4:15pm: Nasdaq closes deep in the red US stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq leading the losses as investors dumped technology shares after earnings from Tesla and Alphabet failed to ease concerns about rising spending.
The Nasdaq fell 2.2% to 25,138, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.2% to 7,408. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 507 points, or 1%, to close at 51,712.
Despite reporting strong revenue growth, Tesla and Alphabet came under heavy selling pressure after both companies warned that capital expenditures are set to climb, raising fresh questions about profitability and free cash flow. The disappointing market reaction weighed on the broader technology and communications sectors, dragging the Nasdaq to its steepest decline in weeks.
Adding to the pressure, oil prices surged toward the $100-a-barrel mark as escalating conflict in the Middle East fueled fears of supply disruptions. The jump in crude prices reignited inflation concerns, pushing Treasury yields to their highest levels of the year and further denting appetite for growth stocks.
Investors are increasingly worried that higher energy prices could complicate the Federal Reserve's path on interest rates, particularly if inflation proves more persistent than expected.
Attention now turns to Intel, which is set to report quarterly earnings after the closing bell, with investors looking for further clues on the health of the semiconductor industry after a bruising session for the broader tech sector.
3:40pm: Proactive news headlines Custom Health Holdings Inc (TSX:CHLT) initiated Buy-rated coverage from Stifel with a C$12 price target, with analysts highlighting significant upside driven by the company's medication management platform. 374Water Inc (NASDAQ:SCWO, FRA:8LL) said a US Army Corps of Engineers report independently validated its AirSCWO technology, demonstrating 99.9993% destruction and removal efficiency for PFAS during testing. Royalty Management Holding Corp (NASDAQ:RMCO) said its royalty partner ReElement Technologies secured new financing to expand operations, a move expected to increase royalty revenue under their existing agreement. Replenish Nutrients Holding Corp (CSE:ERTH, OTC:VVIVF, FRA:7KE) closed the $7.5 million equity portion of a previously announced $15 million strategic investment from SRC Agrominerals Sales, with the convertible debenture portion expected to close in August 2026. 2:30pm: Market movers Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell despite record vehicle sales and stronger-than-expected revenue as investors focused on weaker profitability and future growth concerns. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares dropped despite beating earnings and revenue forecasts as investors weighed concerns around valuation and expectations following the results. American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL, XETRA:A1G) shares fell despite beating second-quarter earnings expectations as the carrier warned that higher fuel costs could pressure third-quarter results. T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS, XETRA:TM5) reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings but saw shares decline after revenue narrowly missed Wall Street estimates. 374Water Inc (NASDAQ:SCWO, FRA:8LL) said a US Army Corps of Engineers report independently validated its AirSCWO technology, showing 99.9993% destruction and removal efficiency for PFAS during a demonstration. RTX Corp (NYSE:RTX, XETRA:5UR) shares climbed after the aerospace and defense company delivered better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its full-year 2026 outlook. Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) shares declined after stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings were offset by a weaker-than-expected third-quarter outlook. International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM) shares slipped after second-quarter revenue and earnings missed expectations and the company lowered its full-year revenue growth forecast. Replenish Nutrients Holding Corp (CSE:ERTH, OTC:VVIVF, FRA:7KE) closed a $7.5 million equity investment from SRC. 12:50pm: Oil prices surge after Houthi attacks Oil prices surged above US$100 a barrel on Thursday after Houthi rebels claimed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, raising fresh concerns over global energy supplies and rattling financial markets.
“Two of the world’s busiest shipping corridors are under threat in the same month, and markets are only just beginning to work out what that means," said Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group.
"The timing is awkward for the Federal Reserve, which meets on July 29. Inflation had climbed for three straight months to 4.2% in May, its highest level in years, before cooling to 3.5% in June largely because gasoline prices fell nearly 10% during the brief ceasefire between the US and Iran.
"With that ceasefire now collapsed and oil back above $100, the drop which gave the Fed room to relax may already be reversing."
11:45am: Alphabet's spending rattles investors Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares fell more than 6% after investors looked past better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and focused on the company’s soaring AI spending.
The Google parent reported revenue of $119.8 billion and earnings per share of $9.11, beating Wall Street forecasts, while Google Cloud revenue jumped 82% year over year.
However, quarterly capital expenditure doubled to $44.9 billion, keeping Alphabet on pace for up to $190 billion in spending this year, while free cash flow dropped sharply. Investor sentiment was also weighed down by reports that Google delayed its Gemini 3.5 Pro AI model, although the company has disputed those claims.
11:00am: Tesla sinks on spending, profit Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were down about 14% after the electric vehicle maker reported second-quarter results that topped revenue expectations but missed on profit.
Revenue rose 26% year over year to $28.24 billion, while deliveries reached a record 480,126 vehicles, marking the first annual growth in two years. Services revenue climbed 50% and Full Self-Driving subscriptions increased 56%, with the company also reporting its largest order backlog since 2023.
However, adjusted earnings of $0.33 per share missed forecasts, while gross and operating margins weakened as lower vehicle prices, declining regulatory credit sales and rising costs weighed on profitability.
Heavy capital spending also pushed free cash flow into a deficit.
10am: Nasdaq leads losses as Tesla and Alphabet slide US stocks have extended yesterday's losses in early deals, with Tesla dropping over 10% to lead the Nasdaq down 1.8%.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones are both off more than 0.9%.
Alphabet fell 6.6%, with other Mag 7 names dropping too, including Amazon and Meta both slipping more than 3%.
Biggest faller on the S&P is pest controller Rollins, down 12% after reporting weaker second-quarter revenue growth than expected.
Semis are also being sold again, with Microchip Technology, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments among the Nasdaq's biggest fallers.
Top of the S&P leaderboard is United Rentals after saying it will increase its spending on its fleet this year and raising full-year guidance.
9.20am: Record low US jobless claims US initial jobless claims have fallen to their lowest level since 1969.
New unemployment claims fall to 187K, down from 209K, while the market forecast was for a small rise to 210K.
"While seasonal factors may be impacting the headline number at the margins, the extremely low level of claims highlights a low layoff rate and the strength underlying the labor market," says Matthew Martin at Oxford Economics.
"In the wake of moderating jobless claims, continued claims fell a touch further in the week ended July 11, with the four-week moving average creeping lower.
"The decent pace of nonfarm payroll gains amid weak labor-supply conditions should translate into lower continued claims in the weeks ahead."
8.30am: Iran war has entered a more dangerous phase, RBC warns The Iran conflict has entered a "decidedly more dangerous phase", with Red Sea oil flows and critical infrastructure increasingly at risk, according to RBC Capital Markets.
Brent crude has topped $99.30 in recent minutes, but commodity strategist Helima Croft says these prices are a "lagging indicator of the extreme pressure building in the region".
Croft warns that the reported targeting of two Saudi tankers by Yemen's Houthis could cause a "material reduction" in Red Sea oil shipments and undermine the belief that "the market always finds a workaround".
Prices could surpass the 2022 peak of $128 a barrel or even reach the 2008 high of $146 in a full regional war, Croft warns.
She says alternative routes for tankers would significantly increase costs and extend journeys to Asia by around four weeks to roughly 54 days.
Iran's attacks on Kuwaiti desalination facilities are described as "especially concerning", with Kuwait relying on desalination for 90% of its drinking water.
Some Gulf cities could reportedly have only seven days of clean water if plants were disabled.
7.45am: Nasdaq and Dow set to extend losses Wall Street is set for a moderately lower open on Thursday after mixed results from Alphabet and Tesla, while a fresh surge in oil prices revived concerns about inflation and interest rates.
Futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all down around 0.3%.
This would see losses extended from the day before, when the Nasdaq dropped 0.6% to 25,691, the S&P fell 0.1% to 7,499, and the Dow finished essentially flat, down six points at 52,219.
After the closing bell, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) beat revenue and earnings forecasts, with cloud revenue surging 82%, but its shares fell in after-hours trading after the Google owner raised its planned capital expenditure to as much as $205 billion this year. Shares were down 4.1% in pre-market trading.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares declined 6.2% after reporting its first quarter of negative free cash flow in more than two years as operating costs surged.
European markets were also lower, led by a 1.7% decline in Milan as semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) fell sharply after weaker second-quarter earnings and soft third-quarter guidance disappointed investors following a three-month rally.
In commodities, WTI crude has jumped 4.1% on Thursday morning to above $90.65 a barrel, its highest level in six weeks, as US Central Command confirmed another round of strikes against Iran.
"Strikes between the US and Iran show no sign of easing, and the Houthis said they targeted two oil tankers in the Red Sea yesterday, raising fears that the conflict is widening," said Henry Allen at Deutsche Bank.
This has raised fresh supply fears as Saudi Arabia has redirected oil exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, prompting "fresh concerns about a more prolonged stagflationary shock", with investors pricing in higher inflation and a more hawkish path for central banks.
Fed futures now indicate a 36% chance of an interest-rate increase next week. The European Central Bank is expected to leave rates unchanged when it announces its latest decision later today.
Before the bell, earnings are due from defence groups RTX and Lockheed Martin, telecoms names T-Mobile and Nokia, and other heavyweights including Thermo Fisher, TotalEnergies, Blackstone, Freeport-McMoRan, Comcast and Honeywell.
After the close, attention turns to Intel and SAP, along with gold miner Newmont.
The downtrend may continue. This is why Tesla is the Stock of the Day.
• How is TSLA stock doing now?
Markets are driven by supply and demand. When there are more shares for sale than buyers willing to purchase them, sellers are often forced to undercut one another by lowering their asking prices to attract buyers.
This forces the shares into a downtrend.
When a stock reaches a support level, the dynamic changes. There are large amounts of shares to be purchased. Downtrends end or pause when they reach support levels.
People who wish to sell can do so without forcing the price lower.
If a stock trades and stays below a support level, traders say the support has been broken. This can be a bearish dynamic.
It shows the investors and traders who created the support with their buy orders are gone. They have either finished or canceled their orders.
With these buyers out of the market, sellers will be forced again to undercut each other and offer their shares at discounts. This can create a new downtrend.
As you can see on the chart, the $372 level was support for Tesla in May and June. This support broke yesterday, and a large move lower followed this morning.
There was support around the $343 level. Today’s move broke this support, and the shares continue to trend lower.
If they keep dropping, there is a chance there is support around the $286 level. This level was support last July, and there tends to be support at levels that were support previously.
This happens because of remorseful or regretful sellers. Some of the people who sold at the support have regretted doing so ever since. A number of them vowed to buy their shares back at their selling price if they eventually could.
This means there could be support at this level. It could be where the selloff ends.
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U.S. regulators will begin developing new requirements for automakers to ensure drivers and passengers can safely exit their vehicles. The new rule-making process, outlined in a regulatory filing and first reported by Bloomberg, follows a series of incidents, including fatal ones, in which people have become stuck inside cars with flush, electronically operated door handles like those found on Tesla vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the new rule-making in response to a petition that asked the agency to open a safety defect investigation into the emergency mechanical door release design on 2022 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. The petition argued that door release doesn’t comply with federal motor vehicle standards.
NHTSA denied taking the action that the petitioners wanted, saying that the issue would be best addressed through rulemaking rather than a defect investigation.
If the agency adopts new rules, all automakers will need to follow them. However, it’s important to note that “commencing” rulemaking doesn’t mean new ones will be developed, according to NHTSA.
The decision comes less than a year after NHTSA opened an investigation into Tesla’s door handles after receiving nine reports from owners who were unable to get into their cars, sometimes with children still inside. The probe followed Bloomberg’s own investigation into a series of incidents in which Tesla drivers and passengers became trapped inside their vehicles following a crash.
While Tesla vehicles do have manual door releases, they are located only inside the car. In an initial review by NHTSA, investigators found the handles may not work if the electronic door locks don’t receive enough voltage from the vehicle’s battery system.
Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen said last year that the company was working on a redesign of its door handles. Rivian said last year it was changing the interior door handle design on its R2 SUV to put the manual release in a more visible location, closer to the electrically powered door handles.
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Kirsten Korosec is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, “The Autonocast.” She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive.
You can contact or verify outreach from Kirsten by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at kkorosec.07 on Signal.
Tesla (TSLA -14.38%), the global electric-vehicle, battery storage, and autonomous driving platform, closed at $319.69, down 14.52%. Thursday's drop followed an earnings miss and heavier AI and robotics spending. Investors will continue watching margins with another focus on autonomous-driving guidance next.
Trading volume reached 114.2 million shares, coming in about 131% above its three-month average of 49.4 million shares.
Tesla IPO'd in 2010 and has grown 20,006% since going public.
How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.21%) fell 1.21% to 7,408.30, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -2.15%) dropped 2.15% to 25,138. Among electric vehicle manufacturing peers, Rivian Automotive (RIVN -4.04%) closed at $16.46, down 4.19%, and Lucid Group (LCID -5.01%) closed at $6.45, down 4.87%, reflecting pressure across EV names.
What this means for investorsTesla’s revenue soared in Q2, driven by a surge in EV unit volume. Deliveries jumped 25% year over year, and revenue gains came close to matching that. Yet profits dropped, and free cash flow turned negative as operating expenses and capital spending soared.
Analysts lowered their price targets for Tesla following the earnings miss, citing margin pressure and cautious guidance on autonomous driving.
The future direction of Tesla stock will depend on what investors prioritize. Competition in the EV market has put pricing pressure on Tesla, which it is offsetting with volume. But that additional revenue isn’t reaching the bottom line because of the company’s growth investments and expenses.
Those investments may pay off handsomely in the future, but investors may be waiting for proof before giving Tesla the benefit of the doubt.
Howard Smith has positions in Lucid Group, Rivian Automotive, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz continues its investigation of Alphabet Inc. (“Alphabet” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: GOOG) on behalf of investors concerning the Company's possible violations of federal securities laws.IF YOU ARE AN INVESTOR WHO LOST MONEY ON ALPHABET INC. (GOOG), CLICK HERE TO INQUIRE ABOUT POTENTIALLY PURSUING A CLAIM TO RECOVER YOUR LOSS.What Is The Investigation About?On July 16, 2026, Bloomberg news reported that Alphabet's Google is “months beh.
Wall Street focused on one number: an additional $15 billion in planned capital expenditures for 2026, pushing expected AI infrastructure spending to as much as $205 billion.
The move raised fresh concerns that the AI arms race is consuming cash faster than it can generate returns.
But while investors rushed for the exits, Bank of America Securities analyst Justin Post argued the selloff may have missed the bigger story.
The analyst reiterated his Buy rating and $430 price objective, implying a nearly 30% upside from where the stock traded on Thursday.
Post indicated that Alphabet’s latest results offered evidence that its AI investments are already generating measurable returns rather than simply inflating costs.
According to Post, there are four reasons why investors should look beyond the capex shock.
1. Cloud Growth Is Accelerating Faster Than Anyone ExpectedThe clearest proof, according to Post, came from Google Cloud.
Cloud revenue surged 82% year over year, far above Wall Street expectations of roughly 65%, while operating margins expanded to 35.6%.
“Cloud acceleration, margin strength and backlog growth suggest capex is driving immediate returns,” Post said.
For investors, that changes the debate. Higher spending becomes easier to justify when new capacity immediately translates into faster revenue growth.
2. The Backlog More Than Covers The Extra SpendingAlphabet increased its 2026 capital spending guidance by roughly $15 billion.
Yet Post argues the demand pipeline is growing much faster.
The company exited the quarter with a record $514 billion cloud backlog after adding roughly $50 billion in just one quarter. Management also disclosed that customers are consuming more than 50% above their contractual commitments while Google is winning new cloud customers at more than twice last year’s pace.
“More capacity = more sales,” he added.
3. AI Hasn’t Broken SearchOne of Wall Street’s biggest fears entering earnings was that AI chatbots would begin cannibalizing Google’s search business.
