Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Key Takeaways Datadog's AI suite is broadening with autonomous tools and security capabilities for agentic workloads.Datadog's $100K ARR customer base rose 23% year over year to roughly 4,720 accounts.Datadog raised 2026 revenue guidance to $4.45-$4.47 billion despite a key customer's usage reduction. Shares of Datadog (DDOG - Free Report) have surged 64.6% year to date, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector's growth of 15.5%, as the AI-powered observability and security platform continues to convert enterprise AI adoption into accelerating revenues.

Yet even after this sharp climb, the investment case for Datadog is not about chasing momentum. It rests on a set of fundamental drivers — expanding large-customer relationships, deepening AI-native product adoption, and a raised full-year outlook — that suggest the stock is best treated as a hold for existing shareholders rather than a fresh buy or a name to exit.

Investors already positioned in DDOG have good reason to stay put, while those still on the sidelines may be better served waiting for a more attractive entry point, given how much of the good news is already reflected in the price.

DDOG Outperforms Industry, Sector YTD
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

AI Product Momentum Is Broadening the PlatformDatadog advanced its AI roadmap with the general availability of Bits Code, Bits Chat and Bits Agent Builder, extending its Bits AI suite toward fully autonomous incident detection, investigation and remediation. It also introduced AI Guard, a capability built to protect AI agents from prompt injection and data-poisoning attacks, addressing a security gap opening up as enterprises push more agentic workloads into production. Datadog additionally completed its acquisition of Adaptive ML, a frontier AI reinforcement-learning specialist, and was named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Observability Platforms for the sixth consecutive year. Together, these moves reinforce a widening platform rather than a single-product story, supporting the hold thesis even as the stock digests its year-to-date gains.

Customer Growth Remains Broad-Based, Not AI-OnlyDatadog's own disclosures point to genuinely durable demand across its full customer base rather than a narrow, AI-only bump. Management has highlighted that revenue growth among non-AI-native customers also accelerated meaningfully in the most recent quarter, indicating that core cloud-migration and modernization spend remains healthy alongside AI workloads. On the client-win front, the company reported roughly 4,720 customers with annual recurring revenues of $100,000 or more as of quarter-end, up 23% year over year, alongside a record sequential revenue increase of $115 million. That breadth across large accounts and everyday cloud customers reduces reliance on any single buyer cohort.

Raised Guidance Signals Management ConfidenceDatadog's own forward guidance, issued alongside its second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 6, 2026, offers a more grounded, fundamentals-based read on near-term prospects than the stock chart alone does. For the third quarter of 2026, the company guided revenues to a range of $1.135 billion to $1.145 billion and non-GAAP operating income of $260 million to $270 million. For the full year, management raised its outlook to revenues of $4.45 billion to $4.47 billion, non-GAAP operating income of $1.01 billion to $1.03 billion, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.50 to $2.54. Notably, this guidance was raised even after factoring in a usage reduction from the company's largest customer, a sign that demand elsewhere in the customer base is more than offsetting that single account's pullback.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DDOG's 2026 earnings currently stands at $2.52 per share, up 4.6% over the past 30 days, compared with earnings of $2.05 per share reported in 2025. That said, the customer-concentration episode is a useful reminder that usage-based revenues can still swing with individual account behavior, a nuance that argues for patience rather than aggressive buying at current price levels.

Valuation and Competitive LandscapeFrom a valuation perspective, DDOG appears overvalued, trading at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 15.73, well above the Zacks Internet – Software industry average of 3.98, and the company carries a Value Score of F.

Datadog competes against a mix of legacy technology giants and specialized observability players, including International Business Machines (IBM - Free Report) , Cisco Systems (CSCO - Free Report) and Dynatrace Software (DT - Free Report) . IBM brings scale and deep enterprise relationships, Cisco leverages its networking footprint, and Dynatrace competes directly on AI-driven automation. Against IBM's and Cisco's broader portfolios and Dynatrace's narrower observability focus, Datadog's platform breadth remains a differentiator, even as IBM, Cisco and Dynatrace intensify AI-native monitoring investment.

Investors may still hold despite the premium valuation because accelerating large-customer growth and raised full-year guidance suggest fundamentals are catching up to the multiple. Holding through the run is reasonable too, since the gains largely reflect improving operating leverage and cash-flow growth rather than sentiment.

DDOG’s Valuation Looks Steep
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

ConclusionDatadog's fundamentals, broadening AI product adoption, resilient large-customer growth and an upwardly revised full-year outlook paint a picture of a durable, expanding platform rather than a stock riding a temporary wave. At the same time, a stretched valuation, a soft Value Score and lingering customer-concentration risk argue against adding aggressively after such a steep run. For current shareholders, the balance of evidence favors holding and letting the underlying business continue to compound its growth through disciplined execution; for prospective buyers watching from the sidelines, waiting patiently for a calmer, more attractive entry point remains the more prudent near-term path forward. Datadog stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Key Takeaways Quanta's Q2 net income rose nearly 97% to $451.4 million as revenues climbed 41.1% to $9.56 billion.Electric revenues surged 43.6% to $7.84 billion, with operating income up 62.5% and margin reaching 11.5%.Quanta raised its 2026 outlook for net income to $1.74B-$1.82B and adjusted EBITDA to $4.09B-$4.21B. Quanta Services, Inc. (PWR - Free Report) delivered a sharp improvement in profitability in the second quarter of 2026, supported by robust demand, stronger execution and favorable operating leverage across its infrastructure businesses. Net income attributable to common stock increased to $451.4 million from $229.3 million a year earlier, representing growth of nearly 97%. Revenues climbed 41.1% year over year to $9.56 billion, while adjusted EBITDA advanced to about $1.07 billion from $668.8 million.

The improvement was broad-based. Electric segment revenues increased 43.6% year over year to $7.84 billion, while operating income surged 62.5% to $898.2 million. Its operating margin expanded to 11.5% from 10.1%, primarily reflecting higher demand and improved execution across electric and power-generation services. Underground and Infrastructure revenues rose 30.7% year over year to $1.72 billion, with operating income jumping 71.7% to $155.8 million and margin expanding to 9.1% from 6.9%. Higher revenues from acquired civil and mechanical businesses supported better fixed-cost absorption. Overall consolidated operating income increased 87.6% year over year to $694.8 million, with operating margin rising to 7.3% from 5.5%.

The outlook remains favorable. Quanta expects 2026 revenue growth of 20%-25% in Electric Grid & Gas Utility, 10%-15% in Power Generation & Energy Storage and 220%-240% in Technology & Load Centers. Large multi-year programs across utility, generation and technology markets should support further growth. Recent acquisitions should provide an additional boost, contributing an estimated $1.2-$1.4 billion of revenues and $120-$140 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2026. Quanta also raised its full-year outlook, projecting net income of $1.74-$1.82 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $4.09-$4.21 billion.

While weather, permitting, regulatory and supply-chain risks could affect execution, improving margins, strong end-market demand and acquisition contributions suggest Quanta’s profit momentum has room to continue, even if the second quarter’s near-doubling pace moderates.

Quanta vs. EMCOR & AECOM: Which Profit Engine Has More Momentum?Quanta is benefiting from strong infrastructure demand, improving execution and margin expansion, a backdrop that is also supporting growth opportunities for peers EMCOR Group, Inc. (EME - Free Report) and AECOM (ACM - Free Report) .

PWR’s second-quarter profit growth was particularly strong, with net income nearly doubling year over year as both of its operating segments delivered higher revenues and margins. EMCOR is showing a similar combination of revenue growth and operating leverage. In the second quarter of 2026, revenues increased 19.8% year over year to $5.15 billion, while operating income rose nearly 32% to $547.3 million and operating margin expanded 100 basis points to 10.6%. Second-quarter earnings advanced nearly 35% year over year to $9.06 per share. EMCOR’s record $17.14 billion of remaining performance obligations, up 44% year over year, also provides substantial visibility, with data centers, institutional projects, water and wastewater supporting demand.

AECOM’s underlying business also remains supported by strong project wins, although its near-term profitability picture is more mixed because of a $337 million construction-management project charge. Excluding that impact, adjusted EBITDA and EPS increased 5% and 11%, respectively, in the fiscal third quarter. Backlog rose 13% to an all-time high, supported by a 1.6x quarterly book-to-burn ratio, while management raised its adjusted EBITDA margin expectation to 17.4% from 17%. AECOM is also targeting a 20%+ margin exit rate by fiscal 2028, supported by higher utilization, technology efficiencies and growth across infrastructure, water, defense and data-center markets.

PWR’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesPWR stock has rallied 44.9% in the year-to-date (YTD) period, outperforming the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry, the broader Construction sector and the S&P 500 index.

PWR YTD Share Price Performance

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, PWR trades at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18X, well above the industry’s 25.07X, as shown below.

PWR Valuation

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

PWR’s earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 trended upward in the past 30 days to $16.37 per share and $18.96, respectively. The revised estimates for 2026 and 2027 imply year-over-year growth of 38.4% and 52.3%, respectively.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

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Marvell (MRVL) relative long

Buy MRVL vs CRDO. Both are AI connectivity plays, but CRDO’s valuation is the bigger problem (much higher forward P/E). If the group de-rates, the higher-multiple name falls harder; MRVL should hold up better on a relative basis while still benefiting from AI infrastructure spend.

Key Risk: MRVL’s own results/guidance disappoint or its AI connectivity share gains stall, causing both names to fall together.

CRDO short

Sell short CRDO. Even with strong QoQ growth and higher GAAP gross margin, the market is punishing valuation: forward GAAP P/E ~45 vs sector ~29. The chart confirms momentum is bearish (below 50% Fib, 50/100-day EMAs, double-top-like reversal). Target ~$171 (61.8% Fib) and cover into any bounce.

Key Risk: AI/data-center demand stays so strong that guidance and margins re-accelerate enough to justify the premium multiple, forcing a valuation-driven squeeze higher.

Credo Technology Group stock continued its strong freefall, even after the company published encouraging financial results. CRDO dropped by over 9% in the premarket session, reaching its lowest level since July 30th. It has now remained deep inside a bear market after falling by nearly 40% from its highest level this year.

CRDO stock has slumped substantially in the past few months, moving from the year-to-date high of $308.30 to $192 today. This retreat happened even as the company continues growing, thanks to the soaring demand for its products and services. 

For starters, Credo Technology Group designs high-speed connectivity chips and cables that are mostly used in AI data centers, cloud infrastructure, and networking equipment. These products allow processors to communicate with each other quickly and efficiently. It competes with companies like Marvell Technology, Broadcom, and Astera Labs.

