NEW YORK, July 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized investor-rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and certain of its officers.
This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Microsoft securities between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm’s site: bgandg.com/MSFT.
Microsoft Case Details
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements because they failed to disclose that:
(1) Microsoft’s Copilot family of products had experienced significant brand positioning, user experience, usage, data siloing, computational capacity, organizational, and interoperability problems;
(2) Microsoft’s flagship proprietary AI model ranked well below competitors on a number of benchmark tests;
(3) Microsoft needed to increase by billions of dollars its capital expenditures and divert graphics processing unit (“GPU”) and central processing unit (“CPU”) capacity away from fulfilling demand for its profitable Azure services in order to improve the competitive positioning of its critical Copilot family of products and increase its AI-related research and development (“R&D”); and
(4) as a result of the above, Microsoft had failed to convert a significant percentage of its commercial Microsoft 365 users to paid Copilot subscriptions and Microsoft’s Copilot offerings had lost market share to rival products, a trend that was increasing.
What's Next for Microsoft Investors?
A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm’s site: bgandg.com/MSFT. or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Client Relations Manager, Nathan Miller, of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 917-590-0911. If you suffered a loss in Microsoft you have until August 11, 2026, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff.
No Cost to Microsoft Investors
We, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC, represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys’ fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.
Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC for Microsoft Securities Class Action?
Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide. More at www.bgandg.com
"Our practice centers on restoring investor capital and ensuring corporate accountability, which serves to uphold the essential integrity of the marketplace," said Peretz Bronstein, Founding Partner of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC.
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Contact Info
Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or Nathan Miller
Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
917-590-0911 | [email protected]
Attorney advertising.
Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
BENSALEM, Pa. , July 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Law Offices of Howard G. Smith reminds investors that class action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of shareholders of the following publicly-traded companies. Investors have until the deadlines listed below to file a lead plaintiff motion.
Investors suffering losses on their investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in these class actions at (215) 638-4847 or by email to [email protected].
Erasca, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERAS)
Class Period: January 14, 2025 – April 26, 2026
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 10, 2026
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) ERAS-0015’s preclinical data was based on improper comparisons to RevMed and placed Erasca at risk of violating patent and trade secret protections; and (2) as a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
Nano-X Imaging Ltd. (NASDAQ: NNOX)
Class Period: March 31, 2025 – April 17, 2026
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 11, 2026
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Defendants overstated purported efficiency gains achieved in Nano-X’s operations, as well as the purported increased demand for its products; (2) in reality, Nano-X’s production and manufacturing operations were poorly aligned with demand for the Company’s products; (3) as a result, Nano-X was experiencing significantly increased operating expenses and cash burn; (4) the foregoing significantly increased the likelihood that Nano-X would be forced to take disruptive remedial measures with respect to its manufacturing operations, entailing significant restructuring and impairment charges; and (5) as a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
Class Period: May 1, 2025 – January 28, 2026
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 11, 2026
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: (1) that Microsoft’s Copilot family of products had experienced significant brand positioning, user experience, usage, data siloing, computational capacity, organizational, and interoperability problems; (2) that Microsoft’s flagship proprietary AI model ranked well below competitors on a number of benchmark tests; (3) that Microsoft needed to increase by billions of dollars its capital expenditures and divert GPU and CPU capacity away from fulfilling demand for its profitable Azure services in order to improve the competitive positioning of its critical Copilot family of products and increase its AI-related R&D; (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Microsoft had failed to convert a significant percentage of its commercial Microsoft 365 users to paid Copilot subscriptions and the Company’s Copilot offerings had lost market share to rival products, a trend that was increasing; and (5) as a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
Black Rock Coffee Bar, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRCB)
Class Period: September 12, 2025 – May 12, 2026
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 17, 2026
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period the defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: (1) Black Rock Coffee’s new store openings were leading to a cannibalization of its existing services and revenue; (2) Black Rock Coffee overstated the manner in which its expansion strategy was tailored to avoid “sales transfer”; (3) as a result of “sales transfer,” the Company’s financial results were materially impacted; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
To be a member of these class actions, you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action. If you wish to learn more about these class actions, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020, by telephone at (215) 638-4847 or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
Contacts
Law Offices of Howard G. Smith
Howard G. Smith, Esquire
215-638-4847
888-638-4847 [email protected]
www.howardsmithlaw.com
Key Takeaways EQNR awarded contracts worth NOK 6 billion for four subsea developments on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.Standardized equipment and early procurement aim to cut costs and speed up project execution.The projects are expected to add 130-220 MMBoe and support Equinor's 75-project subsea plan by 2035. Equinor ASA (EQNR - Free Report) , on behalf of partners, has awarded contracts worth approximately NOK 6 billion for four subsea developments on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), reinforcing its strategy to sustain long-term production while lowering development costs. The contracts form the first wave of a broader subsea development program, which targets around 75 subsea projects by 2035.
By coordinating multiple projects under a single procurement strategy, Equinor aims to standardize equipment, simplify execution and significantly shorten the timeline from discovery to production. Together, the four projects are expected to contribute 130-220 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe) to future production from the NCS, strengthening EQNR's reserve base and long-term production outlook.
EQNR’s Strategic Partnerships Accelerate DevelopmentThe awarded contracts cover key suppliers across the subsea value chain. TechnipFMC plc (FTI - Free Report) will supply subsea production systems for the Brime, Omega Sor and Tyrihans Nord projects. FTI will also install rigid pipelines on the Troll field. OneSubsea will supply the subsea production system for the TWIN project and deliver the umbilicals across all four developments.