Post says the opposite continues to happen.
“Google Search remains a net AI beneficiary, despite robust AI engagement growth on other platforms.”
The analyst believes improving AI models, new advertising formats, better commercial intent detection and eventual monetization of the Gemini application could create another leg of Search growth over time.
4. The Stock Isn’t Expensive Relative To Its GrowthDespite concerns over free cash flow, Post argues valuation has become increasingly attractive.
Following Thursday’s selloff, Alphabet traded at roughly 22 times BofA Securities’ 2027 earnings estimate — close to its long-term historical average even as the firm expects revenue growth to accelerate well above the pace seen during 2023–2025.
The analyst also notes that, after stripping out businesses such as Cloud, YouTube and Waymo, Alphabet’s core advertising and Google Play operations are effectively valued at about 13 times earnings — a discount to the broader S&P 500.
What Are Analysts Saying Now?According to Benzinga Analyst Ratings, the consensus on Alphabet is a Buy with an average price target of $421.06. That implies roughly 32% upside from Thursday’s level, with individual targets running from a low of $350 to a Street-high $515.
The flow of updates on Thursday was unusually split, with roughly a dozen firms moving targets in both directions on the same set of numbers.
Piper Sandler cut its target by $50 while BMO Capital raised its own by $10. DA Davidson took the Street low down to $350.
BofA Securities sits in between, holding $430 but trimming its target multiple to 27 times 2027 earnings from 28 times, a nod to the sector-wide anxiety about spending.
That leaves investors with two readings of the same quarter.
One says Alphabet is buying growth it cannot fund from cash flow. The other says the growth is already contracted and sitting in a $514 billion backlog.
The market is pricing the bill.
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Alphabet (GOOGL -7.12%), a search, ads, video, cloud, and AI infrastructure platforms provider, closed at $317.69, down 7.13%. Investors are reacting to higher AI-related spending and watching whether cloud growth can support returns on that build-out. Trading volume reached 68.6M shares, coming in about 111% above its three-month average of 32.5M shares. Alphabet IPO'd in 2004 and has grown 12,557% since going public.
How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.21%) fell 1.20% to 7,409, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -2.15%) dropped 2.15% to 25,138. Among internet content and information, digital advertising, and cloud services rivals, Microsoft closed at $381.58, down 2.24%, and Meta Platforms finished at $606.10, down 3.36%.
What this means for investorsOn the surface, it was a great-looking quarter for Alphabet as:
sales rose 24%search revenue increased 17%Google Cloud sales spiked 82%Gemini reached 950 million monthly active userstokens per minute rose from 16 billion to 22 billionYouTube advertising sales grew by 13%income from operations jumped 30%However, the market seemed to focus solely on management’s guidance that capex would land between $195 billion and $205 billion in 2026 -- and would “increase significantly” in 2027 -- which sparked today’s sell-off. Capex rose by 100% in Q2 to $45 billion and caused free cash flow to turn negative for the first time in Alphabet’s publicly traded history.
While this isn’t inherently bad, the company needs to show it can deliver strong ROI from these massive capex outlays, or else all this heavy spending could weigh on the stock’s price. Personally, I think it’s far too early to judge whether these investments will pay off, as they may take years to develop into anything that generates profit. Still, I understand the market’s cautious stance given the immense scale of the spending. For now, Alphabet remains my favorite AI stock with its array of interconnected offerings and robust growth optionality, even if AI eventually becomes commoditized over the uber-long term.
Josh Kohn-Lindquist has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Google’s contracted future spending commitments increased by nearly $500 billion in three months and reached $811 billion at the end of June, Bloomberg reported Thursday (July 23).
The company disclosed these obligations in a quarterly filing, separately from parent company Alphabet’s capital expenditure budget, according to the report.
Alphabet said Wednesday (July 22) that it expects its capital expenditures to total between $195 billion and $205 billion this year, the report said.
The $811 billion in commitments include purchases the company has committed to making under supply agreements and open purchase orders. They include chips, data centers, electricity, inventory, content licenses and other resources, per the report.
The report attributed the leap in commitments to Alphabet securing resources for its AI infrastructure.
PYMNTS reported Wednesday that during Alphabet’s second-quarter earnings call, the company announced that it raised its 2026 capital spending forecast from the previous $180 billion to $190 billion to the new forecast of $195 billion to $205 billion.
Management said during the call that the increase reflects faster deployment of computing capacity, while third-party capacity will temporarily supplement Google’s infrastructure.
Asked about returns on additional computing investment in 2027, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai pointed to long-term customer agreements, renewals and continuing demand.
“We are seeing strong demand indicators, including long-term deals,” Pichai said. “If anything, the dynamics look healthier than where we were about a year ago, and so that’s what gives us the confident to undertake those investments.”
Reuters reported Thursday that Alphabet’s soaring AI spending resulted in the company’s first cash burn on record, as it burned $5.9 billion in the second quarter.
The report added that the company’s cloud unit, which rents out AI computing power, delivered record growth of 82%.
Following Alphabet’s disclosure, investors will be watching next week’s earnings reports from Microsoft, Meta and Amazon to see how the AI-related payoffs compare to the outlays, the report said.
It was reported July 10 that the five companies spending the most on AI data centers in the United States doubled their debt load over the past five years to finance their efforts. In total, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle added about $350 billion to their debt obligations.
Alphabet blows past earnings… capex jumps to $205 billion… why the “Lag 7” story is wrong… Louis Navellier’s “best market since 1999” Yesterday, after the closing bell, Alphabet (GOOG) reported its second-quarter results, and it was a whopper.
The tech giant blew past expectations, showing massive growth across its entire business:
Total revenue: up 24% year-over-year to $119.8 billion. Google search revenue: up 17%. Google Cloud (the AI engine): rocketed 82%. Operating income: up 30% while operating margins expanded to 34%. But the real issue going into the report was its capex guidance…
Would Alphabet maintain its commitments to AI infrastructure?
Yes – and then some.
Its capex increased 100% year over year to $44.9 billion. And it increased its already elevated full-year 2026 outlook of $180 billion to $190 billion, established in April, to $195 billion to $205 billion. And it won’t stop there…
CFO Anat Ashkenazi reiterated that 2027 spending will “significantly increase.”
Now, the downside of this is that the aggressive capex bill resulted in a negative free cash flow of -$5.85 billion for the quarter. This is weighing on Alphabet’s stock price today. As I write on Thursday, the stock is down 7%.
As has been the pattern in recent quarters, Wall Street is panicking about this colossal capex spend, fearing the returns won’t justify it. But beyond that fear, there’s no way to read this as anything other than a blockbuster performance. CEO Sundar Pichai summed it up this way:
Our AI investments are redefining what’s possible across every part of our business.
Alphabet down, AI trade up Going into last night, our technology expert Luke Lango, editor of Innovation Investor, gave us the playbook…
If Alphabet confirmed and/or raised its capex guidance, it would begin to firm up the AI infrastructure trade, which has taken a bath in recent weeks.
Sure enough, as I write on Thursday, though the Nasdaq is down about 2%, Western Digital (WDC) is up 5%, Marvell (MRVL) is 2% higher, and Seagate (STX) has added 3%. Other AI infrastructure darlings are also outperforming.
I reached out to Luke after the results, and he told me:
Alphabet’s results were stunning and a broad, strong rebuttal of “peak spending” fears which have weighed on the AI trade for the last two months…
So, they’re going to spend more. The 2026 capex forecast was boosted ~5% from $190B to $200B, its second hike this year already. That’s not a peak. That’s an acceleration…
We just got the confirmation we needed. The hyperscalers are going to keep spending. The party rolls on.
Bottom line: Alphabet is the first Magnificent 7/hyperscaler domino to fall this earnings season, and the numbers were fantastic – despite the stock taking a beating today.
But that prompts a question…
When will the “Lag 7” return to being the “Mag 7”? In recent months, as the performance of the Magnificent 7 stocks has underwhelmed, the financial media has come up with an alternative name – the “Lag 7.”
Through late June, the Mag 7 were down about 3% on average year-to-date, while the S&P 500 was up nearly 9% over the same stretch.
Why?
In a word: capex – the same issue that has Alphabet deep in the red today.
Investors have grown nervous that the hundreds of billions these companies are pouring into AI data centers won’t pay off fast enough to justify the spend.
As we’ve been covering here in the Digest, those investment dollars have been rotating out of the AI spenders and into the AI infrastructure suppliers, which have soared even as the Mag 7 lagged.
Now, this capex spend is a legitimate issue for Mag 7 owners to consider. But here’s what the “Lag 7” narrative has forgotten…
The Mag 7’s Q1 earnings were generally quite strong, and projected Q2 earnings are equally impressive.
Here’s FactSet:
In aggregate, the “Magnificent 7” companies have reported higher (year-over-year) earnings growth than the other 493 companies in the S&P 500 over the past several quarters.
Is this trend expected to continue in Q2 2026? The answer is yes.
For Q2 2026, the estimated (year-over-year) earnings growth rate for the “Magnificent 7” companies is 31.1%.
On the other hand, the blended (combines actual and estimated results) earnings growth rate for the remaining 493 companies in the S&P 500 for the second quarter is 22.8%.
Thirty-one percent growth isn’t the profile of a group that’s “lagging.” It’s the profile of a group still doing exactly what earned it the “Magnificent” label in 2023.
Meanwhile, here’s what’s been mostly left out of the “Lag 7” critique… It’s a one-sided read.
It focuses almost entirely on what the hyperscalers are spending through the lens of “the returns won’t justify it.”
But what if they do? What if Wall Street just needs to take a deep breath and relax?
It’s worth remembering that investors have been wrong about this exact question before. The cloud buildout of the 2010s drew the same kind of margin anxiety at the time – and it went on to become one of the more durable profit engines in corporate history.
I dug up a Wall Street Journal article from 2014 titled “Google, Amazon and Microsoft’s Costly Spending War” that noted “being a tech giant ain’t cheap,” and then quoted Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner:
Google’s remarkable capex increase over the last year has raised concerns among investors.
Other articles from that period highlighted the anxious handwringing of investors due to the massive capex spend.
Sound familiar?
And how’d that turn out? Well, when Amazon (AMZN) finally unbundled Amazon Web Services’ financial reporting in early 2015, Wall Street began to change its tune. Rather than a money pit, AWS was revealed to be a massive, highly efficient business generating billions in high-margin software revenue
This doesn’t guarantee AI capex plays out the same way. The scope of the capex spending today is on a completely different level.
Still, it’s a reminder that cries of “We’re spending too much” today could turn into “Wow! What foresight and vision!” tomorrow.
This is what we’ll be tracking. But history suggests that, when in doubt, we should give these Mag 7 management teams the benefit of the doubt.
But the good news doesn’t stop with Big Tech Let’s circle back to the FactSet quote from a moment ago.
Did you catch this?
On the other hand, the blended (combines actual and estimated results) earnings growth rate for the remaining 493 companies in the S&P 500 for the second quarter is 22.8%.
That figure isn’t just solid – FactSet notes it would mark the strongest growth the “other 493” have posted since Q4 2021.
And the trend is expected to broaden even further as the year goes on…
FactSet projects that by Q4 2026, the other 493 companies will actually outgrow the Mag 7: 25.3% versus 22.8%.
That fits with what we’ve been seeing in the “Lag 7” rotation: money moving into names that sit outside the traditional Mag 7 but are riding the same AI wave.
This helps explain why legendary investor Louis Navellier, editor of Growth Investor, is so bullish today…
The “best market environment since 1999” Let’s go straight to Louis:
The second quarter was the best-performing quarter for the NASDAQ and S&P 500 in six years…
I believe this is the best market environment we have seen since 1999…
In fact, I believe the current AI boom could ultimately be even more powerful than the internet boom of the 1990s.
It’s important to understand that this isn’t Louis being a perma-bull. His optimism is anchored in economic strength.
He notes that GDP grew at a 2.1% annual pace in the first quarter. Growth cooled a bit in the second quarter, but it is set to reaccelerate in the second half of 2026. And Louis is calling for GDP to hit “at least a 5% annual pace” in Q3.
Back to the investment legend:
Economic growth is poised to reaccelerate. The AI buildout is still gathering momentum. And most importantly, corporate profits are accelerating.
That is why the foundation beneath this market remains solid…
An economic reacceleration would goose what’s already been a period of strong returns for the market.
For example. I’m looking at Louis’ Growth Investor portfolio, seeing returns including:
Broadcom, Inc. (AVGO): 363% Carpenter Tech. (CRS): 212% EMCOR Group (EME): 249% Quanta Services (PWR): 421% And if Louis is right, these are the kinds of stocks that have more room to climb as the hyperscalers continue spending.
If you’d like Louis’ help in finding tomorrow’s triple-digit winners as this “best market environment since 1999” continues, click here to learn about joining him in Growth Investor.
But what about the AI bubble? Let me push back on all this optimism with a critique I’ve made in recent years…
It’s expensive.
Uber bears put it more dramatically: “We’re so overvalued today that we’re on the verge of a catastrophic crash that will put the dot-com crash to shame!”
But here’s the thing about all that capex from the hyperscalers…
It’s growing earnings so quickly that forward-looking valuations have been coming down significantly. This requires us to reassess the market’s overall price tag.
To do this, let’s use the forward P/E ratio: it compares today’s prices to forecasted earnings over the next 12 months.
According to FactSet, the S&P 500 has a forward P/E ratio of about 20.
Is this an egregious “super bubble that must pop” valuation?
No.
Over the last decade, the average forward P/E has been 19.
At 20, the market is slightly more expensive than usual, but nowhere near a runaway, terrifying bubble. For comparison, during the Dot-Com crash of 2000, this number pushed past 23.
Plus, this relatively high price tag of 20 is distorted by just a few massive tech giants. If you strip away those top heavyweights and look at the other 490+ stocks in the S&P 500, the rest of the market is trading at a much cheaper, more normal historical average of around 16 to 17.
Yes, you might want to diversify some of your portfolio away from higher-valuation tech into lower-valuation sectors. But that would be more of a rebalancing rather than a panicked “escape the bust” reaction.
One final reason for confidence… As we’ve just looked at, robust earnings growth is the solution to high valuations. So, how are earnings growth rates shaping up as we look ahead?
Back to FactSet:
For the second quarter, S&P 500 companies are reporting year-over-year growth in earnings of 24.7% and year-over-year growth in revenues of 12.8%.
For Q3 2026, analysts are projecting earnings growth of 27.0% and revenue growth of 10.8%.
For Q4 2026, analysts are projecting earnings growth of 24.6% and revenue growth of 10.4%.
For CY 2026, analysts are projecting earnings growth of 24.5% and revenue growth of 10.9%.
With numbers like this, Louis’ optimism about today’s market opportunities makes far more sense.
Back to the legendary investor:
Please – pinch yourself. You are not dreaming. The opportunity is real, folks.
It is time to grow and prosper.
Again, for Louis’ help, click here to learn about joining him in Growth Investor.
We’ll keep tracking the rest of the hyperscalers reports as they roll in over the next two weeks. But so far, so good for the AI trade.
Co-engineered reference design provides a proven blueprint for deploying high-density AI clusters faster and with less risk. Design supports 246 kW AI racks and large-scale deployments with modular AI clusters of up to 10.4 MW IT load for easy scalability Collaboration combines AMD AI platform innovation and Schneider Electric’s expertise in power, cooling, and digital infrastructure SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, and AMD today announced a jointly developed and validated reference design for the AMD Helios rackscale solution that provides a scalable blueprint for deploying high-density AI environments faster and with reduced risk and complexity. The reference design marks the first milestone of the collaboration between Schneider Electric and AMD and delivers upon the companies’ joint focus to create an easier path to AI Factory deployment.
