if you may qualify to recover losses or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. at [email protected] | (888) SueWallSt.

Peabody's full-year 2026 metallurgical coal segment volume guidance was set at 10.3 to 11.3 million tons with costs targeted at $113 per tonne. That guidance was slashed by 1 million tons and costs ballooned to $123 to $133 per ton after concealed problems surfaced. The Court has set August 24, 2026 as the deadline to apply for lead plaintiff appointment. 

"Investors deserve transparency about material risks that could affect their investments. When a company issues volume and cost guidance while aware of significant commissioning obstacles, shareholders are entitled to know the full picture before making investment decisions." -- Joseph E. Levi, Esq.

The Alleged Volume Guidance Inflation

The lawsuit asserts that management repeatedly reaffirmed met coal segment targets knowing that Centurion's ramp-up faced serious impediments. As late as February 2026, the Company projected Centurion would deliver 3.5 million tons for the full year and touted an acceleration of the longwall start-up timeline to February 2026 from the original March target. These projections allegedly formed the backbone of segment-wide volume guidance that investors relied upon when purchasing BTU shares at prices reaching $39.50.

Seaborne Met Coal Guidance: What Was Allegedly Omitted

The action claims that when management issued its 10.3 to 11.3 million ton met segment target, it failed to disclose several material facts:

The Company was deploying 8-year-old mining equipment that had never been tested under full underground load conditions Electrical systems combining updated technology with aging hardware had not been validated in operational settings Mechanical risks with conveyors and chutes were foreseeable given the equipment's extended storage period Centurion's contribution of 3.5 million tons represented roughly one-third of total met segment volume, making any shortfall devastating to the overall target Floor softening and moisture accumulation risks in the longwall area were known geological characteristics of the mine site The $113 per tonne cost target depended entirely on achieving volume levels that the equipment condition made uncertain The $29 Per Ton Cost Explosion

As alleged, the gap between projected and actual costs reveals the depth of the guidance failure. Management targeted $113 per tonne for met coal costs in 2026. First quarter actual costs came in at $142 per ton, a 25.7% overshoot driven primarily by depressed Centurion volumes. The met segment recorded an adjusted EBITDA loss of $7 million for Q1 2026, reduced by approximately $80 million from Centurion's ramp-up failures alone, including $10 million of additional commissioning costs that were never contemplated in original guidance.

Why Guidance Accuracy Allegedly Matters to Shareholders

Volume and cost guidance are not aspirational targets. As pleaded in the complaint, investors and analysts built financial models, set price targets, and made purchase decisions based on management's specific numerical projections. When the Company reaffirmed full-year met segment volume guidance even in its March 30 disclosure, only to cut it weeks later, the lawsuit contends this compounded the misleading nature of earlier statements.

Submit your information here or call (888) SueWallSt.

WHY SUEWALLST: SueWallSt is powered by Levi & Korsinsky LLP. Levi & Korsinsky LLP has established itself as a nationally-recognized securities litigation firm that has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders and built a track record of winning high-stakes cases. The firm has extensive expertise representing investors in complex securities litigation and a team of over 70 employees to serve our clients. For seven years in a row, Levi & Korsinsky has ranked in ISS Securities Class Action Services' Top 50 Report as one of the top securities litigation firms in the United States. 

Frequently Asked Questions About the BTU Lawsuit

Q: Who is eligible to join the BTU investor lawsuit? A: Investors who purchased BTU stock or securities between October 14, 2024 and May 4, 2026 and suffered financial losses may be eligible. Eligibility is based on purchase date and documented losses, not on whether you still hold the shares.

Q: What specific misstatements does the BTU lawsuit allege? A: The complaint alleges Peabody Energy, James C. Grech, Mark A. Spurbeck, and Marc E. Hathhorn made materially false or misleading statements regarding the Centurion mine ramp-up timeline, metallurgical coal segment volume guidance, and cost targets during the class period. When the true operational state was revealed, the stock price declined sharply.

Q: What is a lead plaintiff and why does it matter? A: A lead plaintiff is the investor appointed by the court to represent the entire class. Lead plaintiffs are typically investors with the largest documented losses. Being appointed does not increase individual recovery but gives direct oversight of how the case is run.

Q: What does it cost me to participate? A: Nothing. Securities class actions are handled on a pure contingency basis. No upfront fees, no retainer, no out-of-pocket costs.

Q: What if I already sold my BTU shares -- can I still recover losses? A: Yes. Eligibility is based on when you purchased, not whether you still hold them. Investors who bought during the class period and sold at a loss may still participate.

Q: How long will the lawsuit take to resolve? A: Securities class actions typically take two to four years from initial filing to resolution.

Q: What if I missed the lead plaintiff deadline? A: The deadline applies only to investors seeking lead plaintiff appointment. Class members who miss it can still participate in any settlement or recovery.

Q: What documents do I need to make a claim? A: Brokerage statements or trade confirmations showing purchase dates, share quantities, prices paid, and any subsequent sale dates and prices.

CONTACT:
Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
Joseph E. Levi, Esq.
33 Whitehall Street, 27th Floor
New York, NY 10004
[email protected]
Tel: (888) SueWallSt
Fax: (212) 363-7171 

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.  

SOURCE SueWallSt.com

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Stock to Watch: Valero Energy (VLO - Free Report) Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries, is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products. The company is headquartered in San Antonio, TX. It was founded in 1980 and is one of the largest independent refiners and marketers of petroleum products in the United States.

VLO is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.

Momentum investors should take note of this Oils-Energy stock. VLO has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 28.3% over the past four weeks.