Ocean Installer will execute marine installation and connection work, while NOV Inc. will provide flexible pipelines for Brime, Omega Sor and Tyrihans Nord. Procuring standardized equipment before final project approvals enables Equinor to reduce long-lead procurement risks and accelerate project execution once regulatory approvals are secured.
Wave 1 Projects Expand Resource Potential of EQNRWave 1 of Equinor's subsea development program includes the TWIN, Brime, Omega Sor, Tyrihans Nord and Sissel projects, all aimed at increasing production while leveraging existing infrastructure to reduce costs. TWIN is the only project sanctioned so far, with an investment of more than NOK 4 billion. It is expected to recover 11 billion standard cubic meters of gas through two new wells connected to the Troll A platform, with the gas processed at Kollsnes, making it the third phase of the Troll West gas-cap development.
Smaller Discoveries Support Long-Term Growth of EQNRThe remaining projects are in the early stages of development but collectively offer significant resource potential. Brime will feature four wells tied back to existing infrastructure at Visund Sor, with recoverable resources estimated at 16-34 MMBoe. The project may also support a future phased development of the nearby Nokken discovery. Omega Sor, discovered in spring 2026 near the Snorre field, is estimated to contain 25-89 million barrels of oil. It will be tied back to Snorre A and the produced oil will be processed there and exported via Gullfaks.
Tyrihans Nord, originally discovered in 1984, is planned as a two-well subsea development connected to the existing production pipeline between the Tyrihans subsea field and the Kristin platform. Tyrihans Nord is estimated to contain 20-30 MMBoe, primarily gas. The Sissel discovery has been simplified by utilizing the existing Utgard template instead of constructing a new Cap-X facility, reducing development complexity and costs. Sissel is estimated to hold 6-28 MMBoe. Together, these projects illustrate EQNR's strategy of accelerating smaller tie-back developments, maximizing existing infrastructure and enhancing long-term production from the NCS.
EQNR’s Disciplined Capital Allocation Enhances Investor AppealThe initiative highlights Equinor's disciplined organic growth by using existing infrastructure and standardized solutions to lower development costs, accelerate project execution and improve capital efficiency. These investments strengthen EQNR’s business model, resulting in an increased long-term production outlook and enhanced investor appeal.
Zacks Rank & Key PicksEquinor and TechnipFMC currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the energy sector are Aker BP ASA (AKRBY - Free Report) and Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE - Free Report) . AKRBY and CVE currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Aker BP has a strong foothold on the NCS through its operated hubs at Alvheim, Edvard Grieg/Ivar Aasen, Valhall, Skarv and Ula, alongside its stake in Johan Sverdrup. AKRBY expanded its future growth pipeline by securing a 19% interest in the Grosbeak, Swisher, Toppand and Rover exploration licenses.
Cenovus leverages its integrated upstream and downstream operations across Canada and the United States to generate cash flow. CVE is investing in Christina Lake North, Sunrise, West White Rose and Foster Creek optimization projects to increase production and enhance cash flow.
Key Takeaways Nokia is seeing AI infrastructure demand support optical networking and Network Infrastructure growth.VIAV is expanding AI network testing with new validation platforms for next-generation data centers.Nokia and VIAV are investing in AI networking as optical speed upgrades create new opportunities. Nokia Corporation (NOK - Free Report) and Viavi Solutions Inc. (VIAV - Free Report) both operate in communications networking infrastructure and are benefiting from growing investment in AI-driven data center and optical networking. The communication network industry is entering a different phase, as the growing proliferation of AI data centers and AI workloads is driving demand for next-generation networking architecture.
The industry's transition toward 400G and 800G networking technologies is driving demand for manufacturers and vendors of optical transport equipment and connectivity solutions. Growing network complexity is also increasing the need for advanced testing to support performance and reliability.
Both Nokia and Viavi operate in different parts of the broader AI networking system. Let us analyze in depth the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the companies to understand who is in a better position to maximize gains from the emerging market trends.
The Case for NokiaNokia is increasingly emerging as an AI infrastructure beneficiary rather than a traditional telecom-equipment vendor. The growth is primarily supported by growing hyperscalers’ investment in AI infrastructure. AI-driven spending is primarily driving growth in Nokia’s Network Infrastructure segment. The segment’s Optical Networks business revenues grew 20% year over year on a constant-currency basis, driven by rapid AI data center buildouts. In this vertical, Nokia reported strong order intake backed by solid demand for optical pluggables, line systems and data-center interconnect solutions.
Recently, Orange Belgium has selected Nokia to modernize its optical transport infrastructure, underscoring the growing demand for AI-ready networking solutions. Under the multi-year agreement, Nokia will deploy its 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) platform and AI-powered WaveSuite automation software. The solution will unify Orange Belgium's fixed and mobile transport networks into a single converged optical backbone. Such a deal underscores Nokia’s growing credibility in this market. Backed by such solid momentum, the company also increased its forecast for Network Infrastructure market growth to 14% CAGR from the previously expected 9%.
However, it is to be noted that despite growth in its AI and cloud business, Nokia still derives the majority of its revenues from the legacy telecom business. Only 8% of the total net sales came from AI and cloud in the first quarter. In this market, Nokia faces competition from major players such as Arista Networks Inc. (ANET - Free Report) and Cisco. Arista’s Ethernet-based AI fabrics are gaining traction as customers increasingly move away from proprietary networking architectures. It has deployed more than 100 customer networks running 800G Ethernet. Arista is also set to benefit from 1.6T networking adoption from the beginning of 2027.
The company also faces stiff competition from Ericsson (ERIC - Free Report) across mobile network infrastructure, radio access networks (RAN), core networks and 5G deployments. Ericsson boasts a comprehensive portfolio of 60,000 granted patents. A highly-skilled team makes this possible while the close collaboration with customers ensures quick uptake, driving sustainable growth. Around 50% of the world’s mobile 5G traffic runs on Ericsson’s radio networks.