The new reference design is the first ever developed to support high-density AI workloads on the Helios rackscale solution, which is powered by AMD Instinct™ MI455X GPUs, 6th Gen AMD EPYC™ CPUs, AMD Pensando™ Vulcano NICs and the open ROCm™ software ecosystem. AMD Helios is designed to deliver breakthrough AI performance through advances in compute, interconnect bandwidth, memory capacity and system-level integration, allowing customers to run larger, more complex AI workloads faster while optimizing power and efficiency.
As AI workloads push data center infrastructure to unprecedented limits, reference designs provide data center architects and operators with tested, scalable designs proven to handle new power densities, thermal requirements and operational complexity. By modeling data center physical infrastructure performance, these pre‑validated blueprints help shorten the planning process by defining how power, cooling, and IT infrastructure should be organized to build a reliable, scalable, and AI‑ready data center. The AMD Helios reference design includes information on four technical areas: facility power, facility cooling, IT space, and lifecycle software.
“Today organizations require comprehensive, AI-ready reference designs that can take them from planning to deployment faster and with less risk," said Manish Kumar, Executive Vice President, Secure Power & Data Centers at Schneider Electric. “Through our collaboration with AMD, we're delivering an engineering-backed reference design that bridges the gap between advanced AI compute platforms, energy tech, and real-world data center implementation, enabling customers to deploy scalable, high-density AI environments with greater confidence, efficiency, and speed.”
“AI infrastructure is rapidly moving to full-scale AI factories, and that requires compute, networking, power and cooling to be designed together from the start,” said Forrest Norrod, executive vice president and general manager, Data Center Solutions Business Group, AMD. “AMD Helios provides an open, rack-scale architecture built to deliver the performance, efficiency and flexibility required for next-generation AI workloads. By working with Schneider Electric to create a validated reference design, we are giving customers a practical blueprint to accelerate high-density AI deployments, reduce integration risk and scale with greater confidence and efficiency.”
The new collaboration brings together AMD AI platform innovation and Schneider Electric’s expertise in power, cooling, and digital infrastructure, creating a more tightly integrated approach to deploying both greenfield AI factories and high-density retrofit environments. The reference design supports:
Modular, multi-cluster environments, featuring AI clusters of up to 10.4 MW IT capacity for greenfield deploymentsHigh-density AI workloads up to 246 kW per rackAdvanced liquid cooling using Motivair by Schneider Electric CDU-based and hybrid air/liquid approaches capable of removing up to 84% of heatA digital-first infrastructure approach, which includes: Electrical and thermal design validated using ETAP and EcoStruxure™ IT Design CFD simulation tools that enable real-time monitoring and analytics, AI-driven predictive maintenance, and system-level optimization across power, cooling, and ITIntegrated Electrical Digital Twin capabilities to model, analyze, and manage infrastructure performanceSupport from AVEVA’s Unified Operations Center for real-time monitoring and operational visibility Power and cooling infrastructure deployments that adhere to AMD Helios platform requirements for reduced integration complexity and deployment riskBetter energy efficiency, with ability to achieve PUE as low as ~1.12 at full load The reference design has been validated to ANSI standards for U.S. deployments, with plans to extend the framework to support IEC standards for global implementations in the future.
Data Center Reference Design 121: 10.4 and 6.2 MW, Tier III, ANSI, Chilled Water, Liquid-Cooled AI Clusters (AMD Instinct MI455X GPUs) About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global energy technology leader, driving efficiency and sustainability by electrifying, automating, and digitalizing industries, businesses, and homes. Its technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and grids to operate as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing performance, resilience, and sustainability. The portfolio includes intelligent devices, software-defined architectures, AI-powered systems, digital services, and expert advisory.
With 160,000 employees and one million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric is consistently ranked among the world’s most sustainable companies.
www.se.com
Discover the newest perspectives on Advancing Energy Tech on Schneider Electric Insights.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/92c9a990-e87a-4338-92c6-09f0748e2c4a
Schneider Electric and AMD release first Helios platform reference design to accelerate AI Factory d... Schneider Electric and AMD release first Helios platform reference design to accelerate AI Factory d...
Advanced Micro Devices AMD and Cerebras Systems (CBRS) have announced a technical partnership to develop a disaggregated artificial intelligence inference solution, combining AMD's Helios rackscale AI infrastructure with Cerebras' Wafer-Scale Engine technology.
The companies unveiled the offering at Advancing AI 2026, saying the joint solution is designed to meet the growing demand for AI infrastructure capable of handling different inference workloads while improving efficiency and reducing latency.
The system integrates AMD Helios rackscale solutions with Cerebras' Wafer-Scale Engine in a single inference workflow.
According to the companies, AMD Helios will process prompts and large context windows, while the Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine will handle token generation for applications requiring faster response times.
Based on modeling conducted in July 2026, the companies said the combined system is expected to deliver up to five times higher tokens per second per watt compared with a Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine-only configuration.
The deal marks the second successive deal AMD made within 2 days. AMD on the previous day signed a deal to invest $5 billion in Anthropic.
Despite the announcements, AMD shares fell 3% on Thursday, while Cerebras stock rose 3.9%.
AMD and Cerebras said AI inference workloads are becoming increasingly diverse, creating demand for infrastructure optimized for different computing needs.
According to the companies, high-volume inference workloads prioritize maximizing token generation, while applications such as coding assistants, real-time copilots and live AI agents require significantly lower latency and faster response times.
"AI inference is becoming one of the largest infrastructure opportunities in AI, and its growing diversity requires a more flexible approach," AMD Chief Executive Lisa Su said.
"Together with Cerebras, we are extending that leadership into the most latency-sensitive applications."
Andrew Feldman, CEO and co-founder of Cerebras, said, "Partnering with AMD gives us an incredible opportunity to bring that performance to even more customers."
As part of the partnership, Cerebras plans to deploy AMD Helios systems across its data centers.
The companies said the joint inference solution is expected to become available initially through Cerebras Cloud in the second half of 2026.
AMD said the collaboration is intended to provide customers with infrastructure that matches compute technologies to specific workload requirements as AI deployment continues to expand across enterprise and cloud environments.
The Cerebras announcement comes a day after AMD reached a reported agreement with Anthropic covering tens of billions of dollars' worth of AI servers, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Under the reported agreement, Anthropic will purchase up to 2 gigawatts of AMD's next-generation Instinct MI450 chips beginning in the first half of 2027.
The report also said AMD will invest up to $5 billion in Anthropic, contingent on the AI startup meeting specific deployment milestones.
Cerebras has experienced sharp volatility since its May market debut.
After pricing its IPO at $185 per share, the stock surged to an intraday high of $386.34 on its first day of trading before retreating to below $161 in late June. Following Thursday's rally, the shares were trading at $217.78.
Earlier this year, Cerebras announced a more than $10 billion agreement with OpenAI to provide 750 megawatts of AI computing capacity through 2028, marking one of the company's largest commercial deals to date.
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arrcus, the leader in distributed networking infrastructure, and UfiSpace, a global leader in open networking solutions, announced the integration of ArcOS® network operating system with UfiSpace's high-performance open switches, powered by Broadcom® silicon. Together, with GIGABYTE's modular AI Cluster, GIGAPOD featuring the AMD EPYC & AMD Instinct platforms, this solution is showcased at AMD Advancing AI Day 2026 in San Francisco on July 22-23. The solut.
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $HYFT #ai--MindWalk Holdings Corp. (“MindWalk”) (NASDAQ: HYFT), a Bio-Native AI company, today unveiled the first public demonstration of ReefIQ™, its biological context layer for AI drug discovery, running on AMD Instinct™ at AMD's Advancing AI 2026 in San Francisco. MindWalk is featured in the AMD Instinct™ Demo Showcase, appearing in one of four custom demo vignettes, with an accompanying video interview distributed through AMD's channels. The demonstration is the first.
Chipmaker AMD is taking aim at competitor Nvidia with its latest hardware release: a rack-scale system designed to power computing needs of the world’s largest AI labs.
At the company’s sold-out Advancing AI conference in San Francisco on Thursday, AMD Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su promoted the new AI rack system known as Helios — along with its growing list of customers, including Microsoft — as the company prepares to ship it later this year. Su also pitched the company’s newest chips that are designed to feed the compute-hungry dragon that is the AI industry.
Rack systems combine many processors into a single high-powered unit. They are built for data centers, where they train and run AI models and other compute-intensive workloads.
Su called Helios the tech industry’s “highest-performance AI rack,” adding that it was “built to train and run the most demanding frontier models in the world at massive scale.” The system will be deployed by leading AI companies at gigawatt-scale, the company said.
Nvidia has historically dominated this market with its Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell rack-scale systems. AMD is clearly looking to get in on the action. And Helios’ performance metrics appear to give it a real chance, beating out Vera Rubin by a number of metrics, The Register reported.
Helios, which was revealed in 2025 and shown onstage in January at CES 2026, already has several well-known customers, including OpenAI, Meta, Oracle, Anthropic, and Microsoft, all of which have plans to deploy the system. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Monday that the company would expand its Azure infrastructure with Helios. Meanwhile, Anthropic and AMD announced a strategic partnership Wednesday to deploy up to two gigawatts of GPUs via the new rack system.
AMD also introduced Thursday its Venice-X CPU, which is designed for data centers and to handle high-computing workloads. The Venice-X is expected to launch in 2027.
During her remarks, Su commented on the trajectory of the chip industry, claiming that, by the year 2030, chips that power AI will become a massive part of the overall computing market. This is because the industry is “seeing a step change in compute demand” driven largely by the rise of agentic AI, she said.
“When you ask the agent to do something, it actually has dozens of steps, and it has to reason, and it has to call tools, and it has to access data, and it has to keep doing it over and over until it solves the problem, and so you need lots of GPUs to do all that,” the executive said.
“We’re now expecting that by 2030, the AI accelerator market is going to reach about $1.4 trillion,” Su said. “What that means is, by the end of the decade, the AI accelerator market is going to approach the size of the entire semiconductor market today.”
“We do expect that GPUs are going to make up the vast majority of that market because the algorithms are still very much in their infancy, and we’re still continuing to see the workloads change, and that favors programmability in the overall silicon ecosystem,” she added.
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Lucas is a senior writer at TechCrunch, where he covers artificial intelligence, consumer tech, and startups. He previously covered AI and cybersecurity at Gizmodo. You can contact Lucas by emailing [email protected].
Advanced Micro Devices stock is trending. Why is AMD stock up today? Intel Sees Unprecedented AI DemandIntel reported 25% year-over-year revenue growth in the second quarter, representing its strongest revenue growth in more than 15 years. The chipmaker also delivered adjusted earnings that were double what analysts were expecting.
Intel’s Data Center and AI segment increased 59% year-over-year to $6.3 billion, and the company guided for continued revenue growth well above analyst expectations.
Intel forecasted third-quarter adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share on revenue of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion, versus analyst estimates of 24 cents and $15.1 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The company also raised its capital expenditures outlook to a range of $18 billion to $20 billion, per Reuters.
“AI-driven compute continues to strengthen, and to support expected growth this year and next across products and foundry, we are meaningfully increasing our investments in equipment, clean room space, and substrates,” Intel CFO Dave Zinsner said.
Intel and AMD are the two suppliers of x86 server processors, the host CPUs that pair with GPUs and other accelerators inside AI data center racks. The two chipmakers are the major players in this market, so the demand signal from Intel is being viewed as a positive for AMD.
AMD is due to report its own financial results for the second quarter after the market close on Aug. 4.
AMD Shares Move Higher After The CloseAMD Price Action: AMD shares were up 2.81% in after-hours, trading at $554.85 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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TSMC’s Price Hikes Could Show Which AI Chip Stocks Have Real Pricing PowerAdvanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD executives used a question-and-answer session at the company’s Advancing AI 2026 conference to expand on its AI data center roadmap, customer engagements and expectations for growth in CPUs, GPUs and full rack-scale systems.
Chair and CEO Dr. Lisa Su said AMD is “tremendously excited” about the opportunity in AI and highlighted the company’s Venice CPU launch and Helios rack-scale systems as key parts of its strategy. Matt Ramsay, who leads financial strategy and investor relations at AMD, told participants that management would not discuss near-term financial results ahead of the company’s upcoming second-quarter earnings report.
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AMD Sees Expanding CPU Opportunity From Agentic AI AMD’s $5 Billion Anthropic Deal Could Redraw the AI Chip BattleExecutives said AI workloads are increasing demand for CPUs, particularly as agentic AI requires more orchestration around end-to-end workloads. Su said AMD remains focused on capturing more than 50% of the CPU market, citing progress in recent quarters and rising customer interest in Venice.
Dan McNamara, who runs AMD’s server business, said the company’s estimate of the CPU server market was based on customer discussions and analysis of AMD’s own workloads. In the “outer years,” he said agentic AI applications could represent “probably like 50%” of the CPU server opportunity.
The 2026 Blueprint: 6 Stocks for a Brand New PortfolioSu added that CPU-to-GPU ratios could change meaningfully as AI systems evolve. While some head-node configurations today may use four GPUs per CPU, she said agentic AI could eventually push the ratio above one CPU per GPU, potentially reaching two CPUs for one GPU in some scenarios.
Helios Shipments to Begin in September Su clarified that AMD expects first shipments of Helios systems to begin in the third quarter, specifically in September. She said the ramp will continue into the fourth quarter and the first half of next year.
“We’ve actually built the ramp this way because it is a complex system,” Su said, adding that AMD wants original design manufacturers to tune the manufacturing process and align shipments with customer data center buildouts.
On customer deployments, Su said Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta moving into Helios is “a big deal for AMD.” Regarding Anthropic, she said AMD will start shipments for the first gigawatt in the first half of 2027 and aims to get as much of that first gigawatt into 2027 as possible, depending on data center readiness. AMD previously announced up to 2 gigawatts for the MI450 engagement with Anthropic.
Customer Deals Seen as Multi-Generation Relationships Asked about the Anthropic agreement, Su said each large customer engagement is structured differently, but she emphasized that customers generally do not choose an accelerator for only one generation because of the engineering effort involved.
“We are actively talking with every one of our largest customers, including Anthropic, about what’s beyond MI450,” Su said. She said there is “a lot of excitement” around MI500 and discussions about future workloads beginning with MI600.
Vamsi Kompella, who runs AMD’s AI business, said AMD is also working with Anthropic to tune and extend Claude’s capabilities for high-performance optimization on AMD platforms. He said AMD’s open approach to instruction sets, compilers and tool chains helps AI systems become productive on the platform more quickly.
Kompella also discussed ROCm.ai, calling it AMD’s biggest software leap since the early days of its strategy. He said collaborations with OpenAI on Codex and Anthropic on Claude are expected to improve developer access to AMD platforms over the coming months.
Manufacturing, Power and Deployment Are Key Focus Areas Su said AMD’s market projections consider not only demand but also power availability, supplier capacity and customer capital. She said AMD has planned capacity for “significant growth” in 2027 and 2028, while longer-term growth in 2029 and 2030 would require the broader ecosystem to build at a similar pace.
Forrest Norrod, who leads AMD’s data center business, said AMD is working closely with OEM and ODM partners, including Sanmina and Wiwynn, to ensure capacity to build, integrate, test and validate rack-scale systems. He also said AMD retained a large services arm from its ZT acquisition, which is being used for internal deployments and to help customers deploy MI350 and MI455 systems.
Su added that AMD now works with customers much earlier in the data center planning process, saying the company has “easily 12 to 18 months of visibility” into power planning and corresponding GPU and Helios system needs.
Roadmap Includes MI500 Networking and Memory Flexibility Norrod said the MI500 generation is expected to begin a transition from purely electrical scale-up networking toward optical networking, though he emphasized it will not be an immediate shift. He said AMD is working with ecosystem partners and expects optical technologies to play a larger role over future generations.
