Tesla v USA uvedla šestisedadlový Model Y L s prodlouženým rozvorem, aby podpořila prodeje po zrušení klíčové daňové pobídky. Cena startuje na 61 990 USD.
The logo of Tesla is seen on a Tesla car in Brussels, Belgium April 24, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
CompaniesJuly 2 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab on Thursday launched a six-seater long wheelbase version of its best-selling Model Y SUV in the U.S., aiming to boost sales of its electric vehicles after the removal of a key tax credit.
Prices of the launch version start from $61,990 in the U.S., according to Tesla's website.
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The EV maker said its Model Y with extended wheelbase is now also available in the United Arab Emirates, in a separate post on social media platform X.
Instead of launching new models, Tesla has been introducing different variants of the Model Y and its Model 3 compact sedan to stoke demand.
The company rolled out the longer version — called Model Y L — in China last year, which drove sales in the region despite stiff competition from BYD (002594.SZ), opens new tab and other domestic automakers.
It later expanded the sale of the model to other Asia-Pacific markets. The three-row model, which offers 325 miles of range, is expected to help revive some demand in the U.S. after a slowdown due to the removal of a federal tax credit last year.
Tesla on Thursday posted record-setting second-quarter delivery numbers that smashed past Wall Street estimates, led by a rebound in Europe, feeding hopes that in 2026 the EV maker can end its two-year streak of annual declines.
Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Sahal Muhammed
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Bank of America po stresových testech Fedu dividendu nezvýšila, ale podle článku jde jen o načasování a vyšší dividenda je pravděpodobná při nadcházejících výsledcích za 2. čtvrtletí.
Like all of the large banks that underwent the Federal Reserve's bank stress test, Bank of America (BAC +0.46%) passed. However, after passing, many of the other big banks announced sizable dividend increases. For example, Goldman Sachs (GS +0.14%) hiked its dividend by 11%, while Citigroup (C 0.17%) increased its dividend by 12%. Bank of America, by contrast, didn't increase its dividend. But investors shouldn't worry, a dividend hike is likely on the way.
Bank of America: It's just a timing issue Over the last few years, Bank of America has increased its dividend in the third quarter. The dividend increase is announced alongside second-quarter earnings. Bank of America will report second-quarter earnings in a couple of weeks. Basically, management is simply waiting until the normal time it makes dividend announcements, given how close the results of the Fed stress tests were announced relative to earnings season.
Image source: Getty Images.
In other words, Bank of America's choosing not to announce a dividend increase is probably not a sign that something is wrong with the company. The real question here is how large the increase will be. Obviously, that's entirely up to the board of directors. That said, the last two annual dividend increases were 8% and 7%. Both are sizable compared to the historical inflation rate, which is closer to 3%. It is reasonable to expect the next hike to be larger, though probably not dramatically so, since the last two increases were fairly generous.
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A discounted price could be a buying opportunity What's interesting is that Bank of America's price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios are lower than those of JPMorgan Chase (JPM 0.11%) and Goldman Sachs, suggesting it's a value play in the banking sector. Meanwhile, Bank of America's P/E is lower than Citigroup's, even though Citigroup's P/B ratio is lower. So, it could still be viewed as the value option, given that Citigroup's stock has risen 60% over the past year, compared with Bank of America's 20%.
A dividend increase from Bank of America is unlikely to close the valuation gap in one fell swoop. But it will still be a nice reward for investors and provide a reason to stick around for the long term, allowing the market more time to close the valuation gap. Given that Bank of America's roughly 2% dividend yield is currently higher than its peers', income-focused investors should probably take a close look at the stock before it reports second-quarter earnings (and a likely dividend increase).
Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Soud v Delaware nařídil JPMorgan dál hradit právní náklady Charlie Javiceové, které už přesáhly 70 milionů USD. Banka musí uhradit i sporných zhruba 10,1 milionu USD.
JPMorgan Chase has been ordered to keep paying convicted fraudster Charlie Javice‘s legal bills, with a Delaware judge rejecting the banking giant’s bid to halt what it called “astronomical” defense costs that have now topped $70 million.
Delaware Chancery Court Magistrate Judge Christian Wright said in his ruling on Thursday that JPMorgan failed to meet its “challenging burden” of proving that Javice’s legal fees were “so unmistakably unreasonable or clearly abusive” that they could only have resulted from bad faith.
The decision requires JPMorgan to continue advancing roughly $10.1 million in disputed legal fees incurred by Javice between January and September 2025.
JPMorgan Chase must keep paying Charlie Javice’s legal bills, a Delaware judge ruled. Alec Tabak for NY Post Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Javice is seeking a presidential pardon as she seeks to overturn her March 2025 conviction for defrauding JPMorgan into paying $175 million for Frank, the college financial-aid startup she founded.
The bank also sought to stop paying the legal fees of former Frank chief growth officer Olivier Amar, who was convicted alongside Javice and sentenced to 68 months in prison.
Wright rejected that request, too, ruling JPMorgan must continue advancing approximately $11.3 million in Amar’s disputed legal fees covering a similar period.
The latest ruling means JPMorgan remains on the hook for legal costs that now exceed $70 million for Javice alone and more than $136 million combined for her and Amar, according to court filings.
JPMorgan argued that the costs had spiraled out of control and sought to end its obligation to bankroll Javice’s defense under advancement rights stemming from its 2021 acquisition of Frank.
The dispute has featured some eyebrow-raising accusations by JPMorgan over what it says were lavish charges buried in Javice’s legal bills.
A Delaware judge rejected the bank’s bid to halt the “astronomical” defense costs. Corbis via Getty Images In separate court filings unsealed last year, the bank claimed defense lawyers sought reimbursement for $530 worth of gummy bears, more than $3,000 in first-class airfare, a $581 dinner that included a $161 seafood tower and more than $25,800 in luxury hotel upgrades.
JPMorgan also objected to charges that it said included a $284 car ride covering just half a mile, cocktails and wine, cellulite butter, a Spotify subscription, a suitcase, a Cookie Monster toddler toy, a pet hair roller, a coffee maker and even transportation to the American Museum of Natural History.
Javice’s spokesman countered that none of the disputed expenses were incurred, used or approved by her, saying they were attorney expenses that the bank was using to distract from its contractual obligation to advance her legal fees.
“We appreciate the court’s time and attention to this matter,” JPMorgan spokesman Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement to The Post.
“We respectfully disagree with the Delaware decision about the bounds of reasonableness and are considering next steps.”
Javice was sentenced to 85 months in prison after being convicted of defrauding JPMorgan Chase in the $175 million sale of Frank. Alec Tabak for NY Post Federal prosecutors said Javice falsely claimed Frank had data on more than 4 million students when it actually had information on only about 300,000, enabling her to pocket tens of millions of dollars from the sale.
She was later sentenced to 85 months in prison and is appealing both her conviction and sentence.
JPMorgan has been paying Javice’s legal bills since June 2023 under an earlier Delaware court order requiring the bank to advance defense costs while the underlying litigation proceeds.
The Delaware dispute centers on advancement rights rather than whether Javice is ultimately entitled to indemnification.
Under Delaware corporate law and the merger agreements governing the Frank acquisition, JPMorgan has been required to front legal expenses while challenges over the scope and reasonableness of those bills play out.
Wright concluded the bank had not shown the invoices were so excessive that they reflected bad faith, allowing the advancement obligations to continue despite Javice’s criminal conviction.
Akcie společnosti Moderna vyskočily o 9,2 % po pozitivních datech o chřipkové vakcíně a nových informacích o pipeline. Poradní panel FDA jednomyslně podpořil vakcínu mRNA-1010/mFLUSIVA pro dospělé od 50 do 64 let a pro osoby ve věku 65 let a starší.
Moderna Inc. MRNA shares rose 9.2% on Thursday, making the biotechnology company one of the top performers in the S&P 500.
Investors responded positively to new pipeline updates, encouraging influenza vaccine data, and favorable analyst commentary.
The stock extended its recent rally after climbing to a new annual high on Wednesday.
At one point, shares gained nearly 12% as investors welcomed the company's latest Science Day presentation and progress across its mRNA development programs.
Investor sentiment also received a boost after an FDA advisory panel unanimously supported Moderna's mRNA-1010/mFLUSIVA influenza vaccine for adults aged 50 to 64 and those 65 and older.
The recommendation comes ahead of a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) decision expected on Aug. 5, 2026, as well as planned global regulatory filings.
During its recent Science Day presentation, Moderna outlined plans to expand its mRNA platform beyond infectious disease vaccines into oncology, autoimmune diseases and other therapeutic areas.
The company showcased programs targeting multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer and in vivo CAR-T therapies, while emphasizing increased use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation and robotics to accelerate research and development.
Plans to begin the in vivo CAR-T program mRNA-6007 in 2027 also contributed to investor optimism.
Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel said the company's strategy extends across multiple areas of development.
Working across three strategic horizons, we are applying our mRNA platform expertise to validate, scale and expand our modalities, with new modalities in the clinic, including T-cell engagers, and new modalities soon to be in the clinic, like in vivo CAR-T. At the same time, we are driving innovation by using data, AI and machine learning, and robotics to accelerate discovery and continuously improve how we execute for near-term growth while fuelling the next generation of mRNA medicines for patients around the world.
Analysts remained constructive on Moderna's long-term prospects despite differing views on the pace of commercialization.
Jefferies maintained a Hold rating and a $45 price target, stating that while eventual approval of the influenza vaccine appears likely, meaningful flu-related revenue is not expected until 2027.
Piper Sandler took a more optimistic stance, raising its price target to $77 from $69 while reiterating an Overweight rating following the recent rally.
The positive analyst commentary added to growing optimism surrounding Moderna's expanding pipeline beyond COVID-19 vaccines.
Financial position remains supported by cash reservesDespite renewed enthusiasm surrounding its research programs, Moderna continues to operate at a loss as it invests heavily in product development.
The company generated approximately $389 million in quarterly revenue and about $1.94 billion in trailing 12-month revenue.
However, it reported a net loss of roughly $1.34 billion in the latest quarter and an EBITDA loss of approximately $1.28 billion. Free cash flow stood at negative $692 million.
Moderna has approximately $5.21 billion in cash and short-term investments, a current ratio of 2.4 and long-term debt of about $1.25 billion, providing financial flexibility as it continues investing in its pipeline.
CNBC's Jim Cramer also expressed optimism about the company's direction.
“For the first time in a long time, the company seems like it has something to get excited about", Cramer said on Wednesday.
He added that Moderna's “plethora of thoughtful, new products” is presenting a clear roadmap to profitability for the first time in a long while.
However, Cramer also urged patience, saying, “I recommend waiting for a pullback before you buy. Take your time. I think Moderna’s got a bright future though, but it’ll take years to get there.”
Lockheed Martin logo is seen in this illustration taken July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
July 2 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab is leading the race to acquire Ultra Maritime, owned by private-equity firm Advent International, in a deal that could value the naval defence business at about $3.5 billion, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Talks are ongoing, and a deal could be announced as early as next week, the report said, adding that several other bidders remain interested in Ultra Maritime as part of a competitive auction process.
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Lockheed Martin and Advent did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Ultra Maritime, which specializes in anti-submarine warfare and undersea defence technologies, is part of Cobham Ultra, a group created after Advent acquired British aerospace Cobham in 2019 and later combined it with Ultra Electronics following its 2022 takeover.
The potential deal comes as defence contractors seek to expand their military technology portfolios amid heightened geopolitical tensions and increased defence spending driven by conflicts, including the war in Ukraine and fighting in the Middle East.
Shares of Lockheed Martin were down marginally in extended trading.
Reporting by Apratim Sarkar in Bangalore; Editing by Vijay Kishore
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Plug Power očekává kladný provozní zisk na konci roku 2027 a celkovou ziskovost při odchodu z roku 2028. Firma ale má za sebou dlouhou historii nesplněných slibů o zisku.
Making tremendous strides in sales growth over the past decade, Plug Power (PLUG +0.00%) has proven adept at selling customers on its fuel cell and hydrogen offerings. But the company's prowess at proving that these alternative energy endeavors could be profitable? Well, that's another story. Since its founding in 1997, Plug Power has consistently failed to turn a profit.
But management has a plan to reverse that trend. Let's take a closer look at Plug stock and what could derail the company as management strives to achieve profitability.
Image source: Getty Images.
This isn't the first time Plug's management has prognosticated profits Investors often get excited when management teams suggest that profitability is on the horizon for their businesses -- especially ones that have been unprofitable for nearly 30 years, like Plug. So when Plug's management projects the company will generate positive operating income as 2027 winds down and achieve "overall profitability exiting 2028," it's understandable why investors get a little giddy.
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But those with long memories will recall Plug's past profitability projections -- and how they never came to fruition.
The company has a long history of failing to deliver on management's profit forecasts. In December 2013, for example, Plug CEO Andy Marsh forecast the company would achieve breakeven on an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) basis in 2014. Instead, it ended the year with EBITDA of negative $33.6 million.
Similarly, the company projected in January 2016 that it would achieve EBITDA break-even in the fourth quarter of that year. Again, it failed. Instead, Plug reported EBITDA of negative $9.4 million in Q4 2016.
Since its founding in 1997, Plug has reported neither operating income nor positive EBITDA.
PLUG Operating Margin (Annual) data by YCharts.
Plug plans to pull a lot of levers to post profits In an April 2026 investor presentation, management outlined a range of steps the company will take to achieve profitability. From raising prices throughout its material handling business to improving its service costs to consolidating its operating sites, the company sees a variety of opportunities to reduce expenses.
The problem, however, is that these numerous opportunities are far from guaranteed to succeed. While some of the steps the company is taking may yield benefits, there's no certainty they will be sufficient to result in overall profitability.
And while the company is continually incurring losses, it still needs to service its $1 billion in debt -- something it must do from its dwindling cash position of $223 million at the end of March 2026. Moreover, while it's servicing its debt, it still requires cash to maintain its operations. As a result, the company will likely raise capital by issuing equity, subjecting investors to shareholder dilution, as it has done many times before.
Take the forecast with a heaping tablespoon of salt Rather than buying this hydrogen stock on the belief that the company is on the precipice of posting profits, investors would be better served by looking for Plug to meet near-term targets, such as achieving positive EBITDA by the end of 2026. Should it succeed, the company could start to rebuild trust with investors, making its 2028 forecast seem more credible.
July 02, 2026 16:05 ET | Source: Robinhood Markets, Inc.
MENLO PARK, Calif., July 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Robinhood Markets, Inc. (“Robinhood”) (NASDAQ: HOOD) announced that it will release its second quarter 2026 financial results on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, after market close. Robinhood will host a video call with Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev and Chief Financial Officer Shiv Verma to discuss its results at 2:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM ET on the same day. The video call and supporting materials will be available at investors.robinhood.com. The event will also be live streamed to YouTube and X.com via Robinhood’s official channels, @RobinhoodApp, and within the Robinhood mobile app. Following the call, a replay and transcript will be available at investors.robinhood.com.
Ahead of the call, Robinhood shareholders can visit https://app.saytechnologies.com/robinhood-markets-2026-q2 to submit and upvote questions for management using the Q&A platform developed by Say Technologies. The Q&A platform will be open for question submission starting Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 2:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM ET. Shareholders will be able to submit and upvote questions until Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 2:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM ET. Management will address a selection of the most upvoted questions relating to Robinhood’s business and financial results on the earnings call. Shareholders can email [email protected] for any support inquiries.
About Robinhood
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) is a global leader in financial services offering retail brokerage, crypto, advisory, digital banking services, and private markets access to a new generation of investors. Additional information about Robinhood can be found at robinhood.com.
Robinhood uses the “Overview” tab of its Investor Relations website (accessible at investors.robinhood.com/overview) and its Newsroom (accessible at newsroom.aboutrobinhood.com), as means of disclosing information to the public in a broad, non-exclusionary manner for purposes of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg. FD). Investors should routinely monitor those web pages, in addition to Robinhood’s press releases, SEC filings, and public conference calls and webcasts, as information posted on them could be deemed to be material information.
“Robinhood” and the Robinhood feather logo are registered trademarks of Robinhood Markets, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Key Takeaways McKesson posted 35% oncology revenue growth and 53% operating profit growth in fiscal Q4 2026.MCK's pharma segment profit rose 11% as specialty drug demand and GLP-1 distribution stayed strong.RxTS revenues grew 12%, though IRA pricing pressure and acquisition risks may challenge future growth. McKesson’s (MCK - Free Report) prospects are being driven by robust growth in specialty distribution, oncology services and biopharma solutions. Earnings are also improving on the back of ongoing operational efficiency and capital discipline despite persistent margin pressures and volatility across certain segments.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have lost 6.4% so far this year compared with the industry's 2.7% decline. The S&P 500 has increased 9.7% in the said time frame.
MCK is one of the leading pharmaceutical distributors in North America, with a market capitalization of $88.46 billion. It forecasts 13.7% earnings growth over the next five fiscal years. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 3.09%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Factors Favoring MCK StockOncology and Multispecialty Platform Drives Long-Term Growth: McKesson's oncology and multispecialty segment is increasingly emerging as one of its most durable long-term growth drivers.This segment delivered 35% revenue growth and 53% operating profit growth in fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.
Even after adjusting for acquisition benefits from PRISM Vision and Core Ventures, organic operating profit expanded 13%, indicating strong underlying demand. The U.S. Oncology Network added more than 570 providers in fiscal 2026, marking the largest annual provider addition since 2010.
Beyond distribution, McKesson is increasingly embedding technology solutions such as Ambient Scribe AI and Ontada analytics to improve physician productivity and deepen relationships with providers. The expanding community-care ecosystem supports recurring specialty revenue growth while positioning the company to benefit from shift of specialty care from hospital settings towards community settings over the long term.
Strong Specialty Pharmaceutical Momentum: McKesson’s North American Pharmaceutical segment remains highly resilient despite pricing pressure from branded drug deflation. Segment operating profit increased 11% to $980 million, supported by continued specialty drug demand, health-system growth and operating efficiency gains. Particularly notable was continued momentum in GLP-1 therapies, where quarterly distribution revenues reached $14 billion, growing 22% year over year.
Management highlighted that lower branded drug prices and softer sequential GLP-1 volumes had zero impact on operating profit, underscoring the strength of McKesson’s fee-based distribution economics.
With specialty pharmaceuticals remaining the fastest-growing healthcare category and biosimilars adoption increasing steadily, McKesson appears well positioned to sustain above-market earnings growth while leveraging its massive pharmaceutical distribution network.
Prescription Technology Solutions Support Margins: McKesson’s Prescription Technology Solutions (RxTS) business is becoming an increasingly valuable earnings contributor as healthcare reimbursement complexity rises. In the fiscal fourth quarter, segment revenues grew 12%, while operating profit increased 13%, supported by strong demand for access, affordability and prior authorization services.
During the annual verification season, McKesson supported a record 3.4 million patients, while technology investments improved productivity, allowing each employee to serve 120 additional patients versus last year.
Management also introduced an integrated specialty access platform that combines benefits verification, prior authorization and affordability support into a single workflow. As specialty therapies, GLP-1 adoption and high-cost drugs continue to see rising demand, McKesson’s technology-enabled service ecosystem creates a competitive moat with structurally stronger margins than traditional pharmaceutical distribution businesses.
Factors That May Offset the Gains for MCKIRA-Driven Drug Pricing Pressure Creates Top-Line Headwinds: One of McKesson’s biggest structural challenges remains pricing pressure created by pharmaceutical policy changes, particularly the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Management disclosed that price reductions by branded manufacturer lowered North American Pharmaceutical revenue growth by approximately 3 percentage points during the fiscal fourth quarter. The company continues to expect similar pricing headwinds throughout fiscal 2027.
While McKesson’s fee-based contracts largely protect profitability, lower drug prices directly suppress reported revenue growth and may weaken investor perception of underlying business momentum. This issue becomes increasingly important because specialty pharmaceuticals account for a growing portion of McKesson’s business. Continued government intervention in drug pricing could create a structural environment where strong demand and prescription growth fail to translate proportionally into top-line expansion, potentially compressing valuation multiples over time.
Technology Solutions Growth Remains Uncertain: Although RxTS remains a high-margin growth business, management explicitly warned that future revenues and operating profit growth will be increasingly non-linear and unpredictable.
Approximately 55% of segment revenues comes from the 3PL business, which depends heavily on factors such as new drug launch timing, program launches, payer utilization trends, product maturity cycles, formulary changes and supply dynamics. Management guided fiscal 2027 revenue growth of only 2.5-6.5%, significantly slower than historical performance despite continued strong demand for access services.
As pharmaceutical manufacturers continuously adjust commercialization strategies, program support requirements may fluctuate materially, resulting in an uncertain quarterly performance. This is likely to reduce earnings visibility in one of McKesson’s most attractive technology-driven segments.
Acquisition-Led Growth Strategy Increases Integration Risk: McKesson’s accelerating expansion strategy depends on acquisitions and inorganic growth initiatives. In fiscal 2026, acquisitions including PRISM Vision and Core Ventures accounted for approximately 34% of operating profit growth in the oncology segment. This highlights growing dependence on purchased growth rather than purely organic expansion.
Management also indicated an active pipeline of additional oncology provider acquisitions, suggesting M&A will remain a central part of the growth algorithm. While integration has progressed smoothly so far, acquisition-heavy growth strategies introduce valuation risk, execution complexity and integration uncertainty.
McKesson is simultaneously funding acquisitions, executing large share repurchases and managing the Medical-Surgical separation, creating capital allocation complexity. If acquired assets underperform or future deals become expensive, sustaining double-digit EPS growth may become increasingly challenging.
Estimate Trends for MCKMcKesson is witnessing a positive estimate revision trend for 2026. In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings per share has improved 1 cent to $44.28.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenues and earnings per share is pegged at $104.39 billion and $9.63, respectively. The estimate for revenues indicates a 6.7% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s reported number, while that for earnings implies a 16.6% gain.
MCK’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksCurrently, McKesson has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are BrightSpring Health (BTSG - Free Report) , Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) and West Pharmaceutical (WST - Free Report) .
BrightSpring Health, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 39 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 34.5%. Revenues of $3.61 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.35%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
BrightSpring Health has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 46.5%. BTSG’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, the average surprise being 14.6%.