Credo released its earnings report on Tuesday, providing more insights about its business, which continued to see more demand. Its revenue jumped by 9.6% QoQ to $479 million. This increase was about 114.7% higher than what it made in the same period last year.

The company’s GAAP gross margin rose to 64.5%, while its GAAP net income rose to $129.4 million. While its net income rose sharply from $64 million in the same period last year, it was down from the $169 million it made in fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026. In a statement, Bill Brennan, the CEO said: 

“Our portfolio now spans connectivity from millimeters to kilometers, with solutions across optics and copper. As AI infrastructure scales, we will continue to provide an innovative suite of reliable and energy-efficient connectivity solutions for the data center.”

Credo expects that its revenue growth will continue as the data center buildup continues in the US and other countries. Indeed, most of its customers, including firms like Amazon, Microsoft, and SpaceX have all pledged to boost their data center spending. In total, data center spending is expected to be over $1 trillion this year. 

A major issue is that Credo is a highly overvalued, with the forward price-to-earnings ratio on a GAAP basis rising to 45, much higher than the technolgy sector median of 29. It is also significantly higher than other top companies like Dell and Nvidia. 

CRDO stock chart | Source: TradingView

Technicals suggest that the CRDO stock may have a strong downward trend in the near term. It has dropped from a high of $308.30 in June to the current $191. 

This retreat, which is in line with our prediction, happened after it formed a double-top-like pattern, a common bearish reversal pattern in technical analysis. It has now moved below the 50% Fibonacci Retracement level.

The stock has dived below the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), a sign that bears are in control for now. This retreat may continue in the near term, potentially to the 61.8% retracement level at $171. 

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Crescent Energy (CRGY - Free Report) . Shares have added about 24.7% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Crescent Energy due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Crescent Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates, Rise Y/YCrescent Energy Company reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 69 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 59 cents by 16.95%. The bottom line also increased from the year-ago adjusted earnings of 43 cents. The outperformance was supported by strong production, higher oil realizations and continued operating efficiencies.

The Houston, TX-based oil and gas exploration and production company’s revenues of $1.4 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.22 billion by 13.2%. The top line also increased sharply from $898 million in the year-ago quarter.

The quarter was marked by solid production, lower operating costs and record cash generation. Crescent produced 335 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBoe/d), which beat our consensus mark of 331 MBoe/d, while adjusted operating expenses were about 9% below the prior annual guidance midpoint.

Production Base Remains StrongTotal production averaged 335 MBoe/d, up from 263 MBoe/d in the year-ago quarter. Oil production increased to 140 thousand barrels per day (MBbls/d) from 108 MBbls/d. The figure was also above our consensus estimate of 136 MBbls/d.

Natural gas production rose to 715 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) from 644 MMcf/d, while NGL production increased to 76 MBbls/d from 48 MBbls/d. Natural gas production was 2.5% below our consensus estimate, while NGL production was 7.6% above our consensus estimate.

During the quarter, Crescent drilled 43 gross operated wells and brought 32 gross operated wells online. Capital expenditures, excluding acquisitions, totaled $284 million.

Crescent's Permian Momentum AcceleratesCrescent continued to make progress in the Permian, where it has moved from the stabilization phase following the acquisition into optimization.

Permian production totaled 124 MBoe/d, with oil accounting for 42% of volumes. Capital spending in the basin was $104 million. Crescent drilled nine gross wells and turned 12 gross wells in line during the quarter.

The company increased its Permian synergy target to $250-$300 million, roughly three times the original target of $90-$100 million. Approximately $190 million of annualized synergies have already been captured.

The gains are being driven by lower well and operating costs, improved workover and artificial-lift programs, better field operations and commercial optimization. Management expects a large portion of the updated synergy target to be captured as the company exits 2026 and moves into 2027.

Eagle Ford Operations Stay EfficientThe Eagle Ford business produced 169 MBoe/d, with oil representing 39% of volumes. Capital spending totaled $147 million. Crescent drilled 26 gross wells and brought 16 gross wells online during the quarter.

Operational efficiencies remain a key driver in the basin. Well costs have declined more than 25% since 2023, while workover and artificial-lift optimization are supporting base production. CRGY is also seeing encouraging results from the Austin Chalk, which could expand its economic drilling inventory.

Sees Further Cost Gains in UintaCRGY continued to improve drilling and completion efficiency in the Uinta Basin. Year-to-date drilling efficiency increased to roughly 1,600 feet per day from about 1,300 feet in the 2025 program. Completion efficiency increased to approximately 3,000 lateral feet per day from about 1,600 feet.

Simulfrac utilization reached 100% of gross wells turned in line, while drilling, completion and facilities costs declined to below $800 per foot from approximately $950 in the 2025 program.

These efficiencies are helping CRGY lower development costs and improve returns across its portfolio.

Revenue Mix Benefits From OilOil remained the largest revenue contributor at $1.23 billion, more than doubling from $602.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The figure was also above our consensus estimate by 18.9%.
Natural gas revenues declined to $33.8 million from $159 million, while NGL revenues increased to $129.4 million from $98.1 million. Midstream and other revenues totaled $5 million compared with $38.4 million a year earlier.  Natural gas revenues declined 61.2%, and NGL revenues declined 5.8%, while Midstream and other revenues declined 17% compared with our consensus estimates.

Average realized oil prices before derivative settlements were $96.61 per barrel, up significantly from $61.47 a year ago. Natural gas realizations, however, declined to 52 cents per Mcf from $2.71. NGL prices fell to $18.67 per barrel from $22.59.

The company's total realized price before derivative settlements increased to $45.63 per Boe from $35.96 a year ago.

Cash Flow & Balance SheetCRGY generated record adjusted EBITDAX of $798 million, up from $513.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Levered free cash flow reached a record $418 million, while operating cash flow totaled a record $707 million.

The company ended June with approximately $2.2 billion of liquidity. Total debt was approximately $5.17 billion, while net debt stood at $4.9 billion. Consolidated net leverage was 1.6 times.

CRGY further strengthened its balance sheet in July by redeeming the remaining $259 million of its 7.75% senior notes due 2029 at par. The transaction reduced interest expense and eliminated the company's nearest debt maturity. Pro forma liquidity following the redemption was expected to remain around $2 billion.

CRGY's board of directors declared a fixed quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share. As of June 30, CRGY had approximately $336 million remaining under its share-repurchase authorization.

Minerals Business Adds Cash FlowThe minerals and royalties business produced 13 MBoe/d, more than doubling from 6 MBoe/d in the prior-year quarter. Oil production from the business increased to 6 MBbls/d from 2 MBbls/d. Average realized prices before derivatives totaled $51.45 per Boe, compared with $34.95 a year earlier. Operating expenses were $4.26 per Boe compared with $5.40 in the prior-year period.  The business generated $49.4 million of adjusted EBITDAX during the quarter compared with $15.9 million a year earlier.

Raises 2026 OutlookThe company raised its 2026 total production guidance to 327-335 MBoe/d from 320-335 MBoe/d. The expected oil mix remains 40-42%. The company lowered adjusted operating expense guidance to $11-$12 per Boe from $11.50-$12.50. Production tax guidance was reduced to 5-6% of commodity revenues from 6-7%.

Crescent maintained its development capital guidance at $1.325-$1.425 billion, despite the higher production outlook. The combination of increased volumes and lower operating costs is expected to support additional free cash flow.

At current commodity prices, management expects to generate more than $1 billion of levered free cash flow in 2026. Crescent intends to use its financial flexibility to maintain the dividend, reduce debt and pursue accretive acquisitions or opportunistic share repurchases.

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

The consensus estimate has shifted 12.5% due to these changes.

VGM ScoresAt this time, Crescent Energy has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a C. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for value investors.

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

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

Performance of an Industry PlayerCrescent Energy belongs to the Zacks Alternative Energy - Other industry. Another stock from the same industry, Expand Energy (EXE - Free Report) , has gained 7.4% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended June 2026.

Expand Energy reported revenues of $1.83 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -9.5%. EPS of $1.33 for the same period compares with $1.10 a year ago.

Expand Energy is expected to post earnings of $1.41 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +45.4%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -4.4%.

Expand Energy has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of B.

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Viper Energy Partners (VNOM - Free Report) . Shares have added about 7.2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

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

VNOM Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Higher Output & Realized PricesViper reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 76 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 73 cents per share by 4.1%. The bottom line increased from 41 cents per share a year ago.

Operating income of $677 million surpassed the consensus estimate of $639 million by 5.95%. The top line increased 128% from $297 million in the prior-year quarter.

The strong quarterly earnings are driven by higher production and improved realized oil prices. Average daily production reached 134,363 barrels of oil equivalent per day (Boe/d), up 69.5% from the prior-year quarter.

VNOM's Q2 Production SurgesTotal production was 12.23 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe), up 69.5% from 7.22 MMBoe a year ago. Oil production increased 56.4% to 5.92 million barrels (MMBbl) from 3.79 MMBbl in the prior-year quarter.

Natural gas output rose 87% to 18.95 billion cubic feet (Bcf) from 10.13 Bcf reported a year earlier. Natural gas liquids production increased 81% to 3.15 MMBbl from 1.74 MMBbl recorded in the prior-year quarter.

Average daily oil volumes increased to 65,077 barrels per day (Bbl/d) from 41,615 Bbl/d.

Development activity remained strong across the asset base. During the quarter, 691 gross horizontal wells, normalized to 10,000-foot laterals, were turned to production on Viper's Permian Basin acreage. These represented 19.8 net wells on a 100% royalty-interest basis.

Viper's Realized Prices StrengthenThe average unhedged realized price was $53.82 per barrel of oil equivalent, 35.3% above the year-ago level of $39.78. The average realized oil price increased 54.4% to $98.28 per barrel from $63.62 recorded a year earlier.

Natural gas liquids realized price was $23.83 per barrel, up 15.1% from the year-ago figure of $20.70 per barrel. The average natural gas price declined to 5 cents per thousand cubic feet from 99 cents per thousand cubic feet. The combined realized price including hedges was $55.12 per barrel of oil equivalent, higher than the $41.03 per barrel of oil equivalent recorded in the prior-year quarter.

Hedged oil prices averaged $96.42 per barrel, while hedged natural gas prices were $1.48 per thousand cubic feet. The hedging benefit in natural gas more than offset the lower hedged oil realization compared with unhedged prices.

