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Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Amazon (AMZN -4.57%) and Microsoft (MSFT -2.13%) are the two biggest names in cloud computing. Their computing platforms have attracted a ton of new clients and are expanding their agreements with many established ones. This is leading to soaring revenue growth for both companies, but which one makes for the better investment now?
Image source: Getty Images.
Each company is widely diversified Both Amazon and Microsoft have legacy businesses that have gotten them to this point, but cloud computing may be what takes them into the future. Amazon is the biggest name in e-commerce and has built an impressive reputation for its wide product selection, rapid delivery, and fair prices. This created a strong base business that allowed it to rapidly expand its cloud computing footprint, and led to it becoming the world's top cloud infrastructure provider. One interesting thing to note is that Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud computing platform, actually generates more operating profits than its commerce divisions, accounting for 59% of the bottom line during Q1. One could consider AWS to be Amazon's primary business, especially when the company is spending $200 billion on data center capital expenditures this year.
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Microsoft is mostly a software company, and it gets a ton of revenue from its business productivity software. However, its cloud segment, Azure, is becoming an increasingly larger part of its business. Microsoft doesn't publicly break out the individual operating characteristics of each segment, so investors can't know precisely how profitable Azure is. But we know that it's growing at a 40% clip -- faster than AWS' 28% pace. Still, AWS is a larger service than Azure, which could account for that growth mismatch.
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These companies' core businesses are highly regarded and pretty safe. It would be splitting hairs to declare a winner here, so I'm calling it a tie.
Winner: Tie
Similar growth rates During their most recently reported quarters, Amazon's overall revenue rose at a 17% pace, while Microsoft's grew at an 18% clip. That tracks with a historical trend of Microsoft growing ever so slightly faster than Amazon. However, that's only from a revenue growth standpoint.
AMZN Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts
Both have made significant investments and had one-time events that have affected their earnings per share, making it a harder metric to analyze. However, operating cash flow gives investors a good measure of a company's profit growth potential, and Amazon has jumped ahead of Microsoft in that category as of late.
AMZN Cash from Operations (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts.
At the end of the day, these two are remarkably close from a growth standpoint, so I have to call this category another tie.
Winner: Tie
Will valuation break the tie? This whole comparison cannot end in a tie, so I'm looking at valuation to determine a final winner. Fortunately, there's a clear winner here.
For some time, Amazon and Microsoft traded within similar valuation ranges. However, they've diverged throughout 2026.
AMZN PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.
Microsoft has fallen well below its normal trading range, making it much cheaper than Amazon. Considering how close in performance these two are from a financial standpoint, I think that Microsoft's lower valuation of 20.5 times forward earnings makes it a better buy. That's a ridiculously low price to pay for the stock, especially considering that the S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.21%) trades for 21.5 times forward earnings.
I'm still bullish on Amazon's stock, too, but Microsoft is the better buy right now.
Alibaba (BABA - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $114.06, moving -2.14% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.21% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.
Shares of the online retailer witnessed a gain of 16.79% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Retail-Wholesale sector with its gain of 2.27%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Alibaba in its upcoming release. On that day, Alibaba is projected to report earnings of $1.94 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 5.83%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $38.63 billion, indicating a 11.74% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $6.88 per share and a revenue of $167.61 billion, indicating changes of +76.86% and +15.28%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Alibaba. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 6.1% lower. Right now, Alibaba possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Alibaba is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.93. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.93, which means Alibaba is trading at no noticeable deviation to the group.
We can additionally observe that BABA currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.96. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Internet - Commerce industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.11.
The Internet - Commerce industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 158, which puts it in the bottom 36% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
Nvidia (NVDA -1.56%) has been one of the best stocks to own over the past few years. However, so far in 2026, it has been just an average performer: It's essentially even with the S&P 500's (^GSPC -1.21%) gains year-to-date.
That tepid stock performance is out of step with its business results, as it has been crushing it lately. In fact, Nvidia's underperformance this year has actually caused its valuation to dip to its lowest point since 2019. That's why I believe the stock is one of the best buys in the market right now.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
AI wasn't in focus the last time Nvidia was this cheap On a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) basis, Nvidia is trading at a ratio of about 31. The last time Nvidia's stock traded for about 30 times earnings was in 2019.
NVDA PE Ratio data by YCharts.
Nvidia's stock certainly has a long way to go before reaching the lows it hit that year again, but what's more notable is that Nvidia is now cheaper than it has been during any other time in the AI infrastructure build-out, which started in 2023. That's significant, because its outlook is quite strong.
For this fiscal year, Wall Street analysts expect Nvidia to deliver 82% revenue growth, and next year, they expect 42%. Those are still excellent results, and the reality is that the analysts are likely underestimating next year's growth, as Wall Street has consistently underprojected Nvidia's results.
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The AI build-out is still gaining momentum, and that bodes well for the chipmaker's future. So, paying 31 times earnings for Nvidia seems like a smart move, especially when its big tech peers trade at similar or higher levels, with lower growth expectations. Apple (AAPL -1.30%) and Alphabet (GOOG -6.88%)(GOOGL -7.12%) trade for 40 and 27 times earnings, respectively. Both of these companies are lucky to grow their revenue at a 20% pace, let alone the nearly 100% growth Wall Street expects from Nvidia during Q2.
If you compare Nvidia to chip industry peers like AMD (AMD -2.31%) and Broadcom (AVGO -1.19%), these two trade for 165 and 63 times earnings, respectively. Yet Nvidia is growing at a faster pace than either of them.
NVDA Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts.
Nvidia is delivering incredible growth, and few companies can match it. With Nvidia trading at around the same (or cheaper) valuations as many of them, this valuation gap will widen even more. As a result, I think Nvidia is a fantastic buy, as the market isn't respecting Nvidia like it once did. Eventually, it will come back around, and when it does, Nvidia will be the best stock to own in the market once again.
Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, Broadcom, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Apple, Broadcom, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
NVIDIA and KAIST are launching a joint AI research lab at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI in Seoul, dedicated to advancing agentic AI models and agent systems built for South Korea’s industries, language and future.The collaboration includes compute contributions, funding for at least 10 KAIST researchers annually with NVIDIA internships, plus full-time NVIDIA roles for top Korean researchers — creating new pathways for Korea’s AI talent.A core focus is developing models optimized for Korea, using NVIDIA Nemotron open models and local NVIDIA Cloud Partner infrastructure to build a pipeline from academic research to enterprise and national AI deployments. SANTA CLARA, Calif. and SEOUL, July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NVIDIA and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) today announced the launch of a joint AI research laboratory at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI in Seoul, dedicated to advancing agentic AI for South Korea.
The collaboration will establish a robust academic AI research program, bringing together NVIDIA full-stack AI expertise, NVIDIA Nemotron™ open models and NVIDIA AI Cloud partner computing with the world-class scientific talent at KAIST, one of Asia’s premier research universities.
“Korea is home to leading AI researchers and is one of the world’s most advanced technology ecosystems,” said Bill Dally, chief scientist and senior vice president of research at NVIDIA. “The joint NVIDIA-KAIST research lab will provide a foundation for the next frontier of AI research to accelerate AI models and agent systems built for Korea’s industries, language and future.”
“AI research is entering a new era — one that requires frontier talent, large-scale infrastructure and deep collaboration across academia and industry,” said Hyunwoo Kim, incoming faculty member at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI, who will serve as head of the joint NVIDIA-KAIST lab upon joining KAIST. “Together, NVIDIA and KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI will pursue ambitious work that helps Korea attract and retain top AI scientists while building lasting ties with NVIDIA’s global research organization.”
Full-Stack Infrastructure, Open Models and Collaboration Fuel Korea’s AI Future
The lab will be established at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI in Seoul. KAIST, headquartered in the tech hub of Daejeon, has a strong focus on public research spanning engineering, AI, semiconductor technology, robotics and digital humanities.
The joint lab plans to fund at least 10 KAIST researchers annually and provide each with internship opportunities at NVIDIA. In addition, NVIDIA plans to hire exceptional Korean researchers for full-time positions. Together, these efforts will create stronger pathways for Korea’s top AI talent to pursue ambitious research, build long-term careers and deepen global collaboration between academia and industry.
The $300 million collaboration is expected to include $50-million-per-year compute contributions across an initial five-year period. Compute infrastructure from local NVIDIA Cloud Partners will provide researchers with direct access to the latest NVIDIA AI infrastructure.
Among the lab’s priorities will be developing models optimized for the Korean language and Korea-specific use cases, with NVIDIA Nemotron open models to advance the country’s AI capabilities, fostering a pipeline from academic discovery to enterprise and national AI deployments.
About KAIST
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is a public research university in Daejeon, South Korea. Founded in 1971, KAIST is consistently ranked among Asia’s top universities in science and engineering and has produced many of Korea’s leading scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.kaist.ac.kr.
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world leader in AI and accelerated computing.
