Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

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

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on October 29. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis maker of driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving technologies is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.10 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +11.1%.

Revenues are expected to be $473.84 million, down 6% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 50% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Mobileye?For Mobileye, the Most Accurate Estimate is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bearish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of -7.35%.

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

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

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Mobileye would post earnings of $0.06 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.19, delivering a surprise of +216.67%.

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

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

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

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

An Industry Player's Expected ResultsAnother stock from the Zacks Automotive - Original Equipment industry, Camping World (CWH - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $0.16 per share for the quarter ended September 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of -62.8%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $1.68 billion, down 6.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for Camping World has been revised 12.5% down to the current level. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%, reflecting an equal Most Accurate Estimate.

When combined with a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell), this Earnings ESP makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Camping World will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Over the last four quarters, the company surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

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

Key Takeaways UCTT is expected to report Q3 2026 revenues of $725.5 million, up from $510 million a year ago.AI investments and advanced semiconductor manufacturing demand may boost revenue across Products and Services.UCT 3.0 may boost efficiency, while working capital and manufacturing costs pressure cash flow.
Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (UCTT - Free Report) is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 27, after the closing bell. It pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.44% on average, beating estimates on the previous three occasions and missing once.

The company is expected to record year-over-year revenue growth, supported by continued demand for semiconductor manufacturing solutions. However, elevated working capital requirements could have constrained cash flow, while cost pressures remain a potential risk to profitability.

Factors at PlayUltra Clean is expected to have benefited from rising investments in artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductor manufacturing during the third quarter of 2026. Growing demand for high-performance computing and increasingly complex semiconductor technologies might have boosted demand for the company's critical subsystems, components and precision cleaning services, supporting revenue growth during the quarter.

During the quarter under review, Ultra Clean's Products and Services businesses are likely to have generated incremental revenues from stronger customer demand. The company's technical expertise and customized solutions could have helped it address increasingly complex production needs and support business growth.

Ultra Clean's continued execution of its UCT 3.0 strategy is expected to have strengthened its operational capabilities and lifted its performance in the September quarter. Investments in global manufacturing capacity, engineering and digital transformation could have improved production efficiency and enhanced the company's ability to support customers' evolving needs.

However, Ultra Clean's performance during the to-be-reported quarter could have remained under pressure from fluctuations in semiconductor capital equipment spending and uncertain customer demand. Working capital requirements and manufacturing cost pressures might have constrained cash generation and profitability.

For the September quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for total revenues is pegged at $725.5 million, indicating an increase from $510 million recorded a year ago. The consensus mark for earnings is pegged at 91 cents per share, implying growth from 28 cents reported in the prior-year quarter.

Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not predict an earnings beat for Ultra Clean for the third quarter. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. This is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Ultra Clean carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks to ConsiderHere are some companies you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season:

Twilio Inc. (TWLO - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.81% and currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. It is set to release its third-quarter 2026 numbers on Oct. 29.

The Earnings ESP for Corning Incorporated (GLW - Free Report) is +0.68%, and it carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 numbers on Oct. 27.

The Earnings ESP for Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) is +2.22%, and it carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. The company is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 numbers on Oct. 29.

GE Vernova (GEV - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.

Shares of this the energy business spun off from General Electric have returned -2.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's no change. The Zacks Alternative Energy - Other industry, to which GE Vernova belongs, has lost 4.4% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?

While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.

Earnings Estimate RevisionsRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.

We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For the current quarter, GE Vernova is expected to post earnings of $4.03 per share, indicating a change of +145.7% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -3.3% over the last 30 days.

The consensus earnings estimate of $30.5 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +72.4%. This estimate has changed +0.1% over the last 30 days.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $24.12 indicates a change of -20.9% from what GE Vernova is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +0.2%.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for GE Vernova.

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Projected Revenue GrowthWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.

In the case of GE Vernova, the consensus sales estimate of $12.1 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +21.4%. The $46.32 billion and $52.95 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +21.7% and +14.3%, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryGE Vernova reported revenues of $11.1 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +21.9%. EPS of $2.47 for the same period compares with $1.86 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10.77 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +3.12%. The EPS surprise was -22.08%.

Over the last four quarters, GE Vernova surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.

ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.

While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.

As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

GE Vernova is graded D on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about GE Vernova. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

Tractor Supply (TSCO - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.43 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.4 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.49 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +7.50%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this retailer for farmers and ranchers would post earnings of $0.83 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.81, delivering a surprise of -2.41%.

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

Tractor Supply, which belongs to the Zacks Retail - Miscellaneous industry, posted revenues of $3.91 billion for the quarter ended September 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.57%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $3.72 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once 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.

Tractor Supply shares have lost about 34.6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 13.3%.

What's Next for Tractor Supply?While Tractor Supply 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 Tractor Supply 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 $0.41 on $4.03 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $1.94 on $15.98 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, Retail - Miscellaneous is currently in the top 18% 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.

One other stock from the same industry, Sally Beauty (SBH - Free Report) , is yet to report results for the quarter ended September 2026.

This beauty products seller is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.60 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +9.1%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.7% lower over the last 30 days to the current level.

Sally Beauty's revenues are expected to be $948.3 million, up 0.1% from the year-ago quarter.

USA Rare Earth (USAR -4.98%) could play a crucial role in helping the U.S. and its allies source critical minerals over the next decade and beyond. China currently dominates the markets for the extraction and processing of rare-earth minerals, giving it considerable leverage and the ability to cut off the U.S. and other countries from these resources, which are crucial for defense systems and other technologies.

The U.S. and China are competing world powers, and there's a real risk that the U.S. could see its access to rare-earth minerals dramatically reduced as geopolitical competition intensifies. USA Rare Earth is positioning itself to improve the company's domestic rare-earth sourcing capabilities and reduce its reliance on potentially hostile foreign governments.

Amid broader reshoring trends, does that make its stock a generational investment opportunity at current prices?

Image source: Getty Images.

USA Rare Earth is risky, but it has intriguing prospects
China using its dominant positioning in the rare-earth minerals industry as a powerful bargaining chip and political tool isn't a hypothetical. It's something that's already happening. In response to tariffs and restrictions imposed by the U.S. on the export of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, China implemented a ban on rare-earth exports in October 2025.

Subsequent negotiations resulted in a temporary lifting of the ban, but some Chinese companies have recently canceled exports to the U.S., and exports to Japan remain heavily restricted. China has also banned exports of technologies and products to mining specialists including USA Rare Earth and MP Materials on the grounds that they could be used to support China's military adversaries.

$9.72-$0.51 (-4.98%)

NASDAQ · As of 11:13 AM ET 10/22/26

The solidification of conditions that will lead to strong demand for USA Rare Earth's mining output seems to be quite clear, but that hasn't stopped the company's share price from seeing big pullbacks this year. The company's stock has fallen roughly 15% across 2026's trading, and it's down roughly 74% from the lifetime high that it reached last October.

Despite the big pullback, investors should approach USA Rare Earth with the understanding that it's not a low-risk stock. Excluding the recently acquired Brazil-based mining company Serra Verde, USA Rare Earth is still basically a pre-revenue business. Supply agreements that the company has signed with the U.S. government provide some pricing floor guarantees and safety, but success for the stock may still hinge heavily on commanding higher prices and achieving sufficient levels of operational efficiency with mining and processing.

