Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

The financial plumbing of the global economy is undergoing a rewrite. For the better part of a decade, the issuance of stablecoins, digital dollars living on blockchain networks, was largely monopolized by crypto-native firms. Traditional payment processors appeared to be watching from the sidelines, occasionally announcing small-scale pilot programs. That dynamic was shattered this week.

The launch of Open USD by a 140-member consortium marks the aggressive institutional capture of decentralized payment infrastructure. By redistributing reserve interest directly to network partners, traditional financial processors are weaponizing shared-yield tokenomics against early market entrants. Legacy networks are successfully scaling the digital dollar while actively dismantling the proprietary moats of pure-play crypto issuers.

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The GENIUS Act and the Green Light for Legacy CapitalTo understand the magnitude of this shift, look back to the July 2025 passage of the GENIUS Act. This regulatory framework provided the federal compliance structure that traditional finance demanded.

Visa Today

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Visa

$361.31 -0.82 (-0.23%)

As of 07/2/2026 03:59 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$293.89▼

$362.13Dividend Yield0.74%

P/E Ratio31.47

Price Target$397.96

Legacy players like Visa Inc. NYSE: V and Mastercard NYSE: MA have never ignored the blockchain space. They were waiting for the legal green light to deploy capital at scale without risking entrenched legacy businesses.

With regulatory clarity secured, the broader fintech ecosystem moved rapidly. Stripe laid the operational groundwork by acquiring the stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, placing seasoned operators at the helm of a new standard.

The result is the Open Standard consortium, a massive alliance featuring Visa, Stripe, BlackRock NYSE: BLK, Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL, and Coinbase NASDAQ: COIN. This is not a defensive maneuver by traditional finance. It is an aggressive, calculated infrastructure upgrade designed to own the rails of cross-border money movement.

Tokenomics 2.0: Siphoning the Crypto YieldLet us take a moment to unpack the structural evolution introduced by Open USD, as it directly attacks the core business model of first-generation stablecoins. When an institution mints a legacy stablecoin, they hand over fiat currency, and the issuer deposits those funds into short-term U.S. Treasuries. The issuer then keeps the yield generated by those reserves. When interest rates are high, this model prints exceptional cash flow.

Open USD operates on a shared-yield architecture. Instead of hoarding treasury interest at the issuer level, the Open Standard consortium redistributes that yield back to the network partners who facilitate transactions. They also eliminated minting and redemption fees. This creates a zero-friction, yield-generating asset for enterprise partners, instantly rendering proprietary, closed-loop stablecoin models uncompetitive.

A Leaky Moat: Circle's Margin Compression CrisisCircle Internet Group Today

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Circle Internet Group

$64.56 -0.06 (-0.10%)

As of 07/2/2026 03:59 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$49.90▼

$262.97Price Target$117.38

This architectural shift presents an existential threat to companies heavily reliant on the legacy model. Circle Internet Group NYSE: CRCL generates roughly 99% of revenue from the interest earned on the reserves backing the USDC stablecoin. When the core product is commoditized by a consortium offering better economics to distributors, the resulting margin compression is rapid and severe.

The most glaring signal of this structural vulnerability is the defection of primary ecosystem partners. Coinbase previously served as a massive distribution hub for USDC. In 2024 alone, Coinbase extracted $908 million from Circle in distribution and revenue-sharing agreements.

With the launch of Open USD, Coinbase has joined the Open Standard alliance. The economic incentive is clear. Rather than taking a negotiated cut from a third-party issuer like Circle, exchange networks and payment processors can utilize Open USD to internalize the reserve yields directly. This supply chain defection forces Circle into an impossible corner. To retain enterprise distributors, Circle must either slash fees to zero or give up reserve yield. Both options eviscerate profitability.

$20 Billion Buybacks and Unstoppable MarginsCircle Internet Group Stock Forecast Today12-Month Stock Price Forecast:
$117.38
81.82% Upside

Hold
Based on 24 Analyst Ratings

Current Price$64.56High Forecast$190.00Average Forecast$117.38Low Forecast$55.00Circle Internet Group Stock Forecast Details

The market is already pricing in the collapse of the proprietary stablecoin moat. Shares of Circle Internet Group have faced severe downward pressure, currently trading near $62 after dropping nearly 21% since the start of the year. Circle recently reported quarterly earnings that reflect the strain, with earnings per share (EPS) missing estimates by 6 cents and net margins languishing at negative 2.76%.

Institutional sentiment is rapidly souring on the pure-play crypto issuer. Short interest in Circle rose to 45.4% month over month, now representing 10.06% of the public float.

A short squeeze requires an underlying bullish catalyst, but the structural degradation of the business model provides exactly the opposite. Internal confidence appears equally shaken. Insiders have executed zero open-market purchases over the last six months, instead heavily distributing shares, dumping over $158 million in stock over the past 90 days. Wall Street analysts are aggressively revising valuation models, with Compass Point aggressively slashing its price target on Circle from $97 down to $55.

As capital flees the vulnerable pure-play issuers, it is rotating heavily into the legacy networks, leading the Open USD charge. Visa is one of the primary beneficiaries of this institutional capture. Visa is currently trading near $351 and boasts a market capitalization exceeding $630 billion.

Visa is demonstrating exactly how to leverage an entrenched market position to capture new technology. Integrating Open USD into globally ubiquitous payment rails neutralizes the threat that decentralized finance will disrupt cross-border revenue.

Visa Stock Forecast Today12-Month Stock Price Forecast:
$397.96
10.14% Upside

Buy
Based on 26 Analyst Ratings

Current Price$361.31High Forecast$450.00Average Forecast$397.96Low Forecast$350.00Visa Stock Forecast Details

The fundamentals backing Visa are pristine. Visa recently posted $3.31 EPS, easily beating consensus estimates of $3.10, driven by a 17.1% year-over-year revenue expansion. Profitability metrics remain exceptional, featuring a 51.68% net margin and a massive 65.00% return on equity. A forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 26.84 is entirely reasonable for a network poised to capture the next generation of digital payments.

Analysts are taking note of the expanded moat. Piper Sandler recently upgraded Visa from overweight to a strong buy, citing confidence in its cross-border transaction strategy and resilient consumer discretionary spending.

While Circle faces insider distribution, the Visa board is signaling confidence in the current valuation and future cash flows. Visa recently initiated a $20 billion share repurchase program. This authorization acts as a massive macro tailwind for Visa, providing structural support to the share price while management executes the digital asset expansion. Share buybacks of this magnitude tell you exactly how Visa leadership views its own strategic positioning.

Plugging the Leaks in Your Crypto PortfolioThe era of digital assets existing in a silo outside the traditional financial system is over. The 140-member consortium behind Open USD proves that legacy payment processors possess both the capital and the strategic foresight to absorb disruptive technologies. By weaponizing shared-yield economics, Visa and other legacy giants are capturing the multi-trillion-dollar stablecoin market while systematically dismantling the business models of early crypto-native pioneers.

Investors navigating the shifting payments sector might consider evaluating the durability of revenue streams. Portfolios heavily weighted toward single-product crypto firms reliant on proprietary yield models face significant structural risk. Conversely, adding exposure to entrenched, highly profitable networks executing large volume share repurchases offers a compelling way to capture the upside of the digital dollar's global expansion.

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Shares of Bloom Energy (BE 6.47%) are up more than 250% so far this year. That quick rise may make some investors cautious, but there are plenty of solid reasons for the stock's ascendance. The company is at the nexus of renewable energy and artificial intelligence (AI), as its fuel cell energy solutions are increasingly used by hyperscalers to address bottlenecks in powering new data centers.

Are there risks to the stock? Most definitely. It trades at more than 140 times forward earnings, as investors have largely priced in its backlog. Even so, here are three reasons why Bloom Energy is worth buying -- and why the stock should continue to generously reward investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

Bloom's solid oxide fuel cells can be deployed quickly Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Oracle are spending billions on next-generation AI data centers, but traditional electrical grids are severely bottlenecked. Expanding a localized grid or waiting on a nuclear plant can take years.

Bloom's solid oxide fuel cells generate on-site electricity and can be deployed and operational in as little as 90 days. By bypassing traditional power grids, tech companies ensure their high-dollar AI chips don't sit idle waiting for power.

These fuel cells use renewable natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen, converting it to electricity without combustion and with minimal carbon dioxide emissions.

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It has a huge backlog with big tech Bloom's growth is no longer a speculative story; it is backed by concrete, massive commercial contracts. As of the end of 2025, the company said it had a backlog of $20 billion, including a product backlog of $6 billion.

In April, Bloom expanded its agreement with Oracle to support up to 2.8 gigawatts (GW) of fuel cell capacity. This includes Project Jupiter, a massive, multigigawatt AI data center campus in New Mexico that runs entirely on Bloom fuel cells rather than traditional gas turbines or diesel generators.

In May, Bloom secured a 328-megawatt (MW) deployment deal with AI infrastructure company Nebius, providing deep multiyear visibility for revenue generation.