On scale-up protocols, Norrod said MI450 supports UALink transported over Ethernet and that ESUN is a set of Ethernet extensions that can help with that approach. He said AMD expects UALink over Ethernet to continue into MI500, while adding that the company will provide more detail closer to the MI500 timeframe.
Asked about HBM memory, Kompella said AMD studies workload characteristics and separates bandwidth and capacity considerations. He said AMD’s chiplet architecture gives it flexibility to optimize memory capacity while preserving bandwidth constraints. Su added that memory capacity remains valuable to customers, including for inferencing performance, but said AMD will work to ensure memory is used efficiently because it is a significant part of total cost of ownership.
Su closed the session by saying AMD views AI as “a complete compute picture,” spanning CPUs, GPUs, Helios systems and other compute elements. She said AMD believes it can differentiate through an end-to-end approach across AI infrastructure.
About Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD)Advanced Micro Devices, Inc NASDAQ: AMD is a global semiconductor company that designs and sells microprocessors, graphics processors, chipsets and adaptive computing solutions for a broad set of markets. The company's product portfolio includes consumer and commercial CPUs under the Ryzen and Threadripper brands, data center processors under the EPYC brand, and Radeon graphics processing units for gaming and professional visualization. AMD also offers semi-custom system-on-chip (SoC) products for gaming consoles and other specialized applications, and provides supporting software and platform technologies for OEMs, cloud service providers and end users.
Founded in 1969, AMD has evolved from a supplier of logic chips into a diversified, fabless semiconductor designer.
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Nokia Oyj (NOK), a Finnish mobile network equipment maker, reported a stronger-than-expected second quarter as growing demand from artificial intelligence data
The New Nokia: A Bullish Upgrade Ignites This Big AI Bet Nokia NYSE: NOK reported 9% constant-currency net sales growth for the second quarter of 2026, with executives pointing to strong demand from AI and cloud customers and continued progress on the company’s strategy outlined at its Capital Markets Day.
President and CEO Justin Hotard said the quarter showed “continued progress” against Nokia’s priorities, with the company focused on what he called the “AI super cycle.” He said net sales from AI and cloud customers more than doubled year over year to EUR 446 million, while order intake in that segment reached EUR 2.8 billion.
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More Than Just Brains: The AI Revolution's Nervous SystemHotard cautioned that the order figure reflected several significant long-term orders as customers moved to secure supply in a constrained environment. He said roughly half of the AI and cloud order volume received in the quarter is expected to convert to revenue over the next 12 months, adding that order patterns in the market can be “lumpy” and that investors should not expect that level of intake every quarter.
Margins Improve as Network Infrastructure Leads Growth CFO Marco Wirén said comparable net sales grew 9% in the quarter, supported mainly by Network Infrastructure. Gross profit totaled EUR 2.2 billion, while gross margin rose 70 basis points to 46%. Comparable operating profit was EUR 434 million, with operating margin increasing 70 basis points to 9%.
NVIDIA’s Billion-Dollar Bet Puts Nokia Back in the Growth GameWirén said the quarter benefited from some software revenue recognition that came in during the second quarter instead of the third quarter. He also noted that higher stock-based compensation expense created a 150-basis-point year-over-year headwind to operating margin, driven by Nokia’s share price increase, an expansion of the program and earlier issuance this year.
Network Infrastructure net sales grew 12%, with Optical Networks up 20% and IP Networks up 16%. Wirén said Optical Networks benefited from continued AI and cloud demand as well as demand from telecom customers investing in transport infrastructure. IP Networks benefited as order momentum from the second half of 2025 began converting into revenue.
Fixed Networks sales declined 2%. Within that business, Optical Line Terminal sales rose 18%, while ONT sales fell 16% as Nokia continued to focus on higher-value parts of the portfolio. Network Infrastructure gross margin increased 240 basis points to 42.7%, helped by higher revenue scale, Infinera acquisition synergies and favorable mix in Fixed Networks, partly offset by growth investments in Optical and IP Networks.
Mobile Infrastructure Grows, But Q3 Margin Expected to Dip Mobile Infrastructure net sales increased 7% in the quarter. Wirén said core software grew 1%, radio networks increased 7% and technology standards rose 15%. Technology standards benefited from new agreements and catch-up revenue recognition, though Nokia continues to expect full-year technology standards sales and profitability to be similar to 2025 levels.
Mobile Infrastructure gross margin was 49.3%, which Wirén said was better than expected because of a higher contribution from software sales that had previously been anticipated in the third quarter. Because of that phasing, Nokia expects Mobile Infrastructure gross margin in the third quarter to be closer to 44% to 46%, before improving again in the fourth quarter in line with normal seasonality.
By customer segment, AI and cloud was Nokia’s fastest-growing area, with net sales up 105% year over year. Telecom sales increased 4%, while technology licensing grew 15%.
AI-RAN Platform and Optical Investments Highlight Strategy Hotard said Nokia launched what it described as the industry’s first commercial AI-RAN platform, which he said marks a shift from hardware-defined radio networks to software-defined platforms. He said the platform is expected to deliver more than 100% spectral efficiency gains by 2028, effectively doubling the capacity operators can obtain from existing spectrum.
The platform is open, programmable and O-RAN compliant, and Nokia expects pilot deployments to begin at the end of 2026, with commercial availability in 2027. In the Q&A session, Hotard said the company expects more significant volume in 2028.
Nokia also highlighted investments in optical manufacturing capacity. Hotard said a new indium phosphide fab in San Jose is processing test wafers and remains on track for volume production by the end of the year. Nokia also announced plans to scale its Pennsylvania facility, increasing advanced test and packaging capacity for optical systems by 10 times, and said it acquired a manufacturing site from NXP in Arizona to increase indium phosphide fab capacity.
Hotard said the Arizona fab is expected to come online no earlier than 2029, while the San Jose facility should ramp in 2027 after volume manufacturing starts later this year.
Discontinued Operations and Restructuring Updates Wirén said Nokia has classified its Fixed Wireless Access business and Enterprise Campus Edge business as discontinued operations. The move followed Nokia’s agreement to sell the Fixed Wireless Access business to Inseego and its view that the sale of Enterprise Campus Edge is now highly probable.
For the second quarter, Wirén said the reporting change reduced comparable net sales by EUR 66 million and increased comparable operating profit by EUR 13 million. It also caused minor cost allocation changes between Network Infrastructure and Mobile Infrastructure.
Nokia remains on track to complete its 2023-2026 restructuring program this year and achieve EUR 1.2 billion in gross cost savings. Wirén also said Nokia is accelerating the integration of its Chinese operations into its global operating model after taking full ownership at the end of 2025. The company now expects to recognize about EUR 350 million of planned one-time charges for that program by the end of 2026. Additional efficiency programs, mainly affecting Europe, are expected to result in EUR 200 million of restructuring charges in 2026.
Overall, Nokia expects restructuring charges of about EUR 800 million in 2026.
Cash Flow Weakens Seasonally; Outlook Maintained Free cash flow was negative EUR 732 million in the quarter. Wirén said the second quarter is typically Nokia’s weakest for cash generation because annual employee incentives are paid during the period. The company also saw working capital increase as the business continued to grow. Nokia ended the quarter with EUR 2.8 billion in net cash.
Because of higher restructuring costs and investments in working capital to prepare for growth, Nokia now expects to track toward the low end of its free cash flow conversion assumption of 55% to 75%.
Nokia said there was no operational change to its comparable operating profit guidance, aside from the technical adjustment related to discontinued operations. Wirén said the company continues to track “somewhat above the midpoint” of its operating profit range. For the third quarter, Nokia expects sequential net sales growth of 3% to 7% and operating profit broadly similar to the second quarter, followed by a meaningful improvement in the fourth quarter.
During the Q&A session, Hotard said Nokia remains broadly supply constrained in optical networks, particularly for leading-edge products. He said if more supply were available, Nokia would “probably generate more revenue.” He also said memory remains the most significant supply chain constraint, alongside broader component limitations affecting the technology ecosystem.
About Nokia (NYSE:NOK)Nokia Corporation, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is a global telecommunications and technology company with roots dating back to 1865. Over its long history the company moved from forestry and cable operations into electronics and telecommunications, becoming widely known in the 1990s and 2000s for its mobile phones. In recent years Nokia refocused its business toward network infrastructure, software and technology licensing, and research and development, following the divestiture of its handset manufacturing business and the acquisition of Alcatel‑Lucent in 2016, which brought Bell Labs into its portfolio.
Today Nokia's core activities center on designing, building and supporting communications networks and related software.
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New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - July 23, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) resulting from allegations that Alibaba may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
SO WHAT: If you purchased Alibaba securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.
WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/alibaba-group-holding-limited/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On June 24, 2026, Financial Times published an article entitled "Anthropic accuses Alibaba of obtaining illicit access to Claude". The article stated that Anthropic has "accused Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba of obtaining illicit access to Claude by creating fake accounts designed to access the AI model which the American company does not offer to Chinese groups."
On this news, Alibaba American Depositary Shares ("ADS") fell 2.7% on June 24, 2026.
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Building a great product is one thing. Getting a company like Nvidia to put its name behind it is something else entirely.
In this episode of Build Mode, host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Sydney Sykes, who leads global venture capital alliances and partnerships at Nvidia, to unpack how startups break into the Nvidia ecosystem and what a corporate venture capital partnership actually looks like once they’re in.
Sydney explains how founders can get on Nvidia’s radar through programs like Nvidia Inception, why strategic alignment matters more than a slick pitch deck, and how corporate venture capital differs from traditional venture capital when it comes to fundraising, diligence, and deal terms.
Drawing on her experience as an investor at NEA and Lightspeed Venture Partners, and as co-founder of Black VC, she also discusses access and representation in venture capital and how the AI boom is reshaping who gets funded. She closes with practical fundraising advice for founders hoping to build lasting relationships with corporate VCs like Nvidia.
They get into:
How a startup can “enter the Nvidia orbit” through the Nvidia Inception program. What Nvidia looks for before offering its stamp of approval to an AI startup. Corporate venture capital vs. traditional venture capital — what founders need to know. Why a corporate VC checks for strategic relevance, not just financial upside. How to pitch the same startup differently to a corporate VC vs. an institutional VC. Why founders should build their cap table like a puzzle, not a popularity contest. How the AI boom is lowering barriers to entrepreneurship — and where old barriers remain. Why Sydney believes VCs should pay closer attention to energy and data center infrastructure. How Black VC is expanding access and education across the venture capital industry. Sydney’s advice for founders trying to break into the corporate venture ecosystem. Subscribe to Build Mode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen. And watch the full videos on YouTube. New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday.
Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
Maggie Nye is a Podcast Producer for TechCrunch based in Denver, Colorado. Previously, she worked as the Brand and Content Manager for BUILT BY GIRLS where she developed an interest in tech and a passion for creating equitable and welcoming professional tech spaces. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism with a minor in English from Hofstra University in New York.
You can contact or verify outreach from Maggie by emailing [email protected].
Isabelle leads Startup Battlefield, TechCrunch’s iconic launchpad and competition for the world’s most promising early-stage startups.
You can contact or verify outreach from Isabelle by emailing [email protected].
She scouts top founders across 99+ countries and prepares them to pitch on the Disrupt stage in front of tier-one investors and global media. Before TechCrunch, she designed and led international startup acceleration programs across Japan, Korea, Italy, and Spain—connecting global founders with VCs and helping them successfully enter the U.S. market. With a Master’s in Entrepreneurship & Disruptive Innovation—and a past life as a professional singer—she brings a blend of strategic rigor and stage presence to help founders craft compelling stories and stand out in crowded markets.
NVIDIA Draws Fresh BuyingVirtus Investment Partners’ Joe Terranova told CNBC’s “Halftime Report” that he added to NVIDIA after the stock showed signs of a technical momentum breakout. He said NVIDIA’s fundamentals remain well known, but his latest purchases focused on the stock’s chart setup.
Broadcom And AMD Stay In FocusHyperscalers Drive The Chip TradeBrown said Alphabet’s earnings are important because they give investors a clean read on hyperscaler capital spending and whether AI infrastructure projects remain on track. He said investors who believe in the theme likely want exposure before those updates.
Memory And Capex Support SentimentLink said she added Micron after the stock pulled back from its highs while fundamentals stayed strong. She said memory and compute remain in short supply, giving Micron pricing power and stronger earnings visibility.
Jason Snipe, founder and chief investment officer of Odyssey Capital Advisors, during CNBC’s “Halftime Report” said the semiconductor pullback looked like a positioning reset rather than a fundamental break.
He said hyperscaler capital spending is unlikely to slow and expects Alphabet and other large cloud buyers to reaffirm, or potentially raise, spending plans.
NVDA Price Action: NVIDIA shares were down 1.09% at $209.74 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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The bull case for NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) looks strong on paper. NVDA stock trades at $208.48, up 22% over the past year; the company just posted $81.61 billion in quarterly revenue; and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang keeps describing the AI buildout as the largest infrastructure project in history.
However, a reported set of remarks out of China this week hits at the one thing bulls take for granted: NVIDIA’s CUDA software moat. If the thesis is right, it changes the math on NVDA stock; by extension, this could also carry negative implications for the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) as well as individual U.S. chip names like Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD).
The Chinese CEO Behind the Bear Case According to a summary of a leaked investor call attributed to DeepSeek CEO Liang Wenfeng, posted on X by Citrini Research analyst Jukan (@jukan05), DeepSeek is working closely with Huawei and believes it can secure roughly 16,000 Huawei AI chips. The remarks are reported and unverified.
The reported claims go further. Wenfeng allegedly argued that AI-powered code generation and languages such as TileLang could rapidly lower the CUDA ecosystem’s barriers to entry, and that DeepSeek has already cut its software dependence on NVIDIA using its own compiler and a TileLang-based environment. Port that stack to Huawei silicon, the argument goes, and Huawei’s 950 SuperNode could replace workloads currently handled by NVIDIA’s GB200 and GB300.
Jukan’s own summary characterization, not a Wenfeng quote, was blunt: “The end of CUDA’s moat is approaching. The ecosystem problem for Chinese chips could be solved within a year. The only real bottleneck left is production itself.” He added he was “Very bearish on NVDA.”
A Balanced View: The Gap Is Still Real Even the leaked remarks concede NVIDIA’s lead. It reportedly takes roughly four Huawei cards to match one NVIDIA card, with Huawei described as about two years behind. Porting an unproven software stack across ecosystems is genuinely hard.
The fundamentals reinforce that. NVIDIA’s Data Center revenue hit $75.25 billion, up 92%, non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.87 versus the $1.77 estimate, and management disclosed $119 billion in supply-related commitments alongside an $80 billion buyback authorization. NVIDIA stock carries a trailing P/E ratio of 32x, and because earnings are compounding so quickly, the forward multiple looks meaningfully lower.
Analyst sentiment on NVDA remains overwhelmingly bullish: 58 Buys, 2 Holds, and 1 Sell. That lopsided tally underscores how far Wall Street’s consensus sits from the CUDA-erosion thesis outlined above.
Earnings Preview: August 26 NVIDIA reports its fiscal Q2 2027 results on August 26 after the close. NVIDIA’s guidance calls for revenue of $91 billion plus or minus 2% with non-GAAP gross margin of 75%, and it explicitly excludes any Data Center compute revenue from China, meaning China weakness is already priced into the outlook.
Investors can watch for Data Center growth, the Blackwell and Vera Rubin ramp, gross margin durability, and any direct commentary from Huang addressing the CUDA-moat narrative. The CUDA erosion thesis is a real multi-year risk resting on unverified claims, set against a company still growing at extraordinary rates. That tension, and not just a single verdict, is what NVIDIA shareholders need to sit with.
As the artificial intelligence revolution matures in 2026, many investors are weighing high-performance hardware against specialized automation software. Choosing between NVIDIA (NVDA -1.56%) and UiPath (PATH -4.63%) requires balancing pure computing power with workplace efficiency.