VNOM's Costs Rise With Expanded ScaleTotal costs and expenses were $249 million, up 53.7% from $162 million a year ago. Depreciation, depletion and amortization increased to $195 million from $124 million, while production and ad valorem taxes rose to $43 million from $21 million.

Cash operating costs were $4.17 per barrel of oil equivalent compared with $3.60 a year ago. The increase reflected production and ad valorem taxes of $3.52 per barrel, partly offset by a lower cash general and administrative cost of 65 cents per barrel.

Consolidated net income was $331 million, up from $84 million a year earlier. Net income attributable to Viper totaled $142 million compared with $37 million in the prior-year quarter.

Viper Maintains Cash FlowNet cash provided by operating activities was $487 million, up 183.1% from $172 million in the prior-year quarter. Consolidated adjusted earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) totaled $642 million, while cash available for distribution to Class A common stockholders was $262 million, or $1.37 per share.

VNOM’s Balance SheetAs of June 30, 2026, Viper’s cash was $77 million and total debt was $1.7 billion. Net debt totaled $1.6 billion. The company had roughly $2 billion of total liquidity, including about $1.9 billion available under its revolving credit facility.

The debt balance included $500 million of senior notes due 2030, $1.1 billion of senior notes due 2035 and $95 million borrowed under the revolving credit facility.

Viper Boosts Its Base DividendViper declared a second-quarter base dividend of 38 cents per Class A share and a variable dividend of 29 cents. The combined payout of 67 cents per share is payable on Aug. 20, 2026, to stockholders of record on Aug. 13.

The board approved a 32% increase in the annualized base dividend to $2 per Class A share, effective in the third quarter. Management expects the higher base payout to be protected down to roughly $30 per barrel WTI.

During the second quarter, VNOM repurchased about 3 million Class A shares for roughly $132 million at an average price of $44.34 per share. Total second-quarter capital returns were $197 million, representing 75% of cash available for distribution.

VNOM Raises Q3 & 2026 Production ViewThe company expects third-quarter 2026 production guidance to be between 133,500 Boe/d and 135,500 Boe/d. Oil production is expected in the range of 67,500-68,500 Bbl/d.

For 2026, Viper raised its production outlook to 132,500-135,000 Boe/d, including oil volumes in the range of 66,000-67,250 Bbl/d. The guidance incorporates the Riverbend acquisition, which closed July 1, 2026.

After giving effect to the acquisition, Viper had about 90,212 net royalty acres and 1,798 gross horizontal wells in active development as of July 1. The company identified 1,589 gross line-of-sight wells that may support future production growth.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in fresh estimates.

The consensus estimate has shifted 10.03% due to these changes.

VGM ScoresCurrently, Viper Energy has a strong Growth Score of A, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. However, the stock was allocated a score of F on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile for value investors.

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

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

Performance of an Industry PlayerViper Energy belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry. Another stock from the same industry, Range Resources (RRC - Free Report) , has gained 6.8% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended June 2026.

Range Resources reported revenues of $795.3 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +8.5%. EPS of $0.79 for the same period compares with $0.66 a year ago.

For the current quarter, Range Resources is expected to post earnings of $0.67 per share, indicating a change of +17.5% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +5.6% over the last 30 days.

Range Resources has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of B.

Key Takeaways GitLab made Flex central to growth after 130 customers committed over $20M in its first six weeks.GTLB raised fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to $1.129B-$1.133B after Q2 revenues and EPS topped estimates.GitLab's net ARR rose 42%, retention hit 117%, and $500K-plus deals grew more than 150% year over year. GitLab Inc. (GTLB - Free Report) used its second-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings call to frame Flex as the centerpiece of its next growth phase, linking seat subscriptions with a broader consumption model for AI-era software development.

The quarter also gave management more confidence in the business. Revenues were $286.3 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $273.3 million. Non-GAAP earnings were $0.24 per share, above the consensus mark of $0.18.

GTLB Makes Flex Central to GrowthCEO Bill Staples said that more than 130 customers committed over $20 million to Flex in its first six weeks, helping platform-wide paid consumption run rate, or CRR, rise above $40 million.

Staples also mentioned that the model lets customers redirect committed dollars among Premium and Ultimate seats, GitLab credits and eligible usage products without repeated contracting cycles.

CFO Jessica Ross added that management expects Flex to become increasingly important, while stressing that its near-term impact is primarily about revenue timing rather than customer commitments or cash economics.

GitLab Raises Outlook but Normalizes H2Ross raised fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to $1.129-$1.133 billion and projected non-GAAP earnings of $0.85-$0.87 per share.

For the fiscal third quarter, Ross guided revenues of $281-$283 million, non-GAAP operating income of $35 million-$37 million and diluted earnings of $0.19-$0.20 per share.

Ross cautioned that the second-half outlook assumes normalized bookings after unusually strong fiscal second-quarter execution. She said that guidance excludes Flex's potential accounting impact, with a maximum fiscal 2027 revenue-timing effect of approximately $13 million.

GTLB Sees Sales Execution ImproveStaples said that account executive capacity increased about 30% year over year while productivity per representative improved roughly 10%, contributing to GitLab's largest gross bookings quarter.

Ross said that net ARR grew 42% year over year, dollar-based net retention reached 117%, and the company recorded approximately 1,700 first orders, more than double the prior-year level.

Ross also highlighted better public-sector activity and a sharp increase in larger transactions, with deals of at least $500,000 growing more than 150% year over year.

GitLab Builds Around AI-Driven ConsumptionStaples described AI as a driver of more customers, more products and more consumption. Duo Agent Platform paid CRR grew about 50% sequentially.

Staples said that more than 2,200 organizations enabled GitLab Orbit indexing, while about 80% of customer query volume came from customers connecting Orbit to external agents.

In Q&A, a Canaccord Genuity analyst asked about GitLab's next-generation Git strategy. Staples said that the company is rearchitecting Git infrastructure for roughly 100 times the scale required by human workflows and is also advancing artifact management.

GTLB Q&A Tests Flex Economics and MarginsA BofA Securities analyst asked which metric best captures Flex progress. Staples pointed to paid CRR, which includes Flex commitments, credit commitments and paid on-demand usage, with a fiscal year-end target above $100 million.

A UBS analyst asked whether Flex customers were increasing commitments. Ross said that it was too early to quantify that, while Staples stated that Flex can create headroom for new products and reduce contraction tied to unused seat capacity.

A Baird analyst pressed on gross-margin pressure from AI. Ross said that SaaS represented 34% of revenues, while Staples said that recent margin changes were driven more by SaaS mix than early AI adoption.

GitLab Keeps Focus on ExecutionStaples closed with an emphasis on repeating the second-quarter's execution while expanding monetization beyond seats. His growth framework centers on new customers, additional products and consumption.

Ross maintained that the transition to Flex will create reporting noise, particularly in revenue recognition and current RPO, and committed to quantifying those effects each quarter.

GTLB's Zacks Signals Stay MixedGTLB carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Within the Zacks framework, the Style Scores complement the Rank and grade value, growth and momentum characteristics from A through F. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

GTLB's Growth Score of A is its strongest style signal, while the Value Score of F is the weakest. It has a Momentum Score of C and a VGM Score of C. Higher grades indicate better expected performance within the framework, but the Zacks Rank can change as earnings estimates are revised following the just-reported results.

Albany International Corp. (AIN) Discusses Outcome of Strategic Review and Amended CH-53K Contract for Structures Assembly Business September 2, 2026 8:30 AM EDT

Company Participants

Karen Blomquist
Gunnar Kleveland - President, CEO & Director
Sean Valashinas - VP, Controller, Acting CFO & Acting Principal Financial Officer & Chief Accounting Officer

Conference Call Participants

Chigusa Katoku - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
Jan-Frans Engelbrecht - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division

Presentation

Operator

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Albany International Investor Call to discuss the successful completion of its strategic review. [Operator Instructions]

I will now hand the conference over to Karen Blomquist, Director of Investor Relations. Karen, please go ahead.

Karen Blomquist

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. As a reminder, for those listening on the call, please refer to our press release issued yesterday detailing the conclusion of our strategic review, along with our updated guidance. Contained in the text of the release is a notice regarding our forward-looking statements.

Today, we will make statements that are forward-looking and contain a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied. For a full discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to yesterday's press release as well as our SEC filings, including our 10-Q and our 10-K.

Now I will turn the call over to Gunnar Kleveland, our President and CEO. Gunnar?

Gunnar Kleveland
President, CEO & Director

Thank you, Karen. Good morning, and welcome, everyone. From the outset of this strategic review, our objective has been clear: to evaluate options through a balanced lens of maximizing long-term shareholder value and strategic positioning. That has meant applying financial discipline, aligning execution and strategy and ensuring that any outcome strengthen the business while delivering the best value for our

Joby Aviation (JOBY +1.77%), a developer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, is a divisive stock. The bulls expect its revenue to soar after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) fully certifies its first commercial flights. Still, the bears warn that its stock is overvalued, its share count is soaring, and that it's burning too much cash.

But is Joby actually in danger of running out of cash before it launches its first commercial flights? Let's see how much cash it's burning through, and if it needs to rein in its spending.

Image source: Getty Images.

To figure out how much cash Joby is burning through each quarter, we should add its net cash used in operating activities to its total capex to calculate its free cash flow (FCF) outflow. That figure has gradually risen above $200 million over the past year. However, its total liquidity -- which includes its cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments -- more than doubled.

Period

Q2 2025

Q3 2025

Q4 2025

Q1 2026

Q2 2026

FCF Outflow

($118.7 million)

($153.2 million)

($167.0 million)

($222.4 million)

($201.8 million)

Total Liquidity

$991 million

$978 million

$1.41 billion

$2.47 billion

$2.30 billion

Data source: Joby Aviation.

Joby's cash burn increased as it accelerated its flight testing, manufacturing setup, and FAA certification activities. To offset that pressure, it raised more cash with a $576 million stock offering in the fourth quarter of 2025, followed by another $600 million stock offering and $690 million convertible debt offering in the first quarter of 2026.

As a result, Joby's share count rose 13% over the past 12 months. It's also increased its share count by 63% over the past five years, and that dilution will likely worsen as it burns more cash. Its total liabilities also surged 156% year over year to $985 million in its latest quarter.

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On the bright side, Joby expects its cash runway to last for the next two to three years. That should give it enough time to obtain a full FAA certification for its S4 eVTOLs -- which it expects by the end of 2026 -- and to launch its first commercial flights.