On the other hand, I do think the stock presents a worthwhile risk-reward profile at current levels and also offers defensive potential against a scenario in which relations worsen between the U.S. and China. With USA Rare Earth sporting a market capitalization of roughly $4 billion and targeting roughly $1.8 billion in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for 2030, I think there's a compelling case for risk-tolerant investors to add the stock at a time when critical minerals sourcing is becoming increasingly important on the world stage.

Waste Connections just handed shareholders its sixteenth straight double-digit dividend raise from a business built around picking up garbage, and the numbers behind that streak reveal something most investors overlook about boring industries.

On October 21, 2026, Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN | WCN Price Prediction) raised its regular quarterly dividend 10.0%, to $0.385 per share from $0.350. The new amount is payable on November 19, 2026, to shareholders of record on November 5, 2026. Management called it the sixteenth consecutive double-digit annual increase. The business is hauling trash, which is about as plain as a business gets. Over the past 10 years, the adjusted share price rose from $45.98 to $168.28, a 266.02% gain.

Waste Connections: Sixteen Straight Double-Digit Raises From Hauling Garbage
What Waste Connections Actually Does
About nine million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in 46 states and six Canadian provinces rely on Waste Connections for garbage collection. It hauls that garbage to transfer stations and then buries much of it in landfills it owns. Collection is the core of the business. In the third quarter, solid waste collection brought in $1,819,886,000 of total revenue of $2.638 billion. Disposal and transfer added $492,188,000, and oilfield waste treatment and disposal added $212,855,000.

The company concentrates on what it calls mostly exclusive and secondary markets. These are smaller towns and franchise territories where one hauler often holds the contract and a new rival would have to build a route network and find somewhere to dump. Its internalization rate was 58% in the quarter. That means more than half of the waste it collected went to its own disposal sites, so it got both the landfill fee and the hauling fee.

Why the Trucks Keep Running Through a Downturn
Households keep throwing out trash in a recession, and municipal contracts usually run for years. The industry’s most recent real stress test came in 2020. During the pandemic shutdowns, commercial and industrial volumes fell in many areas while residential volumes rose. Waste Connections generated $1,408,521,000 in operating cash flow in 2020, compared with $1,540,547,000 in 2019. That was a decline of about 8.6% in the worst economic shock in decades. That fall, the board still raised the quarterly dividend from $0.185 to $0.205, an increase of about 10.8%.

The company’s ability to raise prices is plain in its own numbers. Waste Connections has raised prices steadily while the amount of waste it handles has slipped, and margins have held or widened:

Period
Solid Waste Core Price
Solid Waste Volume
Adjusted EBITDA Margin

Q4 2025
6.4%
-2.7%
33.0% (full year 2025)

Q1 2026
6.0%
-1.5%
32.5%

Q2 2026
5.6%
-1.9%
32.8%

Q3 2026
5.5%
-1.2%
34.0%

The full-year 2025 margin was up 100 basis points from the prior year. In the third quarter, diesel prices jumped late in the period. Chief Executive Ronald J. Mittelstaedt said the company “overcame a late quarter surge in diesel pricing to deliver adjusted EBITDA margin of 34% on underlying margin expansion of 50 basis points.” Adjusted EPS came in at $1.58, against a consensus estimate of $1.521.

A Dividend Record Built on Cash, Paired With a Modest Yield
The quarterly dividend was $0.14 in late 2017 and is now $0.385, an increase of 175%. The dividend history shows a raise every fall since then, with each year’s higher amount held flat for four quarters before the next increase. Sixteen straight annual raises still leaves WCN decades short of the longest runs in the market (we ranked ten of those top payers by valuation in a free Dividend Kings report).

The yield is still small. At the new rate, the dividend comes to $1.54 a year, about 0.9% at the recent price of $168.28. More important is how easily the payout is covered. In 2025, the company paid $333,807,000 in dividends. Operating cash flow minus capital spending was $1,219,703,000, so the dividend took about 27% of that cash. Share buybacks used more cash than dividends this year. Repurchases have exceeded $1 billion year to date, retiring about 2.5% of outstanding shares. Management has now raised its 2026 outlook for the second time and expects adjusted free cash flow of $1.40 billion to $1.45 billion.

The share price has gone nowhere lately. The stock is down 3.41% year to date and 2.34% over the past year, but up 30.08% over five years. That kind of record holds steady over long periods and goes quiet for stretches.

One Risk Worth Tracking: Growth That Leans on Price
Solid waste volumes fell from a year earlier in each of the last four quarters. Growth has come from price increases while volumes shrank. Core price growth has also eased, from 6.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 5.5% in the latest quarter. If price increases keep slowing before volumes recover, holding margins gets harder, especially when fuel costs jump the way diesel did late in the third quarter. Management pointed to a 70-basis-point sequential improvement in volumes, driven by landfill activity, as an early sign the trend is turning.

Why Patience Suits a Garbage Hauler
Waste Connections makes its money one route and one landfill at a time, and it raises prices a few percentage points a year. The latest dividend increase continues a 16-year pattern that cash flow supports well. Over the coming quarters, the key numbers to watch are volume trends and the core price.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Arcataur Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX – Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SPCX. Syntax Research Inc. acquired a new position in SpaceX in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SpaceX during the second quarter worth about $29,000. PayPay Securities Corp purchased a new stake in SpaceX in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of SpaceX in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SpaceX in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000.

SpaceX Trading Up 7.8% NASDAQ SPCX opened at $159.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 trillion and a PE ratio of -1,770.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.18. SpaceX has a 12-month low of $104.83 and a 12-month high of $225.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 5.12 and a quick ratio of 4.99.

SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $14.57 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.36) earnings per share. SpaceX’s revenue for the quarter was up 161.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that SpaceX will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. SpaceX News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting SpaceX this week:

Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 results: SpaceX reported $14.58 billion in revenue, up 161% year over year, and earnings of $0.35 per share versus the $0.10 consensus estimate. Net income reached approximately $4.4 billion, compared with a loss a year earlier. SpaceX quarterly revenue jumps, beats estimates as AI business surges Positive Sentiment: AI business is scaling rapidly: The Super Intelligence segment generated roughly $7.56 billion in revenue, up more than eightfold, and became SpaceX’s largest revenue contributor. Management said new computing deployments are currently producing payback in less than a year, helping validate the company’s AI infrastructure strategy. Why SpaceX Stock Popped After Earnings Positive Sentiment: Upbeat outlook and analyst support: SpaceX guided to $33 billion-$37 billion in first-quarter 2027 revenue, while its backlog reached about $63 billion. JPMorgan raised its price target to $500, and other firms including Wells Fargo, TD Cowen and Needham also increased targets or reiterated bullish ratings. Top Analysts Boost Price Targets After Q3 Beat Positive Sentiment: Merger speculation added momentum: Elon Musk called a Tesla-SpaceX merger a good idea, and both companies formed independent committees to examine a transaction. A combination could create synergies across AI, vehicles, robotics, connectivity and data. However, no deal is certain and shareholder approval would be required. SpaceX and Tesla boards form special committees to review merger Neutral Sentiment: Starlink remains an important financial base: Connectivity revenue rose 69% to approximately $5.25 billion, with 13.6 million consumer subscribers and strong enterprise and government growth. Investors are watching whether subscriber expansion and direct-to-device plans can support the AI buildout. Negative Sentiment: Capital intensity remains the key risk: SpaceX spent about $19.6 billion on capital expenditures in the quarter and expects $35 billion-$40 billion in fourth-quarter spending. Analysts have warned that continued AI expansion could require substantial borrowing and create execution, power-availability and cash-flow risks. SpaceX Bulls Get Louder After Q3 Earnings Print Negative Sentiment: Potential supply and governance overhangs: Upcoming insider share unlocks could increase selling pressure, while concerns about Starlink’s geopolitical exposure and the uncertain terms of any Tesla merger remain risks to valuation. Insiders Place Their Bets In other SpaceX news, COO Gwynne Shotwell sold 342,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.57, for a total value of $52,547,046.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 2,472,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,630,414.95. This represents a 12.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Phillip Securities raised shares of SpaceX to a “strong sell” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of SpaceX in a report on Wednesday. Pivotal Research set a $260.00 target price on shares of SpaceX in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of SpaceX in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of SpaceX in a report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.08.

