Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Jabil (JBL - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 17.4% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

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

JBL Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates on AI Infrastructure StrengthJabil third-quarter fiscal 2026 results surpassed expectations, driven by robust AI infrastructure demand and broad-based growth across its portfolio. Core earnings of $3.16 per share increased 23.9% year over year and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.12 by 1.28%.

Net revenues rose 11.8% to $8.75 billion and exceeded the consensus mark of $8.63 billion by 1.39%. Intelligent Infrastructure remained the key growth engine, with segment revenues climbing 21% year over year.

Earnings and Revenue Top ExpectationsJabil reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 net revenues of $8.75 billion, up from $7.83 billion in the year-ago quarter. Revenues benefited from strong demand across multiple end markets, particularly AI-related cloud and data center infrastructure programs.

Core operating income increased to $504 million from $420 million a year ago. Core diluted earnings per share rose to $3.16 from $2.55, reflecting solid operating execution and margin expansion. On a GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share improved to $2.59 from $2.03.

Intelligent Infrastructure Leads GrowthThe Intelligent Infrastructure segment remained Jabil’s largest business, contributing 48% of total revenue during the quarter. Segment revenue increased 21% year over year to approximately $4.2 billion, supported by strong demand in capital equipment, cloud and data center infrastructure, as well as networking and communications.

Management noted that networking and communications revenue increased more than 50%, aided by a strong networking ramp in India. Segment core operating margin expanded 80 basis points year over year to 6.1%, highlighting favorable mix and execution.

Other Segments Deliver Steady ResultsRegulated Industries generated revenues of roughly $3.2 billion, representing 36% of total company sales. Revenues increased 4% year over year, driven primarily by stronger-than-expected automotive and transportation demand. Core operating margin improved 10 basis points to 5.6%.

Connected Living and Digital Commerce accounted for 16% of revenue. Sales rose 5% year over year to approximately $1.4 billion as consumer-related demand performed better than management’s cautious expectations. The segment delivered a core operating margin of 4.9%.

Margins and Cash Flow ImproveJabil’s profitability strengthened during the quarter. Core operating margin expanded to 5.8% from 5.4% in the prior-year period, supported by a favorable business mix and disciplined execution across operations. GAAP operating income increased to $445 million from $403 million a year earlier.

Cash generation also remained healthy. Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $535 million, while adjusted free cash flow reached $359 million after capital expenditures of $176 million. During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately $291 million of shares under its existing authorization.

AI Momentum Drives Outlook HigherManagement highlighted continued strength in AI infrastructure programs as a major growth catalyst. Jabil now expects AI-related revenue of approximately $13.6 billion in fiscal 2026, up from its prior forecast of $13.1 billion and significantly above the $9 billion generated in fiscal 2025. The company also secured a third hyperscale customer during the quarter, further strengthening its long-term growth prospects.

According to management, growth is being supported by capabilities across compute, storage, networking, optics, power, cooling and rack-level integration, while maintaining an asset-light operating model.

Fiscal 2026 Guidance RaisedEncouraged by strong third-quarter execution and healthy demand trends, Jabil raised its fiscal 2026 outlook. The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenues of approximately $35 billion, core operating margin of about 5.8%, core diluted earnings per share of roughly $12.70 and adjusted free cash flow exceeding $1.4 billion.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, management projects revenues between $9.2 billion and $10 billion and core diluted earnings per share of $3.80-$4.20. The outlook reflects continued momentum in Intelligent Infrastructure, particularly AI-related programs, as well as improving trends in automotive and other end markets.

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

The consensus estimate has shifted 9.34% due to these changes.

VGM ScoresAt this time, Jabil has a average Growth Score of C, a score with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for this investment strategy.

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

OutlookEstimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. It comes with little surprise Jabil has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.

Key Takeaways QS is set to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 22, after the closing bell.QuantumScape remains pre-revenue, with partner payments tied to technical milestones.QS reiterated a 2026 adjusted EBITDA loss outlook of $250-$275 million amid ongoing spending. QuantumScape Company (QS - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on July 22, after the closing bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s loss per share is pegged at 18 cents.

For the second quarter, the consensus estimate for QuantumScape’s loss has widened by a penny over the past 90 days. Its bottom-line estimates imply a growth of 10% from the year-ago reported numbers.

The company's earnings beat estimates in one of the trailing four quarters, matched twice and missed once, delivering an average surprise of 1.22%. This is depicted in the graph below:

Q1 HighlightsIn the first quarter of 2026, QuantumScape reported a loss of 16 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 18 cents. It delivered an earnings surprise of 11.1%. The quarter also showed improving year-over-year performance, with loss per share narrowing from 21 cents in the year-ago period.

Things to NoteQuantumScape remains pre-revenue and does not provide GAAP revenue guidance, so near-term monetization can be volatile. The company’s customer billings metric is non-GAAP and can swing with activity. PowerCo’s project contributions are tied to technical milestones, and the company reported no such payments in the first quarter. This structure could lead to periods of limited recognized revenue despite ongoing activity, reducing financial clarity and increasing short-term earnings unpredictability.

The company reiterated full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA loss guidance of $250-$275 million, indicating that meaningful profitability remains distant. In the first quarter of 2026, GAAP net loss was $100.8 million, reflecting continued spending to ramp the pilot line and advance product development. Even with customer billings, the accounting treatment and timing of partner payments may not align with the expense run-rate. Until higher-volume shipments and licensing economics begin to scale, losses are likely to persist.

Limited revenue visibility and expected EBITDA losses are likely to weigh on the company’s second-quarter results.

Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for QuantumScape for the quarter to be reported, as it does not have the right combination of the two key ingredients. A positive Earnings ESP, combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: QS has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: It currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks With the Favorable CombinationHere are a few players from the auto space that, per our model, have the correct ingredients to post an earnings beat this time.

Gentex Corporation (GNTX - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on July 24. The company has an Earnings ESP of +0.67% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GNTX’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at 50 cents per share and $669 million.

Cummins Inc. (CMI - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on August 4. The company has an Earnings ESP of +0.43% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMI’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at $7.34 per share and $9.33 billion.

BorgWarner Inc. (BWA - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on August 5. The company has an Earnings ESP of +0.62% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BWA’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at $1.26 per share and $3.58 billion.

Key Takeaways Teradata launched its Autonomous Knowledge Platform across cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments. The platform supports agentic AI where data resides while preserving governance, security and compliance. First-quarter recurring revenues rose 12% to $400 million, while public cloud ARR increased 13%. Teradata (TDC - Free Report) has announced the general availability of its Autonomous Knowledge Platform across cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments, expanding its enterprise Artificial Intelligence (AI) portfolio. The platform brings together Teradata Cloud, AI Factory, AI Studio, AI Services and the Tera AI workspace into a unified offering that enables organizations to build, deploy and manage agentic AI where their data resides. It supports both proprietary and open-source foundation models, allowing enterprises to develop AI applications while maintaining governance, security and regulatory compliance across hybrid environments.

The Autonomous Knowledge Platform is designed to help enterprises move AI initiatives from proof-of-concept projects to production by combining trusted enterprise data, analytics and AI capabilities in a single environment. The launch strengthens Teradata's strategy of enabling highly regulated industries, including financial services, healthcare and the public sector, to deploy AI securely while preserving data sovereignty, operational control and deployment flexibility across cloud, on-premises and hybrid infrastructures.

TDC Benefits From Strong Enterprise AI Adoption Teradata shares have gained 42.2% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector's 30.6% return. The outperformance can be attributed to the company’s expanding AI portfolio for enterprises. Agentic AI’s always-on query needs are a tailwind, since Teradata manages critical enterprise data and targets high performance across hybrid and cloud deployments.

The company’s announcement of the Autonomous Knowledge Platform helps enterprises move agentic AI from pilot projects to production. AI is becoming part of a growing number of customer engagements, with an increasing share of Teradata's sales pipeline tied to AI initiatives. Enterprise adoption is accelerating as organizations increasingly seek platforms capable of supporting mission-critical AI workloads.

Teradata believes its hybrid architecture is a key differentiator, enabling AI to operate where enterprise data resides while maintaining governance and security. The Autonomous Knowledge Platform combines trusted data, analytics and AI capabilities across cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments, helping customers simplify production AI deployments and capitalize on growing enterprise AI adoption.

Teradata sees a significant opportunity as enterprise AI adoption accelerates. A recent survey sponsored by the company found that 100% of organizations are pursuing agentic AI, but only 17% have moved beyond pilot deployments, while 99% have encountered infrastructure scaling challenges. The platform could help enterprises move AI into production, creating additional annual recurring revenue (ARR) opportunities over time. Early traction is already visible, with first-quarter recurring revenues increasing 12% year over year to $400 million, total ARR rising 3% to $1.49 billion and public cloud ARR growing 13% to $686 million.

Teradata Offers Strong Q2 2026 OutlookTeradata's expanding AI portfolio and growing demand for hybrid AI deployments are expected to drive top-line growth. For the second quarter of 2026, the company expects non-GAAP earnings between 53 cents and 57 cents per share.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 revenues is pegged at $398.39 million, indicating a 2.36% year-over-year decline.

The consensus mark for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at 55 cents per share, unchanged over the past 30 days. The figure implies a year-over-year increase of 17.02%.

Teradata's Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to ConsiderCurrently, Teradata carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Digital Turbine (APPS - Free Report) , Dell Technologies (DELL - Free Report) and Analog Devices (ADI - Free Report) are some other top-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector. Digital Turbine, Dell Technologies and Analog Devices sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

APPS shares have rallied 72.6% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for Digital Turbine is pegged at 18.98%.

DELL shares have surged 210.9% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for Dell Technologies is pegged at 26.35%.

Shares of ADI have gained 40.3% in the year-to-date period. The long-term earnings growth rate for Analog Devices is pegged at 28.76%.