NVIDIA provides the essential infrastructure for modern computing, while UiPath develops the AI software robots that execute complex business tasks. Both companies are central to the global technology landscape, offering different ways to gain exposure to the ongoing shift toward automated enterprise intelligence.
The case for NVIDIANVIDIA designs accelerated computing infrastructure, primarily focused on graphics processing units (GPUs) and AI systems for training large models. The company occupies a unique position among tech stocks due to its role in building the foundation of artificial intelligence. It serves massive markets like healthcare, though two customers accounted for 36% of total revenue in fiscal year (FY) 2026, which adds a layer of risk to the business.
In FY 2026, revenue reached $215.9 billion, representing growth of 65.5% over the prior year. This expansion led to substantial profitability, with the company reporting net income of $120.1 billion. The net margin, which measures how much profit a company keeps from every dollar of sales, remained high at 55.6%.
As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is 0.1x. This ratio compares total debt to shareholder equity, with a lower number suggesting a lighter debt load. Free cash flow reached $96.7 billion for the year, and the current ratio stands at 3.9x.
The case for UiPathUiPath provides an integrated automation platform that uses AI agents and software robots to streamline business workflows across financial and healthcare sectors. The company relies on enterprise sales, with its top 10% of customers representing a substantial portion of total revenue. Recent efforts include a three-year deal with The Very Group.
In FY 2026, revenue reached $1.6 billion, indicating a growth rate of 12.7% compared to the previous year. The company reported net income of $282.3 million as it successfully transitioned to profitability. This resulted in a net margin of 17.5% for the fiscal year.
As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is zero and the current ratio is 2.5x. Free cash flow for the year was $352.2 million. Note that stock-based compensation (SBC) represented 78.3% of operating cash flow, which inflates reported cash generation since SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.
Risk profile comparisonNVIDIA faces strict U.S. export controls on advanced chips that significantly limit access to major markets. The company also deals with manufacturing concentration because it depends on third-party foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Furthermore, an ongoing lawsuit regarding cryptocurrency revenue, and rapid technological change keep the pressure on its market share.
UiPath faces intense competition from established enterprise platform vendors such as Microsoft. The company relies heavily on its single automation platform, making it vulnerable to shifts toward native AI solutions. Scaling complexity and strict global privacy regulations, such as the EU AI Act, also pose potential operational and legal challenges.
Valuation comparisonWhile NVIDIA continues to command a significant premium due to its dominant market position, UiPath offers a lower entry point based on sales multiples.
MetricNVIDIAUiPathForward P/E23.0x15.4xP/S ratio23.3x4.0xValuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
Both NVIDIA and UiPath have benefited from the rise of artificial intelligence, as demonstrated by their double-digit year-over-year sales growth. However, NVIDIA’s consistent success has resulted in Wall Street harboring sky-high expectations for the company.
This means it takes near-flawless execution to meaningfully move the needle on NVIDIA’s stock price these days. For instance, the company announced on July 16 that it was working with the Japanese government to establish the world’s first national infrastructure for AI, but the news did little to the share price.
UiPath faces the opposite problem. Wall Street is skeptical the company’s AI automation products will prove successful over the long run as competition heats up. Consequently, its stock fell to a 52-week low of $9.20 in May and has struggled to rebound.
That said, UiPath’s sales growth and transition to profitability show it is capturing customers and effectively managing its financial health. Given UiPath’s lower share price valuation, it certainly looks like a compelling investment. But the risk is that customer adoption of its automation tools may plateau at some point.
Meanwhile, NVIDIA’s leadership in the AI sector is unmatched, and its financial strength is impressive. It continues to evolve its technology to keep pace with competitors, and is now investing in quantum computing. These factors make it the better long-term investment.
Key Takeaways Sandisk expects higher Q4 FY2026 revenues as AI memory demand and pricing remain strong. Sandisk projects higher Q4 non-GAAP EPS, supported by multi-year customer agreements. Sandisk forecasts exceptional earnings growth, backed by AI-driven demand and bullish analyst targets. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) into the world’s most valuable company, with its stock hitting record highs. Incessant demand for its cutting-edge chips and CUDA software platform has fueled exceptional growth, with the company consistently beating quarterly expectations.
Despite these strong fundamentals, NVIDIA’s gains have been muted this year, up only 10.9%, reflecting already high investor expectations. Given the company’s massive scale, concerns have emerged about its ability to sustain rapid growth. At the same time, the possibility of a slowdown in AI spending by hyperscale cloud providers, growing competition from peers, and tighter U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips to China could weigh on NVIDIA’s future profit margins, even as AI chip demand remains strong.
Some investors may now feel that they have missed NVIDIA’s remarkable rally. However, they should search for opportunities elsewhere in the AI ecosystem. They may currently consider memory chipmaker Sandisk Corporation (SNDK - Free Report) , whose shares have soared 573.7% year to date and appear well positioned for further gains. Let’s explore why Sandisk could be the next big winner –
Sandisk: A Potential AI Memory Leader Poised for Breakout Growth Surging demand for Sandisk’s AI-related memory solutions and a tight supply environment fueled strong pricing power and bolstered the company’s growth prospects.
Sandisk has now become the market’s most compelling AI memory play, with its revenues coming in at $5.95 billion in the fiscal third quarter of 2026, a 97% sequential rise and well above its own guidance, according to investor.sandisk.com. Looking ahead, Sandisk expects revenues of $7.75 billion to $8.25 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026. The guidance indicates another quarter of robust revenue growth as the company deepens its presence among high-value customers in the rapidly growing data center market.
Additionally, Sandisk has strengthened customer retention, improved revenue visibility, and enhanced long-term cash flow predictability through its strategic multi-year New Business Model agreements. Meanwhile, profitability is improving, with the company projecting non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $30-$33 in the fiscal fourth quarter, up from $23.41 reported in the fiscal third quarter, indicating sustained sequential earnings momentum.
Therefore, Sandisk is emerging as a potential long-term winner in the AI memory market, banking on robust AI-driven memory demand, improving profitability, and long-term customer agreements. CEO of Sandisk, David Goeckeler, also expressed confidence in the company’s outlook, stating, “With a zero-debt balance sheet, strong cash generation, and a recently authorized share repurchase program, we are positioned to deliver substantial long-term value creation for our shareholders.”
Consequently, the company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is an exceptional 2,111%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $66.11 for SNDK’s EPS is up 1059.8% year over year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Brokers also remain bullish on Sandisk’s growth, estimating an average short-term price target for SNDK stock at $2,380.47, indicating a 49.8% increase from the last closing price of $1,589.40. The highest target is $3,250, suggesting a potential upside of 104.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Sandisk currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.
TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $AMKR #AdvancingWhatsNext--Amkor Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMKR) today announced a multi-year strategic partnership with NVIDIA to develop advanced semiconductor packaging and test technologies for next-generation AI and accelerated computing platforms. Under the agreement, NVIDIA will provide a prepayment to support the expansion of Amkor's U.S. advanced packaging capacity.Advanced packaging enables the performance, energy efficiency and system-level integration required for AI infrastructu.
Visa and Airwallex are joining forces to develop embedded-finance solutions for freight and shipping platforms.
The collaboration, announced Thursday (July 23) is designed to modernize the way businesses in these sectors manage payments working capital and cross-border commerce.
“Freight and shipping are fundamental to the global economy, yet many businesses continue to operate with payment processes that are fragmented, manual and inefficient,” Alessandro Figueroa, head of new verticals and partnerships for Visa Commercial Solutions in Europe, said in a news release.
“As digital freight platforms continue to scale, there is a growing need for financial solutions that can be embedded seamlessly into existing workflows without creating additional complexity. By combining Visa’s commercial payments expertise with Airwallex’s technology platform, we’re helping bring new solutions to market quickly, enabling platforms to simplify payments, improve working capital and deliver greater value to the businesses they serve.”
According to the release, the partnership will focus on solutions built for the “realities of freight and shipping,” with the goal of letting platforms embed payment and financial capabilities into freight workflows, helping customers access working capital and move funds more efficiently.
“Cash sitting in limbo while payments clear across borders is capital that should be funding the next shipment, not stuck in transit,” said Christos Chamberlain, general manager for U.K. and Europe at Airwallex.
“Reputations are built on reliability – can you get the container there, on time, every time. Payments need to work the same way.”
The partnership is happening as many businesses are increasing their investment in embedded finance solutions, according to the recent PYMNTS Intelligence and Green Dot collaboration “The Embedded Finance Scale Factor: How Firm Size Shapes Strategy, Technology and Partnership Decisions.”
The decision to invest, however, is increasingly determined by size, with nearly 79% of companies with annual revenue between $250 million and $1 billion — middle market firms — saying they planned to upgrade their embedded finance capabilities in the next 12 months.
That’s compared to the 63% of businesses generating more than $1 billion in yearly revenue who expect to make similar upgrades.
“That enthusiasm reflects a broader reality,” PYMNTS wrote last month. “Many middle market firms have moved beyond experimenting with embedded payments and lending tools but have not yet reached the scale where operating models, governance structures and technology strategies are fully settled. As a result, they face difficult decisions about whether to continue building capabilities internally or consolidate around outside partners.”
Overlapping summer sale events from Amazon and Walmart nearly saturated the adult U.S. market, but average spending fell sharply at both retailers, showing that a bigger audience can still produce smaller baskets and weaker economics.
Deal-week competition is turning loyalty into price arbitrage. With shoppers moving fluidly between Amazon and Walmart, comparing offers in real time and choosing largely on price, promotional events increasingly reward the lowest offer rather than the strongest retail relationship.
AI is beginning to control the path to purchase. As shoppers use assistants to research, compare and recommend products before entering a retailer’s ecosystem, Amazon and Walmart risk losing influence over discovery, even when they ultimately win the transaction.
This summer, Amazon moved Prime Day to June 23-26, leaving July without its usual commercial centerpiece for the first time outside the pandemic-disrupted 2021 event.
The shift created an apparent hole in merchants’ calendars. What emerged instead was a clearer view of how large-scale shopping events are changing. Prime Day still generated extraordinary demand, but the combination of Amazon’s earlier timing, its direct overlap with Walmart Deals and a subsequent July slowdown suggests retailers are no longer competing simply to produce the biggest sales day. They are competing to control a longer, more fragmented cycle of consumer attention.
An estimated 244 million U.S. consumers, or 93% of adults, shopped at least one of the events, up from 135 million the previous year. The share participating in neither promotion collapsed from 48% to 7%, according to a PYMNTS Intelligence survey of 2,160 consumers conducted in June.
But the larger crowd came with a catch: Shoppers spent less. The survey found average spending at Amazon fell from $360 in 2025 to $308, while Walmart’s average dropped from $484 to $326. The overlap expanded the top of the funnel while compressing the value of each customer moving through it.
That trade-off offers a preview of the next phase of promotional retail. The biggest shopping events may attract more people than ever, but they are also becoming less capable of concentrating consumer spending in one place.
See also: Amazon and Walmart’s Summer Sale Wars Deliver a Win (With An Asterisk)
Retail Loyalty Gives Way to Comparison Shopping Running competing events simultaneously also made it easier for consumers to treat Amazon and Walmart as interchangeable deal inventories. Nearly three-quarters of dual-event participants compared prices across Amazon and Walmart, the survey found, and 46% said price alone determined where they completed a purchase. Loyalty was the deciding factor for just 15%.
The overlap therefore produced not only a bigger market but a more efficient one, at least from the consumer’s perspective. Shoppers could check the same television, appliance or household item on multiple platforms in real time, reducing retailers’ ability to use the event’s scale and urgency to soften price sensitivity.
Artificial intelligence (AI) added another comparison layer. Twenty-one percent of event participants used an AI assistant to research products, locate deals or compare prices. Nearly three-quarters of those users bought at least one product primarily because an AI tool recommended it.
Also from PYMNTS: PYMNTS covered Thursday (July 23) how Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos reportedly sees Prime Video as the place to tout the company’s AI efforts and has urged Prime Video boss Mike Hopkins to revamp the streaming service to give AI a starring role.
Without another July promotional sprint, consumer retail brands have shifted their attention toward back-to-school campaigns, fourth-quarter inventory forecasts, advertising allocations and final holiday shipments.
The result is a retail calendar that looks less like a series of isolated events and more like a continuous demand-management system. Winning within it requires merchants to distinguish between reach and profitability, participation and loyalty, promotional velocity and durable growth.
Read the report: The Overlap Effect: How Amazon and Walmart Expanded the Crowd and Shrank the Basket
AI Moves Upstream of the Retailer The more disruptive competitive pressure may come from outside both companies. More than one in five event shoppers used an AI chatbot or assistant to compare products, locate deals or research purchases, a rate that climbed to 35% among Generation Z.
That behavior moves an important part of product discovery upstream from the retailer. Instead of beginning a search inside Amazon or Walmart, shoppers can ask an independent interface to evaluate prices, features and reviews across multiple merchants before directing them toward a checkout page.
At the same time, the survey found that consumers expect major retailers to coordinate their discounting around the same shopping windows, just as they expect competitive shipping, accessible reviews and transparent pricing. What once distinguished a retailer can quickly become a market-wide condition.
That raises the strategic stakes. Attracting more shoppers is no longer sufficient when those shoppers are spending less, comparing more and arriving with recommendations generated outside the retailer’s ecosystem.
Ford is planning to integrate Apple software into its next-generation fleet of electric vehicles, which will, in turn, help power hands-free driving technology.
Apple and Ford announced Thursday that Apple Maps will be included in the automakers' new Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) platform through the use of Apple's MapKit for Automotive SDK. Ford's UEV will debut with a midsize electric in 2027, and buyers won't need a separate Apple subscription to use the software in the vehicle.
The UEV will harness that tech to give drivers turn-by-turn directions with the use of natural language, giving them real-time traffic and incident information, as well as a search function that uses detailed place cards and routing options.
The partnership will also see Ford use road-level data from Apple Maps in the development of the company's next-generation BlueCruise hands-free driving capability, as well as its in-house autonomous driving tech.
APPLE RAISES PRICES ON SOME STREAMING SERVICES AS LICENSING COSTS CLIMB
Ford's partnership with Apple comes amid a push to improve self-driving technology. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Apple's MapKit for Automotive SDK provides road-level information to help automakers develop self-driving technologies, and the company said the tool uses the same privacy practices as Apple Maps, noting that it doesn't collect users' location details and activity in a way that can be linked to the individual user.
"Apple Maps delivers the best map experience in the world, and we’re excited to bring the power of Maps’ navigation technology to Ford’s innovative Universal Electric Vehicle Platform," said Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of services and health.
"With our new MapKit for Automotive SDK, we’re bringing Maps further into drivers’ daily lives, giving them an incredibly accurate and easy-to-use navigation system that is seamlessly integrated into Ford vehicles."
FORD REHIRES EXPERIENCED ENGINEERS AFTER AI MISSES THE MARK
Apple's partnership with Ford includes Apple Maps and data that will help inform self-driving tech. (Wirestock / Getty Images)
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company's next midsize EV will be priced around $30,000 and "redefines what advanced technology can be – simple, useful and truly attainable for more customers."
"We're proud to embed Apple Maps' navigation and mapping technology directly into our Universal Electric Vehicle Platform alongside our Ford app, a full suite of software and next-generation BlueCruise, all enabled by a new zonal architecture," Farley said.
"Apple Maps has delivered a world-class product, and we're honored to be among the first to embed it directly into a vehicle, helping define intuitive, capable driving."