Check Out Our Latest Report on SpaceX

SpaceX Company Profile (Free Report)

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly known as SpaceX, is a privately held aerospace company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk. The company develops and operates launch vehicles and spacecraft designed to reduce the cost of access to space and support commercial, government and scientific missions.

SpaceX’s principal products and services include the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, the Dragon spacecraft and the Starlink satellite communications network. Falcon rockets are used to launch satellites, cargo and crew, while Dragon spacecraft support transportation to and from low Earth orbit.

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than SpaceX GM Beat and Added a $20 Billion Buyback—Why Did the Stock Fall? Intercepting Growth: Karman Secures $218M Lockheed Martin Deal Tech Stocks Took a Hit—These 2 Pharma Stocks Are Near New Highs Chip Stocks Have Pulled Back—Here’s How 3 Semiconductor ETFs Stack Up for Investors Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SPCX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX – Free Report).

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

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on October 29, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis for-profit higher education purveyor is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.48 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +92%.

Revenues are expected to be $477.83 million, up 19.4% from the year-ago quarter.

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

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Laureate Education?For Laureate Education, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +4.17%.

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

So, this combination indicates that Laureate Education will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Laureate Education would post earnings of $0.96 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.00, delivering a surprise of +4.17%.

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

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

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

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

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

Elon Musk just claimed Tesla will capture a majority of every passenger mile traveled on Earth, but the gap between that vision and the company's current footprint raises serious questions about what a $1.53 trillion valuation actually prices in.

An analyst on Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) third-quarter call on October 21, 2026, said the company appears to be “pricing lower than competitor Rideshare and other Robotaxi players in most markets.” Chief executive Elon Musk replied that Tesla will “end up doing a majority of all passenger miles on Earth in any country where it is allowed to operate freely.”

He gave no timeline, though he added a caveat: “unless we are stopped by governments, which is certainly a possibility.” He also said he was confident in the prediction and invited people to check it later.

Tesla closed the regular session at $386.47, up 3.41%. By 7:59 PM ET, it had dropped to $373.65 in after-hours trading, down 3.32%. With the company valued at $1.53 trillion, the question for shareholders is how much of this vision the price already includes.

Nearly Two Million Miles Against Billions of Trips
Tesla’s robotaxi fleet has driven nearly two million cumulative unsupervised miles. That total grew eightfold during the quarter, and the service runs in Austin from 6 a.m. to midnight.

Global passenger miles include private cars, taxis, buses, and trains. Uber (NYSE:UBER) alone handled 3.9 billion trips in its second quarter, so Tesla’s entire unsupervised history is a small fraction of one competitor’s three months of activity.

Ashok Elluswamy, who leads AI at Tesla, said the company sees “a clear path towards scaling to millions of vehicles for the next several months.” A forecast about vehicle counts does not prove anything about miles driven, and the call gave no market-share target.

Tesla’s Cost Case Rests on a Goal It Has Not Hit
Management argued that a rideshare car has a driver, “and we don’t.” Tesla also builds its own cars, and Musk said the aim is “to take over any kind of transportation.”

CFO Vaibhav Taneja said Tesla has not yet reached its $0.30 per-mile goal for paid robotaxi miles, though he sees a path to it. The call did not say whether that number is a cost, a price, or a margin, so you cannot yet compare it with ride-hailing economics.

Why “Allowed to Operate Freely” Matters Most
Musk named the biggest risk himself, because a robotaxi needs city and state permits and approval from federal safety regulators at home. Abroad, it needs sign-off country by country, and some governments will protect their domestic automakers.

Elluswamy said the remaining obstacles could become regulatory “perhaps in Q1, Q2 timeframes.” Because the prediction applies only where Tesla can operate “freely,” much of the world may fall outside it.

Ride-Hailing Stocks Fell Before Musk Spoke
Uber slipped 1.91% to $67.62, and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) fell 2.67% to $16.79. Both moves happened during the regular session, before the call. Uber was unchanged after hours.

Uber trades close to its 52-week low of $65.41, well below its high of $100.35. The stock is down 27.31% over the past year and 17.24% year to date.

Uber is approaching autonomy through partners, including Waymo, Wayve, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) and Pony.ai (NASDAQ:PONY), and has committed $10 billion over several years. Driverless rides still make up less than 0.5% of the about 300 million trips Uber handles each week. Uber and Lyft both report soon, and those results will show whether rider demand is holding up.

What Tesla’s Valuation Means for Investors Now
At this price, Tesla’s valuation looks stretched. The stock trades at about 402 times earnings, which assumes a far bigger robotaxi business than one with nearly two million miles. Meanwhile, operating income fell 55.79% as research spending rose to $2.76 billion.

Uber’s valuation is far more modest. It trades at about 14 times earnings and has guided third-quarter non-GAAP EPS of $0.84-$0.88. Because its model works with many partners, it can make money from autonomy no matter whose technology wins.

This view would change if Tesla reported unsupervised miles across several cities that far exceed two million. It would also change if Uber’s next report showed trip growth stalling. Until either happens, watch whether Uber stays above $65.41.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Camarda Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,911 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,086,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,641,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $619,000. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $8,259,000. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $7,658,000. Finally, Wealth Management Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $933,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Forty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $592.15.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MSFT Insider Transactions at Microsoft In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of MSFT stock opened at $532.95 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $507.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $444.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

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

Positive Sentiment: Expectations are building for another earnings beat, with demand for Azure cloud infrastructure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot supporting revenue and earnings growth. The key catalyst will be Microsoft’s October 28 report, where investors will look for accelerating Azure growth and evidence that AI investments are translating into monetization. Microsoft Earnings Preview Positive Sentiment: Microsoft remains viewed favorably as a relatively cash-generative way to participate in the AI-cloud buildout. While Oracle’s cloud growth is faster, Microsoft’s stronger free cash flow, lower leverage and broad enterprise installed base may provide greater financial resilience as AI capital expenditures rise. Oracle Versus Microsoft Positive Sentiment: A new Boeing fleet-intelligence platform, Dataliner, is being built on Microsoft Azure AI Foundry. The partnership could add a recurring enterprise workload for Azure and demonstrate Microsoft’s ability to embed AI in industry-specific applications. Boeing and Microsoft Dataliner Positive Sentiment: Tavant’s Microsoft Fabric accelerator is now available through Microsoft Marketplace, potentially making it easier for businesses to deploy Fabric-based analytics and AI solutions across Azure. Tavant Fabric Accelerator Neutral Sentiment: GitHub Copilot is reportedly a major customer of Anthropic, highlighting demand for Microsoft’s AI developer tools but also exposing reliance on outside model providers and potential supplier concentration risk. Anthropic Revenue Concentration Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s withdrawal as anchor tenant from a U.K. AI data-center project because of power-supply delays underscores a growing constraint: electricity and grid access may slow Azure’s AI capacity expansion and increase infrastructure costs. Microsoft Withdraws From UK AI Data Center Project Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that elevated prices for components could make Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox, Project Helix, less competitive or pressure demand. The gaming business is also undergoing restructuring, adding uncertainty beyond Azure and productivity software. Project Helix Pricing Concerns Microsoft Profile (Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Microsoft GM Beat and Added a $20 Billion Buyback—Why Did the Stock Fall? Intercepting Growth: Karman Secures $218M Lockheed Martin Deal Tech Stocks Took a Hit—These 2 Pharma Stocks Are Near New Highs Chip Stocks Have Pulled Back—Here’s How 3 Semiconductor ETFs Stack Up for Investors