It has reached a financial turning point Historically, fuel cell companies have struggled to turn a profit despite rising revenue. Bloom is actively breaking out of that mold, showcasing real operating leverage. In its first-quarter earnings release, Bloom reported a record $751.1 million in revenue, a massive 130.4% year-over-year increase.

Driven by manufacturing-scale benefits, its gross margin expanded beyond 30%, allowing the company to report net income of $70.6 million, up from a loss of $19.1 million in the first quarter of 2025. Earnings per share (EPS) were $0.23, compared to an EPS loss of $0.10 in the same quarter a year ago, while adjusted EPS was $0.44.

The earnings were a surprise to some analysts, who had predicted revenue of $539.94 and adjusted EPS of $0.12. The numbers were strong enough to prompt management to raise its full-year revenue guidance to $3.4 billion to $3.8 billion, an increase of 80% at the midpoint, and to raise adjusted EPS to between $1.85 and $2.25, up 170% at the midpoint.

Things to look out for Bloom has a few issues, but they're mostly good concerns. The company will have to spend to double factory capacity from 1 gigawatt to 2 gigawatts by the end of 2026. It also faces competition from Plug Power and FuelCell Energy.

The premium attached to Bloom Energy is massive and introduces considerable valuation risk, but it is supported by triple-digit revenue growth and positive cash generation, whereas Plug Power is an improving turnaround play with tight cash constraints, and FuelCell Energy remains trapped in a pattern of shrinking revenue and widening losses.

In the long run, given the push for renewable energy and the way AI is driving the need for more data centers, Bloom is in a good spot to benefit from long-term trends.

Shares in USA Rare Earth (USAR 4.15%) fell by 23% in June, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. There are probably three unrelated reasons for the stock's decline this month. The first relates to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that might concern investors worried about a potential flood of selling by investors who had acquired their stock at lower levels. The second concerns the blacklisting of the company as part of China's export controls, and the third is a legal matter.

An overhang of shares for sale? On June 5th, the company filed an S-3/A registration statement with the SEC covering the potential resale of 93,822,662 shares, representing 35.2% of the company's issued and outstanding common stock on a diluted basis.

The selling stockholders include shares acquired at much lower prices than the current stock price via business combinations, the conversion of preferred stock and warrants, share purchase agreements, and private investment in public equity (PIPE) transactions.

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It's important to stress that there's nothing unusual about the filing, and the company was legally obligated to file it. Still, the potential overhang of shares for sale in such a large amount is bound to cause investor concern, particularly for a company that clearly needs investment to build magnet production and ultimately develop the Round Top mine in 2028.

China blacklists USA Rare Earth Toward late June, China added USA Rare Earth and its peer MP Materials to its list of companies with restricted access to Chinese technology. While neither company buys or sells directly from China, the export restrictions also cover Chinese components used in final products that could be sold to USA Rare Earth and MP Materials. Consequently, they may need to reassess their supply chains, which could affect both companies at a time when they are looking to ramp up magnet production and acquire rare-earth processing technology.

MP Materials lawsuit against USA Rare Earth Finally, MP Materials is taking legal action against USA Rare Earth, alleging that "USA Rare Earth Inc. stole its proprietary technology through a former employee," according to a Bloomberg report. While lawsuits are, unfortunately, not uncommon among peers in the U.S, the legal challenge is a distraction in the future.

Image source: Getty Images.

Where next for USA Rare Earth The events in June highlight that, as exciting as the company's long-term prospects are, there's still a long way to go, with plenty of execution risk ahead, the potential for further shareholder dilution, and the risk of concerted selling pressure taking its toll on the stock.

That said, the company is one of the solutions to the challenge of securing a domestic supply of rare earth materials and magnets, and while that remains the case, it's likely to find favor among the government and investors.

Nike (NKE +2.44%) shareholders have been suffering over the past few years as the company has dealt with problem after problem.

There were some glimmers of hope in the fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter (ended May 31) report released this past week, but management cut near-term guidance and doesn't expect meaningful progress over the next six months. So why is Nike stock rising?

Image source: Nike.

Getting its game on Nike is still picking up the pieces from some major missteps, compounded over the past few years by high inflation and strong tariff exposure. The company was poorly positioned to handle the challenges when it cut out wholesale partnerships and let its innovation engine slip.

In its favor, it got a new CEO and mapped out a turnaround plan, and while external factors are still weighing on its progress, appears to have stemmed the rapid declines.

Here are some of the fourth-quarter highlights, which beat the top and bottom lines:

Revenue decreased 1% year over year, with wholesale up 4% and direct-to-consumer down 7%. Gross margin expanded 8.9 percentage points to 49.2%. Earnings per share (EPS) increased from $0.14 last year to $0.72 this year. While momentum had been building into the quarter, it stalled when the Iran war began and oil prices spiked, putting pressure on global consumers. Although that's been easing, management had to reshuffle orders and block too much inventory that could eventually pile up and have to be marked down for sale. Over the next six months, sluggish sales are expected.

Going on the offense One particular area where Nike is truly struggling is China, where sales dropped 17% for the full year. CEO Elliott Hill said Nike is doing a "comprehensive reset" in the region, going on the offense and working with local partners to see how it can win.

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But there were many positive updates. Performance sales were up mid-single digits for the full year, which marked the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in Nike Running.

Although China is struggling, North America is showing signs of recovery, and the wholesale business grew by double digits for the full year. So while the near term looks bleak, the recovery is possible.

In the meantime, Nike stock has fallen low enough to look like a strong value. It tanked after earnings, and its P/E ratio dipped below 20. At the current price, its dividend yields 3.8%. Value investors may have seen the opportunity, and long-term investors might be counting on a big recovery later this year.

For years, software specialist Tyler Technologies (TYL +5.28%) enjoyed a reputation as a company that was difficult to displace due to its niche public-sector focus. That changed last year, when investors fled from software names broadly in fear of the disruption the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) would have on their business models.

The once-resilient stock has now fallen by 51% from the high it touched in February 2025. That sell-off was understandable given the uncertainty software companies face. In Tyler's case, the market is worried that large language models will allow government agencies to build custom tools that can do what its products do, or adopt cheaper alternatives. This would erode Tyler's entrenched position and permanently alter its growth trajectory.

Despite the concerns, management recently raised its 2030 revenue target, and said it now expects to surpass $1 billion in free cash flow by the end of the decade. Given that its market cap is just $12 billion, and considering that the public sector is typically slow to adopt new technology, Tyler may be one software stock worth adding to your portfolio.

Image source: Getty Images.

Who needs agentic loops when you can do cloud "flips"? The optimism from leadership stems from Tyler's cloud "flip" initiative, which is shifting its government client from using software hosted on on-premises hardware to software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscriptions hosted in the cloud, turning lower-margin maintenance revenue into higher-margin recurring revenue.

On average, every on-premises client that migrates to the cloud generates 1.7 times more revenue for Tyler while adding to its multiyear contracted revenue stream. With an installed base of over 16,000 clients and a target to convert 85% of them by 2030, the runway is significant.

Management projects that its peak flip volumes will occur from 2027 through 2029. This shift should improve margins by reducing maintenance work on its legacy on-premises products and increasing cross-selling opportunities.

The company's average client currently uses about three of its products, a figure it aims to increase to 10 to 12 by selling additional modules like payments, fire prevention, and document automation.

Some risks are worth taking During its June investor day presentation, the software provider raised its 2030 targets to $3.35 billion in annualized recurring revenue (ARR) and $1.15 billion in free cash flow. To hit those targets would require ARR to grow at an average annual rate of around 10%.

The caution around the stock comes not only from the likelihood of a more competitive market but also from where its next leg of growth will come from once the majority of cloud flips are complete. Management points to its ability to cross-sell, but predicting customer demand for software that far into the future is more of a side note than an investing thesis.

While the company is not immune to the impacts of technology shifts, its customers are unlikely to abandon their court systems or property tax software for AI-driven alternatives anytime soon. Government procurement cycles are notoriously slow, which will give the company time to execute on its cloud strategy and adapt to the changing landscape.

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The stock is trading at roughly 25 times expected forward earnings, down from a five-year average in the mid-40s, and 21 times trailing free cash flow. As such, the expectations baked into the stock are far lower than they've been in the past. While the market is unlikely to bid up its shares in the near term, Tyler is priced at a level where patient investors can comfortably begin building a position.

Oklo (OKLO 0.17%) had what should have been a dream month in June 2026.

The nuclear energy start-up was racking up major wins left and right, including approvals from the Department of Energy (DOE) and a crucial partnership to secure the mission-critical uranium fuel needed to power Oklo's small modular reactors (SMRs) for a massive project.

Yet, Oklo stock slumped 21.8% in June, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The disconnect comes down to a reality check on multiple fronts. But could the markets have overreacted, offering investors an opportunity to scoop up shares of a company with significant government collaborations amid a nuclear energy renaissance?

Image source: Getty Images.

