The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (SAM) Q2 2026 Earnings Call July 23, 2026 5:00 PM EDT
Company Participants
Michael Andrews - Associate General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
C. Koch - Founder, Chairman, President & CEO
Diego Reynoso - CFO & Treasurer
Conference Call Participants
Filippo Falorni - Citigroup Inc., Research Division
Peter Grom - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division
Eric Serotta - Morgan Stanley, Research Division
Bonnie Herzog - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
William Kirk - ROTH Capital Partners, LLC, Research Division
Presentation
Operator
Greetings, and welcome to the Boston Beer Company's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.
It's now my pleasure to introduce Mike Andrews, Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Please go ahead.
Michael Andrews
Associate General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Thank you. Good afternoon, and welcome. This is Mike Andrews, Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Boston Beer Company. I'm pleased to kick off our 2026 second quarter earnings call. Joining the call from Boston Beer are Jim Koch, Founder, CEO and Chairman; and Diego Reynoso, our CFO.
Before we discuss our business, I'll start with our disclaimer. As we stated in our earnings release, some of the information we discuss and that may come up on this call reflects the company's or management's expectations or predictions of the future. Such predictions are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that the company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the company's most recent 10-Q and 10-K. The company does not undertake to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Billionaire David Tepper made the bulk of his fortune investing on Wall Street, so it's understandable that people would peek into his hedge fund's holdings to get a look at where he's placing his bets. As of the first quarter (Q1), Tepper's hedge fund, Appaloosa Management, had $5.93 billion in assets under management, with a surprising amount of that coming from a little-known energy company.
Vistra (VST +1.34%) was 5.12% of Appaloosa's portfolio, its seventh-largest holding. The six above it are Amazon, Micron, Alphabet, Uber, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Alibaba, all of which fall into the tech bucket.
So, why are Tepper and Appaloosa so high on Vistra? Let's take a look.
Image source: Getty Images.
What does Vistra do? Vistra is an energy company that makes money in two main ways. The first is through retail, supplying power to around 5 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
The second is through power generation, which involves producing large amounts of electricity (about 44,000 megawatts) and selling it to major U.S. power grids. Its fleet is powered by natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage.
Tepper and Appaloosa likely increased their stake in Vistra because of its power generation business, and it (surprisingly) comes back to artificial intelligence (AI).
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A different way to invest in AI Except for Uber, the companies making up more of Appaloosa's portfolio than Vistra are all AI stocks, ranging from cloud to hardware to manufacturing. Vistra is not an AI stock, but it's positioned well to benefit from the ongoing AI boom.
Data centers house the infrastructure needed to run AI. However, it takes tons of power to keep them running 24/7, as they need to handle the workload. Many people would argue it takes too much power, but in Vistra's case, it has worked in its favor.
As AI hyperscalers (companies that own the infrastructure) collectively spend hundreds of billions building out data centers, they're locking in with companies like Vistra to ensure they have the power to supply them. Just earlier this year, Vistra and Meta Platforms announced a 20-year power purchase agreement. It's hard not to think that helped Tepper's decision to double down on the stock.
Is now the time to invest in Vistra? Over the past 12 months, Vistra's stock has been down around 12% (as of July 22), so it hasn't experienced the AI-fueled growth that many other AI-adjacent stocks have. However, this could be Tepper getting ahead of the curve.
Last year, in Q1, Vistra operated with a $268 million loss. That same quarter this year, its net income was $1.03 billion. It's not the $1.84 billion it generated in Q3 2024, but it shows promise that it can head back in that direction.
VST Net Income (Quarterly) data by YCharts
Vistra hasn't necessarily reaped all the benefits from the AI windfall just yet, but I like the position it's currently in. However, the stock's volatility isn't for everyone. I wouldn't touch it if you're risk-averse.
Stefon Walters has positions in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Uber Technologies, and Vistra. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Energy can be one of the trickiest sectors of the stock market to navigate. Energy literally drives the global economy, from the gas in your vehicle to the electricity powering data centers for artificial intelligence (AI). But the industry can be volatile, with recessions and other events swinging commodity prices and sending companies scrambling in short order.
But if you focus on quality, you can find dependable energy sector dividend stocks with high yields. What does that look like? Three companies instantly come to mind.
First is Energy Transfer (ET +0.24%), a massive midstream company with a 6.6% yield. And Chevron (CVX +0.75%) and ExxonMobil (XOM +1.60%) are two of the world's premier oil majors, with decades of consistency backing up their reputations and generous dividends.
Here's a closer look at why these three stocks can deliver a lifetime of rising passive income.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Energy Transfer: An oil and gas midstream powerhouse If your goal is to maximize your income from Day 1, it's hard to do better than Energy Transfer's staggering 6.6% yield. Its sprawling network of 140,000 miles of pipelines and storage facilities functions like a toll road, collecting fees as it moves oil and gas throughout the United States. Energy Transfer isn't very sensitive to commodity prices; fees account for 90% of its total revenue.
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Energy Transfer has a significant presence in the Permian Basin, near America's major natural gas export hubs. It's a significant growth opportunity as the country's export activity continues to rise. Management's stated goal is to grow the company's distributable cash flow by 3%-5% annually over the long term, while maintaining a financial cushion in the payout ratio.
Energy Transfer is a master limited partnership (MLP). It doesn't pay corporate income taxes because it passes its profits, losses, and deductions to the limited partners, the unit holders who invest in the company. If you own this stock, you may need to complete a K-1 form as part of your personal tax filing to the IRS.
2. Chevron: An integrated major built for any market Chevron is one of the world's premier integrated oil and gas companies operating across the industry. It performs upstream operations, such as exploration and production, as well as downstream activities, like refining. That diversification helps soften the blow when commodity prices fall during recessions, though the company probably prefers higher oil prices.
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The stock currently yields over 3.7%, and Chevron has increased its dividend for 39 consecutive years. That growth streak spans multiple recessions, even a global pandemic, during which oil prices fell below zero for the first time. It's a testament to management's ability to navigate the energy industry's boom-and-bust cycles. Chevron also has a global footprint, which positions it for growth as global energy needs rise.
It's hard to plan for the long term, but Chevron does have strong growth prospects. Following its acquisition of Hess last year, the company now owns a 30% stake in the Guyana Stabroek Block, one of the largest discoveries in recent history. Management anticipates the company's cash flow growing by around 10% annually through 2030.
3. ExxonMobil: This dividend legend still has a bright future ExxonMobil is the 800-pound gorilla in the industry, the largest oil and gas major in the United States. Like Chevron, it's a global company with upstream and downstream operations. ExxonMobil also has an extensive dividend track record, with 43 consecutive annual increases. The stock yields 2.8%, the lowest of the three, but still nearly three times the passive income they'll find in an S&P 500 index fund.
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Due to its immense size, ExxonMobil has one of the world's strongest balance sheets and has leaned on it during market downturns to preserve its precious dividend. Management has leaned into its oil and gas roots in recent years, acquiring Pioneer Natural Resources in late 2023 to boost its growth prospects and then focusing on efficiency to free up cash flow.
The result? ExxonMobil is sitting pretty with extensive acreage in the Permian Basin and Guyana, which should help drive oil and gas production for the foreseeable future. Even if global oil and gas demand eventually peaks, ExxonMobil and other industry giants will be able to absorb smaller players to preserve their businesses as the industry slowly consolidates. That makes ExxonMobil a safe bet for the long haul.
SummaryCompaniesJet fuel surge upends airline profit forecastsAmerican swings from potential raise to cutFare gains lag sudden fuel-cost shocksDifferent fuel dates blur forecast comparisonsCHICAGO, July 24 (Reuters) - A rapid rise in jet fuel prices is forcing U.S. airlines to rewrite earnings expectations, exposing how quickly higher fuel costs can outpace revenue gains from strong travel demand.
American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab was prepared to raise its 2026 earnings forecast earlier this month. Thirteen days later, after its projected fuel bill for the rest of the year had risen by nearly $1.6 billion, it cut the outlook instead.
The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here.
The reversal reflects a fundamental mismatch in the airline business. Fuel markets can move sharply in days, but fare increases take weeks or months to feed through because they apply only to tickets yet to be sold.
Strong demand and restrained capacity have allowed carriers to raise fares without hurting bookings, but higher ticket prices have offset only part of the increase in fuel costs.
As the U.S.-Iran ceasefire began to fray, jet fuel spot prices surged nearly 30% between July 2 and July 22, clouding the industry's outlook.
"I think margins are going to be effectively down for the industry," American Chief Financial Officer Devon May told Reuters in an interview. "If we had guided on the same day as Delta (July 10), we'd have been guiding up for the year."
In early July, he said, American had expected full-year pretax earnings approaching $1.5 billion, about four times its 2025 result. Instead, American lowered its full-year earnings forecast to a range stretching from a loss to a profit, with breakeven at the midpoint.
The stakes are higher at American. Its thinner margins and persistent profit gap with Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), opens new tab and United Airlines (UAL.O), opens new tab leave it with less room to absorb higher fuel costs, intensifying scrutiny of CEO Robert Isom's effort to rebuild corporate travel, add premium seats and generate more revenue from the loyalty program.
American cut its outlook despite reporting record quarterly revenue and forecasting strong unit revenue growth in the second half. If fuel remains elevated, weaker cash generation could slow debt reduction, constrain investment and increase pressure to trim less-profitable flying.
Airlines have responded differently to the fuel surge, partly reflecting when their forecasts were issued.
Delta, the first major U.S. carrier to report, maintained its annual earnings outlook, while United last week raised the lower end of its forecast.
But this week, Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), opens new tab lowered the floor of its outlook and Alaska Air (ALK.N), opens new tab declined to restore full-year guidance.
The forecasts were built on fuel assumptions from different dates, ranging from July 2 for Delta to July 21 for American. Over that period, jet fuel spot prices rose by 78 cents to $3.59 a gallon, making outlooks issued only days apart harder to compare and shortening their useful lives.
RAPIDLY CHANGING ASSUMPTIONSAmerican said higher fares offset nearly half of a $2.2 billion year-over-year increase in second-quarter fuel expense. Delta recovered about 60% of its fuel increase, while United recovered about 50%. Alaska said it recovered very little, and Southwest did not disclose a comparable percentage.
But the renewed surge in fuel prices is testing how quickly carriers can recover the additional costs. May said American's projected fuel bill for the rest of the year rose by about $550 million over the past week.
Every one-cent increase in American's average fuel price adds about $46 million to its annual expense and flows largely through to pretax earnings, May said. A 10-cent increase would therefore cost roughly $460 million.
United described a similar last-minute shift.
"At this time last week, I was planning to tell you that we had a good line of sight to growing earnings year-over-year," Chief Executive Scott Kirby said on the airline's July 16 earnings call. "But fuel has gone up a lot in the last week."
United said the rise in fuel prices since July 1 added $575 million to its expected third-quarter fuel bill and changed its guidance policy to use the latest available fuel prices.
At Alaska, bookings for September and October remained as strong as summer demand, but its earnings outlook remained highly sensitive to fuel prices.
"You've got to choose a fuel price," Ryan St. John, Alaska's vice president of finance, planning and investor relations, told Reuters. "You can guess at whatever you think fuel is, but the reality is none of us know."
A 25-cent change in Alaska's average fuel cost could shift quarterly earnings by about 50 cents per share, he said.
May said American aims to pass on as much of any fuel-cost increase as possible. But the share it can recover remains a moving target.
"It depends on the day for spot prices," he said.
Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Jamie Freed
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Rajesh Kumar Singh is the U.S. Aviation Correspondent at Reuters, based in Chicago, where he reports on airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and regulatory developments that shape the global aviation industry. Prior to this role, he covered U.S. manufacturing and trade policy, including the U.S.–China trade wars, where his work delved into the disruption facing American businesses and the strategic responses of major corporations. He began his career with Reuters in India, where he reported on a wide range of issues covering the country's economic complexities—from its recovery after the global financial crisis to the challenges of inflation and governance.