For further information, contact:
Corporate Communications
NVIDIA Corporation [email protected]
Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the joint NVIDIA-KAIST research lab providing a foundation for the next frontier of AI research to accelerate AI models and agent systems built for Korea’s industries, language and future; expectations with respect to NVIDIA’s collaboration with KAIST; expectations with respect to growth, performance, availability, and benefits of NVIDIA’s products, services and technologies, and related trends and drivers; expectations with respect to technology developments, and related trends and drivers; projected market growth and trends; expectations with respect to AI and related industries; and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic and political conditions; NVIDIA’s reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test NVIDIA’s products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of new products and technologies or enhancements to NVIDIA’s existing products and technologies; market acceptance of NVIDIA’s products or NVIDIA’s partners’ products; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of NVIDIA’s products or technologies when integrated into systems; NVIDIA’s ability to realize the potential benefits of business investments or acquisitions; and changes in applicable laws and regulations, as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the most recent reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the company’s website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.
On July 23, 2026, American Airlines Group Inc (AAL) shares fell 8.3% to a current price of $13.55. This decline comes amid a challenging price performance, with
Procter & Gamble (PG - Free Report) closed at $146.97 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.45% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.
Shares of the world's largest consumer products maker witnessed a loss of 1.91% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Consumer Staples sector with its gain of 3.66%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
The upcoming earnings release of Procter & Gamble will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on July 29, 2026. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.41, showcasing a 4.73% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $21.36 billion, reflecting a 2.25% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.88 per share and a revenue of $87.07 billion, representing changes of +0.73% and +3.3%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Procter & Gamble. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.69% lower. Procter & Gamble is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Looking at valuation, Procter & Gamble is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 21.21. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 19.49, which means Procter & Gamble is trading at a premium to the group.
Meanwhile, PG's PEG ratio is currently 7.42. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Consumer Products - Staples stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.42 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Consumer Products - Staples industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 190, placing it within the bottom 23% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
Walt Disney (DIS - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $92.83, moving -3.17% from the previous trading session. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 1.21%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.97%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 2.15%.
Shares of the entertainment company have depreciated by 5.19% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Consumer Discretionary sector's loss of 0.92%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Walt Disney in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on August 5, 2026. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.88, indicating a 16.77% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $25.41 billion, up 7.44% from the prior-year quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $6.85 per share and a revenue of $101.71 billion, signifying shifts of +15.51% and +7.71%, respectively, from the last year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Walt Disney. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Currently, Walt Disney is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Walt Disney currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 13.99. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.14, so one might conclude that Walt Disney is trading at a discount comparatively.
Also, we should mention that DIS has a PEG ratio of 1.21. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As the market closed yesterday, the Media Conglomerates industry was having an average PEG ratio of 0.58.
The Media Conglomerates industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, positioning it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
Target (TGT - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $134.46, demonstrating a -2.51% change from the preceding day's closing price. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.97%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 2.15%.
Shares of the retailer have depreciated by 2.32% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Retail-Wholesale sector's gain of 2.27%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Target in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on August 19, 2026. In that report, analysts expect Target to post earnings of $2.21 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 7.8%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $26 billion, indicating a 3.15% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.35 per share and revenue of $108.83 billion, which would represent changes of +10.3% and +3.87%, respectively, from the prior year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Target. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. As of now, Target holds a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
In terms of valuation, Target is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.51. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 30.07 of its industry.
It's also important to note that TGT currently trades at a PEG ratio of 2.69. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Retail - Discount Stores industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.68.
The Retail - Discount Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 22, finds itself in the top 9% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
Ford Motor Company (F -1.87%) has been on a tear recently. Shares of the Detroit auto giant have soared 28% over the past 12 months (as of July 21), outperforming the S&P 500 index.
Investors might want to view this as an anomaly, though. The long-term trend is less encouraging.
If you'd invested $10,000 in this automotive stock 10 years ago, here's how much you'd have today.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Over the past decade, Ford shares have produced a total return, which includes dividend reinvestment, of 72%. This means that a $10,000 initial capital investment would be worth just over $17,200 today.
Compared to the popular benchmark, this is a disappointing outcome. The S&P 500 index's total return of 305% is more than 4 times larger.
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Looking ahead, I think the chances are very slim that Ford can beat the market in the coming decade.
That's because Ford is a capital-intensive, low-growth, and low-profit business. The nature of its operations isn't going to change. This doesn't support outsize share-price gains.
However, income investors might be compelled to own the stock. With a hefty dividend yield of 4.2%, the company can provide certain market participants with a steady stream of payouts if that's what they're looking for.
Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
In the latest close session, Home Depot (HD - Free Report) was down 2.03% at $324.71. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.97%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 2.15%.
Coming into today, shares of the home-improvement retailer had lost 3.33% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 2.27%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.42%.
The upcoming earnings release of Home Depot will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on August 18, 2026. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $4.71, signifying a 0.64% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $47.5 billion, indicating a 4.92% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $15.01 per share and revenue of $171.65 billion, indicating changes of +2.18% and +4.23%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Home Depot. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. At present, Home Depot boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Investors should also note Home Depot's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 22.08. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 22.08, so one might conclude that Home Depot is trading at no noticeable deviation comparatively.
We can also see that HD currently has a PEG ratio of 3.83. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Retail - Home Furnishings industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.88 as of yesterday's close.
The Retail - Home Furnishings industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 80, positioning it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
U.S. spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) ETFs have recorded nearly $1 billion in inflows over seven straight sessions, marking their strongest stretch in 11 weeks. Investors have added $499.05 million this week, and the funds now hold about 6% of all the Bitcoin in existence.
BlackRock’s IBIT leads the inflow streak, taking in $319.16 million of this week’s total and topping every session. Could this finally be the start of a long-awaited recovery for Bitcoin ETFs after the funds saw nearly $7 billion in outflows across May and June?
Bitcoin ETFs Just Logged Seven Straight Days of Inflows
Investors pulled out $424.66 million from Bitcoin ETFs on July 13, and that was the last outflow day, which also marked the heaviest single-day withdrawal of the month so far. Since then, money has come back in every session. The last time U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs managed seven straight days of inflows was early October 2025, when Bitcoin traded near its all-time high around $126,000.
The buying has swung wildly from day to day. Investors added $181.08 million on July 14, then slowed to $107.80 million on July 15 and $79.15 million on July 16, before putting in $132.30 million on July 17.
They bought the most on July 20 and July 21, at $226.92 million and $203.14 million, as Bitcoin climbed above $66,000 on reports that President Trump had agreed to the ethics rules holding up the CLARITY Act. Investors added just $68.99 million on July 22, which is the weakest session of the streak.
Why BlackRock Leads Bitcoin ETF Inflows
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has pulled in $60.81 billion since it launched, while every spot Bitcoin ETF put together has taken in $51.85 billion. Grayscale’s GBTC is what drags the total funds down, having lost $27.42 billion since it converted into an ETF, with another $38.30 million leaving on July 22. Grayscale charges 1.50% a year against IBIT’s 0.25%, and that difference compounds into serious money for anyone holding for years.
In Bitcoin terms, IBIT now holds 3.70% of every coin that exists, while the other twelve spot ETFs hold 2.38% between them. In terms of trading activity, the same exists, with $871.32 million of the $1.11 billion that changed hands across all thirteen funds on July 22 going through IBIT alone.
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Fidelity’s FBTC charges nothing at all, yet it holds $11.38 billion against IBIT’s $48.86 billion. A free fund losing more than four to one to a fund charging 0.25% says price is not what decides this. BlackRock wins on distribution, because its products are already on the platforms that pension managers, endowments and financial advisers use every day, so buying IBIT means clicking a button they have clicked a thousand times before.
IBIT also led every session this week, recording $116.48 million on July 20, $163.90 million on July 21 and $38.78 million on July 22, which amounts to $319.16 million of the $499.05 million that came in. Over the previous week it pulled in $204 million while the total ETF funds kept just $75.67 million, because investors were pulling $181 million out of Fidelity’s FBTC at the same time.
Has the Bitcoin ETF Outflow Stopped? Investors have added $699.22 million to Bitcoin ETFs so far in July, making it the first month of net inflows since April. But a total of $4.51 billion was pulled out of these funds in June alone, so July has recovered only about 15% of the damage from last month.
Across 2026 as a whole, these funds are still down $4.76 billion in net outflows, and the buying is slowing rather than picking up. The ETFs recorded $226.92 million inflows on July 20 but only $68.99 million by July 22, which is the smallest daily total of the current streak.
So the outflows have slowed, but calling them over after seven days would be premature. Undoing what investors took out in May and June would take months of steady buying, and most of the money coming in right now is going through a single fund.
Don't wait: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
On July 23, 2026, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) shares fell 3.2% to $18.71. The stock has seen a significant decline over the past year, currently t
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH - Free Report) closed at $18.71 in the latest trading session, marking a -3.21% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.97%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.