Should investors be worried about Joby's cash? For now, investors shouldn't fret too much about Joby's cash usage. It's still firmly backed by Toyota, Delta, and Uber, and it's ahead of its closest peer -- Archer Aviation -- in the FAA certification process. They should only worry if Joby doesn't launch its first commercial flights before its cash runs out.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Delta Air Lines and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Takeaways APO's total AUM reached $1.05 trillion, up 25% year over year, reflecting robust capital formation and growth.Fee-generating AUM rose 34% to $858 billion, supporting recurring fee income and growth across the platform.Apollo's management plans to scale private equity, targeting total AUM of nearly $1.5 trillion by 2029. Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO - Free Report) continues to expand its alternative investment platform, supported by strong organic asset under management (AUM) growth. The company’s AUM witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.6% from 2022 to 2025, with the growth trend continuing in the first half of 2026. Total AUM reached $1.05 trillion as of June 30, 2026, up 25% year over year, reflecting robust capital formation and continued growth in Asset Management and Retirement Services.

AUM Growth Trend

Image Source: Apollo Global Management, Inc.

Apollo’s ability to consistently attract capital remains a key driver of its AUM expansion. The company generated $298 billion of gross inflows over the last 12 months, including $220 billion from Asset Management and $78 billion from Retirement Services. Strong fundraising across institutional and global wealth channels, along with robust Retirement Services inflows, should continue to support growth across the platform.

As of June 30, 2026, fee-generating AUM increased 34% year over year to $858 billion, supporting Apollo's ability to generate recurring fee income. The increase was driven by strong capital formation across institutional and global wealth channels, continued fundraising across credit and equity strategies, and growth in Retirement Services.

Strategic acquisitions further strengthened Apollo’s long-term AUM growth prospects. In February 2026, Apollo entered into a strategic partnership with Schroders to develop next-generation wealth and retirement investment solutions for institutional and wealth clients across the U.K. and the U.S., creating opportunities to expand client reach and attract incremental assets. In September 2025, Apollo acquired Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. to broaden its real estate investment capabilities and enhance its ability to attract and retain institutional and wealth-management capital, supporting sustained AUM growth over the long haul. Though recent private-market concerns, including valuation opacity, liquidity constraints, and slower exit activity, could weigh on investor sentiment and near-term AUM growth, Apollo’s strong capital formation and expanding capabilities should support long-term AUM expansion.

Continued growth in fee-generating and perpetual capital AUM should strengthen recurring fee income and enhance earnings stability. Further, management’s plans to scale its private equity business could help total AUM approach $1.5 trillion by 2029, making sustained AUM growth a key driver of Apollo’s earnings trajectory. For 2026 and 2027, APO’s earnings are projected to rise 5.13% and 22.22%, respectively.

Earnings Estimate

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

AUM Performance of APO’s PeersAmeriprise Financial (AMP - Free Report) has been witnessing solid growth in its AUM/assets under administration (AUA) balance. Over the five years (2020-2025), total AUM/AUA recorded a CAGR of 9%, supported by strong advisor recruitment, record advisor productivity, rising adoption of fee-based solutions and favorable asset flows. The momentum continued in the first half of 2026, with AUM/AUA reaching a record $1.81 trillion as of June 30, 2026.

Ameriprise’s robust AUM/AUA base supports long-term earnings growth by expanding its pool of fee-generating client assets across its diversified wealth management and asset management businesses.

Similarly, KKR & Co. (KKR - Free Report) has been witnessing strong growth in its AUM balance, driven primarily by robust fundraising and the continued expansion of its investment platform. Over the five years (2020-2025), total AUM recorded a CAGR of 24.2%, with the growth momentum continuing in the first half of 2026. As of June 30, 2026, total AUM was $796.5 billion, while fee-paying AUM reached $638.4 billion.

KKR’s expanding AUM and fee-paying AUM base supports long-term earnings growth by increasing the pool of capital that generates recurring management fees across its private equity, credit, real assets and other investment strategies.

APO Price Performance & Zacks RankThe company’s shares have gained 22.9% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 13.2% rise.

Price Performance

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

Baird just reframed the biggest risk hanging over Reddit stock, and the market responded with its sharpest single-day move in months. Here is what two expiring AI licensing deals actually mean for the bull and bear cases.

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Reddit (NYSE:RDDT | RDDT Price Prediction) stock is rallying Wednesday morning after a research note from Baird argued the market has already discounted the worst outcome for the company’s two AI data licensing agreements, both of which expire next year. That reframing lands on a name whose year has been defined by exactly this question.

Reddit shares are up 7% to $155.07. Meanwhile, Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) stock is essentially unmoved at $21.26, with no matching catalyst hitting the social peer today. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is up 0.5% to $765.19, showing today’s move in Reddit stock is a single-name repricing.

Reddit stock was down 37% year to date through Tuesday’s close. Today’s rally is a bounce in a name that has already been repriced hard heading into the session.

Baird Reframes the Renewal Overhang Baird analyst Colin Sebastian reiterated a Neutral rating and a $185 price target on Reddit stock. Sebastian wrote that the current share price reflects an outcome near the firm’s low-end scenario for the licensing renewals, with base and bull cases implying $10 and $20 per share of upside respectively. The framing shifts the debate from renewal downside to renewal asymmetry, since the downside case is already reflected in the share price.

The renewal question has been the overhang on Reddit stock all year. Reddit’s licensing agreements with two large AI partners both expire next year, and the company has said substantially all of its licensing revenue comes from those two agreements. That concentration sits at the center of the debate.

What Actually Gets Renegotiated The first agreement, with Alphabet‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, dates to a February 2024 expansion giving Google access to Reddit’s Data API and is reported at $60 million a year. The OpenAI agreement followed in May 2024 and is reported at $70 million. OpenAI is privately held.

CEO Steve Huffman has indicated Reddit may seek higher fees on the renewals and shift from flat pricing to usage-based pricing. As of June the platform had 130 million daily active uniques and more than 26 billion posts and comments, and that archive grows every day. Huffman’s argument is that Reddit’s data keeps its value even after years of access, which supports the case for repricing higher on any renewal.

The bear case is straightforward. Agreements could renew at lower prices, cover fewer services, or fail to renew at all. Reddit’s most recent earnings call also flagged choppy search referral traffic and low visibility around AI overviews, both of which touch the same Google relationship that anchors licensing.

What to Watch Next Investors can watch for signs that management confirms renewal terms or timing on upcoming earnings updates. Even a partial renewal at usage-based pricing would recalibrate the debate quickly for Reddit stock.

Traders may want to check for follow-through above prior resistance before treating today’s move as a durable change in trend. Position sizing matters, since the licensing renewals are effectively binary events for a slice of Reddit’s revenue and non-advertising income remains concentrated in two customers. Investors should size their exposure for a range of possible renewal outcomes.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Holtec Nuclear Corporation recently filed for an initial public offering, planning to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker HNUC. Here's why that IPO should worry Oklo (OKLO -0.39%) investors. Holtec has something Oklo lacks: revenue and earnings. That should make it a more appealing alternative for investors seeking exposure to the nuclear renaissance in the U.S.

Here's a look at this upcoming nuclear energy stock and how it differs from investing in Oklo.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Introducing Holtec Nuclear Unlike Oklo, Holtec isn't a pre-commercial nuclear start-up. It has been around since 1986 and currently supplies nuclear equipment, manages spent nuclear fuel, and, like Oklo, develops small modular reactors (SMRs). Its core business of nuclear fuel and waste management funds its current operations. The company generated $165 million of revenue and $17.8 million of net income during the first three months of this year. While that was down from $177.7 million in revenue and $25.4 million in net income in the prior-year period, it's an already-functioning commercial business that supports its growth initiatives, including its SMR program.

Holtec is leading the restart of the 800-megawatt Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, which shut down in 2022 after 50 years of operation. Additionally, it plans to build two SMR-300s at that site. It has already received $400 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to support its development plans at this site. Holtec aims to use its IPO proceeds to further its SMR program, expand its manufacturing capacity, and support its other growth initiatives. It has several planned SMR sites beyond Palisades, including at the decommissioned Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in New Jersey, where it plans to deploy four SMR-300s.

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Why Holtec's IPO should worry Oklo investors Now let's contrast Holtec's business model with Oklo. The SMR start-up generated a mere $1.2 million in revenue during the second quarter. It didn't record any revenue during the first quarter or during the first six months of last year. Meanwhile, it has been piling up losses. Its net loss totaled $48.5 million in the second quarter and $81.6 million year-to-date. Oklo is a long way from generating meaningful revenue, as it likely won't book its first commercial power revenue before 2028.

Oklo is still in the early stages of building a scalable, vertically integrated nuclear platform from the ground up, including power, fuel, and isotopes. That's expensive. It spent $126.9 million on capex in the first half of this year and an additional $25.7 million on acquisitions to expand its capabilities. That's on top of the $65.5 million in cash it used in operating activities. The company does have some breathing room, as it ended the second quarter with $3 billion of cash and marketable securities after issuing $1.9 billion of stock through its at-the-market program. However, continued cash burn is something Oklo investors will need to monitor until it begins generating meaningful revenue to fund its operations and expansion initiatives.

New competition for investors Holtec's upcoming IPO doesn't diminish the investment thesis for Oklo. The SMR start-up is building an integrated platform from the ground up, which has high risks but high reward potential. However, it will add a new, lower-risk option for investors looking to play the nuclear renaissance. As a result, it could take a lot longer for Oklo's stock to recover from the more than 75% plunge from its peak.

Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google escaped a breakup of its advertising technology business on Wednesday, when a judge in Virginia rejected U.S. antitrust enforcers' bid to force a sale of Google's online advertising ​exchange.

While the ad exchange is a small part of Google's business, the ruling is the second powerful ‌symbolic victory against the U.S. Department of Justice in its efforts to force Google to sell assets to address illegal monopolies.

U.S. Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, declined to make Google sell AdX, where publishers pay Google a 20% fee to sell ads in auctions that happen ​instantly when users load websites. She accepted most of the parties' proposed behavioral remedies.

The DOJ and a broad ​coalition of states sued Google in 2023 over its dominance in markets for advertising technology used ⁠by online publishers and websites.

In April 2025, Brinkema ruled that Google holds illegal monopolies on servers that host publisher ads and ​ad exchanges which sit between buyers and sellers. Google unlawfully locked publishers on its ad server into using its AdX, the ​judge found.

The tech giant's anticompetitive conduct "substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web," Brinkema said at the time.

At a trial last year on remedies in the case, the DOJ argued that Google cannot be trusted to run AdX, ​given its past behavior.