Andrew Harmening - President, CEO & Director
Derek Meyer - Executive VP & CFO
Patrick Ahern - Executive VP, Chief Credit Officer & Chicago Market President
Conference Call Participants
Brandon Rud - Stephens Inc., Research Division
Daniel Tamayo - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division
Casey Haire
Jonathan Rau - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division
Jon Arfstrom - RBC Capital Markets, Research Division
Christopher O'Connell - Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Research Division
Presentation
Operator
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Associated Banc-Corp's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Alicia, and I will be your operator today. [Operator Instructions] We will be conducting a question-and-answer session at the end of the conference. Copies of the slides will be referenced during today's call are available on the company's website at investor.associatedbank.com. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.
As outlined on Slide 2, during the course of the discussion today, management may make statements that constitute projections, expectations, beliefs or similar forward-looking statements. Associated actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated or projected in such forward-looking statements. Additional detailed information concerning the important factors that could cause associated actual results to differ materially from the information discussed today is readily available on the SEC website in the Risk Factors section of Associated's most recent Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings. These factors are incorporated herein by reference.
For a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the GAAP financial measures mentioned in this conference call, please refer to Pages 28 through 31 on the slide presentation and to Pages 10 and 11 of the press release financial tables. Following today's presentation, instructions will be given for the question-and-answer session.
NEW YORK, July 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Peabody Energy Corporation (NYSE:BTU) and certain of the Company’s senior executives for securities fraud after its significant stock drop resulting from potential violations of the federal securities laws.
If you invested in Peabody, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/peabody-class-action-lawsuit.
Key Details of the Peabody ($BTU) Class Action:
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 24, 2026Alleged Misconduct: Securities fraud relating to Peabody’s statements about the coal production at Centurion, its flagship premium hard coking coal mine.Largest Alleged Stock Drop: March 30, 2026 – 9.7% stock dropCourt: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of MissouriAction: Contact BFA Law to discuss your rights Investors have until August 24, 2026 to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts securities fraud claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in Peabody common stock. The class action is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. It is captioned McGeachy v. Peabody, et al., No. 26-cv-01020.
Why is Peabody Being Sued for Securities Fraud?
Peabody is a producer of metallurgic and thermal coal that owns interests in 16 active coal mining operations in the United States and Australia.
According to the complaint, during the relevant period, Peabody announced it would be increasing production from its flagship premium hard coking coal mine, Centurion due to an acceleration of longwall operations. Peabody stated that shipments of Centurion’s premium hard coking coal would expand sevenfold in 2026 to 3.5 million tons and even more beyond that time. On February 5, 2026, Peabody indicated that the team was “putting the finishing touches on the Centurion mine in advance of starting longwall mining, well ahead of its original schedule.”
As alleged, in truth, the Centurion mine was facing significant commissioning challenges resulting in increased costs and volume decreases in its production.
Why did Peabody’s Stock Drop?
On March 30, 2026, Peabody announced lower sales volume from the Centurion mine due to a delivery of only 250,000 tons in the first quarter. Peabody attributed the low volume to “greater than anticipated mine commissioning challenges.”
This news caused the price of Peabody common stock to drop $3.82 per share, or 9.7%, from $39.50 per share on March 27, 2026, to $35.68 per share on March 30, 2026.
Then, on May 5, 2026, Peabody announced additional delays to the commissioning of the Centurion mine as well as increased costs and lower volume. Peabody stated it only expected to sell about 300,000 tons in the second quarter and reduced its full year sales outlook for Centurion from 3.5 million tons to 2.5 million tons.
This news caused the price of Peabody common stock to drop $1.52 per share, or 5.7%, from $26.52 per share on May 4, 2026, to $25.00 per share on May 5, 2025.
Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/peabody-class-action-lawsuit.
What Can You Do?
If you invested in Peabody, you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.
All representation is on a contingency fee basis; there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.
Submit your information by visiting:
https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/peabody-class-action-lawsuit
Or contact:
BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named “Elite Trial Lawyers” by the National Law Journal, “Litigation Stars” by Benchmark Litigation, among the top “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” by Lawdragon, “Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” by Law360 and “SuperLawyers” by Thomson Reuters.
Most recently, The Legal 500 awarded BFA the most client satisfaction accolades of any plaintiff’s securities litigation law firm, with clients noting: “[t]here is no better service provider in the practice area,” “[t]he interest of the client is always front and center,” and “[t]here isn’t a better firm in this space.” One testimonial described the firm as “nimble and entrepreneurial,” with a “relentless focus on adding value for clients.”
Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.’s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.
For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.
Amphenol Corporation (APH) shares up 6,875% since first institutional outlier signal in 2005.
APH designs, manufactures, and markets electrical, electronic and fiber optic connectors, interconnect systems, antennas, sensors and sensor-based products, as well as specialty cables. Its first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report showed record sales of $7.6 billion (a 33% year-over-year gain), adjusted diluted per-share earnings of $1.06 (a 68% rise), $1.1 billion in operating cash flow (120% of net income), and nearly $9.5 billion in orders (up 78%). The company reports again on July 29.
It’s no wonder APH shares are up 17% so far this year – and they could rise more. MoneyFlows data shows how Big Money investors are again betting heavily on the stock.
Institutions Push Amphenol Higher Institutional volumes reveal plenty. In the last year, APH has enjoyed strong investor demand, which we believe to be institutional support.
Each green bar signals unusually large volumes in APH shares. They reflect our proprietary inflow signal, pushing the stock higher:
Multiple inflows versus just one outflow from Big Money saw APH jump 57% in a year. Source: www.moneyflows.com Plenty of technology names are under accumulation right now. But there’s a powerful fundamental story happening with Amphenol.
Amphenol Fundamental Analysis Institutional support and a healthy fundamental backdrop make this company worth investigating. As you can see, APH has had strong sales and earnings growth:
Also, EPS is estimated to ramp higher this year by +19.3%.
Now it makes sense why the stock has been generating Big Money interest. APH has a track record of strong financial performance.
Marrying great fundamentals with MoneyFlows software has found some big winning stocks over the long term.
Amphenol has been a top-rated stock at MoneyFlows. That means the stock has unusual buy pressure and growing fundamentals. We have a ranking process that showcases stocks like this on a weekly basis.
It’s earned 47 outlier inflow signals since 2005 and is up 6,875% since its first appearance on the rare Outlier 20 report. The blue bars below show when APH was a top pick in the last year…Big Money remains a supporter:
Eight outlier inflows spread over the course of a year prove institutions believe in APH. Source: www.moneyflows.com Tracking unusual volumes reveals the power of money flows.
This is a trait that most outlier stocks exhibit…the best of the best. Big Money demand drives stocks upward.
Amphenol Price Prediction The APH action isn’t new at all. Big Money buying in the shares is signaling to take notice. Given the historical gains in share price and strong fundamentals, this stock could be worth a spot in a diversified portfolio.
Disclosure: the author holds no position in APH at the time of publication.
If you are a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) or are a serious investor, take your investing to the next level and follow our free weekly MoneyFlows insights.
Here are three stocks with buy rank and strong value characteristics for investors to consider today, July 24:
Delek US Holdings, Inc. (DK - Free Report) : This integrated downstream energy company carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing by 29.1% over the last 60 days.
Delek US Holdings has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 10.35 compared with 22.85 for the S&P. The company possesses a Value Scoreof A.
PBF Energy Inc. (PBF - Free Report) : This petroleum refining company carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing by 56.5% over the last 60 days.
PBF Energy has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 5.88 compared with 22.85 for the S&P. The company possesses a Value Score of B.
Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (HPP - Free Report) : This real estate investment trust carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its next year earnings increasing 3.9% over the last 60 days.
Hudson has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 13.46 compared with 14.20 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Score of A.
See the full list of top ranked stocks here.
Learn more about the Value score and how it is calculated here.
Here are three stocks with buy rank and strong income characteristics for investors to consider today, July 24:
PBF Energy Inc. (PBF - Free Report) : This petroleum refining company has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 56.5 the last 60 days.
Newmark Group, Inc. (NMRK - Free Report) : This commercial real estate services company has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 3.1% the last 60 days.
This Zacks Rank #1 company has a dividend yield of 1.6%, compared with the industry average of 0.0%.
TFI International Inc. (TFII - Free Report) : This transportation and logistics services company has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 2.8% in the last 60 days.
This Zacks Rank #1 company has a dividend yield of 1.2%, compared with the industry average of 0.0%.
See the full list of top ranked stocks here.
Find more top income stocks with some of our great premium screens.
Total Sales: $1.74 billion, a 12.5% increase year-over-year.Adjusted EPS: $0.78 for the quarter.TAVR Sales: $1.3 billion, a 10.5% increase over the prior year.
Výrobce čipů Intel zveřejnil výsledky hospodaření za druhý kvartál 2026. Společnost překonala predikce na úrovni všech hlavních ukazatelích. Podle analytika ze Citi Intel vykázal nejsilnější růst tržeb za více než 15 let, přičemž výsledky i výhled jsou výrazně nad tržním konsenzem, především z důvodu silné výkonnosti segmentu datových center a poptávce po umělé inteligenci.
Výsledky společnosti Intel (INTC) za 2Q 2025 2Q 2026 Konsensus 2Q 2026 2Q 2025 Tržby (mld. USD) 16,13 14,43 12,86 Čistý zisk (mld. USD) -11,03 -- -2,92 Očištěný zisk na akcii (EPS, USD/akcie) 0,42 0,21 -0,10 Výsledky za 2Q Společnost ve druhém kvartálu reportovala 25% meziroční růst výnosů na 16,1 mld. USD.
Tržby Intelu ve 2Q dle segmentů
(mld. USD) Segment Tržby Kosenzus Meziroční změna Produkty Intel
15,14 13,46 +28 % Osobní počítače 8,88 7,99 +13 % Datová centra a umělá inteligence 6,26 5,54 +59 % Výrobní služby Intel Foundry 5,77 5,48 +31 % Ostatní 0,70 0,64 -33 % Eliminace mezi segmenty -5,48 -5,32 -24 % Hrubá marže dosáhla 40,4 %, jedná se o meziroční růst o 12,9 p. b. Očištěná hrubá marže byla reportována na úrovni 41,8 %, očekávalo se 39,2 %. V meziročním srovnání vzrostla o 12,1 p. b.
Očištěný provozní zisk dosáhl 2,77 mld. USD, očekávalo se 1,62 mld. USD. Ve 2Q 2025 společnost reportovala ztrátu 503 mil. USD. Očištěná provozní marže činila v uplynulém kvartálu 17,2 %. Tržní konsensus byl nastaven na 11,1 %.
Výdaje na výzkum a vývoj dosáhly 3,37 mld. USD. Jedná se v meziročním srovnání o pokles o 8,6 %. Analytici tyto výdaje predikovali na úrovni 3,46 mld. USD.
Očištěné free cash flow bylo reportováno na úrovni -8,42 mld. USD. Ve stejném období 2025 činilo -1,05 mld. USD.
Výhled na 3Q 2026 Společnost na následující kvartál projektuje:
Výnosy v rozmezí 15,8-16,8 mld. USD, očekávalo se 15,06 mld. USD Očištěný čistý zisk na úrovni 0,38 USD při očekávání 0,27 USD. Očištěnou hrubou marži na úrovni 42 %, analytici v průměru predikovali 40,2 %. Očištěnou míru zdanění ve výši 11 %, trh predikoval 11,3 %. Komentář CFO „Ve druhém čtvrtletí jsme dosáhli silných výsledků a překonali náš finanční výhled díky robustní poptávce a zlepšení provozní efektivity. K lepším výsledkům přispěl vyšší objem výroby podpořený vyšší výtěžností továren a kratšími výrobními cykly. Poptávka po výpočetním výkonu poháněném umělou inteligencí nadále sílí a s cílem podpořit očekávaný růst v letošním i příštím roce výrazně navyšujeme investice do výrobního vybavení, kapacity čistých prostor (clean rooms) a substrátů pro výrobu čipů, “ uvedl finanční ředitel Dave Zinsner.