Globus Medical, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reported a first-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.12, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.1%. Revenues of $759.9 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.0%.
GMED has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 10.2%. The company’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 26.3%.
West Pharmaceutical, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, reported first-quarter 2026 EPS of $2.13, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26.8%. Revenues of $844.9 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.5%.
West Pharmaceutical has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 13.9%. WST’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 19.4%.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Terex Corporation (NYSE: TEX) announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share. The dividend is to be paid on September 18, 2026 to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 11, 2026.
About Terex
Terex Corporation is a global leader in specialized equipment solutions, serving essential sectors such as emergency services, waste and recycling, utilities, and construction. Our diversified portfolio positions us in resilient, high-demand markets with strong long-term growth potential.
We design and manufacture advanced specialty vehicles—including fire, ambulance, and recreational vehicles—alongside waste collection vehicles, materials processing machinery, mobile elevating work platforms, and equipment for the electric utility industry. Through our global dealer, parts and service network and true value-creating digital solutions, we deliver best-in-class lifecycle support, helping customers maximize return on investment.
With a strong manufacturing footprint in the United States and operations across Europe, India, and Asia Pacific, Terex combines global reach with local expertise to capture opportunities worldwide. Our strategy is clear: exceed customer expectations, invest in innovation, leverage our diversified portfolio, and deliver consistent, profitable growth for our shareholders.
For more information, please visit www.terex.com.
Contact Information
Drew Konop, CFA
VP Investor Relations
Email: [email protected]
Alcon těží z rostoucího přijetí platforem Unity VCS, Unity CS a čoček PanOptix Pro, zatímco poptávku podporuje i syndrom suchého oka. Firma ale čelí tlaku cel ve výši 33 mil. USD a silné konkurenci.
Key Takeaways Alcon's new platforms and lenses are gaining adoption, while dry eye momentum supports future growth. Unity VCS, Unity CS and PanOptix Pro are driving equipment and implantables momentum for Alcon. ALC faces macro pressure, $33M in tariffs and intense competition across both operating segments. Alcon’s (ALC - Free Report) new platforms and lenses are gaining adoption. Dry eye momentum is likely to support growth in the upcoming quarters. However, adverse macroeconomic conditions and intense competition may harm the company’s operations.
In the past year, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has dipped 25.1% compared with the industry’s 10.4% decline. The S&P 500 composite has risen 23.9% in the same time frame.
The renowned pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturer has a market capitalization of $32.77 billion. ALC’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed in one, delivering an average surprise of 3.7%.
Let’s delve deeper.
Upsides for ALCBusiness Development Activities: Strategic asset additions have enabled Alcon to broaden its technology portfolio across both franchises, reinforcing a multi-year innovation pipeline that complements its internal R&D programs. In March 2026, Alcon and LENSAR agreed to terminate the previously announced merger agreement, which removes a near-term integration item and keeps capital available for other bolt-on opportunities.
In 2025, the company acquired a majority interest in Aurion Biotech to advance AURN001, a corneal cell therapy candidate that targets a large transplant market constrained by donor availability. Alcon also completed the acquisition of LumiThera and its Valeda photobiomodulation device for early and intermediate dry AMD.
New Products to Drive Growth: Unity VCS and Unity CS are at the center of the current equipment cycle, with management highlighting continued momentum in the first quarter of 2026 as installations expand and surgeon feedback emphasizes workflow integration. In implantables, PanOptix Pro is being rolled out internationally following U.S. adoption.
Alcon reported share gains in U.S. AT-IOLs and is preparing to launch an upgraded Vivity lens in early 2027. TruPlus adds a monofocal plus option with toric availability at launch, supporting broader coverage of astigmatism correction. Alcon also continues to scale Tryptyr and Systane in dry eye and broaden its contact lens lineup with TOTAL30 and PRECISION7, including a multifocal toric extension of TOTAL30 introduced in early 2026.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Downsides for ALCPersistent Macroeconomic Pressure: Alcon remains exposed to geopolitical and trade volatility that can disrupt supply chains and raise input costs, particularly as tariffs continue to evolve. In the first quarter of 2026, incremental tariffs in the United States and China totaled $33 million, and management cited a 120 basis points drag on core gross margin.
Tough Competitive Landscape: Competition remains intense across both segments and is showing up most clearly where Alcon is defending share outside the United States and managing mix transitions. The category also remains competitive as newer entrants target value tiers and the market continues shifting toward daily lenses and advanced materials. These dynamics increase reliance on newer platforms to sustain growth, requiring continued investment in commercialization and physician education to maintain pricing power and market positioning over time.
ALC Stock Estimate Trend The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share has remained unchanged at $3.48 in the past 30 days.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 revenues is pegged at $11.06 billion, suggesting a 7.2% rise from the year-ago reported number.
Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) , Integra LifeSciences (IART - Free Report) and Phibro Animal Health (PAHC - Free Report) .
Globus Medical has an earnings yield of 5.5%, well ahead of the industry’s negative 3% yield. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 26.3%. The company’s shares have rallied 43.8% against the industry’s 4.8% decline over the past year.
GMED carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Integra LifeSciences, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an earnings yield of 16% against the industry’s negative 3% yield. Shares of the company have gained 22.8% compared with the industry’s 4.8% growth. IART’s earnings topped estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.8%.
Phibro Animal Health, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an earnings yield of 9.2% compared with the industry’s 2.8% yield. Shares of the company have climbed 43.1% against the industry’s 27.9% decline. PAHC’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.3%.
Blue Owl ve 2. čtvrtletí zaznamenal nižší žádosti o odkupy z klíčových private-credit fondů, což naznačuje ústup tlaku na odkupy. Akcie OWL v reakci vzrostly téměř o 5 %.
Investors sought to withdraw less money from two of Blue Owl Capital's flagship private-credit funds in the second quarter, providing early signs that redemption pressures across the sector may be beginning to moderate after months of elevated withdrawals.
The New York-based alternative asset manager said investors requested withdrawals totaling $4.7 billion during the quarter, down from $5.4 billion in the previous three months.
The easing in withdrawal requests was welcomed by investors, with Blue Owl OWL shares rising by nearly 5% in Thursday trading.
The figures come as private-credit managers continue to grapple with heightened redemption activity following several high-profile borrower defaults last year that sparked concerns over the health of private-credit portfolios.
Blue Owl's stock has fallen by over 40% this year.
Redemptions remain above payout limitsWithdrawal requests declined across both of Blue Owl's largest non-traded business development companies, though they remained substantially above the quarterly redemption limits built into the funds.
At the $33.8 billion Blue Owl Credit Income Corp (OCIC), investors requested to redeem 18.8% of outstanding shares during the quarter, down from 21.9% in the first quarter.
The firm's technology-focused Blue Owl Technology Income Corp (OTIC), which manages $4.9 billion in assets, also recorded lower withdrawal requests.
Investors sought to redeem 38.1% of shares during the quarter compared with 40.7% in the previous period.
Like many non-traded private-credit vehicles, both funds limit quarterly repurchases to 5% of outstanding shares.
The mechanism is designed to avoid forcing managers to sell relatively illiquid corporate loans to meet investor withdrawals.
Blue Owl said roughly 90% of investors in OCIC remained invested, while the group of shareholders requesting redemptions was largely unchanged from previous quarters, with little participation from new investors.
Although redemption requests remain elevated, analysts believe recent trends suggest withdrawal activity may be nearing its peak.
Market participants still expect requests to stay above the 5% quarterly threshold for several more quarters, but some Wall Street analysts argue that the gradual moderation seen in the second quarter points to improving investor confidence.
"We believe OCIC's strong performance over the past three months has reflected the quality of portfolio fundamentals and contributed to improved investor sentiment," Blue Owl executives Craig Packer and Logan Nicholson said in a letter to shareholders.
The firm also said borrower fundamentals remained healthy, adding that "credit quality remained resilient," supported by solid operating performance across its portfolio companies.
Blue Owl said it was encouraged by the modest quarter-over-quarter decline in tender requests, attributing the improvement partly to the funds' recent performance.
Private credit remains under scrutinyBlue Owl has become one of the industry's most closely watched firms because it was among the earliest alternative asset managers to successfully market private-credit products to wealthy individual investors.
That strategy helped the firm rapidly expand assets under management to roughly $300 billion, but it has also made the company particularly exposed to swings in retail investor sentiment.
Persistent redemption requests have raised concerns that slower asset growth and capped withdrawals could weigh on fee income if investor demand remains subdued.
Pressure has not been limited to Blue Owl.
Several large private-credit managers, including Ares Management, Blackstone and BlackRock, have also experienced higher redemption activity in recent quarters, weighing on their share prices.
Investor concerns intensified in late June after withdrawals from a major Apollo Global Management private-credit fund climbed to 17% of assets from 11% in the previous quarter.
Executives across the industry have maintained that concerns surrounding private credit are exaggerated, though many acknowledge that elevated redemption activity is likely to continue in the near term.
Blue Owl said its largest credit fund remains well positioned to meet future redemption requests.
The company reported that OCIC holds $11.6 billion in cash, cash equivalents and available borrowing capacity, enough to fund approximately 12 quarters of payouts at the current 5% quarterly redemption limit.
While withdrawal requests remain well above the level funds are willing to meet each quarter, the latest figures suggest investors may be becoming more comfortable with private-credit portfolios after a turbulent period for the industry.
Levi's, VF Corp. i Columbia Sportswear zrychlují zaměření na ženy, aby podpořily růst tržeb a rozšířily zákaznickou základnu. U Levi's už dámské oblečení tvoří 38 % podnikání.
Iconic apparel brands that have historically been more popular with men are turning to women to help drive a new leg of growth.
The CEOs of Timberland owner VF Corp., Levi's, and Columbia Sportswear have all recently highlighted women as a key focus as they look to boost revenues and broaden their customer bases.
The opportunity is sizable. Needham analyst Tom Nikic estimates the U.S. women's apparel market is roughly 70% larger than the men's apparel market. In other words, women spend substantially more on clothing than men.
"If you're skewing very heavily towards men, then you're essentially leaving behind half the population," Nikic told CNBC.
The efforts at VF Corp., Levi's, and Columbia reflect a broader trend across the apparel industry as brands search for growth in an increasingly competitive market, according to analysts. While these companies have sold women's clothes and shoes for decades, executives are increasingly treating female consumers as a strategic priority rather than simply another customer segment.
For investors, the appeal is straightforward. Winning over more female shoppers allows brands to expand their addressable market without having to embark on a radical pivot.
"There was no good structural reason why some of these brands should skew as heavily male as they did," Nikic said. "If they can successfully grow with women while maintaining strength with men, that's a significant opportunity."
VF Corp. CEO Bracken Darrell, who took over three years ago to reinvigorate the company after a period of declining sales, described women as a major "unlock" for several of its brands, including Vans, The North Face, Timberland, and shoe maker Altra Running.
Darrell said the opportunity stems from both women's growing purchasing power and their influence on broader consumer trends.
"Women have influenced men's choices in a bigger way than a lot of us who ran predominantly men's brands gave credit for," Darrell said in an interview. "We always had opportunities across all our brands that were bigger for us if we tried to get in with women."
VF is incorporating that focus into more product development across its portfolio. Vans, a hallmark of skateboard culture, has introduced more women's apparel, pearlized footwear and shoe jewelry. Known for its iconic yellow boot, Timberland has expanded its lineup with products such as its Stone Street platform boots and other women's-focused silhouettes, leaning into elevated designs as it looks to broaden its appeal among female shoppers.
At The North Face, the company has collaborated with Kim Kardashian's Skims and other fashion brands, while also expanding its offerings for female outdoor enthusiasts. Its Advanced Mountain Kit line, one of the brand's premium performance collections, now includes a full women's assortment.
The North Face is the company's "single biggest opportunity with women," Darrell said. It's also the company's largest brand by revenue, accounting for roughly 42% of its $9.6 billion in fiscal 2026 sales.
"We believe North Face can double from $4 billion to $8 billion over some time frame," he said, estimating that women could account for more than $2 billion of that potential growth.
The focus on women could also play a role in helping Vans return to sustainable growth, according to Jefferies analyst Blake Anderson. He said younger women can act as "strong brand advocates and trendsetters," helping drive awareness through social media and online shopping channels.
Vans brand has struggled for years, predating Darrell's arrival. But revenue trends are improving. Sales on a constant-currency basis fell 11% in VF's fiscal year ended in March, compared with 15% and 27% in fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. For 2027, the company projects a mid-single decline.
In fiscal 2026, VF broke a streak of three consecutive years of declining companywide sales, with The North Face and Timberland both growing 5% on a constant-currency basis. It's guided for another year of growth in fiscal 2027.
So far in Darrell's tenure, shares of VF are down roughly 7%, when including dividends. That trails State Street's popular retail ETF known as the XRT, which is up 38% in that timeframe. Over the past year, though, the stock has trounced the XRT, returning almost 36% versus roughly 10%.
Levi's has emerged as one of the clearest examples of how expanding into women's apparel can translate into growth.
Former Kohl's CEO Michelle Gass became Levi's chief executive in January 2024 after a year as president. She was tasked with accelerating growth and advancing the company's transition to a direct-to-consumer-first business.
As part of that strategy, Gass made attracting female shoppers a key priority through the company's "Win With Her" initiative, which first launched in Europe and has since expanded more broadly throughout the business. On CNBC's "Mad Money" earlier this year, Gass told Jim Cramer that women's apparel now accounts for 38% of Levi's business, up from roughly a third in 2022. She is targeting a 50-50 revenue split between men and women.
"Women's was up 11% for [2025], and we have a long way to go between 38% and 50%, and that's incremental business for us," Gass said.
On the company's 2026 first-quarter earnings call, Gass said women's apparel grew 13% in the quarter, compared with 7% growth in men's. In its 2025 annual report, Levi's described the category as a "powerful growth engine," and noted that it carries higher gross margins while remaining underpenetrated.
The company has expanded beyond denim into dresses, skirts, tops and lifestyle apparel. It's also increased its marketing efforts, including its high-profile partnership with Beyoncé in 2024.
Levi's has also changed how it merchandises its stores. Women's apparel is now featured prominently at the front of many U.S. locations, supported by mannequins and lifestyle displays designed to showcase complete outfits.
Nikic, the Needham analyst, said Levi's demonstrates how brands can grow their women's businesses without sacrificing momentum among male shoppers.
"The women's business is performing even better, but men's product has continued to sell well," he said. "When you can get balanced growth across both men and women, it obviously does wonders for your P&L and for your stock price."
Shares of Levi's have returned 66%, including dividends, since Gass became CEO in January 2024. In that stretch, the stock has significantly outperformed the XRT's 28% return. It's also narrowly topped the S&P 500's total return of 58%.
Levi's reports its next set of quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
Columbia Sportswear is pursuing a similar strategy.
At a recent investor conference, CEO Tim Boyle pointed to the success of Columbia's Amaze Puff Jacket, a stylish winter coat, as an example of how the company is broadening its appeal beyond clothes and shoes popular for hiking, fishing and more.
"It's highly fashionable," said Boyle, who's been CEO since 1988. "It brought a lot of new people into the brand."
The jacket generated significant social media attention and helped introduce Columbia to consumers who may not have traditionally considered the company a fashion brand, Boyle said.
The company has continued to build on that momentum. During an appearance on CNBC's "Mad Money" in May, Boyle highlighted women's outerwear as a major area of focus, and said Columbia plans to expand the Amaze collection into additional seasons.
Columbia expects sales to grow between 1% to 3% this year, after falling 3% last year on a constant-currency basis. Over the past year, the stock has returned about 1%, trailing the XRT's 10% advance.
The stock performance across the group has been mixed, but their pursuits are aligned.
"Your average woman spends almost twice as much on their closet annually as the average man in the U.S.," Nikic said.
Darrell said that's an opportunity the company can no longer afford to overlook.
"You can't look away from the fact that more than 50% of the population is women, so that's always been a big opportunity for these brands," he said. "Investors should be excited to know that we're not ignoring them, we're going after them."
Key Takeaways PL shares have lost 11.9% in three months, lagging the industry, sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite.PL trades at 22.76X price-to-sales, above the industry average of 3.15 and the three-year median of 3.8.Planet Labs' backlog rose 72% to over $906M, but losses are expected to continue through fiscal 2027. Shares of Planet Labs (PL - Free Report) have lost 11.9% in the past three months, underperforming the industry, its sector, as well as the Zacks S&P 500 composite. Planet Labs is a leading provider of Earth-imaging data and geospatial analytics, operating the largest fleet of Earth-observation satellites globally.
PL vs. Industry, Sector, S&P 500 in 3 Months
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Shares of Rocket Lab (RKLB - Free Report) , its peer, have gained 47.7% in the past three months, while those of BlackSky Technology (BKSY - Free Report) , another peer, have lost 6.7% in the same time frame.
PL Shares Are ExpensiveThe stock is overvalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-sales multiple of 22.76, higher than the industry average of 3.15 and the median of 3.8 over three years.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PL is relatively cheap compared to RKLB but expensive compared to BKSY.
The Case for PL StockPlanet Labs generates most of its revenues through a combination of fixed-price subscription agreements and usage-based contracts, delivering satellite imagery and geospatial data analytics to governments and large enterprises via its cloud-based platform. Revenue growth has been driven by an expanding subscription base, rising government demand and a strategic emphasis on higher-value satellite services and advanced analytics.
The company ended the first quarter of fiscal 2027 with backlog increasing 72% year over year to more than $906 million, providing strong revenue visibility and supporting expectations for faster growth. Management projects fiscal 2027 revenues of $425-$441 million.
Planet Labs has increasingly prioritized large government and defense contracts, which offer greater revenue stability and long-term visibility. Although this business remains its primary growth driver, management continues to view the commercial market as a significant long-term opportunity. Ongoing enhancements to its platform are expected to broaden commercial adoption. In particular, AI-powered analytics, initially developed for government customers, are creating new commercial opportunities across supply chain monitoring, surveillance, operational optimization, insurance risk assessment, financial analysis, energy management and agriculture.
Despite these growth prospects, Planet Labs remains unprofitable, and meaningful profitability is unlikely in the near term. Continued investments in satellite infrastructure, elevated research and development spending, and high operating expenses continue to put pressure on margins. After five consecutive years of losses, the company is expected to remain in the red through fiscal 2027, while returns on equity and invested capital remain well below industry averages. For fiscal 2027, management expects a non-GAAP gross margin of 52-54% and adjusted EBITDA ranging from breakeven to a profit of $10 million, indicating that sustained profitability is still some distance away.
Planet Labs Growth ProjectionsThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 revenues indicates a 41.9% year-over-year increase, while that for earnings suggests a 75% year-over-year decline. The consensus estimate for fiscal 2028 revenues indicates a 32.2% year-over-year increase, while that for earnings suggests an increase of 138.1% year over year.
The consensus estimate for fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings has moved south in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings of RKLB has moved south in the past 30 days, while that for BKSY has witnessed no movement in the same time frame.
Parting Thoughts on PL SharesPlanet Labs, a data-driven company focused on Earth-observation imagery and analytics, is poised to grow, given the rising global demand for commercial satellites.
However, current factors warrant caution. With the stock trading at a premium, returns on capital comparing unfavorably with the industry, looming near-term earnings pressure, pessimistic analyst sentiment and a VGM Score of F, it is better to avoid this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock for now.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
SanDisk klesl o 14 %, protože investoři prodávají AI čipy a paměťový hardware a přesouvají peníze do AI softwaru. Pokles přišel i přes pozitivní doporučení analytiků.
SanDisk Corporation SNDK shares plunged 14% in afternoon trading on Thursday, hitting a session low of $1707.58 as investors rotated out of artificial intelligence chip and memory hardware stocks and shifted capital into AI software companies.
The decline followed an extraordinary first half of 2026, during which SanDisk shares surged roughly 858%, leaving the stock vulnerable to profit-taking as market sentiment shifted.
The selloff came despite recent analyst upgrades that pointed to improving fundamentals.
SanDisk had gained nearly 5% on Tuesday after Bernstein raised its price target on the stock, but the broader weakness across semiconductor and memory names outweighed the positive outlook.
SanDisk was not alone in Thursday's decline. Memory storage companies including Micron Technology and Western Digital also posted sharp losses as the sector entered what market participants described as a technical correction.
The combination of profit-taking following SanDisk's substantial rally from its 52-week low of $40.10, weakness across the semiconductor sector, and pressure on technology shares contributed to the stock's outsized decline.
Despite the pullback, SanDisk continues to trade well above its 52-week low, while analysts maintain price targets significantly above current trading levels.
Analysts remain positive on long-term outlookWall Street analysts continued to express confidence in SanDisk's longer-term prospects despite the sharp decline.
On June 30, Bernstein analyst Mark Newman raised his price target to $3,000 from $1,700 while maintaining an Outperform rating.
The firm cited new long-term supply agreements featuring fixed or range-bound pricing and upfront financial commitments, which it believes reduce earnings volatility.
Separately, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a Buy rating on Wednesday and increased his price target to $2,500 from $2,100.
"We expect supply/demand imbalance in the NAND market to remain through 2027," Mohan wrote in a client note, adding that pricing should hold up through mid-2027.
Mohan projected June-quarter revenue of $9.1 billion and earnings per share of $37.01, exceeding both consensus estimates and the company's guidance range of $7.75 billion to $8.25 billion in revenue.
China supply risks and technical picture remain in focusEven with the constructive outlook, analysts continue to monitor supply risks from China.
Mohan identified Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. (YMTC) as a key long-term risk, noting that additional supply could pressure NAND pricing sooner than expected.
His base-case outlook assumes the company will primarily serve domestic Chinese customers.
Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also commented on the memory market over the weekend, stating that the "memory supply-demand gap will keep widening through 2027." Kuo also said Apple Inc. is lobbying the US administration regarding ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) to secure additional DRAM supply sources.
From a technical perspective, SanDisk continues to trade above its 20-day, 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages, while the moving-average structure remains in a bullish alignment.
SNDK Technicals The stock's relative strength index stood at 46.62, indicating more balanced momentum following the recent pullback.
The latest decline reflects broad-based profit-taking in AI hardware stocks rather than company-specific developments, as investors rotated into AI software names despite continued bullish forecasts from Wall Street analysts.