Oklo's major recent wins Oklo stock sank after its first-quarter earnings in May and a $1 billion new equity offering. Oklo is still developing fast-fission nuclear power plants called Aurora powerhouses and has yet to commercialize its technology and generate its first revenue. Its spending, however, pushed Q1 net loss to $33 million. That massive share sale further hurt the stock price as investors feared dilution of their value.

June was, comparatively, a far more positive month for Oklo.

It won a crucial DOE safety approval for its Idaho National Laboratory (INL) plant under the DOE's Reactor Pilot Program.

The Auroral-INL will be Oklo's first fast-fission plant.

In mid-June, Oklo signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Standard Nuclear to collaborate on nuclear fuel recycling and advanced fuel manufacturing.

The U.S. government is keen to use surplus plutonium lying in its stockpile as nuclear fuel for reactors, and Oklo is among the few companies developing nuclear fuel recycling facilities. It is also advancing Pluto, a plutonium-fueled fast test reactor.

Oklo also locked down a massive strategic partnership with Centrus Energy to secure high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) supplies to power up to five Aurora powerhouses over the next few years. These reactors are for Oklo's planned 1.2 GW power campus in the Ohio region to support Meta Platforms data centers.

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Oklo closed out June by acquiring Creative Engineers to beef up their advanced reactor tech. Earlier in the month, it acquired ARMEC to strengthen its reactor manufacturing capabilities.

With everything lining up so perfectly, why did Oklo shares still fall?

Why Oklo stock could continue to be volatile First, the DOE threw a curveball into the SMR market when it announced a $17.5 billion loan program for traditional, large-scale nuclear reactors. Investors betting heavily on SMRs amid the artificial intelligence (AI) power boom were instantly spooked, triggering a broad sell-off that dragged Oklo stock with it.

To be sure, the government isn't souring on small reactors. If anything, the massive loan program serves as a broad validation of the nuclear energy upcycle. The issue is that when a pre-revenue company begins trading like a high-flying stock, any perceived distraction can hit the stock hard.

Oklo eventually aims to generate electricity from Aurora powerhouses and sell it under long-term power purchase agreements. But because commercial operations are still years away, even a single mixed signal can prompt investors to do a reality check and take profits.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD +3.75%) stock fell 11% in the first half of the year, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. It had been following the trajectory of Bitcoin, which was plunging, but it has started to climb back up.

More than cryptocurrency Robinhood is still a fairly small company, with $4.6 billion in trailing 12-month revenue, but it has already had a major impact on the markets. It introduced the fee-free trade, which is now standard for trading platforms, and it has been following that up with many fintech innovations.

Image source: Getty Images.

That hasn't been entirely positive for the company. Although it was reporting high growth, much of it was coming from cryptocurrency trading. The Bitcoin drop led to a contraction in growth. Some of its other innovations, like its Prediction Markets segment, are risky.

On the plus side, it was one of the trading platforms chosen for retail investor access to the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) initial public offering (IPO), and it was recently approved to underwrite IPOs as well.

It's also introducing many traditional services in its bid to become a major financial player, including credit cards and bank accounts. These services provide stability and minimize the risk of other types of products.

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With cryptocurrency trading falling, revenue growth has been mediocre. Revenue increased 15% year over year in the 2026 first quarter, a huge slowdown from 50% last year. This included a 47% decrease in cryptocurrency trading revenue and 46% increase in equities trading revenue.

There were many positives in the quarter, though, including a 39% increase in platform assets and a 36% increase in Robinhood Gold subscribers, its membership program, for a total of 4.3 million. It added half a million funded accounts, and Robinhood banking grew fivefold sequentially.

Priced to buy? The 11% decrease in the first half of the year obscures the recent climb -- Robinhood stock is up 45% over the past three months. Investors are impressed with the company's new capabilities and future opportunities.

It also became much cheaper at the lower price. Robinhood stock had been priced for perfection, which made it susceptible to falling under pressure, and that's what happened.

It now trades at a P/E ratio of 55 and a price-to-sales ratio of 22, so it may be returning to premium levels. Risk-tolerant investors who have a long-term horizon might want to take a small position at this price, but as it gets more expensive, it gets back to becoming susceptible to another fall.

ServiceNow (NOW +0.49%) stock fell 20% in June, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. It's been fairly volatile as the market weighs the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on its business and how it should be valued today, and the drop was on the heels of a 41% rebound in May.

Does AI help, or hinder? As a category, software-as-a-service (SaaS) stocks have been falling as the market recognizes that agentic AI can be used to accomplish many of the tasks they're used for for free or more inexpensively. The idea behind SaaS is that clients pay a monthly fee for services that include upgrades and customer support, but if developers can create AI agents that take care of the same work, the SaaS products can become obsolete.

Image source: Getty Images.

ServiceNow has been fighting this theory with an AI-included platform that management claims provides great value for its clients. Its Control Tower product, which was already in progress before agentic AI became the threat it is right now, supervises all of a client's operations, including agentic AI, unifying its management and keeping the business, and its AI tools, safe.

Based on the company's current performance, worries about an AI takeover are far overblown. The company is as strong as ever, with $3.7 billion in subscription revenue in the 2026 first quarter, a 22% increase year over year, and $27.7 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPO), up 25%. It's highly profitable, with strong cash flow, and it's guiding for similar performance for the rest of the year.

Its platform is embedded within its 8,500 clients' operations, a strong economic moat with high barriers to entry, and its focus on pre-emptive AI measures protects its business.

The view from the market The stock was propelled higher in May after a bullish analyst rating, but the market is still weighing the opportunity. On the one hand, it's in a healthy position and reporting outstanding results. On the other hand, the AI landscape continues to shift rapidly, and it's unclear how it will ultimately impact ServiceNow.

Adding to the mix, the company has a dominant position in its category and is growing at double-digit rates, but it's past its upstart phase. The valuation piece fits in there, too -- ServiceNow stock trades at a P/E ratio of 63 and a price-to-sales ratio of 8, which makes it expensive. It's reasonable to see the stock slide at this valuation, and even if it still has a bright future, it comes at a premium.

HomeStock IdeasLong IdeasTech 

SummaryCore Scientific is transitioning from a volatile Bitcoin miner to a high-density AI colocation provider with long-duration, contracted revenue streams.Q1 2026 results show colocation revenue surged to $77.5M, now the dominant segment, with gross profit margins of 57% and a multi-gigawatt power pipeline.The expanded CoreWeave partnership validates CORZ’s AI infrastructure pivot, supporting $10B+ in contracted revenue and 590MW leased, with further upside from pipeline conversion.Despite high leverage and customer concentration risks, CORZ offers high-risk/high-reward exposure to scarce AI power infrastructure amid industry-wide supply constraints. JasonDoiy/iStock via Getty Images

Investment Thesis Core Scientific (CORZ) is one of the most interesting ways, as a public market participant, to gain exposure to the bottleneck that is at the center of the build-out for AI: energized land, contracted power, and the

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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

JPMorgan Chase (JPM 0.11%) is one of the world's largest financial companies, trailing only Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA +1.41%)(BRKB +1.61%). That said, the giant bank got some very good news when the Federal Reserve announced that it had passed the Fed's bank stress test. And JPMorgan Chase shareholders benefited, too, since the bank quickly announced a 10% dividend increase and a $50 billion share repurchase plan.

JPMorgan Chase is in a strong position The first big takeaway from the Fed's bank stress test is that JPMorgan Chase is a financially solid bank. Notably, the Fed is looking for a tier 1 capital ratio of 11.5%, but the bank's tier 1 ratio was 14.3%. The tier 1 ratio indicates how well prepared a bank is for adversity, with higher numbers indicating better preparedness. Clearly, JPMorgan Chase is not only one of the largest banks in the world but also among the strongest.

Image source: Getty Images.

That alone, however, isn't enough to make the stock worth buying. It is also putting up strong financial results, with growth across its business in the first quarter of 2026. Earnings per share rose 17% year over year, with return on tangible common equity increasing by two percentage points. All in, there are many reasons to like JPMorgan Chase today.

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Don't run out and buy JPMorgan Chase just yet The problem with this story is that Wall Street is well aware of the company's success. In fact, the stock is trading just below its all-time highs. The stock's price-to-sales, price-to-earnings, and price-to-book ratios are all above their five-year averages, and by meaningful amounts. To put some numbers on that, the stock's P/S ratio sits at 4.8x, versus a five-year average of 3.6x. The current P/E ratio is roughly 15.5x compared to a longer-term average of around 11x. And the P/B ratio is 2.5x compared to the five-year average of just under 1.8x.

Simply put, JPMorgan Chase is looking rather expensive today. Even the company's forward P/E ratio is notably out of line with its past, sitting at 14.9x compared to a five-year average of 12x. A large dividend hike and stock buyback plan won't change the valuation facts here, even if they are nice to see. For investors who have even the slightest value lean, this looks like a stock for the wishlist, not the buy list, today. A recession and/or a bear market could make this large, well-run bank a more attractive value.