Komentář analytiků Analytik z Bernstein uvedl: „Po letech překonávání řady překážek Intel jednoznačně překonal tržní konsenzus téměř ve všech hlavních ukazatelích. To představuje další důkaz, že zlepšující se výrobní realizace se promítá do vyšší ziskovosti.“
Analytik z Truist Securities uvedl, že ačkoliv Intel vykázal „vynikající“ výsledky, tak investoři by měli dát pozor na rychle rostoucí kapitálové výdaje.
Analytik Citi komentoval výsledky následovně: „Intel vykázal nejsilnější růst tržeb za více než 15 let a výsledky i výhled jsou výrazně nad tržním konsenzem, především z důvodu silné výkonnosti segmentu datových center a poptávce po AI.“
Vývoj akcie Akcie společnosti Intel (INTC) v předburzovní fázi posilují o 6,11 % na 106,33 USD. Akcie Intel se rovněž obchodují na RM-SYSTÉMU, a to pod tickerem BAAINTEC, kde se obchodují za 2 278,00 Kč.
Akcie Intel Corp (INTC) uzavřely včera poklesem o 2,3 % na 100,23 USD. Ukazatel Ukazatel Kapitalizace (mld. USD) 503,8 P/E 116,3 Vývoj za letošní rok (%) +171,6 Očekávané P/E 75,4 52týdenní minimum (USD) 19,0 Prům. cílová cena (USD) 112,6 52týdenní maximum (USD) 142,4 Dividendový výnos (%) -- Zdroj: Bloomberg, Intel
Total Revenue: $1.02 billion, up 5.7% year-over-year.HOKA Revenue: $704 million, an increase of 8% from the previous year.UGG Revenue: $278 million, up 5% year
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Zatímco ropa včera sahala po 102 dolarech, dnes její cena naopak klesá směrem k 97 USD a poskytuje finančním trhům určitou úlevu. Na evropských akciích je to docela vidět, když třeba DAX stoupá zhruba o procento, zatímco menší zisky kolem 0,3-0,4 pct registrují také další hlavní indexy.
Článek se odemkne 24.07.2026 13:10
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SummaryQuest Diagnostics earns a reiterated buy rating after Q2 earnings beat, upgraded FY guidance, and continued market momentum.DGX benefits from strong macro demand for specialized diagnostic testing, peer-leading ROE, and resilient top-line growth (+10.2% YoY).Upward earnings revisions, robust dividend growth, and investment-grade credit ratings support the bull case, though cost pressures and payor risk warrant monitoring.Valuation shows some opportunity, but total return forecast falls short of hurdle rate; sector-specific regulatory risks remain a challenge. krblokhin/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
A Major Diagnostics Brand the Bulls Have Been Chasing Lately While I've been writing a lot on this platform about healthcare REITs, since I'm a REIT enthusiast myself, every so often I also care about what
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
WESTFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NETSCOUT® (NASDAQ: NTCT), a leading provider of observability, AIOps, cybersecurity, and DDoS attack protection solutions, today announced continued investments in infrastructure and technology to double its Arbor® Cloud DDoS attack mitigation capacity to 33 Tbps, which is aimed at keeping critical digital services available during DDoS attacks, protecting revenue-generating digital operations, supporting always-on AI-driven businesses, and maintaining customer.
Ultra Cleaning Holdings (UCTT -0.89%) has enjoyed an incredible rally in 2026. Shares are up by more than 200% year to date as more investors recognize the company's role in AI infrastructure.
The company's purity cleaning services get rid of contaminants on AI chips and semiconductor products during manufacturing to ensure GPUs function properly when customers buy them. Chip manufacturing equipment leaders Applied Materials (AMAT +1.49%) and Lam Research (LRCX +0.14%) are two of its largest customers.
Ultra Cleaning Holdings is in the right industry at the right time, and it has some of the largest businesses in the foundry equipment space as its customers. However, that doesn't mean you should rush to buy the stock, particularly after its rally.
Image source: Getty Images.
The multiyear rally needs time to show up in the company's financials The overall thesis of AI infrastructure is solid. Hyperscalers continue to invest more money into AI data centers while generating higher revenue and profits. Tech giants need chips, which must go through multiple steps to advance from concepts to reliable products.
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Ultra Cleaning Holdings plays a critical role in the chip industry, and CEO James Xiao told investors in the Q1 press release that the company "is in the early stages of a multi-year, AI driven expansion."
Yet its recent results tell a different story. Revenue only increased by 3% year over year in the first quarter. There wasn't even a key product segment that delivered exceptional growth. Its products segment sales increased from $457 million to $465.7 million, while service segment sales went from $61.6 million to $68 million.
Guidance was a bit more promising, with a midpoint of $585 million for Q2. That's a meaningful sequential jump, but Ultra Cleaning Holdings has a history of high sequential growth in the second quarter. That would still be a notable 12.8% improvement from the $518.8 million it reported in Q2 2025. But with other AI plays delivering much higher growth rates at this stage, it may be worth waiting for the stock to dip before buying it.
The company is still unprofitable Not only is the company's revenue growth rate low compared to its recent stock gains, but Ultra Cleaning Holdings remains unprofitable. It wrapped up the first quarter with a $17.9 million net loss. Even its net operating income, which doesn't include taxes or interest, only came to $11.4 million, a slight decline from the $12.9 million it reported in Q1 2025.
Other companies that provide key components and services to the AI industry have seen their profit margins soar due to pricing power. Chipmakers have certainly led the way in this regard, but Applied Materials and Lam Research also saw their profit margins rise in their most recent quarters.
Ultra Clean Holdings has established itself as a beneficiary of the AI trend, but the stock's recent rally was disconnected from the company's fundamentals. Investors may want to monitor this stock from a distance and wait for any pullbacks.
Goldman Sachs ukazuje své předpovědi cen ropy a vývoj zdanění korporátních zisků. Alphabet podle Yahoo Finance přináší jedinečnou kombinaci růstu a ziskovosti cloudových služeb. Na Fox News si jako hosta pozvali ředitele společnosti DoubleLine Jeffreyho Gundlacha, podle kterého nyní probíhá v určitém smyslu podobná finanční alchymie jako před rokem 2008 a který čeká, že Fed pod novém šéfem výrazně změní své chování.
Ceny ropy k 80 dolarům za barel: Goldman Sachs v nových předpovědích očekává, že ceny ropy budou do konce roku 2027 klesat k 80 dolarům za akcii. V případě pokračujícího uzavření Hormuzského průlivu by platilo to samé, ovšem s tím, že do začátku roku 2027 by ceny vstupovaly na úrovních nad 120 dolary za barel. Scénář „vyšší těžba, nižší poptávka“ by je naopak poslal do postupného poklesu pod 60 dolarů za barel:
Zdroj: X
Ve druhém grafu vidíme vývoj efektivních sazeb ze zisků ve vybraných zemích. Nyní jsou nejnižší ve Spojených státech, nejvyšší v Německu. Zde byly přitom před 45 lety efektivní sazby u 65 %:
Zdroj: X
Opět pochybná kvalita aktiv? Na Fox News si jako hosta pozvali ředitele společnosti DoubleLine Jeffreyho Gundlacha, který se podle stanice stále více snaží varovat před některými finančními a investičními riziky. Gundlach pak hovořil o tom, že před krizí roku 2008 docházelo k „finančních alchymii“, kdy finanční instituce tvořily deriváty z málo kvalitních hypoték s tím, že tyto nově vytvořené cenné papíry měly mít nízké riziko. Významnou roli v tom hrály hlavní ratingové agentury, které těmto derivátům dávaly investiční rating. Podle experta nyní probíhá něco podobného v oblasti tzv. private credit. Tedy u půjček poskytovaných mimo veřejné trhy.
Gundlach si myslí, že i zde je ve hře „pochybný rating“, některé společnosti přitom už přiznávají nižší kvalitu poskytnutých půjček. Investor k tomu dodal, že při předpovědi dalšího vývoje je dobré vnímat, „jaká je motivace.“ Tedy konkrétně to, že private credit společnosti podle něj chtějí na klesající kvalitu aktiv reagovat co nejpomaleji tak, aby si udržely klienty a výši poplatků. K tomu Gundlach dodal, že problémy nastávají v situacích, kdy „hodně lidí rychle bohatne“. Všichni pak chtějí, aby taková situace trvala dlouho. A v oblasti finančního systému nazývaného „private markets“ nyní vládne „divoký Západ“. Zdůrazňuje se tam například to, že aktiva vykazují nižší volatility. Podle investora je to ale jen mýtus, protože jde pouze o zdánlivě nízkou volatilitu způsobenou tím, že aktiva se neobchodují.
„Naděje je špatná investiční strategie,“ řekl také Gundlach v souvislosti se současným děním a za příklad uvedl softwarové odvětví: „Všichni tam doufají, že to nebude tak špatné, kupují si čas.“ Pod toho investor přešel přímo k americké centrální bance, protože její nový šéf Kevin Warsh si podle něj také „jen kupuje čas“. „Nezazlívám mu to, je tam nový, ale má analytické týmy,“ dodal Gundlach, kterému se podle jeho slov nelíbí ani způsob rozhodování Fedu, který omezuje rychlost rozhodování.
Gundlach v souvislosti s monetární politikou zmínil i analýzu, podle které Fed většinou uvolňuje svou politiku v době, kdy ISM indexy ukazují na nízkou inflaci a zaměstnanost. Naopak k utahování politiky dochází tehdy, když ceny rostou rychleji a zaměstnanost je výš. Výjimkami, které nesedí na tento vzorec, jsou dvě období, první, když v čele seděl Arthur Burns a druhé, když jej vystřídal Paul Volcker. Tato logika pak podle Gundlacha také ukazuje, že Fed by měl nyní „utahovat a o uvolnění ani nepřemýšlet“.
Od dob Bena Bernankeho podle investora funguje jednoduché pravidlo, kdy se sazby americké centrální banky hýbou tam, kam ukazují výnosy dvouletých vládních dluhopisů. „Nemělo vůbec cenu sledovat, co Fed říká, stačilo sledovat dvouleté dluhopisy.“ Nynější předseda Fedu Warsh bude ale podle experta postupovat jinak, a to je dobře. „Podobně postupoval Volcker. V době, kdy byly výnosy dvouletých vládních dluhopisů u 15 %, zvedl sazby na 20 %, aby bojoval s inflací.“ Jinak řečeno, Volcker a jeho monetární politika byli těmi, kdo vede a dvouleté sazby šly za nimi, ne naopak. Gundlach je tak podle svých slov optimistický, protože Warsh „nebude jen automatem“ a bude „lepším šéfem Fedu než Powell“.
Gundlach následně odpovídal na dotaz týkající se nekalé konkurence ze strany Číny. K tomu řekl, že s ní rozhodně nesouhlasí. V této souvislosti přidal příběh, kdy jeho strýc stál za vynálezem kopírek Xeroxu. Pak ale musel „doslova letět do Japonska a tam se účastnit soudu, protože v Japonsku začali vyrábět ten samý přístroj, jen v jedné součástce vyměnili kov za plast. To samé dělají nyní Číňané a není divu, mnoho jich studuje tady ve Spojených státech. Pak se vrátí a přináší znalosti do čínských firem.“
Vzácná kombinace od Googlu: Yahoo Finance se detailněji věnuje výsledkům společnosti Google, respektive jejímu cloudu. „Google Cloud přinesl jednu z nejvzácnějších kombinací v oblasti velkých technologických firem: Rychlejší růst a zároveň vyšší ziskovost.“ Konkrétně to znamená, že tržby se v posledním čtvrtletí zvýšily o téměř 82 %, zatímco provozní marže se dostala na téměř 36 %.“ Alphabet k tomu dodal, že zisky generují výpočetní kapacity, které si firmy pronajímají k vývoji umělé inteligence, souvisejícího softwaru a tradičních cloudových služeb, jako jsou databáze, úložiště a kybernetická bezpečnost.