APPLE TO INVEST $30 BILLION IN US CHIP MANUFACTURING
Ticker Security Last Change Change % AAPL APPLE INC. 321.66 -4.23 -1.30% F FORD MOTOR CO. 14.14 -0.26 -1.80% Latitude AI, Ford's wholly owned subsidiary focused on autonomous driving, is developing the company's in-house advanced driving system. The Ford Large Driving Model supports a range of self-driving capabilities and has been derived from millions of miles of real-world driving data, the company said.
Ford and Latitude are designing both the hardware and software to be easily scalable across the automaker's lineup of vehicles.
The company indicated that work "is vital to Ford and Latitude's mission of democratizing autonomy and delivering a compelling experience at an attainable price point on the UEV Platform."
Ford announced the partnership with Apple ahead of the rollout of its Universal Electric Vehicle Platform next year. (Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Apple Maps will be integrated into some upcoming Ford electric vehicles, the companies said Thursday (July 23).
The integration of Apple Maps into Ford’s upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle Platform (UEV Platform) will be done through Apple’s new MapKit for Automotive SDK, which enables automakers to embed and customize Apple Maps, Apple said in a press release.
When it appears in Ford’s UEV Platform in 2027, the integration will deliver the Apple Maps-powered navigation experience through the vehicle’s displays. The experience will include turn-by-turn directions using natural language, real-time traffic and incident information, intuitive search and routing options, according to the release.
In addition, Ford will use Apple Maps information to build a hands-free driving experience, per the release.
“With our new MapKit for Automotive SDK, we’re bringing Maps further into drivers’ daily lives, giving them an incredibly accurate and easy-to-use navigation system that is seamlessly integrated into Ford vehicles,” Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Services and Health at Apple, said in the release.
In its own Thursday press release about the integration, Ford said that it will be among the first automakers to embed Apple Maps into a vehicle.
Ford’s Universal Electric Vehicle Platform will underpin a family of more affordable electric vehicles that will be priced around $30,000 and will start reaching the market in 2027, with a mid-size electric truck leading the way, according to Ford’s website about the platform.
The automaker will also use Apple Maps’ road-level information to help develop its next-generation BlueCruise hands-free highway driving capability. Ford’s wholly owned subsidiary focused on autonomy, Latitude AI, is developing a Ford Large Driving Model that supports a range of self-driving capabilities, according to the release.
“Apple Maps has delivered a world-class product, and we’re honored to be among the first to embed it directly into a vehicle, helping define intuitive, capable driving,” Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley said in the release.
It was reported in February that Apple was preparing to allow other companies’ voice-controlled artificial intelligence chatbots to operate within its vehicle interface, CarPlay. At the time, the company allowed only its own assistant, Siri, as a voice-control option in CarPlay.
NEW YORK, July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of investors in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) mutual funds, resulting from allegations that BlackRock may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, XETRA:INL) shares jumped nearly 11% in after-hours trading after the chipmaker reported second quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, driven by stronger demand across its data center and client computing businesses and a better-than-expected outlook for the third quarter.
The company reported second quarter revenue of $16.1 billion, up 25% from a year earlier and above analyst expectations of $14.43 billion.
Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.42, compared with consensus estimates of $0.21 per share.
Intel’s Data Center and AI segment generated $6.3 billion in revenue during the quarter, topping analyst expectations of $5.54 billion and rising 59% year over year. The Client Computing and Physical AI Group reported revenue of $8.9 billion, up 13% year over year and ahead of estimates of $7.99 billion.
Intel forecast third quarter revenue of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion, above Wall Street expectations of $15.1 billion.
The company expects adjusted earnings per share of $0.38, compared with analyst estimates of $0.27.
“AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute, and as we continue to execute, Intel is well-positioned to capture sustainable growth across our CPU franchise, ASICs, advanced packaging and vast wafer foundry network,” Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in a statement.
“Our Q2 results represent our strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years, enabled by greater speed, accountability, and customer focus.”
Intel CFO Dave Zinsner wrote that the company delivered a strong quarter “on robust demand and improved execution,” including higher factory yields and improved cycle times.
He added that AI-driven compute demand continues to strengthen and that Intel is increasing investments in equipment, clean room space and substrates to support expected growth.
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This live blog is being updated by Thomas Richmond, a 24/7 Wall St. contributor. You’ll get expert analysis of Intel’s earnings.
Simply stay on this page, and new updates will appear below automatically. We expect Intel to release earnings shortly after 4:00 p.m. ET.
18 minutes ago
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That wraps up our initial coverage of Intel’s Q2 results. Thank you for stopping by!
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The 25% top-line surge skewed sharply by segment:
Data Center and AI (DCAI) did the heavy lifting, delivering $6.26 billion at +59% YoY, a sharp acceleration from Q1’s +22% and Q3 2025’s -1%.
Client Computing Group added $8.88 billion (+13%) on the Panther Lake ramp, while Intel Foundry hit $5.76 billion (+31%) yet still bled ~$2.1 billion in quarterly operating losses.
Every segment beat the trajectory implied by prior guidance. DCAI’s $5.5B Polymarket threshold was cleared decisively, validating the AI-CPU thesis. Foundry topline strength helped to offset the segment’s cash burn as capex climbs to $20 billion.
52 minutes ago
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Guidance Bombshell: Intel Blows Past the Q3 Bar The forward guidance is what turned tonight’s report from a beat into a re-rating event.
Management set Q3 revenue guidance at $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion, above the $15.10 billion Street consensus even at the low end. Adjusted EPS guidance of $0.38 crushed the $0.27 consensus.
The bigger surprise: CFO David Zinsner lifted the 2026 capex plan from $18 billion to $20 billion, with 2027 spending expected to rise “meaningfully.” That signals customer commitments behind Intel 18A are firming, addressing the 47.5% backlog question prediction markets flagged pre-call.
Key assumptions: sustained DCAI momentum off Q1’s 22% YoY growth, Foundry ramp, and AI inference demand. With shares near $100.18, the raise validates the 341.57% one-year run.
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Does a 12% Pop Match This Beat? Intel (NASDAQ:INTC | INTC Price Prediction) shares jumped 12% after clearing every line: revenue of $16.13 billion vs. $14.42 billion expected, EPS of $0.42 vs. $0.21, and Q3 revenue guidance of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion against a $15.10 billion consensus.
The magnitude of the beat justifies enthusiasm, yet the reaction looks restrained compared to Q1 2026, when a similarly outsized surprise triggered a 23.6% day-of move.
Two factors may explain why this response was a bit smaller than Q1:
Valuation near 94x forward earnings leaves less room for multiple expansion Shares already priced in a beat, with Polymarket at 99.95% odds pre-release. After a 341.57% one-year run, a 12% pop is still substantial for Intel.
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With Q2 revenue of $16.13 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.42 crushing estimates, here is how the pre-earnings bear thesis holds up.
Foundry losses: Top-line traction confirmed, yet segment profitability still unproven with CapEx rising to $20 billion. AI/server share: Blunted. DCAI grew 22% YoY in Q1, aided by NVIDIA and Google partnerships. Intel 18A execution: Busted. Panther Lake shipped on 18A across 200+ OEM designs. GAAP losses/dilution: Validated. Q1 GAAP net loss was $3.73 billion. Bears will argue rising CapEx delays free cash flow and that insider selling near $118.28 signals caution.
Bulls counter with a 41.8% gross margin and a Q3 guidance well above consensus.
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Intel just reported Q2 earnings, with shares initially jumping 5% following the report. Here are the key numbers:
Revenue: $16.13 billion vs. $14.42 billion expected Adjusted EPS: $0.42 vs. $0.21 expected Non-GAAP gross margin: 41.8% vs. 38.76% expected Guidance:
Q3 revenue: $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion vs. $15.10 billion expected Adjusted EPS: $0.38 vs. $0.27 expected Intel crushed expectations across revenue, earnings, margins, and forward guidance.
CFO David Zinsner also said the company is raising its 2026 capital-spending plan from $18 billion to $20 billion, with 2027 CapEx expected to increase “meaningfully.”
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Final Hour Positioning Into the 4 PM Bell With the earnings release moments away, consensus sits at $0.2166 EPS on $14.45 billion in revenue. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is trading near $99.83 after a 6.89-point intraday swing, with sellers pressing lows into the close.
KPI Thresholds That Will Move the Stock DCAI revenue: Polymarket assigns 82.5% odds above $5.5B; a print under $5.3B would rattle the AI-CPU thesis. Foundry revenue: 91.5% odds above $5.0B, with upside if 18A yields surprise. Non-GAAP gross margin: 40%–42% is the modal outcome at 43% probability. Options flow leans bullish at a 0.71 put-call ratio on Friday expiries, and insiders logged 47 net-buying transactions recently.
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Wall Street expects Intel to report approximately $14.5 billion in Q2 revenue, representing roughly 12% year-over-year growth. That would mark a solid recovery, but it pales next to the growth rates expected from many AI-driven semiconductor peers.
Advanced Micro Devices and Marvell are expected to grow revenue by more than 40% this year, while Analog Devices and Taiwan Semiconductor are projected to expand by 30% to 40%.
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Analysts expect Intel to report Q2 EPS of $0.22, marking a significant improvement from the loss recorded one year earlier. The company has beaten Wall Street’s EPS consensus in three of the past four quarters, suggesting another upside surprise is possible tonight.
Longer-term expectations remain less certain. Intel’s projected 2026 EPS has fallen from approximately $6 several years ago to just $1.11 today, while its 2027 estimate has dropped from above $4 to below $2.
Investors will be looking to see whether Intel’s latest margin recovery is durable rather than another turnaround that falls short of expectations.
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Intel enters tonight’s Q2 earnings report trading at roughly 94 times forward earnings.
That makes Intel considerably more expensive than faster-growing semiconductor leaders such as Nvidia, Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Micron, which trade between roughly 13 and 33 times expected earnings.
The valuation reflects enormous confidence that Intel can restore its margins and accelerate growth. Anything short of a clean earnings beat and confident guidance could challenge that optimism.
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With Intel stock hovering near $100.40 and a 341.57% one-year run, both sides have ammunition.
Bull Case Polymarket assigns a 95.5% probability Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) beats, backed by six consecutive quarters of revenue upside. DCAI surged 22% YoY and Foundry 16% last quarter, with Intel 18A now in high-volume manufacturing. Anchor partnerships with Google, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) ($5.0 billion stake) and SoftBank ($2.0 billion) validate the turnaround. Bear Case Foundry posted a $2.51 billion Q4 operating loss; Q1 free cash flow was -$3.87 billion. Q2 non-GAAP EPS guide of $0.20 steps down from Q1’s $0.29. Analysts skew cautious: 32 Hold versus 13 Buy, with just 9.12% implied upside. Shares already slid 27.19% over the past month, signaling fragile positioning. 1 hour ago
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What Wall Street Really Wants Tonight Tonight, investors are waiting for Intel’s guidance moreso than Q2 results. Consensus sits at $14.45 billion in revenue against management’s prior guide of $13.8 to $14.8 billion, and CFO David Zinsner has telegraphed that “supply will go up in the second quarter. It is going to go up every quarter now going forward.”
Management guides conservatively, then beats. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has strung together six consecutive quarters of exceeding expectations.
Bullish scenario: Q3 revenue above $14.8B, non-GAAP gross margin holding 40%+, DCAI growth accelerating past 22%, and foundry losses narrowing from Q1’s $2.4 billion.
Bearish scenario: Revenue guide below $14B, margin under 38%, or any hint of a 14A pause. With shares near $99.66, guidance moves this stock more than the beat itself.
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Intel enters tonight’s Q2 earnings report with expectations running high after a blowout first quarter.
Management previously guided for revenue of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $0.20, while Polymarket traders currently assign a 94.5% probability that Intel beats the EPS consensus.
The bigger question is what comes next. Intel’s red-hot rally from the low $20s one year ago to just below $100 today leaves little room for disappointing guidance.
A confident Q3 outlook could validate enthusiasm surrounding the Intel 18A ramp, the foundry customer pipeline, and the government’s stake in the company. However, a soft forecast could quickly revive concerns about foundry profitability, capital-spending discipline, and Intel’s negative free cash flow.
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) reports Q2 FY2026 at 4:00 PM ET after the bell today, with the earnings call scheduled for 5:00 PM ET. Shares trade around $100.98, up 178.1% year-to-date and 327.42% in the past year but down 27.19% over the past month.
Momentum Meets Reset Fatigue Q1 delivered a sixth consecutive revenue beat. Revenue reached $13.577 billion, up 7.18% YoY and ahead of the $12.43 billion consensus. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.29 demolished the $0.0127 estimate.
Non-GAAP gross margin expanded to 41.0% from 39.2%. Data Center and AI revenue climbed 22% YoY to $5.052 billion, and Intel Foundry rose 16% to $5.421 billion. A $4.07 billion Mobileye impairment drove the GAAP net loss of -$3.728 billion. Shares peaked near $119.84 within 30 days before fading into today’s report.
Consensus Estimates and Guidance Metric Q2 2026 Guide Q1 2026 Actual FY26 OpEx Target Revenue $13.8B to $14.8B $13.577B N/A Non-GAAP EPS $0.20 $0.29 N/A Non-GAAP Gross Margin ~39.0% 41.0% N/A Non-GAAP OpEx N/A N/A ~$16.5B Analysts’ estimates imply the business will see modest sequential margin compression and softer EPS compared to Q1, even at the high end of the revenue range. That reflects lower prior-quarter inventory tailwinds and early Intel 18A ramp costs weighing on the revenue mix.
Foundry Math and AI Attach Take Center Stage Tonight, I’ll be watching Intel Foundry’s operating loss trajectory closely. Prior quarters ran at $2.51B, $2.3B, and $3.2B in losses through late FY25, so any narrowing could signal that Intel 18A is pulling through. Polymarket assigns 90.5% odds that Foundry revenue clears $5B, but only 65% for $5.5B.
DCAI cadence is another focal point. Management flagged double-digit sequential growth tied to supply, pricing, and utilization. Traders price 82.5% odds of exceeding $5.5B. Lip-Bu Tan’s positioning around agentic AI matters here. He told investors last quarter that “The next wave of AI will bring intelligence closer to the end user, moving from foundational models to inference to agentic.”
I’ll also track any product and partnership updates, such as the NVIDIA DGX Rubin NVL8 Xeon 6-socket, the Google Xeon and custom IPU partnership, and Panther Lake OEM design momentum.
Earnings History Quarter EPS Surprise Day-Of Move 1-Week Move 30-Day Move Q1 2026 +2,183.46% +23.6% +20.69% +47.53% Q4 2025 +80.72% -17.03% +3.11% +4.02% Q3 2025 +3,050.68% +0.31% +4.47% -6.4% Q2 2025 -1,175.27% -8.53% -6.71% +17.63% On average, shares moved +4.88% seven days after earnings over the past year.
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Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options: https://bit.ly/2v9tH6D. Intel's (INTC) earnings bar got slightly lowered following sharp selling action on Alphabet's (GOOGL) and Tesla's (TSLA) reports.
Intel reported better-than-expected second-quarter results on Thursday, notching its fastest revenue growth rate for any quarter since 2011 and issuing guidance that topped expectations. The stock jumped 11% in extended trading.
Here's how the chipmaker did versus LSEG consensus estimates
Earnings per share: 42 cents, adjusted, versus 21 cents expectedRevenue: $16.1 billion, versus $14.42 billion expectedIntel shares are up over 170% so far in 2026 as of Thursday's close after soaring 84% last year, when the U.S. government took a 10% stake in the company as part of an effort to support U.S. chip manufacturing. However, the stock has been in a slump more recently, dropping 28% in July.
Despite the recent downturn, the company is getting a boost from the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom, which is helping sales of its server processors. Intel's 25% revenue growth was the fastest for any quarter since the third quarter of 2011.
"AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute," CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in the statement. "As we continue to execute, Intel is well-positioned to capture sustainable growth across our CPU franchise."