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Apple (AAPL +4.88%) is reportedly preparing its most crowded iPhone lineup in years. According to supply chain reports cited by Asian news site Nikkei Asia, the company plans at least five new iPhone models between the back half of 2026 and early 2027, headlined by its first foldable smartphone -- and it has raised the production target for that foldable, rumored to carry a price around $2,500, to about 10 million units, reportedly up from an earlier 7 million to 8 million. The reports helped fuel one of the stock's best sessions of the year.

But the more useful question for shareholders isn't whether a folding iPhone is cool. It's whether a product blitz like this can move the earnings of a tech giant that sells more than 220 million phones a year.

Image source: Apple.

Sizing the foldable opportunity Start with how central the iPhone still is. In Apple's fiscal second quarter (the period ended March 28, 2026), iPhone revenue rose 22% year over year to about $57 billion, a March-quarter record, out of about $111 billion in total sales. That is more than half of the company coming from a single product line.

But how big of a catalyst could a foldable iPhone really be?

Ten million units at about $2,500 works out to around $25 billion of potential revenue in a full year -- a meaningful slice of the more than $200 billion the iPhone generates annually, and mostly a fiscal 2027 story rather than this year's.

Even more, spreading five models across price tiers is a deliberate move to grab share from rivals at both the high and low ends of the market.

Put those pieces together, and the foldable looks less like a blockbuster and more like a halo. It probably won't add much to any single quarter's revenue on its own. What it can do, however, is reset the ceiling on iPhone prices, pulling some upgraders into a pricier tier. In a maturing smartphone market, defending the high end while broadening the lineup to reach more price points could be a serious lever.

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Ultimately, the biggest reason for investors to be upbeat about a busy iPhone product cycle is that it shows that the company is trying to aggressively grow its installed base of active devices -- the foundation of its high-margin services.

And this important segment already has impressive momentum. Services revenue rose 16% to a record $31 billion in the same quarter.

But keep in mind that these new products won't show up in the tech giant's financials for a while. The foldable's revenue mostly lands next year, so this news bears on fiscal 2027's numbers, not the print later this month. Apple reports third-quarter results for fiscal 2026 on July 30, and management has guided for revenue growth of 14% to 17%.

Then there is the stock's price. Shares change hands at about 37 times earnings, a premium that already assumes a strong product cycle.

And there are other risks beyond valuation risk. Apple has never shipped a foldable, and a first-generation product in a brand-new form factor carries real execution risk -- hinges, unique displays, and manufacturing yields are all hard to get right. And even a runaway hit could be capped at a certain volume.

Still, the figure that ultimately moves Apple's earnings over the long haul won't be foldable units. It's total iPhone volume and how many of those buyers deepen their spending on services over time.

Overall, I do think Apple stock looks good here, but reports are still reports. I'd treat the foldable as upside optionality stacked on top of an iPhone-and-services engine that's already growing at a double-digit clip -- a reason to keep owning Apple, but not a reason to chase it on a rumor. With that said, if the rumor proves true, I think fiscal 2027 could be a major year for the company -- and maybe for the stock, too.

The first half of 2026 has been extremely rewarding for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 4.60%) investors, as shares of the chipmaker have soared by 131% so far this year.

However, AMD stock's momentum has weakened over the past month, as it has dropped nearly 5% amid the recent sell-off in semiconductor stocks. Fears of a stock market bubble amid the artificial intelligence (AI)-fueled gains clocked by tech stocks have been weighing on investors' minds lately. But it would be wrong to call AI a bubble.

The adoption of this technology isn't just driving strong growth for hardware and software companies involved in its proliferation, but also leading to productivity gains for those adopting it. That's why it won't be surprising to see AMD stock stepping on the gas once again in July, especially considering that it may announce some big customer wins during the month at its Advancing AI event.

Image source: Getty Images.

AMD's July event could boost investor confidence AMD will hold its Advancing AI event on July 22 and 23. The company is expected to unveil new AI-focused platforms, how customers are deploying them, and its product roadmap at this event. It is worth noting that AMD held this event in June last year and previewed its rack-scale server architecture called Helios.

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This server platform has been adopted by Meta Platforms, which will begin deploying Helios servers in the second half of 2026. Additionally, AMD management noted on the company's May earnings call that it is seeing strong customer demand for the Helios platform. It said it will share more information about it during the July event.

Assuming AMD manages to attract more customers for Helios, which will go against Nvidia's Vera Rubin chip system, investor confidence in the stock could start improving. It is worth noting that the AMD Helios rack-scale system, powered by the company's MI455X graphics processing unit (GPU), has 432 gigabytes (GB) of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), well above the 288 GB offered by Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 system.

Given that memory is emerging as one of the biggest bottlenecks in AI infrastructure, there is a good chance AMD will indeed win more hyperscaler customers beyond Meta. Meanwhile, in May, Citigroup pointed out that AMD may have added Anthropic to its client list and will announce this new win at the July event.

So, a potential inflow of good news in July could bring AMD out of its rut.

Is it a good time to buy the stock right now? At 173 times trailing earnings and 73 times forward earnings, there is no doubt that AMD is expensive right now. So, investors looking for a value stock should consider looking elsewhere. However, if you have the risk appetite and are looking to add a fast-growing company to your portfolio, buying AMD may look like an attractive option.

After all, its earnings per share are expected to jump by 77% this year to $7.39. Importantly, AMD is anticipated to sustain its solid growth rate over the next couple of years as well.

Data by YCharts

Assuming its earnings per share indeed jump to $18.30 in 2028, and it trades at even 40 times earnings (in line with the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite index), its stock price could reach $732. That's a potential 41% jump from current levels. However, don't be surprised if it delivers stronger-than-expected earnings growth, which will allow it to sustain its premium valuation and deliver bigger gains.

Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Investors looking for high-yield dividend stocks typically don't expect them to generate alpha. But in some cases, they do. Take Sonoco Products (SON +2.26%), for example.

Sonoco Products is not the oil and gas company, which is spelled differently. Sonoco Products makes packaging -- metal, paper, and plastic packages for consumer and industrial uses.

It's not a stock many people know, but Sonoco is not only paying an above-average dividend yield; it is also beating the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Image source: Getty Images.

Sonoco crushes S&P 500 and Nasdaq Sonoco's stock has posted impressive numbers this year. The stock has returned 30% year to date, beating the Nasdaq's 10.3% and the S&P 500's 8.5%.

Further, the stock has a dividend yield of 3.78%, well above the S&P 500 average. It has also boosted its dividend annually for the past 43 consecutive years. If it keeps boosting the payout annually for seven more years, it will be a Dividend King.

Sonoco Products is coming off a quarter in which sales dropped 2%, but earnings rose 26% year over year to $0.68 per share. This is largely due to an expense-reduction plan that led to a 4% drop in selling, general, and administrative expenses in the latest quarter.

Sonoco's Profitability Performance Plan targets $32 million in savings this year and $150 million to $200 million over the next three years. It is also streamlining operations by selling off some of its lower-performing assets, like ThermoSafe. The expense reductions will offset some of the higher material costs the company is experiencing due to inflation and tariffs.

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Also, net sales will stall out in fiscal 2026, as the company guides for revenue between $7.25 billion and $7.75 billion, which would be on par with last year at the midpoint. Further, cash flow from operations is anticipated to be between $700 million and $800 million, up slightly from last fiscal year.

Sonoco has more room to run Sonoco's stock has rallied this year mainly due to its cost-cutting initiative and the pivot to consumer packaging from industrial. Consumer packaging is a higher-margin business and less cyclical than industrial packaging. The company has been steadily increasing consumer sales, and the consumer side now makes up about 67% of its total sales, up from 42% in 2020.

Sonoco has strong cash flow, a low payout ratio of 38%, and is fully committed to its dividend. It has raised its dividend for 43 straight years and has paid a dividend for 404 straight quarters (since 1925).

While analysts expect only 2% earnings growth in fiscal 2026, they see 10% growth in 2027, likely due to the benefits of the pivot and the Profitability Performance Plan kicking in.

Roughly 50% of analysts rate Sonoco as a buy, while 50% rate it a hold. It has a median price target of $63 per share, which suggests 12% upside.

Plus, the stock is still dirt cheap, even after the 29% surge. It is trading at 9 times forward earnings and has a minuscule five-year PEG ratio of 0.20, which makes it a great value and a good buy -- for both dividends and returns.

Investors went from pricing in record cash flows for Newmont (NEM +4.01%) to panicking over cooling gold prices amid falling production and rising costs. This sudden shift in sentiment triggered a 14.9% drop in June in Newmont's share price, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. That single bad month erased early momentum, leaving the gold stock up only 10% in the first half of 2026.

Is Newmont headed even lower, or is this a prime opportunity to buy one of the finest gold stocks on the dip?

Image source: Getty Images.

Why Newmont stock lost its luster After hitting an all-time high of $5,608.35 per ounce in January 2026, gold crashed into a bear market in June, tumbling more than 25% from record highs.

Despite stubbornly high inflation and the conflict in the Middle East, gold has fallen in recent weeks. Historically, these factors should have fueled a rally in gold since it is considered as the ultimate safe-haven asset during volatile times.