Key Takeaways Credo's fiscal fourth-quarter free cash flow rose to $177.5 million on $182.2 million in operating cash flow.CRDO ended the quarter with $1.4 billion in cash, supporting product innovation and accretive acquisitions.Credo is investing in AECs, ZeroFlap Optics, ALCs and OmniConnect to capture AI connectivity demand. Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd (CRDO - Free Report) posted a strong finish to fiscal 2026, delivering solid free cash flow in the fiscal fourth quarter, underscoring strengthening profitability amid explosive demand for AI infrastructure.

In the fiscal fourth quarter, cash flow from operations reached $182.2 million, increasing $16 million sequentially. With capital expenditures of just $4.8 million, free cash flow climbed to $177.5 million. The company ended the quarter with $1.4 billion in cash and equivalents, driven primarily by robust free cash flow generation.

This strong cash position provides Credo with ample financial flexibility to invest in product innovation and pursue accretive M&A. In the recent earnings call, the company noted that it remains “well capitalized” to fuel the next leg of growth, while maintaining a considerable cash buffer.     

Credo is deploying its capital strategically. Management noted that the Dust Photonics acquisition, which closed in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, utilized approximately $750 million. Despite this sizable outflow, the company expects to remain in a comfortable liquidity position, supported by operating cash flow approaching $200 million per quarter.

Further, Credo added that it may pursue opportunistic acquisitions, but has no such immediate plans. The company also has no plans to raise additional capital or authorize a share repurchase program currently.

As AI reshapes the data center architectures, it is accelerating demand for high-speed connectivity solutions. Credo lies at the intersection of AI and data center build-outs with its active electrical cables (AECs), optical Digital Signal Processors and PCIe retimers solutions that address the growing need for high-speed, low-power connectivity in the data center space.

Given this, the cash strength is strategically valuable as Credo deepens its role in the hyperscale ecosystem. The company continues to scale its AEC business while accelerating investments in newer growth areas such as ZeroFlap Optics, Active LED Cables (ALCs) and OmniConnect solutions.

How Are Competitors Faring?Although Credo has tremendous opportunities, these are unfolding in a fiercely competitive landscape. Bigger rivals like Broadcom (AVGO - Free Report) and Marvell Technology (MRVL - Free Report) , with their relatively stronger financial positions, offer some serious competition to Credo.

Broadcom is one of the giants in the semiconductor space. In the last reported quarter, free cash flow was a massive $10.3 billion (about 46% of revenues) while capex came in at $231 million. As a result, the company had about $19.6 billion of cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet at the quarter-end.

The company sees massive opportunities in the AI space, as its hyperscaler customers have begun developing their own custom accelerators or XPUs. Broadcom is building custom silicon platforms and enabling massive compute deployments for leading hyperscalers such as Meta, as well as AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI. AI semiconductor revenues are expected to reach $16 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, up more than 200% year over year.

Strong cash position provides ample flexibility to pursue these opportunities. However, Broadcom’s acquisition-driven growth strategy (mainly the VMware acquisition) had led to a hefty debt on its balance sheet. Long-term debt was nearly $62.7 billion at the end of the last reported quarter.

Marvell Technology has been in the spotlight for some time now, especially after NVIDIA's chief publicly called it the next trillion-dollar company earlier this year. The company is now a component of the S&P 500 index. Marvell Technology’s strategic pivot to prioritize the data center market is proving to be a successful catalyst amid surging AI infrastructure spending.

The company is using its cash pile to capture AI-driven opportunities in cloud and data center infrastructure through R&D investment as well as strategic acquisitions like XConn Technologies and Celestial AI. It had $3.84 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the last reported quarter. Cash flow from operations for the first quarter of fiscal 2027 was $638.8 million.

Like AVGO, Marvell Technology also has a highly leveraged balance sheet with a long-term debt of $4.96 billion as of May 2, 2026.

CRDO’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of CRDO have lost 23.5% compared with the Electronics-Semiconductors industry’s decline of 17.2% in the past month.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

In terms of the forward 12-month price/sales ratio, CRDO is trading at 15.01, higher than the Electronic-Semiconductors industry’s multiple of 8.39.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRDO’s earnings for fiscal 2027 has been revised upward over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

Key Takeaways Equifax is set to report Q2 results on July 21, with revenues estimated at $1.7B, up 10.3% y/y.Workforce Solutions revenues are expected to rise 9.9% as active records and verification hit rates increase.USIS revenues are projected to grow 14.5%, while International adjusted EBITDA is seen climbing 18.5%. Equifax (EFX - Free Report) is scheduled to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 21, before market open.

EFX has an impressive earnings surprise history. It has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the four preceding quarters, with an average of 5.6%.

Equifax’s Q2 ExpectationsThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Equifax’s top line is pinned at $1.7 billion, hinting at a 10.3% rise from the year-ago quarter’s actual.

For Workforce Solutions, we expect revenues of $623.1 million, suggesting a 9.9% year-over-year increase. The factors influencing this segment’s growth are likely to have been rising active records and higher verification hit rates, driven by EWS’s expanded data integrations with HR software companies, resulting in higher-income and employment datasets.

The adjusted EBITDA for Workforce Solutions is anticipated to be $365.7 million, implying a 3.6% rise from the year-ago quarter’s actual. Growth in adjusted EBITDA is likely to have been driven by cost efficiencies realized through the transition to cloud-native infrastructure, which shortens the development lifecycle of new products.

We anticipate the U.S. Information Solutions (“USIS”) segment to generate $524.2 million in revenues, suggesting a 14.5% increase from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. This growth is likely to have been driven by rising core online transaction revenues for both auto lending and financial institutions, as well as robust growth in the USIS B2C segment. Adjusted EBITDA for USIS is expected to dip 10.2% year over year to $201 million.

International revenues are estimated to gain 5.6% from the year-ago quarter to $373.3 million. Steady growth across the operating regions is expected to have benefited this segment. For this segment, adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $110.7 million, implying 18.5% year-over-year growth.

The consensus estimate for earnings per share is pegged at $2.21, hinting at a 10.5% year-over-year dip. Robust top-line growth, coupled with cost discipline, is expected to have aided the bottom line.

What Our Model Says About EFXOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Republic Services this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Equifax has an Earnings ESP of -0.33% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present.

Stocks to ConsiderHere are a few stocks from the broader Business Services sector, which, according to our model, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this season.

Klarna Group plc (KLAR - Free Report) : The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s second-quarter 2026 revenues is pegged at $987.9 million, indicating year-over-year growth of 20%. For loss, the consensus estimate is pegged at 7 cents per share, whereas it incurred a loss of 14 cents in the year-ago quarter. The company beat the consensus estimate in the first quarter of 2026 by 94.4%.

KLAR has an Earnings ESP of +43.34% and sports a Zacks Rank of 1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company is scheduled to declare second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 18.

Thomson Reuters (TRI - Free Report) : The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 revenues is $1.9 billion, indicating 7.3% growth from the year-ago quarter’s actual. For earnings, the consensus estimate is 96 cents per share, suggesting 9.1% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. TRI surpassed the consensus estimate in the past four quarters, with an average beat of 3.1%.

Thomson Reuters has an Earnings ESP of +2.35% and a Zacks Rank of 2. It is scheduled to declare second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 5.

Today, Injective is introducing Injective Mint, a new platform that lets anyone create and manage compliance-ready assets without writing code.

For the first time, the controls required by tokenized treasuries, stablecoins, funds, and other regulated instruments are available through a simple interface. Institutions, users and even AI agents can issue any asset at scale while also customizing every parameter.

Injective Mint is now live in private beta.

Institutional Tokenization, Without the Institutional OverheadCreating a token takes minutes. Creating one that can operate within the rules of regulated finance has traditionally required custom contracts, manual scripts, and a technical team to maintain them.

That complexity has kept tokenization out of reach for most issuers. Even a basic launch can involve separate systems for issuance, investor permissions, custody, compliance, and ongoing administration. Once the asset is live, changing a role or freezing an address often sends the issuer back to an engineer.

Injective Mint brings those functions into one place.

An issuer can create an asset, configure its permissions, assign administrative roles, and manage it from a single interface. The underlying controls use Injective’s native Tokenfactory and Permissions modules, the same protocol-level infrastructure already designed for institutional assets.

No custom contract is required. No command line is required. The issuer remains in control.

Compliance Is Built Into the AssetWith Injective Mint, an issuer can configure:

Holder restrictions: Limit who can receive and hold the asset using an approved-address list.Approved jurisdictions: Select which regions can access an asset to comply with global legal frameworks.Issuance and redemption: Assign minting and burning authority to specific entities while keeping those powers separate from ordinary holders.Freeze controls: Stop a compromised or restricted address from transacting.Global pauses: Halt all transfers when an operational, compliance, or security event requires immediate action.Administrative roles: Give each party only the authority it needs without transferring control of the entire asset.These are not policies stored in a document or checked after settlement. They are part of the asset itself. If a transfer falls outside the rules, the chain rejects it.

That distinction matters. Regulated assets do not become viable onchain simply because ownership is represented by a token. They become viable when the rules governing ownership and transfer can be applied reliably every time the asset moves.

From Setup to Issuance in One FlowMint guides the issuer through the full creation process.

Enter the asset name, ticker, and type. Select the jurisdictions in which it can trade. Set the supply, identify the issuing entity, and add the custodians supporting the asset. Then configure the addresses and roles authorized to hold, transfer, issue, redeem, or administer it.

Once confirmed, Injective writes the asset and its rules to the network in real time. The new asset appears immediately on InjScan, where its onchain activity can be verified.

A process that once required a bespoke technical implementation can now be completed through a repeatable interface.

Issued Into a Live Financial NetworkMany tokenization products stop once the asset reaches a wallet. That creates a digital representation, but not a functioning market.

Assets created through Injective Mint enter an ecosystem already built for trading, lending, derivatives, and other financial applications. Subject to the permissions set by the issuer and the integrations available for the asset, an RWA can move into secondary markets, support a lending market, or serve as collateral for new products.

The asset does not need to wait for a separate chain, liquidity layer, or financial stack to be built around it. The infrastructure is already there.

Mint combines simple issuance with enforceable controls and a direct route to onchain utility.