Yahoo dodává, že „tyto výsledky pomáhají vysvětlit, proč Alphabet nadále utrácí… Kapitálové výdaje se zdvojnásobily na téměř 45 miliard dolarů, což stlačilo čtvrtletní volný tok hotovosti pod nulu… Zbytek velkých technologických firem nyní musí ukázat, že jeho rekordní investice mohou vést ke stejné vzácné kombinaci. Tedy k rychlejšímu růstu a vyšším ziskům.“
Silver prices (XAG/USD) rose on Friday, according to FXStreet data. Silver trades at $58.40 per troy ounce, up 1.98% from the $57.27 it cost on Thursday.
Silver prices have decreased by 17.84% since the beginning of the year.
The Gold/Silver ratio, which shows the number of ounces of Silver needed to equal the value of one ounce of Gold, stood at 69.50 on Friday, down from 70.72 on Thursday.
Silver FAQs Silver is a precious metal highly traded among investors. It has been historically used as a store of value and a medium of exchange. Although less popular than Gold, traders may turn to Silver to diversify their investment portfolio, for its intrinsic value or as a potential hedge during high-inflation periods. Investors can buy physical Silver, in coins or in bars, or trade it through vehicles such as Exchange Traded Funds, which track its price on international markets.
Silver prices can move due to a wide range of factors. Geopolitical instability or fears of a deep recession can make Silver price escalate due to its safe-haven status, although to a lesser extent than Gold's. As a yieldless asset, Silver tends to rise with lower interest rates. Its moves also depend on how the US Dollar (USD) behaves as the asset is priced in dollars (XAG/USD). A strong Dollar tends to keep the price of Silver at bay, whereas a weaker Dollar is likely to propel prices up. Other factors such as investment demand, mining supply – Silver is much more abundant than Gold – and recycling rates can also affect prices.
Silver is widely used in industry, particularly in sectors such as electronics or solar energy, as it has one of the highest electric conductivity of all metals – more than Copper and Gold. A surge in demand can increase prices, while a decline tends to lower them. Dynamics in the US, Chinese and Indian economies can also contribute to price swings: for the US and particularly China, their big industrial sectors use Silver in various processes; in India, consumers’ demand for the precious metal for jewellery also plays a key role in setting prices.
Silver prices tend to follow Gold's moves. When Gold prices rise, Silver typically follows suit, as their status as safe-haven assets is similar. The Gold/Silver ratio, which shows the number of ounces of Silver needed to equal the value of one ounce of Gold, may help to determine the relative valuation between both metals. Some investors may consider a high ratio as an indicator that Silver is undervalued, or Gold is overvalued. On the contrary, a low ratio might suggest that Gold is undervalued relative to Silver.
What's the easiest path to creating significant wealth? You don't have to time the market perfectly. Instead, you just need to invest in businesses that are well-positioned to profit from unstoppable trends -- and own them long enough for the power of compounding to do its magic.
I think three stocks are great picks for this strategy. Want to be a millionaire? Buy GE Vernova (GEV +4.69%), NextEra Energy (NEE +0.43%), and Brookfield Infrastucture (BIP +1.96%) (BIPC +2.11%) and hold them for 20 years.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. GE Vernova: powering the AI revolution GE Vernova's shares have skyrocketed in 2026. Wall Street thinks the industrial stock can go even higher over the next 12 months. But this isn't a kind of stock to own for only a year or so. GE Vernova is a fantastic long-term pick.
The company's technologies are used to generate around 25% of the world's electricity. GE Vernova has installed around 7,000 gas turbines -- the largest fleet based on wattage. Its installed base of wind turbines totals roughly 59,000 and includes the largest installed base of onshore wind turbines in the U.S.
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GE Vernova's backlog jumped $13 billion quarter-over-quarter in Q1 to $163 billion. This total represents more than 3.5 years of annual sales based on the company's 2026 revenue guidance.
Booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) is a key factor behind GE Vernova's impressive growth. It's no exaggeration to say that the company is powering the AI revolution. Other trends are also driving global electrification, though, and serving as tailwinds for GE Vernova, including the transition from coal-fueled power plants to natural gas.
2. NextEra Energy: the king of the utilities sector NextEra Energy is the largest electric utility in the U.S. It's the largest energy infrastructure company in North America. The company is a global leader in renewable energy and battery storage. And it will soon be even bigger.
Two months ago, NextEra announced plans to acquire Dominion Energy (D +0.52%) in an all-stock transaction valued at $66.8 billion. This deal will make the combined entity the world's largest regulated electric utility by market cap.
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NextEra expects to deliver strong adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growth through 2035, with a targeted compound annual growth rate of at least 8%. Management also plans to increase its dividend by around 10% this year and by 6% per year through the end of 2028.
What's behind such impressive growth for a utility stock? AI demand is the biggest factor. NextEra's renewables leadership, including its significant nuclear power operations, should help ensure this stock remains a reliable compounder for years to come.
3. Brookfield Infrastructure: income and diversification Brookfield Infrastructure offers two investment alternatives that share the same underlying business. You can buy units of the limited partnership (LP), Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, under the BIP ticker. If you don't want to deal with the tax hassles associated with investing in LPs, you can buy shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation, which trades under the BIPC ticker.
Either stock provides nice income. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners' distribution yield currently stands at around 4.7%, while Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation's forward dividend yield is 4.5%. Management plans to increase the distribution by 5% to 9% per year.
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Both infrastructure stocks also give you tremendous diversification. Brookfield Infrastructure owns cell towers, data centers, electricity transmission lines, fiber optic cable, natural gas pipelines, natural gas storage facilities, rail operations, semiconductor manufacturing foundries, toll roads, and more. Its operations span five continents.
Brookfield Infrastructure targets a total annual return on invested capital of between 12% and 15%. It expects to grow funds from operations (FFO) by at least 10% per year. Importantly, around 85% of the company's FFO is protected from, or indexed to, inflation. I view Brookfield Infrastructure as one of the most resilient combination growth/income alternatives on the market.
Three stocks, two decades, one caveat Can buying and holding these three stocks for two decades really make you a millionaire? I think so.
However, there is one important caveat: No one knows what changes could come over the next 20 years. Adverse regulatory decisions, technological disruptions, and/or management missteps could cause any of these stocks to flounder. That said, GE Vernova, NextEra Energy, and Brookfield Infrastructure operate in sectors that should grow regardless of what happens with the economy.
Fake Token Promoted as Official Robinhood Chain MascotRobinhood CEO Vlad Tenev's (@vladtenev) X account was compromised on Thursday in a scheme to promote a fraudulent memecoin called Vladhood ($VLAD). The bogus post pitched the token as the "official mascot of Robinhood Chain" and falsely claimed it was slated for a listing on the Robinhood app, a hook designed to lend the scheme legitimacy through Tenev's verified profile.
The post attracted more than 175,000 views in under 20 minutes before users began flagging it as a scam. The memecoin was created just minutes before the post went live. It surged to a peak market cap of around $10 million, and according to on-chain monitoring, the attacker generated around 650 ETH in proceeds, worth approximately $1.2 million to $1.3 million.
The blockchain explorer for Robinhood Chain flagged the token's contract address as a "potential scam." The token changed hands roughly 1,868 times since launch.
Tenev Regains Control, Robinhood Warns UsersRobinhood's communications account confirmed the breach, saying: "Our CEO Vlad Tenev's X account was compromised and posted a fake promotion for a meme coin. We're working with X to restore access and the post has been removed." Tenev subsequently regained control of the account, posting "I'm back," and said the company was awaiting details from X to understand how the compromise occurred. He also clarified that Robinhood has not issued any coins or tokens and urged users to stay safe.
While Robinhood has expanded aggressively into digital assets, including tokenized stocks, crypto staking, perpetual futures, and Robinhood Chain, it has never launched a memecoin.
The incident is part of a broader pattern. High-profile accounts on X and other social media platforms have increasingly been hacked to promote memecoin scams. A fake coin named after Coinbase boss Brian Armstrong crashed earlier this month, a reminder of the risks tied to trusting posts from executive accounts.
The hack came as Robinhood's newly launched blockchain has become a hotbed of speculative trading, attracting more than $700 million in assets across stablecoins, tokenized stocks, and memecoins since debuting earlier this month. Early activity on the network has been dominated by speculative memecoins, and the chain has drawn its share of scams and rug pulls as a result.
Sources:
CoinDesk: Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev's X Account Hacked to Promote Token
The Block: Robinhood CEO's X Account Hacked to Promote Vladhood Memecoin
Yahoo Finance: Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Hacked, Exploiter Makes $1.2 Million
Key Takeaways Cybercriminals seized control of Vlad Tenev’s X profile on Thursday and leveraged it to push a fraudulent cryptocurrency known as Vladhood ($VLAD) The malicious message claimed the digital token would receive official listing status on Robinhood’s platform and displayed a crypto wallet identifier Within less than 20 minutes, the fraudulent announcement accumulated more than 175,000 impressions before community members identified it as illegitimate Attackers successfully siphoned approximately 650 Ether, equivalent to $1.2 million to $1.3 million in value The trading platform acknowledged the security breach and stated it is collaborating with X to regain control of the compromised profile The X social media profile belonging to Robinhood’s Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev fell victim to a cyberattack on Thursday, with perpetrators using the platform to advertise a counterfeit memecoin in what security analysts believe was a carefully orchestrated cryptocurrency fraud scheme capitalizing on the company’s newly introduced blockchain infrastructure.
I'm back.
We are awaiting details from the @X team to better understand what happened.
In case it wasn't clear, Robinhood has not issued any coins or tokens. Stay safe out there.
— Vlad Tenev (@vladtenev) July 24, 2026
The fraudulent announcement unveiled a digital asset named Vladhood, marketing it as the “official Robinhood chain mascot.” The deceptive message included false information stating the cryptocurrency would receive integration within Robinhood’s mobile application, alongside providing a blockchain wallet identifier for transactions.
The fraudulent statement declared: “Does Robinhood love memes? The answer is yes.”
Within a span of just 20 minutes, the deceptive post generated over 175,000 impressions before vigilant platform users flagged the content as fraudulent and issued warnings discouraging engagement.
Robinhood acknowledged the security incident via its verified corporate communications profile on X. “Heads up: Our CEO Vlad Tenev’s X account was compromised and posted a fake promotion for a meme coin,” the statement disclosed. “We’re working with X to restore access and the post has been removed.”
Timeline of the Security Breach Blockchain analytics service Onchain Lens was among the first entities to document the account compromise. The blockchain explorer associated with Robinhood Chain has subsequently marked the token’s smart contract identifier as fraudulent.
Blockchain surveillance platform MLM calculated that the cybercriminals managed to extract approximately 650 Ether, representing a monetary value between $1.2 million and $1.3 million. This assessment received corroboration from Wu Blockchain’s independent analysis.
A cryptocurrency investigator operating under the pseudonym Jeff pinpointed a wallet identifier suspected of belonging to the criminal organization. Jeff’s research indicates the wallet executed a $126.81 purchase to acquire 47.2 million VLAD tokens, which reportedly held an unrealized gain hovering around $159,000 at the time of analysis.
Momentum Behind Robinhood Chain This security incident occurred during a period of substantial expansion for Robinhood Chain, which debuted earlier this month to considerable market interest.
The blockchain network has successfully accumulated over $700 million in total value locked, encompassing stablecoins, tokenized equity instruments, and memecoins, based on analytics compiled through an Entropy Advisors Dune dashboard.
The platform has surpassed 300,000 daily active wallet addresses and achieved processing volumes approaching 10 million individual transactions within a 24-hour timeframe.
This accelerated adoption trajectory has sparked an influx of newly created memecoins attempting to capitalize on the network’s popularity, simultaneously establishing it as an attractive target for fraudulent operations.
This breach aligns with broader industry trends within the cryptocurrency sector. Social engineering attacks and platform account hijackings have emerged as increasingly prevalent tactics among malicious actors, according to intelligence gathered by cybersecurity firm Nominis.
These attacks continue despite overall reductions in total cryptocurrency value lost to fraudulent schemes during recent reporting periods.
Robinhood has refrained from issuing additional statements beyond its initial confirmation of the security breach and notification regarding post removal.