Instead, with annual inflation in May surpassing 4% for the first time since April 2023 and the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates intact, the guaranteed yield from U.S. Treasury bonds continued to win over investors. A restrictive monetary policy simply took the wind out of gold's sails.

As the world's largest gold producer, Newmont's earnings and cash are highly leveraged to the metal, meaning its stock inevitably plunged alongside spot prices.

Should you buy the gold stock before Q2 earnings? Ironically, the big June drop in Newmont stock follows record-breaking Q1, where Newmont reported all-time cash flows. It also doubled its share repurchase program, authorizing an additional $6 billion in buybacks, and announced a dividend raise.

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The problem is that management has also guided for a low production year, estimating attributable gold production to decline to roughly 5.3 million ounces in 2026 from 5.9 million ounces in 2025 due to planned mining sequences and lower ore grades at key sites.

Concurrently, Newmont's projected all-in-sustaining-costs (AISC) are expected to rise significantly to $1,680 per ounce this year from $1,358 an ounce in 2025.

When a gold miner's output falls, even if temporarily, and operating costs rise, its stock becomes hyper-sensitive to spot gold prices. The expected margin squeeze has prompted some investors to take profits ahead of Newmont's upcoming Q2 earnings report on July 23.

Newmont is exceptionally well-financed right now, having exited Q1 with a massive net cash position of $3.2 billion. So if you want exposure to gold, Newmont is a top gold stock to buy on dips.

Whether you use large language models like OpenAI's ChatGPT or you're familiar with artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Siri from Apple and Copilot from Microsoft -- or you lean on AI found in various apps and platforms to complete everyday tasks, you're likely well aware of how dominant AI has become in our daily lives.

Most investors familiar with the burgeoning field of AI will point to semiconductor companies as pivotal to the industry's growth.

But investors who only recognize semiconductor stocks as AI investment opportunities are missing out. In fact, there's another stock that's critical for AI growth.

Image source: Getty Images.

Semiconductor stalwarts often steal the spotlight It goes without saying that semiconductor specialist Nvidia attracts the attention of AI investors. The company's consistent innovation and development of chips -- specifically, graphics processing units (GPUs) -- used in data centers has played a vital role in the industry's accelerating growth.

Nvidia's not alone. Other semiconductor companies, such as Micron Technology, which designs memory and storage solutions, are also benefiting from the growth of the AI industry. The company's high-bandwidth memory products, for example, support faster inference and scaling of agentic AI workflows.

While these two companies receive the majority of attention, numerous companies are nipping at their heels. Investors may recognize some of these competitors, but one company is playing an equally -- if not more -- important role in the AI industry's growth, and it represents a different industry altogether.

AI is aiming for the stars with this energy company Data center operators may use extraordinarily advanced GPUs to provide the computing infrastructure for AI applications, but it means little if there's inadequate power to keep the chips humming. That's where Constellation Energy (CEG +1.26%) come in.

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AI computing demands significant amounts of power. To meet this demand, many data center operators are turning to nuclear energy companies, from advanced nuclear reactor companies to established nuclear energy leaders like Constellation Energy.

In 2024, Constellation Energy announced it plans to restart operations at Three Mile Island after signing a 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft, which will purchase energy from the nuclear plant to support its data centers in the region.

Building on its partnership with Microsoft, Constellation signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Meta Platforms in June 2025 for nuclear power generated at the Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois. Operations at the nuclear facility are expected to resume in 2027, at which point Meta will use the power to support its AI data centers.

More recently, Constellation announced that its recently acquired unit, Calpine, signed a 380-megawatt (MW) agreement with CyrusOne, a leading global data center developer and operator, to connect and serve a new data center adjacent to the Freestone Energy Center, a natural gas power plant located in Texas. This complements a 400-MW power purchase agreement the two companies inked last year for a new data center CyrusOne is developing in Bosque County, Texas.

Constellation is benefiting now from AI power demand Advanced nuclear reactor companies have gained interest among AI companies, but they require regulatory approval before they can commence operations. Constellation, conversely, doesn't have to wait. Its nuclear assets are ready to provide much-needed power to data center operators right now, making Constellation stock an alluring option for AI-focused investors.

Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Constellation Energy, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

There's a new stablecoin in town that wants to shake up the industry. On June 30, a consortium of over 140 organizations announced the launch of Open USD, which has an enticing offer for partners. It proposes joint governance and sharing the interest it earns on its reserves with its partners, as well as free Open USD minting and redemptions. 

Image source: Getty Images.

Circle Internet Group (CRCL +4.20%), which issues USD Coin, fell 22% over the 48 hours following the announcement, though it has since pared its losses.

So, is this another flash-in-the-pan token that will fall away like many stablecoin projects have? Or could it take market share from the two dominant players, USDC and Tether?

What is Open USD? The Open Standard consortium says it will launch Open USD, its dollar-pegged stablecoin, later this year. The list of major companies on board is impressive, including Visa (V +2.87%), Mastercard, BlackRock, Alphabet, Coinbase (COIN +3.92%), and more. Given that Coinbase was one of the original forces behind USDC and the crypto firm still shares part of Circle's revenue, its participation raised eyebrows.

Open USD's yield revenue-sharing promise also goes against the grain. By law, U.S. stablecoin firms must back each token they issue with readily accessible reserves, and they can earn interest on those reserves. Circle holds the majority of its assets in U.S. Treasuries, and its reserve yield accounted for $2.63 billion of its total $2.75 billion in revenue in 2025. Investors are worried that Open USD could challenge that stream.

Is the writing on the wall for Circle? Things can turn on a dime in the cryptocurrency and stablecoin markets, particularly because speculation often drives price action. However, the dramatic drop in Circle's stock following Open USD's announcement seems overblown for a stablecoin that hasn't even launched. Open Standard won't be able to replicate Circle's regulatory progress nor its payment network overnight, if at all.

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On a practical level, a consortium of 140 names is impressive, but getting buy-in on key decisions will be a challenge. I have enough trouble organizing an annual holiday with 10 friends -- if that feels like herding cats, I can only imagine the behind-the-scenes wrangling it will take to get those big banks, payment processors, crypto firms, and tech companies to bring Open USD to market.

Plus, neither Tether's dominance nor Circle's first-mover advantage in the U.S. will be easy to shake, as other high-profile stablecoin projects have discovered. Tether launched in 2014 and, despite being dogged by questions about how it handles its reserve funds, there are still $184 billion USDT in circulation -- almost 60% of the total. Circle's USDC ranks second at $73 billion, while the others barely register. For example, PayPal launched PayPal USD in 2023, and it has issued only $2.75 billion in tokens since then.

Can stablecoins achieve their potential? The bigger question is whether the stablecoin industry can really grow at the rate many predict. Issuance soared last year, but growth has slowed in 2026. The market could be worth trillions of dollars, but it depends on stablecoins becoming part of people's day-to-day money management. There's huge potential, but rewiring payment infrastructure takes time.

I am not buying the Circle dip, but that's got nothing to do with Open USD. I want to see how the stablecoin sector evolves, and right now, I think established players like Visa, which is embracing blockchain technology, or Chainlink (LINK +3.05%), the oracle crypto that provides essential data for on-chain and real-world operations, have more potential.

Emma Newbery has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, BlackRock, Chainlink, Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Coinbase Global and recommends the following options: short September 2026 $47.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

There are four companies in the world worth $3 trillion or more: Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Alphabet. What they have in common is that they either develop the most important consumer hardware on Earth, run the software infrastructure that enterprises depend on, or design the chips that power the AI revolution.

The fifth member of that club is none of those things. Instead, it produces key components for all of them. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 2.15%) sits at roughly $2.24 trillion in market value as of late June 2026. That makes it the sixth most valuable company on the planet.

Given the numbers it's putting up right now, the $3 trillion mark is not far away. Here's how it gets there.

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The numbers make the case In 2026's first quarter, TSMC reported revenue of $35.9 billion, up 40.6% from the same quarter a year earlier. Net income rose 58.3% year over year. Gross margin came in at 66.2%. Net profit margin was 50.5%. Take a second with that last number. For every dollar TSMC brings in, it keeps fifty cents as profit. That's a level of operational leverage most companies would consider impossible.

For Q2 2026, management guided for revenue between $39 billion and $40.2 billion. The full-year 2026 growth forecast is above 30% in U.S. dollar terms. At that trajectory, TSMC will generate well north of $150 billion in annual revenue this year. If margins hold even close to where they are, the profit picture is extraordinary.

To get from $2.24 trillion to $3 trillion, the stock needs to gain roughly 34%. With earnings compounding at 50% or more year over year, that gap closes quickly.

Why TSMC is the real AI story Everyone focuses on Nvidia when they talk about AI chips, and that's fair. But Nvidia does not manufacture its own chips. Neither does Advanced Micro Devices. Neither does Apple. Every advanced processor in those companies' lineups comes out of a TSMC fab. TSMC has roughly 70% global market share in advanced chip manufacturing, and no competitor is close to challenging that at the most cutting-edge nodes.