The Case for ViaviAI data center buildout is Viavi’s strongest growth engine. In every stage of AI hardware development, from designing chips to manufacturing optical interconnects and deploying data centers, Viavi offers test and measurement solutions. Backed by its comprehensive product offering, the company is seeing robust demand from hyperscalers, semiconductor companies, optical module manufacturers and networking equipment vendors.
The industry is rapidly moving from 400G to 800G Ethernet and now toward 1.6-terabit. Each speed upgrade requires validation and protocol testing solutions. This transition to higher-speed optical networks presents a solid growth opportunity for VIAV.
Recent investments in PCIe 7.0 analysis capabilities and the launch of the CyberFlood CF1000 platform expand Viavi’s ability to validate AI inference workloads, encrypted traffic and next-generation data center infrastructure. These developments strengthen exposure to long-term AI-related network testing demand, and support continued growth in lab, production and field-testing solutions. The company has also introduced the industry’s first Ultra Ethernet Transport validation platform, designed to help hyperscalers, cloud providers, neocloud operators, and network equipment manufacturers accelerate the deployment of next-generation AI networks. Such innovative product launches bode well for sustainable growth.
Viavi's aerospace and defense business continues to deliver strong growth, driven by positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) products acquired through Inertial Labs. This shows the resilience in Viavi’s business model, which does not rely on a single market to sustain growth.
During the third quarter of 2026, the company’s non-GAAP gross profit improved to $252.9 million from $170.8 million a year ago, with respective margins of 62.2% and 60%. Non-GAAP operating income was $85.5 million compared with $47.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Better product mix, higher AI-related revenues and improving efficiency are boosting margins.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for VIAV & NOK?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VIAV’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 39.09%, while that for EPS suggests growth of 97.87%. The EPS estimate for 2026 has remained unchanged over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOK’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 6.18%, while that for EPS suggests an increase of 21.21%. The EPS estimate for 2026 has remained unchanged over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance & Valuation of VIAV & NOKOver the past year, Viavi has gained 290.8%, while NOK has gained 130.1% over the same period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Nokia looks more attractive than Viavi from a valuation standpoint. Going by the price/earnings ratio, NOK’s shares currently trade at 26.58 forward earnings, lower than 32.8 for VIAV.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
VIAV or NOK: Which is a Better Pick?Viavi carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Nokia carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Viavi and Nokia are both rapidly expanding their portfolio offerings to capitalize on the emerging AI infrastructure market. However, Nokia’s venture into the AI networking space is plagued by strong competition from other major players such as Arista, HPE and Cisco. Gaining a competitive edge against these AI networking giants will be challenging. Consequently, Viavi boasts a strong position in the testing and validation solutions that cater to AI infrastructure buildout. Transition to high-speed optical networks is also a growth catalyst for VIAV. Moreover, Viavi’s presence in diverse markets such as aerospace, defense and semiconductor improves resilience in its business model. Owing to these factors and a better Zacks Rank, Viavi is a better investment option at present.
U.S. stocks were lower, with the Nasdaq Composite falling more than 100 points on Wednesday.
Shares of Penguin Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:PENG) rose sharply after the company announced better-than-expected third-quarter financial results.
Penguin reported adjusted earnings per share of 84 cents, beating the consensus estimate of 54 cents. In addition, it reported revenue of $478.71 million, beating the consensus estimate of $405.53 million.
Penguin Solutions shares jumped 18.8% to $74.50 on Wednesday.
Here are some other big stocks recording gains in today’s session.
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Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA)'s US-listed shares jumped almost 11% on Tuesday, supported by a temporary legal reprieve in the United States and growing optimism ahead of the company's upcoming earnings report.
Investor sentiment improved after a US federal judge temporarily blocked restrictions tied to the Pentagon's designation of Alibaba under its Section 1260H list while the company's legal challenge proceeds, according to Bloomberg.
The order allows Alibaba to continue working with US lobbying firms during the court process, preserving its ability to engage with US policymakers on issues related to its cloud computing, e-commerce and capital markets businesses.
The legal challenge stems from the US Department of Defense's June decision to add Alibaba, along with several other Chinese companies, to its list of entities identified as having ties to China's military. The broader review of the designation remains ongoing.
Also supporting the stock was growing optimism ahead of Alibaba's June-quarter earnings, expected in late August or early September.
Jefferies expects Alibaba to deliver "strong execution despite macro headwinds," with combined EBITA from its China e-commerce and Alibaba International Digital Commerce businesses remaining roughly flat year over year.
The firm believes that weakness in industry gross merchandise value growth is already reflected in the stock price and reaffirmed Alibaba as its top pick on its artificial intelligence investment theme.
The analysts forecast total June-quarter revenue to increase 9% year over year to about RMB270 billion, in line with market consensus. They expect Cloud Intelligent Group revenue to grow 45% from a year earlier, above consensus estimates, driven by demand for artificial intelligence services and model-as-a-service offerings. Jefferies also expects cloud margins to improve sequentially and forecasts Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group will return to profit during the quarter.
The analysts wrote that stronger cloud performance and improving fundamentals in Alibaba's Quick Commerce business should help offset softer trends in China's broader online retail market, where industry online shopping gross merchandise value growth slowed during April and May.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) stock is bucking the broad-market selloff today, up 9% to trade at $106.98 at last look. The China-based e-commerce name and mainland peers Baidu (BIDU) and JD.com (JD) are up 3% and 5% higher, respectively, as investors rotate out of South Korean and Taiwanese chipmakers.