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Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 73,120 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $27,275,000. Microsoft makes up 1.1% of Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $27,338,370,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $18,306,443,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,928,664,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $5,653,812,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $4,000,706,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $532.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $507.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $444.58. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year. Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Argus decreased their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $615.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Forty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $592.15.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Expectations are building for another earnings beat, with demand for Azure cloud infrastructure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot supporting revenue and earnings growth. The key catalyst will be Microsoft’s October 28 report, where investors will look for accelerating Azure growth and evidence that AI investments are translating into monetization. Microsoft Earnings Preview Positive Sentiment: Microsoft remains viewed favorably as a relatively cash-generative way to participate in the AI-cloud buildout. While Oracle’s cloud growth is faster, Microsoft’s stronger free cash flow, lower leverage and broad enterprise installed base may provide greater financial resilience as AI capital expenditures rise. Oracle Versus Microsoft Positive Sentiment: A new Boeing fleet-intelligence platform, Dataliner, is being built on Microsoft Azure AI Foundry. The partnership could add a recurring enterprise workload for Azure and demonstrate Microsoft’s ability to embed AI in industry-specific applications. Boeing and Microsoft Dataliner Positive Sentiment: Tavant’s Microsoft Fabric accelerator is now available through Microsoft Marketplace, potentially making it easier for businesses to deploy Fabric-based analytics and AI solutions across Azure. Tavant Fabric Accelerator Neutral Sentiment: GitHub Copilot is reportedly a major customer of Anthropic, highlighting demand for Microsoft’s AI developer tools but also exposing reliance on outside model providers and potential supplier concentration risk. Anthropic Revenue Concentration Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s withdrawal as anchor tenant from a U.K. AI data-center project because of power-supply delays underscores a growing constraint: electricity and grid access may slow Azure’s AI capacity expansion and increase infrastructure costs. Microsoft Withdraws From UK AI Data Center Project Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that elevated prices for components could make Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox, Project Helix, less competitive or pressure demand. The gaming business is also undergoing restructuring, adding uncertainty beyond Azure and productivity software. Project Helix Pricing Concerns About Microsoft (Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft GM Beat and Added a $20 Billion Buyback—Why Did the Stock Fall? Intercepting Growth: Karman Secures $218M Lockheed Martin Deal Tech Stocks Took a Hit—These 2 Pharma Stocks Are Near New Highs Chip Stocks Have Pulled Back—Here’s How 3 Semiconductor ETFs Stack Up for Investors

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Hayek Kallen Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 58,559 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $21,844,000. Microsoft makes up about 6.6% of Hayek Kallen Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $592.15.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MSFT Microsoft Price Performance Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $532.95 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $507.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $444.58. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

More Microsoft News Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Expectations are building for another earnings beat, with demand for Azure cloud infrastructure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot supporting revenue and earnings growth. The key catalyst will be Microsoft’s October 28 report, where investors will look for accelerating Azure growth and evidence that AI investments are translating into monetization. Microsoft Earnings Preview Positive Sentiment: Microsoft remains viewed favorably as a relatively cash-generative way to participate in the AI-cloud buildout. While Oracle’s cloud growth is faster, Microsoft’s stronger free cash flow, lower leverage and broad enterprise installed base may provide greater financial resilience as AI capital expenditures rise. Oracle Versus Microsoft Positive Sentiment: A new Boeing fleet-intelligence platform, Dataliner, is being built on Microsoft Azure AI Foundry. The partnership could add a recurring enterprise workload for Azure and demonstrate Microsoft’s ability to embed AI in industry-specific applications. Boeing and Microsoft Dataliner Positive Sentiment: Tavant’s Microsoft Fabric accelerator is now available through Microsoft Marketplace, potentially making it easier for businesses to deploy Fabric-based analytics and AI solutions across Azure. Tavant Fabric Accelerator Neutral Sentiment: GitHub Copilot is reportedly a major customer of Anthropic, highlighting demand for Microsoft’s AI developer tools but also exposing reliance on outside model providers and potential supplier concentration risk. Anthropic Revenue Concentration Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s withdrawal as anchor tenant from a U.K. AI data-center project because of power-supply delays underscores a growing constraint: electricity and grid access may slow Azure’s AI capacity expansion and increase infrastructure costs. Microsoft Withdraws From UK AI Data Center Project Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that elevated prices for components could make Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox, Project Helix, less competitive or pressure demand. The gaming business is also undergoing restructuring, adding uncertainty beyond Azure and productivity software. Project Helix Pricing Concerns Insider Buying and Selling In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft GM Beat and Added a $20 Billion Buyback—Why Did the Stock Fall? Intercepting Growth: Karman Secures $218M Lockheed Martin Deal Tech Stocks Took a Hit—These 2 Pharma Stocks Are Near New Highs Chip Stocks Have Pulled Back—Here’s How 3 Semiconductor ETFs Stack Up for Investors

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Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 202,781 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $75,641,000. Microsoft accounts for 3.5% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.7% in the second quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% in the first quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Sequent Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the first quarter. Sequent Planning LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.8% in the second quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 687 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,052,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Expectations are building for another earnings beat, with demand for Azure cloud infrastructure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot supporting revenue and earnings growth. The key catalyst will be Microsoft’s October 28 report, where investors will look for accelerating Azure growth and evidence that AI investments are translating into monetization. Microsoft Earnings Preview Positive Sentiment: Microsoft remains viewed favorably as a relatively cash-generative way to participate in the AI-cloud buildout. While Oracle’s cloud growth is faster, Microsoft’s stronger free cash flow, lower leverage and broad enterprise installed base may provide greater financial resilience as AI capital expenditures rise. Oracle Versus Microsoft Positive Sentiment: A new Boeing fleet-intelligence platform, Dataliner, is being built on Microsoft Azure AI Foundry. The partnership could add a recurring enterprise workload for Azure and demonstrate Microsoft’s ability to embed AI in industry-specific applications. Boeing and Microsoft Dataliner Positive Sentiment: Tavant’s Microsoft Fabric accelerator is now available through Microsoft Marketplace, potentially making it easier for businesses to deploy Fabric-based analytics and AI solutions across Azure. Tavant Fabric Accelerator Neutral Sentiment: GitHub Copilot is reportedly a major customer of Anthropic, highlighting demand for Microsoft’s AI developer tools but also exposing reliance on outside model providers and potential supplier concentration risk. Anthropic Revenue Concentration Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s withdrawal as anchor tenant from a U.K. AI data-center project because of power-supply delays underscores a growing constraint: electricity and grid access may slow Azure’s AI capacity expansion and increase infrastructure costs. Microsoft Withdraws From UK AI Data Center Project Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that elevated prices for components could make Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox, Project Helix, less competitive or pressure demand. The gaming business is also undergoing restructuring, adding uncertainty beyond Azure and productivity software. Project Helix Pricing Concerns Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $660.00 to $662.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. CLSA reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $512.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Forty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $592.15. Check Out Our Latest Report on Microsoft