A Platform for Every IssuerUntil now, institutional tokenization has mostly been a custom service for organizations with large budgets and dedicated engineering teams.

Mint makes the same infrastructure accessible to a much broader group. A bank can issue a permissioned deposit token. A fund can tokenize an investment product for approved participants. A fintech can launch a stablecoin with separate issuance, redemption, and compliance roles. An asset manager can bring a new product onchain without building its tokenization stack from scratch.

The institution defines the asset. Injective handles the onchain machinery.

That is how RWAs move beyond isolated pilots. Issuance has to become simple enough to repeat, strict enough for regulated markets, and connected to infrastructure that can make the asset useful after launch.

Creating a Regulated Path for Securities OnchainInjective has also filed for transfer agent registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If approved, the registration would create a regulated path for Injective to maintain securities ownership records onchain in the United States.

A transfer agent maintains the authoritative record of who owns a security. That record determines who receives distributions, who can vote, and who is entitled to sell or transfer the asset. Today, these records are generally kept offchain and updated across multiple institutions as trades settle.

Moving that function onchain would allow the ownership record to update with settlement, remain open to verification, and operate alongside the asset’s transfer rules.

Mint and the proposed transfer agent capability address two connected parts of the same market. Mint creates the asset and encodes its permissions. The transfer agent would maintain its official ownership record. Both would operate on Injective.

The result would be a more complete foundation for securities issued, administered, and settled onchain.

The RWA Stack Comes TogetherInjective Mint adds a new issuance layer to the institutional infrastructure already forming across the network.

Pineapple is bringing mortgage records onchain. INJ has a published MiCA white paper in Europe. Coinbase is supporting the migration to native INJ. The Injective AI Agent SDK lets developers build autonomous agents capable of operating across Injective.

Each development solves a different part of the same problem: how to move real financial activity onchain without giving up the controls, records, liquidity, and infrastructure that markets require.

Mint makes it possible to create those assets at scale.

Live in Private Beta TodayInjective Mint is live in private beta, with support for additional asset types, issuers, and compliance controls planned as the platform expands.

The goal is simple: make institutional-grade tokenization accessible to anyone ready to build the next generation of financial products.

Create the asset. Set the rules. Bring it onchain.

Much more news coming soon.

About InjectiveInjective is a lightning fast interoperable layer one blockchain optimized for building premier Web3 finance applications. Injective provides developers with powerful plug-and-play modules for creating unmatched dApps. INJ is the native asset that powers Injective and its rapidly growing ecosystem. Injective is incubated by Binance and is backed by prominent investors such as Jump Crypto, Pantera and Mark Cuban.

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Key Takeaways Viking Therapeutics' Q2 report is expected to spotlight updates on its VK2735 obesity pipeline.VKTX is advancing late-stage VK2735 studies, with key data not expected before next year.VKTX plans SC maintenance results on VK2735 in Q3 2026 and late-stage oral program initiation in Q4 2026. We expect investors to focus on updates related to Viking Therapeutics’ (VKTX - Free Report) pipeline when it reports second-quarter 2026 earnings. In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings missed expectations by more than 44%.

Since the company lacks a marketed drug in its portfolio, no revenues are expected to have been recorded. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at a loss of $1.21 per share.

Factors Likely to Shape VKTX’s Upcoming ResultsInvestor focus will likely be on pipeline updates. Viking Therapeutics’ lead candidate is VK2735, which is being developed to treat obesity.

The company is conducting two late-stage studies (VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2) on the subcutaneous (SC) formulation of VK2735. While VANQUISH-1 is evaluating the drug in obese adults with at least one weight-related co-morbid condition and without type II diabetes (T2D), VANQUISH-2 is assessing its efficacy in obese or overweight adults with T2D. Data from these studies is not expected before next year.

Investors will likely be seeking updates on the ongoing maintenance dosing study on VK2735, which was initiated last year. This study is evaluating multiple regimens — monthly SC, weekly oral and daily oral dosing — to determine whether the initial weight loss achieved with weekly SC dosing can be sustained. The company had previously announced that it would report SC maintenance results in the third quarter of 2026, followed by oral maintenance results in the first half of 2027.

Investors will also likely be interested in seeking updates from VKTX on the study design for the late-stage program on the oral version of VK2735. Viking Therapeutics had previously announced plans to start the program in the fourth quarter of 2026.

VKTX’s Earnings Surprise HistoryThe biotech firm’s performance has been dismal over the past four quarters. Its earnings missed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering a negative average surprise of 36.70%.

VKTX Stock PerformanceYear to date, shares of the company have gained more than 3% compared withthe industry’s nearly 2% growth.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

What Our Model Predicts for VKTXPer our proven model, companies with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or#3 (Hold) have a good chance of delivering an earnings beat. This is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Viking has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks With Favorable CombinationsHere are some drug/biotech stocks that have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this time around:

Absci Corporation (ABSI - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +15.22% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Shares of ABSI have skyrocketed about 136% year to date. The company’s earnings beat estimates in one of the trailing four quarters, while missing the mark on the other three occasions. Agenus delivered an average negative surprise of 17.58%. Absci will report second-quarter 2026 earnings on Aug. 11, after market close.

Edgewise Therapeutics (EWTX - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +13.28% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Shares of EWTX have surged 54% year to date. The company’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters while missing out on one occasion, delivering an average surprise of 5.06%.

July 17th, 2026 – London, United Kingdom

ether.fi, the leading onchain neobank for digital asset management, has selected Nexus Mutual to provide crypto’s largest-ever ETH Slashing Cover.

The cover protects ether.fi‘s validators against up to 15,000 ETH worth of slashing penalties.

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Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is heading into its second-quarter earnings report with robotaxis doing most of the talking.

Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating on the stock and $460 price objective, pointing to the service's rapid expansion, a delivery number that blew past Wall Street estimates, and looming production milestones for the company's Optimus humanoid robot.

The bank said investor focus will center on the pace of robotaxi fleet scaling and new market launches. Tesla now operates in five markets following its July 3 launch in Miami, though its San Francisco service still requires a safety driver. Four additional markets are in preparation, compared with the company's original target of nine cities by the first half of 2026.

Tesla's Texas fleet has scaled quickly, adding more than 100 vehicles over the past month to reach 175, the fastest growth among the robotaxi operators Bank of America tracks. Safety data has remained compelling, with 22 incidents recorded through mid-June since the service's inception and no serious injuries or fatalities. A San Francisco pricing study the bank conducted in June found Tesla was 21% cheaper on average than Waymo, Uber and Lyft, though wait times ran three to four times higher, suggesting demand is outpacing supply.

On the core auto business, Tesla reported second-quarter deliveries of approximately 480,000 vehicles, above consensus estimates of about 406,000 and up 25% year-over-year. That compares with S&P forecasts for global battery electric vehicle sales growth of 15% year-over-year, suggesting Tesla gained roughly 95 basis points of BEV market share. U.S. share rose 50 basis points year-over-year to 46.1% in the quarter.

Bank of America also flagged upcoming updates on Optimus. Tesla is targeting initial production at Fremont for late July or August, around the same time as a possible Gen 3 reveal, with Giga Texas production expected around summer 2027. The bank expects a slow ramp but sees long-term opportunity, forecasting global humanoid shipments of 1.2 million units by 2030 and 10 million by 2035.

Beyond Optimus, the bank expects focus on energy storage following Tesla's agreement with NatPower for 25 GWh using its Megapack system. Tesla remains the leading battery energy storage systems company in the U.S., an area now drawing entrants including Ford, General Motors and BorgWarner.

Bank of America said Tesla is in the early stages of monetizing its autonomy capabilities, which it views as the most significant change agent in the shift toward autonomous, electric transportation.

Amazon-owned Zoox recalled software in 105 of its robotaxis over concerns its vehicles failed to detect heavy smoke and drove into it.

Zoox notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the recall on July 8 and said it became aware of the smoke detection issue following an incident last month.

On June 20, an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi encountered heavy smoke that obscured an active emergency fire scene that was not cordoned off with cones, the company wrote in its report. The vehicle entered the scene, then braked hard while attempting to steer away before coming to a stop, Zoox said.

The company said the incident took place in Las Vegas.

A Zoox teleguidance employee instructed the vehicle to reverse, then first responders placed traffic cones to block off the scene, according to the report.

Zoox said it investigated the incident and determined it's "the only event of this kind" that has occurred. No injuries were identified.

Read more CNBC tech newsElon Musk's Memphis AI empire is the epicenter of the data center backlashChinese startup Moonshot AI unveils Kimi model it says rivals OpenAI, AnthropicSpaceX stock falls after Starship test flight abortedMicrosoft's Nadella criticizes Anthropic's Fable for being 'editorially controlled'Amazon acquired Zoox for $1.3 billion in 2020. The company operates driverless buggies that have no steering wheel or pedals, and feature four carriage-style seats that face inward, giving them a shuttle-like atmosphere.

Zoox currently offers free rides in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco, and it's allowing select users to hail its robotaxis in small zones in Miami and Austin, Texas. Testing is also underway in six other U.S. cities.

The voluntary recall comes after NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison last week issued a directive to autonomous vehicle developers to ensure their vehicles get out of the way of first responders.

Morrison said in the letter that the agency has "identified a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders," citing incidents where AVs drove into active emergency scenes, blocked the paths of ambulances or firefighters, or failed to recognize or respond to flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire and traffic cones.

He called on AV developers and operators "to immediately focus their resources on fixing this issue" and present their solutions to the agency by the end of the month. The letter doesn't name specific AV companies.

Zoox issued several software recalls last year to address issues over lane crossings, as well as its ability to predict the movement of other vehicles and pedestrians.

The company is racing to catch up to Alphabet's Waymo, which is the dominant robotaxi service in the U.S., with a fleet of about 4,000 automated vehicles in the country.

Last month, Waymo recalled about 3,900 robotaxis after some of its vehicles drove into closed construction zones on freeways, increasing "the risk of a crash."