The stock of cruise operator has fallen by 8% in the past month, lagging the Consumer Discretionary sector's loss of 0.92% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
The upcoming earnings release of Norwegian Cruise Line will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on July 30, 2026. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.39, reflecting a 23.53% decrease from the same quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $2.63 billion, up 4.35% from the year-ago period.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $1.71 per share and revenue of $10.13 billion, indicating changes of -18.96% and +3.07%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Norwegian Cruise Line. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.28% higher. Right now, Norwegian Cruise Line possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Norwegian Cruise Line is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 11.28. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 16.53, so one might conclude that Norwegian Cruise Line is trading at a discount comparatively.
It's also important to note that NCLH currently trades at a PEG ratio of 1.01. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Leisure and Recreation Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.4.
The Leisure and Recreation Services industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 83, positioning it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan Bloomberg/Getty Images Not long ago, Intel looked like a fallen giant. Now, the chipmaker has posted its "strongest revenue growth in more than fifteen years," CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Thursday.
The company's second-quarter results sent shares up more than 11% in after-hours trading.
The company reported revenue of $16.1 billion, up 25% from a year earlier. It also reported adjusted earnings of $0.42 per share, nearly double Wall Street's expectations.
The company's data center and AI (DCAI) business — an area where it has struggled to keep pace with category leader Nvidia — grew 59% year over year to $6.3 billion.
The results come days after Intel said it was planning layoffs in its data center group as part of an efficiency push.
The results suggest Intel is gaining traction after missing much of the early AI boom. In recent years, it has also been beset by manufacturing delays and lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In 2025, the US government took a 9.9% stake in the chip company.
Today, the company is betting big on its foundry business, which manufactures chips for third-party customers. The strategy helps Intel diversify beyond designing its own chips and brings it closer into competition with manufacturing leader TSMC.
That said, Emarketer senior analyst Jacob Bourne called the foundry business "a work in progress," noting it "lost $2.1 billion and has yet to land the major customers Intel's strategy depends on."
Tan attributed the company's improving performance to better execution — namely, "greater speed, accountability, and customer focus."
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Geoff Weiss You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Geoff Weiss is a senior reporter on Business Insider’s tech team, where he writes about AI startups and Y Combinator, the intersection of AI and the media industry, and workplace dynamics within top AI labs and chip companies.Previously, Geoff was on the media desk, covering YouTube and Netflix, and themes like the intersection of Hollywood and the creator economy. His work on Netflix’s video podcasting ambitions and Mr Beast’s lessons for Hollywood won second and first prize, respectively, at the 2025 LA Press Club Awards.Prior to joining Business Insider, Geoff was the senior editor of Tubefilter and a staff writer at Entrepreneur. He graduated from New York University with a degree in English Literature.He can be reached at [email protected], on Signal @geoffweiss.25, and on LinkedIn. Have a tip? Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.Selected stories:Nvidia crushed its quarter — and CEO Jensen Huang said in a leaked all-hands that 'the market did not appreciate it'Nvidia will foot the bill for Trump's new visa fees. Here's what CEO Jensen Huang told staff.Massive AI salaries and RTO are fueling a real estate boom in San Francisco: 'It's going to rain money'The AI talent wars are ricocheting across startups. Here's how they're competing with Big Tech.
Intel Corporation delivered a stunning Q2 2026 double-line beat, with revenues of $16.1 billion, up 24% year-over-year. INTC's adjusted gross margin reached 41.8%, and operating margin turned positive, reflecting successful streamlining and AI-driven growth. Data Center and AI segment revenues surged 59%, while the Foundry business rebounded 31%, underscoring broad-based strength.
The Silicon Valley chipmaker's revenue rose 25 percent in the latest quarter, its fastest growth in 15 years, as A.I. firms increasingly bought chips known as central processing units.
SummaryIntel Corporation posted a strong Q2, with Data Center revenue up nearly 60% YoY and operating margin rising to 39.5%.INTC’s turnaround is gaining traction, but its valuation remains stretched, trading at a premium to AMD, Broadcom, and Nvidia even on optimistic assumptions.Despite operational improvements and positive guidance, much of the future upside appears already priced in, limiting shareholder yield potential.I’m downgrading INTC to a Sell, as robust execution is outweighed by an inflated valuation and limited margin of safety. Getty Images
The Intel Corporation (INTC) thesis right now seems a bit strange to me. Sure, it has a bit of turnaround characteristics, as well as some secular trends that the company can ride to improve its earnings. But it also has
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of NVDA either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Intel (INTC - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.42 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.21 per share. This compares to a loss of $0.1 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +100.00%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this world's largest chipmaker would post earnings of $0.01 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.29, delivering a surprise of +2800%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.
Intel, which belongs to the Zacks Semiconductor - General industry, posted revenues of $16.13 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.89%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $12.86 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Intel shares have added about 178.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.6%.
What's Next for Intel?While Intel has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Intel was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.25 on $15.08 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $1.07 on $58.71 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Semiconductor - General is currently in the top 3% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Another stock from the same industry, Amtech Systems (ASYS - Free Report) , has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on August 5.
This provider of equipment for solar panel and semiconductor makers is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.10 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +66.7%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
Amtech Systems' revenues are expected to be $21.5 million, up 9.9% from the year-ago quarter.
Intel (INTC - Free Report) reported $16.13 billion in revenue for the quarter ended June 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 25.4%. EPS of $0.42 for the same period compares to -$0.10 a year ago.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of +11.89% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.41 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.21, the EPS surprise was +100%.
While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how Intel performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Net Revenues- Total Intel Products Group: $15.14 billion compared to the $13.46 billion average estimate based on six analysts. The reported number represents a change of +28.2% year over year.Net Revenues- Total Intel Products Group- Data Center and AI: $6.26 billion versus $5.5 billion estimated by six analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +59% change.Net Revenues- All other- Total: $701 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $629 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -33.4%.Net Revenues- Intel Foundry Services: $5.77 billion versus the five-analyst average estimate of $5.6 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +30.5%.Net Revenues- Intersegment eliminations: $-5.48 billion versus $-5.46 billion estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +23.9% change.View all Key Company Metrics for Intel here>>>
Shares of Intel have returned -22.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.4% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term.
AMD’s $5 Billion Anthropic Deal Could Redraw the AI Chip BattleIntel NASDAQ: INTC executives said the company delivered another quarter above its financial outlook, as demand for client and data center products continued to exceed available supply and management moved to increase capital spending to support future growth.
Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan said second-quarter revenue, gross margin and earnings per share all came in above guidance, marking the company’s seventh consecutive quarter of exceeding its financial expectations. “Strong demand for our products continue to outpace our growing supply,” Tan said, adding that Intel’s design and manufacturing execution is improving and that operating discipline put in place over the past 15 months is producing tangible results.
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One Short- and One Long-Term ETF for Quantum Computing BullsChief Financial Officer David Zinsner said second-quarter revenue was $16.1 billion, $1.8 billion above the midpoint of Intel’s guidance. Non-GAAP gross margin was 41.8%, about 280 basis points better than guidance, while non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.42, compared with guidance of $0.20. Operating cash flow was $7 billion, and Intel ended the quarter with about $30 billion in cash and short-term investments.
AI Demand Drives Client and Data Center Results Zinsner said Intel’s “AI-driven businesses” grew more than 70% year over year, including record data center growth, and contributed about 70% of total revenue. However, he said demand continues to outstrip supply even after the company exceeded its expectations for wafer output in the quarter.
A Market Panic Just Discounted the AI Highway's TollboothThe Client Computing and Physical AI Group, or CCPG, generated revenue of $8.9 billion, up 15% sequentially and above expectations. Zinsner said AI PC revenue rose 26% sequentially and now accounts for two-thirds of the client revenue mix. Edge deployments represented roughly 10% of CCPG revenue. The segment posted operating profit of $2.3 billion, or 26% of revenue, down about $173 million sequentially due to inventory charges tied to optimizing the factory network.
The Data Center and AI Group reported revenue of $6.3 billion, up 24% sequentially and 59% year over year, also meaningfully ahead of expectations. Zinsner said the result was driven by strong demand across hyperscale and enterprise customers. Operating profit for the segment was $2.5 billion, or 40% of revenue, up about $1 billion from the prior quarter due to higher revenue, improved product margins and lower operating expenses.
Tan said demand accelerated as customers increasingly recognize the role of CPUs, and x86 CPUs in particular, in AI infrastructure. He said second-quarter year-over-year server growth was the strongest on record and that Xeon 6 remains one of the fastest-ramping products in Intel’s history.
Foundry Roadmap Gains Emphasis Tan said his confidence in Intel Foundry’s process roadmap has grown significantly since he joined the company. During the quarter, he said Intel factories across Intel 7, Intel 3 and Intel 18A exceeded internal volume targets due to improving yields, better cycle times and rising wafer starts.
Zinsner said Intel Foundry revenue was $5.8 billion, up 6% sequentially on higher fab volumes driven by Intel 18A growth. He said 18A output was approximately 25% above target and more than 50% higher quarter over quarter. External foundry revenue was $293 million. Intel Foundry reported an operating loss of $2.1 billion, an improvement of $348 million from the prior quarter.