Insider Transactions at Microsoft In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 150,314 shares of company stock valued at $75,404,992. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.2% Shares of MSFT opened at $532.95 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $507.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $444.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft GM Beat and Added a $20 Billion Buyback—Why Did the Stock Fall? Intercepting Growth: Karman Secures $218M Lockheed Martin Deal Tech Stocks Took a Hit—These 2 Pharma Stocks Are Near New Highs Chip Stocks Have Pulled Back—Here’s How 3 Semiconductor ETFs Stack Up for Investors Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

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Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 392,554 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $146,430,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.9% of Equitable Holdings Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 4.0% during the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $85,604,000 after purchasing an additional 8,773 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,652,000. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after buying an additional 537,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,356,359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $502,077,000 after acquiring an additional 788,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Microsoft from $522.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Microsoft from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Forty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $592.15.

Get Our Latest Report on Microsoft Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $532.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $507.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $444.58. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Microsoft News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Positive Sentiment: Expectations are building for another earnings beat, with demand for Azure cloud infrastructure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot supporting revenue and earnings growth. The key catalyst will be Microsoft’s October 28 report, where investors will look for accelerating Azure growth and evidence that AI investments are translating into monetization. Microsoft Earnings Preview Positive Sentiment: Microsoft remains viewed favorably as a relatively cash-generative way to participate in the AI-cloud buildout. While Oracle’s cloud growth is faster, Microsoft’s stronger free cash flow, lower leverage and broad enterprise installed base may provide greater financial resilience as AI capital expenditures rise. Oracle Versus Microsoft Positive Sentiment: A new Boeing fleet-intelligence platform, Dataliner, is being built on Microsoft Azure AI Foundry. The partnership could add a recurring enterprise workload for Azure and demonstrate Microsoft’s ability to embed AI in industry-specific applications. Boeing and Microsoft Dataliner Positive Sentiment: Tavant’s Microsoft Fabric accelerator is now available through Microsoft Marketplace, potentially making it easier for businesses to deploy Fabric-based analytics and AI solutions across Azure. Tavant Fabric Accelerator Neutral Sentiment: GitHub Copilot is reportedly a major customer of Anthropic, highlighting demand for Microsoft’s AI developer tools but also exposing reliance on outside model providers and potential supplier concentration risk. Anthropic Revenue Concentration Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s withdrawal as anchor tenant from a U.K. AI data-center project because of power-supply delays underscores a growing constraint: electricity and grid access may slow Azure’s AI capacity expansion and increase infrastructure costs. Microsoft Withdraws From UK AI Data Center Project Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that elevated prices for components could make Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox, Project Helix, less competitive or pressure demand. The gaming business is also undergoing restructuring, adding uncertainty beyond Azure and productivity software. Project Helix Pricing Concerns Microsoft Company Profile (Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Microsoft GM Beat and Added a $20 Billion Buyback—Why Did the Stock Fall? Intercepting Growth: Karman Secures $218M Lockheed Martin Deal Tech Stocks Took a Hit—These 2 Pharma Stocks Are Near New Highs Chip Stocks Have Pulled Back—Here’s How 3 Semiconductor ETFs Stack Up for Investors Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).

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Nike (NKE - Free Report) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.

Over the past month, shares of this athletic apparel maker have returned +4.1%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's no change. During this period, the Zacks Shoes and Retail Apparel industry, which Nike falls in, has gained 4%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?

While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.

Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.

Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.

For the current quarter, Nike is expected to post earnings of $0.36 per share, indicating a change of -32.1% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -30.8% over the last 30 days.

The consensus earnings estimate of $1.25 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of -20.9%. This estimate has changed -27% over the last 30 days.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $1.56 indicates a change of +24.8% from what Nike is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed -31.8%.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) for Nike.

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Projected Revenue GrowthEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.

In the case of Nike, the consensus sales estimate of $11.22 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of -9.7%. The $42.75 billion and $43.11 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of -7.9% and +0.8%, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryNike reported revenues of $11.21 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -4.3%. EPS of $0.48 for the same period compares with $0.49 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.4 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of -1.65%. The EPS surprise was +11.63%.

The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates three times over this period.

ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.

While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.

As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

Nike is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Nike. However, its Zacks Rank #5 does suggest that it may underperform the broader market in the near term.

Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA – Free Report) by 40.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,357 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,583 shares during the quarter. NVIDIA accounts for about 0.6% of Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NVIDIA were worth $2,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVDA. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in NVIDIA by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 195,366,864 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock valued at $39,090,956,000 after purchasing an additional 4,165,875 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in NVIDIA by 10.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 133,768,018 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock valued at $23,329,141,000 after purchasing an additional 12,575,177 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in NVIDIA by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 94,521,253 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock valued at $16,479,126,000 after purchasing an additional 555,221 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in NVIDIA by 2.3% during the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 91,954,159 shares of the computer hardware maker’s stock worth $18,399,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in NVIDIA during the second quarter worth $16,156,076,000. 65.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity In related news, CFO Colette Kress sold 34,918 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.05, for a total transaction of $7,648,787.90. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 765,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,595,812.15. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Timothy S. Teter sold 30,460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.80, for a total transaction of $6,786,488.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,687,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,810,648. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,766,118 shares of company stock worth $399,450,353. 3.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More NVIDIA News Here are the key news stories impacting NVIDIA this week: Positive Sentiment: SpaceX demand supported the broader AI trade. Elon Musk said SpaceX is adding approximately 200,000 chips per month, strengthening investor confidence that spending on NVIDIA’s systems remains robust. Nvidia Stock Rises as SpaceX Adds Chips Positive Sentiment: New DSX platforms could accelerate revenue deployment. NVIDIA introduced the factory-built DSX POD, which packages Vera Rubin computing, networking, cabling, power and liquid cooling in modular units. The design could reduce deployment time from roughly six months to as little as 14 days, allowing data-center operators to bring AI capacity online and generate revenue sooner. Nvidia Announces Vera Rubin Racks Positive Sentiment: NVIDIA is expanding beyond GPUs into complete AI factories. Its DSX ecosystem targets power, cooling and infrastructure constraints, with claims of up to 30% lower power use and near-zero cooling-water consumption in some designs. Partners including Dell, HPE, Schneider Electric, Vertiv and major cloud providers are supporting the platform. European Ecosystem Builds AI Factories With NVIDIA DSX Positive Sentiment: Multiple partnerships broaden NVIDIA’s long-term opportunity. GTC announcements covered robotics, autonomous vehicles, telecom AI-RAN, enterprise AI-agent security, healthcare and quantum computing. Separately, Agile Robots plans to produce up to 2,000 humanoid robots using NVIDIA technology, highlighting potential growth beyond data centers. Germany’s Agile Robots Partnership Neutral Sentiment: Investors remain focused on execution and competition. Analysts see continued AI spending, but Google and Amazon are developing alternatives to NVIDIA’s software and accelerators. NVIDIA’s high valuation, reliance on partners and reports of sustained insider selling could also limit upside if growth expectations or deployment timelines disappoint. NVIDIA Stock Performance Shares of NVDA stock opened at $221.88 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $223.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.85, a current ratio of 4.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. NVIDIA Corporation has a 52 week low of $164.27 and a 52 week high of $243.37.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The computer hardware maker reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $96.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.27 billion. NVIDIA had a return on equity of 96.04% and a net margin of 63.66%. The company’s revenue was up 105.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that NVIDIA Corporation will post 9.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NVIDIA declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 28th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the computer hardware maker to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

NVIDIA Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. NVIDIA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades NVDA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on NVIDIA from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of NVIDIA in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $515.00 target price on NVIDIA and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Evercore set a $465.00 target price on NVIDIA and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of NVIDIA in a report on Friday, October 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NVIDIA has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $321.47.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on NVIDIA

About NVIDIA (Free Report)

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is a technology company that designs graphics processing units (GPUs), accelerated computing platforms, networking products and related software. Its technologies support artificial intelligence, machine learning, scientific computing, data analytics, professional visualization and computer graphics.