There are also local reports that Alibaba disclosed quarterly losses that had narrowed, while profitability had held steady. China is also planning to curb access to its top AI models. BABA is now on track for its best single-session gain since August 2025.
Alibaba shares hit an 18-month low of $91.99 on June 26, but are now testing their year-over-year breakeven level and headed for their best daily pop since August. Prior to today's jump, Alibaba's 14-Day Relative Strength Index (RSI) sat down in "oversold" territory at 21.
Analysts remain steadfast, with 22 of 26 in coverage maintaining "buy" or better ratings, with zero "sells" on the books. Plus, the consensus 12-month price target of $188.02 is a 72% premium from its current perch. Should BABA run out of steam and resume its struggles, a shift in sentiment could weigh on the equity.
Options traders are in luck. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits up at 88, indicating Alibaba has tended to exceed option traders' volatility expectations during the past year.
Key Takeaways Alibaba removed Qwen AI companion features as China prepares new rules for human-like AI services.BABA shares jumped 12.2% after signs of narrowing instant-commerce losses and steady profitability.Alibaba Cloud revenues rose 38% as AI product revenues logged triple-digit growth for an 11th quarter. Alibaba Group (BABA - Free Report) is pulling artificial intelligence (AI) companion features from its Qwen platform as Beijing prepares to enforce sweeping new rules on humanlike AI services, even as the stock stages its sharpest rally in months on unrelated signs of operational improvement. Qwen's humanlike and user-created agents stopped working on July 10, with wider agent services following five days later, aligning the shutdown with the July 15 rollout of China's first dedicated regulatory framework governing AI that simulates human personality.
The measure, co-issued on April 10, 2026, by the Cyberspace Administration of China and four other agencies, cites concerns including radicalization, data privacy, psychological harm and compulsive use. Compliance requires anti-addiction systems, mandatory usage notifications and real-time detection of unhealthy dependence — obligations that clash with agents built to remember users and sustain ongoing relationships. Unlike ByteDance, which offered a data-export window for its Doubao personas, Alibaba has not detailed a migration path for affected Qwen users.
The regulatory retreat came in the same week Alibaba shares jumped 12.2% in Hong Kong to HK$107.5, their largest single-session gain since September 2025. The move followed a pre-earnings briefing indicating losses in the company's instant-commerce business narrowed meaningfully in the June quarter while overall profitability held steady, reigniting investor confidence ahead of the August 28 earnings report. Sentiment was further supported by reports that Alibaba is consolidating three separate enterprise AI Agent tools — QoderWork, Wukong and MuleRun — into a single productivity platform led by DingTalk chief executive Chen Yusen, alongside reports of accelerating Alibaba Cloud revenue growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
The developments follow a fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 report in which Alibaba's Cloud Intelligence Group posted revenues of 41.63 billion yuan ($6.04 billion), up 38% year over year, with AI-related product revenues extending triple-digit annual growth for an eleventh consecutive quarter and representing 30% of the cloud unit's external revenues. Group-wide, total revenues rose 3% to 243.38 billion yuan, while adjusted EBITA fell 84% amid heavy AI infrastructure and quick-commerce spending. Together, the two threads illustrate a company navigating tighter domestic rules on consumer-facing AI even as its cloud and enterprise AI ambitions draw renewed investor attention.
U.S. Peers Navigate Similar AI Investment CyclesAlibaba's heavy AI infrastructure spending mirrors trends at Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , both of which have posted comparable margin pressure from AI capital expenditure. Microsoft has continued expanding data-center capacity to support its cloud AI services, while Amazon has similarly scaled AI infrastructure investment across its cloud unit, each citing rising demand for AI-related workloads. Unlike Alibaba, neither Microsoft nor Amazon faces domestic regulatory restrictions on humanlike AI companion features, since such rules remain specific to China's market. Microsoft and Amazon shares have shown more muted single-session volatility than Alibaba's recent surge, reflecting differing investor sensitivity to regulatory versus earnings-driven catalysts.
BABA’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesBABA shares have plunged 33% in the year-to-date period, underperforming the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector’s decline 0.9% and 0.3%, respectively.
BABA’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, BABA stock is currently trading at a trailing 12-month Price/Earnings ratio of 31.06X compared with the sector’s 28.6X. BABA has a Value Score of D.
BABA’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 earnings is pegged at $6.86 per share, down 5.9% over the past 30 days, indicating a 76.35% year-over-year increase.
Alibaba currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Alibaba BABA stock is printing its strongest single-day performance in about ten months on July 8th following a sneak peek into its fiscal Q1 results.
Investors are loading up on the Chinese tech behemoth after the leaked earnings preview signalled a return to top-line growth in its core e-commerce segment.
Additionally, BABA is proving a key beneficiary of the broader capital rotation currently underway – with institutional investors trimming exposure to overextended Western semiconductor stocks in favour of the discounted Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) names.
A popular name that isn’t participating in the said rotation, however, is ARK Invest’s founder and chief executive officer Cathie Wood, who has actually unloaded Alibaba shares recently to invest in another overvalued US stock.
While retail and institutional desks are bidding up BABA shares on Wednesday, Cathie Wood has spent recent weeks moving completely in the opposite direction.
The famed investor has unloaded her stake in the Chinese giant almost entirely, after selling about $54 million worth of it in a single day late in June.
Instead of riding the AI hype and the subsequent near-term wave of recovery in China’s tech names, the ARK Invest founder is diverting the freshly unlocked capital into alternative frontiers.
Her primary target has been SpaceX (SPCX), of which she has accumulated another 44,000 shares this week.
Cathie Wood might have pulled out of Alibaba shares because of “deep-seated concerns” about the true long-term monetization timeline for Chinese large language models (LLMs).