For the current quarter, Intel said it expects adjusted earnings per share of 38 cents on revenue between $15.8 billion and $16.8 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $15.1 billion and EPS of 27 cents, according to LSEG.
Intel also said it is starting to craft long-term agreements with customers for its server CPUs, some with pricing locked in and others focused on chip volume.
It's a move that's becoming common, particularly in memory, as vendors try to preserve current high pricing and market power in case the AI market turns. Intel said it had reached 10 long-term agreements, and Zinsner said the company is supply constrained, with data center customers demanding more than it can produce.
Revenue in the company's client computing group, which makes chips for PCs, rose 13% to $8.9 billion. It's still Intel's biggest unit, but the robust growth is coming from its data center business, where revenue rose 59% to $6.3 billion. Intel said it expects flat PC sales in the third quarter because of the memory shortage.
Intel is boosting its capital expenditures, targeting a "meaningful increase" next year, as it aggressively tries to morph into a manufacturer of chips for other companies. CFO David Zinsner told CNBC's Kristina Partsinevelos that the company's latest manufacturing process, called 14A, is ahead of where older technologies were at the same point in the cycle. Intel said its foundry reported $5.8 billion in sales, up 31% on an annual basis.
Still, Intel did not reveal a major customer for its foundry, as investors and potential customers keep waiting. It primarily manufactures its own chips. Intel's foundry landed Fortinet as its first named customer under Tan earlier this week, but it's using an older manufacturing technology to make security chips.
Intel's gross margin also recovered to 42%, up from 2.5% in the year-ago period, which the company attributed to benefits of scale with more revenue, as well as selling chips with higher margins and pricing.
Intel (INTC) shares have climbed more than 300% over the last 12 months but have fallen 30% from record highs less than a month ago as of Thursday's close. After hours, the legacy tech firm showed AI strength with stronger-than-expected earnings and guidance that surged past Wall Street's estimates.
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Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC, XETRA:INL) shares jumped nearly 11% in after-hours trading after the chipmaker reported second quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, driven by stronger demand across its data center and client computing businesses and a better-than-expected outlook for the third quarter.
The company reported second quarter revenue of $16.1 billion, up 25% from a year earlier and above analyst expectations of $14.43 billion.
Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.42, compared with consensus estimates of $0.21 per share.
Intel’s Data Center and AI segment generated $6.3 billion in revenue during the quarter, topping analyst expectations of $5.54 billion and rising 59% year over year. The Client Computing and Physical AI Group reported revenue of $8.9 billion, up 13% year over year and ahead of estimates of $7.99 billion.
Intel forecast third quarter revenue of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion, above Wall Street expectations of $15.1 billion.
The company expects adjusted earnings per share of $0.38, compared with analyst estimates of $0.27.
“AI is driving unprecedented demand for compute, and as we continue to execute, Intel is well-positioned to capture sustainable growth across our CPU franchise, ASICs, advanced packaging and vast wafer foundry network,” Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in a statement.
“Our Q2 results represent our strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years, enabled by greater speed, accountability, and customer focus.”
Intel CFO Dave Zinsner wrote that the company delivered a strong quarter “on robust demand and improved execution,” including higher factory yields and improved cycle times.
He added that AI-driven compute demand continues to strengthen and that Intel is increasing investments in equipment, clean room space and substrates to support expected growth.
Intel stock jumped in the extended hours as the company published strong financial results and boosted its forward guidance. INTC soared to $110, a significant increase from this month’s low of $89.65. What next for these shares?
INTC shares jumped after the semiconductor giant published strong financial results, helped by its data center business.
Its revenue jumped by 25% in the second quarter to $16.1 billion, with its gross margin soaring to 40.45 as chip prices jumped.
Lip-Bu Tan, the CEO hailed the results as the strongest revenue growth in over 15 years, driven by its CPUs, ASICs, and advanced packaging. In a statement, Dave Zinsner, the CFO said:
“AI-driven compute continues to strengthen, and to support expected growth this year and next across products and foundry, we are meaningfully increasing our investments in equipment, clean room space, and substrates.”
Most importantly, the management expects that the business will continue growing in the near term, helped by the unprecedented demand for its products.
The management expects that its revenue in the current quarter will jump to between $15.8 billion and $16.7 billion. This is a bigger number than the average revenue estimate of $15.1 billion. It also expects that its earnings-per-share (EPS) will be 31 cents, also higher than the expected 28 cents.
READ MORE: Intel stock earnings could expose the fault line beneath its AI comeback
These numbers mean that the company’s turnaround strategy is working, which may push analysts to upgrade it. Analysts are already highly bullish on the company, with UBS and Susquehanna having a target of $115. KeyCorp has a target of $155, while Stifel has $120.
These developments come after the company made some major strides in the past two years. It replaced its CEO, raised capital, including from Nvidia and the US government, and made more announcements.
For example, it recently announced a large deal with Apollo Global to acquire its remaining stake in its Irish fabrication company. It also inked a major deal with Tesla and SpaceX to participate in the Terafab project. Most recently, it announced a deal that will see it manufacture chips for Apple, the second-biggest company in the world.
At the same time, the company has become a major player in the growing AI agent industry.
Intel stock chart | Source: TradingView
The daily chart reveals that the INTC stock has rebounded from a low of $89.68 to over $110 today. It has moved above the important resistance level of $100, its lowest level on June 5.
The stock sits above the 100-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). It also jumped above the Major S/R pivot point of the Murrey Math Lines tool.
Therefore, these results mean that the stock may continue rising in the near term as bulls target the key resistance at $150. This target coincides with the ultimate resistance of the Murrey Math Lines tool.
Intel Corp. surged in late trading after the chipmaker's revenue forecast shattered estimates, indicating that booming data center spending is helping fuel a long-awaited turnaround. Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow spoke to CEO Lip-Bu Tan who said demand is outpacing the current supply.
Key Takeaways FedEx Freight debuted as a standalone S&P 500 LTL carrier with a large North American network. Management targets 4%-6% revenue growth, 10%-12% adjusted operating income growth and $1B free cash flow. Standalone systems, freight cyclicality and elevated debt could pressure costs and demand. FedEx Freight (FDXF - Free Report) has entered the public market as a standalone freight company. Its S&P 500 debut gives investors a clearer way to evaluate a business that was previously housed inside FedEx.
The case now rests on a focused less-than-truckload, or LTL, network, post-spin targets and the company’s ability to execute without the operating support of its former parent.
FDXF Starts Life as a Pure LTL CarrierFedEx Freight is now a focused North American LTL carrier serving manufacturers, retailers, distributors and business customers. The model moves smaller freight shipments from many customers through a shared terminal and linehaul network rather than dedicating an entire truck to one shipper.
Scale is central to that model. FDXF handles roughly 90,000 daily shipments across more than 365 locations, supported by 30,000 vehicles and 40,000 team members. That footprint matters because LTL customers value coverage, reliable pickup and delivery, shipment visibility and claims performance.
The company now sits in a peer set that includes Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) , a major national LTL carrier, and XPO (XPO - Free Report) , which also competes in North American LTL. Those peers give investors a useful comparison group for pricing discipline, service quality and margin performance.
FedEx Freight Gains Strategic FreedomThe spin-off changes the management agenda. FedEx Freight no longer competes internally with parcel and express operations for capital, systems investment or executive attention. The company can direct resources toward freight customers and freight-specific network decisions.
That independence could sharpen execution. A dedicated sales force can focus on industrial, retail and distribution accounts, while technology spending can be targeted toward shipment visibility, pricing, dock productivity and route planning.
Strategic freedom does not guarantee faster growth, but it creates a cleaner investment story. Investors can now judge FDXF on freight fundamentals rather than on its contribution to a broader transportation portfolio.
FDXF Growth Plan Centers on MarginsManagement’s medium-term targets frame the stock’s growth case. FedEx Freight is aiming for revenue growth of 4% to 6% and adjusted operating income growth of 10% to 12% over the medium term.
The plan also calls for free cash flow above $1 billion, free cash flow conversion above 90% and a capital expenditure-to-revenue ratio near 5%. Those targets suggest that the company is not simply chasing shipment volume.
That distinction is important in LTL. Volume growth can help network density, but poorly priced freight can dilute margins. For FDXF, the cleaner upside would come from better yields, improved network balance, disciplined capacity spending and productivity gains.
FedEx Freight Faces a Tough Reality CheckExecution risk is the first test. FedEx Freight must build and operate standalone corporate systems after the spin-off, including public-company functions. Any disruption could absorb management time and raise costs early in independence.
The business is also exposed to the freight cycle. Industrial production, manufacturing activity, retail replenishment and broader business spending influence LTL volumes. Softer demand could pressure shipment counts, pricing and operating leverage.
Leverage adds another constraint. Elevated debt created before separation may reduce flexibility if the freight market weakens or if standalone costs run higher than planned. Debt service needs can compete with technology spending and network investment.
FDXF Signals a Mixed Setup for InvestorsThe bottom line is that FedEx Freight offers a cleaner way to own a large North American LTL network, but the stock still needs operating proof as a standalone company. The spin-off improves strategic focus, yet investors have to weigh that against systems execution, cyclicality and balance-sheet pressure.
FDXF currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. We believe the stock remains worth holding for investors with a long-term horizon.
The consensus price target for FDXF stock is $175, implying an upside of more than 17% from current levels.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The stock also has a Value Score of C, Growth Score of C, Momentum Score of F and VGM Score of D. That mix points to a neutral near-term setup rather than a clear buying signal.
The Style Scores reinforce that stance. C grades in value and growth suggest middle-of-the-road characteristics, while the F in momentum indicates weak timing on that measure. With a VGM Score of F, FDXF looks better suited for monitoring than for an aggressive entry until investors see cleaner execution and evidence that margin targets are becoming durable results.
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said that only 2% of his company's software could be replaced with applications constructed by artificial intelligence models, as he seeks to reassure Wall Street following disappointing second-quarter results.
"The rest of our software really helps people get ready for AI, unlocking data in real time, reducing the cost and complexity of managing it, going across the hybrid infrastructure, which most of our clients are using," Krishna told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday. "And because it would be what you would call maybe infrastructure software, not applications, I believe it'll be a tailwind for us."
Wall Street has turned skeptical on software stocks over the past couple years due to concerns that AI will disrupt their business models as technology from Anthropic, OpenAI and others gets more powerful. IBM shares are down about 30% this year, and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector Exchange-Traded Fund (IGV) has dropped 17%.
In February, IBM saw shares sink 13% after Anthropic issued a blog post on its Claude Code tool's ability to modernize code written in Cobol, which is often found on mainframes.
Krishna told analysts on Wednesday, after the company's earnings report, that IBM's current-generation z17 mainframe encountered challenges in the quarter. Finance chief Jim Kavanaugh said some customers chose to spend money on other data center equipment, such as servers and storage, as memory prices spike because of AI chip requirements.
For every dollar in revenue IBM generates from mainframe infrastructure, it picks up $3 in software. Just as IBM's Z mainframe business saw revenue drop 42% in the quarter, transaction processing software declined 9%. It was a sudden shift from the first quarter, when Z revenue grew 48%, and transaction processing increased 2%.
During the June quarter, 45% of IBM's revenue came from software, where profit margins are the strongest.
Krishna said Starbucks spends about $2 million per year on IBM software. He said the coffee maker is taking out Tririga lease management software. IBM bought Tririga in 2011, and plans to end support in 2027.
"That is a big component of that 2% I talked about, and I do think that software like that is subject to risk," he said. "By the way, what they had in place was a 10-year-old piece of software."
While IBM stuck with its guidance for a $1 billion bump to free cash flow in 2026, Kavanaugh said Wednesday that he now expects 6% to 8% growth in software revenue for the year. In January, he said he was confident the growth rate would be in the double digits.
Krishna said on Thursday that mainframe hardware capacity is growing, which has implications for software.
"The software on that tends to lag the hardware capacity, and I do think that if we give it another year, you'll find the software will catch back up," he said.
About 75% of deals that slipped from the second quarter should come back to IBM before year end, Krishna said.
"We would avoid giving full credit for the maintained guide until a larger portion of the slipped activity is reflected in reported results," analysts at Jefferies wrote in a Thursday note to clients. They recommend buying the stock.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) (along with its subsidiaries, "Charter") announced today the commencement by its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Charter Communications Operating, LLC ("CCO"), Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp. ("CCO Capital" and, together with CCO, collectively, the "CCO Issuers" or the "Company") and Time Warner Cable, LLC (the "TWC Issuer" and, together with CCO Issuers, the "Old Notes Issuers") of a private offer to exchange (the "Pool 1 Offer") seven series of notes issued by the CCO Issuers or the TWC Issuer, as applicable (collectively, the "Pool 1 Notes"), for a combination of cash consideration and a new series of Senior Secured Notes due 2038 (the "New 2038 Notes") to be issued by the CCO Issuers with registration rights, as described and for the consideration summarized in the table below. The aggregate principal amount of Pool 1 Notes of each series that are accepted for exchange will be based on, among other things, the order of acceptance priority for such series as set forth in the table below and, with respect to the 4.500% senior debentures due 2042 issued by the TWC Issuer (the "4.500% Notes"), the sub-cap with respect to the aggregate principal amount of such series set forth in the table below (the "4.500% Notes Sub-Cap"), such that the aggregate principal amount of Pool 1 Notes accepted in the Pool 1 Offer results in the issuance of New 2038 Notes in an amount not exceeding $1,750,000,000 (the "New 2038 Notes Cap").
Issuer(s)
Title of Security
Aggregate Principal Amount Outstanding
CUSIP No./ ISIN(1)
Acceptance Priority Level(2)
Sub-Cap(2)
Reference Treasury
Bloomberg Reference Page(3)
Fixed Spread (Basis Points)
Early Exchange Premium(4)(5)
Cash
Component(6)
CCO Issuers
3.500% senior secured notes due 2042
$1,236,000,000
161175CE2 / US161175CE27
1
N/A
5.000% due May 15, 2046
FIT 1
+165 Bps
$50.00
$95.00
3.500% senior secured notes due 2041
$1,479,000,000
161175BZ6 / US161175BZ64
2
N/A
4.375% due May 15, 2036
FIT 1
+215 Bps
$50.00
$130.00
Time Warner Cable, LLC ("TWC Issuer" or "TWC")
4.500% senior debentures due 2042
$1,250,000,000
88732JBD9 / US88732JBD90
3
$450,000,000
5.000% due May 15, 2046
FIT 1
+190 Bps
$50.00
$305.00
CCO Issuers
5.375% senior secured notes due 2047
$2,265,000,000
161175BL7 / US161175BL78
161175BD5 /
US161175BD52
4
N/A
5.000% due May 15, 2046
FIT 1
+215 Bps
$50.00
$120.00
2.300% senior secured notes due 2032
$1,000,000,000
161175BX1 / US161175BX17
5
N/A
4.125% due June 30, 2031
FIT 1
+110 Bps
$50.00
$0.00
2.800% senior secured notes due 2031
$1,590,000,000
161175BU7 / US161175BU77
6
N/A
4.125% due June 30, 2031
FIT 1
+110 Bps
$50.00
$0.00
2.250% senior secured notes due 2029
$1,250,000,000
161175CD4 / US161175CD44
7
N/A
4.125% due July 15, 2029
FIT 1
+80 Bps
$50.00
$0.00
_____________
(1)
No representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of the CUSIP or ISIN numbers listed in the Offering Memorandum (as defined below). Such CUSIP and ISIN numbers are provided solely for the convenience of the holders of Pool 1 Notes.
(2)
Subject to the New 2038 Notes Cap and, solely with respect to the 4.500% Notes, the 4.500% Notes Sub-Cap set forth in this table and proration, the principal amount of each series of Pool 1 Notes that is purchased in the Pool 1 Offer will be determined in accordance with the applicable Acceptance Priority Level (in numerical priority order with 1 being the highest Acceptance Priority Level and 7 being the lowest) specified in this column.