Powell ve 2. čtvrtletí fiskálního roku 2026 zvýšil tržby v segmentu utility o 14 % a v komerčním a průmyslovém segmentu o 35 %. Backlog vzrostl na 1,8 mld. USD.
Key Takeaways Powell posted 14% utility revenue growth and 35% commercial & industrial growth in fiscal Q2 2026.POWL's backlog reached $1.8 billion, up 33% year over year and 12% sequentially.Strong bookings, liquidity and balance sheet support Powell's revenue and earnings outlook for fiscal 2026. Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL - Free Report) is benefiting from its strong foothold and healthy project activities across the electric utility and commercial & other industrial markets. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended March 2026), revenues from the electric utility sector increased 14% year over year, while those from the commercial & other industrial sector surged 35%.
Powell is strengthening its participation across the electrical power value chain and benefiting from momentum in the data center and utility markets. Notably, it witnessed strong bookings in these markets in the first six months of fiscal 2026. Also, significant project awards supported by high investments in LNG, related gas processing and petrochemical processes have set Powell apart as a leading supplier of critical electrical infrastructure.
This has led to a strong backlog level, which was $1.8 billion (up 33% year over year and 12% sequentially) while exiting second-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended March 2026). Exiting the quarter, Powell’s new orders totaled $490 million, much higher than $439 million at the end of the previous quarter.
Given the company’s robust backlog, solid liquidity and a strong balance sheet, it looks forward to witnessing solid revenues and earnings in fiscal 2026 (ending September 2026).
Segment Snapshot of POWL’s PeersFranklin Electric Co. (FELE - Free Report) is witnessing solid momentum in the Energy Systems segment. In first-quarter 2026, net sales from Franklin Electric’s Energy Systems segment increased 7% year over year to $71.8 million. The segmental results were driven by an increase in volumes and price realization.
EnerSys (ENS - Free Report) is benefiting from the expansion of U.S. communications networks, fueled by AI-driven data demand. Increased demand for products from industrial customers is driving the Energy Systems segment’s results. Revenues from EnerSys’ Energy Systems segment increased 7% to $425.7 million in fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended March 31, 2026).
POWL’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of Powell have surged 45% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 15.9%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, POWL is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 40.73X, above the industry’s average of 24.99X. Powell carries a Value Score of F.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for POWL’s fiscal 2026 (ending September 2026) earnings has decreased 1.8% over the past 60 days. However, the consensus estimates for fiscal 2027 (ending September 2027) have increased 9.8%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Bank of America ponechala u Apple doporučení Buy a cíl 380 USD, když vyzdvihla růst služeb, návratnost kapitálu a příležitosti v oblasti AI. Akcie byly po zprávě o 4,16 % výše na 306,64 USD.
Apple drew a bullish view from Bank of America Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan, who maintained a Buy rating and a $380 price forecast while pointing to services growth, capital returns, and future AI opportunities.
BofA Highlights App Store And Services GrowthMohan said Apple’s App Store revenue rose 3.2% year over year to $8.8 billion in the full fiscal third quarter of 2026, while total iPhone and iPad downloads increased 1.3% to 8.7 billion.
He also noted that App Store dollars per download rose 1.9% year over year to $1.01.
BofA models 14% year-over-year growth for Apple’s total services revenue in the fiscal third quarter of 2026.
Mohan kept his $380 price forecast, based on the 37 times calendar 2027 estimated EPS of $10.27.
Analyst Sees AI And New Products As Upside DriversMohan said BofA remains positive on Apple because of strong capital returns, its potential to become a winner in edge AI, and optionality from new products and markets.
He said the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Apple’s appeal in the Epic Games case is a constructive development as Apple continues to defend its App Store economics.
Mohan also viewed Apple’s new Siri AI architecture, combined with Apple silicon, as an important unlock for future hardware-driven and AI-enabled monetization opportunities.
Technical Picture Remains ConstructiveApple continues to trade in an established uptrend. The stock was trading at $306.64, about 4.3% above its 20-day simple moving average of $294.76 and 13.6% above its 200-day moving average of $270.69. The 20-day average also remains above the 50-day moving average, reinforcing the positive trend.
Momentum indicators also remain supportive. The moving average convergence divergence (MACD) indicator is above its signal line, suggesting buying momentum continues to outweigh selling pressure.
The next technical resistance sits near $317.50, close to the stock’s 52-week high of $317.40. Initial support is around $287.50, near the cluster of the 20-day and 50-day moving averages.
Earnings Remain the Next Major CatalystApple is expected to report quarterly results on July 30. Wall Street expects earnings of $1.89 per share, up from $1.57 a year earlier, on revenue of $108.86 billion compared with $94.04 billion in the year-ago period.
The stock trades at about 35.6 times earnings, reflecting a premium valuation.
Analysts remain broadly positive. Evercore ISI maintained an Outperform rating with a $365 price forecast on June 25. KGI Securities downgraded the stock to Hold with a $315 price forecast on June 22. Bank of America maintained its Buy rating and a $380 price forecast on June 18.
Apple Price ActionAAPL Stock Price Activity: Apple shares were up 4.16% at $306.64 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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Meta ustoupila od akvizice Kalshi, protože kolem platformy panovaly „příliš zamotané“ regulační a etické otázky. Firma mezitím oznámila, že si chce vyvíjet vlastní play-money prediction market aplikaci.
Mark Zuckerberg just dodged a bullet. Zuckerberg, whom speculators give 32% odds of becoming the next trillionaire, came eerily close to steering Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) into one of the most legally and ethically fraught corners of consumer tech. According to NPR reporting from June 30, Zuckerberg personally floated an acquisition of prediction market platform Kalshi. Fortunately for him, the talks never advanced. The reason Meta walked away is the same reason investors should be relieved: the company judged the outstanding questions around Kalshi to be “too messy.”
Context matters. Meta just posted Q1 2026 revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year, with EPS of $10.44 versus a $6.66 estimate and Family of Apps daily active people reaching 3.56 billion, up 4% year-over-year. This is a $1.28 trillion company trading at roughly 20x trailing earnings. Bolting a regulated gambling venue onto that engine offered limited financial upside and enormous risk potential.
Why Kalshi Would Have Been a Disaster Prediction markets are riding a gambling wave. Amounts wagered on sports in the U.S. hit $165 billion in 2025, up from $6.6 billion in 2018. Kalshi’s platform spans 13 categories including elections, economics, sports, crypto, tech, and entertainment, a footprint that would thrust Meta squarely in front of the CFTC, state gaming regulators, and Congress.
Meta already faces EU and U.S. regulatory headwinds and youth-related litigation trials in 2026. The EU is escalating its probe into alleged addictive design elements impacting children, and Meta is negotiating with U.S. regulators for a voluntary review of its AI models. Bolting on a real-money betting venue to that pile would have placed another bullseye on Meta’s back.
Meta Pipeline While Kalshi was a distraction Meta avoided, the company’s actual pipeline is moving on several fronts.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Meta didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
Mini-games social feed. Meta is rolling out a new app featuring a social feed of vibe-coded mini-games in select regions, per Insider, an early signal of where the company sees lightweight interactive content heading. Meta Compute. Bloomberg reports Meta is developing a cloud infrastructure business to monetize excess AI compute capacity, internally dubbed Meta Compute. The initiative encompasses three layers: AI model access hosted on Meta’s own infrastructure comparable to AWS Bedrock, raw compute capacity available to third parties, closer to CoreWeave’s model, and direct developer access to Meta’s data centers, chips, and models. Meta shares surged more than 7% on the news. AI spending per employee. Meta spent nearly $50,000 per employee annually on AI tokens, per the New York Times, a figure that highlights how deeply the company has embedded AI tooling into its workforce before selling any of that capacity externally. Wolfe Research estimates Meta’s potential AI cloud business could lift EPS by roughly 20% for every 1 gigawatt of compute monetized at a $25 billion revenue run rate. The firm projects Meta’s 2027 capital expenditures at $200 billion, well above the Street’s $160 billion estimate, while maintaining an Outperform rating and an $800 price target. A Kalshi acquisition could have dropped a regulatory grenade into the middle of all of it.
The Market Verdict Reddit reacted quickly. A thread titled “Suckerberg panic bought the entire AI chip supply and now he has no idea what to do with it” hit 11,356 upvotes on r/wallstreetbets. Meanwhile, a companion “$META accepted defeat” post on r/stocks drew 1,184 upvotes and 448 comments. Ironically, prediction markets themselves priced the news as a modest negative: Polymarket assigned a 0.99 probability that META closes down on July 2.
Zuckerberg’s stated priority is “personal superintelligence,” backed by capex guidance of $125 to $145 billion in 2026. Reports suggest Meta is now building a play-money prediction market app in-house, carrying a far lighter regulatory footprint. Analysts still carry a consensus target of $827.32, with 57 buy ratings and zero sells. Passing on Kalshi kept that thesis intact.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Meta didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
Google Cloud rozšířil spolupráci s Jack Henry, aby posílil enterprise AI a kyberbezpečnost ve finančních službách. Alphabet zároveň uvedl, že tržby Cloudu vyskočily o 63 % na více než 20 miliard USD.
Key Takeaways Google Cloud's expanded Jack Henry deal targets enterprise AI and cybersecurity in financial services.Alphabet said Cloud revenues jumped 63% to over $20B, with backlog exceeding $460B on AI demand.Google Cloud now makes up roughly 18% of Alphabet's revenues, up from about 14% a year ago. Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) Google Cloud business is rapidly becoming one of the most important drivers of unlocking future growth, profitability and shareholder value. The recently announced expanded partnership with Jack Henry (JKHY - Free Report) strengthens Google Cloud’s position in the fast-growing financial services AI market by expanding adoption of its enterprise AI and cybersecurity offerings among community banks and credit unions. The collaboration builds on the companies’ 2022 relationship and allows Jack Henry to use Google Cloud’s Agentic Defense portfolio, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and Mandiant Consulting to develop a proprietary AI-powered security platform tailored for highly regulated financial institutions.
The deal aligns with Alphabet’s broader cloud strategy outlined in its latest earnings. Management highlighted that enterprise AI solutions have become Google Cloud’s primary growth driver, with Cloud revenues surging 63% year over year to more than $20 billion and backlog exceeding $460 billion. Alphabet has emphasized that the newly launched Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform enables customers to build, orchestrate and govern AI agents securely, while its Agentic Defense offerings are seeing strong demand as enterprises seek protection against AI-driven cyber threats. The Jack Henry partnership validates this strategy by showcasing a real-world deployment that combines AI infrastructure, enterprise AI software and cybersecurity into a single industry-specific solution.
Jack Henry plans to deploy Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform to improve customer support, automate administrative tasks, enhance analytics and reporting, and streamline operations, with early users reporting productivity gains of up to 70%. This expands Google Cloud’s AI consumption across multiple workflows rather than a single application, creating opportunities for higher cloud usage and deeper customer relationships. As financial institutions accelerate AI adoption while demanding secure, compliant deployments, the partnership reinforces Alphabet’s competitive position in enterprise AI and supports continued momentum for Google Cloud's rapidly growing AI business.
Google Cloud is benefiting from Alphabet’s years of investments in AI infrastructure, custom silicon and enterprise software that are beginning to translate into substantial financial returns. Importantly, cloud growth significantly outpaced Alphabet's overall revenue growth of 22%, highlighting Cloud's increasing importance within the company's portfolio. Google Cloud now accounts for roughly 18% of Alphabet's total revenues, up from about 14% a year ago. Alphabet disclosed that the strong backlog has been driven by strong demand for enterprise AI offerings and new Tensor Processing Units (TPU)-related agreements. More than half of this backlog is expected to convert into revenues over the next 24 months. This provides investors with significant visibility into future growth and suggests that demand continues to exceed available capacity.
GOOGL Faces Tough Competition in Cloud DomainAlphabet is facing stiff competition from the likes of Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) . According to Synergy Research Group’s first-quarter 2026 data, Amazon maintained a strong lead in the market, though Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google continued to achieve substantially higher growth rates. Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet’s market share were roughly 28%, 21% and 14%, respectively.
Amazon generates substantial profits from Amazon Web Services (AWS), where first-quarter 2026 sales increased 28% year over year to $37.6 billion and operating income rose to $14.2 billion from $11.5 billion. AWS now has an annualized revenue run rate of $150 billion, adding $2 billion sequentially, the largest fourth-quarter to first-quarter increase in AWS history.
Microsoft capitalizes on AI business momentum and Copilot adoption alongside accelerating Azure cloud infrastructure expansion. Strong Microsoft 365 Commercial cloud demand has been propelling Productivity and Business Processes revenue growth. Azure growth guidance projects fourth quarter fiscal 2026 growth of 39-40% at constant currency, suggesting demand saturation, with customer demand exceeding available capacity.
GOOGL’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesAlphabet shares have climbed 15.4% year to date, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s rise of 18.2%.
GOOGL Stock Lags Sector
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The GOOGL stock is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price/sales of 9.38X compared with the broader sector’s 6.62X. Alphabet has a Value Score of D.
GOOGL ValuationThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $14.30 per share, up by a penny over the past 30 days, suggesting 32.3% growth from 2025’s reported figure.
Alphabet currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Amazon Leo po vypuštění 29 satelitů oznámila, že má dostatek pro spuštění komerčního vysokorychlostního internetu ze satelitu ještě letos. Konstelace nyní čítá 396 provozních satelitů.
by Alan Boyle on Jul 2, 2026 at 10:42 amJuly 2, 2026 at 10:43 am
An Atlas 5 rocket lifts off from its Florida launch pad, sending 29 Amazon Leo satellites into orbit. (United Launch Alliance Photo) Amazon says the overnight launch of 29 satellites should clear the way for its Amazon Leo network to start offering commercial high-speed internet service from space this year, in direct competition with SpaceX’s Starlink network.
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket sent the satellites into low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:30 a.m. ET today (9:30 p.m. PT Wednesday).
This was the last of eight Atlas 5 launches that Amazon reserved for its satellites. Going forward, ULA will use its next-generation Vulcan rocket to support Amazon Leo’s years-long deployment schedule. Amazon has also made launch reservations with Blue Origin, Arianespace and SpaceX.
The latest liftoff boosts Amazon Leo’s constellation to 396 operational satellites. That will be enough to support continuous connectivity in the initial latitudes targeted for commercial service, according to Chris Weber, vice president of business and product for Amazon Leo.
“Still lots of work ahead — including raising all these new satellites to their assigned altitude — but we’ve completed enough launches for initial service this year, and future missions just add coverage and capacity,” Weber said in a LinkedIn post.
Amazon has been beta-testing the service for months with a select group of customers, but connectivity hasn’t been continuous due to sparse orbital coverage. Amazon Leo’s business plan calls for launching commercial service within a limited zone concentrated at mid-northern and mid-southern latitudes, and gradually expanding the service area as more satellites go up.
“With hundreds of flight-ready satellites standing by at the Cape and a new, dedicated vertical integration facility ready to support Leo Vulcan 1 and subsequent missions, we have a clear path to increase launch and deployment cadence, helping us quickly expand network coverage following an initial service rollout later this year,” Melissa Wuerl, Amazon Leo’s director of launch systems, said in a statement released after the latest launch.
Amazon hasn’t yet announced pricing for satellite broadband service. The first-generation constellation, consisting of 3,232 satellites, is due to reach full deployment in mid-2029 — and Amazon has received regulatory approval for an even larger second-generation constellation.
When Amazon Leo begins commercial service, it will still trail far behind SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network, which has more than 10,000 satellites in orbit and 12 million subscribers. The satellites for both Starlink and Amazon Leo are built in the Seattle area.
In the years ahead, SpaceX plans to beef up Starlink’s capabilities in the emerging market for direct-to-device satellite services. Amazon is aggressively targeting that same market through its recent acquisition of Globalstar. Under a separate agreement tied to the deal, Amazon Leo will start powering Apple’s iPhone satellite services starting in 2028.
Amazon i SpaceX soupeří o větší roli v digitálním životě spotřebitelů, ale Amazon má výrazně silnější základnu: v roce 2025 utržil 716,9 miliardy USD proti 18,7 miliardy USD u SpaceX.
Amazon (AMZN +0.59%) and Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +0.71%) are both trying to become more important to consumers' digital lives.
Amazon already affects how people shop, watch shows, subscribe to services, use smart-home devices, and interact with cloud-powered technology. SpaceX is using Starlink satellite broadband and direct-to-cell service to bring internet access to consumers.
Image source: Getty Images.
Amazon generated $716.9 billion in net sales in 2025, while SpaceX generated just $18.7 billion in revenue. While that size gap does not automatically make Amazon a better stock, it shows the different risk profiles investors are dealing with.
Amazon is already monetizing consumer behavior at scale Amazon's biggest advantage is that it is already embedded in consumers' daily behavior. In 2025, the company generated $269.3 billion in sales from online stores, $172.2 billion from third-party seller services, $68.6 billion from advertising, $49.6 billion from subscriptions, and $128.7 billion from its AWS cloud computing business. Hence, Amazon earns money at several points in the consumer journey, from product discovery and advertising to subscriptions, transactions, seller services, and cloud infrastructure.
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Its advertising business is also gaining momentum, with revenues rising 24% year over year to $17.2 billion in the first quarter. Many Amazon advertisements appear when shoppers are already comparing products or getting ready to buy. The company's advertising business is proving to be a competitive edge because Amazon is monetizing purchase intent, not just screen time.
Amazon's relationship with consumers also extends well beyond shopping. Prime, Prime Video, Kindle, Fire TV, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero give the company multiple ways to connect to customers across entertainment, reading, smart-home devices, home security, subscriptions, and Wi-Fi.
Beyond all of that, though, AWS continues to be a key growth engine. In the first quarter, AWS revenue rose 28% year over year to $37.6 billion, while AWS operating income reached $14.2 billion, up from $11.5 billion in the prior-year period. The company's large and highly profitable cloud computing business will play a pivotal role in Amazon's artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions.
Amazon possesses the consumer data and cloud infrastructure to support more personalized shopping tools, smarter ads, better digital assistants, and cloud services for companies building their own AI products. The company recently launched Alexa for Shopping, a new AI shopping assistant built from Rufus and Alexa+. Rufus helps shoppers compare products and answer shopping questions, while Alexa+ adds a more conversational and personalized experience across Amazon's app, website, and devices.
The AWS AI infrastructure is also supported by large customer commitments. OpenAI has committed to lease approximately 2 gigawatts of computing capacity powered by Amazon's custom Trainium chips. Anthropic has also committed to securing up to 5 gigawatts of Trainium capacity. Meta Platforms has signed an agreement to deploy tens of millions of Amazon's custom Graviton server chips to support AI workloads.
Amazon Leo, formerly known as Project Kuiper, is the company's low Earth orbit satellite internet network. As of mid-June, the constellation had grown to 367 satellites, and the company has secured more than 100 rocket launches to deploy additional satellites. It's becoming a formidable player in the satellite broadband market.
Additionally, Amazon's agreement to acquire Globalstar could help Amazon Leo connect directly to phones for voice, data, and messaging services beginning in 2028. The company has also entered into a multiyear agreement with Delta Air Lines to install Amazon's Leo satellite technology on its aircraft, with an initial installation on 500 planes starting in 2028.
However, the main risk for Amazon is its elevated spending. Amazon's trailing-12-month free cash flow fell sharply in the first quarter as its AI-related infrastructure spending rose. The company also faces regulatory pressure and heavy competition.
Yet, Amazon is funding these bets from a much stronger profit base than SpaceX.
SpaceX is trying to move closer to consumers through Starlink The biggest way SpaceX could move closer to consumers is through Starlink mobile.
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SpaceX already offers direct-to-cell satellite technology with T-Mobile US in the U.S, allowing compatible phones to connect through Starlink when they are in locations where regular tower coverage is weak or unavailable. According to Reuters, SpaceX also plans to launch a Starlink mobile service via a consumer mobile plan or a mobile connectivity product for U.S. consumers, which could put it in direct competition with Verizon Communications, AT&T, and T-Mobile US. This could position SpaceX as a prominent consumer telecommunications player.
With nearly 10.3 million subscribers, Starlink is already a meaningful consumer internet business. If it expands into mobile service, Starlink could become more useful for travel, emergency coverage, and areas with weak cellular networks.
SpaceX is also expanding its satellite capacity for a larger Starlink business. In January, the Federal Communications Commission approved the company's request for permission to deploy an additional 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites, which would bring SpaceX's authorized network to 15,000. More satellites will help Starlink improve coverage, support direct-to-cell service, and eventually offer faster mobile applications. SpaceX's recent purchase of wireless spectrum from EchoStar is also significant because spectrum is essential for expanding wireless connectivity.
However, investors should not view Starlink mobile as a full replacement for regular wireless networks or 5G service yet. And the bigger issue for investors is valuation and execution risk. SpaceX still trades at about 82 times trailing-12-month sales even after its post-IPO pullback. That type of ambitious valuation is particularly difficult to justify for a company that is still relying heavily on Starlink's profits while pouring funds into rockets, AI infrastructure, spectrum expansion, and mobile ambitions. The Starship rocket, which has yet to carry a commercial payload, is especially important because it could help SpaceX launch larger satellites and expand Starlink capacity more efficiently, but delays would weaken a major part of the company's growth story.
SpaceX can prove a more disruptive connectivity story if Starlink mobile becomes a widely used consumer wireless platform. But Amazon looks like the stronger risk-adjusted winner in the race to own a piece of consumers' digital lives.
Wisk Aero, vlastněná Boeingem, čelí žalobě bývalé softwarové manažerky Briahny O’Neill, která tvrdí, že ji firma propustila po upozornění na bezpečnostní rizika. Podle žaloby mělo jít i o omezení testování softwaru vyžadovaného FAA, aby byl splněn termín testovacího letu v roce 2025.
Wisk Aero, the electric air taxi company owned by Boeing, has been hit with a lawsuit from a former employee, who claims she was fired after raising safety concerns.
Former software manager Briahna O’Neill sued Wisk in Santa Clara Superior Court earlier this week, alleging discrimination and wrongful termination. The Seattle Times first reported on the lawsuit, noting that Boeing declined to comment.