Google argued that a forced sale would be technically difficult and result in a long and painful ​transition that would hurt customers. The company also sought to show the DOJ's demand was different from Google's own previous offer to sell ‌AdX ⁠to end an EU antitrust investigation, which Reuters reported in 2024.

Ad Manager represented 4.1% of Google's overall revenue and 1.5% of operating profit in 2020, according to Wedbush research and analysis of court documents. More recent figures were redacted from court documents.

U.S. TECH CRACKDOWN IN JEOPARDY
The ruling is the third time in a row that a judge has rejected a bid by U.S. ​antitrust enforcers to break up ​Big Tech in a crackdown ⁠that started during President Donald Trump's first term. It is likely to fuel questions about whether courts are up to the task of checking the industry's unprecedented power over the U.S. ​economy.

A federal judge in Washington last year rejected the Federal Trade Commission's attempt to ​make Meta Platforms (META.O) ⁠sell off Instagram and WhatsApp, saying the agency failed to prove that Meta holds a monopoly in a social media landscape that has shifted drastically since the case was brought in 2020.

Likewise, another judge in Washington, who previously ruled that Google holds an illegal monopoly ⁠in ​online search, rejected the DOJ's bid to make the company sell its Chrome browser, ​citing rising competition from generative artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI's ChatGPT.

U.S. antitrust cases against Amazon (AMZN.O) and Apple (AAPL.O), which involve massive smartphone and online retail ​markets, will not go to trial until 2027 at the earliest.

Public resistance is becoming another constraint on AI expansion Summary

Altman says modern facilities use far less water than feared

OpenAI backed microsoft MSFT CEO Sam Altman is pushing back against one of the most politically sensitive criticisms of the AI infrastructure boom, arguing that fears over data-center water consumption are exaggerated. But the broader investor problem may be harder to dismiss: public resistance to massive AI facilities is already creating permitting, regulatory and infrastructure risks that could complicate the industry's multibillion-dollar expansion.

“That has been a robust meme and difficult to disprove, but I don't think holds up to any scrutiny,” Altman said of concerns that modern data centers consume excessive amounts of water.

There is evidence supporting part of his argument. A Virginia government review found that most individual data-center buildings use roughly as much water as, or less than, an average large office building. But usage varies enormously: some facilities consumed more than 50 million gallons annually, while one used 243 million gallons in 2023.

Altman also argued that an individual ChatGPT request consumes very little water. He has previously estimated an average query uses about 0.000085 gallons, or roughly 0.32 milliliters.

The challenge is perception at the community level. A May Gallup poll found roughly seven in 10 Americans opposed new AI data centers in their area. Half of opponents cited excessive resource consumption, with 18% specifically mentioning water use.

That opposition matters as OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet and other AI leaders race to secure unprecedented amounts of computing capacity.

Investors TakeawayFor AI investors, the key issue is increasingly not whether demand for computing exists, but how quickly new capacity can actually be built.

Water availability, electricity costs, zoning battles and local opposition could slow data-center approvals and increase project costs. Virginia, the country's largest data-center hub, is already moving toward additional reporting and conservation requirements around water use.

Altman acknowledged that changing public sentiment ultimately requires demonstrating tangible benefits. “I think the right way to get people to like something is to deliver them value.”

For investors, that makes community acceptance another infrastructure constraint worth watching alongside chips, power and financing.

Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

Click for the complete disclosure

Key Takeaways Microsoft will open its Saudi Arabia East region in November 2026 with three Azure availability zones.Microsoft added 31 datacenters and 1 gigawatt of capacity as Azure revenues surpassed $100 billion.Microsoft expects roughly $175 billion in 2026 capex and further growth in fiscal 2027. Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) stock is back in focus after the company confirmed that its Saudi Arabia East datacenter region will become available to customers in November 2026, marking a fresh milestone in its global cloud and artificial intelligence buildout. Announced at the LEAP 2026 technology forum, the new region — located in the Eastern Province and comprising three Azure availability zones — will let government and private-sector organizations in the Kingdom run cloud and AI workloads locally, with an estimated $44 billion in projected economic activity from Microsoft's cloud technologies flowing to the Saudi economy between 2027 and 2030.

The launch extends Microsoft's global Azure footprint, which now spans more than 70 regions across 33 countries, and follows a similar pattern of aggressive AI infrastructure rollout seen through 2026.

This latest expansion is best understood against the backdrop of Microsoft's fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results, reported on July 29. Revenues for the quarter rose 18% year over year to $90 billion, while Azure and other cloud services revenues grew 43%, pushing full-year Azure revenues past $100 billion for the first time. Microsoft Cloud revenues reached $59.3 billion in the quarter, up 27%, and commercial remaining performance obligations climbed 84% to $678 billion, underscoring the scale of contracted future demand. The company added 31 datacenters and roughly one gigawatt of capacity during the quarter, part of a plan to double overall capacity within two years.

Capital spending, the financial engine behind this expansion, totaled $41 billion for the quarter, with roughly two-thirds directed toward short-lived assets such as GPUs and CPUs. For 2026, Microsoft's capital expenditure outlook stands at approximately $175 billion, adjusted from an earlier $190 billion figure following an accounting change that extends the useful life of datacenters and office buildings from 15 to 25 years. Management has guided for capital expenditures to grow further in fiscal 2027, citing sustained demand signals across its cloud and AI portfolio, alongside continued double-digit revenue and operating income growth.

Taken together, the Saudi Arabia launch and the broader capacity build-out reinforce that Microsoft's AI datacenter strategy is no longer a future promise but an operating reality reshaping its revenue base.

Amazon and Alphabet Ramp Up AI Infrastructure SpendingMicrosoft's datacenter push mirrors similar moves by Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) , both racing to expand AI capacity. Amazon raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to roughly $220 billion, up from $200 billion, as AWS revenues grew 37% to $42.2 billion in the second quarter with a $496 billion backlog. Alphabet increased its 2026 capex outlook to $195-$205 billion from $180-$190 billion after Google Cloud revenues surged 82% and its backlog reached $514 billion. While Amazon and Alphabet outspend Microsoft in absolute capex terms, all three companies point to demand outpacing available capacity as the primary driver.

MSFT’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesMSFT shares have returned 3.6% in the year-to-date (YTD) period against the Zacks Computer – Software industry’s decline of 3.7%. The Zacks Computer and Technology sector has appreciated 15.5% in the same time frame.

MSFT’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, MSFT stock appears overvalued, trading at a forward 12-month price/earnings ratio of 24.78X, higher than the industry’s 23.13X. MSFT has a Value Score of D.

MSFT’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MSFT’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $19.59 per share. The estimate indicates 9.14% year-over-year growth.

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

Nike (NKE +0.76%) stock is down 78% from its 2021 all-time high -- the steepest drop in the company's history. Sales remain under pressure, and there's no clear catalyst for a near-term rebound.

But margins are stabilizing -- a sign that things are moving in Nike's favor as it continues its turnaround. If profitability continues to firm up and sales eventually recover, this could set up a rare chance to buy the world's leading footwear and sports apparel brand at a value price.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Stabilizing margins Nike's financials are messy. In fiscal 2026 (which ended in May), sales fell 1% year over year. A company with $46 billion in annual revenue isn't going to flip back to strong growth overnight. That's why investors should focus on early signals that the turnaround is working, such as gross margin performance.

In its latest reporting period (the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2026), Nike's cost of sales fell 16% year over year. That supported the gross margin, which improved to 49.2% from 40.3% in the year-ago quarter. It further drove a 21% increase in gross profit despite the decline in sales.

While that jump was tied to a tariff refund, the underlying trend is still improving. Excluding the refund, gross margin was 40.2% -- down just 10 basis points from the prior quarter and better than management's expectation for a 25- to 75-basis-point decline.

Management now expects gross margin to expand beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 (ending in August). That's earlier than planned and points to structural cost improvements coming through in the supply chain.

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Why the stock is a buy Management still expects revenue to fall in the low- to mid-single-digit range this quarter. But part of that reflects a deliberate shift: pulling back on discounts and leaning harder into full-price sales. That can weigh on near-term revenue momentum while strengthening margins and earnings power.

Also, fiscal 2026's headline decline masks momentum in key categories like running. That suggests the issue isn't the brand -- it's the product mix. Nike's running category has now posted five straight quarters of double-digit growth, helping drive market-share gains across Western Europe and North America.

Nike shares trade at 23 times fiscal 2027 earnings estimates. That looks fair, but it also understates how inexpensive the stock could be if earnings rebound. Analysts expect earnings to reach $2.71 billion by fiscal 2029, which implies a cheaper forward multiple of 14 on those future earnings.

Nike still has to execute to get there. But the push toward supply chain efficiency and higher full-price sales lays the groundwork for stronger long-term profitability. This won't be a smooth turnaround, but the stock is priced low enough that if Nike simply meets consensus estimates from here, patient investors could see some upside.

TOKYO and NEW YORK, Sept. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advasa Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADBT) (“ADVASA” or the “Company”), a fintech payment holding company providing Earned Wage Access (“EWA”) and next-generation financial infrastructure solutions through its Japanese operating subsidiary ADVASA Co., Ltd., today announced a significant upgrade to its existing ADVASA Visa card: it now features seamless payment functionality using USD Coin (“USDC”), alongside traditional fiat currency.

This new capability expands upon ADVASA’s robust payment infrastructure and its proprietary FUKUPE EWA platform. Designed to provide employees with instant, on-demand access to their earned wages before the standard payday, FUKUPE connects earned wage access to a flexible suite of disbursement channels—including bank accounts, supported prepaid cards, and digital wallets. Integrating USDC payments into the ADVASA Visa card represents a strategic evolution of the Company’s financial technology ecosystem, broadening the choice and flexibility available to its users.

ADVASA also believes that the continued expansion of digital payment options has the potential to contribute to greater financial inclusion. According to the World Bank’s Global Findex 2025, approximately 1.3 billion adults worldwide remain without a financial account, while approximately 900 million of those adults own a mobile phone.[1] The Company believes that expanding access to digital payment options, including the ability to use USDC alongside traditional fiat currency, may provide additional pathways to payment services for financially underserved populations, particularly in markets where access to traditional financial infrastructure remains limited.

Looking ahead, ADVASA also plans to explore potential opportunities in the real-world assets (“RWA”) sector. While changing the way people access and receive their earned wages remains central to ADVASA’s mission, the Company sees potential opportunities in RWA as a natural extension of its financial technology and payment infrastructure. The asset tokenization market has been projected to reach approximately $18.9 trillion by 2033, underscoring the potential scale of this emerging sector.[2] ADVASA intends to consider how its existing technologies and experience in expanding financial access could potentially be applied to this evolving market.