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Apple overtook Nvidia on Friday to become the world’s most valuable company, reshuffling the top ranks of tech heavyweights as investors reassess the outlook for artificial intelligence.

Apple was last valued at $4.88 trillion as its shares held steady, while Nvidia was roughly at $4.86 trillion, following a 3.5% decline.

The shift in the pecking order illustrates that investors are broadening their focus beyond the most obvious beneficiaries of the AI boom, such as Nvidia, which had been at the helm for nearly a year. 

The iPhone maker is reclaiming the top spot for the first time since April last year. REUTERS Apple is reclaiming the top spot for the first time since April last year.

“Apple was seen as a laggard in the AI race because it wasn’t spending to develop models, but now sentiment has changed,” said Toni Meadows, head of investment at BRI Wealth Management.

“Apple is less exposed to capex intensity and better positioned to monetize AI via services, ecosystem lock-in, and hardware upgrades. The re-rating reflects confidence in earnings durability rather than speculative AI upside.”

For a company that was often seen trailing in the AI race, the milestone reflects Apple’s efforts to establish itself more firmly among the sector’s leading players, and could shape how CEO Tim Cook’s final months at the helm are viewed.

Cook is preparing to cede his role to hardware veteran John Ternus in September.

Last month, the company rolled out a long-delayed overhaul of Siri, betting the upgraded assistant would help close the gap ‌with Big Tech rivals and new-age startups in the crucial AI race.

Apple CEO Tim Cookt with his successor John Ternus earlier this month. Getty Images Some analysts say Apple is sitting on an ​AI gold mine in the form of the personal data that lives on every iPhone.

The data could make Siri’s answers more useful and the assistant more capable.

The challenge is that such data is locked away in operating systems in the name of privacy and the company would have to find a way to unlock its value.

AI spending lifts new winners Nvidia became the first company in the world to surpass a $5 trillion market valuation in October, a landmark that propelled it into a rarefied territory that was far beyond the reach of its rivals.

Being superseded by Apple does not necessarily signal a lasting change in the companies’ relative standing. The chipmaker remains a major beneficiary of AI-related spending, and its graphics processors are powering much of the generative AI frenzy.

Nvidia could also reclaim the top spot if sentiment shifts.

Nvidia became the first company in the world to surpass a $5 trillion market valuation in October. CEo Jensen Huang, above. Getty Images Besides, Apple is in a delicate position itself, having raised prices to offset rising costs — a strategy that could hurt demand.

“I don’t see any meaningful distinction. Nvidia likely to be a significant participant in whatever happens going forward,” said Benjamin Hall, vice president, alpha research at Segal Marco Advisors.

However, the AI enthusiasm has spread to other corners of the semiconductor industry. The bigger winners this year have been memory chipmakers such as Micron, which crossed $1 trillion in market value in May as investors embraced the significance of memory chips in AI infrastructure.

South Korea’s SK Hynix also listed on the Nasdaq earlier this month, adding another player to the race for investor attention.

South Korea’s SK Hynix also listed on the Nasdaq earlier this month, adding another player to the race for investor attention. REUTERS “The new entrants to the market could spread out the focus away from the pure Magnificent Seven names into a wider number of names,” Hall said.

The eye-watering chips rally ran into turbulence in July as investors reassessed the sustainability of the artificial intelligence trade, knocking the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index down almost 19% from its all-time highs.

Despite the steep fall, the index has performed better than Nvidia so far this year.

Procter & Gamble (PG 0.12%) raised its quarterly dividend 3% in April to $1.0885 per share, marking its 70th consecutive year of dividend increases. Only five other publicly traded companies have raised their payouts for that many years in a row.

The streak is even more remarkable when you zoom out. P&G has paid a dividend every year since its incorporation in 1890 -- 136 straight years. And the payments are enormous in absolute terms, too. The company behind Tide, Pampers, and Gillette expects to pay around $10 billion in dividends in fiscal 2026, plus roughly $5 billion in share repurchases on top of it.

A streak like this is only possible because of what P&G sells. Detergent, diapers, razors, and paper towels get bought in good economies and bad ones, and the company's latest results show that durability at work. In its fiscal 2026 third quarter (the period ended March 31), P&G's organic sales, which exclude currency moves, acquisitions, and divestitures, grew 3% year over year, and core earnings per share rose 3% to $1.59. Management also maintained its full-year outlook even while absorbing tariff-related costs.

Image source: Procter & Gamble

Is the stock a buy for income? With shares trading near $148, P&G stock yields about 2.9% as of this writing. The payout consumes about 63% of the company's earnings over the past 12 months, a level that leaves room for the increases to continue. And the valuation looks arguably reasonable, too. Shares trade at about 21 times earnings -- not a bargain, but hardly a demanding price for a business this durable.

Today's Change

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Income investors should like that trade-off. This is a slow-growth business, with organic sales rising at a low single-digit rate, so nobody should expect the stock to keep up with the market's fastest growers. But the dividend is well covered by earnings, the raises keep coming, and 70 years of history suggest the payout can survive whatever the economy does next.

For investors looking for dependable income, P&G remains one of the simplest options in the market: a nearly 3% yield, backed by one of the longest dividend-growth streaks any company has ever put together.

Daniel Sparks and his clients do not have positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Takeaways GM to report Q2 2026 results on July 21, with the consensus mark for EPS of $3.13 and revenues of $45.96B.GM's China restructuring and rising digital revenues are expected to support second-quarter results. GMNA revenues are projected to fall, while GMI and GM Financial sales are expected to increase. General Motors Company (GM - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on July 21, before market open. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings per share (EPS) and revenues is pegged at $3.13 and $45.96 billion, respectively.

For the second quarter, the consensus estimate for General Motors’ earnings has moved up 2 cents over the past seven days. Its bottom-line estimates imply growth of 2.37% from the year-ago reported numbers.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GM's quarterly revenues implies a year-over-year decline of 2.5%. The company's earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 20.25%. This is depicted in the graph below:

Q1 HighlightsIn the first quarter of 2026, General Motors reported adjusted earnings of $3.70 per share, which rose 33% from $2.78 a year ago. The figure topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.61 by 41.8%. Revenues of $43.62 billion slipped 0.9% year over year and missed the consensus mark of $43.94 billion by 0.7%.

Things to NoteGeneral Motors’ China restructuring continues to show traction, with first-quarter 2026 China equity income reported at $165 million (its sixth quarterly gain), reflecting restructuring benefits and disciplined production and inventory management. It expects China to remain profitable in 2026.

The automaker is building a larger recurring revenue base from OnStar and Super Cruise. In first-quarter 2026, recognized digital revenues exceeded $750 million, up more than 20% year over year, and deferred revenues reached $5.8 billion, up more than 50%. Management expects recognized digital revenues of about $3.1 billion in 2026 and deferred revenues approaching $7.5 billion by year-end as subscribers rise to roughly 13 million.

Restructuring benefits in China and strong revenues from the software and services business are likely to have enhanced the performance of GM in the second quarter.

In the second quarter of 2026, General Motors’ brands Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet and GMC recorded a year-over-year decline of 19.2%, 7.5%, 3.9% and 0.3%, respectively.

Let’s have a look at our estimates for GM’s segmental performance.

We expect GM North America (GMNA) revenues to be $37.8 billion, suggesting a year-over-year decline of 4.3%. For GM International (GMI), we expect sales of $3.75 billion, indicating a 12.8% year-over-year increase. We project GM Financial sales to be $4.35 billion, suggesting a rise of 2.3% year over year.

Our estimate for the GMNA segment’s operating income is $3.03 billion, which suggests a rise of 35.7% year over year. We expect GMI's operating income to be $140.3 million, suggesting a decline of 31.2% year over year. Our estimate for the GM Financial operating income is $731.7 million, suggesting a rise of 3.9% year over year.

Earnings WhispersOur proven model predicts an earnings beat for General Motors for the quarter to be reported, as it has the right combination of the two key ingredients. A positive Earnings ESP, combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is the case here.

Earnings ESP: GM has an Earnings ESP of +5.17%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Other Stocks With the Favorable CombinationHere are a few other players from the auto space that, per our model, have the correct ingredients to post an earnings beat this time.

Gentex Corporation (GNTX - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on July 24. The company has an Earnings ESP of +0.67% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GNTX’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at 50 cents per share and $669 million.

Cummins Inc. (CMI - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on August 4. The company has an Earnings ESP of +0.43% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMI’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at $7.34 per share and $9.33 billion.

BorgWarner Inc. (BWA - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2026 results on August 5. The company has an Earnings ESP of +0.62% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BWA’s to-be-reported quarter’s earnings and revenues is pegged at $1.26 per share and $3.58 billion.

Allstate’s Comeback Is Turning Into a Profit MachineTravelers Companies NYSE: TRV reported what executives described as an “excellent” second quarter of 2026, supported by strong underwriting results across all three business segments, higher investment income and favorable reserve development.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alan Schnitzer said the insurer earned core income of $2.2 billion, or $10.04 per diluted share, and generated a core return on equity of 24.9% for the quarter. Over the trailing four quarters, Travelers produced a core return on equity of 24.2%.

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3 Insurance Stocks That Can Act as a New Inflation Hedge “We’re pleased to report an excellent second quarter and another in a sustained run of successful quarters, with very strong underwriting performance across all three segments and a terrific result from our investment portfolio,” Schnitzer said.

Pre-tax underwriting income totaled $1.7 billion, while the combined ratio improved to 83.6%. The underlying combined ratio improved to 84.1%, which management attributed to a lower underlying loss ratio. Chief Financial Officer Dan Frey said underlying underwriting income reached $1.3 billion after tax, marking the company’s eighth consecutive quarter above $1 billion.

Investment Income and Capital Returns Strengthen Results 3 Insurance Stocks Hitting 52-Week Highs With More Room to RunAfter-tax net investment income rose 14% from the prior-year quarter to $883 million. Frey said fixed income investment income benefited from higher yields and a higher level of invested assets, while alternative investment income also increased. He noted that new money yields at the end of the second quarter were about 90 basis points above the yield embedded in the portfolio.