O’Neill said she filed two internal safety reports that outlined how Wisk had engineers reduce the amount of FAA-required software testing being done in order to hit a test flight deadline in 2025. O’Neill claims she was fired just weeks after filing the second complaint.
Founded in 2019, Wisk is one of a number of companies trying to develop commercially viable electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. It’s one of the few companies working on aiming for full autonomy. Wisk is also one of the eight companies that were approved earlier this year by the FAA to join a three-year program for testing such aircraft. Wisk said it cannot comment on ongoing litigation.
Nike čeká téměř 1 miliardu USD z refundace cel, i když CEO Elliott Hill varuje před přetrvávajícím tlakem na náklady. Tržby za celý rok byly 46,4 miliardy USD, meziročně beze změny.
Nike is expecting an “unplanned benefit” in the form of a nearly $1 billion tariff refund.
The sneaker giant revealed the refund when announcing full-year and quarterly earnings this week, even as CEO Elliott Hill warned that tariffs remain a “dynamic cost headwind.”
The earnings showed full-year revenues of $46.4 billion, flat on a reported basis and a 2% decline on a currency-neutral basis.
Fourth-quarter revenues came to $11 billion, down 1% on a reported basis and falling 4% on a currency-neutral basis, with Nike facing what Hill called a “more challenging” operating environment as the spring wound on.
“After a stronger start in March, especially in North America, by mid-April, we began to see a deceleration in retail sales trends,” he said during an earnings call. “Our consumer is under pressure around the world, and we can particularly see it having a larger impact on sportswear, which declined double digits in the quarter with a similar decline in retail sales.”
In addition to tariffs, Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend pointed to ongoing disruption in the Middle East, fuel prices and other factors that could affect operating costs, consumer behavior and weakness in store traffic and sales.
“These assumptions reflect the macro environment as it stands today, and we are not expecting the environment to improve meaningfully over the next six months,” he said.
Meanwhile, recent PYMNTS Intelligence research shows that while financial pressures continue to guide household decisions, the desire to make purchases has not faded.
“That distinction offers an encouraging signal for banks, merchants and payment providers looking beyond today’s economic headlines,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this week.
Nike customers sued the company in May to recover tariff-related refunds, accusing Nike of not refunding the costs it passed onto them in the form of higher prices.
The suit was one of many filed in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling declaring President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs illegal.
“Nike has made no legally binding commitment to return tariff-related overcharges to the consumers who actually paid them,” the plaintiffs said in their complaint. “Unless restrained by this court, Nike stands to recover the same tariff payments twice — once from consumers through higher prices and again from the federal government through tariff refunds.”
Nike chose not to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by PYMNTS at the time.
Walmart spouští agentické nakupování s Google Gemini, což může posílit celý e-commerce řetězec od platforem po logistiku. Firma zároveň hlásí růst globálního e-commerce o 26 % a marketplace téměř o 50 %.
Walmart’s agentic shopping push with Google’s Gemini has flipped a long-simmering thesis into a live catalyst: AI agents that browse, compare, and check out on behalf of consumers are moving from concept to production at the largest retailer on earth. That reroutes value across the entire e-commerce stack, from storefront platforms to payments rails to the warehouses and trucks that turn a chatbot cart into a doorstep delivery.
To rank the top beneficiaries, we weighted five factors: e-commerce growth, agentic AI readiness, marketplace or platform positioning, financial momentum, and direct linkage to the Walmart-Google flywheel. The beneficiary set includes such names as Target, Wayfair, UPS, Mastercard, and PayPal, but the five below are closest to the action.
5. FedEx FedEx (NYSE:FDX | FDX Price Prediction) is the parcel backbone for packages agentic carts will generate. Q4 FY26 revenue hit $25.01 billion (+12.5% year on year) with adjusted EPS of $6.31, the fourth consecutive beat. U.S. Priority Package yield rose 10%, and management guided calendar 2026 to roughly 11% revenue growth. Shares are up 68.1% year to date through July 1. Yield discipline and the June 1, 2026, Freight spin-off leave a leaner parcel business ready to price agentic-driven volume.
4. Etsy Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) is the most direct pure-play agentic-commerce partner. The marketplace has plugged into OpenAI’s shopping framework and cites partnerships with OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google as incremental traffic drivers. Q1 FY26 GMS grew 5.5% to $2.50 billion, active buyers grew sequentially for the first time in two years, and take rate expanded 180 bps to 25.7%. CEO Kruti Patel Goyal said, “As technology continues to evolve, particularly with the rise of AI, we believe those qualities become more important, not less.” Shares are up 31.4% year to date, with analysts carrying a $72.71 target.
3. Symbotic Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) is the purest picks-and-shovels play on Walmart’s fulfillment buildout. Q2 FY26 revenue rose 23.1% to $676.48 million, adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $77.75 million, and operational systems reached 52 (up from 37). The contracted backlog sits near $22.7 billion, anchored by Walmart and buttressed by the SoftBank Exol JV worth roughly $11 billion. Symbotic acquired Walmart’s Advanced Systems and Robotics business, deepening the linkage. Shares are down 24.4% year to date, which arguably prices in the GAAP EPS miss while leaving room for re-rating if agentic order flow lifts throughput.
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2. Shopify Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP) is the merchant-side AI backbone for millions of storefronts an agent will transact against. Q1 FY26 revenue jumped 34.3% to $3.17 billion, GMV reached $100.74 billion (+35%), and free cash flow was $476 million at a 15% margin. Merchant Solutions revenue grew 39%, and Shopify is layering AI commerce intelligence, agentic checkout tooling, and merchant-facing AI directly into its stack. Shares trade at a rich 120 times earnings and are down 24.44% year to date, giving forward-looking investors a cheaper entry into the agentic distribution layer than a year ago.
1. Walmart Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is the story. Q1 FY27 revenue hit $175.68 billion (+6.1% year on year), global e-commerce grew 26% and now represents 23% of net sales, marketplace sales rose nearly 50%, and Walmart Connect advertising grew 44% ex-VIZIO. Store-fulfilled delivery is up 45%, with expedited orders under three hours accounting for roughly 36% of store-fulfilled volume. CEO John Furner said Walmart is “adopting innovative technologies, driving productivity through automation, and growing higher-margin commerce solutions.” A $30 billion repurchase authorization underpins the investment case. Analysts carry a $138.59 target versus a current price near $111.60. The Google Gemini agentic shopping tie-in gives Walmart a distribution moat few competitors can replicate: physical stores, a booming marketplace, its own ad platform, robotics via Symbotic, and an AI front door.
The Bottom Line Walmart owns the anchor deal, Shopify powers the merchant layer, Symbotic automates the warehouses, Etsy is already inside the ChatGPT shopping surface, and FedEx moves what agents buy. Consumer sentiment is soft (the University of Michigan index printed 44.8 in May 2026, well into recessionary territory), yet retail sales still hit a 12-month high of $763.7 billion. The clear risk: agentic commerce adoption is early and unproven, and any of these stocks could see the narrative outrun the numbers before consumers meaningfully shift to AI-mediated checkout.
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Intel klesl asi o 5 % spolu s širším výprodejem polovodičů, přesto HSBC zvýšila cílovou cenu na 200 USD ze 100 USD a ponechala doporučení Buy. Akcie jsou letos stále výše o více než 200 %.
Intel shares INTC fell around 5% on Thursday as semiconductor stocks extended their pullback, even as analysts at HSBC raised their price target on the chipmaker.
The decline came amid a broader selloff across the semiconductor sector.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF dropped 3%, with chip-equipment makers Teradyne and KLA each falling about 8%.
Nvidia shares declined 1.2%, while Micron Technology lost 3.4%.
The weakness follows a remarkable first half for semiconductor stocks.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF gained more than 70% during the first six months of 2026, marking the strongest first-half performance since the fund's launch in 2000.
Following that historic rally, investors have increasingly been taking profits across the sector, leading to a pullback in many of the industry's biggest winners.
Despite Thursday's decline, Intel remains one of the standout performers in the semiconductor space this year.
The stock is still up more than 200% year to date, reflecting growing investor optimism around the company's role in the next phase of artificial intelligence infrastructure spending.
HSBC raised its price target on the stock to $200 from $100 while maintaining a Buy rating.
The new target represents the highest price objective currently on Wall Street for the shares.
HSBC analyst Frank Lee said the firm sees increasing upside from Intel's server processor business as demand for data-center infrastructure continues to grow.
“Intel is well positioned to deliver upside to 2026/27 server CPU shipments, driven by internal foundry capacity reallocation,” Lee wrote in a note to clients.
The analyst said HSBC raised its estimate for 2026 server CPU shipment growth to 25% year over year from 20%, resulting in a projected $24.1 billion in data center and AI revenue, roughly 4% above consensus estimates.
Lee added that Wall Street may still be underestimating Intel's longer-term growth potential despite recent upward revisions to forecasts.
For 2027, HSBC increased its server CPU shipment growth estimate to 30% from 20%, citing expanding manufacturing capacity and the continued rollout of Intel's 18A process technology.
The firm now forecasts Intel's 2027 data center and AI revenue at $33 billion, approximately 20% above consensus expectations.
HSBC also pointed to improving prospects for Intel Foundry, which it now includes in its valuation model.
According to Lee, capacity constraints across the semiconductor industry are encouraging customers to explore alternatives to existing suppliers.
“With TSMC’s additional 3nm capacity coming online only in 2H27, customers are exploring new foundry partners,” Lee wrote.
The analyst said Intel has emerged as a potential beneficiary, citing customer wins with Terafab and Apple and ongoing engagement with Google and Nvidia.
Lee also highlighted Intel's Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge, or EMIB, packaging technology as a potential competitive advantage.
According to HSBC, packaging capacity remains a bottleneck across the industry, and Intel's EMIB solution offers greater scalability than some competing technologies.
The firm expects increasing external customer commitments beginning in the second half of 2026 as foundry demand expands.
Key Takeaways Adobe is expanding Firefly with Topaz Labs' AI tools for image and video enhancement.Topaz Labs adds upscaling, sharpening, noise removal and restoration capabilities to Adobe. Adobe expects fiscal 2026 revenues of $26.5B-$26.6B as AI demand continues to grow. Adobe (ADBE - Free Report) has been leveraging AI to boost top-line growth. The acquisition of Topaz Labs strengthens Adobe’s AI strategy by adding image and video enhancement technology to its growing Firefly ecosystem. The deal complements Adobe’s broader vision of becoming the AI platform of choice for creators by expanding AI capabilities beyond content generation into professional-quality enhancement, restoration and editing.
Topaz Labs’ AI models specialize in upscaling, sharpening, noise removal, stabilization, frame interpolation and archival restoration. Once integrated into Adobe Firefly, Firefly Services and Creative Cloud applications such as Photoshop, Lightroom and Premiere Pro, these technologies will enable creators to seamlessly combine AI-generated and traditionally captured content while maintaining professional-grade quality. This strengthens Adobe's ability to serve filmmakers, photographers, designers and enterprises that increasingly rely on hybrid AI workflows.
The acquisition advances Adobe’s strategy of attracting more AI users through Firefly. During its latest earnings call, management said AI-driven content creation demand is accelerating rapidly, as creative freemium monthly active users (MAUs) surged from more than 50 million to more than 90 million on a year-over-year basis. Firefly’s annual recurring revenue grew roughly 50% sequentially. Adobe is intentionally expanding its freemium AI offerings to acquire hundreds of millions of new creators before monetizing them through subscriptions and AI credit consumption.
Topaz Labs’ proprietary Neurostream technology enables large AI models to run efficiently on local devices instead of relying solely on the cloud. This aligns with Adobe’s goal of delivering faster, lower-cost and more responsive AI experiences while expanding access to advanced creative tools across a broader range of devices. On-device AI can also reduce inference costs and improve responsiveness, supporting Adobe's long-term push to scale AI profitably.
As enterprises and creators increasingly demand end-to-end AI-powered content production, the addition of Topaz Labs makes Adobe’s Firefly and Creative Cloud ecosystem more comprehensive and better positioned to capture the growing AI-powered creative market. For fiscal 2026, Adobe now expects total revenues between $26.5 billion and $26.6 billion. Adobe expects Business Professionals and Consumers’ subscription revenues between $7.44 billion and $7.48 billion. Creative and Marketing Professionals subscription revenues are expected to be between $18.21 billion and $18.27 billion.
Adobe Faces Tough CompetitionAdobe’s AI business is minuscule compared with Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) .
Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud revenues are benefiting from growth in Azure AI services and a rise in the AI Copilot business. The company monetizes AI through existing customer relationships, reducing customer acquisition costs while expanding revenue per user. The Intelligent Cloud segment delivered third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues of $34.7 billion, up 30%, and is guided between $37.95 billion and $38.25 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, indicating 27% to 28% growth. Azure’s comprehensive infrastructure capabilities position the company to capture increasing cloud migration spending while maintaining pricing power through differentiated services.
Alphabet’s focus on leveraging AI to drive growth is a key catalyst. AI is heavily infused across its offerings, including Search and Google Cloud. AI is driving Alphabet’s Search & Other revenues, which grew 19% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. Gemini Enterprise’s paid monthly active users grew 40% sequentially, while revenues from products built on Google’s generative AI models increased nearly 800% year over year. Alphabet’s total paid subscriptions reached 350 million, driven in part by Gemini app adoption and premium AI plans.
ADBE’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesAdobe shares have dropped 39.7% year to date, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s return of 18.3%.
Adobe Stock’s Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The ADBE stock is trading at a discount, as suggested by a Value Score of A. In terms of trailing price/book, Adobe shares are trading at a discount of 7.28X compared with the broader sector’s 10.28X.
ADBE Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $24.17 per share, up 2.8% over the past 30 days, suggesting 15.43% year-over-year growth.
Adobe currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
UnitedHealth Group po silných výsledcích za 1. čtvrtletí zvýšila výhled na EPS pro fiskální rok 2026 na více než 18,25 USD a schválila odkup vlastních akcií za 2 mld. USD.
SummaryUnitedHealth Group is reiterated as a buy, with a raised price target near $460, reflecting improved earnings guidance and operational turnaround.Q1 results beat expectations, with non-GAAP EPS of $7.23 and revenue of $111.7B, prompting an FY 2026 EPS outlook above $18.25 and a $2B buyback.UNH benefits from strong free cash flow, a 2.18% yield, positive EPS revisions, and strategic investments in modernization and AI.Technical momentum is robust, but near-term resistance exists below $440; support is at $380, with a measured-move upside target near $480. JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) have been on a roller coaster ride in the past year-plus. At one point in 2026, the Health Care sector giant was down more than 20% YTD. Jump ahead more than three
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Palantir (PLTR +3.93%), an AI-driven data mining and analytics company, began trading at $10 per share after going public via a direct listing on Sept. 30, 2020. It set a record high of $207.18 on Nov. 3, 2025, but it now trades at about $129. Does that pullback make Palantir's stock, which has been richly valued ever since its public debut, a more attractive investment?
How fast is Palantir growing? Palantir operates two main platforms: Gotham for its government clients and Foundry for its commercial ones. Both platforms aggregate data from disparate sources to help their clients make faster data-driven decisions. Most U.S. government agencies use Gotham, while commercial giants like Amazon and Walmart use Foundry.
Image source: Getty Images.
From 2021 to 2025, Palantir's revenue grew at 30.5% CAGR from $1.54 billion to $4.48 billion. It also turned profitable in 2023, and its net income rose nearly eightfold from $210 million that year to $1.63 billion in 2025. Those soaring profits led to its inclusion in the S&P 500 in 2024.
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Palantir's government business grew as military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East drove the U.S. government to ramp up the use of its data-gathering services. Its commercial business flourished as it gained even more enterprise customers in the U.S. market. It's also expanding its AI platform for creating custom apps within its ecosystem.
From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect Palantir's revenue and net income to grow at CAGRs of 53% and 65%, respectively. The expansion of its AI enterprise "bootcamps", which help its U.S. commercial customers build new AI applications in days, new government mega-contracts, and its expansion into the space economy market should drive that growth.
By replacing fragmented data silos with its unified platforms, Palantir locks in its customers and widens its moat against smaller data-mining companies. To expand its total addressable market beyond its core government and commercial customers, it's also rolling out cheaper, modular components for smaller businesses that can't afford a seven-figure contract.
Is Palantir becoming a bargain? Palantir's business is firing on all cylinders, but much of that growth is baked into its valuation. When it hit its all-time high in Nov. 2025, it traded at 329 times the $0.63 per share in generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings per share (EPS) it would generate in 2025. Its market cap also peaked at $493.8 billion, or 110 times its 2025 sales of $4.48 billion.
At the time, many growth-oriented investors were willing to pay a premium for Palantir because they expected more rate cuts in 2026. But in the first half of the year, the Iran war and soaring inflation have forced the Fed to keep its benchmark rate unchanged. The Fed's recent decision to stop issuing forward guidance also implies interest rate hikes -- which could drive investors away from pricier growth stocks like Palantir -- are still on the table. Inflation and higher interest rates could also drive its commercial customers to rein in their near-term spending.
All of those headwinds caused Palantir's stock to retreat from its record high. But at $129 per share with a market cap of $301.4 billion, it still trades at 93 times this year's earnings and 39 times this year's sales. So while Palantir is cheaper than it was seven months ago, it's still an expensive hypergrowth stock.
How much upside potential does Palantir have? If it matches analysts' earnings expectations through 2028 but trades at 50 times its current-year earnings in July 2028, its stock would only rise about 3% to $133 over the next two years. If it trades at a more generous 60 times earnings, its stock would rise 24% to $160.
Palantir's business is booming, but its stock's upside is limited. Its valuations are gradually catching up to its growth rates, but it will take at least two or three more years for its price-to-earnings and price-to-sales ratios to stabilize at more sustainable levels.
Jim Cramer označil Palantir za nejlevnější, jaký kdy viděl, a vyzdvihl jeho silný růst tržeb a zvýšený celoroční výhled. Zmínil také ServiceNow a Salesforce jako další AI oblíbence.
Jim Cramer opened his Mad Dash Thursday morning with a striking call. Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR | PLTR Price Prediction) is now the cheapest he has ever seen it. That is a striking sentence about a company still trading at a trailing P/E of 146x.
Cramer’s exact framing, after watching CEO Alex Karp’s recent interview, was “I will say this is the cheapest I’ve seen in the stock. I do like the stock. I think the company does a great job when you bring them in.” He added that “you got to bring in Palantir if you want to try to figure out outside the box what to do with your organization.”
Cramer’s Palantir call Palantir just posted Q1 2026 revenue of $1.632 billion, up 84.7% year over year, with U.S. commercial revenue up 133% to $595 million. Management raised full-year guidance to $7.65 billion to $7.66 billion, roughly 71% growth. Karp told investors in the Q1 press release that the company’s Rule of 40 score hit 145%, a level matched only by NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), Micron (NASDAQ:MU), and SK hynix.
Meanwhile the stock has gone the other way. PLTR is down 22% year to date and off 14% in the last month alone, touching a 52-week low of $106.37 before bouncing. Accelerating earnings, decelerating stock. That is what Cramer means by cheap.
The enterprise software catch Cramer flagged ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) as the other names worth watching in the enterprise-AI complex. ServiceNow was up big the prior day amid a broader enterprise-software uptrend, with the IG index working on a possible fifth straight up day.
On ServiceNow, Cramer said “I believe that their AI is substantial, particularly ServiceNow. And I don’t think I think clients do like them.” The fundamentals back him up. NOW posted Q4 2025 subscription revenue of $3.466 billion, up 21% year over year, with Now Assist net new ACV more than doubling. FY26 guidance sits at $15.53 billion to $15.57 billion in subscription revenue. Still, the stock is down 47.72% over the last year on a split-adjusted basis, so the market is digesting something.
Salesforce looks cheap the traditional way. Trading around $166 with a P/E of 19x and a forward P/E of 12x, CRM shows Q1 FY27 EPS of $3.88 beat estimates by 24%, and Agentforce ARR crossed $1.2 billion, up 205% year over year.
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Marc Benioff, on the May 27, 2026 report, called it “an outstanding quarter for Salesforce, record revenue, record deals, and cash flow.” The stock is still down 34% year to date.
Why contracts are getting shorter Cramer’s hesitation on ServiceNow was “My issue is, is that I keep hearing that they’re not getting the long contracts. They’re getting a shorter contract.”
The instinctive read is that AI is not delivering. Cramer explicitly rejected that. “It’s not because AI is doing something right now. It’s that, you know what? We can’t take a four year. It’s just too dicey for us.”
CIOs are still buying, still deploying, still writing checks. They just do not know what the enterprise stack looks like in 2029, so they refuse to lock in four-year terms. Shorter duration compresses cRPO growth and rattles anyone modeling software companies on backlog. Buyers respect the pace of change enough to keep optionality, even as demand stays firm.
That is the frame for all three names. Palantir is expensive on earnings and cheap on trajectory. ServiceNow is dominant on product and messy on contract length. Salesforce is the traditional value name growing Agentforce ARR faster than either. If Cramer is right that Karp’s team gets called in when boards do not know what to do next, and if ServiceNow really is the rails every AI initiative runs on, the shorter-contract complaint may end up looking like a footnote. Watch the July guidance cycle for confirmation.
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Palo Alto Networks ve 3. fiskálním čtvrtletí překonala odhady: upravený zisk činil 85 centů na akcii a tržby 3 miliardy USD. Firma zároveň zvýšila výhled tržeb na 11,41–11,42 miliardy USD.
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) . Shares have added about 25.5% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Palo Alto due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Palo Alto Networks Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass EstimatesPalo Alto Networks delivered third-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP earnings of 85 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents by 4.9%. The figure improved 6.3% year over year.
Palo Alto Networks’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 7.03%.
PANW reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues of $3 billion, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.92 billion by 2%. Revenues increased 31% year over year from $2.29 billion in the year-ago quarter. Management attributed the quarter’s strength to accelerating organic bookings momentum as customers turned to the company to secure AI deployments at scale.
PANW’s Q3 in DetailProduct revenues increased to $594 million from $453 million in the year-ago quarter, accounting for 19.8% of total revenues. Subscription and support revenues, which represented 80.2% of total revenues, rose to $2.41 billion from $1.84 billion, reflecting the company’s continued shift toward recurring revenues.