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Stock to Watch: Five Below (FIVE - Free Report) Five Below, Inc. is a Pennsylvania-based specialty value retailer offering trend-right merchandise priced mostly at $5 and below, with a select range priced above $5. The chain targets pre-teens, teens and value-focused families with an edited assortment that includes certain brands and licensed merchandise.

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With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Growth and VGM Style Scores, FIVE should be on investors' short list.

From a technical perspective, Lamb Weston (LW - Free Report) is looking like an interesting pick, as it just reached a key level of support. LW recently overtook the 200-day moving average, and this suggests a long-term bullish trend.

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What are the Zacks Style Scores? Developed alongside the Zacks Rank, the Zacks Style Scores are a group of complementary indicators that help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics, each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F. The better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform; an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreGrowth investors are more concerned with a stock's future prospects, and the overall financial health and strength of a company. Thus, the Growth Style Score analyzes characteristics like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will see sustainable growth over time.

Momentum ScoreMomentum investors, who live by the saying "the trend is your friend," are most interested in taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Utilizing one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, among other factors, the Momentum Style Score can help determine favorable times to buy high-momentum stocks.

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How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank A proprietary stock-rating model, the Zacks Rank utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings outlook, to help investors create a successful portfolio.

It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

With more than 800 top-rated stocks to choose from, it can certainly feel overwhelming to pick the ones that are right for you and your investing journey.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

To maximize your returns, you want to buy stocks with the highest probability of success. This means picking stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you find yourself looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, make sure they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.

A stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, for instance, even one with Scores of A and B, will still have a declining earnings forecast, and a greater chance its share price will fall too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Cactus, Inc. (WHD - Free Report) Along with its consolidated affiliates, Cactus Inc is involved in manufacturing, designing and selling wellhead and pressure control equipment. The products are being utilized by customers for drilling and completing onshore oil and natural gas wells. The equipment are also used by upstream energy companies during production phases in oil and gas wells. Thus, Cactus, headquartered in Houston, TX, generates significant cashflow from selling and renting wellhead and pressure control equipment.

WHD is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Momentum investors should take note of this Oils-Energy stock. WHD has a Momentum Style Score of B, and shares are up 9.8% over the past four weeks.

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With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, WHD should be on investors' short list.

Can Medpace Stock Keep up this Pace?Medpace NASDAQ: MEDP reported double-digit growth in second-quarter revenue and earnings, while management described the business environment as strong and said lower cancellations helped drive record net bookings.

CEO August Troendle said on the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call that cancellations were “well-behaved” in the period and supported a record quarter for net bookings. He added that requests for proposals increased both sequentially and year over year, producing what he called “high-quality opportunities.”

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“Overall, the environment remains constructive into July,” Troendle said. “We are making good progress in positioning the business for 2027.”

Second-Quarter Revenue Rises 17.2% CFO Kevin Brady said Medpace generated second-quarter revenue of $707.3 million, up 17.2% from the year-ago period. Revenue for the first six months of 2026 was $1.41 billion, an increase of 21.7%.

EBITDA for the quarter rose 17.6% to $153.4 million from $130.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. EBITDA margin was 21.7%, compared with 21.6% a year earlier. Year-to-date EBITDA was $302.8 million, up 21.5%, with the EBITDA margin flat at 21.4%.

Brady said the year-to-date margin reflected the impact of higher reimbursable costs, offset primarily by lower employee-related costs.

Net income increased 34.5% to $121.4 million from $90.3 million in the prior-year quarter. Brady attributed the stronger net income growth relative to EBITDA growth primarily to a lower effective tax rate and higher interest income. Diluted earnings per share were $4.25, compared with $3.10 in the second quarter of 2025.

For the first six months of 2026, net income was $245.2 million, up 19.7% from $204.9 million in the comparable prior-year period. Year-to-date diluted EPS was $8.53, compared with $6.79.

Bookings Reach Record Level as Cancellations Improve Net new business awards entering backlog increased 28.2% year over year to $795.7 million, producing a net book-to-bill ratio of 1.13. Ending backlog as of June 30 was approximately $3 billion, up 4.9% from the prior year. Brady said Medpace expects roughly $1.96 billion of backlog to convert to revenue over the next 12 months.

Backlog conversion in the second quarter was 24.1% of beginning backlog. Brady also said Medpace’s top five and top 10 customers represented approximately 31% and 40%, respectively, of revenue over the last 12 months.

In response to analyst questions, Troendle said the improvement in net bookings from the first quarter was driven more by reduced cancellations than by gross bookings. He said cancellations had fallen to a “very good level,” though not an unusually low one.

“Cancellations are always a wild card,” Troendle said, adding that the company has limited ability to predict them. He said Medpace has been careful about what it recognizes in backlog when programs include interim analyses, regulatory decisions or other points that could affect whether a study continues.

Therapeutic Mix Shifts Back Toward Oncology Troendle said recent growth among Medpace’s top customers had been driven “quite a bit” by metabolic work, including large programs within the company’s top five customers. However, he said the mix of new opportunities has shifted in recent quarters.

“Oncology has come back quite a bit in terms of both our award notifications” and bookings, Troendle said. He said oncology represented more than half of overall bookings and award notifications in the second quarter, while cardiometabolic had “dropped off quite a bit” in new award notifications.

Troendle said he expects the company’s therapeutic mix to move back toward historical averages over the next year or so, with oncology regaining a larger position in the mix. He said some of the very large metabolic programs are reducing, and new opportunities in that area are not as large as they were a year ago.