While data shows Alibaba Cloud maintaining a dominant 40.1% market share in China’s full-stack artificial intelligence cloud infrastructure with its proprietary Qwen model, converting that sheer volume into high-margin enterprise profitability remains a significant hurdle.
Moreover, China’s strict AI regulatory environment imposes structural compliance headwinds that Western firms do not face, further hurting the potential for exponential growth.
Combined with margin erosion tied to BABA’s highly capital-intensive instant-commerce delivery, the risk-to-reward ratio perhaps soured for ARK Invest.
Ultimately, Cathie Wood’s refusal to buy the Alibaba hype highlights a sharp philosophical divide on Wall Street regarding the next phase of AI deployment.
Shorter-term traders view BABA stock as fundamentally mispriced at about 15x forward earnings, especially since it controls the foundational infrastructure of the Chinese digital economy.
But Ark Invest is executing a structural arbitrage, fleeing China’s consumer uncertainties to wager on what Cantor Fitzgerald recently described as “planetary infrastructure”.
Wood’s bold reallocation implies that true exponential AI gains will not be captured by domestic e-commerce applications, but by frontier platforms like SpaceX’s Starlink, which aims to pioneer orbital space data centers to rent out massive, unconstrained computing power by 2030.
Few stocks have destroyed as much shareholder value as Canopy Growth (CGC +0.81%). Since its 2018 peak, shares of the cannabis producer have lost more than 99% of its value as the industry struggled with oversupply, regulatory delays, and years of unprofitable growth. That kind of collapse naturally raises a question: Is this finally a buying opportunity?
Moving in the right direction To be fair, Canopy Growth is a much healthier company now than it was a few years ago. Fiscal 2026 revenue increased 6% to $200.4 million, while cannabis revenue climbed 15%. Canadian medical cannabis revenue reached a record level, international cannabis sales rebounded sharply in the fourth quarter, and management continues targeting positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) during fiscal 2027. The balance sheet has also improved.
Image source: Getty Images.
Canopy ended fiscal 2026 with approximately $256.5 million in cash and a net cash position of $92 million, a dramatic improvement from the prior year. The company has also spent the past year reducing costs, integrating its MTL Cannabis acquisition, and narrowing operating losses. Still, despite those improvements, Canopy remains unprofitable.
Better company, better stock? Revenue growth has been relatively unimpressive, free cash flow remains negative, and the investment thesis still depends heavily on broader cannabis reform and continued execution in Canada and international medical markets. None of those outcomes is guaranteed.
There's also the issue of dilution. Over the years, Canopy has repeatedly issued new shares to strengthen its balance sheet and fund operations. Existing shareholders have paid a steep price for that financing, and future capital raises can't be ruled out if profitability takes longer than expected.
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To be sure, Canopy is certainly a stronger business than the one investors abandoned several years ago. Management deserves credit for improving the balance sheet and stabilizing operations. But a better marijuana company doesn't automatically make a better marijuana stock.
Until the company demonstrates consistent profitability and positive free cash flow, I'd view the recent progress as encouraging rather than conclusive. For now, there are simply too many execution risks to call the stock a confident buy.
The three most valuable companies in the world, NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), collectively command a combined market cap north of $13 trillion and sit at the center of the AI capex boom.
It’s been brutal to be a semiconductor investor lately, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) tanking 11% in the past week and around 16% from all-time highs seen at the end of June. At this pace, it feels like a bear market is unavoidable, but before you hit the panic button, I’d argue that the latest correction is nothing all too out of the ordinary, especially when you consider the magnitude of the year-to-date run.
Despite the latest sell-off, the iShares Semiconductor ETF is still up over 75%. And while Dr. Michael Burry is looking very wise with his latest short positions against the group as well as individual bearish bets against Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction), I certainly wouldn’t want to single out Nvidia, especially as the GPU titan becomes one of the value plays of the batch. As to whether it will be (mostly) immune to the pain to come for the semiconductors remains the big question.
In my view, Nvidia didn’t really participate in the year-to-date boom, so it might not need to face as vicious a correction. With the shares holding their own on a turbulent Tuesday, gaining a fraction of a percent, perhaps Nvidia is the relative safety play as some of the hotter semiconductor names (think DRAM and NAND makers) come crashing back to Earth.
With Nvidia stock up just 4% on the year, Jensen Huang’s empire is now trailing the market by quite a bit. But it’s this period of underperformance that I think makes the shares tempting to growth investors looking for relative value in an industry where some may think there’s no value to be had. So, rather than going short Nvidia and the broader basket of chip plays, I think it makes more sense to go long Nvidia and short the semis.
Shares just keep getting cheaper With shares trading at 22.2 times forward price-to-earnings (P/E) and no signs that AI demand is slowing, ahead of what I believe could be a Vera Rubin boom (one of the timeliest catalysts of the year, in my books), value and growth investors alike might have something to love from the stock after a 16% drop from peak levels.
Don't wait: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
So, whichever AI trend you’re looking for next (whether it’s agents, robotics, orchestration, or something else), Nvidia seems to be a way to cover all bases. Of course, there’s a good chance Nvidia stock gets dragged down in sympathy with the rest of the semi trade, especially as the fear of a cyclical top in DRAM and NAND intensifies well before any evidence of a slowdown surfaces.
Even if algorithmic efficiencies reduce demand for DRAM, I still think demand for Nvidia GPUs is more structural, especially as the Vera Rubin era brings forth 10x throughput-per-watt. And while Nvidia could take a hit if hyperscalers scale back a bit or announce some sort of CapEx ceiling, I certainly wouldn’t count Nvidia out of the game because there’s so much more to love than just GPUs as AI becomes more useful and, with that, monetizable.