Travelers expects fixed income net investment income, including earnings from short-term securities, of approximately $840 million in the third quarter and roughly $870 million in the fourth quarter, consistent with prior guidance, Frey said.

Operating cash flow was $1.9 billion for the quarter and surpassed $11 billion over the trailing 12 months. Adjusted book value per share, which excludes unrealized investment gains and losses, was $168.20 at quarter-end, up 16% from a year earlier.

The company returned more than $1.5 billion of capital to shareholders during the quarter, including $266 million of dividends and $1.3 billion of share repurchases. Frey said Travelers had about $3.9 billion remaining under prior board authorizations for buybacks.

Schnitzer emphasized that the company’s capital management priorities remain reinvestment in the business, organic or inorganic, where attractive returns are available, followed by returning excess capital to shareholders.

Business Insurance Posts Record Segment Income Business Insurance generated segment income of $1.2 billion, a second-quarter record, according to Greg Toczydlowski, president of Business Insurance. The segment’s underlying combined ratio was 88.2%, also a second-quarter record.

Net written premiums in Business Insurance reached $6 billion. Excluding the impact of the sale of the company’s Canadian business in the first quarter, net written premiums increased 5% from the prior-year quarter. Toczydlowski said growth was led by a 7% increase in Middle Market and a 4% increase in Select.

National property premiums declined as Travelers maintained disciplined underwriting standards, passing on business where pricing and terms did not align with the company’s view of risk. However, Schnitzer said property premiums were higher in both small commercial and middle market businesses.

Renewal premium change in the segment was 4.8%. Excluding property, renewal premium change was 7.8% and roughly flat sequentially. Retention remained strong at 86%, while new business reached a quarterly record of $805 million, up 8% from the prior-year quarter.

In response to an analyst question about whether Travelers might relax underwriting standards or pricing to accelerate growth given its elevated return on equity, Schnitzer rejected the idea.

“Competing on pricing in this business is a fool’s errand,” Schnitzer said. He added that Travelers’ objective is to compete on franchise value rather than lower prices.

Bond & Specialty Insurance Benefits From Surety Growth Bond & Specialty Insurance reported segment income of $234 million and a combined ratio of 82.8%. Net written premiums rose 14% to a record $1.2 billion.

Jeff Klenk, president of Bond & Specialty Insurance, said domestic management liability retention improved to 88%, while renewal premium change remained consistent. New business in that area increased 8%.

The company’s surety business posted 40% growth in net written premiums, also reaching a record level. Klenk said production was broad across the portfolio and included a small number of large projects as well as increased bonding for data center development.

Asked about the durability of surety growth, Klenk said surety production can vary because most production comes from new bonds rather than renewals. Still, he said Travelers is positioned to benefit from future infrastructure investment, including public spending and data center-related projects.

Personal Insurance Delivers Strong Profitability Personal Insurance generated segment income of $827 million. Michael Klein, president of Personal Insurance, said the result reflected strong underlying underwriting income, modest catastrophe losses and favorable prior-year reserve development.

The segment’s combined ratio was 79.5%, while the underlying combined ratio was 77.3%. Net written premiums totaled $4.3 billion, with solid retention in both automobile and homeowners and higher new business in homeowners.

In automobile, the combined ratio was 82.8%, including a 4.5-point benefit from favorable prior-year reserve development. The underlying combined ratio improved slightly more than three points from the prior-year quarter to 85.8%. Klein said favorable loss experience across coverages contributed to the improvement, including about a two-point benefit from re-estimating the prior quarter in the current year.

In homeowners and other, the combined ratio was 76.7%, reflecting modest catastrophe losses and very strong underlying underwriting income. The underlying combined ratio was 70.1%, comparable with a strong prior-year quarter.

Klein said Travelers continues to pursue profitable growth by adjusting rates to reflect profitability, enhancing product and pricing segmentation, refining eligibility restrictions and seeking new agent appointments and book consolidation opportunities.

Technology, AI and Reinsurance Remain Focus Areas Executives repeatedly pointed to technology and artificial intelligence initiatives as contributors to underwriting performance and efficiency. Schnitzer said Travelers continues to invest more than $1.5 billion annually, including in focused technology initiatives such as AI, to strengthen competitive advantages.

Toczydlowski highlighted AI advancements in Travis, the company’s digital platform for small commercial business, including submission uploads, data extraction, pre-filled submission information and underwriting rules that can generate quotes in seconds.

Frey also discussed reinsurance actions. Travelers replaced an expiring catastrophe bond in May with a new bond, increasing the size from $575 million to $750 million and slightly decreasing the retention. On July 1, the company renewed its Northeast property catastrophe excess-of-loss treaty, which continues to provide $1 billion of occurrence coverage above a $2.75 billion attachment point.

Frey said Travelers chose not to renew the personal lines catastrophe excess-of-loss treaty it had purchased in 2024 and 2025, citing the efficiency of its all-perils enterprise-wide general corporate catastrophe treaty renewed at Jan. 1.

Looking ahead, management said it remains confident in the durability of the company’s underwriting income, investment income and balance sheet strength. Schnitzer said Travelers’ earnings engine is “tuned to continue delivering industry-leading returns at industry-low volatility.”

About Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV)The Travelers Companies, Inc NYSE: TRV is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products and services. The company underwrites a broad range of commercial and personal insurance lines, offering coverage designed to protect individuals, small and midsize businesses, and large corporate clients against property loss, liability, and other operational risks. Travelers is known for combining underwriting, claims management and risk control services to help clients prevent losses and recover when incidents occur.

On the commercial side, Travelers writes primary and specialty coverages including property, general liability, commercial auto, workers' compensation, professional and management liability, surety and inland marine.

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

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Oracle (NYSE:ORCL | ORCL Price Prediction) trades at $124.21 against a consensus Wall Street price target of $251.85, a gap of roughly 103%.

Oracle sells database and enterprise software, but the cloud story dragged the stock up and then down. Over the last two years the company reinvented itself as a hyperscale landlord chasing AI training and inference workloads, embedding 72 multicloud datacenters inside Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. That pivot put Oracle on every generalist’s radar and is why the recent decline matters. Analysts built their bullish thesis on a $638 billion contracted backlog, and the market has spent the last month acting as if that backlog is not there.

Why a Cloud Darling Just Lost a Third of Its Value in a Month Oracle has fallen 33.43% over the past month and 35.29% year to date, closing within a rounding error of the $123.66 52-week low. S&P cut Oracle’s credit rating to BBB-, one notch above junk, citing debt implications of massive AI infrastructure spending and concentration risk tied to OpenAI. Two days later, IBM cratered on a software miss that Bloomberg tied to enterprise budgets shifting from software into AI servers, dragging every large-cap software name lower.

The underlying anxiety is cash. Free cash flow for FY2026 came in at negative $23.69 billion on $55.66 billion of trailing capex, and management expects another ~$70 billion capex outlay in FY2027 plus a ~$40 billion debt and equity raise. A New Mexico pipeline permit denial and nationwide protests around data-center energy use added execution risk.

The Case Guggenheim Is Still Making at Three Times the Current Price Guggenheim’s John DiFucci has kept a $400 price target on Oracle and named it his best software idea for 2026, implying upside that more than triples the current share price and sits well above the Street average. His core argument is that there is “no apparent good reason” for the pullback and anxiety over near-term margin compression is drowning out an unprecedented backlog signal.

Remaining performance obligations exploded to $638 billion, up 363% year over year. Cloud infrastructure revenue grew 93% in the June quarter, cloud is now 52% of total revenue, and management reconfirmed a $90 billion FY2027 revenue target with $8.05 in non-GAAP EPS. CFO Hilary Maxson told analysts the “unprecedented level of RPO provides exceptional visibility into our future revenue growth”, with steady-state ROIC in the high 20s at the project level.

DiFucci’s timeline is the piece the market seems least willing to underwrite. He expects free cash flow to rebound dramatically starting in fiscal 2029 as front-loaded infrastructure spend converts into recurring, high-margin revenue. Consensus already reflects broad agreement on direction if not magnitude:

Strong Buy: 8 Buy: 29 Hold: 5 Sell: 1 How the Cloud Software Peer Group Stacks Up Every large-cap enterprise software name has sold off this year, but Oracle has fallen furthest and carries the widest analyst-implied gap.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is down 16.69% year to date to $401.10, well behind Oracle’s slide. The consensus target of $558.66 implies roughly 39% upside, with ratings overwhelmingly bullish at 54 buy or strong-buy calls against 3 holds and no sells.

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Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) is down 34.47% year to date to $172.68. The consensus target of $245.16 implies about 42% upside, with a ratings mix that skews buy but includes two strong-sell calls.

IBM (NYSE:IBM) trades at $219.05 after a 25.82% one-week drop tied to its Q2 preannouncement. The $283.80 consensus target implies roughly 30% upside, with revisions skewed lower since the miss.

Oracle carries by far the largest analyst-implied upside across the group, signaling either that consensus is behind the curve on risks or that sector rotation has punished Oracle for something the fundamentals do not yet show.

What the Selloff Looks Like Next to the Market Oracle’s 35.29% year-to-date decline compares with a 10.09% gain for the S&P 500, underperforming the index by more than 45 points in seven months. The stock trades on a forward P/E of 16 against a trailing 23, with a PEG of 0.74. The average target of $251.85 implies roughly 103% upside, and analyst revisions and the trailing five-year total return of 52.77% both point to a market that has priced Oracle for a slower ramp than management is guiding to.

The Investment Case The bull case holds if the RPO conversion story arrives on management’s schedule and the FY2029 free-cash-flow inflection Guggenheim models shows up on time. The path back to consensus runs through steady quarterly proof that OCI margins hold at the 30% to 40% range, GPU utilization stays near 97.5%, and the balance sheet absorbs the $40 billion raise without another downgrade.

The bear case sharpens if the credit market keeps flashing yellow. A second S&P notch would take Oracle to junk, force selling from investment-grade mandates, and reprice the entire capital plan. Concentration risk in the OpenAI relationship, permit fights around data centers, and customer defections toward in-house AI tools are real risks that chip at the recurring-revenue premium the bull case demands.