Management also addressed questions about backlog conversion and whether metabolic programs were responsible for a higher burn rate. Troendle said he would “challenge the very premise” that metabolic programs were the primary driver of increased conversion, noting that Medpace often limits backlog recognition beyond interim decision points across many types of programs, including oncology.

Cash Flow, Buybacks and 2026 Guidance Medpace generated $162 million in cash flow from operating activities in the quarter, and Brady said net days sales outstanding were negative 59.6 days. The company ended the quarter with $502.7 million in cash.

During the second quarter, Medpace repurchased approximately 706,000 shares for $294.7 million. As of June 30, the company had $527 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization.

Medpace updated its full-year 2026 guidance. The company now expects:

Total revenue: $2.805 billion to $2.885 billion, representing growth of 10.9% to 14% over 2025 revenue of $2.53 billion. EBITDA: $618 million to $642 million, representing growth of 10.8% to 15.1% compared with 2025 EBITDA of $557.7 million. Net income: $494 million to $514 million. Diluted EPS: $17.25 to $17.95. Brady said the guidance assumes a full-year effective tax rate of 19% to 19.5%, interest income of $21.1 million and no additional share repurchases. The forecast is based on foreign exchange rates as of June 30, 2026.

Management Points to Stronger Funding Environment On the broader market backdrop, Troendle said the environment has strengthened over the last several quarters. He said clients with recent funding are generating more opportunities and moving forward with programs.

Asked about competition and pricing, Troendle said he did not see notable changes in competitive dynamics. He said the profile of opportunities has moved back toward oncology being the largest category, compared with the metabolic drivers seen about a year ago.

Troendle also said the company had implemented changes intended to improve win rates after recognizing that its win rate in 2025 had been lower than in prior years. He declined to provide details on those competitive changes but said they may have influenced the company’s strong win rate in the first quarter.

On labor, Troendle said Medpace is “in a good place,” helped by continued low employee turnover. He said the company expects high-single-digit employee growth this year and suspects that trend will continue next year. Employee growth has been strongest in the U.S., followed by Asia Pacific, including India.

About Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP)Medpace Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: MEDP is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides comprehensive clinical development services to biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. The company supports clinical trials across all phases (I–IV), offering end-to-end solutions designed to streamline the development process and accelerate the delivery of new therapies to market.

Medpace's core service offerings include clinical pharmacology, regulatory affairs consulting, project management, central laboratory services, imaging, data management and biostatistics, pharmacovigilance and medical writing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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Modine’s $4B AI Coup Freezes Out the CompetitionGentherm NASDAQ: THRM raised its full-year 2026 outlook after reporting record quarterly product revenue and stronger-than-expected automotive demand in the second quarter, executives said on the company’s earnings call.

President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Presley said the thermal management technology company delivered “an excellent first half” through commercial execution and operational discipline. He said the company continued to outperform light vehicle production while expanding its technology into markets beyond automotive, including furniture and medical products.

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Chief Financial Officer Jon Douyard said second-quarter revenue rose 11% year over year to $416 million. Excluding foreign currency translation, revenue increased 9.5%, driven by higher automotive volumes. Automotive Climate and Comfort Solutions revenue increased 14.1%, or 12.7% excluding foreign exchange.

Automotive Growth Outpaces Market Presley said Gentherm secured approximately $690 million in automotive new business awards during the second quarter, bringing year-to-date awards to more than $1 billion. He said the awards were in line with company expectations and reflected customer demand for Gentherm’s technologies.

During the question-and-answer session, Presley said the awards were “pretty well distributed” and were not driven by a single region, program or customer. He said the company remains confident that 2026 will be another strong year for new business awards.

Douyard said automotive growth was broad-based across regions and product categories. He highlighted strong performance in China, where the company benefited from domestic Chinese OEM program launches and higher take rates from global OEM customers. Lumbar and Massage Comfort Solutions revenue grew 38% year over year.

Responding to a question from Stifel analyst Nathan Jones, Douyard said Gentherm remains confident that its automotive business can grow at a mid-single-digit rate above the market over time, though he noted that performance may not be linear each year.

Margins Affected by Timing, Inventory and Warranty Accruals Gentherm reported adjusted EBITDA of $48.8 million, equal to 11.7% of sales, compared with 12.2% in the prior-year quarter. Douyard said operating leverage and operational excellence initiatives were offset by expected headwinds from inflation recovery timing, planned footprint-related inventory reductions and warranty accruals in both the automotive and medical businesses.

On a GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share were $0.14. Douyard said that figure was affected by approximately $0.55 per share of merger and restructuring expenses. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.75, up from $0.54 a year earlier.

In response to a question from Seaport Research Partners analyst Glenn Chin, Presley said the warranty accruals were tied in part to a specific automotive product with a specific customer. He said the company made mechanical robustness improvements late last year and decided to take an accrual after seeing increased claims in the first half. Presley said the company does not view the issue as part of the ongoing run rate.

Company Raises 2026 Guidance Gentherm raised its 2026 full-year guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted free cash flow. Douyard said the updated guidance excludes any impact from the planned combination with Modine Performance Technologies.

At the midpoint, Gentherm now expects 2026 revenue of $1.6 billion, representing roughly 5% growth for the year. Douyard said that compares with a forecasted decline in light vehicle production of approximately 3%, positioning the company for mid- to high-single-digit revenue growth over market.