Advanced technologies at 7 nanometers (nms) and below now account for 74% of TSMC's wafer revenue. That mix has shifted fast, and it matters because leading-edge nodes carry higher prices and better margins. As AI drives demand for 3nm and eventually 2nm chips, TSMC gets paid more per wafer and keeps more of it.

The AI infrastructure build-out is not a quarter or two of demand. Every hyperscaler is building massive graphics processing unit (GPU) clusters, and every GPU in those clusters is a TSMC chip. Nvidia has Blackwell. Amazon has Trainium. Alphabet's Google has tensor processing units (TPUs). They all flow through TSMC's fabs.

Image source: Getty Images.

Arizona changes the story For years, the argument against owning TSMC was the geopolitical risk. All the important fabs were on Taiwan, and the uncertainty around that geography created what analysts called a "Taiwan discount" on the stock's valuation. That discount is starting to shrink.

TSMC has committed $165 billion to its Arizona expansion, a campus covering more than 2,000 acres with six planned fabs, two advanced packaging facilities, and an R&D center. The first Arizona fab already turned a $514 million profit in its first year of production. Phase two, running at 3nm, is on track for 2027, a full year ahead of the original schedule.

As more production moves to U.S. soil, institutional investors who previously avoided TSM on geopolitical grounds have a reason to buy. That is not a small shift. More buyers chasing the same fundamental story pushes multiples up, which pushes market cap up alongside the earnings growth.

TSMC is not invincible. A serious escalation in Taiwan tensions remains a risk that no analyst can fully price. The company also relies on equipment makers like ASML Holding for the tools it needs to manufacture at leading-edge nodes, which creates supply-chain dependencies. And semiconductor cycles can turn. A broad slowdown in AI infrastructure spending would show up in TSMC's numbers fast.

But if you believe AI is a decade-long build-out, and that someone has to manufacture all those chips, TSMC's path to the $3 trillion club is one of the more visible roads in the market right now.

Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Mark Alan Peterson, EVP & Chief Financial Officer, reported an open-market sale of 8,334 shares of EPR Properties (EPR +2.18%) for a total consideration of ~$500,000, according to the SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summaryMetricValueShares sold (indirect)8,334Transaction value$500,040Post-transaction shares (direct)0Post-transaction shares (indirect)207,750Post-transaction value (direct ownership)$0Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 reported price ($60.00). EPR closed at $58.85 on the transaction date, June 10th 2026.

Key questionsHow does this transaction compare to Peterson’s historical sale sizes?
This 8,334 share sale is at the lower end of Peterson’s historical sell-only transactions, which have ranged from 8,334 to 13,700 shares, reflecting a declining trend as available share capacity has diminished over time.Does the transaction affect Peterson’s overall economic exposure to EPR Properties?
Despite the sale, Peterson continues to hold 207,750 shares indirectly through the Jill J. Peterson Rev. Trust, maintaining substantial economic exposure to the company through convertible Common Shares of Beneficial Interest.What is the significance of the 10b5-1 trading plan in this context?
This sale was effected under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on Dec. 23, 2025, indicating the disposition was pre-scheduled and consistent with routine liquidity management rather than market timing.How does the transaction value relate to recent market pricing?
The $60.00 per share sale price was slightly above the June 10, 2026 closing price of $59.36, representing a ~1.1% premium to the closing level on the transaction date.Company overviewMetricValueRevenue (TTM)$718 millionNet income (TTM)$275 millionDividend yield5.39%1-year price change8.3%Note: 1-year price change calculated as of July 1, 2026.

Company snapshotEPR owns and leases a portfolio of experiential real estate assets, including entertainment, recreation, and education properties across 44 U.S. states.It operates as a specialty REIT utilizing a net lease model, generating revenue primarily through long-term rental agreements with tenants in leisure and recreational sectors.The company serves operators of out-of-home entertainment venues, recreational facilities, and specialty education centers seeking stable, high-quality real estate solutions.EPR Properties manages a diversified portfolio valued at approximately $6.7 billion, focusing on properties that facilitate unique consumer experiences. The company’s disciplined underwriting and investment approach targets assets with resilient cash flows and long-term growth potential. This specialization in experiential real estate provides EPR Properties with a distinct competitive advantage in the specialty REIT sector.

What this transaction means for investorsPeterson's sale was pre-scheduled back in December, and it priced slightly above where EPR shares were trading that day, so there's little to read into the timing itself. The more useful question for investors is what has to keep going right for EPR's growth story to hold up. The company just raised its 2026 earnings guidance and expanded its investment spending target to as much as $600 million, largely to fund a $315 million push into attraction properties including a portfolio acquired from Six Flags. That's a bet that regional parks and similar destinations keep pulling in reliable foot traffic even as EPR leans away from its old core of movie theaters. The company's occupancy across its experiential portfolio sat at 99% last quarter, which suggests tenants are performing well enough to support the expansion. The risk is concentration: a handful of tenants still make up a large share of EPR's rental income, so any stumble from a major operator would matter more here than at a more diversified REIT. I like this company for the long haul, and at current levels I think it's worth starting a position or adding a little if you already own it. One thing worth considering: REIT dividends are typically taxed as ordinary income, so where you hold this stock matters. If you're building a position, a Roth IRA can be a smart home for it, since it lets those dividends and any future gains grow and come out tax-free.

Seena Hassouna has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends EPR Properties. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

© Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock.com

My cost basis on NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) keeps climbing, and I keep adding anyway. The stock dropped 12.46% over the past month. I bought. It closed the most recent session at $194.83, down 1.39% on the day. I bought again.

This is the position I cannot stop building, because the company running under the ticker is powering what its CEO calls “the largest infrastructure expansion in human history.”

The pull is simple. NVIDIA sells the compute every serious AI project needs, and the buyers show up with sovereign-sized checkbooks. Meta committed to millions of Blackwell and Rubin GPUs.

OpenAI signed for at least 10 gigawatts of NVIDIA systems. Anthropic started with 1 gigawatt of Grace Blackwell and Vera Rubin. CoreWeave is building 5+ gigawatts of AI factories by 2030. That customer list looks like a toll road under the AI economy.

Here is why the buy button stays warm Growth is accelerating. Q1 FY2027 revenue hit $81.61B, up 85.2% year over year, beating the estimate by 3.16%. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.87 beat by 5.42%, the fourth consecutive beat. Data Center alone did $75.25B, up 92%. Networking inside that segment ran $14.8B, up 199%. Management guided Q2 to $91B.

Margins and cash flow are the second reason. Non-GAAP gross margin sits at 75%, up from 60.8% a year ago. Operating income hit $53.54B, up 147.42%. Free cash flow in a single quarter was $48.55B, up 85.41%. Full fiscal 2026 delivered $96.58B in free cash flow on $215.94B of revenue. Shareholders’ equity of $195.47B stands against just $64B of total liabilities.

Don't wait: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.

Third, management is returning cash to me. The board raised the quarterly dividend from $0.01 to $0.25, a 25x increase, and authorized another $80B in buybacks on top of $38.5B already remaining. Roughly $20B was returned to shareholders in Q1 alone. Supply commitments climbed to $119B, which reads to me as demand already booked.

The Real Risk China. H20 shipments went to zero in the quarter versus $4.6B in the year-ago period, and Q2 guidance excludes any China Data Center compute revenue. Export restrictions are real, and TSMC concentration adds a single point of manufacturing dependency.

I have sat with this. My conviction holds because the rest of the world is buying so aggressively that the company still guided to $91B for next quarter with a zero from China baked in. If restrictions ease, that is upside I am not paying for.

Valuation is the fair pushback. Trailing P/E is 30, forward P/E is 23, PEG is 0.616. For a business compounding revenue at 85% with 75% gross margins and $48B of quarterly free cash flow, those numbers work for me. The consensus analyst target sits at $301.62. Polymarket traders cluster the July outcome at $192 with a 98% probability of closing above $140.

I keep buying because the AI factory buildout is early, the customer commitments are contractual, the cash is real, and the board is sending it back. Every dip is the market handing me a discount on the same thesis I owned last quarter. The buy button stays live.

Don't wait: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX | NFLX Price Prediction) and Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) just reported quarters showing two opposite business models behind the same word: streaming. Netflix delivered an asset-light cash haul. Disney posted a record parks quarter and streaming profitability inflection, but carried a heavy capital bill. The contrast matters as discretionary budgets tighten.

Netflix Squeezes Cash. Disney Buys Cruise Ships. Netflix put up Q1 2026 revenue of $12.25 billion, up 16.19% year over year, and free cash flow of $5.09 billion on just $196.1 million of capex. The ad tier drew over 60% of sign-ups in ads markets, with advertiser count climbing 70% to more than 4,000 clients. A $2.8 billion Warner Bros. termination fee juiced the headline, but the operating engine was already humming.