The company’s products include GeForce GPUs for gaming and personal computing, data center GPUs and systems for AI and high-performance computing, and networking solutions used to connect and manage large-scale computing infrastructure.

Read More Five stocks we like better than NVIDIA GM Beat and Added a $20 Billion Buyback—Why Did the Stock Fall? Intercepting Growth: Karman Secures $218M Lockheed Martin Deal Tech Stocks Took a Hit—These 2 Pharma Stocks Are Near New Highs Chip Stocks Have Pulled Back—Here’s How 3 Semiconductor ETFs Stack Up for Investors

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Johnson and Johnson just posted a quarter where one business charged ahead while another quietly stalled, and which side wins out will determine whether the stock earns its premium valuation over rivals like Merck and AbbVie.

Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ | JNJ Price Prediction) is $288.66 over the next 12 months. From the $258.93 close on October 20, that works out to 11.48% upside, and our rating is buy.

Metric
Value

Current Price
$258.93

24/7 Wall St. Price Target
$288.66

Upside/Downside
11.48%

Recommendation
BUY

Confidence Level
90%

Our confidence in this call is high. Right now the growth comes from pharma. Last quarter Innovative Medicine grew 7.9% and MedTech grew 2.5%. Over the next year, I think the stock depends on whether devices can close that gap. If MedTech steadies, our target is likely too low.

A Talc Charge Hid a Solid Third Quarter
Shares dropped 1.3% to $255.99 at midday. They are up 2.97% for the week, down 5.19% over the past month and up 25.69% year to date. The 52-week range is $180.59 to $281.07.

In the quarter reported October 13, sales came in at $25.4 billion. Adjusted EPS was $2.59, while GAAP EPS fell to $0.09. About $7 billion of charges explain the drop: the proposed talc settlement plus costs tied to the Firefly Bio deal and the Cell BioMedicines partnership.

Management cut adjusted EPS guidance to $11.05 to $11.15. Leave out the $0.64 deal impact and EPS growth would be close to 9%.

Why Bulls See More Than $300
Our bull case reaches $302.93, which is 17% upside. Tremfya grew 68%, and management sees it becoming a $10 billion-plus franchise. New data released October 19 showed durable fistula remission in Crohn’s disease.

The oral psoriasis drug ICOTYDE has more than 20,000 patients on therapy. CAPLYTA reached $1 billion in year-to-date sales. J&J is targeting more than $50 billion in oncology sales by 2030.

Wall Street is supportive too: there are 16 Buy or Strong Buy ratings and a consensus target of $279.41.

MedTech Is the Business That Has to Catch Up
Our bear case is $250.82. MedTech sales outside the U.S. rose just 0.1%. Abiomed fell 1.5% and surgery fell 1%. Timothy Schmid, speaking for MedTech, put it plainly: “Simply put, we can do better, and we absolutely will.”

Two more risks add to the pressure. Firefly Bio and Cell BioMedicines are expected to reduce 2027 EPS by $1.36 per share, and Stelara keeps losing sales to biosimilars.

The other side deserves weight. U.S. MedTech grew 4.8% and Shockwave grew 17.2%. MedTech’s adjusted margin improved to 22.9%, and VARIPULSE Pro is still awaiting U.S. approval. Separating the Orthopaedics business should also sharpen the focus on the device units that remain.

J&J Trades at a Premium to Merck and AbbVie

Company
Forward P/E
Quarterly Revenue Growth

Johnson & Johnson
21
5.9%

Merck
15
5.1%

AbbVie
16
10.2%

Merck (NYSE:MRK) is a direct oncology competitor with similar growth. Its forward P/E is 15, which suggests investors are paying extra for J&J’s broader set of drug launches.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) has also had to replace sales from a major immunology drug facing biosimilars. It is growing faster at 10.2% and trades at a lower multiple. Against these two peers, our target looks reasonable but leaves little room for MedTech to disappoint.

Pharma Momentum Supports Our BUY Rating
Our 24/7 Wall St. price target is $288.66, with a buy rating and 90% confidence. What tips the call is that strong launches are outrunning Stelara’s decline.

I’d be a buyer if the December 8 Enterprise Business Review shows a credible plan to fix MedTech. I’d stay on the sidelines if device sales outside the U.S. keep stalling into 2027. On balance, I think the drug pipeline earns J&J its premium.

Year
24/7 Wall St. Price Target

2026
$261.98

2027
$287.67

2028
$314.27

2029
$338.34

2030
$358.63

These projections assume J&J keeps executing on its double-digit growth plan. The biggest swing factors are a faster MedTech recovery on the upside and new litigation costs on the downside.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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

The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on October 29. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis owner of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.51 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +4.1%.

Revenues are expected to be $5.3 billion, up 1% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.26% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Altria?For Altria, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +0.26%.

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

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

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Altria would post earnings of $1.5 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.48, delivering a surprise of -1.33%.

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

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

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

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

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

Intel shares have shed nearly 15% in a month even as the company posted its strongest revenue growth in fifteen years, and three catalysts could determine whether that pullback becomes a buying opportunity or a warning sign.

The 24/7 Wall St. price target for Intel (NASDAQ:INTC | INTC Price Prediction) is $117.05 over the next 12 months. That means 26.38% upside from $92.62. Our model rates the stock a buy with 70% confidence, which we read as fairly high conviction.

Metric
Value

Current Price
$92.62

Price Target from 24/7 Wall St.
$117.05

Upside/Downside
26.38%

Recommendation
BUY

Confidence Level
70%

The upside depends on three catalysts: the Intel 18A ramp, accelerating Data Center and AI demand, and a foundry business that can win outside customers. If all three deliver, the recent pullback would sit within a real turnaround.

Intel Gave Back 14% in a Month Despite Record Growth
Intel shares have fallen 8.31% over the past week and 14.43% over the past month. Still, the stock is up 151.84% year to date and stands about 34.7% below its 52-week high of $142.35.

On Monday, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), a longtime bear, upgraded Intel to neutral from underweight. Intel’s third-quarter report is expected after the close on October 29.

The last earnings report was strong. Q2 revenue came in at $16.13 billion (+25.4% YoY), ahead of estimates for $14.45 billion, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.42 exceeded the $0.22 consensus. CEO Lip-Bu Tan called it the “strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years.”

Why Bulls See $129 Within Reach
Catalyst 1: 18A execution. Intel 18A output ran about 25% above target, and the cost of the main Panther Lake chip has dropped roughly 50% year to date.