(3)
The Bloomberg Reference Page/Screen is provided for convenience only. To the extent any Bloomberg Reference Page/Screen changes prior to the Pricing Time (as defined below), the Joint-Lead Dealer Managers referred to below will quote the applicable Reference Treasury Security from the updated Bloomberg Reference Page/Screen.
(4)
Per $1,000 principal amount of the Pool 1 Notes validly tendered prior to or at the Early Tender Date (and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline (as defined below)) and accepted for exchange, to be paid in the form of New 2038 Notes.
(5)
The Total Exchange Consideration (as defined below) for the Pool 1 Notes validly tendered prior to or at the Early Tender Date (and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline) and accepted for exchange is inclusive of the Early Exchange Premium.
(6)
Represents the portion of the Total Exchange Consideration or the Base Exchange Consideration in each case for the Pool 1 Notes, as applicable, that will be payable in cash per $1,000 principal amount of Pool 1 Notes validly tendered and accepted for exchange.
Charter also announced today the commencement by CCO Issuers of a private offer to exchange (the "Pool 2 Offer") five series of notes (collectively, the "Pool 2 Notes" and, together with the Pool 1 Notes, the "Old Notes" and each series of Old Notes, a "series of Old Notes") for a combination of cash and a new series of Senior Secured Notes due 2041 (the "New 2041 Notes" and, together with the New 2038 Notes, the "New Notes" and each series of New Notes, a "series of New Notes") to be issued by the CCO Issuers with registration rights, as described and for the consideration summarized in the table below. The aggregate principal amount of Pool 2 Notes of each series that are accepted for exchange will be based on, among other things, the order of acceptance priority for such series as set forth in the table below, such that the aggregate principal amount of Pool 2 Notes accepted in the Pool 2 Offer results in the issuance of New 2041 Notes in an amount not exceeding $1,750,000,000 (the "New 2041 Notes Cap").
Issuer(s)
Title of Security
Aggregate Principal Amount Outstanding
CUSIP No./ ISIN(1)
Acceptance Priority Level(2)
Sub-Cap(2)
Reference Treasury
Bloomberg Reference Page(3)
Fixed Spread (Basis Points)
Early Exchange Premium(4)(5)
Cash
Component(6)
CCO Issuers
3.700% senior secured notes due 2051
$2,050,000,000
161175BV5 / US161175BV50
1
N/A
4.750% due February 15, 2056
FIT 1
+190 Bps
$50.00
$0.00
3.900% senior secured notes due 2052
$2,400,000,000
161175CA0 / US161175CA05
2
N/A
4.750% due February 15, 2056
FIT 1
+195 Bps
$50.00
$0.00
4.800% senior secured notes due 2050
$2,473,000,000
161175BT0 / US161175BT05
3
N/A
4.750% due February 15, 2056
FIT 1
+205 Bps
$50.00
$117.50
5.125% senior secured notes due 2049
$1,244,000,000
161175BS2 / US161175BS22
4
N/A
5.000% due May 15, 2046
FIT 1
+220 Bps
$50.00
$150.00
5.250% senior secured notes due 2053
$1,500,000,000
161175CK8 / US161175CK86
5
N/A
4.750% due February 15, 2056
FIT 1
+210 Bps
$50.00
$190.00
_____________
(1)
No representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of the CUSIP or ISIN numbers listed in the Offering Memorandum. Such CUSIP and ISIN numbers are provided solely for the convenience of the holders of Pool 2 Notes.
(2)
Subject to the New 2041 Notes Cap and, the principal amount of each series of Pool 2 Notes that is purchased in the Pool 2 Offer will be determined in accordance with the applicable Acceptance Priority Level (in numerical priority order with 1 being the highest Acceptance Priority Level and 5 being the lowest) specified in this column.
(3)
The Bloomberg Reference Page/Screen is provided for convenience only. To the extent any Bloomberg Reference Page/Screen changes prior to the Pricing Time, the Joint-Lead Dealer Managers referred to below will quote the applicable Reference Treasury Security from the updated Bloomberg Reference Page/Screen.
(4)
Per $1,000 principal amount of the Pool 2 Notes validly tendered prior to or at the Early Tender Date (and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline) and accepted for exchange, to be paid in the form of New 2041 Notes.
(5)
The Total Exchange Consideration for the Pool 2 Notes validly tendered prior to or at the Early Tender Date (and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline) and accepted for exchange is inclusive of the Early Exchange Premium.
(6)
Represents the portion of the Total Exchange Consideration or the Base Exchange Consideration in each case for the Pool 2 Notes, as applicable, that will be payable in cash per $1,000 principal amount of Pool 2 Notes validly tendered and accepted for exchange.
Eligible Holders (as defined below) of Old Notes who validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date (and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline), and whose Old Notes are accepted pursuant to the terms of the applicable Exchange Offers, will receive the Total Exchange Consideration. The Total Exchange Consideration (which includes the Early Exchange Premium) for each $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date (and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline) and accepted for exchange pursuant to the terms of the applicable Exchange Offers will be divided into (i) a cash payment equal to the applicable Cash Component and (ii) a principal amount of the applicable series of New Notes equal to the Total Exchange Consideration of the series of outstanding Old Notes tendered minus such Cash Component. The "Total Exchange Consideration" for each $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date (as defined below) (and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline) and accepted for exchange pursuant to the terms of the applicable Exchange Offers will be determined in accordance with standard market practice, as described in the Offering Memorandum using the applicable "Exchange Offer Yield," which will be equal to the sum of (i) the yield to maturity (the "Reference Yield") based on the bid side price of the U.S. Treasury Security (the "Reference U.S. Treasury Security") specified on the tables above for each series of Old Notes, as calculated by the Joint-Lead Dealer Managers (as defined below) at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on August 6, 2026 (subject to certain exceptions set forth herein, such time and date, as the same may be extended, the "Pricing Time") appearing on the Bloomberg Reference Page specified on the front cover of the Offering Memorandum for such series of Old Notes (or any other recognized quotation source selected by the Joint-Lead Dealer Managers in their sole discretion if such quotation report is not available or manifestly erroneous), plus (ii) the applicable fixed spread (the "Fixed Spread") specified for each series of Old Notes in the tables above. The Total Exchange Consideration will include the Early Exchange Premium.
The New 2038 Notes will bear interest at a rate per annum to be determined as of the Pricing Time, as the sum of (a) the bid-side yield on the 4.375% U.S. Treasury Notes due May 15, 2036 (the "Benchmark Security"), as calculated by the Joint-Lead Dealer Managers in accordance with standard market practice, as of the Pricing Time as displayed on the Bloomberg Reference Page FIT 1 (or any recognized quotation source selected by the Joint-Lead Dealer Managers in their sole discretion if the Bloomberg Reference Page FIT 1 is not available or is manifestly erroneous), plus (b) 2.450%, rounded to the nearest 0.001%, such that the New 2038 Notes will be issued at par. The New 2041 Notes will bear interest at a rate per annum to be determined as of the Pricing Time, as the sum of (a) the bid-side yield on the Benchmark Security, as calculated by the Joint-Lead Dealer Managers in accordance with standard market practice, as of the Pricing Time as displayed on the Bloomberg Reference Page FIT 1 (or any recognized quotation source selected by the Joint-Lead Dealer Managers in their sole discretion if the Bloomberg Reference Page FIT 1 is not available or is manifestly erroneous), plus (b) 2.700%, rounded to the nearest 0.001%, such that the New 2041 Notes will be issued at par.
Set forth below is a table summarizing certain material terms of the New Notes:
Title of Series
Maturity Date
Benchmark Security
Spread to Benchmark
Security (bps)
New 2038 Notes
September 1, 2038
4.375% UST due May
15, 2036
245
New 2041 Notes
September 1, 2041
4.375% UST due May
15, 2036
270
Eligible Holders of Old Notes who validly tendered after the Early Tender Date but on or prior to the Expiration Date, and whose Old Notes are accepted pursuant to the terms of the applicable Exchange Offers, will receive the Base Exchange Consideration. The Base Exchange Consideration for each series of Old Notes validly tendered and accepted for exchange pursuant to the Exchange Offers will equal the Total Exchange Consideration for such series of Old Notes minus the applicable Early Exchange Premium for such series of Old Notes.
In addition, Eligible Holders of Old Notes who validly tendered their Old Notes on or prior to the Expiration Date, and whose Old Notes are accepted pursuant to the terms of the applicable Exchange Offers, will receive in cash accrued and unpaid interest from the last applicable interest payment date to, but excluding, the date on which the exchange of such Old Notes is settled (the "Accrued Interest"), plus amounts due in lieu of fractional amounts of New Notes. Eligible Holders who receive New Notes in exchange for Old Notes on the Final Settlement Date (as defined below) will receive New Notes that will, if the Early Settlement Date (as defined below) has occurred, have an embedded entitlement to pre-issuance interest for the period from, and including, the Early Settlement Date to, but not including, the Final Settlement Date. As a result, the cash payable for Accrued Interest on the Old Notes exchanged on the Final Settlement Date will be reduced by the amount of pre-issuance interest on the New Notes exchanged therefor.
The Exchange Offers are being conducted upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in an offering memorandum, dated July 23, 2026 (the "Offering Memorandum"). The Company reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to increase the New 2038 Notes Cap or the New 2041 Notes Cap without extending the Withdrawal Deadline or otherwise reinstating withdrawal rights.
The consummation of each Exchange Offer is subject to and conditioned upon the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, including, (i) that with respect to each series of New Notes, at least $500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of such series of New Notes would be issued on the Early Settlement Date, (ii) that as of the Pricing Time, the combination of the yield of the New Notes and the Total Exchange Consideration or the Base Exchange Consideration, as applicable, for the applicable series of Old Notes would result in the New Notes and such Old Notes being treated as "substantially different" under FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 470-50 and (iii) that with respect to any Old Notes validly tendered pursuant to any Exchange Offer that will be exchanged on the Final Settlement Date, we determine that the New Notes to be issued on the Final Settlement Date in such Exchange Offer will be treated as part of the same issue as the New Notes, if any, issued on the Early Settlement Date for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The Company reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (i) amend the terms of any Exchange Offer or (ii) waive or amend any condition described in the Offering Memorandum with respect to any Exchange Offer, without extending the Early Tender Date or the Withdrawal Deadline or otherwise reinstating withdrawal rights for any Exchange Offer, subject to applicable law.
Only Eligible Holders of Old Notes who validly tender their Old Notes at or before 5:00 p.m. New York City time on August 5, 2026, subject to any extension by the Company (the "Early Tender Date"), who do not validly withdraw their tenders and whose Old Notes are accepted for exchange, will receive an early exchange premium as set forth in the tables above (the "Early Exchange Premium").
The Exchange Offers will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on August 20, 2026, unless extended or earlier terminated by the Company (the "Expiration Date"). Tenders of Old Notes submitted in the Exchange Offers at or prior to 5:00 p.m. New York City time on August 5, 2026, subject to any extension by the Company (the "Withdrawal Deadline"), may be validly withdrawn at any time prior to the Withdrawal Deadline, but thereafter will be irrevocable, except in certain limited circumstances where additional withdrawal rights are required by law (as determined by the Company). Tenders submitted in the Exchange Offers after the Withdrawal Deadline will be irrevocable except in the limited circumstances where additional withdrawal rights are required by law (as determined by the Company).
The Company reserves the right, but is under no obligation, at any point following the Early Tender Date and before the Expiration Date, to accept for exchange any Old Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Date (the date of such exchange, the "Early Settlement Date"). The Early Settlement Date will be determined at the Company's option and is currently expected to occur on August 12, 2026, the fifth business day immediately following the Early Tender Date. If, after the Early Tender Date, the Company choose to exercise its options to have an Early Settlement Date and all conditions to the relevant Exchange Offers have been or are concurrently satisfied or waived by the Company, the Old Notes Issuers will, subject to the terms of the Exchange Offers, accept for exchange all Old Notes validly tendered in the Exchange Offers prior to the Early Tender Date subject to proration, and the exchange for such Old Notes will be made on the Early Settlement Date.
The Final Settlement Date for the Exchange Offers will be promptly after the Expiration Date and is currently expected to occur on August 24, 2026, the second business day immediately following the Expiration Date (the "Final Settlement Date").
The Exchange Offers are only being made, and the New Notes and related guarantees are only being offered and will only be issued to holders of Old Notes who are (1) reasonably believed to be "qualified institutional buyers" ("QIBs") as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act ("Rule 144A") or (2) outside the United States to persons other than "U.S. persons" as defined in Rule 902 under the Securities Act in offshore transactions in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act ("Regulation S") (such holders, the "Eligible Holders"). Only Eligible Holders who have properly completed and returned the eligibility certification, which is available from the Information Agent, are authorized to receive and review the Offering Memorandum and to participate in the Exchange Offers. Additionally, in order to participate in the Exchange Offers, Eligible Holders located in Canada are required to complete, sign and submit to the Information Agent a Canadian Eligibility Form (which is available from the Information Agent). There is no separate letter of transmittal in connection with the offering memorandum.
The New Notes and related guarantees have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws. Therefore, the New Notes and related guarantees may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and any applicable state securities laws.
Holders are advised to check with any bank, securities broker or other intermediary through which they hold Old Notes as to when such intermediary needs to receive instructions from a holder in order for that holder to be able to participate in, or (in the circumstances in which revocation is permitted) revoke their instruction to participate in the Exchange Offers before the deadlines specified herein and in the Offering Memorandum, eligibility certification and Canadian Eligibility Form. The deadlines set by each clearing system for the submission and withdrawal of exchange instructions will also be earlier than the relevant deadlines specified herein and in the Offering Memorandum, eligibility certification and Canadian Eligibility Form.
This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein. The Exchange Offers are being made solely by the Offering Memorandum and only to such persons and in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law.
Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as the dealer managers for the Exchange Offers (the "Joint Lead Dealer Managers"). Questions regarding the Exchange Offers may be directed to Barclays Capital Inc., Liability Management Group at (800) 438-3242 (toll free) or (212) 528-7581 (collect), Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Liability Management Group at (800) 558-3745 (toll free) or (212) 723-6106 (collect) or Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Liability Management Group at (800) 624-1808 (toll free) or (212) 761-1057 (collect).
D.F. King & Co., Inc. will act as the exchange agent and information agent for the Exchange Offers. Documents relating to the Exchange Offers will only be distributed to holders of Old Notes who certify that they are Eligible Holders. Questions or requests for assistance related to the Exchange Offers or for additional copies of the Offering Memorandum, eligibility certification or Canadian beneficial holder form may be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. at (888) 644-5854 (toll-free) or (646) 981-1289 (banks and brokers) or by email at [email protected]. You may also contact your broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Exchange Offers. The Offering Memorandum, eligibility certification and Canadian beneficial holder form can be accessed at the following link: www.dfking.com/charter.
About Charter
Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is a leading broadband connectivity company with services available to nearly 59 million homes and small to large businesses across 41 states through its Spectrum brand. Founded in 1993, Charter has evolved from providing cable TV to streaming, and from high-speed Internet to a converged broadband, WiFi and mobile experience. Over the Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network and supported by our 100% U.S.-based employees, the company offers Seamless Connectivity and Entertainment with Spectrum Internet®, Mobile, TV and Voice products.
More information about Charter can be found at corporate.charter.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding, among other things, the Exchange Offers. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations as reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the factors described under "Risk Factors" from time to time in Charter's filings with the SEC. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe," "future," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "planned," "will," "may," "intend," "estimated," "aim," "on track," "target," "opportunity," "tentative," "positioning," "designed," "create," "predict," "project," "initiatives," "seek," "would," "could," "continue," "ongoing," "upside," "increases," "grow," "focused on" and "potential," among others.
All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company is under no duty or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