“The addition of USDC payment functionality to the ADVASA Visa card represents another step in expanding the payment capabilities available through our platform,” said Grady Ryther, Chief Executive Officer of Advasa Holdings, Inc. “As the digital payments landscape continues to evolve, we intend to further enhance our payment capabilities while also exploring potential opportunities in the RWA sector that may complement our broader financial technology ecosystem.”

About ADVASA
Advasa Holdings, Inc. (corporate website: https://adbt.io/) is a fintech payment holding company established in Delaware conducting operations through its Japanese subsidiary ADVASA Co., Ltd. headquartered in Tokyo, Japan (corporate website: https://www.advasa.co.jp/en/, Founder and Representative Director: Asamitsu Kosugi). ADVASA operates “FUKUPE,” an EWA platform that allows employees to receive wages they have already earned in real time. Leveraging a global patent strategy, the Company has established an intellectual property foundation across markets including Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Singapore. By integrating seamlessly with major HR and payroll systems as well as diverse payment infrastructures (such as bank transfers and e-wallets), ADVASA plans to expand from Japan into global markets—including Indonesia and the UAE where the need for financial inclusion is rapidly growing.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs.

These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s plans and expectations concerning its payment-related financial technology capabilities, digital payment infrastructure, the future utility of digital assets, the potential contribution of expanded digital payment functionality to financial inclusion, the Company’s consideration and exploration of potential opportunities involving RWA and RWA-related technologies and services, and the continued development and expansion of its products and services. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including changes in laws and regulations applicable to digital assets, stablecoins, and RWA, technological and cybersecurity risks, market conditions, and general economic, industry and regulatory conditions in the United States and internationally. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “could,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “aim,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “likely,” “potential,” “project,” or “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations will prove correct. Investors are encouraged to review the risks, uncertainties and other factors that may affect the Company’s future results identified in the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1, as amended (File No. 333-292013), declared effective by the SEC on August 11, 2026, the Company’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 filed with the SEC on August 12, 2026, and subsequent disclosure documents the Company may file with the SEC. The Company claims the protection of the Safe Harbor contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for forward-looking statements.

Contacts:
ADVASA Investor Relations Email: [email protected]
Website: https://adbt.io/
X: @AdvasaHoldings (https://x.com/AdvasaHoldings)

References
[1] World Bank, Global Findex 2025. Available at: https://digitalfinance.worldbank.org/
[2] Ripple and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Approaching the Tokenization Tipping Point, April 2025. Available at: https://media-publications.bcg.com/Tokenized-Assets.pdf

Key Takeaways JPMorgan's Kinexys has processed more than $4 trillion in transactions since inception.EBANX cut internal fund transfers from more than 24 hours to minutes using Kinexys.JPMorgan's Payments revenue hit a record $10.4 billion in first-half 2026, up 12% year over year. JPMorgan’s (JPM - Free Report) blockchain platform, Kinexys, continues to gain commercial traction, strengthening the company’s push to modernize institutional payments. Growing adoption could complement the bank’s scale in treasury services and support further expansion of its Payments business.

Recently, global payments platform EBANX adopted the Kinexys Blockchain Deposit Account network for internal fund transfers across its global operations. The solution reduced transactions that previously took more than 24 hours to minutes. Faster settlement, combined with greater liquidity visibility and round-the-clock transaction capabilities, can help multinational businesses manage working capital more efficiently.

The development underscores Kinexys’ increasing real-world utility. The platform has processed more than $4 trillion in transactions since inception, indicating that JPMorgan’s blockchain initiatives are moving beyond experimentation toward broader commercial deployment.

For JPMorgan, greater Kinexys adoption could have benefits beyond transaction volumes. Integrating blockchain-based settlement with the company’s extensive payments, cash-management and banking relationships will likely improve client retention and create additional cross-selling opportunities. The platform could also differentiate JPMorgan as companies increasingly demand faster, always-on and more efficient global treasury infrastructure.

This momentum complements an already strong Payments franchise, which generated record revenues of $10.4 billion in the first half of 2026, up 12% year over year. While Kinexys remains small relative to JPMorgan’s overall operations, continued adoption among large institutional clients could reinforce its competitive moat. By combining blockchain capabilities with its global banking network and massive client base, JPMorgan appears well-positioned to convert technological innovation into deeper client relationships and incremental payments growth over time.

What are JPM’s Peers Doing to Expand Payments Business?Two close peers of JPMorgan are Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) and Citigroup (C - Free Report) .

Bank of America is expanding its Payments business through cross-border real-time payments, CashPro enhancements, APIs and AI-driven treasury solutions. Bank of America’s new platform connects global instant-payment networks, offering faster settlement, payment tracking and lower costs, while rising digital adoption supports deeper corporate client relationships and treasury-service revenues.

Citigroup is expanding Payments through 24/7 USD clearing, instant cross-border payments, APIs and Citi Token Services. By integrating blockchain-based tokenized deposits with real-time payment rails and expanding Citi Payments Express across markets, Citigroup aims to deepen corporate relationships, improve liquidity management and capture growing demand for always-on payments.

JPMorgan’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesJPM’s shares have gained 18% over the past three months.

Three-Month Price Performance
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, JPMorgan trades at a 12-month trailing price-to-tangible book (P/TB) of 3.31X, above the industry average. 

P/TB TTM
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JPMorgan's 2026 earnings suggests a 22.6% rise on a year-over-year basis, while 2027 earnings are expected to grow at a rate of 0.3%. In the past month, earnings estimates for 2026 have remained unchanged at $24.93. For 2027, estimates have moved upward to $25.02.

Earnings Estimates
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

Key Takeaways J&J faces pressure from Stelara's LOE, upcoming Opsumit and Simponi expiries, and MedTech weakness.Abiomed sales fell 2% as physicians reassessed Impella use after a U.K. clinical trial raised concerns.J&J targets about $100 billion in 2026 revenues, with double-digit growth in sight by decade's end. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) continues to deliver solid operating performance, but its growth story faces several important challenges. The company is navigating the impact of major patent expirations, including the loss of exclusivity (LOE) for Stelara, while upcoming LOEs could add further pressure to its Innovative Medicine business. At the same time, weakness in parts of its MedTech portfolio, pricing pressure in key markets and lingering talc-related litigation remain concerns for investors. Let’s examine these key headwinds and assess whether the healthcare giant is well-positioned to overcome them and sustain its long-term growth trajectory.

Stelara LOE & Upcoming Patent Expiries Weigh on J&J’s GrowthThe biggest long-term challenge for J&J is the loss of exclusivity for some of its key drugs.

J&J lost U.S. patent exclusivity of Stelara in 2025. Stelara was a key top-line driver for J&J, accounting for around 18% of J&J’s Innovative Medicine unit’s sales in 2024, before it lost patent exclusivity in 2025.

Several biosimilar versions of Stelara were launched in the United States in 2025 as the drug lost patent exclusivity. According to patent settlements and license agreements, Amgen (AMGN - Free Report) , Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA - Free Report) , Alvotech, Samsung Bioepis/Sandoz and some other companies launched Stelara biosimilars.

Stelara’s LOE negatively impacted the Innovative Medicines segment’s growth by 10.4% in 2025 and 8.4% in the first half of 2026.

In addition, J&J expects generic competition for both Simponi and Opsumit to weigh on sales in 2026 as the drugs face loss of patent protection. Biosimilars for Simponi entered the European market in the second quarter of 2026, with a potential U.S. entrant later in the year. Generic competition for Opsumit entered the U.S. market late in the second quarter, which is expected to pressure sales in the second half.

Abiomed Weakness & China Headwinds Hurt J&J’s MedTech GrowthSales in J&J's Abiomed business under the MedTech segment declined 2% in the second quarter as procedure volumes slowed following changes in Impella usage after a recent U.K. clinical trial raised questions about the device’s benefit in certain high-risk procedures, prompting physicians to reassess patient selection and adopt a more cautious approach to using the device.

Reflecting these challenges, J&J tempered its outlook for Abiomed, now expecting only modest growth in the second half of 2026 rather than the stronger rebound it had previously anticipated. The impact of the U.K. study is expected to linger and hurt Abiomed’s growth until the PROTECT IV data is presented in 2027. PROTECT IV is a large clinical trial of the company’s Impella device in high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention.

Sales in J&J’s MedTech business are facing continued headwinds in China. Sales in China are being hurt by the impact of the volume-based procurement (VBP) program. VBP is a government-driven cost containment effort in China. J&J expects continued impacts from VBP issues in China in 2026, mainly in the second half. Competitive pressure is also hurting sales growth in some MedTech businesses.

J&J’s Talc Litigation Nears Resolution but Remains a Key Investor ConcernJ&J faces approximately 76,000 lawsuits for its talc-based products, primarily baby powders. The lawsuits allege that its talc products contain asbestos, which caused many women to develop ovarian cancer. While the company has taken steps to resolve many of these matters, litigation has remained an overhang for a long time that has resulted in high costs, negative headlines and weighed on investor sentiment.

Though the issue is close to resolution, it has not yet been fully resolved. In July 2026, J&J agreed to a $5.5 billion settlement covering nearly all its remaining talc litigation. The agreement requires participation by plaintiff firms representing at least 95% of the remaining claims before it becomes effective. J&J expects the first payment of up to $3 billion in 2027, with additional payments beginning in 2028.

Can J&J Navigate the Challenges?J&J has delivered consistent earnings and sales growth, supported by strong growth of oncology drugs and newer medicines.

The company expects 2026 to be a year of accelerated growth. The company is confident that it can achieve its target of generating around $100 billion in revenues in 2026. It expects sales to continue to improve in 2027, with a “line of sight” to double-digit growth by the end of the decade. J&J believes that it is already achieving this growth. Though J&J’s total revenues are currently rising in a mid-single-digit range, excluding Stelara, J&J’s top line grew in a double-digit range in both the first and second quarters of 2026.

J&J also expects its MedTech business to perform better in the second half of the year than it did in the first half, driven by strength in Vision, Orthopedics, Surgery and better performance in Cardiovascular. While the Abiomed softness creates a new overhang, it is only 2% of sales, and J&J has various other top-line drivers to compensate.

Despite headwinds like the Stelara patent cliff, the upcoming LOE of key drugs Opsumit and Simponi, and softness in MedTech, J&J looks quite confident that it will be able to navigate these challenges.