The company expects adjusted EBITDA of $185 million to $200 million, implying a midpoint margin of approximately 12%. Douyard said margins are expected to remain lower in the third quarter before rebounding in the fourth quarter. Gentherm also projected adjusted free cash flow of $85 million to $100 million, with capital expenditures of $45 million to $55 million.

Douyard said adjusted free cash flow was approximately $16 million year to date, in line with expectations and historical seasonality, while capital expenditures were $14 million, down $9.5 million from the prior year. The company ended the quarter with net leverage of 0.3 times and liquidity of $502 million.

Expansion Beyond Light Vehicles Presley said Gentherm is making progress in applying its core technologies outside the light vehicle market. During the quarter, the company’s products were selected by two North American-based furniture brands in the home and office market. Presley said Gentherm has deployed its core technologies with five new customers in less than a year and has visibility to $50 million to $100 million of revenue in that market by 2028.

In the Q&A session, Presley said the latest data and discussions with manufacturers indicate the total addressable market for Gentherm in home and office is more than $500 million. He said the company remains confident in its 2028 revenue target for that market.

In medical products, Presley said Gentherm received FDA 510(k) clearance for ThermAffyx, a solution that combines conductive air-free patient warming with securement technology for robotic surgical procedures. He said the company is actively commercializing ThermAffyx and expects initial sales in the third quarter.

Gentherm also completed the acquisition of Innovative Medical Equipment on July 1. Douyard said the purchase price was $34 million. IME provides the ThermaZone Therapy device, a non-opioid thermal therapy solution for pain management and recovery using controlled hot and cold therapy. Douyard said IME is projected to generate approximately $17 million of full-year 2026 revenue with 20% EBITDA margins.

Presley said IME serves more than 200 Veterans Health Administration hospitals and clinics, while Gentherm has access to hospital channels through partnerships, distributors and group purchasing organizations. He said the two businesses create “a very, very strong cross-selling opportunity.”

Modine Deal and Capital Allocation Gentherm continues to work toward completing its planned combination with Modine Performance Technologies. Douyard said the company expects the transaction to close early in the fourth quarter after completing many key sign-to-close deliverables.

Presley said the combination would create a global leader in thermal and precision flow management solutions and diversify Gentherm’s end-market exposure. He said the company’s light vehicle mix would decline from approximately 97% today to roughly 63%, while expanding exposure to commercial vehicle, off-highway and power generation markets.

Douyard said Gentherm secured $800 million of committed financing through a $550 million five-year revolving credit facility and a $250 million term loan to support the Modine transaction. Upon closing, the company expects net leverage of approximately one turn.

The company also announced a new stock repurchase authorization of up to $400 million over three years. Douyard said Gentherm expects to repurchase shares after the Modine transaction closes and will continue to prioritize organic investment, share repurchases and strategic acquisitions aligned with its core technology platforms.

About Gentherm (NASDAQ:THRM)Gentherm Incorporated NASDAQ: THRM is a global developer and supplier of advanced thermal management technologies for automotive, specialty vehicle, medical, consumer and industrial markets. The company's core focus lies in delivering integrated heating and cooling systems designed to enhance energy efficiency, comfort and safety across a wide range of applications. Gentherm's product portfolio includes seat thermal systems, heated and ventilated seating surfaces, steering wheel heaters, battery thermal management solutions, and climate systems for electric vehicles.

In the automotive sector, Gentherm partners with leading original equipment manufacturers to engineer and manufacture high-performance thermal solutions that meet stringent industry demands for reduced weight, lower energy consumption and improved passenger comfort.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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Alliant Energy (LNT - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis electric and gas utility parent company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.66 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -2.9%.

Revenues are expected to be $1 billion, up 4.3% from the year-ago quarter.

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

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Alliant Energy?For Alliant Energy, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -2.54%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Alliant Energy will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Alliant Energy would post earnings of $0.82 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.82, delivering no surprise.

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

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

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

Alliant Energy doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Expected Results of an Industry PlayerAnother stock from the Zacks Utility - Electric Power industry, NorthWestern (NWE - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $0.42 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +5%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $386.22 million, up 12.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for NorthWestern has been revised 6.4% up to the current level. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%, reflecting an equal Most Accurate Estimate.

When combined with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), this Earnings ESP makes it difficult to conclusively predict that NorthWestern will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

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

For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals. Zacks Premium provides lots of different ways to do both.

Featuring daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, the research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor.

Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores is a unique set of guidelines that rates stocks based on three popular investing types, and were developed as complementary indicators for the Zacks Rank. This combination helps investors choose securities with the highest chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics, each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F. The better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform; an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreWhile good value is important, growth investors are more focused on a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score takes projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow into account to uncover stocks that will see long-term, sustainable growth.

Momentum ScoreMomentum trading is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook, and these investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." The Momentum Style Score can pinpoint good times to build a position in a stock, using factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates.

VGM ScoreIf you like to use all three kinds of investing, then the VGM Score is for you. It's a combination of all Style Scores, and is an important indicator to use with the Zacks Rank. The VGM Score rates each stock on their shared weighted styles, narrowing down the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank, which is a proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to make building a winning portfolio easier.

It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

With more than 800 top-rated stocks to choose from, it can certainly feel overwhelming to pick the ones that are right for you and your investing journey.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

To maximize your returns, you want to buy stocks with the highest probability of success. This means picking stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you find yourself looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, make sure they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

Since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank, the direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy.