Remaining performance obligation (RPO) rose to $18.4 billion, up 36% year over year, including contributions from CyberArk and Chronosphere. Next-Generation Security ARR climbed to $8.13 billion, up 60% year over year, supported by platform adoption and growth across the company’s next-generation portfolio.
Non-GAAP gross profit grew to $2.27 billion compared to a non-GAAP gross margin at 75.8%. Non-GAAP operating income increased to $814 million, while the non-GAAP operating margin remained strong at 27.1%, reflecting continued profitability strength.
PANW’s Balance Sheet & Cash FlowAs of April 30, 2026, Palo Alto Networks had $3.11 billion in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments.
Cash generation strengthened year over year. Net cash provided by operating activities was $871 million, up from $554 million in the prior quarter. Adjusted free cash flow was $910 million compared with $502 million in the prior quarter, while the trailing 12-month adjusted free cash flow margin was 38.5%, up 430 basis points year over year.
PANW’s FY26 GuidanceFor fiscal 2026, Palo Alto Networks now expects revenues in the range of $11.41 billion to $11.42 billion, suggesting year-over-year growth of 24%.
RPO is projected to be in the range of $20.9-$21.0 billion, while Next-Gen Security ARR is forecasted between $8.9 billion and $8.95 billion, implying 59-60% annual growth. The company projects a non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 28.9% to 29.2% and an adjusted free cash flow margin of 37.5%.
PANW’s non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) are expected in the band of $3.77 to $3.79.
For the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026, Palo Alto Networks expects revenues in the range of $3.34 billion to $3.35 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 32%.
The company also guided Next-Generation Security ARR to $8.90 billion to $8.95 billion, suggesting growth of 59% to 60%, and RPO in the range of $20.9 billion to $21.0 billion.
Non-GAAP EPS for the fiscal fourth quarter are projected in the range of 96 cents to 98 cents.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates review.
The consensus estimate has shifted -7.87% due to these changes.
VGM ScoresAt this time, Palo Alto has a average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the fifth quintile for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of F. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Palo Alto has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry PlayerPalo Alto belongs to the Zacks Security industry. Another stock from the same industry, SentinelOne (S - Free Report) , has gained 7.9% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended April 2026.
SentinelOne reported revenues of $276.66 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +20.8%. EPS of $0.04 for the same period compares with $0.02 a year ago.
SentinelOne is expected to post earnings of $0.07 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +75%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +2.4%.
The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for SentinelOne. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of F.
ADP očekává ve fiskálním roce 2026 růst upravené EBIT marže o 70–80 bps a růst EPS o 10–11 %. AI nástroje zároveň zkrátily čas potřebný na payroll i počet kliknutí u HR úkonů.
Key Takeaways ADP's AI tools saved payroll time, cut HR action clicks, and lowered call volumes and labor in India.ADP expects a 70-80 bps adjusted EBIT margin expansion in fiscal 2026, with EPS growth of 10-11%.ADP has strong liquidity, regular dividends and no current debt, but PEO margins and volume remain pressured. Shares of ADP (ADP - Free Report) have gained 16.4% over the past three months, beating the industry’s 6.8% rally and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 14.7% rise.
3-Month Share Price Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 revenue is $21.9 billion, suggesting 6.6% year-over-year growth. For 2027, the same is expected to increase 5.9%. For EPS, the consensus estimate is set at $11.08, indicating a 10.7% rally from that reported in the preceding year. The same is expected to move up 10% year over year in 2027.
Factors That Augur Well for ADP’s SuccessAI Unlocks Operational Prowess: ADP Assist Payroll, which is an AI-powered HR and payroll assistant, saved 30 minutes per payroll. Smart Actions search led to a reduction in clicks and time expenditure by nearly 80% for common HR actions. The company witnessed a dip in cost to serve and an improvement in clients’ experience from productivity gains facilitated by AI incorporated in service tools and product innovation.
For instance, ADP’s RUN platform and AI-powered tools deployed to benefit more than 900,000 small business clients resulted in an 8% year-over-year decline in client contracts during the third quarter of fiscal 2026, the busiest quarter. First-time deployment of AI in India allowed ADP to reduce call volumes and labor by 35%.
Pricing Power Drives Margins: In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, ADP stated an expected 70-80 basis point (bps) expansion in its adjusted EBIT margin for fiscal 2026. It is bolstered by a 130-bps expansion in Employer Services (ES) margins reported in the third quarter of fiscal 2026.
With margins gaining momentum, ADP’s earnings moved up to $3.38 per share from the year-ago quarter’s $3.06. Capitalizing on this enhancement, management expects adjusted diluted EPS growth to be 10-11% for fiscal 2026. These metrics paint an attractive profile highlighting its ability to scale profitability.
Ideal for Income-Seeking Investors: ADP pays out dividends regularly, with $1.9 billion, $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion paid out to its shareholders in fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Furthermore, the company raised its quarterly payout to $1.7 per share at the end of 2025 and kept it consistent for the first, second and third quarters of fiscal 2026.
This is a shareholder-friendly move, capitalizing on steady income growth and cash flow over the past years. Betting on this bullish trajectory, we expect the company to pay out stable dividends, which is a green flag for dividend-seeking investors.
Solid Balance Sheet Drives Liquidity: ADP ended the third quarter of fiscal 2026 with a cash chest of $3.2 billion against no current debt. A current ratio of 1.04 solidifies ADP’s ability to pay off short-term obligations, signaling a strong liquidity position. While the company holds nearly $4 billion in long-term debt, a 13.5X times interest earned multiple flaunts robust debt coverage ability, fueling investor optimism.
Risks Faced by ADPPEO Segment’s Margin Setback: The PEO segment gained 6.5% year over year in revenues during the third quarter of fiscal 2026, representing 32% of the top line. Despite this improvement, segmental margins declined by 120 basis points from the year-ago quarter. While the primary factor affecting margins was increasing selling expenses, the drag was furthered by higher state unemployment insurance costs and lower positive reserve releases in workers’ compensation reserves for indemnity.
Softening Volume: Low baseline volume growth is demonstrated by the rally in ES pays per control stalling at 1%. This weak expansion is affected by softening of PEO pays per control, which strips away high-margin revenue streams, affecting PEO margins. It hints at a structural shift in ADP’s growth story, which unveils that the expansion is no longer accelerated by additions of organic headcount or raw workforce volume.
High Competition Faced Across Segments: ADP operates in a fiercely competitive environment in each of its product lines. Both its Employer Services and PEO Services segments compete with other independent business outsourcing companies in most of their operating regions. ADP has observed negative impacts on its retention rate due to the rising competition and migration from the legacy business.
ADP’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderThe company has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector are BILL Holdings (BILL - Free Report) and Datadog (DDOG - Free Report) , currently flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
BILL Holdings has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 30%. BILL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.7%, on average.
Datadog has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 15.3%. DDOG delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.4%, on average.
Centene v 1. čtvrtletí zvýšila upravený EPS o 16,2 % na 3,37 USD a tržby o 5,1 %. Zároveň zvedla výhled upraveného EPS pro rok 2026 na více než 3,40 USD.
Key Takeaways CNC's integrated healthcare model supports earnings through coordinated care, pharmacy and clinical services.CNC raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance after Q1 adjusted EPS rose 16.2% YoY and revenues increased 5.1%.Centene is expanding AI, analytics and value-based care to improve costs, pricing and care quality. Centene Corporation's (CNC - Free Report) integrated healthcare model is supporting its earnings potential by combining government-sponsored health plans with coordinated clinical services, pharmacy benefits and community-based care. This approach helps the company to manage medical costs more effectively while improving health outcomes across Medicaid, Medicare and Commercial members. As of March 31, 2026, Centene served 26.3 million members, giving the company significant scale to spread administrative costs and support operating leverage.
Centene is also sharpening its operational capabilities through technology and data-driven initiatives. It expanded the use of advanced analytics and selective AI-enabled tools across medical economics, forecasting, fraud detection and payment integrity. These initiatives are helping identify emerging healthcare trends earlier, strengthen claims oversight and improve pricing decisions. In Medicare, the company continues to simplify provider contracts and expand value-based care models targeting high-cost specialties, supporting better quality and lower total cost of care.
In the first quarter of 2026, adjusted earnings per share increased 16.2% year over year to $3.37, while premium and service revenues rose 5.1%. Medicaid's health benefits ratio improved 50 bps year over year to 93.1%, reflecting the impact of better reimbursement, disciplined medical cost management and ongoing operational improvements. Encouraged by the strong start, Centene raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to more than $3.40.
However, regulatory changes and medical cost trends remain key challenges. CNC's integrated approach is creating a stronger operating foundation. Continued investments in technology, clinical programs and provider partnerships should support margin recovery and position the company for sustainable earnings growth over the long term.
How Are Competitors Faring?Some of CNC’s major competitors in the value-based care space are UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH - Free Report) and Elevance Health, Inc. (ELV - Free Report) .
UnitedHealth continues to strengthen its integrated healthcare platform by combining UnitedHealthcare's insurance operations with Optum's pharmacy, care delivery and health services businesses. This connected model enhances care coordination, improves operational efficiency and supports UNH’s long-term earnings growth through diversified revenue streams.
Elevance Health is expanding its integrated care strategy through Carelon, which combines pharmacy, behavioral health and care management services. ELV is leveraging these capabilities to improve clinical outcomes, manage medical costs more effectively and support sustainable earnings growth across its government-sponsored and commercial businesses.
Centene’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of CNC have rallied 66.1% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s rise of 36.5%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Centene trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, below the industry average of 19.69. CNC carries a Value Score of A.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Centene’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $3.46 per share, implying 66.4% growth from the year-ago period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CNC stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
IFF uvedla SENSORA, patentově přihlašovanou technologii pro vůně, která má prodloužit jejich výdrž až na 20 dní po aktivaci. Současně představila Floral Fusion pro prací prostředky.
Key Takeaways International Flavors launched SENSORA, a patent-pending pro-fragrance technology for lasting scents.IFF said that SENSORA extends fragrance up to 20 days post-activation across multiple applications.International Flavors introduced Floral Fusion for detergents with evolving floral notes on dry fabrics. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF - Free Report) announced the launch of its advanced patent-pending pro-fragrance technology, SENSORA. This development is in sync with the rising demand for a longer-lasting scent.
Details of IFF’s SENSORAInternational Flavors is combining its deep expertise in fragrance design with pro-fragrance science to create SENSORA that will revolutionize the use of scent across home, fabric and personal care applications. The technology is designed to prolong fragrance well beyond wash, unveiling complex scent profiles over time and extending the scent for up to 20 days post-activation.
The company announced the launch of Floral Fusion, which is a light-activated pro-fragrance under the SENSORA portfolio. This is designed specifically for liquid detergents that provide a long-lasting, evolving scent experience by releasing refined floral notes on dry fabrics. This elevates the product's base fragrance profile.
International Flavors’ Q1 PerformanceIFF reported adjusted earnings of $1.25 per share in first-quarter 2026, up 4.2% year over year. The results beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08 by 15.7%.
International Flavors’ quarterly net sales were $2.741 billion, down 3.6% from the year-ago period but beating the consensus mark of $2.65 billion by 3.4%. On a comparable currency-neutral basis, sales increased 3%, supported by volume gains across all four segments.
The Scent segment’s sales were $651 million, up 6% year over year. On a comparable basis, currency-neutral sales inched up 1% as growth in Consumer Fragrances and Fine Fragrances was partially offset by a decline in Fragrance Ingredients. The adjusted operating EBITDA increased 5% year over year to $148 million.
IFF Stock’s Price PerformanceIn the past year, the company’s shares have gained 8.4% compared with the industry’s growth of 5.3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
International Flavors’ Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dow's current-year earnings is pegged at $2.61 per share, indicating a 377% year-over-year surge. DOW shares have gained 13.6% in a year.
Albemarle has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 74.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $12.45 per share, indicating year-over-year growth from a loss of 79 cents. ALB shares have skyrocketed 124% so far this year.
Avino Silver has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 125%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Avino Silver’s 2026 earnings is pegged at 39 cents per share, indicating 34.5% year-over-year growth. Its shares have surged 62.7% in a year.
American Eagle Outfitters za posledních šest měsíců klesl o 35,1 % kvůli vyšším nákladům, clům a slabší poptávce po dámských kalhotách. Firma dál investuje do digitálního marketingu, TikTok Shopu a dodavatelského řetězce.
Key Takeaways American Eagle faces higher SG&A, tariff costs and weaker demand for women's bottoms.AEO is investing in digital marketing, TikTok Shop and supply chain to drive customer growth.AEO trades below its historical and industry forward P/E despite ongoing execution efforts. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO - Free Report) , a prominent player in the retail apparel and shoes sector, has seen its shares plunge 35.1% in the past six months, underperforming the Zacks industry’s decline of 7.8%. The stock has also underperformed the broader sector’s 1.4% decline and the S&P 500 Index’s 9.5% increase in the same period.
AEO Stock’s 6-Month Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
In the same period, American Eagle has trailed the performance of Tapestry, Inc. (TPR - Free Report) , Fossil Group, Inc. (FOSL - Free Report) and Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN - Free Report) . Shares of TPR and FOSL have gained 11.6% and 11%, respectively, in the past six months, while shares of URBN have lost 6.6%.
AEO’s Share Price Performance VS Peers
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AEO Stock Falls on Rising Costs & Macroeconomic UncertaintyAmerican Eagle faces several near-term headwinds stemming from a challenging macroeconomic environment, rising operating costs and tariff-related uncertainty. The company continued to experience cost pressures in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, with SG&A expenses increasing 11% due to planned advertising investments. Interest expense also increased following a transaction involving the sale of a portion of its tariff claims.
Looking ahead, management expects growth of the SG&A expenses to accelerate to the mid-teens in the fiscal second quarter, primarily due to continued advertising investments, which are likely to keep operating expenses elevated in the near term.
Product-related challenges also weighed on performance in the quarter. Management highlighted that women’s bottoms, particularly denim, underperformed expectations and were the primary contributor to the decline in American Eagle sales. Performance was affected by the need to refine the product assortment toward more relevant styles and fits, while a colder-than-normal spring reduced demand across several seasonal categories. Although these factors pressured results, management remains focused on improving execution and enhancing product productivity in areas within its control.
The company is also facing meaningful cost pressures from import tariffs. For the fiscal second quarter, American Eagle expects an incremental tariff headwind of approximately $20 million compared with the prior year. The planned tariff rate on imports is expected to remain at 10% in the fiscal second quarter before increasing to 15% for the remainder of the year, creating an additional drag on profitability.
More broadly, management noted that the retail environment remains highly dynamic and continues to be shaped by macroeconomic uncertainty. Softer consumer demand in women's bottoms, tariff-related cost inflation and unfavorable seasonal conditions contributed to a more challenging operating environment in the first quarter and are expected to remain near-term headwinds.
American Eagle Invests in Marketing, Digital and Brand PartnershipsDespite near-term challenges, American Eagle continues to benefit from several long-term growth drivers that support customer engagement, traffic and brand visibility. The company remains committed to investing in its brands and operational capabilities where it expects the highest returns. As part of this strategy, AEO opened its West Coast distribution center in Phoenix in early May to further optimize its supply chain and improve inventory placement. Management believes the new facility will enhance product availability while giving customers greater flexibility in how and when they receive their purchases.
The company has also successfully shifted away from broad-based promotional activity toward a more disciplined commercial strategy focused on profitable growth. Management emphasized that this approach prioritizes higher-margin sales and more targeted promotions rather than widespread discounting. By improving promotional discipline, AEO aims to enhance the quality of revenue while building a more sustainable, margin-focused operating model.
Customer engagement remains strong, supported by American Eagle’s marketing initiatives and strategic brand partnerships. The company’s customer file expanded to more than 19 million, representing 3% year-over-year growth, reflecting continued brand relevance and customer loyalty. Digital innovation and social commerce also remain key priorities.
AEO recently launched a dedicated TikTok Shop and the AE Creator Community to engage its core demographic through more authentic and timely content. In addition, the company is reallocating marketing investments toward digital media, performance marketing and influencer partnerships to drive higher-converting traffic and shift its focus from broad brand awareness to customer conversion.
How Have Estimates Shaped Up for AEO?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEO’s current quarter and the current year earnings per share has remained unchanged at 21 cents and $1.77, respectively, in the past seven days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
American Eagle is currently trading at a forward 12-month P/E multiple of 9.43X, lower than the industry average of 14.68X and well below the S&P 500 multiple of 21.13X. The stock is also trading below its 12-month median P/E of 12.29X, reflecting potential undervaluation.
American Eagle’s Valuation Picture
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
How to Play AEO Stock?American Eagle is navigating macroeconomic challenges, tariff-related uncertainty and rising cost pressures, which may temper near-term performance. However, the company continues to benefit from digital innovation and strategic collaborations, which provide additional avenues for long-term growth. Given the balance between near-term headwinds and long-term growth opportunities, investors may prefer to remain on the sidelines until there is greater visibility into the pace of growth.
At present, AEO carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
PNC Financial plánuje investovat zhruba 2 mld. USD do otevření více než 300 poboček, modernizace sítě a náboru více než 2 000 zaměstnanců do roku 2030. Tato expanze míří hlavně na rostoucí trhy na jihozápadě USA.
Key Takeaways PNC Financial plans to invest $2B to open 300 branches, renovate its network and hire 2,000 staff.PNC expanded in Colorado and Arizona through the January 2026 FirstBank Holding Company acquisition.PNC's branch expansion will complement digital banking for mortgages, wealth management and business lending. While much of the banking industry continues to shrink its physical footprint in favor of digital channels, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (PNC - Free Report) is moving in the opposite direction. The bank's decision to invest roughly $2 billion in expanding and modernizing its branch network is a calculated capital allocation strategy that reflects confidence in the long-term value of relationship banking.
PNC's expansion plan is ambitious. The bank intends to open more than 300 branches across nearly 20 U.S. markets, renovate its existing network by 2029 and hire more than 2,000 employees by 2030.
The expansion is focused on high-growth markets, particularly in the Southwest, where population growth and business activity continue to create opportunities for retail and commercial banking. Rather than spreading resources evenly across the country, PNC Financial is concentrating on regions with strong economic momentum, allowing it to build deeper customer relationships and strengthen its competitive position.
A major boost to this strategy came through the acquisition of FirstBank Holding Company in January 2026. The transaction added 95 branches and significantly expanded PNC's presence in Colorado, while increasing its Arizona network to more than 70 branches. This acquisition accelerated the company's market penetration and complemented its organic branch expansion plans, giving PNC a stronger presence in some of the fastest-growing banking markets in the United States.
PNC Financial's strategy stands out because it blends physical expansion with modern banking capabilities. While digital channels remain essential for routine transactions, branches continue to play a critical role in serving customers with mortgages, wealth management, small business lending and other complex financial needs. By investing in both its physical infrastructure and workforce, the bank aims to create a more accessible and relationship-driven banking experience.
The strategy, however, comes at a cost. Building new branches, renovating existing locations, upgrading technology and expanding staffing levels require significant upfront investment, putting pressure on operating expenses in the near term. Nonetheless, despite these short-term headwinds, PNC's branch expansion underscores its long-term growth strategy. With approximately 2,315 brick-and-mortar branches nationwide and an expanding presence in high-growth markets, the bank is well-positioned to attract new customers, deepen existing relationships and strengthen its banking franchise over the years ahead.
Branch Expansion Efforts by Other BanksPNC Financial is not the only bank that is expanding its physical footprint. Bank of America (BAC - Free Report) and JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) are among other large lenders pursuing meaningful branch expansion.
Bank of America has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan to open financial centers in new and existing markets. The company plans to open more than 150 financial centers across 60 markets by the end of 2027. With this move, Bank of America continues its aggressive expansion as part of a broader strategy to strengthen customer relationships and tap into new markets.
JPMorgan is also doubling down on physical expansion to strengthen its competitive edge in relationship banking. JPMorgan is expanding its affluent banking services with plans to open more than 500 branches by 2027, with more than 160 across 30 states to be opened this year. This move will solidify its position as the bank with the largest branch network, covering all 48 U.S. states.
PNC’s Price Performance & Zacks RankShares of PNC Financial have gained 16.6% in the past six months compared with the industry’s growth of 2.4%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PNC currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Verisk přidal KatRisk do Model Exchange a rozšířil nabídku nezávislých modelů katastrofického rizika. Zároveň uvedl vylepšený U.S. Tropical Cyclone Model pro přesnější odhad hurikánových rizik.
Key Takeaways Verisk added KatRisk to Model Exchange, expanding independent catastrophe risk modeling options. VRSK launched an upgraded U.S. Tropical Cyclone Model with enhanced climate and cloud analytics. VRSK supported growth via acquisitions, dividends, share repurchases and expanded insurance solutions. Verisk Analytics’ (VRSK - Free Report) agreement to bring KatRisk onto its Model Exchange strengthens the platform’s position as an open, multi-vendor catastrophe risk modeling ecosystem. By adding KatRisk’s climate-informed models covering perils, such as inland flood, wildfire, tropical cyclone, storm surge and earthquake, VRSK broadens the range of independent risk perspectives available to insurers and reinsurers.
The move comes as the insurance industry faces rising climate-related losses and increasing regulatory scrutiny, increasing the importance of transparent, comparable and defensible catastrophe models. Expanding the platform’s portfolio of third-party models is expected to enhance underwriting, portfolio management and capital planning while reinforcing Verisk’s role as a key provider of risk analytics and decision-support solutions for the global insurance market.
The company’s reengineered U.S. Tropical Cyclone Model, delivered through its cloud-native Synergy Studio platform, represents a significant enhancement to its catastrophe risk analytics capabilities. By integrating updated climate science, refined hazard and vulnerability modeling, and a reengineered stochastic event catalog, the model provides insurers, reinsurers and capital market participants with a more realistic assessment of hurricane-related risks and potential losses.
The launch also strengthens VRSK’s competitive position by combining advanced scientific modeling with scalable cloud-based analytics, enabling faster risk assessments, improved portfolio management and more transparent, defensible decision-making as climate-related weather events become more frequent and severe.