Catalyst 2: AI data center demand. Data Center and AI revenue grew 59% year-over-year and generated $2.5 billion in operating profit. Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner expects the custom ASIC business to move from about a $2 billion run rate to $4 billion.

Catalyst 3: Foundry customers. The 14A PDK 0.9 was on track for October, and the EMIB-T packaging backlog keeps growing. The bull case puts the stock at $129.15. Wall Street’s consensus target is $117.37.

Foundry Losses Remain the Biggest Risk
Intel Foundry still lost $2.1 billion last quarter, and external foundry revenue was only $293 million. Capital spending for 2026 is set to top $20 billion, and management expects PC demand to go down by low double digits. Analyst ratings lean toward caution, with 32 Hold ratings.

Most of the GAAP loss of $2.16 per share came from a $12.53 billion non-cash charge linked to the CHIPS Act escrow, while operating cash flow reached $7 billion. The bear case puts the stock at $90.82.

Intel Trades at a Premium to AMD and NVIDIA
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) competes with Intel directly in server and PC CPUs. It trades at 40x forward earnings, and revenue grew 50.11% last quarter. AMD is growing faster at a lower multiple, which makes Intel’s premium look like a payment for a recovery that hasn’t finished yet.

Intel considers NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) as both a partner and an investor. Shares trade at 25x forward earnings while revenue grew 105.85%.

Company
Forward P/E
PEG Ratio

Intel
63x
0.501

AMD
40x
0.626

NVIDIA
25x
0.479

On PEG, Intel falls in line with its peers, so the 24/7 Wall St. price target looks reasonable, though it assumes Intel keeps growing earnings quickly.

Execution Momentum Tips the Scale Toward Upside
I’m staying with a $117.05 24/7 Wall St. price target and a buy rating at 70% confidence. What tips the scale for me is Intel’s run of 4 consecutive EPS beats.

I’d grow more constructive if the Q3 report confirms the 18A yield increases and lands a named external foundry customer. I’d turn cautious if foundry losses widen or data center growth stalls. Overall, the setup favors more upside.

Year
Price Target from 24/7 Wall St.

2026
$97.45

2027
$121.65

2028
$139.48

2029
$151.25

2030
$170.46

These projections assume Intel keeps executing its current strategy. A decision on high-volume production for 14A, or a pause in that node, could drive the results well above or below these figures.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM – Free Report) by 93.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,802 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,962 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in International Business Machines were worth $17,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,586,659,000. State Street Corp increased its position in International Business Machines by 2.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,045,055 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,760,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450,562 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in International Business Machines by 7.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,063,653 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,893,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,602 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,606,782,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,621,512 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,143,245,000 after purchasing an additional 53,388 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.96% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Price Performance NYSE:IBM opened at $250.67 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $232.36 and a 200-day moving average of $243.60. The company has a market capitalization of $236.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.73. International Business Machines Corporation has a 52 week low of $199.19 and a 52 week high of $332.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.79.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The technology company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.85 by $0.10. International Business Machines had a net margin of 15.52% and a return on equity of 35.65%. The business had revenue of $17.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Corporation will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citic Securities upped their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $294.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $190.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on International Business Machines from $320.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.76.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on IBM

Insiders Place Their Bets In other International Business Machines news, SVP Robert Thomas sold 25,000 shares of International Business Machines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.32, for a total transaction of $5,758,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 47,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,009,296. The trade was a 34.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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

Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations: IBM reported adjusted earnings of $2.95 per share versus consensus estimates near $2.85-$2.88, while revenue rose approximately 5% year over year to $17.1 billion, ahead of the roughly $16.8 billion forecast. IBM beats on top and bottom lines Positive Sentiment: Software and infrastructure growth accelerated: Software revenue increased 8% to $7.8 billion and Infrastructure revenue rose 4% to $3.7 billion. Management said previously delayed infrastructure deals began closing, supporting the view that the prior-quarter slowdown was temporary. IBM raises annual software revenue outlook Positive Sentiment: Cash-flow outlook improved: IBM generated $3.0 billion in free cash flow during the quarter and expects full-year free cash flow to increase by more than $1 billion from the prior year. The company maintained its 4%-5% full-year constant-currency revenue-growth forecast. IBM third-quarter results Positive Sentiment: CEO Arvind Krishna highlighted momentum in enterprise AI and “Super Intelligence” initiatives, while IBM’s partnerships around open-source AI inference and its quantum-computing strategy add longer-term growth catalysts. Neutral Sentiment: IBM’s GAAP net income rose to $2.19 billion from $1.74 billion a year earlier, and the board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.69 per share. Negative Sentiment: Gross margin was narrower than expected, which could limit the benefit of revenue growth if elevated AI, infrastructure, or implementation costs persist. (Free Report)

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM), commonly known as IBM, is a global technology and consulting company that helps organizations modernize their information technology and business operations. Its offerings include hybrid cloud solutions, artificial intelligence software and services, enterprise software, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, data analytics, and technology consulting.

IBM provides products and services to businesses, governments, and other institutions across industries and regions worldwide.

Further Reading Five stocks we like better than International Business Machines GM Beat and Added a $20 Billion Buyback—Why Did the Stock Fall? Intercepting Growth: Karman Secures $218M Lockheed Martin Deal Tech Stocks Took a Hit—These 2 Pharma Stocks Are Near New Highs Chip Stocks Have Pulled Back—Here’s How 3 Semiconductor ETFs Stack Up for Investors

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UnitedHealth Group (UNH - Free Report) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.

Shares of this largest U.S. health insurer have returned +12.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's no change. The Zacks Medical - HMOs industry, to which UnitedHealth belongs, has gained 10.3% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?

Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.

Revisions to Earnings EstimatesRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.

We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For the current quarter, UnitedHealth is expected to post earnings of $2.28 per share, indicating a change of +8.1% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +7.1% over the last 30 days.

For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $20.57 points to a change of +25.8% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed +4%.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $23.25 indicates a change of +13.1% from what UnitedHealth is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +3.2%.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for UnitedHealth.

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Revenue Growth ForecastEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.

In the case of UnitedHealth, the consensus sales estimate of $111.99 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of -1.1%. The $448.1 billion and $461.34 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +0.1% and +3%, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryUnitedHealth reported revenues of $112.69 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -0.4%. EPS of $4.69 for the same period compares with $2.92 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $111.38 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +1.18%. The EPS surprise was +13.83%.

The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates three times over this period.

ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.

While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.

The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

UnitedHealth is graded A on this front, indicating that it is trading at a discount to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about UnitedHealth. However, its Zacks Rank #2 does suggest that it may outperform the broader market in the near term.

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE – Free Report) by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,241 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $5,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $1,465,987,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $651,293,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $389,527,000. Amundi raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 13,329,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,169,839,000 after buying an additional 4,231,814 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $288,886,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.0% Shares of NEE opened at $78.10 on Thursday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.41 and a 1-year high of $98.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.71 and a 200 day moving average of $86.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 32.40% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The firm had revenue of $8.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year. NextEra Energy Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.96%.