Could higher rates, lower CapEx, and other uncertainties weigh? Perhaps it’s the optionality that AI spenders have (if one reduces spending, others may follow) that makes the semiconductors such an uneasy trade to be in at these heights. Add Fed chair Kevin Warsh’s inflation comments into the equation, and it’s not hard to imagine a rate hike spoiling the semi party.
Even if hyperscalers do start showing some restraint, Nvidia is still going to be there when robots hit the factory floors, and 24/7 agentic coders develop the impregnable, hyper-customized software of the future. And that makes the firm a long-term hold. In my view, Nvidia isn’t just the most magnificent semiconductor stock to own, it’s also the cheapest.
Don't wait: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just revealed his top 10 AI stocks. See the full list FREE now.
An NVIDIA logo and a computer motherboard appear in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
July 8 (Reuters) - China is planning to allow the country's top AI companies to buy a limited number of Nvidia's (NVDA.O), opens new tab H200 chips, the Information reported on Wednesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Chinese officials have told Alibaba (9988.HK), opens new tab, ByteDance and DeepSeek in recent weeks that they may soon receive permission to buy some H200 chips, the report said.
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Shares of Nvidia rose 1% after the report.
The chip giant did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, nor did the U.S. commerce department, which oversees exports of advanced AI chips overseas.
China's commerce ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek did not respond outside of regular business hours.
The U.S. government has allowed Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 chips to China, and licensed about 10 Chinese firms to buy the chips. However, Chinese officials, keen to nurture domestic suppliers, have withheld approval so far.
Reuters reported in March that Nvidia had won Beijing's approval to sell the chips to China, citing sources, and around the same time, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also told CNBC that the company had clearance from China.
Beijing is still determining the exact number of Nvidia chips to approve, and it could amount to fewer than 200,000 in total, the Information said, adding that was less than half of what the companies requested earlier this year.
Last month, Reuters exclusively reported that Nvidia told Chinese clients its new "Vera" central processors for AI data centres could be available as soon as August and that they can begin placing orders.
Nvidia's market share in China has effectively fallen to zero, Huang said in October, hurt by U.S. export controls and Beijing's push for self-reliance in key technologies.
The potential shift in China's stance underscores the growing computing capacity crunch that the country's tech companies are facing.
Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
If you're a smart investor, you've likely been paying attention to the recent sell-off in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. Wall Street appears to have gotten spooked by the massive amounts that tech sector players are spending to build out AI data centers. The hyperscalers have repeatedly told investors that they view the risk of underspending to be far greater than that of overspending, and the momentum of data center builds is likely to persist for some time. This makes the current market sentiment a short-term trend, which is why I think now is the perfect time to load up on some of the AI stalwarts that will lead the way for the next few years.
At the top of my buying list are Alphabet (GOOG 1.50%) (GOOGL 1.59%), Microsoft (MSFT 1.70%), and Nvidia (NVDA +1.46%), and I'm confident that these three will crush the market over the next few years.
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet Just a few years ago, the view of Alphabet was that it would inevitably be a loser from the AI megatrend, suffering as the use of chatbots cut into demand for Google Search. But Alphabet flipped that script and quickly became an AI leader. Its leadership in this field has also helped make its Google Cloud platform one of the top places for developers to build AI applications, and its rapid revenue growth rate -- 63% year over year in its most recent fiscal quarter -- backs this up. Alphabet is also seeing strength in its legacy Google Search business, where AI summaries have become a widely used feature.
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Overall, Alphabet is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the AI realm, and this makes it a top investment option in the space. The market has been bullish on Alphabet's stock, as it has risen around 15% this year, although that figure was as high as nearly 30% in May before the sell-off began. With Alphabet trading for 25 times expected forward earnings, it isn't the cheapest stock on my list, but it's about where most investors would expect a big tech stock to be.
GOOGL PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.
With Wall Street expecting 21% revenue growth this year and 19% next year, I think this is a great price to pay for the stock, making it a smart buy now.
Microsoft Microsoft is currently trading at just 20 times forward expected earnings -- notably cheaper than Alphabet.
MSFT PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.
For reference, the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.62%) trades for 21.7 times forward earnings, so Microsoft is changing hands at a discount to the overall market. What potential investors need to determine is whether that discount is appropriate or a buying opportunity.
Microsoft Azure is another top platform to build AI applications on, and many AI companies, including OpenAI, choose to train their AI models on it. The Azure segment's revenues grew at a 40% rate during Microsoft's last quarter. Microsoft has also integrated its Copilot AI tool into its business productivity software, which has contributed to another booming AI division. The annual revenue run rate of its AI business rose by 123% year over year last quarter to $37 billion.
Microsoft is in a similar boat to Alphabet, yet trades at a 20% valuation discount to it. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense, so I could see Microsoft's stock rapidly rising in the near future to close that gap.
Nvidia Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA +1.46%) has led the AI build-out over the past few years, and looks to be doing it again in 2026. Demand for its GPUs and the ecosystem that supports them has never been higher, and with more data center build-outs expected throughout 2030, its revenues should keep growing over the next few years.
For 2026, Wall Street analysts project a strong 82% revenue growth rate, but for 2027, that rate is expected to fall to 41%. However, so far, only 2026's anticipated growth is priced into the stock.
NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.
This means the market expects Nvidia to revert to a market-average growth rate next year, despite projections that contradict that sentiment. As a result, I think Nvidia is an excellent stock to buy now, as the next year and a half could deliver strong gains for investors.
NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock gained less than half a percent on Wednesday as dip-buyers lean into large-cap tech leadership, even as risk appetite remains mixed across the tape.