VRSK continues to reward shareholders through consistent dividend payments and share repurchases. The company paid out dividends of $195.2 million, $196.8 million, $221.3 million and $251.3 million, while repurchasing shares worth $1.7 billion, $2.8 billion, $1 billion and $624 million in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The company’s growth strategy is also driven by its strong focus on innovation and acquisitions, as it rapidly invests in global companies to enhance its data and analytical capabilities. Recently, the company acquired SuranceBay, a leading provider of producer licensing, onboarding, appointment and compliance solutions, which is expected to expand VRSK’s life and annuity offerings.
Other Factors That Make VRSK an Attractive PickSolid Rank: VRSK carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Our research shows that stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 offer attractive investment opportunities. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Positive Earnings Surprise History: VRSK has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters and missed once, delivering an earnings surprise of 6.29%, on average.
Strong Growth Prospects: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Verisk’s 2026 revenues is pinned at $3.22 billion, reflecting 5% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $7.63 per share, indicating a 6.6% year-over-year increase.
Bullish Industry Rank: The industry to which VRSK belongs currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 18 (out of 243). Such a favorable rank places it in the top 7% of Zacks Industries. Studies show that 50% of a stock’s price movement is directly related to the performance of the industry group to which it belongs.
A mediocre stock within a strong group is likely to outperform a robust stock in a weak industry. Reckoning the industry’s performance becomes imperative.
Other Stocks to ConsiderSome other top-ranked stocks for investors’ consideration are Dave Inc. (DAVE - Free Report) and Coherent Corp. (COHR - Free Report) .
Dave currently sports a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 10.5% and 24.5% for 2026 and 2027, respectively.
DAVE has an encouraging earnings surprise history as it has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average beat of 54.2%.
Coherent Corp. sports a Zacks Rank of #1. COHR has an expected earnings growth rate of 55% and 51.04% for 2026 and 2027, respectively.
The company has an encouraging earnings surprise history as it has topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average earnings surprise of 6.20%.
A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Ulta Beauty (ULTA - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 3.5% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Ulta due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
Ulta Beauty Lifts FY26 View as Q1 Earnings Beat, Comps Rise 5.3%Ulta Beauty reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 results, wherein both earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company delivered double-digit sales and earnings growth, driven by broad-based strength across channels and product categories, along with contributions from the Space NK acquisition.
The beauty retailer reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings per share of $7.74, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.90. The bottom line increased 15.5% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of $6.70.
Net sales rose 11.1% year over year to $3,163.9 million and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,113 million. Growth was primarily driven by higher comparable sales, contributions from the Space NK acquisition and sales from new stores. Comparable sales increased 5.3%, supported by a 3.7% rise in average ticket and a 1.6% jump in transactions.
ULTA’s Quarterly Results: Key Metrics & InsightsUlta Beauty’s gross profit increased 13.8% year over year to $1,267.6 million. Gross margin expanded 100 basis points to 40.1% from 39.1%, primarily due to lower inventory shrink and higher merchandise margin. Improvements in inventory productivity and favorable category mix also aided profitability.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased 14.6% to $814.7 million from $710.6 million reported in the prior-year quarter. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expenses rose to 25.8% from 24.9%. The increase was primarily due to the acquisition of Space NK, strategic enterprise investments and higher store-related expenses, partially offset by leverage in advertising expenses.
Operating income surged 11.6% to $448.3 million from $401.8 million in the year-ago quarter. As a percentage of net sales, operating income improved slightly to 14.2% from 14.1% in the prior-year period.
ULTA’s Category Performance Remains Broad-BasedPerformance was broad-based across all major categories in the quarter. Fragrance remained the strongest category, delivering high-teens comparable sales growth, driven by newness from luxury brands such as YSL, Carolina Herrera, Valentino and Balmain, as well as innovation from exclusive fragrance brand NOYZ.
Haircare generated high-single-digit comparable growth, supported by strength in prestige haircare, new and exclusive brands, and healthy demand for hair-treatment products.
Makeup posted low-single-digit comparable sales growth, aided by prestige makeup performance and the successful launch of Rare Beauty. Skincare and wellness delivered low-single-digit comparable growth, benefiting from prestige skincare, mass skincare and continued momentum in supplements and self-care products. Services revenues increased in the mid-single-digit range, supported by strong member engagement.
Ulta Beauty’s Strategic Initiatives Gain TractionUlta Beauty continued to advance its “Ulta Beauty Unleashed” strategy during the quarter. The company launched TikTok Shop, positioning itself as a key beauty discovery platform and strengthening engagement with younger consumers. Ulta Beauty also added more than 20 new brands during the quarter, expanded its marketplace assortment to more than 325 brands and 8,000 SKUs and grew its loyalty program to approximately 46.9 million members, up 4% year over year.
The company continued expanding its international presence through Space NK, Mexico and the Middle East. Management also announced plans for a highly experiential flagship location in Times Square, NY, which is expected to open in late 2027.
ULTA’s Financial Health Snapshot & Store UpdateThe company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $166.3 million and short-term investments of $55 million. Merchandise inventories increased 12.5% year over year to $2.4 billion. Short-term debt totaled $144.9 million, while stockholders’ equity stood at $2.58 billion at quarter-end.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $261.9 million in the first quarter. Capital expenditures totaled $58.3 million, primarily related to investments in new and existing stores.
During the quarter, Ulta Beauty repurchased 958,323 shares of its common stock for $555 million. As of May 2, 2026, approximately $1.3 billion was available under the company’s $3 billion share buyback authorization announced in October 2024.
Ulta Beauty opened 16 net new stores in the United States and one net new Space NK store during the quarter. The company ended the period with 1,521 Ulta Beauty stores and 87 Space NK stores.
What to Expect From ULTA in FY26?Following its better-than-expected first-quarter performance, Ulta Beauty updated its fiscal 2026 outlook.
The company continues to expect net sales growth of 6% to 7% and comparable sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5%. Management now anticipates operating income growth of 6.5% to 9% compared with its previous expectation of 6% to 9%.
Ulta Beauty raised its fiscal 2026 earnings per share guidance to the range of $28.36-$28.80 from the prior range of $28.05-$28.55.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?It turns out, estimates review have trended downward during the past month.
VGM ScoresAt this time, Ulta has a great Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a B. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a score of B on the value side, putting it in the second quintile for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Interestingly, Ulta has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry PlayerUlta is part of the Zacks Retail - Miscellaneous industry. Over the past month, Bath & Body Works (BBWI - Free Report) , a stock from the same industry, has gained 24.1%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended April 2026 more than a month ago.
Bath & Body Works reported revenues of $1.38 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -3.2%. EPS of $0.32 for the same period compares with $0.49 a year ago.
For the current quarter, Bath & Body Works is expected to post earnings of $0.23 per share, indicating a change of -37.8% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +0.7% over the last 30 days.
The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Bath & Body Works. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of A.
Amphenol uvádí, že Communications Solutions v 1. čtvrtletí zvýšil tržby o 88 % na 4,53 mld. USD a tvoří asi 60 % tržeb APH. Ve výhledu na 2. čtvrtletí 2026 očekává tržby 8,1–8,2 mld. USD a upravený EPS 1,14–1,16 USD.
Key Takeaways Communications Solutions generated $4.53B in sales, up 88% and about 60% of APH revenues.AI-related IT datacom demand drove 99%-dollar growth and 81% organic growth for APH.APH expects second-quarter 2026 sales of $8.1B-$8.2B and adjusted EPS of $1.14-$1.16. Amphenol’s (APH - Free Report) Communications Solutions segment is becoming the company’s primary growth engine. In first-quarter 2026, the segment generated $4.53 billion in sales, up 88% year over year and 47% organically, making up about 60% of APH’s revenues. This growth was driven primarily by strong demand in IT datacom, especially AI-related applications, along with strength in industrial markets and contributions from acquisitions.
Moreover, the Communications Solutions segment’s operating income rose to $1.39 billion from $660.8 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin expanded to 30.6% from 27.4%, driven by higher volumes, although recent acquisitions are still somewhat margin-dilutive. The segment is also benefiting from Amphenol’s acquisition strategy. The CommScope deal added fiber optic interconnect capabilities for IT datacom and communications networks, as well as building infrastructure connectivity products. This strengthens Amphenol’s exposure to AI data centers, upgraded networks and broader connectivity demand.
Amphenol management’s comments reinforce the growth outlook. IT datacom represented 41% of sales, with revenues rising 99% in dollar terms and 81% organically, driven by AI-related products. With CommScope, Amphenol now has a broader portfolio of high-speed copper, power and fiber optic interconnect products, which management sees as critical for next-generation AI systems. The segment is driving Amphenol’s prospects by combining AI data center demand, network upgrades, acquisition-led portfolio expansion and rising margins. This gives APH a stronger growth profile and better earnings leverage, although integration costs and acquisition-related margin dilution remain near-term factors to watch.
For the second quarter of 2026, APH expects sales of $8.1-$8.2 billion. Adjusted earnings are projected at $1.14-$1.16 per share for the second quarter.
How Rivals Stack Up Against APHAmphenol is increasingly challenged by major rivals such as TE Connectivity (TEL - Free Report) and Bel Fuse (BELFB - Free Report) .
TE Connectivity remains Amphenol’s most formidable rival, matching APH across connectors, sensors and advanced interconnect solutions spanning automotive, industrial, aerospace and high-speed communications. With a vast global footprint, deep customer relationships and a broad product portfolio, TE Connectivity leverages targeted acquisitions and strong AI and EV design wins, especially in hyperscale platforms, to reinforce its leadership and keep pace with APH in the accelerating communications race.
Bel Fuse’s outlook is increasingly supported by rising AI infrastructure spending and the recovery in enterprise networking demand. The Industrial Technology & Data Solutions segment continues to benefit from healthy demand for networking and data infrastructure, with improving momentum in data center connectivity and high-performance computing applications. BELFB is seeing robust bookings from AI-focused customers and enterprise networking clients as hyperscalers invest in next-generation AI architectures, boosting demand for its power conversion, power protection and high-speed interconnect solutions.
APH’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesAmphenol’s shares have surged 27.5% year to date, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s return of 18.2%.
APH Stock’s Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Amphenol shares are trading at a premium, as suggested by a Value Score of D. In terms of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), APH is trading at 33.18X, higher than the sector’s 24.14.
APH Stock Is Overvalued
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Amphenol’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $4.76 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days. The figure indicates a 42.51% jump year over year.
APH currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Pinnacle West Capital plánuje investovat téměř 7,95 mld. USD v letech 2026 až 2028 do přenosu, distribuce a výroby elektřiny. Firma očekává růst maloobchodního prodeje elektřiny o 4–6 % v roce 2026.
Key Takeaways PNW's capital plan aims to strengthen grid reliability and support long-term earnings growth. PNW plans nearly $7.95B in 2026-2028 investments across transmission, distribution and generation. PNW expects 4-6% retail sales growth in 2026, driven by manufacturing facilities and data centers. Pinnacle West Capital (PNW - Free Report) benefits from its strategic capital investment plan, which strengthens grid reliability, supports rising electricity demand and drives sustainable long-term earnings growth. These investments are aimed at improving system reliability, supporting customer growth and expanding the company's regulated asset base.
PNW aims to invest $2.6 billion in 2026 and nearly $7.95 billion during 2026-2028, allocating about $2.11 billion to transmission, $2.31 billion to distribution and $2.28 billion to generation infrastructure. These investments support a 7-9% rate base growth through 2028 and advance strategic transmission projects.
The company is witnessing strong growth in electricity demand, supported by sustained economic development across its service territory. Arizona continues to attract semiconductor manufacturers, large data centers and other large industrial customers that require 24x7 reliable power. The company expects retail electricity sales to grow 4-6% in 2026, driven primarily by expanding manufacturing facilities and data centers. It projects 5-7% annual weather-normalized sales growth through 2030. PNW is expanding its power infrastructure to meet growing demand and recover its investments through regulatory approvals.
The company continues to target 5-7% long-term EPS growth, supported by sustained infrastructure investment and increasing electricity demand. PNW's systematic capital allocation, expanding regulated rate base and constructive regulatory framework provide a solid foundation for future earnings growth.
Capital Investments Strengthening Regulated GrowthCapital investments strengthen regulated utility growth through grid modernization, transmission expansion, improved reliability and renewable integration. These investments expand the regulated asset base, support timely cost recovery and drive stable earnings and long-term growth.
FirstEnergy Corp. (FE - Free Report) expects to invest $36 billion over 2026-2030 to strengthen its regulated transmission and distribution business. The capital plan prioritizes grid modernization and infrastructure upgrades, supporting an estimated 10% compound annual rate base growth.
PPL Corporation (PPL - Free Report) plans to invest nearly $23 billion during 2026-2029, supporting an average annual rate base growth of 10.3%. These investments strengthen energy infrastructure, expand cleaner generation, improve reliability and maintain affordable electricity for customers.
PNW’s Earnings EstimatesThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 EPS indicates a decrease of 6.73% and an increase of 18.05%, respectively, year over year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PNW’s Dividend YieldPNW currently offers a 3.42% dividend yield, exceeding the Electric Power industry 2.99% average over the past year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PNW’s Stock Price PerformanceIn the past month, the company’s shares have risen 7% compared with the industry’s 3.3% growth.
Donaldson ve 3. čtvrtletí překonal odhady: upravený zisk na akcii byl 1,06 USD a tržby 995,1 mil. USD. Firma zároveň potvrdila výhled pro fiskální rok 2026.
A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Donaldson (DCI - Free Report) . Shares have added about 3.9% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Donaldson due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
Donaldson's Q3 Earnings & Revenues Top Estimates, Increase Y/YDonaldson reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 (ended April 30, 2026) adjusted earnings of $1.06 per share, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.05. The bottom line was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis.
Revenue ResultsTotal revenues of $995.1 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $979 million. The top line increased 5.8% year over year.
Region-wise, Donaldson’s net sales in the United States/Canada increased 1.5% year over year to $427.1 million. Net sales increased 11.5% to $289.3 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Latin America generated net sales of $105.9 million, reflecting an increase of 4.4%. Also, net sales in the Asia Pacific improved 9.2% to $172.8 million.
Donaldson reports revenues under three segments, namely Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions and Life Sciences.
A brief snapshot of segmental sales is provided below.
The Mobile Solutions segment’s (accounting for 63.3% of net sales) sales were $629.9 million, indicating a year-over-year increase of 8.1%. Sales rose 8.8% in Off-Road and increased 5.2% in On-Road businesses during the quarter. Aftermarket sales improved 8.1% year over year.
Revenues generated from the Industrial Solutions segment (28.3%) were $281.7 million, down 0.6% year over year. Industrial Filtration Solutions' sales increased 2.3% year over year. Sales decline of 13.5% in the Aerospace and Defense businesses affected the results.
Revenues generated from the Life Sciences segment (8.4%) were $83.5 million, up 12.7% year over year. The results benefited from growth in new equipment volume in the Food & Beverage and Disk Drive businesses.
Donaldson’s Margin ProfileIn the fiscal third quarter, Donaldson’s cost of sales increased 7% year over year to $661.7 million. Gross profit increased 3.6% to $333.4 million. The gross margin of 33.5% declined 70 basis points due to operating inefficiencies associated with production shifts and costs related to footprint optimization initiatives. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $158.9 million, up 4.3% year over year.
Operating expenses were down 24% year over year to $178.1 million. Operating profit surged 77.7% to $155.3 million. The adjusted operating margin was 16.6%, up 30 bps year over year.
The adjusted effective tax rate was 23.8% compared with 22.1% in the year-ago quarter.
Balance Sheet & Cash FlowExiting the fiscal third quarter, Donaldson’s cash and cash equivalents were $204.1 million compared with $180.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. Long-term debt was $591.6 million compared with $630.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.
In the fiscal third quarter, the company generated net cash of $135.4 million from operating activities, indicating an increase of 54.4% year over year. Capital expenditure (net) totaled $23.8 million compared with $14.7 million in the year-ago fiscal quarter. Free cash flow increased 52.9% to $111.6 million.
It used $108.5 million to repurchase stocks and $104 million to pay out dividends during the first nine months of fiscal 2026.
Donaldson’s FY26 OutlookFor fiscal 2026 (ending July 2026), Donaldson expects adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to be in the range of $3.94-$4.01 compared with $3.68 in fiscal 2025. Organic sales are anticipated to increase 3-5% from the fiscal 2025 level.
On a segmental basis, Mobile Solutions’ sales are expected to increase 3.5-5.5% from the fiscal 2025 level. Industrial Solutions’ sales are envisioned to increase in the range of 0-2% from the year-ago figure. The company forecasts its Life Sciences segment’s sales to increase in the 9-11% range.
Interest expenses are predicted to be approximately $26 million, while other income is projected to be in the range of $17-$19 million. The effective tax rate is anticipated to be between 22% and 24%.
Capital expenditure is expected to be between $60 million and $75 million. Free cash flow conversion is anticipated to be in the range of 85-95%. Donaldson expects to repurchase 1.2% of its outstanding shares during the fiscal year.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates.
VGM ScoresAt this time, Donaldson has a average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock has a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Donaldson has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Darden ve fiskálním roce 2026 zvýšil upravený zisk na akcii na 10,64 USD a tržby na 13,21 miliardy USD díky růstu srovnatelných tržeb a 43 novým restauracím. Současně vrátil akcionářům asi 1,4 miliardy USD a snížil dlouhodobý dluh.
Key Takeaways Darden grew fiscal 2026 earnings and sales, supported by same-restaurant gains and 43 net new restaurants.DRI returned about $1.4B to shareholders while funding expansion and reducing long-term debt.Darden expects about 3% inflation as pricing below inflation may limit margin expansion. Darden Restaurants (DRI - Free Report) presents a balanced investment debate after fiscal 2026 results. Earnings grew, revenues increased and the company kept returning cash to shareholders while investing in new restaurants.
The counterpoint is clear. Estimate revisions, softer momentum indicators, cost inflation and consumer spending sensitivity keep the buy case from becoming automatic.
DRI Earnings Growth Supports the Bull CaseDarden’s fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings per share rose to $10.64 from $9.55 in fiscal 2025. Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share increased 22.8% year over year to $3.66, giving investors a clear earnings growth base to evaluate.
Sales also moved higher. Total fiscal 2026 sales increased to $13.21 billion from $12.08 billion, supported by same-restaurant sales growth, an extra operating week and contributions from 43 net new restaurants.
The strength was not limited to one metric. Blended same-restaurant sales rose 4.5% for fiscal 2026, with Olive Garden up 4% and LongHorn Steakhouse up 7.2%. That mix gives Darden a firmer foundation than a pure cost-cutting earnings story.
Darden Valuation Looks More Reasonable NowDRI trades at 17.6X forward 12-month earnings. That sits below the Zacks sub-industry multiple of 22.83X, the sector multiple of 22.59X and the S&P 500’s 20.8X, making valuation a more constructive part of the investment case.
The multiple is close to Darden’s five-year median of 17.53X and below the five-year high of 22.86X. That does not make the stock cheap in isolation, but it suggests the valuation reset has reduced the risk of paying peak multiples for steady growth.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG - Free Report) remains a relevant fast-casual comparison for investors weighing restaurant growth and valuation trade-offs. Restaurant Brands International (QSR - Free Report) offers another peer reference, with a franchised restaurant model that differs from Darden’s company-owned full-service portfolio.
DRI Returns Cash While Funding ExpansionCapital allocation strengthens Darden’s investment profile. The company returned approximately $1.4 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2026 through dividends and share repurchases while continuing to fund restaurant development.
Darden also raised its quarterly dividend 8% to $1.62 per share and authorized a new $1.5 billion share repurchase program. Long-term debt declined to $1.64 billion at fiscal 2026-end from $2.13 billion at the end of fiscal 2025.
That balance matters because the company is not choosing between growth and shareholder returns. Fiscal 2027 guidance calls for 75 to 80 new restaurant openings and capital spending of approximately $875 million, keeping expansion active alongside cash returns.
Darden Has Reasons for Investor CautionThe caution case starts with revenue expectations. Fourth-quarter sales of $3.72 billion missed the consensus mark of $3.74 billion, even though sales increased 13.7% year over year.
Estimate trends are also not fully supportive. The current fiscal-year earnings estimate showed a negative 1% change over the past four weeks, which limits the case for a more aggressive near-term view.
Costs remain another issue. Management expects roughly 3% total inflation in fiscal 2027, with beef inflation highest early in the year. Darden is pricing below inflation to protect its value proposition, a strategy that can support traffic but may constrain margin expansion.
DRI Ratings Point to a Wait-and-See ViewThe bottom line is that DRI looks fundamentally steady, but not decisively attractive enough to remove the debate. Earnings growth, cash generation, restaurant expansion and a more reasonable valuation support the stock, while sales misses, estimate pressure and inflation risk keep expectations measured.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). That rank lines up with a wait-and-see stance rather than a clear buy signal, especially when near-term estimate revisions have not strengthened. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Darden has a VGM Score of B, supported by a Growth Score of A. Those scores point to favorable growth characteristics within the Zacks Style Scores framework.
The Value Score of C and Momentum Score of D keep the overall signal mixed. For investors, that combination suggests DRI has solid earnings support, but stronger estimate trends or better price momentum would make the investment case more convincing.
Darden očekává ve fiskálním roce 2027 75–80 otevírání restaurací a asi 875 milionů USD kapitálových výdajů. Firma ale varuje, že asi 3% inflace může dál brzdit růst marží.
Key Takeaways Darden enters fiscal 2027 with broader growth beyond Olive Garden and positive same-restaurant sales.DRI plans 75-80 openings and about $875M in capital spending for units, technology and supply chain.Darden expects about 3% inflation as pricing below inflation may keep margin expansion constrained. Darden Restaurants (DRI - Free Report) enters fiscal 2027 with a balanced investment setup. The company is still benefiting from positive same-restaurant sales, steady development activity and rising contributions from brands beyond Olive Garden.
The offset is clear. Inflation, cautious consumer spending and limited international scale leave investors weighing operating execution against margin and demand risks.
Darden Brands Drive a More Balanced StoryOlive Garden remains the anchor of Darden’s business, accounting for 42.3% of fiscal 2026 revenues. That size gives the company a major traffic and earnings base in casual dining, supported by a familiar brand and broad value positioning.