On balance the dislocation looks larger than the underlying deterioration. The setup rewards investors with a tolerance for another leg down while the FY2029 cash-flow thesis proves itself.

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Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways Enbridge secures a key Michigan water permit for its $800 million Great Lakes Tunnel Project. Enbridge's tunnel will replace the aging underwater Line 5 pipelines to improve safety and reliability. Enbridge still requires additional federal and state approvals before construction can proceed. Enbridge Inc. (ENB - Free Report) has moved a step closer to advancing its $800 million Great Lakes Tunnel Project ("GLTP") after the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy ("EGLE") reissued a key water resources permit. The permit allows construction activities in sensitive environmental areas and revives a project that had stalled after an earlier permit expired while Enbridge and the state spent nearly eight years in litigation.

The GLTP will replace the aging 73-year-old dual Line 5 pipelines beneath the Straits of Mackinac with a tunnel housing a new pipeline segment. Line 5 is a strategically important asset, transporting approximately 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids per day from western Canada through Michigan to refining and distribution hubs, including Sarnia, Ontario. Replacing the underwater pipeline with a tunnel is expected to improve the system's long-term safety and operational reliability while preserving a critical energy transportation corridor.

The latest permit follows a 16-month environmental review. During this time, EGLE reviewed more than 70,000 public comments, consulted Tribal Nations and assessed the findings of an independent engineering firm. EGLE imposed additional conditions on ENB, including an enhanced wetland mitigation plan and measures to protect cultural resources. Despite ongoing opposition from environmental and Native American groups, the regulator concluded that the project's benefits outweigh competing public interest concerns.

While securing the permit is a positive milestone for Enbridge, it is not the final hurdle. The project still requires approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Public Service Commission, alongside a pending NPDES permit renewal. Nonetheless, this regulatory headway significantly reduces the risks of constructing one of Enbridge's key long-term infrastructure projects. If completed, the tunnel is expected to generate additional fee-based revenues from Enbridge’s liquids transportation network, strengthening its business model and boosting investor appeal.

ENB's Zacks Rank & Key PicksEnbridge currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the energy sector are NOV Inc. (NOV - Free Report) , Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NGS - Free Report) and National Energy Services Reunited Corp. (NESR - Free Report) . NOV currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while NESR and NGS sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NOV is a global provider of equipment, technologies and services for the oil and gas drilling and production industries, operating across 548 locations on six continents. In the first quarter of 2026, the company achieved record profits from its subsea flexible pipe and process systems businesses, reflecting strong demand in offshore energy markets. NOV reported record bookings in the first quarter of 2026 for its composite solutions business and maintains a strong subsea flexible pipe backlog extending through 2028, providing long-term revenue visibility.

Headquartered in Southlake, TX, Natural Gas Services Group manufactures, fabricates, sells, rents and services natural gas compressors to enhance well production, alongside manufacturing flare and ignition systems used in production facilities. In June 2026, the company significantly expanded its operational footprint in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford regions by acquiring Flatrock Compression Holdings. This strategic acquisition expanded NGS’ fleet of large-horsepower and electric-driven compression solutions, broadened its customer base and immediately boosted key financial metrics.

National Energy Services Reunited delivers integrated drilling and reservoir services across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia-Pacific, helping producers maximize output and efficiency. With rising global demand for electricity fueling a shift toward natural gas, NESR is well-positioned to capitalize on growing upstream energy investments.

Pharmacy-focused sites to open in select communities to help increase access to pharmacy care

Openings are part of ongoing commitment to serve communities and meet consumers where they are 

, /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health® (NYSE: CVS) today unveiled its first pharmacy-focused CVS Pharmacy® in Houston. The new pharmacy, located at 8503A Gulf Freeway in south Houston, will help bridge gaps in pharmacy care and make it easier for community members to access medications, immunizations and other health care services provided by pharmacists.

CVS Pharmacy opens first pharmacy-focused location in Houston, TX. Nearly 20 pharmacy-focused locations will open in select communities across the country, increasing access to vital pharmacy care. Each site will feature a full-service pharmacy with a customized selection of over-the-counter products available for purchase. With footprints averaging around 3,000 square feet, the pharmacy-focused locations will help ensure patients have access to prescription medications and the trusted advice and counsel of their neighborhood CVS pharmacist.

"Community pharmacists are often the most accessible healthcare professionals in the communities they serve," said Sid Tenneti, Senior Vice President and Interim President, Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness, CVS Health. "Our new pharmacy-focused locations optimize how we engage with communities by expanding access to trusted care, clinical expertise, and personalized support. We help people get the guidance, medications, and pharmacy care services they need where, when and how they need it most."

Multiple pharmacy formats to meet community health needs

The new pharmacy-focused locations are just one component of the company's work to reinvent pharmacy. By taking a customized approach focused on the diverse needs of the communities they serve, CVS Pharmacy has worked to strategically realign its retail footprint over the last few years. The new pharmacies will help the company better support its patients in those communities, ensuring its footprint is the right size and scale, and addressing shifts in the pharmacy industry.

These smaller neighborhood pharmacies join several other formats already in place across the country. They include CVS Pharmacy's traditional full-service front store and pharmacy locations, store-in-store pharmacies, such as those inside Target and Schnucks grocery stores, CVS Pharmacy stores that feature a MinuteClinic retail medical clinic, and side-by-side CVS Pharmacy and Oak Street Health care centers, primarily located in neighborhoods with high Medicaid populations.

The company has opened pharmacy-focused locations in Birmingham, AL, Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI, and in Washington, D.C. In addition to the new site near the Gulf Freeway, two additional pharmacy-focused locations are planned in the greater Houston area over the next year. The company also plans to open more than 40 new CVS Pharmacy locations, including traditional stores and pharmacies in Target.

Importance of one-on-one interactions with pharmacists

The 2025 CVS Health® Rx Report highlighted that 80% of patients prefer face-to-face pharmacy care, and nearly half (48%) would switch pharmacies if limited to digital-only options. The overwhelming majority of pharmacy professionals (97%) also say in-person interactions remain vital.

Added Tenneti, "Access to local, timely health care matters – which is why, whether in-person, online, or a combination of the two, our community pharmacists provide trusted counsel and best-in-class service through consistent, personalized experiences that focus on helping patients become their healthiest."

"In the expansive Greater Houston metropolitan area, being able to walk into any of our pharmacies, speak directly with a pharmacist, and have in-person access to pharmacy services is important," Thanh Hoang, Pharmacy Manager, CVS Pharmacy. "Our pharmacists live and work within the communities they serve and because authentic connections are created through meaningful interactions, patients and customers trust their local pharmacy teams."

Whether a patient prefers the convenience of same-day or 1- to 2-day prescription delivery or prefers to visit their local pharmacy in-person, CVS Pharmacy is ensuring patients have multiple care options to choose from, depending on their individual needs.

About CVS Health
CVS Health is a leading health solutions company simplifying health care one person, one family and one community at a time. As of March 31, 2026, the Company had approximately 9,000 retail pharmacy locations, more than 1,000 walk-in and primary care medical clinics and a leading pharmacy benefits manager with approximately 88 million plan members. The Company also serves an estimated more than 37 million people through a broad range of health insurance products and related services. The Company's integrated model uses personalized, technology driven services to connect people to simply better health, increasing access to quality care, delivering better outcomes, and lowering overall costs.

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Key Takeaways Western Digital expects AI-driven data growth to boost long-term HDD storage demand above 25% CAGR.WDC sharpened its HDD focus after separating its flash business into Sandisk to serve hyperscalers.WDC is advancing new HDD technologies to improve throughput and support large-scale AI deployments. The surge in data creation is creating a growing opportunity for storage companies, particularly Western Digital Corporation (WDC - Free Report) . The rapid shift from AI training to large-scale inference is driving an explosion in data creation, significantly increasing demand for persistent, scalable, and cost-effective storage—most of which resides on HDDs. Western Digital expects the rise of agentic AI, which autonomously executes workflows, to further accelerate data generation and extend data retention, boosting storage demand across cloud and enterprise environments.

At the same time, synthetic data and physical AI applications, such as robotics and autonomous systems, are creating massive volumes of video, sensor and training data, forming a compounding cycle of data growth. As a result, WDC believes the AI-driven data economy will drive long-term data storage demand at more than 25% CAGR, positioning its high-capacity HDD roadmap to benefit from this trend. WDC’s quarterly trends have shown massive revenue growth, improving gross margins, better pricing discipline and strong enterprise demand. It has also sharpened its focus following the separation of its flash business intoSandisk (SNDK - Free Report) , allowing management to concentrate on advancing HDD technologies and serving hyperscale customers more effectively.

Moreover, AI pipelines increasingly demand higher throughput, an area where flash has traditionally dominated. WD has introduced two industry-first technologies that fundamentally change HDD performance dynamics – High Bandwidth Drive Technology and Dual Pivot Technology. High Bandwidth Drive technology is already in customers’ hands for validation, while HDDs featuring Dual Pivot technology remain in the lab and are slated for introduction in 2028. On the other hand, power-optimized drives are expected to be in customer qualification in 2027, effectively creating a new economic storage tier between warm and cold data, critical for sustainable AI deployments at scale. 

However, Western Digital competes with well-funded rivals like Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX - Free Report) in HDDs and several major NAND manufacturers in flash technologies.

AI Presents Huge Potential: Can WDC Outpace Peers?The rise of AI-driven inference workloads is increasing demand for both cloud and edge storage, with growing interest from sovereign and neo-cloud data centers in Seagate’s enterprise nearline drives and storage systems. Seagate is capitalizing on this trend through its focus on areal-density innovation rather than unit-volume growth. Its HAMR-based Mozaic platform exemplifies this strategy, with the second-generation Mozaic 4+ delivering up to 44TB per drive—more than 30% higher capacity than the first generation. Enhanced by Seagate’s proprietary laser and integrated photonics technology, the platform improves storage density, cost efficiency and scalability, supporting the company’s targeted mid-20% annual data-center exabyte growth.