Here's an example: a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one with Style Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings outlook, and a bigger chance its share price will decrease too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Sonic Automotive (SAH - Free Report) Sonic Automotive is one of the leading automotive retailers in the United States. Apart from selling new and used cars and light trucks, the company offers warranties, service contracts, vehicle financing and insurance. Further, it provides maintenance and repair services, and sells replacement parts and aftermarket automotive products. Each sale of a new or used vehicle comes with financing and insurance options and helps the firm earn financing fees and insurance and other aftermarket product commissions. Each of the company’s franchised dealerships include a fully integrated service and parts department.

SAH is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.

It also boasts a Value Style Score of A thanks to attractive valuation metrics like a forward P/E ratio of 14.55; value investors should take notice.

For fiscal 2026, two analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.14 to $6.93 per share. SAH boasts an average earnings surprise of +5.5%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Value and VGM Style Scores, SAH should be on investors' short list.

Taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for new and old investors, and Zacks Premium offers many different ways to do both.

Featuring daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, full access to the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens, the research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor.

Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics. Just like in school, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on -- that means the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreValue investors love finding good stocks at good prices, especially before the broader market catches on to a stock's true value. Utilizing ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and many other multiples, the Value Style Score identifies the most attractive and most discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.

Momentum ScoreMomentum traders and investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." This investing style is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Employing factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, the Momentum Style Score can indicate favorable times to build a position in high-momentum stocks.

VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank, which is a proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to make building a winning portfolio easier.

#1 (Strong Buy) stocks have produced an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988, which is more than double the S&P 500's performance over the same time frame. However, the Zacks Rank examines a ton of stocks, and there can be more than 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, and another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

This totals more than 800 top-rated stocks, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick the best stocks for you and your portfolio.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

To have the best chance of big returns, you'll want to always consider stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B, which will give you the highest probability of success. If you're looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, it's important they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

Since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank, the direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy.

A stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, for instance, even one with Scores of A and B, will still have a declining earnings forecast, and a greater chance its share price will fall too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: BILL Holdings (BILL - Free Report) BILL Holdings, Inc. primarily serves small and midsize businesses through its AI-powered financial operations platform that connects customers with their suppliers and clients.

BILL is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.

Momentum investors should take note of this Computer and Technology stock. BILL has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 25.2% over the past four weeks.

Two analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.05 to $2.64 per share. BILL also boasts an average earnings surprise of +21.7%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, BILL should be on investors' short list.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 23rd, 2026

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA – Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 291,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,813 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.16% of Okta worth $22,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Okta by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 6,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Okta by 81.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Okta by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 32,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in Okta by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 5,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Okta by 71.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,553,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,485,963 shares in the last quarter. 86.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of analysts have commented on OKTA shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Okta from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Okta from a “buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Arete Research set a $127.00 price target on shares of Okta and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Okta from $130.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Okta from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-eight have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.81.

View Our Latest Research Report on Okta

Insider Buying and Selling at Okta In related news, Director Shellye L. Archambeau sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $212,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $781,320. The trade was a 21.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Larissa Schwartz sold 2,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $295,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,241 shares in the company, valued at $3,028,920. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 174,224 shares of company stock worth $22,534,353 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.61% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Okta Here are the key news stories impacting Okta this week:

Positive Sentiment: Okta is being highlighted by multiple outlets as a strong momentum stock, suggesting investor interest remains high despite the pullback. Article Title Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to Okta as a beneficiary of rising enterprise AI adoption, which is supporting demand for cybersecurity, identity protection, and zero-trust tools. Article Title Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary around the AI era of cybersecurity, including the OpenAI hack discussion, reinforces the broader theme that spending on security may rise alongside AI investment. Article Title Neutral Sentiment: Okta remains one of the more widely watched stocks on Zacks, and that attention may help keep trading volume and volatility elevated. Article Title Negative Sentiment: The recent drop appears tied to no fresh negative company announcement, making the move more consistent with a post-rally cooling-off period and broader software-sector caution. Article Title Negative Sentiment: Some market participants are also worried that enterprise tech budgets could shift toward AI infrastructure, which may weigh on software spending expectations across the sector. Article Title Okta Stock Down 3.5% OKTA stock opened at $136.69 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $121.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.28. The company has a market cap of $23.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.05, a PEG ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.77. Okta, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.66 and a 12-month high of $157.00.

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.06. Okta had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 4.15%. The business had revenue of $765.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $751.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Okta’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Okta has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.790-3.870 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 0.950-0.970 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Okta, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

About Okta (Free Report)

Okta, Inc is a publicly traded provider of identity and access management solutions, headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 2009 by Todd McKinnon and Frederic Kerrest, the company completed its initial public offering in April 2017. Under the leadership of McKinnon as chief executive officer and Kerrest as chief operating officer, Okta has grown into a leading vendor in the cybersecurity space, focusing on secure user authentication, single sign-on and lifecycle management for digital identities.

At the core of Okta’s offering is the Okta Identity Cloud, a suite of cloud-native services that enable organizations to manage user access across web and mobile applications, on-premises systems and APIs.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Okta Could Truth API Become Trump Media’s First Meaningful Revenue Driver? Small Caps Are Crushing the S&P 500—3 Stocks Still Worth Buying Moog Is More Than a Missile Maker, and Wall Street Is Noticing A Boring Dividend Growth Strategy Becomes a Solid Defensive Play Want to see what other hedge funds are holding OKTA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA – Free Report).

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eversource, National Grid, EnergyHub, Sunrun, and The Mobility House — leaders in grid flexibility and smart charging technology — today announced a joint effort to test vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities in Massachusetts. Under this effort, qualifying residential customers of Eversource and National Grid in Massachusetts will be able to enroll their V2G-capable electric vehicles (EVs) in ConnectedSolutions. The existing ConnectedSolutions program uses flexible capaci.