Key takeawaysSilver trades near the 57.0–57.6 participation zone as investors evaluate the latest manufacturing signals across Europe, the United States and Asia.Manufacturing expectations are gradually stabilizing, supporting industrial metals through improving production activity while financing conditions and energy costs continue shaping business confidence.Industrial fabrication, electrification and technology investment remain the principal structural demand channels supporting silver.The Renko structure has entered a Compression phase, indicating that participation is rebuilding while markets await stronger confirmation from the global manufacturing cycle.Silver follows the manufacturing cycleSilver enters Friday's session with market attention increasingly centered on the industrial economy.
This week's macro calendar has progressively shifted the focus away from inflation releases and toward manufacturing conditions across the major economies. The European Central Bank delivered an unchanged policy decision, while investors continue evaluating how manufacturing activity is responding to evolving financing conditions, energy prices and business confidence.
For silver, this transition carries particular importance.
Industrial production remains the dominant transmission channel connecting macroeconomic activity with physical demand.
Every improvement in factory utilization supports fabrication demand.
Every increase in technology investment strengthens consumption across electronics, automation and power infrastructure.
Every expansion in manufacturing activity reinforces participation across industrial metals.
Silver therefore continues reflecting the quality of the production cycle rather than the direction of monetary policy alone.
Manufacturing expectations continue improving across major economiesRecent macroeconomic releases describe a manufacturing environment that is becoming progressively more balanced.
The Eurozone manufacturing sector has continued recovering from the contraction that dominated much of the previous two years. Factory output has improved, production expectations have strengthened and inventory rebuilding has gradually returned across several industrial sectors. Reuters also notes that activity has benefited from easing cost pressures and a recovery in new orders, providing a firmer foundation for industrial production.
In the United States, manufacturing activity has remained above the expansion threshold, indicating that industrial demand continues supporting production despite higher financing costs. Markets now await the latest PMI figures to evaluate whether this stabilization can extend into the second half of the year.
Japan continues contributing positively to the global industrial picture. Factory production has expanded at its fastest pace in several years, supported by electronics, advanced manufacturing and export-oriented industries, although logistics and energy costs continue influencing business planning.
Together, these developments suggest that manufacturing expectations are becoming more stable across the major industrial economies.
Industrial demand continues defining silver's identitySilver occupies a unique position within the industrial economy.
Electrification.Power grids.Semiconductors.Industrial electronics.Automation.Artificial intelligence infrastructure.Solar installations.Each sector contributes to fabrication demand through different investment cycles.
This diversification increases the resilience of industrial participation because demand develops across multiple technologies simultaneously.
The Silver Institute continues projecting another annual market deficit, while mine supply expands only gradually. Supply elasticity therefore remains limited even as fabrication techniques continue improving material efficiency.
A modest improvement in industrial demand can therefore generate a disproportionately larger effect on market participation whenever available supply adjusts more slowly than consumption.
This interaction remains one of silver's defining structural characteristics.
Manufacturing quality matters as much as manufacturing growthIndustrial participation depends on more than production volumes.Energy costs influence operating margins.Credit availability shapes investment decisions.Inventory rebuilding determines procurement activity.Business confidence influences capital expenditure.Each transmission channel contributes to the pace at which fabrication demand develops.The current macro environment therefore supports a gradual rebuilding of industrial participation rather than an immediate acceleration.
Markets continue evaluating the quality of manufacturing recovery across regions while monitoring how businesses respond to financing conditions and input costs.
Silver naturally reflects these adjustments because industrial demand represents the largest component of its long-term consumption profile.
Technical structureThe Renko chart illustrates a market transitioning into a participation rebuilding phase.
Following the advance toward the 60.6 area, silver has entered an orderly consolidation above the long-term EMA200, preserving the broader recovery established during recent weeks.
Price currently trades below the EMA9 and EMA21, reflecting moderation in short-term participation while maintaining the broader structural framework.
Silver enters a Compression phase as manufacturing expectations stabilize, industrial demand remains resilient and participation begins rebuilding across industrial metals.The EMA200 continues rising beneath current prices, confirming that the medium-term trend remains constructive despite the recent consolidation.
The most significant signal comes from the ECRO, which currently reads 6.3 and has entered a confirmed Compression regime.
Participation has returned to very low levels.
Energy is gradually rebuilding.
Delta ECRO has improved to +6.3, indicating that institutional participation is beginning to recover from the recent compression phase.
The stochastic oscillator continues rotating lower toward oversold territory, remaining consistent with a market redistributing participation before its next directional expansion.
Immediate participation develops between 57.0 and 57.6.
Initial resistance emerges near 58.6, followed by the broader participation objective around 59.8–60.0.
The technical structure remains aligned with a market waiting for stronger confirmation from the global manufacturing cycle.
Bird's eye viewSilver continues functioning as an industrial participation asset.
Manufacturing expectations are gradually stabilizing across the major economies.
Industrial fabrication remains supported by electrification, technology investment and infrastructure development.
Supply elasticity continues limiting the market's ability to respond rapidly to changes in fabrication demand.
The Renko structure mirrors this macro environment through a confirmed Compression phase, where participation is rebuilding while investors wait for the next catalyst capable of reactivating industrial momentum.
OutlookSilver enters the final trading session of the week with manufacturing expectations becoming the dominant macro reference for industrial metals.
Upcoming PMI releases, the evolution of industrial orders and business investment will continue shaping fabrication demand during the coming weeks.
As long as manufacturing participation continues improving and supply elasticity remains constrained, silver is likely to remain closely linked to the quality of the global industrial cycle rather than short-term fluctuations in monetary policy.
Since its initial public offering in June, Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +2.56%) has arguably been the most widely discussed stock in the market.
The company saw its stock soar out of the gate but has since given back much of those gains, despite joining several prominent market indexes sooner than most post-IPO stocks. While there is seemingly never a dull moment at the company, investors should definitely mark their calendars for Aug. 4.
Here's why.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Second-quarter earnings will be announced Aug. 4 SpaceX recently announced that it will release its second-quarter 2026 financial results on Aug. 4 after the market closes. Management, including SpaceX founder Elon Musk, will host a live conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss the results with Wall Street analysts. Earnings allow investors to review financial results over three months.
While SpaceX filed its registration statement earlier this year, providing a lot of information about the company, second-quarter results will present investors with new information that will better inform their view of the company and their opinion of the stock and its valuation.
It's also possible, although certainly not guaranteed, that SpaceX provides financial guidance, which would better inform analysts' financial models.
But for a company like SpaceX, which is a long-term bet on the space economy and artificial intelligence, insights from Musk on the conference call are likely to be just as, if not more important than, second-quarter financials.
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Investors will have many questions about initiatives like Starship, the company's fully reusable, heavy-lift rocket on which much of the SpaceX business model hinges.
I'm sure investors will also be curious about the company's data center deals announced earlier this year, its planned future Terafab facility to be run in partnership with Intel and Tesla, and how Grok Intelligence is advancing.
Starlink, the company's low earth orbit satellite internet service, which has thus far been its most profitable business, will also be top of mind.
Consensus estimates project revenue of around $6.87 billion for the quarter and a loss of $0.28 per share, according to Yahoo! Finance (as of July 22). In the first quarter of 2026, SpaceX generated revenue of nearly $4.7 billion and a loss of $1.27 per share.
During SpaceX's IPO roadshow, the Financial Times reported that investment bankers suggested total revenue at the company could surge from about $19 billion in 2025 to $474 billion by 2030.
So while investors aren't focused on one quarter, they will be looking for clues about medium-term growth.
A big tranche of the lock-up shares expires SpaceX's second-quarter earnings report will also trigger the release of a big tranche of shares subject to the company's lock-up policy.
Following most IPOs, company insiders and employees are prevented from selling their shares for a certain period to maintain stability in the stock when it first hits the market. SpaceX has a staggered lock-up policy, under which a certain number of insider shares are gradually made available for sale over the first six months following the IPO.
On the second full trading day following the release of the company's second-quarter earnings results, a fifth of insider shares will be eligible for sale. Interestingly, if the stock price is at least 30% above SpaceX's IPO price of $135, an additional 10% of insider shares will be eligible for sale.
As of July 21, SpaceX stock traded at roughly $123.50, so there's some ground to make up for insiders to unlock that additional 10%. This policy does not apply to Musk, who holds an extraordinary amount of the company's shares and can't sell any stock until at least one year after the IPO.
If insiders sell a large number of their shares, that could flood the market with supply and hurt the stock, even if earnings are perceived positively.
Ultimately, SpaceX's second-quarter earnings report has both mechanical and fundamental implications for the stock. It could very well be the biggest day for the company and stock since the IPO.
Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +2.56%), or SpaceX, launched its IPO in June with high hopes. While it benefited from an initial bump, its fortunes quickly reversed, and shares now sell below its original IPO price.
A likely reason for the pullback was the valuation of the communication stock, which remains extremely elevated. This overvaluation is so extreme that Planet Labs (PL -1.06%), which SpaceX has so far outperformed, is likely to earn higher returns (or at least lower losses) for 2026. Here's why.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
The state of SpaceX and Planet Labs Aside from their involvement in space and satellites, SpaceX and Planet Labs are different companies. Planet Labs uses satellites to create high-resolution maps of the planet daily. In contrast, SpaceX launches rockets and operates a satellite-based internet service.
Admittedly, Planet Labs would likely not be possible without SpaceX, and its infrastructure makes it a larger company. Its $1.6 trillion market cap is far above Planet Labs' $8 billion.
PL data by YCharts
Valuations explain a surprising amount of that difference. As of the time of this writing, SpaceX trades at a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 84, far above Planet Labs's 22 sales multiple.
Both exceed the average P/S ratio of 3.7 for the S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.21%). However, analysts estimate that Planet Labs's revenue will grow at 42% in fiscal 2027, well above the 26% increase in fiscal 2026 (ended Jan. 31). Amid those increases, a sales multiple in the low 20s is not unusual.
In contrast, investors rarely encounter an 84 sales multiple, and one has to wonder whether Elon Musk's track record can justify that valuation. In 2025, SpaceX's revenue grew by 33% year over year, and the forecast of 109% revenue growth in 2026 is a significant increase that makes its valuation more understandable. Still, that also leaves enough potential downside that any hint of bad news could spark a huge sell-off in SpaceX stock.
Planet Labs is not immune to the effects of bad news. Nonetheless, it is in a stronger position to handle it, and that valuation leaves room for a higher multiple if the company exceeds expectations.
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SpaceX probably has further to fall Of the two stocks, SpaceX is the one most likely to suffer more over the course of the year.
Admittedly, Planet Labs' stock has kept going down and has declined more than SpaceX's since the SpaceX IPO. Moreover, neither stock is inexpensive, and it is quite possible that both finish 2026 in the red.
However, one has to question whether any company is worth buying at 84 times sales, a valuation where even an implication of bad news could lead to more selling.
Since a perfect performance is unlikely, investors should expect SpaceX stock to fall further in the near term. Conversely, with Planet Labs facing less pressure, it should either recover or keep its downside in check going forward.
Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +2.56%) has been on quite a ride since its debut in the public markets in early June. Shares were originally priced at $135, then quickly rose to $225 before tumbling to around $123 as of July 22. For a long-term, fundamentals-focused investor, it's not the volatility that's keeping other investors and me away; it's still the inflated valuation.
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Even after more than $1 trillion was wiped from SpaceX's market cap, the company is still inflated at a $1.6 trillion valuation. With less than $19 billion in revenue, that's still close to 85 times sales. A nearly triple-digit multiple doesn't make sense given last year's 33% growth rate. Elon Musk's company is also spending a tremendous amount on capital expenditures, expected to reach $40 billion this year. SpaceX is nowhere near profitable.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
What the company could achieve with its Starlink and rocket business is truly inspiring and exciting. SpaceX acquired Anysphere, the parent company of Cursor, which should add significant revenue. That's a positive for investors, but I'd still like to see more organic growth than purchased growth over the next several quarters.
If SpaceX can show consistent growth and a path to profitability, eventually I'd be more ready to climb on board. However, I still don't feel comfortable buying a company that is years away from its revenue justifying its price.