Sandisk is benefiting from AI-led demand that is lifting enterprise SSD adoption and supporting pricing across NAND end markets. NAND is becoming a critical part of AI inference architectures such as KV cache and RAG, which expands low-latency flash needs beyond the model itself. In February 2026, Sandisk and SK hynix launched a joint initiative to standardize High Bandwidth Flash, a next-generation memory solution designed for the growing demands of AI inference. The effort reflects a broader industry shift from AI model training to inference, where efficient memory systems are critical to handle increasing data workloads and enable future AI infrastructure growth.

WDC Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesIn the past year, shares of WDC have surged 586.5% compared with the Zacks Computer-Storage Devices industry’s growth of 381.6%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 24.35 forward earnings compared with 10.63 for the industry.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

WDC’s estimate revisions are on an upward trajectory currently. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WDC’s earnings for fiscal 2026 has been revised north by 0.4% to $10.06 over the past 60 days, while the same for fiscal 2027 has gone up 8.4% to $18.64.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Currently, Western Digital has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Key Takeaways BWXT's production network supports long-term government and commercial customer contracts.BWXT is investing in facilities and equipment to support long-term nuclear and defense programs.BWX Technologies' manufacturing expansion enhances production capacity and operational efficiency. BWX Technologies, Inc. (BWXT - Free Report) continues expanding its manufacturing capabilities to boost growing demand across its defense, commercial nuclear and advanced reactor businesses. The company is investing in production facilities and specialized equipment to strengthen operational capacity and improve execution across long-term customer programs. As of March 31, 2026, BWXT reported nearly $1.6 billion in net property, plant and equipment (PP&E), highlighting the scale of its manufacturing platform.

Manufacturing investment remains a key part of BWXT's long-term strategy. The company's specialized production facilities support the fabrication of naval nuclear components, reactor technologies, precision manufacturing and other mission-critical products. Continued investment in manufacturing assets helps modernize operations while aiding production requirements across multiple business segments and strengthening its long-term manufacturing capabilities.

BWXT's manufacturing footprint also provides the flexibility to execute a diverse mix of government and commercial programs. As customer requirements continue evolving, investments in facilities and production equipment boost the company's ability to support long-duration contracts while improving manufacturing efficiency, operational execution and production reliability across its manufacturing network.

Growing demand for nuclear technologies across defense, energy and medical markets is expected to bolster additional manufacturing activity. BWXT's continued investment in production infrastructure positions the company to meet future customer requirements while reinforcing its long-term competitive position and supporting sustained growth across its diversified nuclear technology portfolio.

Companies Expanding Manufacturing InfrastructureNuclear technology companies continue investing in manufacturing assets to strengthen production capabilities and support future reactor deployment. Companies like Oklo Inc. (OKLO - Free Report) and NuScale Power Corporation (SMR - Free Report) are also expanding their manufacturing asset base through continued investments in facilities and equipment.

Oklo reported $95.6 million in net property, plant and equipment as of March 31, 2026, reflecting continued investment in construction in progress and equipment supporting its advanced reactor development.

NuScale Power reported $3.2 million in net property, plant and equipment as of March 31, 2026, highlighting continued investment in facilities and manufacturing assets aiding its small modular reactor technology.

Earnings Estimates for BWXT StockThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings per share suggests year-over-year growth of 14.71% and 13.74%, respectively.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

BWXT Stock Is Trading at a DiscountBWX Technologies is trading at a discount relative to the industry, with a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 4X compared with the industry average of 8.41X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

BWXT Stock Price PerformanceOver the past year, BWXT shares have rallied 21.5% compared with the industry’s 7% growth.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

MarketBeat Week in Review – 06/01 - 06/05Fifth Third Bancorp NASDAQ: FITB reported second-quarter 2026 earnings that management said showed early benefits from its merger with Comerica, with executives pointing to stronger profitability, deposit growth in newer markets and progress toward planned cost savings.

The Cincinnati-based bank reported earnings per share of $0.83, or $1.02 excluding certain items outlined in its earnings release, Chairman, CEO and President Tim Spence said on the company’s earnings call. Spence said Fifth Third’s tangible book value per share increased 10% year-over-year, 1% sequentially and 7% since the Comerica transaction was announced nine months ago.

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Fifth Third’s Big Bet Is On“While we are still in the middle of integration and not every metric is yet where it will be, our trajectory and long-term potential are visible in this quarter’s results,” Spence said.

Profitability Improves as Comerica Integration Advances Fifth Third said adjusted return on tangible common equity improved to 19%, adjusted return on assets rose to 1.3% and the adjusted efficiency ratio improved to 57%. Spence said those results came even though most of the expected expense synergies from the Comerica deal have not yet been captured.

MarketBeat Week in Review – 01/19 - 01/23CFO Bryan Preston said second-quarter net interest income was $2.22 billion, while net interest margin expanded six basis points sequentially to 3.36%. Preston attributed three basis points of the margin expansion to the additional month of Comerica results, with the remainder coming from fixed-rate asset repricing, loan growth and deposit performance.

Preston said total adjusted non-interest expense was $1.86 billion, better than the company expected, as Fifth Third realized synergy benefits ahead of schedule. The quarter included $203 million in merger-related charges. The bank remains on track to deliver $850 million of annualized run-rate expense synergies in the fourth quarter, with systems conversion scheduled for Labor Day weekend.

Spence said in response to an analyst question that the company is “running a good bit ahead” of the $850 million synergy target, but added that management’s current plan is to redeploy savings above that level into revenue growth opportunities if the operating environment remains supportive.

Deposit Growth Led by Consumer and Southwest Markets Management highlighted deposit growth as a key theme in the quarter. Spence said end-of-period consumer and small business deposits increased 4% sequentially, driven by new customer acquisition. In the Southeast, consumer checking households grew 7% year-over-year, which Spence said was about four times the rate of underlying market growth.

In Comerica’s Texas, Arizona and California markets, checking households grew 4%, which Spence said marked the first net new household growth in several years. Those markets added $2.5 billion in deposits, more than double the $1 billion expectation management discussed on the prior earnings call.

Preston said average core deposits were $229 billion in the quarter, while period-end core deposits were $231 billion. Consumer deposits grew nearly $5 billion, offsetting an intentional reduction in higher-cost non-relationship deposits and normal commercial seasonality. Average non-interest-bearing balances were 28% of core deposits, up from 25% a year earlier.

Deposit costs declined during the quarter. Preston said total deposit costs fell four basis points sequentially to 1.54%, while interest-bearing deposit costs declined two basis points. He described the consumer deposit market as competitive and said it is becoming more expensive to grow deposits, but said Fifth Third continues to manage overall deposit costs through pricing and mix.

Loan Growth Broad-Based, Credit Trends Improve Period-end portfolio loans totaled $179 billion, up 1% sequentially. Preston said commercial loans rose $2 billion, or 2%, with production across middle market and corporate banking. Commercial line utilization was stable at 40.8%.

Spence said C&I loan growth was supported by both legacy Fifth Third and Comerica markets, with growth in Texas, California, Michigan and several specialty verticals, including environmental services, dealer services, and tech and life sciences. He said confidence among commercial clients improved broadly during the quarter, with demand stable and, in some cases, improving.

Consumer loan growth was led by home equity. Preston said home equity balances rose 3% sequentially, and Fifth Third was the No. 1 originator of home equity lines across its legacy footprint. He said the product maintained disciplined credit characteristics, with an average FICO score of 774 and a loan-to-value ratio of 63%.

Credit trends improved during the quarter. Preston said the net charge-off ratio fell seven basis points sequentially to 30 basis points, the lowest level since the second quarter of 2023. Commercial net charge-offs were 21 basis points, while consumer net charge-offs were 53 basis points. Non-performing assets were relatively stable, and commercial criticized assets declined during the quarter.

Fee Businesses Reach Milestones Fifth Third reported adjusted non-interest income of $1.04 billion, excluding security gains and other items. Management emphasized strength across wealth and asset management, commercial payments and capital markets.

Wealth and asset management revenue was $256 million, with total assets under management of $128 billion. Commercial payments revenue was $254 million, led by NewLine and core treasury services. NewLine fee revenue increased 35% year-over-year. Capital markets fees were $154 million, an annualized pace of about $600 million. Spence said commercial payments and wealth and asset management each reached a more than $1 billion annualized fee run rate during the quarter. He also said Fifth Third shipped the first Direct Express cards on its new platform, with 66,000 new beneficiaries and all participating federal agencies now live.

Guidance Raised for Net Interest Income and Fees Fifth Third raised its full-year net interest income guidance to a range of $8.74 billion to $8.8 billion. Preston said the outlook reflects the forward curve at the end of June, which assumed a 25-basis-point rate hike in September, as well as securities repositioning and new forward-starting received fixed swaps.

The company refined its average loan guidance to $174 billion to $176 billion, noting that the full-year average will include only 11 months of Comerica. Fifth Third also raised and narrowed full-year non-interest income guidance to $4.06 billion to $4.16 billion and lowered and narrowed full-year non-interest expense guidance to $7.22 billion to $7.26 billion, excluding acquisition-related charges.

For the third quarter, Fifth Third expects net interest income to grow 2% to 2.5% from the second quarter, average loans to rise about 1%, adjusted non-interest income to increase 1% to 3% and adjusted non-interest expense to decline 1% to 2%.

Preston said the bank’s common equity Tier 1 ratio ended the quarter at 9.93%, up four basis points sequentially. He said Fifth Third expects to resume regular quarterly share repurchases in the second half of the year, with a smaller amount in the third quarter and a more normalized pace of $200 million to $300 million per quarter in the fourth quarter.

“The second quarter turned the integration thesis into results,” Preston said. “The earnings power of the combined company isn’t a forecast anymore.”

About Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB)Fifth Third Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio–based bank holding company whose primary banking subsidiary operates as Fifth Third Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its business mix includes retail and commercial banking, lending, payment and card services, treasury and cash management, and wealth management and investment advisory services delivered through a combination of branch locations, commercial offices and digital platforms.