Why the Comcast Spin-Off Won't Fix What's Actually BrokenComcast NASDAQ: CMCSA executives said the company’s second-quarter results reflected progress in wireless, streaming and studios, while broadband and theme parks remained under pressure amid competitive and macroeconomic challenges.

On the company’s earnings call, Chairman and Co-CEO Brian Roberts and Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh also emphasized the strategic separation Comcast announced three weeks earlier, saying the company is moving toward creating two focused businesses with investment-grade financial profiles.

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Comcast Highlights Separation Plans Comcast’s NBCUniversal Split Puts Broadband Back in FocusRoberts said feedback from employees, partners and other constituencies has been “overwhelmingly positive” since the separation announcement. He said the structure is intended to give both businesses “the focus and agility to win in markets that are changing fast.”

Cavanagh said Comcast is working through details of the transaction with a goal of completing the separation in approximately one year. He said a key focus is the balance sheet and capital structure, with the intention of setting up both companies with “strong investment-grade profiles” and financial flexibility to pursue growth strategies.

3 Low P/E Stocks: Separating Multibaggers From a Value TrapCFO Jason Armstrong said Comcast paused share repurchases as of July 1 and expects to remain paused through the separation. He said the priority is ensuring both businesses are well-capitalized with favorable investment-grade ratings.

Second-Quarter Results Reflect Growth and Investment Pressures Armstrong said second-quarter revenue increased 5% on a pro forma basis, partly benefiting from Telemundo and Peacock’s airing of the FIFA World Cup. Adjusted EBITDA declined 5%, which he attributed to investment in Comcast’s Connectivity & Platforms business and the first year of NBA rights costs in Content & Experiences. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.04.

Comcast generated $4.6 billion of free cash flow in the quarter and returned $2.1 billion to shareholders, including $900 million in share repurchases before the July pause. Armstrong noted that Comcast issued updated pro forma schedules reflecting the removal of Sky Germany after the sale of that business on May 31.

In Connectivity & Platforms, Cavanagh said results were broadly in line with prior commentary. He described Comcast as being nearly a year into a deliberate broadband pivot focused on simplified pricing and packaging, improved customer experience and a stronger push into wireless.

Armstrong said broadband subscriber losses improved by 34,000 year over year to a loss of 167,000. However, broadband average revenue per user declined 3.8%, reflecting simplified pricing, lower everyday price points and the impact of free wireless lines. Connectivity & Platforms EBITDA declined 5.8%.

Armstrong said Comcast expects “modest improvements” beginning in the third quarter as the company laps early go-to-market investments and more free wireless lines convert to paid relationships.

Wireless Posts Record Additions as Broadband Competition Remains Intense Wireless was a major focus of management’s remarks. Cavanagh said Comcast crossed 10 million wireless lines for the first time in the quarter, calling it a meaningful milestone. Armstrong said the company ended the quarter with 10.2 million total lines, representing 17% penetration of Comcast’s domestic residential broadband customer base and 7% of the total wireless line opportunity in its footprint.

Comcast added 448,000 net wireless lines in the quarter, its best quarter on record. Armstrong said roughly half of residential postpaid phone connects came from customers taking a free line, while premium unlimited plans accounted for about 30% of postpaid phone connects.

Steve Croney, CEO of Connectivity and Platforms, said the free-line offer is driving awareness and allowing customers to trial the product. He said a “significant majority” of customers rolling off free lines are converting to paid, consistent with expectations.

On broadband competition, Croney said the market remains intense, citing continued fiber expansion, fixed wireless aggressiveness and satellite as an emerging competitor. Armstrong said Comcast is not currently seeing Starlink as a meaningful competitive factor in its markets, but expects satellite to become more competitive over time, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

Armstrong said Comcast’s strategy is to improve its competitive position through its network, Wi-Fi product and customer experience. He added that Comcast already works with Starlink in Comcast Business by combining Comcast’s managed connectivity portfolio with satellite capabilities for enterprise customers.

Business services revenue grew 3.7% and EBITDA increased 5%, though Armstrong said both benefited from a non-recurring item tied to a long-term fiber lease renewal. Excluding that benefit, underlying revenue and EBITDA growth were just under 3%. He said enterprise solutions continue to drive growth, with larger customers seeking more complex connectivity, security and managed services.

Peacock Reaches Profitability; Media and Studios Strengthen Comcast’s media segment delivered stronger results, with Cavanagh saying it generated mid-single-digit EBITDA growth. Armstrong said media revenue increased 25% and EBITDA increased 4%, even as the company absorbed first-year NBA rights costs.

Peacock reached profitability for the first time, generating $189 million of EBITDA in the quarter, according to Armstrong. Peacock revenue increased 54%, with distribution revenue up more than 50% and advertising revenue up nearly 70%. Paid subscribers rose by 2 million sequentially to 48 million, and Armstrong said Peacock had 7 million more paid subscribers than a year earlier.

Cavanagh said Peacock’s profitability is an important milestone but added that results will vary by quarter because of sports schedules and content timing. He said the company expects Peacock profitability to continue improving on an annual basis.

Management pointed to the FIFA World Cup, NBA playoffs and “Love Island” as engagement and advertising drivers. Cavanagh said the World Cup delivered the biggest Spanish-language sporting event in U.S. media history for Telemundo and Peacock, while “Love Island” was the top overall streaming title in the U.S. this summer.