Right now, the upside for retail investors looks farther away than a colony on Mars.
Catie Hogan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
A prototype of Tesla's Optimus robot. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images Elon Musk built Tesla into the world's most valuable carmaker. Now he's betting the company's future on a robot that walks on two legs.
Musk predicts its robot, Optimus, could become "the biggest product ever," with legions of the humanoid robots working in factories, doing household chores, and eventually building more robots. He even has a name for them in the plural: "Optimi."
But Tesla has yet to prove the robot can navigate the physical world or perform useful work autonomously, much less that it can be manufactured by the millions.
On Tesla's earnings call this week, Musk offered few details about Optimus and tempered expectations for how quickly production would increase. He said Tesla would begin producing its third-generation robot "soon" in Fremont in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tesla is competing in an increasingly crowded humanoid market. Agility Robotics, which plans to go public, has deployed its Digit robot across nine customer facilities, while Figure AI has announced deployments in logistics and distribution centers this year. Sunday Robotics, 1X, and Weave Robotics are preparing to ship robots into homes this fall.
Guy Hoffman, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Cornell University who leads its human-robot collaboration lab, called humanoids a "fantasy product."
Autonomous cars took about 20 years to reach the market after the technology was first shown to work, he told Business Insider. Building humanoids is even harder, and a fully autonomous machine has yet to be developed.
"Humanoid robots are a very risky bet," Hoffman said. "I don't see the product having a viable future in the near term."
Tesla's first-generation Optimus production line in Fremont, California. Tesla Musk has never shied away from moonshot projects. But even he has acknowledged that Optimus is harder to develop than Tesla's Model X, Cybertruck, or gigafactories. If Tesla pulls it off, Musk believes Optimus could usher in "sustainable abundance," a future in which AI and robotics make human labor largely optional.
Tesla did not repond to a request for comment from Business Insider
Here's everything we know about Optimus so far:
From human to humanoidMusk introduced the "Tesla Bot" in 2021 with a person dancing in a robot costume.
Three years later, Optimus robots danced, served drinks, and spoke with guests at Tesla's "We, Robot" event. The robots walked on their own, but more complex movements, such as pouring drinks, handing out desserts, and interacting with attendees, were assisted by remote human operators.
Tesla hasn't yet revealed what the next version of Optimus will look like. All we know is that it stands nearly six feet tall and has a humanlike design, a form that one Silicon Valley investor dismissed to Business Insider as a "parlor trick". Musk has defended humanoids, arguing that robots must resemble people to perform the full range of human tasks.
Chinese companies, including Unitree and UBTech, accounted for about 90% of humanoid shipments last year, according to technology research firm Omdia. Musk has argued that Optimus will be much more sophisticated than its Chinese rivals, but has shared few details so far.
"Optimus is designed to have a lot of intelligence and to have the same electromechanical dexterity, if not higher, than a human," Musk said on a podcast earlier this year. "Unitree does not have that."
Where Optimus stands nowEven though Tesla has not publicly unveiled the next-generation Optimus, it released photos this week of the Fremont production line, where manufacturing is expected to begin soon. Musk previously said that Tesla was keeping the robot under wraps to prevent competitors from copying its design.
Tesla stopped producing the Model S and Model X in Fremont earlier this year to make room for an Optimus line designed to eventually produce a million robots a year. A second line under construction in Austin is planned to have an annual capacity of 10 million robots.
Tesla's first-generation Optimus production line in Fremont, California. Tesla The first bots will join Tesla's "Optimus Academy," where they will practice tasks and generate data used to improve the AI models that serve as their "brains." Musk has said that 10,000 to 30,000 robots will refine their real-world skills at the academy.
On the company's earnings call this week, AI chief Ashok Elluswamy said that the training could push the robots' capabilities to a "superhuman level."
Musk cautioned investors this week that production will ramp slowly because there is no established supply chain for many Optimus components.
Tesla has three big problems to solveTo make Optimus a reality, Musk says Tesla must solve three problems: intelligence, hands, and mass production.
First, the robot must learn to understand and move through the physical world. Musk believes Tesla's self-driving work gives it a head start because Optimus can use Tesla-designed AI chips and technology developed to help its cars interpret camera footage.
Tesla has adapted its driving simulator, a virtual environment used to train and test its self-driving technology, to train millions of virtual robots. But simulations cannot capture every real-world scenario, so Tesla also needs data from physical tasks. Tesla employees have recorded themselves performing factory jobs, for instance.
Hoffman, the Cornell professor, said Musk is underestimating how much harder humanoid robotics is than self-driving.
"It's like playing checkers versus doing nuclear physics," he said. Humanoids must balance on two legs without falling, he added, and today's AI models are still far from operating reliably in the physical world.
The second challenge is what Musk calls the "hands problem": replicating the human hand with motors, sensors, and software. A robot hand must combine strength, precision, and flexibility in a remarkably small space, making it exceptionally difficult to engineer.
Tesla has not unveiled the latest version of Optimus to prevent competitors from copying its design. Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images On Tesla's earnings call this week, Musk said Optimus is being designed to have "human and then superhuman dexterity." Achieving that has required Tesla to develop custom motors, gears, and sensors.
The final challenge is scaling up manufacturing. Musk has warned that early production will be "agonizingly slow." But once Tesla starts producing a million robots a year — the timeline for which is still unclear — he estimates each Optimus could cost about $20,000 to $25,000 to produce.
How Optimus fits into Musk's AI empireMusk has increasingly talked about a "convergence" across his business empire, which is becoming more intertwined around AI.
Ahead of and during Tesla's earnings call this week, shareholders and analysts pressed Musk about a rumored merger with SpaceX. Musk wouldn't comment on the speculation, but highlighted the company's synergies, including the Robotaxi and AI businesses.
Musk has previously explained how Optimus could work with SpaceX's technology, which acquired xAI in February. Each robot would have enough computing power to perform some tasks independently, while xAI's Grok could coordinate larger groups, he said.
"Let's say you wanted to build a factory," Musk said earlier this year. "Grok could organize the Optimus robots, assign them tasks to build the factory floor to produce whatever you want."
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Rya is a senior reporter at Business Insider covering physical AI and robotics. She writes about factory automation, humanoid robots, and the race to collect the real-world data needed to bring AI into the physical world. She previously worked at The San Francisco Standard, where she reported on tech culture and autonomous vehicles. She has a bachelor’s degree in history and politics from Pomona College and a master’s in history from the University of Cambridge. Rya lives in San Francisco. Contact her at [email protected] or on Signal at rjetha.07. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device. Here's our guide to sharing information securely.
While Elon Musk’s two mega-cap public companies have not been doing particularly well in general in the 2026 stock market, the previous week of trading proved especially damaging, and, combined, SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) wiped over $360 billion from their valuations.
Indeed, the rocket, social media, and artificial intelligence (AI) company started out strong following its initial public offering (IPO) in early June but then entered a downtrend that took it as low as $110.85 before recovering slightly to $118.24.
One-week price chart for Elon Musk’s SpaceX stock. Source: Google Within the last five sessions, SPCX shares fell 6.98%, and the company’s market capitalization crashed $116.83 billion from $1.67 trillion to $1.56 trillion.
The situation has arguably been even worse for the electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla as its equity plummeted 16.18% within the same timeframe, meaning TSLA’s valuation plunged $243.61 billion from $1.5 trillion to $1.26 trillion.
One-week price chart for Elon Musk’s Tesla stock. Source: Google Why Tesla stock wiped $240 billion in a week To begin with, Elon Musk’s car company has been struggling since the year started, between dwindling vehicle deliveries and a shifting timeline for the autonomous ‘Cybercab’ and the humanoid ‘Optimus’ robot.
By Wednesday, July 22, the situation took another adverse turn as the firm’s quarterly earnings report disappointed investors, initiating a 14.52% daily crash to Tesla stock’s latest closing price of $319.69.
Specifically, though revenue came in higher than expected – at $28.24 billion instead of the expected $25.71 billion – and the firm’s core business grew relative to the same period in the previous year, compressed margins and an earnings per share (EPS) miss ensured the selloff.
EPS in particular demonstrates why TSLA shares plummeted, given that analysts were expecting $0.51 and the actual number came in at $0.33.
Why SpaceX stock wiped $116 billion in a week Elsewhere, SpaceX appears to be suffering from an overly ambitious initial valuation. Despite achieving less than $5 billion in revenue in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026 and suffering nearly a $2 billion loss, the company executed its IPO at a $1.77 trillion valuation and a $135 share price.
Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) – a technology company with a comparable market capitalization – recorded roughly four times greater sales than Elon Musk’s space and AI firm within the same timeframe.
Saudi Aramco, an oil giant of a similar size, was profitable, unlike SpaceX, along with achieving significantly higher revenue.
Indeed, as Finbold reported earlier in the week, SPCX’s recent performance appears to back a case presented by Morningstar shortly before the IPO that the equity is headed under $100 and toward an estimated fair value close to $70.
Notably, however, SpaceX stock recorded a green day during the latest session and, despite the deep retracement, retains the confidence of Wall Street.
SummaryThe strong growth in investing in technology infrastructure to support AI has been a focus the past year and is projected to expand this year and next.For 2026, consensus year-over-year CapEx is expected to increase by almost $300 billion from $384 billion to $682 billion.Will Microsoft and Meta Platforms maintain their capex guidance this year? Getty Images
A look at CapEx spending The strong growth in investing in technology infrastructure to support AI has been a focus the past year and is projected to expand this year and next. The expectations for CapEx spending by
Marvell Technology (MRVL -1.02%) has emerged as a strong AI investment candidate throughout 2026. It has a great bull thesis and is right at the heart of the AI buildout.
Furthermore, Nvidia (NVDA -1.56%) has invested $2 billion into Marvell and announced several strategic partnerships to ensure that Nvidia's computing units function on Marvell's products. This is a big deal because Marvell is starting to grow its custom AI chip business, and this could be a major part of the company someday, especially with the two major clients that it has.
But is this enough to make Marvell the new Nvidia? Let's take a look.
Image source: Getty Images.
Marvell's custom AI chip business could take off over the next few years Marvell makes connectivity devices for data centers and also assists AI hyperscalers design custom chips. This is a great business to be in right now, as the AI buildout is full steam ahead. In its custom AI chip business, Marvel has captured two major clients: Amazon and Microsoft. These two companies operated the largest and second-largest cloud computing platforms in the world, and having these two as clients is a big deal for Marvell, as it gives them a major customer that wants to reduce reliance on Nvidia chips through designing their own.
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This may seem like an odd relationship, because Marvell is actively pursuing an industry that undermines Nvidia's GPU business despite Nvidia investing in them. However, Nvidia isn't concerned, because it understands that GPU-based training and inference are necessary in some applications, and that custom AI chips are better for the job in others. But, because Nvidia is making sure that Marvell's chips plug into its existing network, it ensures that Nvidia chips will still be used alongside any custom chip Marvell produces. That's a great spot to be in, but can Marvell become a new Nvidia?
I don't think so. Why? It's really more like Broadcom (AVGO -1.19%).
Broadcom is a far better comparison While Nvidia is the name in AI computing, Broadcom is following close behind. Like Marvell, Broadcom designs custom AI chips and has connectivity switches and networking equipment. This makes these two very similar and shares a lot more business overlap than they do with Nvidia. Broadcom's custom AI chip customers include Meta Platforms, Anthropic, OpenAI, and the biggest custom AI chip customer right now, Alphabet.
So, is Marvell a better buy than Broadcom or even Nvidia? Let's take a look.
For the current fiscal year, Wall Street analysts expect Marvell to deliver 41% revenue growth and 45% during the next fiscal year. While that's a solid growth rate, it's still behind Broadcom's expected 66% growth rate this year and 63% for next year. Nvidia is expected to generate 82% growth this year and 42% next year, although the analyst community has historically underprojected Nvidia's growth rate for years.
Despite those stronger growth outlook figures, Broadcom and Nvidia trade at far cheaper price tags than Marvell.
NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
Why? Well, Marvell is the new shiny toy in this segment of the market. After three years of dominance, investors have gotten bored with Nvidia despite a strong outlook, and Broadcom is nearing the same level of complacency. However, individual investors don't need to get wrapped up in market sentiment like that. Instead, they should just look at the facts to decide which is the better stock pick.
While Nvidia and Marvell may not be in the same industry, Nvidia's valuation is less than half of Marvell's despite similar growth rates expected for next year. Broadcom is pretty much in the same industry as Marvell, but is valued at a much lower price tag and is expected to grow at a much faster rate. I think that combining these two makes them better buys than Marvell, and investors should be focused on these two established winners versus Marvell.
Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Broadcom, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Broadcom, Marvell Technology, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Orchestra Portable AI Hub Utilizes NVIDIA Jetson™ Platform for Real-Time Visual Perception, Gesture Recognition and Multi-Device Coordination
AUSTIN, Texas, July 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wetour Robotics Limited (NASDAQ: WETO) ("Wetour Robotics" or the "Company"), a Physical AI infrastructure and wearable robotics company, today outlined Orchestra, its portable AI hub and operating system for wearable robotics. Orchestra is designed to enable real-time visual perception, gesture recognition and multi-device coordination by centralizing AI processing in a dedicated edge computing unit powered by NVIDIA Jetson.
Developing Physical AI with NVIDIA Technologies
Orchestra is designed to serve as the central intelligence and coordination layer for Physical AI and wearable robotics devices. By externalizing computing power from individual wearable endpoints into a dedicated portable hub, Orchestra enables devices such as smart glasses, gesture-control wristbands and body-worn sensors to remain lightweight and energy-efficient while the hub handles intensive AI processing, multi-device coordination and real-time decision-making.
The Orchestra hub utilizes the NVIDIA Jetson platform for on-device inference, supporting two core technology modules:
Vision-Link -- a visual perception and command pipeline that processes real-time visual input, performs scene understanding using NVIDIA-accelerated inference and translates visual context into actionable commands for connected physical devices.
Conductor -- a neural gesture recognition and command translation system. Conductor reads electromyographic (EMG) signals from the wearer's wrist, uses proprietary algorithms running on NVIDIA Jetson to recognize continuous hand gestures in real time, and converts recognized gestures into precise control commands for connected devices such as exoskeletons, smart furniture and robotic arms.
"NVIDIA Jetson is the computing foundation that makes Orchestra's real-time coordination possible," said Nan Zheng, Chief Executive Officer of Wetour Robotics. "Vision-Link turns what you see into machine action. Conductor turns how you move into machine commands. Both require low-latency, on-device AI processing enabled by NVIDIA edge computing. This is edge AI applied to the human body."
Open Architecture Approach
Orchestra is being developed with an open architecture approach. The Company intends to explore open interface protocols that would allow third-party hardware manufacturers, including makers of exoskeletons, smart furniture and robotic devices, to build on the Orchestra platform, while Wetour Robotics retains proprietary capabilities in its core intelligence engine, including Vision-Link and Conductor.
"The real bottleneck in Physical AI is not building better robots -- it is imagining better use cases," Zheng added. "Orchestra, powered by NVIDIA edge AI computing, gives builders tools to create Physical AI applications at the performance level these use cases demand."
About Wetour Robotics Limited
Wetour Robotics Limited (NASDAQ: WETO), formerly known as Webus International Limited, is a Physical AI infrastructure and wearable robotics company developing Orchestra, a portable AI hub and operating system designed to coordinate human intent with intelligent physical devices. Orchestra's core technology modules include Vision-Link, a visual perception and command pipeline, and Conductor, a neural gesture recognition and command translation system. Wetour Robotics is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.wetourrobotics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the development, capabilities, architecture, performance, interoperability and commercialization of Orchestra, Vision-Link and Conductor; the use and availability of NVIDIA technologies; and potential third-party adoption. Words such as "designed to," "intends," "expects," "plans," "may," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the Company's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, including development delays, technical performance, availability and performance of third-party technologies, interoperability, commercialization, customer adoption, competition, capital resources and other risks described in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.
Investor Relations Contact
Annabelle Li
Investor Relations - Wetour Robotics Limited [email protected]
Ethena’s Coinbase custody wallet transferred 290 million ENA worth $26.41 million to a personal wallet with a history of sending tokens to exchanges. As expected, the transaction revived concerns about another round of market distribution because the receiving address previously moved ENA to Binance and Coinbase.
However, traders did not immediately respond with aggressive selling despite the transaction’s size. Instead, market activity suggested participants waited for confirmation before adjusting their positions.
The transfer also arrived while ENA traded near an important resistance zone, increasing attention on whether buyers could absorb any incoming supply.
As a result, the wallet movement shifted focus towards exchange flows and price structure rather than creating an instant bearish reaction across the market.
Spot outflows offset distribution concerns Despite the large custody transfer, exchange flow data painted a more balanced picture at press time. ENA’s daily spot netflow, for instance, remained negative at -$456.47K, indicating that exchange outflows still exceeded inflows.
The reading suggested that the broader market continued to withdraw tokens instead of sending them to centralized exchanges for immediate selling. Even though the custody transaction raised fresh concerns, aggregate flow data failed to confirm widespread distribution.
In addition, recent sessions showed negative Netflows dominated most observations despite occasional positive spikes.
That trend reduced immediate exchange supply and softened the bearish implications of the 290 million ENA transfer.
Nevertheless, traders would likely require sustained negative Netflows to preserve that advantage because sustained inflows could quickly strengthen selling pressure.
Source: CoinGlass Can ENA break above resistance next? At the time of writing, Ethena [ENA] was trading at around $0.0913 after extending its recent recovery towards the $0.0955-resistance level. Buyers steadily defended higher lows, allowing price to recover from the $0.0788-support established earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the 14-day RSI climbed to 63.83 while its moving average stood at 52.56, reflecting a hike in buying interest without entering overbought territory.
That improvement suggested that bullish participation increased as the price approached its overhead resistance.
Even so, ENA still traded beneath the stronger $0.1120 resistance. It remains the next major barrier if buyers secure a breakout above $0.0955. Failure to reclaim that level would likely encourage another retest of $0.0788, whereas a confirmed breakout could open the path towards $0.1120.
Source: TradingView Where could ENA’s next volatility emerge? Finally, liquidation data highlighted several leveraged positions surrounding ENA’s press time trading range.
The nearest concentration of short liquidations appeared slightly above $0.093, meaning a successful breakout could force bearish traders to close positions and accelerate buying activity. However, substantial liquidity also clustered below $0.087, creating a downside magnet if the price loses its nearby support.
Those opposing liquidation pockets alluded to leverage being balanced, despite the recent recovery.
Rather than confirming a clear directional bias, the heatmap indicated volatility would likely increase once ENA reaches either liquidity zone.
Traders should probably watch those levels closely because liquidation-driven moves often intensify short-term price swings beyond ordinary spot market activity.
Source: CoinGlass Final Summary ENA held firm despite the large custody transfer as exchange outflows continued to outweigh inflows. Buyers approached the $0.0955-resistance while liquidation zones hinted at higher volatility ahead.
Item 1 of 2 2025 Ford Bronco Sport vehicles sit on a dealership lot for sale in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo
[1/2]2025 Ford Bronco Sport vehicles sit on a dealership lot for sale in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S., May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
CompaniesJuly 24 (Reuters) - Ford (F.N), opens new tab is recalling 565,691 vehicles in the U.S. as the engine compartment wiring harness may become damaged and short circuit, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Friday.
Here are the details:
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The recall affects certain 2021-2026 Bronco and Bronco Raptor vehicles.
A short circuit in the engine compartment can create heat or spark, increasing the risk of a fire, the auto safety regulator said.
As part of the recall remedy, dealers will install sheathing over the wiring, free of charge, NHTSA added.
Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) will release its second quarter earnings report before the opening bell on Friday, July 24.
Analysts expect the New York-based company to report quarterly earnings of $1.27 per share, up from $1.22 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Verizon’s quarterly revenue is $35.11 billion. It reported $34.5 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.
On June 29, Verizon disclosed that it expects a second-quarter loss of $700 million to $800 million due to the classification of assets from its Contributed Business as assets and liabilities held for sale.
Shares of Verizon fell 1% to close at $43.82 on Thursday.
Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.
Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.
Considering buying VZ stock? Here’s what analysts think:
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American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) will release its second quarter earnings report before the opening bell on Friday, July 24.
Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $4.40 per share, up from $4.08 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for American Express quarterly revenue is $19.7 billion. It reported $17.86 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.
On Wednesday, American Express and ALL Accor announced a new global partnership featuring elite status match and points transfer.
Shares of American Express fell 2.3% to close at $340.84 on Thursday.
Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.
Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.
Considering buying AXP stock? Here’s what analysts think:
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Gold Production: 1.3 million ounces.Copper Production: 17,000 tonnes.Silver Production: 7 million ounces.Cash Flow from Operations: $2.9 billion after working
SAN FRANCISCO & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Salesforce, the world's #1 Agentic CRM, today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded the company, through its distribution network, a $1.6 billion, three-year, Agentic Enterprise License Agreement (AELA).* Through the agreement, VA will leverage Missionforce to modernize care and service delivery and help provide more timely, consistent, and connected experiences for America's Veterans.Building on a relationship spanni.
Shares climbed after the group logged strong revenue figures, reassuring investors that growth at its cloud business remains healthy despite fears of AI disruption.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, have donated more than $10 million in Bitcoin ($BTC) to MAGA Inc., the Super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump. The contributions landed weeks after federal regulators moved to unwind a penalty the exchange had fought for years.
Two Contributions, One Day According to MAGA Inc.'s July report to the Federal Election Commission, Gemini Trust Company sent two separate contributions of more than $5 million in Bitcoin on June 19, disclosed in a July FEC filing. The precise breakdown, confirmed by FEC records, shows Cameron's records total $5,006,604.47 and Tyler's total $5,011,860.44. After receiving the Bitcoin, the FEC filing shows that the committee sold the donated Bitcoin through Gemini. Under FEC rules, a political committee selling donated Bitcoin must name the exchange, though the buyer can remain anonymous and does not count as a contributor.
Together, the contributions add up to a $10 million political commitment, one of the most significant crypto donations ever reported to the FEC. The contributions were made in Bitcoin, a relatively novel form of campaign finance that Super PACs are permitted to accept, and MAGA Inc. can deploy the funds for independent expenditures in support of President Donald Trump.
The Regulatory Backdrop The donation was recorded about three weeks after the CFTC filed a joint motion with Gemini in federal court in an attempt to reverse a January 2025 settlement over the company allegedly making false or misleading statements. The CFTC took the rare step of attempting to reverse the $5 million settlement it reached with Gemini in January 2025. In its motion, the CFTC acknowledged the original complaint was largely based on a whistleblower's account "known to be lacking in credibility," calling the exchange a "fraud victim."
CFTC Chair Michael Selig claimed at the time that the agency under former President Joe Biden "politically targeted" the Winklevosses through enforcement actions. Importantly, the donation came 23 days after the CFTC joined Gemini's effort to undo parts of its 2025 judgment, although the filing offers no evidence linking the two events, and the records provide no clear evidence that the donations caused or influenced the CFTC's action.
The Winklevoss brothers have a long track record of supporting Trump politically. In addition to the recent MAGA Inc. contributions, the Winklevoss brothers each donated $1 million to Trump's 2024 election campaign and supported the then-candidate through social media posts. Following Trump taking office in January 2025, the twins attended the signing ceremony for the GENIUS Act stablecoin payments bill and contributed $21 million in Bitcoin to the Digital Freedom Fund PAC in an effort to support the administration's efforts related to crypto policy. Gemini has now emerged as one of the largest crypto-aligned political donors backing the current administration.
Sources:
Cointelegraph: Gemini Sent $10M in Bitcoin to Trump PAC after Joint Motion with CFTC
CNBC: U.S. Regulator Moves to Withdraw $5 Million Penalty Against Winklevoss' Crypto Exchange
Decrypt: CFTC, Gemini File Joint Motion to Reverse $5M Settlement
Gemini Trust Company sent more than $10 million in Bitcoin to MAGA Inc., a super political action committee that supports President Donald Trump.