Tan said 18A output increased meaningfully in the quarter, with yields tracking ahead of expectations, and that Intel is ramping multiple new products on 18A, including Panther Lake and Wildcat Lake. The company also began risk production of 18A-P, which Tan said provides additional performance and power advantages while maintaining compatibility with Intel 18A.
Looking further ahead, Tan said Intel 14A development is progressing, with defect density and transistor performance outpacing 18A development. He said PDK 0.5 is complete and PDK 0.9 remains on track for October. Intel remains on track for 14A risk production for internal products in the second half of 2027 and made the decision in the second quarter to fully commit to a high-volume ramp in 2028.
Capital Spending Outlook Raised Intel is raising its 2026 capital spending outlook and now expects CapEx of more than $20 billion, Zinsner said. He added that 2027 capital expenditures are expected to be significantly above 2026 levels, with the vast majority spent across Intel’s U.S. network. Zinsner said the company is locking in tool purchase orders, accelerating clean room build-outs and securing substrate and memory supply.
During the question-and-answer portion of the call, Zinsner said the higher CapEx plan is broad-based, including advanced packaging, though front-end fabs will account for a larger portion because they are more expensive than packaging facilities. He said the increased investment reflects confidence in customers across Intel’s business units, particularly where the company has signed long-term agreements.
Zinsner said Intel remains disciplined in its spending and will put capital in place when it believes it can generate strong returns. He also noted that Intel expects investment tax credits on U.S. spending, though timing delays affect when those benefits are realized.
Third-Quarter Guidance Reflects Supply Constraints For the third quarter, Intel guided revenue to a range of $15.8 billion to $16.8 billion. At the midpoint of $16.3 billion, the company expects non-GAAP gross margin of 42%, a tax rate of 11% and non-GAAP EPS of $0.38.
Zinsner said industrywide supply constraints across wafers, memory and substrates remain the dominant challenge for customers supporting the AI infrastructure build-out. He said Intel’s wafer output exceeded expectations from 90 days earlier, and quarter-to-date 18A yields in the third quarter are trending ahead of targets set in March. Even so, he said supply remains very tight, especially for servers, with supply growth skewed toward the end of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter.
Intel expects PC consumption to be sub-seasonal in the second half and down low-double-digit percent for all of 2026, affected by rising memory prices and constraints. Zinsner said Intel’s outlook for server CPU demand has improved since the prior earnings report, with the company forecasting strong double-digit industry unit growth this year and next, with momentum extending into 2028.
Management Highlights ASICs, Packaging and Memory Executives also pointed to longer-term opportunities in purpose-built silicon, advanced packaging and external foundry services. Tan said Intel’s design services revenue grew nearly three times year over year and cited a collaboration with Fortinet for a security processor as part of the company’s ASIC strategy. In response to an analyst question, Zinsner said Intel’s ASIC business is approaching a $2 billion run rate, while Tan described the broader opportunity as a potential market of more than $100 billion.
Tan said customer interest in EMIB-T advanced packaging remains high and that Intel has a growing backlog. He said yields and reliability are hitting targets, with the company focused on ramping the technology to high volume and quality to support customer ramps in 2027.
On memory, Tan said it has become a major supply constraint in AI infrastructure and that Intel is collaborating with the three major memory vendors. He also said the company is exploring ways to better integrate compute and memory and improve memory utilization, while pointing to Intel’s history in memory and the recent hiring of Seok-hee Lee, the former CEO of SK hynix.
About Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)Intel Corporation, founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon E. Moore and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a leading global designer and manufacturer of semiconductor products. The company is historically notable for introducing the first commercial microprocessor and for driving the x86 architecture that underpins many personal computers and servers. Intel's core business spans the design, fabrication and marketing of processors, chipsets and related components for a wide range of computing applications.
Intel's product portfolio includes client and mobile processors marketed under brands such as Intel Core and Pentium, as well as high-performance Xeon processors for data centers and cloud infrastructure.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Should You Invest $1,000 in Intel Right Now?Before you consider Intel, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Intel wasn't on the list.
While Intel currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
The AI boom extends far beyond the biggest tech names. Discover 10 companies supplying the memory, storage, networking, semiconductor manufacturing, and power infrastructure that make AI possible. Learn where the next wave of AI investment opportunities may emerge—and the key risks investors should watch as the global AI buildout accelerates.
We can separate high-yield dividend stocks into two broad categories. The first group consists of companies with stable businesses that generate consistent cash flow and are very likely to continue paying -- and perhaps raising -- their dividends for the foreseeable future. The second are distressed corporations. They boast high yields because their share prices have fallen substantially, reflecting weak business fundamentals.
Many investors would put Pfizer (PFE +0.77%) in the second group. The drugmaker's shares have lost significant value over the past five years, as the company has failed to sustain the amazing success it achieved in the coronavirus market. However, there is much more to the story. Let's discuss why Pfizer's 7% forward yield is more sustainable than it appears at first glance.
The business is strengthening Pfizer's revenue and earnings have declined over the past five years, while it has maintained and even increased its dividend. The company's payout ratio has soared as a result -- it is currently about 127%. That looks unsustainable. But Pfizer's cash payout ratio, a much better measure of whether the company can maintain its dividend program intact, looks less scary at 107.7%. Management is confident of the company's ability to sustain, and even increase, the payout moving forward. That isn't just wishful thinking: Pfizer could improve its business in the coming years and eventually post much stronger financial results.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Consider that Pfizer boasts highly promising programs in the pipeline that will yield brand-new approvals and label expansions. For instance, the company's Padcev is a cancer medicine that is currently one of its better-performing products. On July 10, Padcev earned approval for the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer in combination with Merck's (MRK +2.42%) Keytruda. Padcev was granted the green light regardless of whether patients are eligible for Cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug for bladder cancer that is effective but comes with significant side effects. That's a big deal since many drugs for bladder cancer (including Padcev, initially) aren't approved regardless of Cisplatin eligibility.
Pfizer sees a large addressable market here, given Padcev's strong phase 3 clinical trial results: It reduced the risk of death or recurrence by 50% compared to the current standard of care in cisplatin-eligible patients with bladder cancer, when combined with Keytruda. This indication could add hundreds of millions of dollars -- perhaps over $1 billion -- to Padcev's peak sales. That may not seem like a lot for a company that generated over $60 billion in revenue last year, but it could land several such regulatory wins, which will add label expansions across its drug portfolio and eventually improve sales growth.
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Pfizer's brand-new products may have an even bigger impact. Consider the company's most promising opportunity: the weight-loss market. Pfizer boasts several attractive and highly differentiated anti-obesity candidates. MET-097i, a GLP-1 that is perhaps the most promising among the company's anti-obesity products, is currently being investigated in phase 3 studies as a long-acting candidate. It showed promising mid-stage results, including with monthly dosing.
Provided MET-097i gains approval, it could expand the market by attracting patients hesitant to use GLP-1 medicines due to their weekly dosing schedules or side effects (it also demonstrated strong tolerability). Pfizer is also working on a couple of oral pills for weight loss, yet another category that has proved highly successful. Looking beyond weight loss, Pfizer has an attractive oncology pipeline. The bulk of the company's phase 3 studies are in this area, and with exciting products like PF'4404 -- which belongs to a newer class of medicines that could help revolutionize cancer treatments -- Pfizer's cancer business could improve significantly over the medium term. True, Pfizer still faces some headwinds.
The company will lose patent exclusivity for some key products by the end of the decade, including Eliquis, an anticoagulant. However, Pfizer's deep lineup and equally impressive pipeline could allow it to meet its goal of increasing revenue at a high single-digit compound annual growth rate over the five years starting in 2029. That may not seem like such a big deal, but for a company that has been struggling in recent years, it would be an accomplishment. In the meantime, Pfizer's dividend program should remain intact.
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Litigation Partner Brandon Walker Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses In IBM To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options
If you purchased or acquired stock in IBM and would like to discuss your legal rights, contact Bragar Eagel & Squire partners Brandon Walker or Melissa Fortunato by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (212) 355-4648.
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NEW YORK, July 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
What’s Happening:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized stockholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against International Business Machines Corporation (“IBM” or the “Company”) (NYSE:IBM) on behalf of IBM stockholders. Our investigation concerns whether IBM has violated the federal securities laws and/or engaged in other unlawful business practices. Investigation Details:
On July 14, 2026, IBM reported its preliminary Q2 2026 financial results. The Company fell short of analyst expectations, with CEO Arvind Krishna blaming the shortfall on weakness in the software and infrastructure business, with customers shifting budgets to hardware like memory chips. Following this news, IBM's stock price dropped by 24.6% in morning trading that day. Next Steps:
If you purchased or otherwise acquired IBM shares and suffered a loss, are a long-term stockholder, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Melissa Fortunato by email at [email protected], by telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you. About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, South Carolina, and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in securities, derivative, and commercial litigation as well as individuals in consumer protection and data privacy litigation. The firm has a nationwide practice and routinely handles cases in both federal and state courts. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
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Newmont Corporation (NEM - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.1 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.05 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.43 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +2.44%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this gold and copper miner would post earnings of $2.07 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.9, delivering a surprise of +40.1%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.