Studios also had a strong quarter. Armstrong said Studios revenue increased 25% and EBITDA rose by $141 million year over year, driven by releases including the “Super Mario Galaxy” movie, “Obsession” and international distribution of “Michael.” Cavanagh also highlighted “Minions & Monsters,” “Disclosure Day” and “The Odyssey” as contributors to the studio slate’s momentum.

Parks Face Attendance Pressure, but Long-Term Outlook Unchanged Theme parks revenue increased 3%, while EBITDA declined 5%. Armstrong said the EBITDA decline was primarily driven by continued pressure at Osaka, where China-related travel restrictions are affecting attendance. U.S. parks partially offset that pressure.

Cavanagh said the Orlando market softened beginning in June, and that trend has continued into the third quarter. He attributed the weakness mainly to attendance rather than per-capita spending, citing weaker consumer sentiment and higher travel costs as possible factors.

Epic Universe continues to perform in line with expectations, according to Cavanagh, who said guest response remains strong and the park is helping strengthen Orlando as a multi-destination resort. He said the broader softness does not change Comcast’s long-term view of the parks business.

Executives also discussed Sky’s proposed acquisition of ITV’s media and entertainment business. Cavanagh said the deal would strengthen Sky’s long-term position in the U.K. by combining Sky’s premium content, connectivity and sports leadership with ITV’s reach and digital user base.

Roberts closed his prepared remarks by saying Comcast is positioned for an AI-driven technology cycle that will require more data, bandwidth, lower latency and smarter networks. He said the company’s network roadmap includes multi-gig, symmetrical and low-latency capabilities, which he believes will support Comcast’s long-term competitive position.

About Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)Comcast Corporation NASDAQ: CMCSA is a diversified global media and technology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its principal operations are organized around Comcast Cable, which provides broadband internet, video, voice and wireless services to residential and business customers in the United States under the Xfinity and Comcast Business brands, and NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment group that develops, produces and distributes content across broadcast and cable networks, film, and streaming platforms.

NBCUniversal's assets include the NBC broadcast network, a portfolio of cable channels, Universal Pictures and other film and television production businesses, and the Peacock streaming service.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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For the quarter ended June 2026, Comcast (CMCSA - Free Report) reported revenue of $29.94 billion, down 1.2% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $1.04, compared to $1.25 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $29.18 billion, representing a surprise of +2.62%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +7.22%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.97.

While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.

As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.

Here is how Comcast performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

Net Additions / (Losses) - Total Domestic Wireless Lines: 448 thousand versus the four-analyst average estimate of 401.29 thousand.Total Domestic Wireless Lines: 10.19 million compared to the 10.14 million average estimate based on four analysts.Total Domestic Video Customers: 10.67 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of 10.67 million.Net Additions / (Losses) - Total Domestic Broadband Residential Customers: -167 thousand versus the four-analyst average estimate of -161.46 thousand.Revenue- Connectivity & Platforms- Total: $19.8 billion versus $19.72 billion estimated by six analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -2.9% change.Revenue- Content & Experiences- Total: $10.73 billion versus the six-analyst average estimate of $9.8 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +1%.Revenue- Residential Connectivity & Platforms- Other: $1.13 billion compared to the $1.13 billion average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of -6.6% year over year.Revenue- Residential Connectivity & Platforms- Video: $6.09 billion versus $6.13 billion estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -9.4% change.Revenue- Content & Experiences- Media: $5.69 billion versus the five-analyst average estimate of $5.42 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -11.6%.Revenue- Content & Experiences- Studios: $3.04 billion versus $2.64 billion estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +25% change.Revenue- Content & Experiences- Theme Parks: $2.41 billion compared to the $2.47 billion average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of +2.7% year over year.Revenue- Residential Connectivity & Platforms- Residential Connectivity- Domestic convergence- Domestic broadband: $6.28 billion versus the five-analyst average estimate of $6.25 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -3.8%.View all Key Company Metrics for Comcast here>>>

Shares of Comcast have returned +3.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.4% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term.

Credo Technology (NASDAQ:CRDO | CRDO Price Prediction) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) just posted results that frame the AI connectivity race in sharp relief.

The market expects DexCom (DXCM - Free Report) to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis medical device company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.61 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +27.1%.

Revenues are expected to be $1.3 billion, up 11.9% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.07% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for DexCom?For DexCom, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -1.36%.

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

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that DexCom will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that DexCom would post earnings of $0.47 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.56, delivering a surprise of +19.15%.

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

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

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

DexCom doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

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

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

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis chocolate bar and candy maker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.45 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +19.8%.

Revenues are expected to be $2.65 billion, up 1.3% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.09% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Hershey?For Hershey, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -3.42%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #4.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Hershey will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Hershey would post earnings of $2.05 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.35, delivering a surprise of +14.63%.

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

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

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

Hershey doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

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

Pool Corp. (POOL - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $5.38 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.3 per share. This compares to earnings of $5.17 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +1.51%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this distributor of supplies for swimming pools would post earnings of $1.34 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.43, delivering a surprise of +6.72%.

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

Pool Corp., which belongs to the Zacks Leisure and Recreation Products industry, posted revenues of $1.82 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.22%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.78 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Pool Corp. shares have lost about 14.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.6%.

What's Next for Pool Corp.?While Pool Corp. has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Pool Corp. was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $3.49 on $1.47 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $11.05 on $5.42 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Leisure and Recreation Products is currently in the top 33% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Another stock from the same industry, Clarus Corporation (CLAR - Free Report) , has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026.