Key Stories Impacting NextEra Energy Here are the key news stories impacting NextEra Energy this week:

Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat expectations: NextEra reported adjusted EPS of $1.24, up from $1.13 a year earlier and above the $1.20 consensus estimate. Strength at Florida Power & Light (FPL) and growth at NextEra Energy Resources supported the result. NextEra Energy beats third-quarter profit estimates Positive Sentiment: Growth pipeline remains substantial: Energy Resources added 3.7 gigawatts of renewables and storage to its backlog, bringing the total to approximately 36.7 GW. Management also highlighted a roughly $20 billion data-center pipeline and 9.7% EPS growth. NextEra Energy Q3 2026 earnings call transcript Positive Sentiment: 2026 outlook reaffirmed: NextEra maintained its adjusted EPS target of $3.92 to $4.02 and said it is targeting the high end of that range, reducing near-term guidance risk. Sanford C. Bernstein also reaffirmed an Outperform rating with a $108 price target. NextEra Energy tops Q3 earnings estimates Neutral Sentiment: Dominion transaction remains a longer-term catalyst and risk: Shareholders approved the proposed combination, which the companies still expect to close in the second half of 2027. The deal’s eventual benefits depend on regulatory approval and acceptable conditions. NextEra Energy posts third-quarter GAAP net income Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates: Quarterly revenue was $8.09 billion versus the $8.47 billion consensus, despite rising 1.6% year over year. The sales shortfall may temper enthusiasm around the earnings beat. NextEra Energy Q3 earnings beat on FPL strength Negative Sentiment: Merger-related regulatory pressure is increasing: Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has urged regulators to reject the Dominion-NextEra deal in its current form and is seeking a six-year rate freeze, greater bill credits and more transparency. These demands could delay the transaction or reduce its financial benefits. Virginia wants six-year rate freeze in NextEra-Dominion deal Analysts Set New Price Targets NEE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $84.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.05.

View Our Latest Report on NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy Profile (Free Report)

NextEra Energy, Inc is an energy infrastructure company headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. Through its businesses, the company generates, transmits, distributes and sells electricity, with a focus on regulated utility operations and clean energy development.

Florida Power & Light Company, NextEra Energy’s principal regulated utility, serves customers across much of Florida. FPL operates electric generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure and provides retail electricity service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

NextEra Energy Resources develops, owns and operates renewable energy and energy storage projects, including wind and solar facilities.

Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than NextEra Energy GM Beat and Added a $20 Billion Buyback—Why Did the Stock Fall? Intercepting Growth: Karman Secures $218M Lockheed Martin Deal Tech Stocks Took a Hit—These 2 Pharma Stocks Are Near New Highs Chip Stocks Have Pulled Back—Here’s How 3 Semiconductor ETFs Stack Up for Investors Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NEE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE – Free Report).

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Costco Wholesale (COST +1.27%) last split its stock in January 2000. Just after the 2-for-1 split, the shares sold for about $49.

Now one share costs roughly $994 as of this writing, or about what 20 shares cost back then. Even after a dip, that's only about 9% off the warehouse club's all-time closing high of $1,094.32, hit in May.

Investors have noticed. An analyst asked about a split on an earnings call, shareholders asked at both of the past two annual meetings, and Costco hasn't announced one.

Could a split finally be coming?

Image source: Getty Images.

Costco says its board keeps looking at itThe fullest answer came from CFO Gary Millerchip on the company's earnings call in December 2024. Asked about splits, Millerchip said there wasn't a plan for one then.

He also laid out why a split matters less than before.

"[T]he economic arguments that were true in the past are a little bit less clear because retail investors and employees both have the ability now to buy fractional shares," Millerchip said.

But he also said a lower share price can make the stock seem more affordable for the same investors and employees. And he added the company would keep talking it over with the board.

CEO Ron Vachris has given shareholders a shorter version of that answer since. At the annual meeting in January 2025, he said there was nothing to report on a split. A year later, at the meeting on Jan. 15, 2026, a shareholder asked about both a split and a special dividend.

"I have nothing to report at this time, but I can tell you that it's being reviewed with the board, and we look at it regularly," Vachris said.

I'd read it as a polite no for now. A split didn't come up in Costco's fiscal fourth-quarter call on Sept. 24, and its next annual meeting is on Jan. 21, 2027.

Two retailers that did splitTwo other retailers split their shares recently, and both said they did it mostly for their employees.

Walmart (WMT +1.42%) announced a 3-for-1 split on Jan. 30, 2024, when its stock closed around $166. Back then, over 400,000 of its workers were in its stock purchase plan. O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY +1.66%) followed in March 2025, when its board approved a 15-for-1 split with the shares near $1,300.

Both CEOs even used the same words, describing the aim as letting employees buy "whole shares, rather than fractions."

Costco's chief financial officer, though, took the other side of that point. After all, fractions are easy to get now. Charles Schwab, for instance, lets investors buy fractional shares of most U.S.-listed stocks for as little as $1.

And the share price alone likely doesn't force Costco's hand. It's about six times what Walmart's stock cost when it announced its split, but below where O'Reilly's was.

A split wouldn't make Costco cheaperEven if Costco did split its shares, its valuation would stay the same. With about 443 million shares outstanding, Costco is worth roughly $441 billion at today's price. A 10-for-1 split would just turn that into about 4.4 billion shares at about $99 each.

What drives the stock over time is what a share earns. Costco earned $20.76 per share in fiscal 2026 (ended Aug. 30, 2026), up 14% from the year before. That's faster than fiscal 2025's 10% gain, so earnings growth is accelerating. Shares around $994 put the stock's price-to-earnings ratio at about 48. That means buyers pay about $48 for every $1 Costco earned last fiscal year. And I think a price like that already asks a lot of a company growing earnings at around 14%, and a split wouldn't change it.

COST Costco Wholesale$1,010.97+$12.66 (+1.27%)

NASDAQ · As of 10:50 AM ET 10/22/26

If Costco wants to give shareholders something, the other item in Vachris' answer could do it. Costco's regular quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share works out to a yield of only around 0.6%, so it isn't much of a dividend stock by itself. But Costco has paid five special dividends since 2012, the biggest a $15 per share payout in January 2024 that cost the company around $6.7 billion. It hasn't paid any since.

Is a split next, then? I doubt one is close. Costco's leaders have given the same answer at least three times since December 2024, and the chief financial officer's point on fractional shares goes against the one Walmart and O'Reilly made.

If a split does happen, it changes the price of a share and little else. I'd focus more on the special dividend, the other item on the board's list, because it's the one that gives shareholders cash.

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

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on October 29, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

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

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis HIV and hepatitis C drugmaker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.16 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -12.6%.

Revenues are expected to be $7.81 billion, up 0.6% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.29% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

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

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

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

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

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

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

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Gilead?For Gilead, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +2.24%.

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

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

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

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Gilead would post a loss of$7.07 per share when it actually produced a loss of -$6.75, delivering a surprise of +4.53%.

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

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

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

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

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

In the Phase 3 INTREPID study, lutikizumab achieved the primary endpoint of Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinical Response 75 (HiSCR75) at Week 16 compared with placebo1 Lutikizumab met 8 ranked secondary endpoints, including significant improvements in HS-related skin pain at Week 8 and significant reductions in the occurrence of HS flares over the first 16 weeks,1 reflecting outcomes assessed by both patients and physicians Lutikizumab was generally well tolerated, with no new safety concerns identified1 INTREPID provides Phase 3 data supporting the continued investigation of simultaneous inhibition of IL-1α and IL-1β as a potential treatment approach in adults and adolescents with moderate to severe HS1 NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Oct. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) today announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 INTREPID study evaluating the safety and efficacy of lutikizumab, an investigational dual-variable-domain interleukin (IL) 1α/1β antagonist, in adults and adolescents with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).