JNJ’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesJ&J’s shares have outperformed the industry so far this year. The stock has risen 31.1% year to date compared with 13.0% appreciation of the industry. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, J&J is expensive. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 21.86 forward earnings, higher than 18.55 for the industry. The stock is also trading above its five-year mean of 15.65.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has risen from $11.58 per share to $11.59 per share over the past 60 days, while that for 2027 earnings has gone up from $12.65 per share to $12.80 over the same time frame.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

J&J has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

DETROIT — Ford Motor said Wednesday it's continuing to increase production of its crucial F-Series full-size pickup trucks after fires at an aluminum supplier severely impacted output over the past year.

The Detroit automaker expects an influx of pickups expected to arrive on dealership lots over the coming weeks and months, said Rob Kaffl, Ford's head of U.S. sales.

"We're increasing production. Dealers will start seeing in the next 30, 60, 90 days that ramp-up in production," Kaffl said Wednesday. "We have a healthy chain of in-transit and in-system."

Ford reported Wednesday that production of F-Series pickup trucks, including the F-150 and its larger siblings, have increased every month this year to being in line with, or slightly above, historical levels. F-150 production of 57,504 units in August was the highest monthly production in two years, according to Ford's data.

The increase in the supply of pickup trucks comes as Ford experienced its eighth consecutive month of year-over-year U.S. new vehicle sales declines in August. The automaker reported Wednesday that sales were down 10.3% for the month compared with a year earlier.

"Our gross availability of products coming in, I would say, is returning back to normalcy – the normal levels our dealers would have," Kaffl said.

Ford said Wednesday F-Series sales remain off 10.9% through August compared to a year earlier, including a 1.2% decrease last month.

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Ford dealers currently have a roughly 40 days' supply of pickup trucks, which is about half of what the industry has typically considers a healthy level for those vehicles. Kaffl reiterated that Ford is targeting a days' supply of the trucks of between 50 days and 60 days, compared with historical industry levels of 75 to 90 days.

"We're being very intentional to make sure the production is meeting the demand," he said.

To meet that pent-up demand, Ford has been increasing manufacturing to higher levels than it had last year in an attempt to make up lost production. The F-Series was hit when two fires halted operations last year at a New York plant of aluminum supplier Novelis, which is expected to cost the automaker $1.5 billion this year.

In addition to lower production of pickup trucks, Ford said its sales have been impacted by the discontinuation of two vehicles earlier this year that makes comparisons harder to meet as well as planned lower sales to daily rental fleets.

Ford also said Labor Day — which is historically a major sales weekend — was a touch comparison since it falls in September this year compared to August of last year.

U.S. automakers overall are experiencing slowing sales, with Ford estimating an industry-wide decline of 6% in new vehicle sales.

Adobe has acquired India-based marketing intelligence startup Rilo in a deal involving licensing and team acquisition, TechCrunch learned and the company confirmed. This is Adobe’s second acquisition from India after it bought video platform Rephrase.ai in 2023. The companies didn’t disclose the deal’s terms.

Beyond confirming the deal, Adobe declined to comment.

The acquisition gives Adobe a small team and technology focused on automating marketing workflows, which have been changing as companies use AI to build tools to automate the creation, deployment, and tracking of campaigns, get action items from meetings or calls to complete tasks, and increase brand visibility on platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Rilo’s technology could bolster Adobe’s existing products as the company targets its larger customers.

Founded by IIT batchmates Georgi Boby and Dhruv Jaglan in 2025, Rilo raised $1 million from investors including Peak XV, DeVC, and Day Zero Ventures at a $10 million valuation. A source told TechCrunch that investors will get an exit from this deal, and Adobe will integrate some of Rilo’s IP along with the six-member team.

The company worked on letting go-to-market teams create custom workflows, including competitor intelligence, content repurposing and distribution, and sales call analysis. It also allowed teams to set up custom workflows comparable to tools like Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work.

Post-acquisition, Rilo will shut down and won’t be available to its customers.

Rilo co-founders Dhruv Jaglan and Georgi BobyImage Credits:Rilo “We’re very excited that Rilo has been acquired by Adobe in such a short span of time,” Rahul Gupta, managing partner, Day Zero Ventures told TechCrunch over email. “Their workflow builder product was way ahead of the curve and shall be extremely valuable to a giant like Adobe in enhancing customer experience and productivity.”

Adobe made a marquee marketing acquisition last year by buying SEO optimization company Semrush for $1.9 billion.

DeVC’s Rahul Mathur told TechCrunch that Rilo could fit into Adobe’s CX and marketing suite to handle complex workflows and give customers visibility into actions they take on the creative company’s platform.

Rivals like Canva have also bolstered their marketing portfolio with acquisitions and new launches. Meanwhile, Amazon, Google, and Meta have built their own AI-powered marketing rails.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

Ivan covers global consumer tech developments at TechCrunch. He is based out of India and has previously worked at publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web.

You can contact or verify outreach from Ivan by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at ivan.42 on Signal.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is moving beyond early Agentforce adoption as investors turn their attention to consumption, monetization and revenue growth, according to JPMorgan.

Analyst Samik Chatterjee said Wednesday that Salesforce’s post-earnings product webinar strengthened the firm’s confidence in the company’s artificial intelligence strategy.

JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating and a $265 price forecast.

Agentforce Could Accelerate Revenue GrowthChatterjee said the Agentforce debate has entered a more important second phase. The focus is shifting from attracting customers to expanding usage and generating recurring revenue.

That transition could accelerate Salesforce’s revenue and annual recurring revenue growth. It could also offset pressure from slower growth in traditional software seats.

Trending

The number of customers running Salesforce AI products in production has roughly doubled since February. Customers that prove the technology’s value in one area are also buying more products.

About half of Agentforce bookings tied to agent-specific applications come from customers purchasing additional credits after exhausting their original allocations.

JPMorgan said that refill activity shows customers are moving beyond pilot programs and could create a durable, consumption-driven revenue stream.

Customer service is driving the strongest consumption. These applications use about five times as many Agentforce workload units as other use cases.

Salesforce cited SharkNinja, which achieved a 93% autonomous resolution rate. Live Nation recorded 37,000 interactions about 30 days after deployment.

Premium Tiers Create Upsell OpportunitySalesforce offers outcome-based pricing, flexible usage credits and predictable subscription packages.

Agentforce One Edition sits at the top of that structure. It costs $550 per user each month and bundles premium applications, Slack, Tableau, Data Cloud and unlimited internal Agentforce use. Headless access alone costs $50 per user each month.

JPMorgan said early demand for Agentforce One Edition points to a potentially strong upsell opportunity.

Salesforce is also expanding access beyond traditional software seats. Headless 360 allows employees to use Salesforce workflows through Slack, Claude and specialized interfaces.

Premium Slack upgrades have tripled since Salesforce launched Slackbot, according to the company.

Dreamforce Becomes The Next CatalystJPMorgan expects Salesforce to increasingly charge customers for business outcomes, such as resolved cases, qualified leads and processed orders.

The model could improve margins if Salesforce routes each task to the most cost-effective AI model. However, it also carries risk. An unsuccessful task can consume computing resources without generating revenue.

Chatterjee identified Salesforce’s upcoming investor day at Dreamforce as the next major catalyst. The event could connect the company’s expanding Agentforce strategy with its medium-term financial outlook.

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $266.36. Recent analyst moves include:

Cantor Fitzgerald: Overweight (Raises Forecast to $300.00) (Sept. 2) BTIG: Buy (Maintains Forecast to $300.00) (Sept. 2) TD Cowen: Buy (Raises Forecast to $300.00) (Sept. 1) Salesforce Top ETF Exposure SmartETFs Advertising and Marketing Technology ETF (NYSE:MRAD): 4.11% Weight iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS:IGV): 5.28% Weight First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (NYSE:FDN): 4.66% Weight Significance: Because CRM carries significant weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.

Salesforce Price ActionCRM Price Action: Salesforce shares were down 0.82% at $256.00 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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It wasn't long ago when Oracle (ORCL +3.23%) was approaching a $1 trillion market cap, thanks in large part to optimism about its cloud computing business. However, the stock is down by more than 50% from the all-time high it set almost a year ago, and it currently has a market cap below $500 billion.

This dramatic drop has created a buying opportunity, and if Oracle can continue to ride the tailwinds of the AI megatrend for multiple years, it has a real shot at recovering past that peak and reaching a $1 trillion valuation for the first time.

Image source: Getty Images.

Cloud revenue continues to climb Oracle's cloud segment is the most important part of the business to consider when assessing how far the stock can climb. That segment continues to do well. Oracle reported cloud revenue growth of 47% year over year in its fiscal 2026 fourth quarter. Total revenue for the company was up by 21%.

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The major drag on the stock relates to Oracle's remaining performance obligations. It has $638 billion in its backlog. That's a good number on the surface since Oracle earned $19.2 billion in its fiscal 2026 fourth quarter. The issue is that its contract with OpenAI accounts for more than $300 billion of that $638 billion total.

There is a lot of uncertainty about that contract. First, in December, Bloomberg reported that Oracle was going to delay delivery of the OpenAI-related data center project by a year -- an assertion that Oracle promptly denied. According to Oracle, those data centers will be delivered on time in 2027.

Investors' bigger concern regards OpenAI's ability to pay $60 billion per year for five years to Oracle when it posted a $38.5 billion net loss in 2025. Its $40 billion in annual recurring revenue wouldn't be enough to cover that commitment, even if it operated with 100% net profit margins, and the Oracle contract is far from OpenAI's only expense.

These concerns are valid when it comes to the pipeline, but Oracle is delivering solid results right now, and it still has a lot of other customers with more reliable finances in its remaining performance obligations.

The valuation has dropped considerably Anytime a stock goes through a deep correction, it's a good time to reassess its valuation. Although Oracle previously commanded a P/E ratio in the 50s, it only trades at a 26 P/E ratio right now. Furthermore, its price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio is just 0.86. Any stock with a positive PEG ratio below 1 is generally viewed as being undervalued.

Oracle stock offers a more attractive margin of safety right now than it did a few months ago. Furthermore, if its revenue and net income continue to climb, investors should feel more willing to expand its valuations again and send it back toward its all-time highs.

The artificial intelligence boom isn't anywhere close to being over. Grand View Research projects a 30.6% compound annual growth rate for the artificial intelligence market through 2033. Oracle's cloud platform is poised to ride that wave, which could propel the company to a $1 trillion market cap.