The portfolio is becoming less dependent on one chain. Olive Garden represented about 50% of sales in fiscal 2019, while LongHorn Steakhouse, Fine Dining and Other Business now carry a larger share of revenues. That shift gives Darden more ways to grow earnings across different dining occasions and consumer groups.
DRI Finds Momentum in LongHorn and Olive GardenLongHorn Steakhouse is one of Darden’s clearest growth drivers. Same-restaurant sales rose 7.2% in fiscal 2026 and accelerated to 9.5% in the fourth quarter, supported by food quality, service execution and a value proposition that is not built mainly on promotions.
Olive Garden continues to support the broader story through menu innovation, affordability and guest traffic. Lighter portion offerings and protein-forward items have widened customer choice while keeping the brand focused on value, even though the newer menu created a modest check mix headwind.
Darden Pushes Digital and New Unit GrowthDigital initiatives are adding another layer to the long-term case. Olive Garden’s Uber Direct partnership is generating incremental orders and attracting younger and higher-income customers, while Yard House is seeing encouraging early delivery results.
Restaurant development remains central to growth. Darden opened 71 restaurants in fiscal 2026 and expects 75-80 openings in fiscal 2027. The company also plans about $875 million in capital spending, reflecting continued investment in new units, technology and supply-chain capabilities.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG - Free Report) offers investors another restaurant growth benchmark, particularly for traffic, digital access and unit development comparisons. Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR - Free Report) provides a different reference point, with a franchised, multi-brand model that contrasts with Darden’s company-owned restaurant base.
DRI Still Faces Margin and Demand PressureCost pressure remains the main limit on the margin story. Darden expects total inflation of about 3% in fiscal 2027, with beef inflation likely highest in the first quarter before easing later in the year.
Management’s choice to price below inflation is strategically consistent with protecting value perception and traffic. The trade-off is that margin expansion could remain constrained if commodity or labor costs stay elevated.
Demand risk also matters. Full-service restaurants depend on discretionary spending, and cautious consumer sentiment can pressure traffic if employment, fuel prices or overall confidence weaken.
Darden’s relatively small international presence is another constraint. Franchise partners are opening more restaurants outside North America, but the company still depends heavily on a mature domestic market.
Darden Signals a Mixed Stock SetupDarden’s stock setup reflects a company with good execution but not a clean all-clear signal. Same-restaurant sales growth, LongHorn’s momentum, Olive Garden’s scale and new restaurant development support the earnings growth case, while inflation and demand sensitivity keep the risk side relevant.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). That rank points to a more neutral near-term earnings-revision backdrop rather than a decisive buy signal. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Darden has a VGM Score of B, supported by a Growth Score of A, a Value Score of C and a Momentum Score of D. The Growth Score lines up with a company still expanding sales and earnings, while the Value and Momentum readings suggest less support from valuation upside or recent price trends.
For investors, that combination fits a balanced view. DRI has credible operating drivers and a diversified brand base, but cost pressures and weaker momentum keep the stock in hold territory for now.
GitLab v posledním čtvrtletí překonal odhady: EPS 23 centů a výnosy 264,2 milionu USD. Zároveň zvýšil celoroční výhled výnosů na 1,112–1,118 miliardy USD.
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for GitLab Inc. (GTLB - Free Report) . Shares have added about 1.9% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Gitlab due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
Gitlab Q1 Earnings Beat Estimate, Revenues Up Y/YGitLab delivered first-quarter fiscal 2027 non-GAAP earnings of 23 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 20 cents by 15%.
Total revenues were $264.2 million, topping the consensus mark of $254 million by 4.04%. The top line increased 23% year over year, supported by solid demand for GitLab’s DevSecOps platform.
GitLab’s Q1 Top-Line DetailsSubscriptions, self-managed and SaaS revenues (90.6% of total revenues) increased 18% year over year to $239.3 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.16%. License, self-managed and other revenues (9.4% of total revenues) rose 25% year over year to $24.9 million.
GitLab’s revenue growth was supported by continued strength in enterprise adoption and customer expansion metrics. Customers with more than $5,000 of ARR increased to 10,831 (up 7% year over year), while customers with more than $100,000 of ARR rose to 1,519 (up 18%). Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate was 117%.
Contracted demand also improved. Total RPO grew 18% year over year to $1.1 billion, while current RPO increased 24% year over year to $724.1 million.
GitLab’s Operating DetailsOn a non-GAAP basis, research & development expenses increased 13.1% year over year to $57.9 million. Sales and marketing expenses were up 19.2% year over year to $101.9 million. General and administrative expenses increased 11.7% year over year to $34.3 million in the reported quarter.
Profitability improved year over year. GitLab reported non-GAAP operating income of $37.5 million compared with $26.1 million a year ago. The non-GAAP operating margin expanded to14.2% from 12.2%. Non-GAAP gross margin was 87.7% in the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
GitLab’s Balance Sheet & Cash FlowAs of April 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were $1.36 billion compared with $1.25 billion as of Jan. 31, 2026.
In the reported quarter, the company generated cash flow from operations of $149.2 million compared with $45.7 million in the previous quarter.
Adjusted free cash flow was $146.7 million as of April 30, 2026, compared with $41.7 million as of Jan. 31, 2026.
GitLab Offers Q2 & FY27 GuidanceFor the second quarter of fiscal 2027, GitLab expects revenues between $272 million and $274 million.
Non-GAAP operating income is expected to be in the range of $30-$32 million for the fiscal second quarter.
Non-GAAP earnings for the fiscal second quarter are expected to be between 17 cents and 18 cents per share.
For fiscal 2027, GitLab raised revenue guidance to between $1.112 billion and $1.118 billion.
Non-GAAP operating income is expected to be in the range of $135-$141 million for fiscal 2027.
Non-GAAP earnings are expected to be between 79 cents and 82 cents per share.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates revision.
The consensus estimate has shifted 26.32% due to these changes.
VGM ScoresCurrently, Gitlab has a strong Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of F on the value side, putting it in the lowest quintile for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Gitlab has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry PlayerGitlab belongs to the Zacks Internet - Software industry. Another stock from the same industry, Snowflake Inc. (SNOW - Free Report) , has gained 8.3% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended April 2026.
Snowflake reported revenues of $1.39 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +33.5%. EPS of $0.39 for the same period compares with $0.24 a year ago.
Snowflake is expected to post earnings of $0.45 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +28.6%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged.
Snowflake has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of D.
AI infrastruktura a datová centra dál táhnou heavy construction, zatímco veřejné a energetické projekty zůstávají silné. Odvětví ale brzdí nedostatek kvalifikované pracovní síly a tlak na marže.
AI infrastructure and data center investments remain key growth drivers for the Zacks Building Products – Heavy Construction industry in 2026, supported by rising demand for cloud computing, AI workloads, fiber connectivity and utility upgrades. Strong federal and state funding for transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with investments in grid modernization, power transmission, natural gas and industrial projects, is further expanding the industry's multiyear project pipeline and improving revenue visibility. Within this favorable backdrop, companies such as EMCOR Group, Inc. (EME - Free Report) , MasTec (MTZ - Free Report) , Dycom Industries (DY - Free Report) and Tutor Perini Corporation (TPC - Free Report) are well positioned, benefiting from diversified capabilities, technical expertise and disciplined execution.
However, persistent skilled labor shortages continue to constrain project execution, increase wage costs and intensify competition for qualified workers. At the same time, larger and more complex projects, inflationary pressures, evolving project scopes, permitting delays and funding uncertainties are placing greater pressure on margins, making disciplined bidding, cost control and execution increasingly important for sustaining profitability.
Industry Description The Zacks Building Products - Heavy Construction industry consists of mechanical and electrical construction, industrial and energy infrastructure, as well as building service providers. This industry comprises heavy civil construction companies that specialize in the building and reconstruction of transportation projects, including highways, roads, bridges, airfields, ports and light rail. The companies serve commercial, industrial, utility and institutional clients. The industry players are engaged in the engineering, construction and maintenance of communications infrastructure, oil and natural gas pipelines, as well as processing facilities for energy and utility industries. These firms are also engaged in mining and dredging services in the United States and internationally.
4 Trends Shaping the Future of the Heavy Construction Industry AI Infrastructure & Data Center Demand Drive Growth: AI infrastructure remains one of the strongest tailwinds for the U.S. Heavy Construction industry in 2026. Rapid growth in cloud computing, AI workloads and digital transformation is fueling demand for data centers, which require large-scale site work, electrical systems, mechanical systems, cooling infrastructure, fiber connectivity and utility upgrades. These projects are also expanding opportunities across adjacent areas such as grid connections, substations, concrete work and long-haul fiber networks. Rising demand for low-latency connectivity between data centers is further supporting telecom and fiber construction. Given the multiyear nature of these investments, contractors with scale, skilled labor and complex project execution capabilities are likely to benefit from strong backlog visibility and sustained bidding activity.
Infrastructure, Power & Energy Spending Stay Strong: Public infrastructure and energy-related construction remain major growth drivers for 2026. Federal and state spending continues to support highways, bridges, transit systems, airports, ports, water and wastewater projects. At the same time, rising electricity demand is driving investment in transmission lines, substations, grid hardening and reliability upgrades. Energy security needs are also supporting natural gas, LNG, power generation and industrial infrastructure projects. These trends are creating a broad-based construction pipeline beyond data centers. Large public and energy projects typically span several years, giving the industry better revenue visibility. The combination of aging infrastructure, electrification, industrial reshoring and energy demand should keep project activity elevated through 2026.
Labor Shortages Remain a Key Constraint: Skilled labor availability remains one of the biggest headwinds for the U.S. heavy construction industry in 2026. Demand is rising across data centers, utilities, transportation, energy and public infrastructure at the same time, increasing competition for qualified workers. Large, complex projects require experienced electricians, mechanical workers, civil crews, project managers and safety professionals. A tight labor market can limit how quickly contractors scale, delay project schedules and raise wage costs. Companies are investing more in training, recruitment and workforce development, but labor supply remains a structural issue. This is especially important as customers seek execution certainty on multiyear projects and may prefer contractors that can reliably secure skilled crews.
Project Complexity, Costs & Timing Pressure Margins: Despite strong demand, margin pressure remains a key industry headwind. Heavy construction projects are becoming larger and more complex, especially in AI infrastructure, power, transit and public works. These projects often involve evolving designs, changing scopes, tight schedules and coordination across several trades. Contract mix can also affect profitability, as cost-plus, construction management and early-stage design projects may carry lower margins than traditional fixed-price work. Inflation in materials, equipment and subcontractor costs further increases the need for disciplined bidding and contract management. Permitting delays, funding approvals and customer timing decisions can also shift revenue recognition. As a result, execution discipline remains critical to converting strong demand into profitable growth.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects The Zacks Building Products - Heavy Construction industry is a nine-stock group within the broader Zacks Construction sector. The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #38, which places it in the top 15% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bullish near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
The industry’s positioning in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a higher earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are gradually gaining confidence in this group’s earnings growth potential. Since April 2026, the industry’s earnings estimates for 2027 have increased to $11.26 per share from $11.06.
Before highlighting a few stocks worth considering for your portfolio, let’s first review the industry’s recent stock market performance and valuation trends.
Industry Outperforms Sector & the S&P 500 The Zacks Building Products - Heavy Construction industry has performed better than the broader Zacks Construction sector and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite over the past year.
Stocks in this industry have collectively gained 79% compared with the broader sector’s 22.8% rise. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has jumped 22.9% in the said period.
One-Year Price Performance
Industry's Current Valuation On the basis of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing heavy construction stocks, the industry is currently trading at 27.74X versus the S&P 500’s 21.13X and the sector’s 22.34X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 28.44X, as low as 12.90X and at a median of 17.61X, as the chart below shows.
Industry’s P/E Ratio (Forward 12-Month) Versus S&P 500
Industry’s P/E Ratio (Forward 12-Month) Versus Sector
4 Heavy Construction Stocks to Buy Now Here, we have discussed four stocks from the industry that have solid growth potential.
MasTec: Based in Coral Gables, FL, this is a leading infrastructure construction company operating mainly throughout North America. MasTec's growth outlook is supported by strong, long-duration infrastructure investment across multiple end markets. The company expects sustained demand from AI-driven data center construction and connectivity, electric grid modernization, power transmission, broadband expansion under the BEAD program, renewable energy, gas-fired power generation and natural gas pipeline infrastructure. Record backlog, improving book-to-bill ratios and growing customer preference for turnkey project execution provide strong revenue visibility. Management also highlighted increasing opportunities in data center construction management, strategic acquisitions and expanding self-perform capabilities, positioning MasTec for sustained growth through 2026, 2027 and beyond.
MasTec, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), has gained 130.7% over the past year. Earnings estimates for 2026 have increased to $8.90 from $8.60 per share over the past 60 days. Earnings for 2026 are expected to grow 35.9% from a year ago. MTZ surpassed earnings estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 15.4%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Price and Consensus: MTZ
Dycom: Headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, this is a specialty contracting firm operating in the telecom industry. Dycom's growth outlook remains strong, supported by accelerating investments in digital infrastructure and fiber connectivity. The company continues to benefit from expanding fiber-to-the-home deployments, rising long-haul and middle-mile fiber builds, and robust data center construction driven by hyperscale demand. Management highlighted record backlog growth, longer-duration customer contracts that improve revenue visibility and geographic expansion across communications markets. The acquisition of National Technology Integrators further strengthens Dycom's data center and low-voltage capabilities while creating cross-selling opportunities. Additionally, the gradual rollout of the BEAD broadband program is expected to provide incremental growth from calendar 2027 onward, reinforcing the company's multiyear growth trajectory.
Dycom, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #1, has gained 90.4% over the past year. Earnings estimates for fiscal 2027 have increased to $16.35 per share from $15.94 per share over the past 30 days. The estimated value for fiscal 2027 is expected to increase 36.6% from the previous year. DY surpassed earnings estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 25%. Again, it carries an impressive VGM Score of B.
Price and Consensus: DY
EMCOR: Based in Norwalk, CT, EMCOR provides electrical and mechanical construction and related services in the United States and the United Kingdom. EMCOR has been gaining from sustained demand across mission-critical infrastructure markets and a record remaining performance obligation backlog that provides solid revenue visibility. The company continues to benefit from robust investments in AI-driven data centers, cloud infrastructure, healthcare, institutional facilities, water and wastewater projects, manufacturing and industrial construction, as well as the recovery in warehousing and logistics. Management also expects long-term growth from geographic expansion, disciplined acquisitions, expanded prefabrication capabilities, workforce development and increasing higher-margin service and maintenance work, while maintaining disciplined project execution and contract management.
EMCOR, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #1, has gained 48.5% over the past year. Earnings estimates for 2026 have increased to $29.37 per share from $28.99 per share over the past 30 days. Earnings for 2026 are expected to grow 13.5% from a year ago. EMCOR surpassed earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, with the average surprise being 10.4%.
Price and Consensus: EME
Tutor Perini: Based in Sylmar, CA, this company is a construction company serving public and private clients. Tutor Perini has been benefiting from its record $19.8 billion backlog (as of first-quarter 2026), including nine recently secured mega projects that provide multi-year revenue visibility. Management expects double-digit revenue growth in 2026 and even stronger earnings in 2027 as these higher-margin projects ramp up. The company also sees a robust pipeline of large bidding opportunities across transportation, healthcare, military infrastructure, hospitality and gaming projects in the United States and the Indo-Pacific region. Incremental work on existing contracts, favorable macroeconomic tailwinds, disciplined bidding for higher-margin projects and strong public and private infrastructure funding further strengthen its long-term growth prospects.
Tutor Perini, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has gained 67.5% over the past year. Earnings estimates for 2026 have risen to $5.18 from $4.72 per share over the past 60 days. Earnings for 2026 are expected to grow 20.8% from a year ago. TPC surpassed earnings estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 107.4%. Again, it carries an impressive VGM Score of A.
FactSet Research Systems hlásí zrychlení organického růstu ASV na 7,1 % meziročně a silný růst díky AI, která už tvoří zhruba 10 % růstu ASV. Analytik potvrdil rating Sector Perform a cílovou cenu 240 USD.
• FactSet Research Systems stock is moving in positive territory. What’s pushing FDS stock higher?
The FactSet Research Systems Analyst: Analyst Ashish Sabadra reiterated a Sector Perform rating and price target of $240.
The FactSet Research Systems Thesis: The company’s third-quarter organic ASV grew $35.4 million sequentially, exceeding consensus of $30 million, with the growth rate accelerating to 7.1% year-over-year, from 6.7% in the previous quarter, Sabadra said in the note.
Check out other analyst stock ratings.
The company delivered strong beats on revenues and earnings, while margins missed estimates, he added.
The company has entered the "early innings: in AI monetization, highlighting that around 10% of its ASV growth in the third quarter came "directly from discrete AI SKUs, compared to almost no contribution from last year," the analyst wrote.
He noted that:
Around 90% of FactSet Research Systems’ top 50 clients are using four or more AI products. These clients are witnessing 50% faster ASV growth than the broader base. Regarding the company’s MCP (Model Context Protocol, which allows AI models and LLMs to directly connect to external tools and data systems) clients, the analyst stated that:
There were around 450 MCP clients under contract or trial at quarter-end, which grew to over 550 post-quarter. About 20 of the top 100 are using MCP on a paid basis. Around 25% of MCP users adopted full Workstation contracts to better leverage the company’s full analytics and technology stack environment. Sabadra further said that management’s 2026 guidance implies fourth-quarter performance of:
Sequential ASV growth of around $50-$80 million Total revenue growth of around 2%-5% year-on-year to $608-$628 million Total adjusted operating margin of 30.7%-36.8% Adjusted earnings of $3.75-$4.25 per share FDS Price Action: Shares of FactSet Research Systems had risen by 1.69% to $249.69 at the time of publication on Thursday.
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Akcionář s podílem 10 % ve společnosti Dream Finders Homes W. Radford „Rad“ Lovett II prodal nepřímo 56 590 akcií prostřednictvím trustu za zhruba 943 000 USD. Po transakci mu nepřímo zůstává 3 190 883 akcií a přímo 22 349 akcií.
Dream Finders Homes (DFH +0.24%) 10% owner W. Radford “Rad” Lovett II disclosed the indirect sale of 56,590 shares through the W. Radford Lovett II GST Exempt Trust on June 24, 2026, as reported in the SEC Form 4 filing.
Today's Change
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Transaction summaryMetricValueContextShares sold (indirect)56,590Shares sold by the W. Radford Lovett II GST Exempt TrustTransaction value~$943,000Approximate value based on weighted average purchase price ($16.67)Post-transaction shares (direct)22,349Directly held shares after transaction completionPost-transaction shares (indirect)3,190,883Indirectly held shares after transaction completionPost-transaction value (all ownership)$52.67 millionApproximate value of holdings after transactionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($16.67).
Key questionsWhat proportion of the insider’s indirect stake was affected in this transaction?
The 56,590 shares sold represent 1.74% of Lovett’s indirect holdings, minimizing the impact on overall ownership structure.Did the insider’s direct ownership change as a result of this filing?
No direct shares were sold; Lovett’s direct holdings remain at 22,349 shares, with the transaction routed entirely through the trust.How does the transaction size compare to the insider’s historical sale cadence?
This sale of 56,590 shares is below the historical average sell size of approximately 60,483 shares.Does Lovett maintain a meaningful position after this transaction?
Lovett continues to hold 3,190,883 shares indirectly and 22,349 shares directly after the transaction.Company overviewMetricValueRevenue (TTM)$4,220.8 millionNet income (TTM)$217.2 millionDividend yieldn/a1-year price change(33%)* 1-year performance calculated using June 24, 2026 as the reference date.
Company snapshotOffers single-family homes across a range of price points, mortgage origination, and insurance agency services, with revenue primarily from home sales and related financial services.Operates an integrated model combining homebuilding, mortgage brokerage, and title/escrow services to generate multiple revenue streams per customer transaction.Targets first-time and move-up homebuyers in major U.S. metropolitan markets, leveraging both internal sales teams and independent brokers.Dream Finders Homes is a national residential construction company focused on designing, building, and selling single-family homes in high-growth U.S. markets. The company leverages a vertically integrated business model, offering mortgage and insurance services alongside home sales to capture a greater share of customer spend.
What this transaction means for investorsThere are multiple reasons an insider like Lovett sells shares, some of which have nothing to do with their outlook on the company’s stock price, such as having to pay a large personal expense or doing reasonable diversification of their portfolio. However, when a significant insider like Lovett sells, investors should take notice.
Since the spring of 2024, Lovett has sold down his Dream Finders stake by 35% through this latest filing, from nearly 5 million shares. Others may disagree about what Lovett’s selling indicates, but this is bearish for Dream Finder stock. As a person who owns 10% or more of the company’s equity, Lovett presumably knows the business inside and out.
Mitigating the bearishness of the sales is the fact that he is the only insider to have sold since October, and that studies show insider selling is predictive of a price decline less than half the time. Nevertheless, DFH is down one-third over the past year, and by two-thirds since Lovett started his sales in March 2024. That was right around when DFH stock hit its all-time high.
Investors should balance many pieces of data when deciding whether to invest in or continue holding a stock. In the case of Dream Finders, weigh Lovett’s sales in your calculations.
Brendan Coffey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Dream Finders Homes. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
ARM rozšiřuje z licencování čipů do AI infrastruktury s novým AGI CPU a získává širší podporu u hyperscalerů včetně NVIDIA a Google. Za rok akcie vzrostly o 118 %.
Key Takeaways ARM is expanding beyond chip licensing with the AGI CPU to target AI infrastructure workloads.Arm is seeing broader adoption across hyperscalers, with support from NVIDIA, Google, and other partners.ARM trades at 57.93X forward sales, reflecting high expectations despite strong AI growth prospects. Arm Holdings plc (ARM - Free Report) shares have surged 118% over the past year, outperforming the semiconductor industry's impressive 83% gain.
The stock has benefited from growing investor optimism surrounding artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and next-generation semiconductor infrastructure. While much of the AI rally has centered on GPU leaders, ARM is steadily strengthening its position as the foundational architecture powering a growing share of AI-enabled devices and data centers. Its expanding software ecosystem, deepening partnerships with hyperscalers and ambitious push into AI infrastructure continue to reinforce the company's long-term growth story.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ARM's Expanding Ecosystem Creates a Powerful Competitive MoatARM has built one of the semiconductor industry's strongest competitive advantages through a deeply interconnected ecosystem linking software developers and hardware manufacturers. This two-sided network has evolved into a durable competitive moat that becomes stronger as adoption continues to expand.