Disney’s Q2 FY2026 told a different story. Revenue reached $25.17 billion, up 6.55%, with adjusted EPS of $1.57 beating the $1.4955 estimate. Entertainment SVOD operating income surged 88% to $582 million, hitting a 10.6% margin for the first time. Experiences set a Q2 record at $9.49 billion. The catch: capex of $1.97 billion and net income that fell 24.73% year over year.

Business Driver Netflix Disney Quarterly capex $196M $1.97B FY operating margin target 31.5% 10% SVOD Main growth engine Ads + price hikes Parks + SVOD inflection One Walks Away. One Doubles Down. Netflix collected its breakup check, restarted buybacks, and stayed disciplined. The company repurchased 13.5 million shares for $1.3 billion with $6.8 billion still authorized, and raised 2026 free cash flow guidance to roughly $12.5 billion. Japan led the quarter, with the World Baseball Classic becoming the most-watched Netflix program ever in that country.

Disney went the other way. ESPN acquired NFL Network for a 10% noncontrolling interest in ESPN, Hulu Live TV merged into Fubo at 70% Disney ownership, and the Disney Adventure cruise launched in Singapore. FY2025 capex hit $8.02 billion, a 48% jump. Sports operating income is expected to decline roughly 14% year over year in Q3 on programming costs.

The Next Test Is Sticky Inflation Watch whether Disney’s per capita parks growth, up 5% domestically, holds as gasoline spending climbed to $552.8 billion in May 2026 from $415.7 billion in January. Recreation services spending hit $862.3 billion in May 2026, a dataset high, which favors couch entertainment over plane tickets. Netflix’s content amortization is expected to peak in Q2 2026, so margin expansion in the back half is the real proof point.

Why Netflix’s Cash Machine Wins Netflix edges Disney here. The streaming wars are effectively over and Netflix won, and the numbers back that read: a 31.5% operating margin target against a Disney SVOD business that just crossed 10.6%. NFLX is down 21.31% year to date, so the market is pricing in tougher comps. For diversified entertainment exposure, Disney offers a broader mix of parks, sports, and streaming assets. For insulated, capital-light cash generation, Netflix is the cleaner story, even after a rough six months.

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As the most prolific homebuilder in the United States, D.R. Horton NYSE: DHI is battling a general market decline in new home sales and skittish buyers.

D.R. Horton Today

$158.45 -0.12 (-0.07%)

As of 07/2/2026 03:59 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$129.11▼

$184.54Dividend Yield1.14%

P/E Ratio14.85

Price Target$168.54

Yet investors might not know that from its financial performance. For the latest quarter, the company beat expectations, raised its revenue outlook, increased new home orders by double digits, and returned more than $1 billion to shareholders.

That’s not to suggest the company is immune to industry headwinds. Analysts rate the stock a Hold with limited 12-month upside.

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But for patient investors, the disconnect between homebuyer reticence and the company’s results is something to consider before deciding to act.

Building Its Business Around Affordable HomesD.R. Horton has been building homes for Americans since 1978, and over those decades has become the largest homebuilder in the United States by volume, with operations spanning 125 markets across 35 states.

Its strategic focus on entry-level and first-time buyer homes gives it some insulation against luxury-home volatility. When mortgage rates rise, and discretionary buyers step back, affordably priced starter homes tend to hold their ground longest.

Like other homebuilders in the construction sector, sales took off in late 2020 as interest rates sat at record lows and work-from-home drove many buyers into the market. But that’s not been the recent story. Monthly new home sales are down roughly 30% from that earlier peak and currently at their lowest levels since 2023.

Strong Quarterly Results Defy a Weak Housing MarketThe current trend is what makes D.R. Horton’s second fiscal quarter ended March 31 so interesting. It was the clearest recent evidence of what the company’s positioning produces under pressure.

The company reported that for the three months, it generated $7.6 billion of consolidated revenue, above analysts’ expectations, and $647.9 million of net income, or $2.24 per diluted share. Its pre-tax profit margin was 11.5%.

Although beating expectations, revenue for the period declined slightly from year-earlier levels as home prices and incentives reflected higher mortgage rates. “Affordability constraints and cautious consumer sentiment continue to impact new home demand,” the company said.

Underlying demand, though, was unmistakably positive. Net sales orders rose 11% to 24,992 homes, with an order value of $9.2 billion. Backlog grew to 16,882 homes worth $6.4 billion at quarter-end. With orders and backlog likely indicators of sales moving forward, both moved in the right direction.

Orders and Inventory Point to Future StrengthThe details inside the numbers were also telling. Homes closed during the quarter rose 1% to 19,486 even as revenue in the overall homebuilding sector, hit by buyer incentives, declined 2% to $7.1 billion.

The company also collected nearly $800 million in revenue during the quarter from rental operations, financial services, and the sale of ready-to-build lots for homebuilders.

Inventory also improved. Unsold completed homes fell by 35% from a year ago. And the cancellation rate held flat at 16%, consistent with prior periods and far below the levels that would indicate buyer panic.

Given these figures, the company updated its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $33.5 billion to $34.5 billion with the number of homes sold between 86,000 and 87,500, an outlook that came in above analyst expectations even after the range was narrowed. By comparison, for fiscal 2025, the company sold 84,863 homes, a 5% decline.

Shareholder Returns Reflect Financial ConfidenceThese days, the stock reflects a recognition of the company’s performance without a confident exuberance about its near-term prospects. DHI recently traded near $159, up 12% over the past three months. The trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 14.7 is slightly above that of others in the sector.

D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI) Price Chart for Saturday, July, 4, 2026

During the second quarter alone, D.R. Horton repurchased 6 million shares for $950.6 million and paid $130 million in dividends, exiting the period with total liquidity of $6 billion and debt to total capital of just 21.7%.

Subsequent to quarter-end, the board also declared another quarterly dividend of 45 cents per share, generating a yield of roughly 1.1%. The company reaffirmed plans for $2.5 billion in share repurchases and roughly $500 million in dividend payments for fiscal 2026.

Analysts Expect Only Limited Near-Term UpsideAnalyst sentiment is measured rather than overly enthusiastic. Of the 16 analysts following the stock, the consensus rating is a Hold, with four recommendations to Buy, 10 suggest Hold, and two list it as a Sell.

With an average price target of $168.54, the 12-month target implies an approximate 6% rise. Much of the sector already enjoyed a short rally following congressional passage of an affordable housing bill, a reminder of how sensitive it can be to news.

Housing Headwinds Still Pose Meaningful RisksThe bear case is easy to see, and the reason the stock is priced the way it is. Affordability remains the central issue pressing new home demand.

Sales incentives are expected to remain elevated through fiscal 2026, thereby compressing margins and limiting earnings. As seen in the second quarter, home sales revenue declined even as closings ticked up.

The competitive landscape adds to concern. Among homebuilders, Lennar NYSE: LEN targets similar buyers, while PulteGroup NYSE: PHM, NVR NYSE: NVR, and Toll Brothers NYSE: TOL target substantially different segments.

Further, the existing home market could loosen and draw away buyers if mortgage rates decline.

A Quality Builder in an Uncertain MarketFor investors, the question is whether to treat D.R. Horton as part of the speculative homebuilding sector or a high-quality commodity producer. With its ability to generate cash, maintain a clean balance sheet, and return capital to shareholders, the company has proven to weather the cycles.

But the macro environment is hard to foretell. A further economic slowdown and higher unemployment could seriously pinch buyers’ budgets and clamp down on home sales. The future of interest rates is a determining factor.

Either way, D.R. Horton has earned the right to be taken seriously even in a market that has not yet decided what to make of it.

Should You Invest $1,000 in D.R. Horton Right Now?Before you consider D.R. Horton, you'll want to hear this.

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When a stock is removed from the S&P 500, the immediate reaction is mechanical: Every index fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the benchmark must sell it. That creates a short window of artificial selling pressure, pressure that has nothing to do with the underlying business.

For dividend investors willing to look past the noise, that moment can be worth a close look.

On June 22, two companies were shown the door by S&P Dow Jones Indices: The Campbell's Company (CPB +1.04%) and Pool Corporation (POOL +1.75%). Both were replaced by semiconductor and electronics names -- a signal of how far the S&P 500 has tilted toward tech. Both Campbell's and Pool Corp. are in the S&P SmallCap 600 now, which means they're not disappearing from the market. They're just less visible.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Campbell's: The 7% yield story Campbell's carries a dividend yield north of 7% right now. The stock has been under pressure for over a year, plagued by weaker volumes, lingering costs from its 2024 Sovos Brands acquisition, and an ERP system conversion that created operational headwinds. Markets punished the stock, and the yield climbed as the share price fell.

The dividend itself has been in place for 51 years. The payout ratio sits at roughly 76% of earnings -- not lean, but covered. Cash-flow coverage is even healthier. When a 51-year dividend streak is backed by both earnings and cash flow, it carries weight.

What Campbell's has going for it beyond the math is Rao's. The brand crossed $1 billion in trailing-12-month net sales, and in May 2026, Campbell's deepened its commitment by acquiring a 49% stake in La Regina, the Italian producer behind Rao's sauces. The partnership keeps production rooted in Scafati, Italy -- the artisanal identity that made Rao's a premium brand worth paying for. That kind of brand equity is hard to manufacture.