This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.05 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -66.7%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

Clarus Corporation's revenues are expected to be $51.55 million, down 6.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis manufacturer of specialized welding products and other equipment is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.81 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +8.1%.

Revenues are expected to be $1.17 billion, up 7.3% from the year-ago quarter.

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

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Lincoln Electric?For Lincoln Electric, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -1.17%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Lincoln Electric will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Lincoln Electric would post earnings of $2.42 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.50, delivering a surprise of +3.31%.

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

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

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

Lincoln Electric doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Expected Results of an Industry PlayerAmong the stocks in the Zacks Manufacturing - Tools & Related Products industry, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $1.2 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +11.1%. This quarter's revenue is expected to be $3.93 billion, down 0.3% from the year-ago quarter.

Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for Stanley Black & Decker has been revised 0.4% down to the current level. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of -0.18%, reflecting a lower Most Accurate Estimate.

This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Stanley Black & Decker will beat the consensus EPS estimate. The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters.

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

CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Procore Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: PCOR), the leading global provider of construction management software, today announced three new Digital Coworker packages that make it easier for construction organizations to adopt and scale AI. A key upcoming capability, Procore Skills, enables organizations to teach Procore AI their own processes, standards, and best practices, so AI agents consistently apply company-specific ways of working across every project. The n.

The market expects Builders FirstSource (BLDR - Free Report) to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on lower revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis construction supply company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.29 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -45.8%.

Revenues are expected to be $3.9 billion, down 7.9% from the year-ago quarter.

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

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Builders FirstSource?For Builders FirstSource, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -8.74%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #4.

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Builders FirstSource will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Builders FirstSource would post earnings of $0.39 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.27, delivering a surprise of -30.77%.

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

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

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

Builders FirstSource doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

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

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 23rd, 2026

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDOG – Free Report) by 203.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,052 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,082 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Datadog were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Datadog in the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Datadog during the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Datadog by 7.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Datadog by 17.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 769 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Datadog in the 2nd quarter valued at about $509,000. 78.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, Director Michael James Callahan sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.47, for a total value of $3,343,375.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,010,980.12. This trade represents a 45.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Alexis Le-Quoc sold 53,912 shares of Datadog stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total transaction of $13,868,322.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 509,805 shares in the company, valued at $131,142,238.20. This trade represents a 9.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,396,309 shares of company stock valued at $317,712,002 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets DDOG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Capital One Financial raised their target price on shares of Datadog from $217.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Datadog from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $226.00 price objective on shares of Datadog in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Datadog from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on Datadog in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Datadog has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $261.68.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Datadog

Datadog Price Performance Shares of DDOG opened at $245.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 3.40 and a current ratio of 3.40. The firm has a market cap of $87.48 billion, a PE ratio of 646.78, a PEG ratio of 25.91 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $239.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.23. Datadog, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.01 and a twelve month high of $278.70.

Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.12 million. Datadog had a net margin of 3.69% and a return on equity of 4.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. Datadog has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.360-2.440 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.570-0.590 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Datadog, Inc. will post 0.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Datadog (Free Report)

Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG) is a cloud-based monitoring and observability platform that helps organizations monitor, troubleshoot and secure their applications and infrastructure at scale. Its software-as-a-service offering collects and analyzes metrics, traces and logs from servers, containers, cloud services and applications to provide real-time visibility into system performance and health. Datadog’s platform is widely used by engineering, operations and security teams to reduce downtime, accelerate incident response and improve application reliability.

The company’s product suite includes infrastructure monitoring, application performance monitoring (APM), log management, real user monitoring (RUM), synthetic monitoring and network performance monitoring, along with security-focused products such as security monitoring and cloud SIEM.

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Steven Madden (SHOO - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis footwear and accessories retailer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.32 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +60%.

Revenues are expected to be $629.57 million, up 12.6% from the year-ago quarter.

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

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Steven Madden?For Steven Madden, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +13.68%.

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

So, this combination indicates that Steven Madden will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Steven Madden would post earnings of $0.42 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.45, delivering a surprise of +7.14%.

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

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

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

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

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

The market expects Quaker Chemical (KWR - Free Report) to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 30, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis specialty chemical company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.68 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -1.8%.

Revenues are expected to be $511.83 million, up 5.9% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.46% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Quaker Chemical?For Quaker Chemical, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -0.67%.

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

So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Quaker Chemical will beat the consensus EPS estimate.

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Quaker Chemical would post earnings of $1.66 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.63, delivering a surprise of -1.81%.

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

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

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

Quaker Chemical doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Expected Results of an Industry PlayerAmong the stocks in the Zacks Chemical - Specialty industry, Sherwin-Williams (SHW - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $3.56 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +5.3%. This quarter's revenue is expected to be $6.62 billion, up 4.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for Sherwin-Williams has remained unchanged. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of +0.94%, reflecting a higher Most Accurate Estimate.

When combined with a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), this Earnings ESP indicates that Sherwin-Williams will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

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

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Stock to Watch: Samsara Inc. (IOT - Free Report) Samsara provides a cloud-based Connected Operations Platform that enables organizations with physical operations to increase safety, efficiency, and sustainability. The platform unifies data from Internet-connected devices, third-party systems, and enterprise applications, delivering insights through a web dashboard, mobile apps, alerts, and automated workflows.

IOT is a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Momentum investors should take note of this Computer and Technology stock. IOT has a Momentum Style Score of B, and shares are up 6.7% over the past four weeks.

Five analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days for fiscal 2027. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.06 to $0.75 per share. IOT boasts an average earnings surprise of +41.4%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, IOT should be on investors' short list.