The company's architecture has become the preferred standard for device manufacturers because of its broad compatibility with leading operating systems, including Android, iOS, Windows and Linux. This extensive software support gives hardware manufacturers confidence that Arm-based processors will seamlessly run widely used applications, developer tools, and enterprise software across multiple computing environments.
The benefits extend equally to software developers. As more hardware companies adopt Arm's architecture, developers gain immediate access to an enormous installed base of devices, creating greater incentives to optimize applications for Arm-powered systems. Every additional hardware partner strengthens the software ecosystem, while broader software compatibility attracts even more hardware manufacturers.
This self-reinforcing cycle has helped ARM establish an exceptionally strong competitive position. The company's intellectual property now powers nearly every smartphone globally, creating significant barriers for competitors seeking to challenge its dominance in mobile CPU architecture.
AI Infrastructure Opens a New Growth AvenueWhile Arm Holdings has traditionally been known for licensing its processor designs, the company is increasingly expanding its presence across AI infrastructure. Its newly introduced Arm AGI CPU has been specifically designed to address the emerging era of agentic artificial intelligence, where autonomous AI agents continuously process and execute increasingly complex workloads.
The Arm AGI CPU is positioned as a highly efficient alternative to conventional x86 processors. According to the company, the processor delivers superior rack-level performance while improving overall infrastructure efficiency. The architecture is also designed to reduce capital expenditures for customers while enabling more efficient scaling of AI workloads across cloud and enterprise environments.
This initiative represents a strategic evolution beyond ARM's traditional licensing model. Rather than serving solely as a processor architecture provider, the company is increasingly positioning itself as a core infrastructure platform supporting the next generation of AI-powered data centers.
Cloud Leaders Continue Expanding ARM AdoptionMomentum behind Arm Holdings' architecture continues to accelerate among leading hyperscale cloud providers and AI infrastructure companies. NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) has further expanded its collaboration with ARM by integrating Arm-based CPUs into next-generation AI systems while introducing its Vera CPU platform to improve utilization and performance across AI clusters. NVIDIA continues to demonstrate growing confidence in ARM's processor architecture as AI infrastructure becomes increasingly complex.
Meanwhile, Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) is significantly deepening its own Arm strategy. Through Google, Alphabet plans to integrate custom Axion CPUs into future Tensor Processing Unit systems, replacing legacy x86 host processors with Arm-based designs to improve efficiency and AI training economics. The continued commitment from Alphabet further validates Arm's expanding importance within hyperscale cloud infrastructure.
Beyond NVIDIA and Alphabet, major technology companies, including AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix, continue broadening support for the wider Arm ecosystem, reinforcing its position as an industry standard.
Strong Customer Demand Supports Long-Term GrowthCustomer demand for the Arm AGI CPU has already exceeded the company's initial launch expectations. Interest has been particularly strong among cloud service providers, telecommunications companies, and enterprise AI customers seeking more efficient computing architectures for increasingly demanding workloads.
Arm Holdings also noted that Arm-based processors now account for approximately half of CPU deployments across major hyperscale cloud providers, highlighting the company's growing influence within modern cloud infrastructure. As enterprises continue accelerating investments in artificial intelligence, Arm appears well-positioned to capture a larger share of future infrastructure spending.
The company's expanding ecosystem, dominant mobile presence, and increasing adoption across AI infrastructure collectively strengthen its long-term outlook. Backed by growing commitments from industry leaders such as NVIDIA and Alphabet, Arm Holdings is steadily evolving from a mobile processor leader into one of the foundational technology providers powering the next generation of global AI computing infrastructure.
We are expecting 21% sales growth and 19% increase in EPS for ARM in the current fiscal year, suggesting a steadier growth trajectory as it continues to scale its licensing model and invest in AI-enabled chip innovation.
ARM’s Premium Valuation Could Limit Near-Term UpsideDespite the company’s impressive execution, valuation remains one of the biggest concerns surrounding the stock.
ARM currently trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 55.09X, far above the semiconductor industry average of approximately 9.51X. The stock also carries a Value Score of F, highlighting its premium valuation relative to peers.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Such elevated pricing suggests investors are already anticipating substantial long-term growth fueled by artificial intelligence adoption, expanding royalty streams and broader deployment of ARM architecture in advanced computing systems.
However, the semiconductor industry remains highly cyclical. If smartphone demand rebounds more slowly than anticipated or hyperscaler spending begins to moderate, market sentiment could deteriorate quickly. In these situations, expensive semiconductor stocks often experience amplified downside volatility.
As a result, even continued operational strength may not fully protect ARM shares if broader macroeconomic or industry conditions weaken. The current valuation leaves limited room for execution missteps or slower-than-expected growth.
ARM Stock Appears Worth HoldingArm Holdings continues to strengthen its long-term investment case through its dominant processor ecosystem, expanding role in artificial intelligence infrastructure, and growing adoption among leading cloud providers. Its architecture remains deeply embedded across mobile computing while new AI initiatives create meaningful opportunities beyond its traditional licensing business. However, much of this optimism already appears reflected in the stock's premium valuation, leaving limited room for disappointment if industry demand softens or growth moderates. Given its outstanding fundamentals but elevated valuation, ARM appears best suited as a Hold, with investors waiting for a more attractive entry point before adding to positions.
ARM carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Signet ve 1. čtvrtletí fiskálního roku 2027 překonal odhad zisku na akcii, ale tržby mírně zaostaly. Firma zároveň zvýšila výhled pro fiskální rok 2027, včetně upraveného EPS na 9,20–11,00 USD.
A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Signet (SIG - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 0.8% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Signet due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.
SIG Beats Q1 Earnings Estimates on Comps Growth, Raises FY27 ViewSignet posted first-quarter fiscal 2027 results, wherein the bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while the top line marginally missed. Sales increased year over year, supported by positive same-store sales growth and strength across the Bridal and Fashion categories. Encouraged by strong fiscal first-quarter execution and positive trends entering the second quarter, management raised its fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS outlook and increased the midpoint of its sales and profitability guidance.
More on Signet’s Q1 ResultsSIG reported adjusted earnings of $1.56 per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.32. The bottom line increased 32.2% from adjusted earnings of $1.18 in the year-ago period, benefiting from higher adjusted operating income, a lower diluted share count and higher interest income.
This jewelry retailer generated total sales of $1,553.6 million, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $1,558 million. However, the top line increased 0.8% year over year. Same-store sales grew 1.8%, while merchandise average unit retail rose approximately 5% from the prior-year quarter, driven by growth in the Bridal and Fashion categories.
Insight Into SIG’s Margins & ExpensesGross profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 totaled $556.5 million, down 7.1% from $598.8 million in the year-ago quarter. The gross margin contracted 310 basis points year over year to 35.8%, primarily reflecting inventory write-downs related to the transition of the James Allen brand. Adjusted gross profit was $589.2 million, down 1.6% year over year. We note that, adjusted gross margin of 37.9%, down 90 basis points year over year.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $509.6 million, down 3.1% from $526 million in the prior-year quarter. As a percentage of sales, SG&A expenses improved 130 basis points year over year to 32.8%, benefiting from cost-reduction initiatives implemented in fiscal 2026 and leverage from higher sales.
SIG reported adjusted operating income of $78.6 million, up 11.8% from $70.3 million in the year-ago quarter. The adjusted operating margin expanded 50 basis points year over year to 5.1%.
Adjusted EBITDA amounted to $120.8 million, increasing 6.2% from $113.8 million in the prior-year quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin improved approximately 40 basis points year over year to 7.8% in the quarter under review.
Update on Signet’s Segmental PerformanceSales in the North America segment increased 0.9% year over year to $1.46 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Same-store sales grew 1.6%. The segment’s adjusted operating income increased to $101.4 million from $97.1 million in the prior-year quarter, with the adjusted operating margin expanding to 6.9% from 6.7%.
Sales in the International segment increased 9.2% year over year to $87.5 million. Same-store sales rose 5.6%, while sales increased 4.8% on a constant-currency basis. The segment reported an adjusted operating loss of $6.6 million compared with a loss of $7 million in the year-ago quarter.
Update on SIG's StoresAs of May 2, 2026, Signet operated 2,559 stores across its portfolio, representing a net reduction of 23 stores from the end of fiscal 2026. The North America segment operated 2,308 stores after 21 closures during the quarter, while the International segment operated 251 stores following two closures. Total selling space declined 0.4% sequentially to approximately 4 million square feet.
Signet’s Financial Snapshot: Cash, Debt & Equity OverviewSIG ended the first quarter of fiscal 2027 with cash and cash equivalents of $602.8 million compared with $264.1 million in the year-ago period. Inventory totaled approximately $2 billion, remaining essentially flat year over year. Meanwhile, total liquidity reached $1.7 billion, an increase of more than $300 million from the prior-year period. Shareholders’ equity stood at $1.90 billion at the quarter-end.
During the quarter, net cash used in operating activities was $144.7 million, an improvement from the cash use of $175.3 million in the prior-year period. Capital expenditure totaled $24.5 million during the quarter as the company continued investing in strategic growth initiatives and store-optimization efforts.
Signet remained active in returning capital to shareholders. The company repurchased 0.9 million shares for $83 million during the quarter and additional 0.4 million shares for roughly $30 million after the quarter-end. Management also announced plans to initiate a $50-million accelerated share repurchase program, which would leave approximately $355 million available under the existing authorization upon completion.
The company’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of 35 cents per share, payable Aug. 21, 2026, to shareholders of record as of July 24, 2026. Signet noted that its strong cash generation, inventory discipline and balance-sheet strength continue to support growth investments and shareholder returns.
SIG’s Q2 GuidanceFor the second quarter of fiscal 2027, Signet expects total sales of $1.50-$1.53 billion. Same-store sales are projected to increase 0.5-2.5% year over year. Adjusted operating income is expected between $79 million and $93 million, while adjusted EBITDA is projected to be $125-$139 million.
What to Expect From Signet in FY27?Following its strong fiscal first-quarter performance, SIG raised portions of its fiscal 2027 outlook. The company expects total sales of $6.7-$6.9 billion compared with the prior mentioned $6.6-$6.9 billion. Same-store sales are projected to range from a decline of 0.75% to growth of 2.5%, an improvement from the previously stated 1.25% decline to 2.5% growth. Management expects a $60-$80 million reduction in revenues related to the transition of the James Allen brand, though with minimal impact on adjusted operating income.
The company anticipates adjusted operating income of $480-$560 million, up from the previously mentioned $470-$560 million. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be $665-$745 million compared with the prior guidance of $655-$745 million. Signet also raised its adjusted EPS outlook to $9.20-$11.00 from the earlier mentioned $8.80-$10.74.
The fiscal 2027 guidance assumes a dynamic tariff, commodity and consumer environment, planned capital expenditure of $150-$180 million, and a low-single-digit reduction in net square footage. Notably, the adjusted EPS guidance excludes any potential share repurchases beyond the planned $50-million accelerated share repurchase program.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a upward trend in fresh estimates.
VGM ScoresAt this time, Signet has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a C. However, the stock was allocated a grade of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision indicates a downward shift. It comes with little surprise Signet has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). We expect an above average return from the stock in the next few months.
Akcie CoreWeave klesly téměř o 14 % a tržní kapitalizace spadla pod 50 miliard USD na 46,75 miliardy USD. Investoři řeší dluh 35,15 miliardy USD a úrokové náklady, které se za čtvrtletí zdvojnásobily na 536 milionů USD.
CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) is under real pressure. The stock fell almost 14% on Wednesday, market cap has slipped under $50 billion to $46.75 billion, and the balance sheet is finally getting the attention bulls spent a year asking you to ignore.
CoreWeave rents GPU compute to AI customers, with Meta and OpenAI anchoring a $99 billion contracted backlog. It got there by borrowing aggressively against future revenue and against the GPUs themselves. That worked when the story was pure growth. It works less well when interest expense starts eating the income statement.
How a $166 stock became an $85 stock Shares are down 31% the past month and off a 52-week high of $166.22. Today’s move traces to a securities lawsuit filed June 29 alleging the company overstated its ability to meet customer demand and understated its reliance on a single third-party data center supplier. CEO Michael Intrator sold 307,692 shares on June 23 for roughly $32.87 million under a 10b5-1 plan, one of several eight-figure insider sales in June.
However, revenue grew 111.6% year over year last quarter to $2.08 billion, beating consensus. The backlog compounds, NVIDIA took a $2 billion equity stake, and active power crossed 1 GW with an 8 GW target for 2030. Analysts carry an average price target of $143.41. If AI inference demand compounds at the pace bulls model, backlog conversion alone would justify a rerating.
The balance sheet is the story The total debt sits at $35.15 billion against $3.02 billion of cash. Capital lease obligations add another $10.29 billion. Interest expense doubled year over year to $536 million in a single quarter. Free cash flow ran negative $4.71 billion because capex hit $7.70 billion. Debt has climbed from roughly $2 billion at year-end 2023 to $35 billion today. That is the story now.
If you already own it, the case for patience is that operating cash flow was positive at $2.98 billion last quarter and the backlog is contracted. Composite sentiment sits at 57.37, neutral with medium confidence. Holding here underwrites a friendly refinancing environment, firm GPU pricing, and a lawsuit that stays contained. Three variables, all outside management’s control.
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CRWV currently trades just above $85. The consensus target of $143.41 implies roughly 63% upside, drawn from 3 Strong Buy, 19 Buy, 11 Hold, 1 Sell, and 1 Strong Sell ratings. Those targets were set before today’s drop and should be treated as one input among many. Year to date the stock is up 39%. Over the past year CRWV has lost 38.95% against a positive S&P.
Why the debt wins the argument At this price, the debt argument wins the day.
Interest expense is compounding faster than backlog converts to GAAP revenue, and each new data center draws more non-recourse debt against equipment that depreciates in three to five years. Current liabilities of $17.82 billion already exceed current assets by more than three times. If hyperscaler AI capex softens by even a quarter, there is no margin of safety.
The lawsuit matters mainly because discovery could surface uncomfortable detail about that single-supplier disclosure. Persistent insider selling, including from the CEO, tells you how the people closest to those disclosures are positioning.
What would invalidate the thesis is a clean quarter where free cash flow inflects and interest coverage stabilizes. Until that arrives, the risk-reward tilts against holders. A 63% analyst upside means little when the downside question is solvency.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and CoreWeave, Inc. Class A Common Stock didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
CoreWeave spustila ARIA, AI agenta ve Weights & Biases, který analyzuje experimenty a automatizuje výzkumné workflow. Nástroj vytváří živé reporty a vizualizace, které se aktualizují s novými daty.
Key Takeaways CoreWeave launched ARIA to analyze experiment data and automate AI research workflows. CRWV said ARIA creates live reports and visualizations that update with new experiment data. CoreWeave expanded its agentic AI platform across training, inference, observability and research. CoreWeave, Inc. (CRWV - Free Report) recently announced the launch of CoreWeave ARIA (AI Research & Iteration Agent), an AI research agent integrated into Weights & Biases (W&B) that analyzes experiment data, uncovers insights and supports continuous improvement of AI models and agents. Developed using W&B Weave, CoreWeave’s agent development platform, ARIA is introduced alongside the general availability of W&B Weave’s agent development capabilities. The agent can analyze thousands of experiments and tens of thousands of metrics in minutes, helping researchers generate reports, create sweep configurations from natural language and automate routine research tasks.
Designed to simplify AI research workflows, ARIA reduces the manual effort involved in configuring dashboards, building analysis notebooks and extracting insights from large volumes of experiment data. Built on CoreWeave’s experience supporting AI training at scale, including nearly 1 billion tracked runs and trillions of metrics in Weights & Biases, ARIA is intended to accelerate the research cycle by assisting with hypothesis generation, experiment execution, result evaluation and recommendations for next steps.
ARIA creates live W&B workspaces, reports and visualizations, including heat maps, parallel coordinate plots and bar charts that update automatically as new experiment data is added. It also loads the complete project context at the start of every interaction, enabling analysis across projects and team experiments to identify patterns that would be difficult to detect manually. The agent is also available through the W&B mobile app, allowing researchers to monitor experiments and review findings from anywhere.
ARIA expands CoreWeave’s unified agentic AI platform by integrating research capabilities with training, inference and observability through W&B Weave. The company also highlighted the strength of its AI infrastructure, citing record-setting MLPerf training and inference results, Platinum rankings in SemiAnalysis ClusterMAX 1.0 and 2.0, and the top ranking for inference speed and price-performance for Moonshot AI’s Kimi K2.6 and K2.7 Code in independent Artificial Analysis benchmarks.
AI adoption is accelerating rapidly, expanding its target market, customer base and platform opportunities. Demand continues to strengthen as existing clients expand and new enterprise verticals adopt AI more broadly. CoreWeave has expanded its platform to support training, inference and agentic AI workloads.
Taking a Look at CoreWeave’s CompetitorsNebius Group N.V. (NBIS - Free Report) is benefiting from accelerating demand for AI infrastructure as it advances its vision of becoming an AI-native hyperscaler. The company increased its contracted power capacity from more than 2 gigawatts to over 3.5 gigawatts in three months and is targeting at least 4 gigawatts this year. A new Pennsylvania site with 1.2 gigawatts of capacity further supports its expansion strategy. NBIS is also strengthening its vertically integrated AI cloud platform with services across the AI lifecycle, while acquisitions of Tavily, Eigen and Clarifai, along with an expanded NVIDIA partnership, enhance its inference and agentic AI capabilities.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) continues strengthening its AI leadership through AWS, expanding AI infrastructure, custom chips and generative AI services. Its chips business, including Graviton, Trainium and Nitro, surpassed a $20 billion annual revenue run rate with triple-digit growth. AWS secured major AI infrastructure commitments from OpenAI and Anthropic while deploying more than 2.1 million AI chips and expanding NVIDIA GPU availability. Amazon Bedrock achieved 170% quarter-over-quarter growth in customer spending, added advanced AI models and introduced managed agents. The company also expanded AI-powered enterprise applications, accelerated developer adoption of Kiro and launched Amazon Bio Discovery to advance AI-driven drug discovery and scientific research.
CRWV Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of CoreWeave have gained 11.5% in the past six months against the Internet Software industry’s fall of 8%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
In terms of Price/Book, CRWV’s shares are trading at 7.98X, higher than the Internet Software Services industry’s 4.7X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRWV’s earnings for the current year has been revised downward over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CRWV currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
BigBear.ai rozšiřuje AI podnikání do průmyslu díky novým kontraktům a akvizicím Ask Sage a CargoSeer. Backlog vzrostl o 14 % na 281,9 mil. USD a hrubá marže stoupla na 34 %.
Key Takeaways BigBear.ai added industrial AI contracts and expanded its digital twin and simulation platform.BBAI strengthened its AI portfolio through the Ask Sage and CargoSeer acquisitions.Growing backlog, higher margins and reaffirmed 2026 guidance reflect continued execution. BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (BBAI - Free Report) is steadily evolving from a pure-play AI software provider into a broader industrial technology company. While its core strength remains mission-ready artificial intelligence for defense and security, recent initiatives suggest the company is building a more diversified business by applying AI to manufacturing, logistics and critical infrastructure.
During the first quarter of 2026, BigBear.ai secured new contracts for its Shipyard AI platform with Canada's Chantier Davie and U.S.-based Bollinger Shipyards. The company also highlighted growing demand for its ProModel simulation platform, which enables digital twins for manufacturing, warehousing, healthcare and defense operations. These industrial applications move the company beyond traditional AI analytics into operational optimization, where customers use predictive modeling to improve productivity and resource planning.
The expansion is further supported by acquisitions. Ask Sage strengthens BigBear.ai's generative AI capabilities, while CargoSeer extends its reach into cargo inspection and supply-chain intelligence. CargoSeer recently introduced AI tools to detect invoice fraud and match shipping documents with cargo contents, broadening the company's addressable market beyond government agencies. Ask Sage has also launched a commercial version, opening its secure AI platform to enterprises in defense, security and critical infrastructure.
Financially, the strategy is beginning to gain traction. First-quarter backlog climbed 14% to $281.9 million, supported by more than $60 million of national security awards, while gross margin expanded to 34% as higher-margin AI platforms contributed a larger share of revenues. Management also reaffirmed its 2026 revenue guidance of $135-$165 million, indicating confidence in continued execution.
Although BigBear.ai still relies heavily on government spending, the growing portfolio of industrial AI, digital twins and supply-chain solutions positions it to diversify revenue sources and expand well beyond traditional AI software over the long term.
Industrial AI Rivals to Watch: Palantir and C3.aiBigBear.ai's push into industrial AI and mission-critical solutions places it in competition with Palantir Technologies (PLTR - Free Report) and C3.ai (AI - Free Report) , both of which are expanding AI adoption across government and commercial markets. Palantir has built a strong presence in defense, manufacturing and supply-chain optimization through its AI Platform, enabling customers to deploy AI-driven decision-making across complex operations. Its deep relationships with government agencies and growing commercial customer base make Palantir a formidable rival in industrial and national security applications.
C3.ai is another key competitor, offering enterprise AI applications for manufacturing, energy, defense and logistics. Its predictive maintenance, supply-chain optimization and digital transformation solutions help industrial customers improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. While BigBear.ai differentiates itself with mission-focused AI, secure generative AI platforms and digital twin capabilities, Palantir's scale and C3.ai's broad enterprise reach underscore the competitive landscape as demand for industrial AI solutions continues to expand.
BBAI’s Price Performance, Valuation & EPS Estimate TrendShares of BBAI have dropped 38.1% over the past six months, underperforming the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry, as shown below.
BBAI’s 6-Month Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BBAI stock is currently trading at a discount compared with the industry peers, with a forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 11.31, as evidenced by the chart below.
BBAI’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BBAI’s 2026 loss per share has narrowed in the past 60 days, as shown below. The estimated figure indicates a narrower loss from the year-ago level of 82 cents per share.
EPS Trend of BBAI
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BBAI’s Zacks RankBigBear.ai currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