Summary
Gemini sent two Bitcoin contributions totaling over $10 million to Trump-supporting super PAC MAGA Inc. The donations followed Gemini and CFTC’s joint request to vacate ongoing terms of their settlement. Gemini will not recover its $5 million penalty even if the court grants relief requested. A July Federal Election Commission filing lists two Bitcoin contributions made on June 19, with each valued at more than $5 million. The committee can use the funds for independent spending that supports Trump.
The transfers came about three weeks after Gemini and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a joint motion in a New York federal court. The parties asked the judge to remove the continuing terms of a January 2025 consent order. Available records do not establish that the donation affected the CFTC’s decision, and neither side has publicly linked the events.
FEC filing records two Bitcoin contributions MAGA Inc. disclosed the payments in its monthly report covering June. The filing identifies Gemini Trust Company as the contributor and records both payments on the same date. By June 30, the super PAC had reported more than $397 million in total receipts, according to reports citing the filing.
The contributions extend the Winklevoss brothers’ political support for Trump and pro-crypto groups. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss each gave $1 million in Bitcoin to Trump’s 2024 campaign. They later donated $21 million in Bitcoin to the Digital Freedom Fund, a PAC created to support the administration’s crypto policy goals.
CFTC seeks relief from Gemini consent order The CFTC sued Gemini in June 2022. The agency alleged that the exchange made false or misleading statements while seeking approval for a Bitcoin futures product. Gemini settled the case in January 2025 without admitting or denying the findings. The consent order required a $5 million civil penalty and imposed a permanent injunction.
On May 27, 2026, the CFTC joined Gemini’s request for relief from that judgment. The agency said a later review found that the complaint “should not have been filed” under its current enforcement standards. It cited questions about the evidence, a whistleblower’s credibility and staff conduct during the investigation.
However, the motion does not seek repayment of the fine. The CFTC said both sides agreed that the $5 million “will not be returned to Gemini.” The requested relief covers the future-facing parts of the order, including the injunction. As crypto.news reported in May, the regulator said keeping those terms in force would not be equitable. No public ruling had appeared by July 24.
Warren questions the agency’s independence Senator Elizabeth Warren challenged the reversal request in a June 5 letter to CFTC Chair Michael Selig. She tied the matter to concerns about staffing cuts, reduced enforcement and contacts between the regulator and crypto or prediction-market firms. Warren called the developments “concerning signs of a CFTC beholden to political pressures and interests of the wealthy insiders.”
The letter states Warren’s position and does not prove that Gemini’s political giving shaped the agency’s action. The CFTC said its decision followed a review of the investigation, evidence, litigation tactics and current policy. It also said Gemini had been a fraud victim and that the earlier complaint relied heavily on an account lacking credibility.
Warren renewed her scrutiny on July 22 by asking the Government Accountability Office to examine CFTC staffing cuts and their effect on enforcement. Her office said the workforce had fallen by about 25% since January 2025. The CFTC’s current website lists Selig as its only commissioner, although federal law provides for a five-member commission.
Crypto election spending reaches new records The Gemini contribution arrived during a surge in crypto-linked political spending. As previously reported by crypto.news,Public Citizen estimated that crypto companies had contributed about $189 million during the 2026 U.S. election cycle by late June. The group said this represented about 37% of corporate political contributions tracked during the cycle.
Several large crypto firms have funded PACs supporting candidates from both parties. Fairshake and related committees have received backing from Coinbase, Ripple and other companies. Meanwhile, MAGA Inc. has attracted money from Gemini and other technology or crypto businesses. Super PACs may accept unlimited corporate contributions for independent spending, but they cannot contribute directly to candidates or coordinate communications with them.
The spending comes as Congress considers the CLARITY Act, which could give the CFTC a larger role in digital asset oversight. Lawmakers continue to debate the regulator’s staffing, authority and leadership structure before expanding its duties.
The court has not publicly resolved the Gemini-CFTC motion. The Bitcoin transfer remains a separately disclosed political contribution. Gemini has already paid the $5 million penalty, and the agreement with the CFTC prevents its return even if the judge removes the order’s continuing restrictions.
USD/JPY soared to 163.81 on Friday, marking a new 40-year high. Repeated warnings of possible currency intervention have so far failed to halt the yen's decline amid a broad strengthening of the US dollar.
The market paid little attention to the Japanese Finance Minister's statement that authorities are ready to take decisive action. Reports that the Bank of Japan may allow a faster pace of rate hikes than markets currently expect also failed to provide support.
Additional pressure on the yen is coming from concerns over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's fiscal policy and the escalating US–Iran conflict. Japan is heavily dependent on energy imports, making the economy and trade balance particularly vulnerable to rising oil prices.
Headline inflation in Japan hit a six-month high in June, reinforcing expectations of further rate hikes. However, the yen has already lost 0.8% since the start of the week and is on track for its worst weekly performance since May.
Technical analysis
On the H4 USD/JPY chart, the market is forming a consolidation range around the 163.70 level, currently extending between 163.97 and 163.70. A rise to 164.27 is expected today, with scope for the trend to extend to 164.84. The MACD indicator supports this scenario, with its signal line above zero and pointing firmly upwards.
On the H1 chart, USD/JPY has completed a downward move to the 163.50 level, with a possible extension towards 163.30. Thereafter, a move higher towards at least 164.30 is expected. A breakout above this level would open the way for a continuation towards 164.84. The Stochastic oscillator confirms this scenario, with its signal line below 50 and pointing downwards towards 20, indicating short-term downside pressure before a potential reversal.
ConclusionUSD/JPY has surged to a fresh 40-year high as the yen remains under pressure amid a strong dollar and persistent headwinds. Despite official warnings of potential intervention and indications that the Bank of Japan may tolerate a faster pace of rate hikes, markets remain largely unresponsive. The currency continues to face pressure from concerns over fiscal policy, escalating Middle East tensions, and Japan's reliance on energy imports. Although domestic inflation has accelerated to a six-month high, the yen is on track for its worst weekly performance since May. Technically, further upside towards 164.27–164.84 appears likely, with intervention risks remaining a key wildcard.
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USD/JPY soared to 163.81 on Friday, marking a new 40-year high. Repeated warnings of possible currency intervention have so far failed to halt the yen’s decline amid a broad strengthening of the US dollar.
The market paid little attention to the Japanese Finance Minister’s statement that authorities are ready to take decisive action. Reports that the Bank of Japan may allow a faster pace of rate hikes than markets currently expect also failed to provide support.
Additional pressure on the yen is coming from concerns over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s fiscal policy and the escalating US–Iran conflict. Japan is heavily dependent on energy imports, making the economy and trade balance particularly vulnerable to rising oil prices.
Headline inflation in Japan hit a six-month high in June, reinforcing expectations of further rate hikes. However, the yen has already lost 0.8% since the start of the week and is on track for its worst weekly performance since May.
Technical Analysis
On the H4 USD/JPY chart, the market is forming a consolidation range around the 163.70 level, currently extending between 163.97 and 163.70. A rise to 164.27 is expected today, with scope for the trend to extend to 164.84. The MACD indicator supports this scenario, with its signal line above zero and pointing firmly upwards.
On the H1 chart, USD/JPY has completed a downward move to the 163.50 level, with a possible extension towards 163.30. Thereafter, a move higher towards at least 164.30 is expected. A breakout above this level would open the way for a continuation towards 164.84. The Stochastic oscillator confirms this scenario, with its signal line below 50 and pointing downwards towards 20, indicating short-term downside pressure before a potential reversal.
Conclusion USD/JPY has surged to a fresh 40-year high as the yen remains under pressure amid a strong dollar and persistent headwinds. Despite official warnings of potential intervention and indications that the Bank of Japan may tolerate a faster pace of rate hikes, markets remain largely unresponsive. The currency continues to face pressure from concerns over fiscal policy, escalating Middle East tensions, and Japan’s reliance on energy imports. Although domestic inflation has accelerated to a six-month high, the yen is on track for its worst weekly performance since May. Technically, further upside towards 164.27–164.84 appears likely, with intervention risks remaining a key wildcard.
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SummaryPity Mr. Market. He supposedly wants to buy low and sell high. But he often recoils from and spews hate at stocks that can be bought low — like Oracle.Supposedly, ORCL is doing wrong by spending heavily to build data centers and, horror of horrors, borrowing and selling new equity to do this. In other words...ORCL is acting (gasp) normal. The whole world can’t be “asset lite” services. And building physical assets often means big spending and (double gasp) temporarily negative FCF.Big AI spenders will eventually need to earn returns on their investments. Not all will succeed. But AI, real, productive, AI is about data. Not all big spenders are. But...Data is and always has been ORCL’s forte, especially mission-critical enterprise data. Given its prowess here, I see ORCL as one of the eventual AI winners and its stock as a contrarian value 'Buy.' Vertigo3d/E+ via Getty Images
Buy low, sell high — or so they say.
Sounds wonderful. Let’s all go out and do that very thing.
Actually, though, that takes courage.
First, you have to power your way through a gauntlet of
8.35K Followers
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in ORCL over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Core FFO: $2.13 per share in Q2 2026, 14% year-over-year growth.Bookings: Record 0 to 1-megawatt plus interconnection signings surpassing $100 million.Renewal
Disney’s parks initiative does not involve a roller coaster or resort expansion. Instead, the company is using grocery brands to create more reasons for visitors to spend inside its parks, resorts and cruise ships.
Disney and Kraft Heinz announced a multiyear alliance covering ten brands, including Heinz, Philadelphia and Kraft Mac & Cheese.
The partnership spans North American parks, Disney Cruise Line, studios and streaming platforms, with new menu items, themed experiences and branded condiment stations across hundreds of dining locations.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Disney stock closed Thursday at $92.83, down 3.1%, while Kraft Heinz fell 2.3% to $25.36, suggesting investors see potential but little basis for changing earnings forecasts.
The agreement will reach Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort and North American cruise sailings. Its first showcase is scheduled for Disney’s D23 fan event from August 14 to 16.
For Disney, the opportunity extends beyond supplying ketchup or cream cheese.
Branded menus can encourage food spending, while co-developed products and campaigns can link park visits with characters, franchises and streaming content.
Kraft Heinz gains access to Disney’s destinations and media reach, while Disney can refresh dining experiences without funding product-development or marketing effort alone.
The companies provided no contract value, revenue contribution, margin guidance or financial targets and the partnership should be treated as a potential sales tool rather than a confirmed earnings catalyst.
Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng maintained a Buy rating and a $163 price target, citing Orlando tourism data that indicated park demand.
Record May hotel and short-stay tax collections pointed to healthy visitor spending, while airport traffic broadly matched Goldman’s attendance expectations.
That backdrop improves Disney’s chances of converting themed dining into higher spending per guest.
Visitors willing to pay for hotels, tickets and merchandise may respond to exclusive menus and products tied to Disney stories.
UBS analyst John Hodulik cut his target to $133 from $138 but retained a Buy rating and forecast high-single-digit growth for Experiences.
He warned that higher sports-rights costs and softer film profitability could offset gains from parks and streaming.
The partnership cannot repair every weak point, but it supports the division central to Disney’s earnings resilience.
Experiences remains central to Disney’s valuationBenchmark initiated Disney coverage with a Buy rating and a $115 target, describing the company as a diversified consumer-engagement platform.
The brokerage estimated that Experiences generates 57% of segment operating income despite contributing less than 40% of revenue.
That profitability explains why an incremental parks initiative matters.
Disney repeatedly monetises the same intellectual property through destinations, merchandise, food and media, increasing the consumer touchpoints available to each franchise.
JPMorgan has said investor sentiment remains muted because of concerns about park attendance and streaming growth.
The bank nevertheless sees Disney’s price-and-volume opportunity in Experiences as a potential re-rating catalyst.
Revenue: $435 million, up 6% year over year.Earnings Per Share (EPS): $2.38, increased 7.7% year over year.Net Income: $217 million, compared to $207 million a