The Nasdaq is down 0.05%, while the S&P 500 has shed 0.45% and Technology is still up 0.5%.
The stock drew fresh attention after a report said China plans to allow leading AI companies to buy a limited number of H200 chips.
• NVIDIA stock is taking a breather. What’s next for NVDA stock?
China May Ease Access For Top AI FirmsTech strategist Dan Ives maintained a bullish view of AI semiconductor stocks, telling CNBC that investors still underestimate the long-term earnings power of major chipmakers such as NVIDIA.
Ives Sees AI Chip Demand ContinuingIves said the AI revolution remains in its "third inning" and expects upcoming earnings to confirm continued AI monetization and demand. He also said strong memory-chip trends in Asia support the broader AI infrastructure buildout.
Technical AnalysisNvidia is trading 1.8% below its 20-day SMA ($201.37) and 5.6% below its 50-day SMA ($209.39), which keeps the near-term trend under pressure even as the longer-term structure holds up above the 200-day SMA ($191.37). The 20-day SMA, which is below the 50-day SMA, reinforces that the recent rebound attempts have been losing traction.
Earnings & Analyst OutlookLooking further out, the next major catalyst for the stock arrives with the Aug. 26 (estimated) earnings report.
EPS Estimate: $2.07 (Up from $1.04 year-over-year) Revenue Estimate: $91.70 billion (Up from $46.74 billion YoY) Valuation: P/E of 30.2x (Indicates premium valuation relative to peers) Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with a consensus price forecast of $309.13. Recent analyst moves include:
China Renaissance: Initiated with Buy (Target $319 on June 5) Needham: Buy (Maintains target $270 on June 2) DA Davidson: Buy (Maintains target $300 on June 1) Top ETF ExposureSignificance: Because Nvidia carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows will likely trigger automatic buying or selling of the stock.
Price ActionNVDA Stock Price Activity: Nvidia shares were up 0.076% at $196.99 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock.com
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals for new and old investors, and Zacks Premium offers many different ways to do both.
The popular research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor, giving you access to daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens.
Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.
What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.
Each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics. Just like in school, an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on -- that means the better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform.
The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:
Value ScoreFor value investors, it's all about finding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value before the broader market catches on. The Value Style Score utilizes ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to help pick out the most attractive and discounted stocks.
Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.
Momentum ScoreMomentum traders and investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." This investing style is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Employing factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, the Momentum Style Score can indicate favorable times to build a position in high-momentum stocks.
VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank.
How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank, which is a proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to make building a winning portfolio easier.
#1 (Strong Buy) stocks have produced an unmatched +23.94% average annual return since 1988, which is more than double the S&P 500's performance over the same time frame. However, the Zacks Rank examines a ton of stocks, and there can be more than 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, and another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.
But it can feel overwhelming to pick the right stocks for you and your investing goals with over 800 top-rated stocks to choose from.
That's where the Style Scores come in.
To maximize your returns, you want to buy stocks with the highest probability of success. This means picking stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you find yourself looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, make sure they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.
Since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank, the direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy.
For instance, a stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, even one that boasts Scores of A and B, still has a downward-trending earnings forecast, and a much greater likelihood its share price will decline as well.
Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.
Stock to Watch: American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) American Airlines Group Inc. was formed following the December 2013 merger between AMR (American Airlines' parent group, which was founded in 1934) and U.S. Airways. The merger, which occurred after a bankruptcy filing by American Airlines, resulted in the formation of the largest airline company in the world. American Airlines Group is headquartered in Fort Worth, TX.
AAL is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of A.
Momentum investors should take note of this Transportation stock. AAL has a Momentum Style Score of A, and shares are up 22.1% over the past four weeks.
For fiscal 2026, seven analysts revised their earnings estimate upwards in the last 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.56 to $0.46 per share. AAL boasts an average earnings surprise of +2.6%.
With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Momentum and VGM Style Scores, AAL should be on investors' short list.
The recommendations of Wall Street analysts are often relied on by investors when deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock. Media reports about these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts changing their ratings often affect a stock's price. Do they really matter, though?
Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) .
Netflix currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.61, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 50 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.61 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.
Of the 50 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 32 are Strong Buy and five are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 64% and 10% of all recommendations.
Brokerage Recommendation Trends for NFLX
Check price target & stock forecast for Netflix here>>>
The ABR suggests buying Netflix, but making an investment decision solely on the basis of this information might not be a good idea. According to several studies, brokerage recommendations have little to no success guiding investors to choose stocks with the most potential for price appreciation.
Are you wondering why? The vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover often results in a strong positive bias of their analysts in rating it. Our research shows that for every "Strong Sell" recommendation, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations.
This means that the interests of these institutions are not always aligned with those of retail investors, giving little insight into the direction of a stock's future price movement. It would therefore be best to use this information to validate your own analysis or a tool that has proven to be highly effective at predicting stock price movements.
Zacks Rank, our proprietary stock rating tool with an impressive externally audited track record, categorizes stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and is an effective indicator of a stock's price performance in the near future. Therefore, using the ABR to validate the Zacks Rank could be an efficient way of making a profitable investment decision.
ABR Should Not Be Confused With Zacks RankIn spite of the fact that Zacks Rank and ABR both appear on a scale from 1 to 5, they are two completely different measures.
The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.
It has been and continues to be the case that analysts employed by brokerage firms are overly optimistic with their recommendations. Because of their employers' vested interests, these analysts issue more favorable ratings than their research would support, misguiding investors far more often than helping them.
In contrast, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions. And near-term stock price movements are strongly correlated with trends in earnings estimate revisions, according to empirical research.
Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns.