The honest caveat: Campbell's dividend growth has been slow. The payout has grown barely 1.26% over five years. For investors who care about income keeping pace with inflation, that matters. Campbell's today is a high-yield, low-growth dividend story, not a compounding machine. Whether that suits you depends on your investment strategy.

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2. Pool Corp.: The dividend growth machine Pool Corp.'s yield looks modest compared to Campbell's -- around 2.4% today. But the story isn't the yield, it's the trajectory.

Pool has raised its dividend every year for 22 consecutive years. Over the past decade, the dividend has grown at roughly 17% per year. That's the compounding engine the user manual talks about.

When a company grows its earnings consistently, it can raise its dividend consistently. Every raise on a growing base means the investor who bought earlier is now collecting a much higher yield on their original cost. That's the whole idea behind dividend growth investing, and Pool has executed it as well as almost any company in the market.

The business itself distributes pool supplies, equipment, and chemicals to wholesale buyers and professional contractors. About 60% of revenue comes from maintenance and repair -- people have to keep pools clean and running, whether the housing market is hot or cold. First-quarter 2026 net sales were up 6%, with operating income up 7%. The recovery in discretionary pool spending, which stalled after the pandemic boom, is grinding forward.

The digital side is also quietly gaining ground. Pool's proprietary platform, Pool360, now accounts for 13% of net sales and is growing. That's operational efficiency the company is building into the business for the long haul.

The risk worth noting: Pool Corp. is tied to housing market activity and consumer confidence in a way Campbell's simply isn't. If interest rates remain elevated and homeowners continue deferring big-ticket outdoor projects, discretionary sales will remain soft.

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The takeaway Both stocks were pushed out by mechanical index rebalancing, not deteriorating businesses. Campbell's offers an income-heavy position at a rare yield for a consumer staples name, with Rao's as a legitimate long-term growth driver. Pool Corp. is the dividend growth story -- a company that has earned its raises over 22 years and has the business model to keep earning them. Neither is a sure thing, but both deserve a look that goes beyond what the index removal implies.

Biogen (BIIB +3.04%) built itself into a biotech giant thanks to its portfolio of multiple sclerosis (MS) drugs -- but in biotech and pharma, revenue growth depends on the life of a patent. Once a company loses exclusivity, generics or biosimilars enter the market, and the leader's drug sales decline. This is the challenge Biogen has faced in recent years, as MS blockbusters faced growing competition.

But the biotech giant put into place a recovery and growth plan, shifting many costs out of the MS franchise and into areas that represented growth potential. Biogen also made strategic acquisitions, announcing its intention to buy Apellis Pharmaceuticals, an immunology and rare diseases drug company, in March and closing the deal in May.

And just recently, Biogen announced another purchase. This time, the biotech is paying $1 billion for a company that won't say what it makes. Here's why this actually is good news for Biogen investors.

Image source: Getty Images.

Biogen's multiple sclerosis business Let's start with a quick update on Biogen. As mentioned, the biotech company was once known as an MS giant, and it still sells a number of important MS drugs, such as Tecfidera and Tysabri. But loss of exclusivity made a significant dent in revenue, with Tecfidera's peak sales of $4.4 billion in 2019 dropping to $1.4 billion in 2022. In the latest fiscal year, all of Biogen's MS drugs, together, delivered $4 billion in revenue, further highlighting this decline.

In the recent quarter, chief executive officer Christopher Viehbacher said that after four years of declining earnings in 2023, the turnaround began -- and Biogen finally has been able to "stabilize the business." The shift of focus to growth products helped these drugs deliver a 12% increase in sales to $850 million in the first quarter. These are key neurology drugs such as Leqembi for Alzheimer's disease, Skyclarys for Friedreich ataxia, and postpartum depression drug Zurzuvae. They each brought in double- or triple-digit sales growth.

And though Biogen hasn't returned to its peak earnings levels, it looks like a rebound is taking shape, and this may lead to fresh growth.

BIIB Net Income (Quarterly) data by YCharts

Acquisitions to support growth Biogen, of course, has a solid internal pipeline, but the company, aiming to make immunology another key area, has used acquisitions to gain strength here. As mentioned, Biogen bought Apellis, gaining access to two commercialized drugs in this specialty area: Empaveli for three indications, including two rare kidney diseases, and Syfovre for an immune-mediated retinal disease. These drugs together delivered sales of $689 million last year.

Now, let's consider the company's very latest move, and that's to acquire RayThera for as much as $1 billion, including an upfront payment and potential milestone payments. RayThera's website doesn't offer much detail about its candidates -- we don't know the exact diseases they target. What we do know, from the acquisition press release, is that the portfolio "includes multiple anti-inflammatory assets that could potentially treat immune-mediated conditions across a range of indications." And the company's lead candidate is on track to enter a phase 1 trial in the third quarter.

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Why is all of this good news for shareholders? The above statement suggests that RayThera's candidates aren't just targeting a disease or two. Instead, they might have the ability to treat a significant number of immune-mediated illnesses, and that could equal enormous revenue potential down the road. The global immunology market is massive, totaling more than $112 billion last year, according to Fortune Business Insights. Since Biogen is seeking to build out its immunology business, this addition could be a very wise move.

Of course, it's important to keep in mind that a lead candidate that's about to enter phase 1 doesn't result in revenue right away. The RayThera assets, even if successful through clinical trials, will take years to reach the commercialization stage. But that's OK. A biotech company must have a deep pipeline to generate the winning drugs of tomorrow. So acquiring Apellis to gain access to already commercialized drugs and buying RayThera for its pipeline were great strategic moves.

Biogen, after a few tough years, seems to be on the right track toward building out new growth businesses that may deliver over time -- and this is a solid reason to buy and hold the shares.

BlackRock (BLK +1.57%) is one of the largest sponsors of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs make up around 40% of its business. There's just one problem with that: ETFs generally have low expense ratios. ETFs are a reliable business, but other businesses are more profitable. One such business is private markets, where BlackRock is currently focusing its growth efforts. Here's what you need to know.

BlackRock has a solid foundation To be fair, given the size of BlackRock's ETF business, it generates significant revenue from these generally low-cost products. Economies of scale are hugely important in the finance industry. The company's ETF operation is a solid foundation for its other businesses. And, notably, it can even complement them. That's actually an important fact to consider as BlackRock looks to expand its private markets operation.

Image source: Getty Images.

Private market investments are, basically, investments in non-public businesses. These investments take many forms, including debt, real estate, infrastructure assets, and private company investments. Investors hope that returns from private market investments will be higher than those available from public markets. For BlackRock, a manager of private-market investments, the appeal of the space lies in the higher fees it can generate from managing these investments.

Notably, BlackRock's organic net fee growth rose 8% year over year, marking the seventh consecutive quarter above 5%. The 8% figure is also the highest for the first quarter in five years. A big part of the story has been the company's push over the past several years to build out its private markets business.

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BlackRock is ready for the next big opportunity At this point, BlackRock is something of a one-stop shop, allowing customers to meet a plethora of investment needs with just one relationship. However, there's an important aspect to this story that could allow the company to really hit the accelerator. At this point, private market investments aren't generally available in retirement accounts, like a 401(k).

There are efforts underway to change that, which would open up a whole new playing field for BlackRock. It already has a place at the table, however, so it will just be expanding on existing relationships. That will likely even include increasingly adding private-market investments to ETF products. If you own BlackRock or are considering buying it, you will want to keep a close eye on the growth of its private markets business. It could even be more important to the company's earnings than the sheer size of the assets it manages, given the higher fees private market investments generate.

Owens Corning (OC +0.32%), a storied company though rarely an investor darling, was a popular stock on the exchange in the holiday-shortened trading week. That was traceable to a media report that stated the company had received a buyout offer. According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, Owens Corning's equity zoomed almost 11% higher over the four-day stretch.

A big deal, if it's agreed Owens Corning, a construction supplies company perhaps best known for its pink residential insulation products, was the target of an unsolicited bid from industry peer Carlisle.

Image source: Getty Images.

That's the assertion of The Wall Street Journal, which published an article stating that Carlisle made a series of bids, at least one of which valued a deal at well over $10 billion. Citing unidentified "people familiar with the matter," the financial newspaper added that Owens Corning hasn't yet "engaged substantially" with its apparent suitor.

According to the article's sources, Carlisle was considering its next move in the effort. The WSJ said that its offers consisted of a mix of cash and stock.

Neither company has yet officially commented on the report.

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Potent combination On paper, it makes a great deal of sense to combine these two complementary businesses.

But if the article is accurate, Owens Corning could either be holding out for a higher price or shunning Carlisle entirely -- it recently retooled its business strategy, and management might be waiting for the change to take effect before evaluating the company's future. Given all that, I wouldn't trade into or out of Owens Corning on this speculation.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Carlisle Companies and Owens Corning. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.