Newmont, which belongs to the Zacks Mining - Gold industry, posted revenues of $6.12 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.69%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $5.32 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Newmont shares have lost about 4.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.6%.
What's Next for Newmont?While Newmont has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Newmont was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $1.99 on $6.27 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $8.90 on $26.33 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Mining - Gold is currently in the bottom 6% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Another stock from the same industry, Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM - Free Report) , has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on July 29.
This gold mining company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.92 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +50.5%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 10% lower over the last 30 days to the current level.
Agnico Eagle Mines' revenues are expected to be $3.94 billion, up 40% from the year-ago quarter.
(Kitco News) - A 13% correction in gold prices during the second quarter has not been enough to derail the trajectory of the world's largest gold miner, after it delivered strong earnings and reaffirmed its full-year production guidance.
Newmont (NYSE: NEM) reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings Thursday after the North American market close. The company said its earnings highlighted the resilience of its global portfolio despite lower gold prices and operational disruptions during the quarter.
The Denver-based miner reported net income of $2.2 billion, or $2.06 per diluted share, on revenue of $6.1 billion. Adjusted net income totaled $2.2 billion, or $2.10 per share, while adjusted EBITDA came in at $3.8 billion. The company also said it generated record second-quarter free cash flow of $2.2 billion
Newmont’s earnings beat analysts' consensus estimate of $1.98 per share
"Newmont delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, producing approximately 1.3 million attributable gold ounces and generating record second-quarter free cash flow of $2.2 billion, while remaining on track to achieve our full-year 2026 guidance," said President and CEO Natascha Viljoen. "Supported by our strong balance sheet and consistent capital allocation framework, we returned $1.9 billion to shareholders through quarterly dividends and ongoing share repurchases executed since our last earnings call, while continuing to invest in the long-term strength of our business."
Although gold prices corrected sharply during the quarter, Newmont's realized gold price remained historically elevated at $4,414 an ounce. That was down from $4,900 an ounce in the first quarter but still well above the $3,320 an ounce realized during the same period last year. Gold sales totaled 1.20 million ounces during the quarter.
Attributable gold production totaled 1.29 million ounces, down just 1% from the first quarter despite production interruptions at the company's Cadia operation in Australia following seismic events. Lower output from Cadia, Ahafo South, Peñasquito and Yanacocha was partially offset by stronger production at Lihir, Boddington and the Pueblo Viejo joint venture. Newmont said operations at Cadia returned to normal levels by mid-June.
While production proved resilient, lower gold prices and operational disruptions pushed costs higher. Gold by-product all-in sustaining costs rose to $1,621 an ounce from $1,029 an ounce in the previous quarter, driven primarily by lower production volumes, higher sustaining capital spending and additional costs incurred at Cadia during the temporary shutdown. However, Newmont noted that year-to-date costs remain well below its full-year guidance.
Despite the increase in costs, Newmont continued to generate significant cash and return capital to shareholders. Since its last earnings report, the company has returned $1.9 billion through dividends and share repurchases, including $1.7 billion in share buybacks. Since February 2024, Newmont has reduced its outstanding share count by more than 100 million shares, or roughly 9%, increasing shareholders' exposure to future free cash flow generation.
The miner ended the quarter with $9.0 billion in cash, $13.0 billion in total liquidity and a net cash position of $3.4 billion. The company's board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, payable Sept. 28 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 3.
Newmont also highlighted progress on several long-term initiatives during the quarter, including receiving key regulatory approvals from the Province of British Columbia for the Red Chris Block Cave project. The approvals, including an amended Environmental Assessment Certificate completed through a consent-based process with the Tahltan Nation, mark an important milestone as the project advances toward a final investment decision.
Looking ahead, the senior producer reaffirmed its 2026 guidance, forecasting attributable gold production of approximately 5.26 million ounces with gold all-in sustaining costs of around $1,680 an ounce. The company expects production to be weighted slightly toward the second half of the year, with stronger output anticipated from Boddington, Tanami, Lihir, Cerro Negro and Brucejack. Third-quarter production is expected to be broadly in line with second-quarter levels.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
Salesforce (CRM - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $156.93, moving -3.72% from the previous trading session. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.
The customer-management software developer's stock has climbed by 6.7% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 4.58% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Salesforce in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $3.27, signifying a 12.37% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $11.3 billion, reflecting a 10.44% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $14.12 per share and a revenue of $46.09 billion, signifying shifts of +12.78% and +10.99%, respectively, from the last year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Salesforce. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.14% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. At present, Salesforce boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Salesforce is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 11.55. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.63, so one might conclude that Salesforce is trading at a discount comparatively.
One should further note that CRM currently holds a PEG ratio of 0.64. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Internet - Software industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.01 as of yesterday's close.
The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 152, placing it within the bottom 39% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
Harding Loevner has entered the ETF market with the International Developed Markets Select Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:LOEV), an actively managed fund that buys stocks of companies based in developed markets outside the United States. According to the fund’s prospectus dated June 12, 2026, LOEV lists on NYSE Arca and is issued by Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc., the fund arm of the Bridgewater, New Jersey investment firm that has spent decades running mutual funds and separately managed accounts for institutions.
The fund carries a management fee of 0.70%, with 0.00% in other expenses, for a total annual operating expense of 0.70%. On a $10,000 investment, that works out to about $70 a year. As of July 21, 2026, LOEV traded at $15.52, with only a handful of trading days behind it so far.
What the Fund Does LOEV is actively managed, meaning a team at Harding Loevner picks the holdings rather than tracking an index. According to the prospectus, the managers conduct fundamental research to identify companies that are “well managed, financially sound, fast growing, and strongly competitive, and whose shares are reasonably priced relative to estimates of their value.” That is a quality-growth style: owning durable businesses at prices the managers view as reasonable, rather than chasing whatever is cheapest or most in favor.
The fund’s stated benchmark is the MSCI World ex US Net (USD) index, and the portfolio is diversified across geography, industry, currency, and market capitalization, normally holding stocks across at least 10 countries. Harding Loevner has not yet published LOEV’s full holdings, but the kinds of large developed-market names that fit this universe include ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML | ASML Price Prediction) in the Netherlands, Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) in Denmark, SAP (NYSE:SAP) in Germany, and Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP) in Canada.
Nothing exotic sits under the hood. There is no leverage, no options overlay, no crypto exposure, and no single-stock concentration. The predecessor portfolio’s turnover rate was 28%, which points to a patient, low-churn approach if the ETF follows the same playbook.
Why It Exists and How It Stacks Up Harding Loevner has been in business since 1989 and managed approximately $40.9 billion in assets as of December 31, 2025. The firm is known primarily among advisors and institutions for its international and global equity strategies. Wrapping one of those strategies in an ETF gives everyday investors access to the approach with the trading flexibility and typical tax efficiency of the ETF structure.
The competitive picture is a study in trade-offs. The largest passive rival, the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, charges a rock-bottom expense ratio of 0.03%, and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE and Schwab International Equity funds sit in the same low-cost neighborhood. LOEV’s 0.70% fee is materially higher. That extra cost buys active stock selection and Harding Loevner’s quality-growth screen, and it is up to investors to decide whether they think that lens will beat a plain index over time.
Who It Might Suit, and the Risks The fund is designed for investors who want dedicated exposure to developed international markets and prefer an actively managed approach over broad-index tracking. It could fit as the international-equity sleeve of a diversified portfolio, alongside U.S. and emerging-markets holdings.
The caveats deserve serious weight. LOEV has no ETF performance history to judge, only two trading days of price data as of this writing. New ETFs often launch with small assets and wide bid-ask spreads, and funds that fail to gather assets sometimes close. The prospectus also flags investment style risk, noting that a quality-growth approach can lag when markets reward value or high current dividends instead. Currency swings, foreign-market volatility, and concentration in a manager’s stock picks are all part of the package.
For now, the things worth watching are how quickly LOEV attracts assets, how tightly it trades, and whether Harding Loevner’s active picks can justify the fee gap versus penny-cheap index rivals over its first full year.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
A logo on the SAP exhibition space at the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France June 15, 2022.... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more
July 23 (Reuters) - SAP's (SAPG.DE), opens new tab finance chief said on Thursday that artificial intelligence in enterprise software must move beyond chatbots and coding tools into more complex business processes, where clean data, reliability and cost control matter more than access to the most powerful model.
Companies have poured money into generative AI but are still seeking evidence of broad productivity gains, and SAP is arguing that the returns will come less from general-purpose models than from governed systems embedded in specific business processes.
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CFO Dominik Asam told reporters after SAP's second-quarter results that the "lion's share" of AI token consumption today was spent in "low-hanging fruits" coding assistant and chatbots, where AI's hallucinations matter less because the output carries limited risk if it fails.