On the consumer side, Fifth Third offers deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, auto financing and credit card products, along with digital banking and mobile services.

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

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Truist Financial Corporation (TFC - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.23 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.91 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +13.89%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.99 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.09, delivering a surprise of +10.1%.

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

Truist Financial, which belongs to the Zacks Banks - Major Regional industry, posted revenues of $5.27 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.02%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $4.99 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.

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

Truist Financial shares have added about 8.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 10.1%.

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

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

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

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Truist Financial was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.13 on $5.35 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $4.51 on $21.11 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Banks - Major Regional is currently in the top 10% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

BankUnited, Inc. (BKU - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on July 22.

This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.02 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +12.1%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

BankUnited, Inc.'s revenues are expected to be $290.57 million, up 6.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Key Takeaways Gibraltar completed its solar exit through two divestitures, generating $75 million in gross proceeds.Capital is shifting toward Residential, Agtech and Infrastructure while supporting debt reduction.OmniMax integration, $26 million in synergies and deleveraging are central to Gibraltar's growth plan. Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK - Free Report) has completed its planned exit from the Renewables business by selling its solar racking and foundations assets to Unirac for $5 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. The July 15, 2026, transaction marked the final step in a two-stage divestiture process and transferred the operations to a leading North American manufacturer of solar photovoltaic mounting systems.

The transaction follows Gibraltar’s February 2026 sale of its electrical balance-of-systems, or eBOS, business to GameChange Energy Technologies for $70 million in cash. Together, the two divestitures generated $75 million in disclosed gross proceeds and completed the company’s withdrawal from the solar business.

By simplifying its portfolio, Gibraltar is directing more capital and management attention toward its Residential, Agtech and Infrastructure businesses. These operations form the core of its building products and structures strategy and offer management greater opportunities to improve execution, capture synergies and strengthen long-term shareholder returns.

Following the news, ROCK stock gained 1.6% during trading hours yesterday.

Portfolio Simplification to Fuel Future GrowthGibraltar’s Renewables exit reflects a broader effort to reshape its portfolio around businesses where it believes it has stronger competitive positions and more attractive long-term prospects. The company classified Renewables as held for sale and began reporting it as discontinued operations effective June 30, 2025, formally separating the solar business from its continuing operations.

Gibraltar used the full $70 million of eBOS proceeds to reduce debt following its acquisition of OmniMax. At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the company had net debt of approximately $1.2 billion and identified deleveraging as a central capital-allocation priority. Management’s plan calls for excess cash flow to be directed toward debt reduction as it works toward a leverage ratio of roughly 2.5 times adjusted EBITDA by the first quarter of 2028.

The exit also allows ROCK to focus more fully on integrating OmniMax, which it acquired for approximately $1.34 billion in February 2026. The combination significantly expanded Gibraltar’s Residential platform and created opportunities in procurement, geographic expansion, cross-selling and private-label programs. Management raised its total synergy commitment to $26 million, with about $16 million expected to benefit full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA.

Overall, the divestiture sharpens Gibraltar’s strategic direction. The $75 million in disclosed proceeds supports financial flexibility, but the larger benefit is a more focused portfolio centered on Residential, Agtech and Infrastructure. Whether that translates into stronger shareholder value will depend on the company’s ability to integrate OmniMax, deliver planned synergies and reduce leverage while navigating uneven end-market conditions.

ROCK’s Share Price PerformanceShares of Gibraltar have gained 11.5% in the past three months, outperforming the Zacks Building Products - Miscellaneous industry’s 2.8% rise. Investor sentiment has benefited from Gibraltar’s solid execution, including faster-than-expected OmniMax integration, higher synergy expectations and the use of $70 million in eBOS sale proceeds to reduce debt. Agtech’s $84 million backlog, a strong Infrastructure pipeline and improved April shipments and bookings also support the outlook.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Although residential market conditions remain mixed, Gibraltar's disciplined execution, accelerated OmniMax integration, expanding synergy opportunities and proactive pricing actions position it well to navigate near-term challenges. Continued deleveraging, commercial wins and a robust project pipeline across Agtech and Infrastructure are expected to support earnings growth and sustain the stock's momentum.

ROCK’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksCurrently, Gibraltar carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the Construction sector are:

Argan, Inc. (AGX - Free Report) flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 40.5%, on average. AGX stock has surged 74.7% year to date. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Argan’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 38% and 29.4%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL - Free Report) flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1 at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29.1%, on average. STRL stock has jumped 109.4% year to date.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sterling’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 59.2% and 75.7%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

Masco Corporation (MAS - Free Report) sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.7%, on average. MAS stock has climbed 26.2% year to date.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Masco’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates growth of 2.9% and 7.3%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.

HomeEarnings AnalysisCommunication Services

SummaryTencent is rated Hold, with a $76/share target, reflecting a balanced outlook ahead of 2Q26 earnings.We see AI ecosystem transformation as a strategic positive, but lack of clear AI monetization and gaming innovation remain key concerns.Gaming momentum is supported by top titles like Honor of Kings and Delta Force, while fintech faces macro-driven headwinds.With TCEHY shares at a 5-year low P/E, positive AI or gaming catalysts could drive upward revisions and share price recovery. Robert Way/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

We preview Tencent’s (TCEHY) upcoming 2Q26 earnings results, which are due out next month. Heading into the print, we are cautiously optimistic given that we see the upcoming quarter is well-balanced with both puts and

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Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

By PYMNTS  |  July 17, 2026

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Apple sent letters to about 40 former employees who now work at OpenAI, demanding that they preserve documents and communications and meet with Apple lawyers, the Financial Times reported Friday (July 17), citing unnamed sources.

The move is part of Apple’s efforts to secure evidence for the lawsuit it filed last week against OpenAI and two of the artificial intelligence company’s employees, alleging that they stole trade secrets, according to the report.

About 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, per the report.

Neither Apple nor OpenAI immediately replied to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

Apple filed its lawsuit July 10, alleging that OpenAI, Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan and technical staff member Chang Liu stole trade secrets from Apple to support OpenAI’s development of devices. Tan and Liu are former Apple employees.

Apple said in the lawsuit that it doesn’t know what OpenAI did with the information it alleges was stolen by Tan and Liu but claimed that “at every level, from members of its technical staff to its chief hardware officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information.”

With its lawsuit, the company is demanding that OpenAI stop the practices alleged in the suit, destroy any proprietary materials and redesign its upcoming products so that they don’t use any Apple technology.

In a July 10 post on social platform X, OpenAI Director of Strategic Communications Drew Pusateri said: “We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.”

Our statement in response to this suit: We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere. https://t.co/lIxGW6hyz5

— Drew Pusateri (@drewpusateri) July 10, 2026

It was reported Sunday (July 12) that Apple’s lawsuit came as the tech world scrambles to develop AI-powered devices that go a step beyond the smartphone and that the winner of this race could play the same role Apple now plays in the consumer market.

OpenAI released its first hardware product Wednesday (July 15). The product is a $230 programmable macropad for developers managing AI coding agents.

It was reported Tuesday (July 14) that the company is developing a portable smart speaker that serves as an AI companion. OpenAI aims to reveal the device this year and launch it in 2027.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares are in the spotlight as earnings, analyst activity and interesting technicals converge.

Tesla stock is showing weakness. Why is TSLA stock retreating? Earnings History & What To ExpectTesla is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on July 22. Tesla is expected to post earnings per share of 44 cents and revenue of $25.24 billion. In the most recent quarter, Tesla reported earnings per share of $0.41, beating estimates of $0.30 by 0.37%. Revenue came in at $22.39 billion, exceeding the estimate of $22.17 billion by 0.01%.

Over the last 4 quarters, Tesla has averaged an EPS surprise of 0.19% and a revenue surprise of 0.02%.

Investors should watch automotive gross margin excluding credits, along with operating margin, for evidence that revenue growth is translating into real operating leverage — recent earnings beats have leaned more on profitability improvements than outsized revenue surprises.

FSD and software-related revenue signals, including deferred revenue movement, services growth, and any commentary on take-rate, will also be closely watched, since much of Tesla’s valuation still hinges on a broader software ramp. Delivery volumes and pricing commentary should also offer clues on demand elasticity, since volume growth without pricing power could keep EPS capped even if revenue reaches the $25.24 billion target.

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions The stock carries a Buy Rating with an average price target of $405.70. Notable recent moves include:

Morgan Stanley: Equal-Weight (Raised Target from $415.00 to $417.00) (July 14) Barclays: Equal-Weight (Raised Target from $360.00 to $370.00) (July 14) Wells Fargo: Underweight (Raised Target from $125.00 to $130.00) (July 14) A Bearish Tilt, But Not A BreakdownTesla is trading below all of its major trend gauges, sitting 3.6% under the 20-day SMA ($398.63), 6.2% below the 50-day SMA ($409.97), and 7.9% below the 200-day SMA ($417.36). That alignment keeps the intermediate trend tilted bearish, especially with the 20-day SMA below the 50-day SMA and the death cross (50-day below 200-day) that formed in April still in place.

Momentum is best framed through RSI, which is at 46.28—neutral, but leaning soft and consistent with a market that’s not showing strong upside pressure. RSI measures how "stretched" a move is, and a mid-40s reading typically signals choppy, two-sided trade rather than a clean trend day.

Key Resistance: $433.00 — a round-number area that can act as an overhead pivot where rebounds may stall Key Support: $380.00 — a nearby round-number level close to current trade where buyers may try to defend the pullback From a longer-term perspective, the stock is still up 22.43% over the past 12 months, but the more recent structure has been weaker after a swing low in April and a swing high in May. Traders will be watching whether price can hold the $380.00 area; losing it cleanly would keep the focus on downside follow-through, while reclaiming the 20-day/100-day area would be an early sign the tape is stabilizing.

Tesla Shares Edge LowerTSLA Price Action: At the time of publication, Tesla shares are trading 1.63% lower at $384.68, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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