Shares of GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) are trading modestly higher Wednesday morning. Investors continue to process the company’s preliminary second-quarter financial update released on August 31.

The stock is finding a floor ahead of its official earnings presentation scheduled for September 8, supported by disclosures of investment income stemming from its equity position in online marketplace giant eBay Inc.

Here’s what investors need to know.

GameStop stock is trading near recent lows. What should traders watch with GME? Preliminary Q2 Earnings Boosted By eBay Equity GainsIn its preliminary disclosure on August 31, GameStop projected second-quarter net income between $290 million and $310 million, up significantly from $168.6 million in the prior-year quarter, alongside operating income of $150 million to $170 million.

Bottom-line expansion was largely driven by approximately $238 million in net gains generated after converting a derivative structure into a direct holding of 43.4 million shares of eBay common stock, valued at roughly $4.95 billion as of August 1.

These equity gains were partially offset by a $75 million impairment loss across the company’s digital assets and related receivables.

Liquidity Profile, Debt Restructuring and Macro HeadwindsGameStop ended the period with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities between $5.05 billion and $5.07 billion. Concurrently, management announced the settlement of $358 million in convertible notes, leaving approximately $2.8 billion in aggregate long-dated notes outstanding.

As Chief Executive Officer Ryan Cohen continues redirecting GameStop’s balance sheet toward active corporate investment strategies, traders are balancing the company’s $10 billion combined cash and equity position against broader market volatility, where the 10-year Treasury yield hovering near 4.81% on Wednesday morning continues to pressure equity valuations across retail and growth sectors.

GME Shares Edge Higher WednesdayGME Price Action: GameStop shares were trading higher by 0.96% at $18.99 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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JPMorgan sees AI infrastructure spending surging toward a figure that would reshape entire markets, and the companies capable of manufacturing and designing the chips at that buildout's core fit on one hand. Three names sit at the chokepoint, and their…

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The silicon layer is where the AI buildout begins and where the bottleneck is tightest. JPMorgan projects annual AI infrastructure spending will reach $1.4 trillion by 2030, and the chips at the heart of that spend come from a small group of designers and one indispensable manufacturer. NVIDIA’s own CFO commentary underlines the constraint: management characterized the outlook as supply-constrained and expects supply to remain a bottleneck at least through the end of fiscal 2028. Three US-listed names capture the economics of that supply chain, and their most recent quarters make the setup concrete.

NVIDIA: Merchant GPU Standard Riding the Vera Rubin Ramp NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) designs the accelerators that train and run the largest AI models. In plain language, NVIDIA sells the compute engine, plus the switching fabric that connects thousands of those engines into an AI factory. The company outsources manufacturing, handing designs to Taiwan Semiconductor.

The August 26 report was the tell. Q2 FY27 revenue reached $96.22 billion, up 105.85% year over year, with data center revenue of $89.02 billion growing 117%. Non-GAAP EPS of $2.22 beat the $2.0887 consensus by 6.29%, and Q3 revenue guidance came in at $108.0 billion plus or minus 2%, excluding any data center compute revenue from China. Management said Vera Rubin commenced production shipments earlier this month and expects it to mark the fastest product ramp in NVIDIA’s history.

The bull case is simple. Content per gigawatt is expanding as fast as the number of gigawatts being built. NVIDIA cited roughly $18 billion per gigawatt on Hopper, $25 billion on Blackwell, and $40 billion on Vera Rubin. The top five hyperscalers are guided toward nearly $800 billion in capex in 2026 and $1.3 trillion in 2027, and NVIDIA expects to grow revenue approximately 70% in fiscal 2028 with unconstrained demand described as “a lot higher.” Shares are up 14.49% over the past month and 16.79% year to date, closing at $217.55 on August 28.

The risk is concentration and execution. Supply commitments surged to $279 billion, largely tied to memory procurement for Vera Rubin, and China contributed less than 1% of data center revenue in Q2 with no China data center compute revenue in the forward outlook. A slower Vera Rubin ramp or a memory hiccup would leave a lot of committed capital exposed.

Taiwan Semiconductor: Foundry Monopoly on Leading-Edge Silicon Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) is the world’s dominant pure-play foundry. TSMC manufactures the designs that NVIDIA, Broadcom, AMD, and Apple hand over. When observers say “leading-edge silicon,” they largely mean wafers coming out of TSMC’s 3nm and 2nm nodes. Every AI chip designer in this article depends on it.

Q2 was a demonstration of pricing power. Revenue reached $40.20 billion with a 67.7% gross margin, diluted EPS of $4.31 beat the $3.8866 consensus by 10.89%, and technologies at 7nm and below accounted for 77% of wafer revenue, with 3nm at 30% and 2nm at 3% in its first commercial quarter. Guidance was equally aggressive: Q3 revenue of $44.6 billion to $45.8 billion and full-year 2026 revenue growth slightly above 40% in US dollar terms.

The bull case is structural scarcity. CEO C.C. Wei said conviction in the multi-year AI megatrend “remains very high” and that demand should stay strong through 2029 and 2030. TSMC raised its 2026 capital budget to $60 billion to $64 billion and said the next three years of capex will be “even more significantly higher than the past three years.” Total planned Arizona investment now sits at $265 billion following an additional $100 billion commitment. Shares have responded, up 38.08% year to date and 77.12% over the past year through August 28, and the average analyst target sits at $554.45.

The risks are two-sided. Geopolitics around Taiwan is the obvious tail, and near-term margin compression is the near-term one: management expects the 2nm ramp to dilute gross margin by about 3 to 4 percentage points in the second half of 2026, with overseas fabs adding another 2% to 3% of dilution in the early stages.

Broadcom: Custom Accelerator Alternative and AI Networking Backbone Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) plays two roles the merchant-GPU story does not cover. It designs custom AI accelerators (XPUs, essentially bespoke chips) for hyperscalers that want an alternative to NVIDIA’s GPUs, and it sells the Ethernet switching silicon that stitches those clusters together. When a hyperscaler wants its own chip instead of an off-the-shelf GPU, Broadcom is typically the design partner.

The Q2 FY26 earnings report confirmed the trajectory. Revenue reached a record $22.19 billion, up 47.87% year over year, with AI semiconductor revenue of $10.80 billion growing 143%. Adjusted EBITDA margin came in at 69% of revenue, and free cash flow of $10.262 billion represented 46% of revenue. CEO Hock Tan said Q2 AI semiconductor bookings exceeded $30 billion against $10.8 billion shipped, and Q3 guidance calls for AI semiconductor revenue of $16.0 billion, up over 200% year over year.

The bull case rests on visibility. Broadcom disclosed a contractual OpenAI commitment for 1.3 gigawatts in 2027 within a broader 10 gigawatt agreement targeted by 2029, a Meta MTIA deal contemplating 3 gigawatts through 2028, and an Anthropic arrangement enabling access to 5 gigawatts of next-generation TPU-based compute beginning in 2027. Tan said visibility now runs to 2028 and called demand for XPUs and networking “simply insatiable.” Forward P/E sits at 20, and shares closed at $368.79 on August 28, up 20.36% over the past year.

The risk is customer concentration. Broadcom’s AI revenue leans on a handful of hyperscaler programs, and Tan acknowledged Google may use “diversity of sources” as AI compute consumption grows. Lose a socket at one of six customers and the growth math bends quickly.

Where This Leaves Investors These three names sit at different points of the same value chain: NVIDIA designs the standard, Broadcom designs the custom alternative and the networking silicon around both, and Taiwan Semiconductor manufactures for all of them. All three are mega-cap blue chips, so the risk profile is homogenous. The forward setup rests on hyperscaler and frontier-lab capex holding up through 2027 and 2028, and current bookings, backlog, and capacity commitments say it is. Watch Vera Rubin yield, 2nm dilution at TSMC, and Broadcom’s Q3 earnings report for the next confirmation. Chips are only half the buildout, of course; the power, cooling, and networking suppliers behind the data centers are the other half, and we profiled seven of them in a free report on the AI boom beyond the chipmakers.

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Key Takeaways CVS Health generated about $10.6B in YTD operating cash flow and ended Q2 with roughly $2.7B in cash. CVS expects leverage to improve from about 3.5x as it executes its 2026 outlook and reduces leverage. CVS assumes no 2026 buybacks and limited 2027 repurchases, keeping balance-sheet improvement a priority. CVS Health (CVS - Free Report) maintained a strong balance sheet throughout the first half of 2026, supported by robust cash generation and disciplined capital deployment.

The company has generated approximately $10.6 billion in operating cash flow year to date, reflecting strong earnings and improvements in working capital. It ended the second quarter with roughly $2.7 billion of cash at the parent company and unrestricted subsidiaries. The company reported a leverage ratio of approximately 3.5 times in the second quarter and expects the ratio to improve further as it executes against its 2026 outlook. CVS raised its full-year operating cash flow outlook to at least $11.5 billion, providing additional capacity to reduce leverage and strengthen financial flexibility. 

CVS also remains committed to shareholder returns, having distributed more than $1.7 billion through dividends year to date. However, the company is maintaining a cautious approach toward share repurchases. Its current 2026 outlook assumes no share buybacks, with additional capital deployment opportunities to be evaluated as leverage improves.

This trend extends into 2027, with repurchases assumed to be limited to offsetting share dilution rather than supporting incremental buybacks. This suggests that balance-sheet improvement remains a near-term capital allocation priority.

Peer UpdateWith no debt on Align Technology’s (ALGN - Free Report) balance sheet, it looks quite comfortable from the liquidity point of view. The company’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.10 billion at the end of second-quarter 2026. Second-quarter operating cash flow totaled $192.8 million, while free cash flow was $157.1 million after $35.7 million of capital expenditures. ALGN repurchased about 393,400 shares for $67 million during the quarter at an average price of $169.45. As of June 30, $733.3 million remained under the $1 billion authorization announced in April 2025.

Cardinal Health (CAH - Free Report) ended fiscal 2026 with $4.9 billion of cash and $5.0 billion of adjusted free cash flow. The company repurchased about $1.4 billion of shares during the year and received a $5.0 billion increase to its repurchase authorization. This liquidity supports ongoing investment, tuck-in acquisitions and shareholder returns while preserving financial flexibility.

CVS’ Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesOver the past year, CVS Health shares have risen 31.1% compared with the industry’s 10.8% growth. 

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CVS shares are trading at a forward five-year price-to-sales ratio of 0.29, lower than the industry average of 0.50. The stock has a Value Score of A.

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The consensus estimate for the company’s 2026 earnings has been showing a bullish trend. 

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