But applying AI to finance, supply chain or other core business processes is harder because errors carry over multiple steps, increasing risk against compliance standards, he said.
"If you have some hallucinations in the process, the errors will actually compound statistically over many steps," Asam said, referring to finance workflows. "It requires much more excruciating assurance levels."
The "high-hanging fruit" of AI, Asam said, is less about applying a generic plug-and-play large language model across a company than about building systems around specific businesses.
That requires companies to make their own data usable and governed, so AI can operate with the knowledge of the company. "The idea that AI will solve all these problems if they are messy, legacy data silos is not true," Asam said, adding that such an approach came with "extremely high token costs."
The most advanced model is not always the right one, he said. In practice, he said, companies will use the cheapest reliable tool that can deliver the required outcome safely, whether that is simple software, an open-source model or an expensive frontier model.
Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk; Editing by Alistair Bell
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Leo's stories appear regularly on the technology and media desk, with a particular focus on France, Ukraine, and Europe's tech build up. He has reported extensively on major players across media & entertainment, artificial intelligence, and digital regulations. A background in tech-related law, Leo started his journalism career in Bordeaux, where he covered the full spectrum of the technology beat, from AI and spacetech to payment systems and regulations. He is now based in Gdansk, covering business, tech and entertainment news across Europe with Reuters.
SAP SE (SAP) Q2 2026 Earnings Call July 23, 2026 5:00 PM EDT
Company Participants
Alexandra Kasper Steiger - Global Head of Investor Relations
Christian Klein - CEO & Member of Executive Board
Dominik Asam - CFO & Member of Executive Board
Conference Call Participants
Adam Wood - Morgan Stanley, Research Division
Mohammed Moawalla - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
Ben Castillo-Bernaus - BNP Paribas, Research Division
S. Kirk Materne - Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division
Michael Briest - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division
Charles Brennan - Jefferies LLC, Research Division
Frederic Boulan - BofA Securities, Research Division
Toby Ogg - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
Michael Turrin - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division
Presentation
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome, and thank you for joining the SAP Q2 and Half Year 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]
I would now like to turn the conference over to Alexandra Steiger, Global Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Alexandra Kasper Steiger
Global Head of Investor Relations
Good evening, everyone, and welcome. Thank you for joining us. With me today are CEO, Christian Klein; and CFO, Dominik Asam. On this call, we will discuss SAP's second quarter 2026 results. You can find the deck supplementing this call as well as our quarterly statement on our Investor Relations website.
During this call, we will make forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the SEC, including, but not limited to, the Risk Factors section of our annual report on Form 20-F for 2025. Unless otherwise stated, all numbers on this call are non-IFRS and growth rates and
Gold.com (GOLD - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $39.53, demonstrating a -1.69% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.97%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.
Coming into today, shares of the precious metals trading company had lost 2.69% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector gained 2.12%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.42%.
The upcoming earnings release of Gold.com will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.96, reflecting a 26.32% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $7.76 billion, up 209.04% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $5.31 per share and a revenue of $28.27 billion, demonstrating changes of +144.7% and +157.52%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Goldcom. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. At present, Gold.com boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Gold.com is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 11.08. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 10.75 for its industry.
The Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 186, which puts it in the bottom 25% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $144.51, demonstrating a -1.73% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 1.21% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.
Shares of the gold mining company witnessed a loss of 4.18% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Basic Materials sector with its loss of 3.33%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Agnico Eagle Mines in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on July 29, 2026. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.92, up 50.52% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.94 billion, up 39.96% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $12.09 per share and revenue of $16.2 billion, which would represent changes of +46.01% and +36.02%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Agnico Eagle Mines. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 8.42% lower. Agnico Eagle Mines is currently a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Investors should also note Agnico Eagle Mines's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 12.16. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 10.12.
We can also see that AEM currently has a PEG ratio of 2.2. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Mining - Gold industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.67 as of yesterday's close.
The Mining - Gold industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 232, this industry ranks in the bottom 6% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Remember to apply Zacks.com to follow these and more stock-moving metrics during the upcoming trading sessions.
Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) shares are rising in extended trading Thursday after the company was awarded a 10-year defense contract.
Oracle stock is gaining positive traction. What’s pushing ORCL stock higher? Oracle Gets $7 Billion Software ContractThe U.S. Defense Department has awarded Oracle a 10-year, $7 billion enterprise software agreement. The deal, negotiated by the Department of the Navy, is the first direct award contract with Oracle covering the department’s on-premises Oracle usage.
The deal consolidates licensing and gives the department better visibility into enterprise usage and spending, which it said will help optimize technology budgets.
“By fundamentally improving how we procure on-premises Oracle capabilities, we are driving at least $441 million in taxpayer savings while rapidly and effectively serving our warfighters,” said Kirsten Davies, chief information officer for the Defense Department.
“This nearly $7 billion agreement with Oracle strengthens our digital ecosystem, supporting our warfighters with secure, scalable technology to dominate current and future missions.”
The agreement is structured as a five-year base period with a five-year option period.
ORCL Shares Rise After HoursORCL Price Action: Oracle shares were up 2.27% in after-hours Thursday, trading at $122.74 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.
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In the latest close session, Oracle (ORCL - Free Report) was down 4.61% at $120.04. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.97%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 2.15%.
The software maker's stock has dropped by 20.12% in the past month, falling short of the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 4.58% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Oracle in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.72, indicating a 17.01% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $19.13 billion, indicating a 28.14% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.03 per share and revenue of $89.72 billion, which would represent changes of +5.24% and +33.2%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Oracle should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.03% increase. Oracle is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In the context of valuation, Oracle is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 15.66. This represents no noticeable deviation compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 15.66.
Investors should also note that ORCL has a PEG ratio of 0.64 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Computer - Software industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.23 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, placing it within the top 39% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
Digital Realty Trust (DLR - Free Report) came out with quarterly funds from operations (FFO) of $2.13 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.98 per share. This compares to FFO of $1.87 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an FFO surprise of +7.58%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this real estate investment trust would post FFO of $1.94 per share when it actually produced FFO of $2.04, delivering a surprise of +5.15%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus FFO estimates three times.
Digital Realty Trust, which belongs to the Zacks REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, posted revenues of $1.92 billion for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 15.59%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $1.49 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future FFO expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Digital Realty Trust shares have added about 15.3% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.6%.
What's Next for Digital Realty Trust?While Digital Realty Trust has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's FFO outlook. Not only does this include current consensus FFO expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Digital Realty Trust was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus FFO estimate is $2.00 on $1.69 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $8.04 on $6.72 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, REIT and Equity Trust - Other is currently in the top 23% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Cousins Properties (CUZ - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on July 30.
This real estate company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.74 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +5.7%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.7% higher over the last 30 days to the current level.
Cousins Properties' revenues are expected to be $256.53 million, up 7.9% from the year-ago quarter.
Digital Realty Trust (DLR - Free Report) reported $1.92 billion in revenue for the quarter ended June 2026, representing a year-over-year increase of 28.9%. EPS of $2.13 for the same period compares to $2.94 a year ago.
The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.66 billion, representing a surprise of +15.59%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +7.58%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $1.98.
While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.
As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately.
Here is how Digital Realty Trust performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Net Earnings per Share (Diluted): $1.21 versus the five-analyst average estimate of $0.46.Revenues- Rental revenues: $1.15 billion versus the five-analyst average estimate of $1.12 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +14.2%.Revenues- Interconnection and other: $130.41 million versus $126.76 million estimated by five analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +6.9% change.Revenues- Fee Income: $248.93 million versus the five-analyst average estimate of $33.79 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +623.1%.Revenues- Tenant reimbursements (Utilities + Other): $398.29 million compared to the $373.69 million average estimate based on five analysts. The reported number represents a change of +20% year over year.Revenues- Other: $0.48 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $0.47 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of -64.8%.Revenues- Tenant reimbursements- Other: $45.39 million compared to the $39.54 million average estimate based on four analysts. The reported number represents a change of +21.5% year over year.Revenues- Tenant reimbursements- Utilities: $352.9 million versus the four-analyst average estimate of $333.75 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +19.8%.View all Key Company Metrics for Digital Realty Trust here>>>
Shares of Digital Realty Trust have returned -7.6% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.4% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
3 Ways to Play the Data Center Land GrabDigital Realty Trust NYSE: DLR raised its 2026 earnings outlook after reporting a second quarter marked by record leasing in smaller deployments and interconnection, unusually strong renewal pricing and a sharply larger backlog.
On the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call, Jordan Sadler, senior vice president of public and private investor relations, said results exceeded internal expectations across revenue, adjusted EBITDA and core funds from operations. Core FFO excluding net promote income reached $2.13 per share, up 14% from a year earlier, while reported core FFO was $2.65 per share, including $0.52 per share from net promote income.
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3 REITs to Watch as AI Data Center Spending Surpasses Office ConstructionChief Financial Officer Matt Mercier said Digital Realty is increasing its 2026 core FFO per share guidance, excluding net promote income, to a range of $8.15 to $8.20. The midpoint implies double-digit growth over 2025 and would represent a second consecutive year of double-digit core FFO per share growth, he said.
Bookings and renewals hit records President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Power said the company’s “business is firing on all cylinders,” pointing to momentum across colocation and connectivity, hyperscale deployments and strategic private capital.
The Top 3 Investment Themes That Will Dominate 2026Digital Realty reported $108 million of bookings in its zero-to-one-megawatt plus interconnection category during the quarter, a third consecutive quarterly record and roughly double the level the company said it was averaging about two years ago. Mercier said the result was 11% above the prior record set in the first quarter, with EMEA reaching a new quarterly high and activity strongest in the sub-300 kilowatt band.
Interconnection bookings also reached a record $20.5 million, up 18% from the prior year. Power said customers deploying AI-enabled applications increasingly need environments that combine power, proximity and connectivity, a trend he said supports the company’s PlatformDIGITAL strategy.
Renewal activity was another highlight. Mercier said Digital Realty signed more than $261 million of renewals with cash re-leasing spreads above 25%. Renewals in the zero-to-one-megawatt category accounted for 55% of the total and produced a 5.2% cash mark-to-market, while greater-than-one-megawatt renewals accounted for 44% of the total and delivered a 66.7% mark-to-market. He said renewal strength was most pronounced in APAC, with outsized spreads in Singapore.
Backlog rises to new high The company’s total backlog reached $1.9 billion at 100% share at the end of the second quarter, or $1.4 billion at Digital Realty’s share. Mercier said the company’s share of backlog has risen 75% since the beginning of the year and now represents about 30% of in-place data center rent.
Digital Realty commenced $208 million of annualized rent during the quarter, its third-strongest commencement quarter on record. Mercier said $635 million of annualized rent is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2026, followed by $480 million in 2027 and $312 million already scheduled for 2028 and beyond.
After quarter-end, the company signed two additional U.S. hyperscale leases representing about $410 million of annualized rent at 100% share, or $205 million at Digital Realty’s share. Those leases were not included in the second-quarter backlog figure.
Development pipeline expands as hyperscale demand continues Digital Realty invested $1.1 billion in development capital expenditures during the quarter, net of partner contributions, bringing year-to-date spending to $2 billion. The company delivered 76 megawatts of new IT capacity, about 60% of which was pre-leased, and began development of 312 megawatts of additional capacity.
Mercier said the development pipeline expanded to 1.4 gigawatts under construction at a total cost of $20 billion, doubling during the first half of 2026. Pro forma for hyperscale leases signed in July, the pipeline is 63% pre-leased at an average expected stabilized yield of 11.5%. More than 80% of active development is in the Americas, with Northern Virginia the largest development market and significant activity also underway in Charlotte, Atlanta and São Paulo.
The company also announced an expansion into the Kansas City metro, where it secured 600 megawatts of utility power beginning to ramp in early 2028, with a long-term runway of up to two gigawatts. In response to an analyst question, Chief Investment Officer Greg Wright said Digital Realty views Kansas City as a potential major U.S. data center market, citing its central location, fiber availability and low-latency connectivity.
Strategic transactions broaden platform Digital Realty closed a transaction to acquire Blackstone’s ownership interest in three fully leased hyperscale data centers in Northern Virginia totaling 288 megawatts of IT capacity. Mercier said the company paid $1.2 billion in cash, issued 12.3 million shares valued at about $2.3 billion, assumed Blackstone’s share of a $725 million loan and took on remaining capital expenditures needed to finish construction and fit-out.
The company also announced plans to acquire a 16% interest in Teraco for about $650 million of Digital Realty common stock and Columbia Capital for approximately $485 million, with both transactions expected to close in the second half of the year. Power said the Columbia Capital deal would add more than $9 billion of fund commitments and expand Digital Realty’s private capital platform into adjacent digital infrastructure sectors, including fiber, mobility and enterprise technology.
Mercier said the Blackstone transaction generated roughly $200 million of promote income during the quarter, reflecting value created through development and lease-up of the joint venture assets. Net promote income contributed $0.52 per share to reported core FFO, though the company presented results excluding that benefit because it was not included in prior 2026 guidance.
Balance sheet and outlook Digital Realty ended the quarter with debt to adjusted EBITDA of 4.7 times, which Mercier said remains below the company’s long-term threshold. He said the company has about $6 billion of liquidity and estimates more than $12 billion of remaining capacity to support hyperscale data center development when including private capital capacity.
The company also raised its 2026 outlook for cash renewal spreads to 9% to 11% and increased its constant-currency same-capital cash NOI growth forecast to 4.25% to 5.25%. Expected capital expenditures net of partner contributions rose to $4.25 billion to $4.75 billion, reflecting recent leasing success and customer demand.
Power said Digital Realty is also focused on operating responsibly as data centers receive more public attention. He cited the company’s 2025 impact report, including 93% renewable energy coverage globally, 205 sites matched with 100% renewable and emissions-free energy and a contracted renewable energy portfolio of about 1.7 gigawatts.
In closing remarks, Power said record bookings, a record backlog and strategic investments give the company confidence in its ability to deliver double-digit earnings growth into 2027 and beyond.
About Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR)Digital Realty Trust, Inc NYSE: DLR is a real estate investment trust that owns, acquires and operates carrier-neutral data centers and provides related colocation and interconnection solutions. The company focuses on large-scale, mission-critical facilities that support the physical infrastructure needs of cloud providers, enterprises, network operators and content companies. Digital Realty's offerings are designed to enable secure, reliable and highly available IT infrastructure with an emphasis on power density, cooling, and physical security.
Digital Realty's product set spans wholesale data center space, turnkey build-to-suit facilities, and retail colocation suites, complemented by interconnection services that allow customers to establish private and public connections to networks, cloud on-ramps and other ecosystem partners.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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First Solar (FSLR - Free Report) closed at $205.92 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.41% move from the prior day. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.
Shares of the largest U.S. solar company witnessed a loss of 15.9% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Oils-Energy sector with its gain of 5.23%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of First Solar in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on July 30, 2026. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $2.74, marking a 13.84% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.06 billion, showing a 3.31% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $17.54 per share and a revenue of $5.1 billion, indicating changes of +23.43% and -2.21%, respectively, from the former year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for First Solar. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.39% lower. First Solar currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note First Solar's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 11.91. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.87, so one might conclude that First Solar is trading at a discount comparatively.
Investors should also note that FSLR has a PEG ratio of 0.46 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Solar industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.89.
The Solar industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 52, this industry ranks in the top 22% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
With reliable cash flows and long-term deals locked in, energy companies can offer shareholders a steady stream of passive income through dividend payouts. Two examples of that are Enbridge (ENB +0.27%) and Energy Transfer (ET +0.17%).
Each company offers a dividend that yields 5% or higher, but between the two, one stands out as the better option for passive income.
Image source: Getty Images.
Consistent dividend payouts Enbridge uses an all-of-the-above energy strategy through four core businesses:
Liquids pipelines Natural gas pipelines Gas utilities and storage Renewable energy Its gas and oil operations are massive, as Enbridge transports roughly 20% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S.and around 30% of the crude oil produced in North America.
With its assets, Enbridge is eyeing over 50 potential data center opportunities that would require natural gas and is expected to give the go-ahead on some projects in 2026 and 2027.
For renewable energy, Meta Platforms is one of the company's big-name customers. In 2025, Meta signed a contract to use all the solar energy produced at a facility under construction in Texas. Then, in May, Enbridge announced it was developing a battery energy storage and solar project to support Meta's data center operations in Wyoming.
In terms of passive income, Enbridge is a reliable dividend payer, with more than 70 years of payouts. It hasn't qualified as a Dividend King by increasing its dividend payout for 50 consecutive years, but it is on its way to becoming one, with 31 consecutive years of dividend increases. As of this writing, the dividend payout yields 5%.
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A shorter track record but a bigger yield Natural gas is the third-largest source of electricity for data centers worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency. With over 140,000 miles of pipeline and related infrastructure in 44 states, Energy Transfer is in the driver's seat for capitalizing on that demand.
It's already doing so, with an agreement to supply natural gas to three of Oracle's data centers. Both companies, however, are facing a recent setback: New Mexico regulators have rejected Energy Transfer's proposed pipeline across the state, which could delay Oracle's Project Jupiter data center from launching. According to a Bloomberg report, Oracle said the project remains on schedule.
It also has an indirect relationship with Meta, as it will supply gas to Entergy Louisiana, a subsidiary of Entergy, which will supply power for a data center project Meta has in the area. In addition, Enbridge announced in its 2026 first-quarter earnings report that it will provide natural gas transportation services to Nexus Data Centers for its artificial intelligence hyperscale campus.
For passive income, Energy Transfer doesn't have the same history as Enbridge, with decades of dividend payouts or consecutive dividend increases. But its dividend payout currently yields a hefty 6.6%, well above Enbridge's 5%.
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Picking the dividend stock winner Both companies could be portfolio considerations, but for passive income, I would pick Enbridge over Energy Transfer. While Energy Transfer's dividend payout offers a higher yield, Enbridge has history on its side as not only a reliable dividend payer for more than 70 years but also a reliable dividend increaser. That's exactly what you want with a passive income investment.
Airbnb, Inc. (ABNB - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $137.57, moving -1.77% from the previous trading session. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 0.97%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 2.15%.
The stock of company has fallen by 3.01% in the past month, lagging the Consumer Discretionary sector's loss of 0.92% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Airbnb, Inc. in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on August 6, 2026. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.2, showcasing a 16.5% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $3.58 billion, showing a 15.6% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $4.92 per share and a revenue of $13.97 billion, indicating changes of +22.08% and +14.14%, respectively, from the former year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Airbnb, Inc. should also be noted by investors. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.08% increase. Airbnb, Inc. currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Airbnb, Inc. has a Forward P/E ratio of 28.48 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 16.53.
It is also worth noting that ABNB currently has a PEG ratio of 1.5. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Leisure and Recreation Services industry stood at 1.4 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Leisure and Recreation Services industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 83, placing it within the top 34% of over 250 industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow ABNB in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
Kraft Heinz (KHC - Free Report) closed at $25.36 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.31% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.21%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.97%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.
The stock of processed food company with dual headquarters in Pittsburgh and Chicago has risen by 13.16% in the past month, leading the Consumer Staples sector's gain of 3.66% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.42%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Kraft Heinz in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to go public on August 5, 2026. In that report, analysts expect Kraft Heinz to post earnings of $0.53 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 23.19%. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $6.15 billion, showing a 3.13% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.07 per share and revenue of $24.44 billion, which would represent changes of -20.38% and -2.01%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Kraft Heinz. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.3% higher. Kraft Heinz is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.
Looking at its valuation, Kraft Heinz is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 12.53. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 12.97, which means Kraft Heinz is trading at a discount to the group.
The Food - Miscellaneous industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 205, this industry ranks in the bottom 17% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), a global provider of critical internet infrastructure and domain name registry services, today announced that, according to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief Quarterly Report from DNIB.com, the second quarter of 2026 closed with 401.6 million domain name registrations across all top-level domains (TLDs), an increase of 9.1 million domain name registrations, or 2.3% compared to the first quarter of 2026. Domain name registrations al.
Buffett Trims Apple, Bets Big on Alphabet Ahead of RetirementVeriSign NASDAQ: VRSN reported stronger second-quarter 2026 results, citing record domain name registrations, continued solid renewal rates and a rising contribution from artificial intelligence-related tools that management said are making it easier for users to get online.
Executive Chairman, President and CEO Jim Bidzos said the company’s combined .com and .net domain name base reached 179.1 million names at the end of the quarter, up 3.05 million from the prior quarter. New registrations totaled a record 12.7 million, compared with 11.5 million in the prior quarter and 10.4 million in the second quarter of 2025.
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Why These 3 Market-Beaters Are Backing Up Their Buyback Trucks“VeriSign delivered strong results in the second quarter of 2026, both operationally and financially,” Bidzos said. He also noted that the company marked 29 years of 100% availability for the .com and .net domain name resolution system.
Revenue and earnings rise Chief Financial Officer John Calys said VeriSign generated second-quarter revenue of $435 million, up 6% from the same period a year earlier. Operating income was $296 million, an increase of $16 million, or 5.6%, from the prior-year quarter.
3 American Outperformers Are Lifting and Initiating DividendsNet income totaled $217 million, compared with $207 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were $2.38, up from $2.21 in the second quarter of 2025 and $2.34 in the prior quarter.
Operating cash flow was $232 million, while free cash flow was $213 million. That compared with operating cash flow of $202 million and free cash flow of $109 million in the year-ago period.
Calys said VeriSign ended the quarter with $1.034 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. That total included $546 million of net proceeds from the issuance of 5.1% senior notes due in 2031. The company redeemed $550 million of outstanding 4.75% senior notes due in 2027 on July 20, reducing liquidity from the quarter-end level.
Domain growth guidance raised Management raised and narrowed its 2026 guidance for domain name base growth to a range of 5.2% to 6%, citing trends observed in the first half of the year and expectations for the second half.
Bidzos said the expected renewal rate for the second quarter was 75.2%, compared with 75.5% a year earlier. He added that the first-quarter renewal rate was the highest VeriSign had seen in 20 years, and that first-time renewal rates have remained in a tight range in the mid-40% area for several quarters.
According to Bidzos, the strongest regional growth in the second quarter came from the U.S. and EMEA. He said registrar engagement with VeriSign’s marketing programs and customer acquisition efforts supported demand, while AI tools are making domain discovery, content creation and website creation faster and easier.
“The strength in new registrations attests to the vital role of domain names in being discovered and establishing digital credibility,” Bidzos said.
In response to an analyst question, Bidzos said several factors were working together, including the company’s infrastructure, registrar execution and AI-related tailwinds. He said it was difficult to precisely separate the impact of each factor. He also addressed whether the upcoming November .com wholesale price increase could be pulling forward demand, saying VeriSign did not view that as “anything coming close to a material factor” in current registration strength.
Full-year financial outlook updated VeriSign updated its full-year financial guidance. The company now expects:
Revenue of $1.745 billion to $1.755 billion. Operating income of $1.185 billion to $1.195 billion. Interest expense and non-operating net expense of $59 million to $65 million. Capital expenditures of $55 million to $65 million. A GAAP effective tax rate of 22% to 25%. Calys said the capital expenditure outlook accounts for price increases in server memory chip markets, which he said have had a meaningful impact. He added that VeriSign has pulled forward some spending that otherwise would have been expected next year to avoid known upcoming price increases.
Bidzos said VeriSign would continue to make the necessary investments in equipment for its operations “without hesitation.”
.web delegated into DNS root zone Bidzos also highlighted VeriSign’s announcement that .web has been delegated into the global Domain Name System root zone, with VeriSign as the registry operator. He said the delegation followed the resolution of previous disputes related to the generic top-level domain.
VeriSign plans to begin offering .web domains through channel partners later this year and said it does not currently expect meaningful revenue or expenses from .web in 2026.
Bidzos said .web differs from .com because it is governed by a standard registry agreement with ICANN and is not subject to the same cooperative agreement structure that applies to .com. He said VeriSign will have “complete wholesale pricing flexibility” for .web, subject to a six-month notice requirement to registrars, and will be able to sell premium names, which it cannot do for .com or .net.
Management outlined the expected launch sequence for .web, including a required 90-day security testing period and a minimum 30-day period for trademark holders. Bidzos said VeriSign also intends to run a limited registration period that would allow .com holders the opportunity to register the corresponding .web name before general availability.
General availability is expected either late this year or very early next year, Bidzos said.
Capital returns and new products VeriSign’s board increased the company’s share repurchase authorization by $884 million, bringing total availability under the current program to $1.5 billion. The program has no expiration date.
The board also approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.81 per share, payable Aug. 27, 2026, to shareholders of record as of Aug. 19, 2026. Bidzos said VeriSign returned more than 100% of free cash flow to shareholders over the last 12 months through $1.17 billion in repurchases and dividends.
Bidzos said VeriSign has not paused its new product efforts, although it delayed related blog rollouts while focusing on .web delegation. He said the products are security-focused and rely on the company’s infrastructure, public key infrastructure history and DNS security experience.
Management said the products are designed for performance, reliability and global scale, with Bidzos pointing to increasing reliance on online services, especially AI-related services, and the need for deeper deployment of security technologies.
About VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN)VeriSign, Inc NASDAQ: VRSN is an internet infrastructure company that operates critical components of the global Domain Name System (DNS) and provides cybersecurity-related services. The company is best known as the authoritative registry operator for the .com and .net top-level domains, maintaining the central databases and zone files that enable domain name resolution for millions of websites. VeriSign's registry role is performed under contractual agreements with Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and involves high-availability, highly secure operations to support continuous internet connectivity.
In addition to its registry business, VeriSign offers a suite of services designed to protect and accelerate DNS and internet traffic for enterprises and service providers.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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VeriSign (VRSN - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $2.38 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.36 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.21 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +0.85%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this internet infrastructure services provider would post earnings of $2.2 per share when it actually produced earnings of $2.34, delivering a surprise of +6.36%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.
VeriSign, which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Software and Services industry, posted revenues of $434.6 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.05%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $409.9 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
VeriSign shares have added about 8.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.6%.
What's Next for VeriSign?While VeriSign has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for VeriSign was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $2.39 on $440.52 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $9.45 on $1.75 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Internet - Software and Services is currently in the top 28% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Another stock from the same industry, Tyler Technologies (TYL - Free Report) , has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. The results are expected to be released on July 29.
This information management software provider is expected to post quarterly earnings of $3.09 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +6.2%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.5% higher over the last 30 days to the current level.
Tyler Technologies' revenues are expected to be $646.95 million, up 8.5% from the year-ago quarter.