There is also a key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank when it comes to freshness. When you look at the ABR, it may not be up-to-date. Nonetheless, since brokerage analysts constantly revise their earnings estimates to reflect changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in predicting future stock prices.
Should You Invest in NFLX?In terms of earnings estimate revisions for Netflix, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has remained unchanged over the past month at $3.6.
Analysts' steady views regarding the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by an unchanged consensus estimate, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Netflix. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
It may therefore be prudent to be a little cautious with the Buy-equivalent ABR for Netflix.
Key Takeaways Mastercard launched Click to Pay with stc pay Bahrain on eligible cards to simplify online purchases.MA uses tokenization and payment passkeys to strengthen security with biometric authentication.Mastercard is expanding its presence in Middle East digital payments through the Bahrain rollout. Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) is expanding its Click to Pay footprint through a partnership with stc pay Bahrain, making stc pay among the first in the country to offer the feature as a core capability on eligible cards. The move simplifies online shopping by allowing users to complete purchases with a single click using biometric authentication and passkeys instead of manually entering card details.
The rollout supports MA's broader effort to make digital payments faster, safer and more convenient. Click to Pay uses tokenization to replace sensitive card information with secure digital tokens, reducing fraud risks during online transactions. Combined with Mastercard Payment Passkeys, the solution enables password-free authentication through fingerprints or facial recognition, helping deliver a smoother checkout experience while strengthening payment security.
The partnership also advances MA's long-term strategy of expanding value-added payment services beyond its traditional card network. Mastercard aims to enable fully tokenized e-commerce transactions, and wider adoption of Click to Pay could support higher digital transaction volumes while strengthening relationships with fintech partners and merchants.
The Bahrain launch further reinforces MA's presence in fast-growing digital payments markets across the Middle East. As governments and financial institutions continue promoting cashless transactions, partnerships with innovative fintech companies like stc pay can accelerate the adoption of secure digital payment solutions. Expanding Click to Pay across more issuers and merchants should help MA deepen engagement in digital commerce and create additional long-term payment opportunities.
How Are Competitors Faring?Some of MA’s competitors in the payments space include Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) and American Express Company (AXP - Free Report) .
Visa is expanding frictionless online payments through Click to Pay while advancing tokenization and passkey-based authentication across its network. V is also investing in digital identity and AI-powered fraud prevention, helping merchants deliver faster, more secure checkouts and strengthening its position in the growing e-commerce payments market.
American Express is enhancing its digital payments capabilities by integrating tokenization, biometric authentication and digital wallet support across its network. AXP continues to improve online checkout experiences while expanding partnerships with merchants and fintechs, helping deliver secure, seamless transactions and encouraging greater customer engagement in digital commerce.
Mastercard’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesOver the past year, MA’s shares have dropped 6% compared with the industry’s fall of 19.1%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, MA trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, above the industry average of 18.17. MA carries a Value Score of D.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mastercard’s 2026 earnings implies 15.3% growth from the year-ago period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Mastercard currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
New research from Visa Business and Economic Insights (VBEI) finds that the great wealth transfer is already influencing major financial decisions, from home p
BofA is turning more cautious on commodities broadly, but uranium is bucking the trend as the firm's top conviction call for 2026.
The bank's commodities team cut 32 price objectives across its coverage, including 21 in precious metals, five in base metals and four in steel, and lowered 2026 estimates for 31 of the 33 companies it tracks.
Yet even with the broader pullback, uranium stands out. BofA sees 23% upside on a 2026 average basis versus spot, the biggest gap in its coverage universe, followed by nickel at 11% and platinum and silver both at 10%. Cameco Corporation (TSX:CCO), Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE:FCX, XETRA:FPMB) and Pan American Silver Corp. (TSX:PAA, NASDAQ:PAAS) are the firm's top picks.
Cameco stays the top uranium call Uranium remains BofA's favorite theme in the sector. Spot prices are still trading 23% below the firm's 2026 average forecast, a gap it attributes to contracting frictions, tight supply discipline and utilities restocking their inventories.
Cameco holds onto its spot as BofA's top uranium pick, with the bank citing the company's leverage to higher realized prices, a solid balance sheet and about 48% upside to its price target. The firm also flagged Cameco's 49% stake in Westinghouse Electric Company as a benefit tied to the broader buildout of new nuclear capacity in the U.S.
Gold loses some shine as rate hikes take hold The bigger story behind the downgrades is a shift in Fed policy. With the central bank moving from an easing stance toward raising rates to fight inflation, BofA says gold's upside potential has been cut roughly in half. The firm now sees its $6,000 an ounce target as out of reach for the time being.
BofA trimmed its 2026 gold forecast by 14% to $4,360 an ounce, though it still sees room for a rebound to $4,813 in 2027 if rate hikes wrap up.
Longer term, the firm actually raised its outlook, lifting its long-term gold forecast 17% to $3,500 an ounce.
Platinum and silver are looking more attractive than gold right now, each offering 10% upside versus spot for 2026 despite also seeing forecast cuts.
BofA added Pan American Silver as a new top pick in precious metals, pointing to undervalued silver growth, improving capital returns, upside from dormant assets and 56% potential upside to its price target.
Copper picks matter more than the macro In base metals, BofA is leaning less on broad market direction and more on individual names, noting that copper is already trading through its 2026 forecast. Freeport-McMoRan remains the firm's top base metals pick, backed by roughly 35% upside to its price target, exposure to copper through an ongoing operating turnaround, and growth potential the firm says isn't fully priced in yet.
Aluminum didn't fare as well. BofA cut its price forecasts materially, leaving little room for upside against current spot levels.
The team expects choppy conditions to persist through autumn before a potential recovery later in the year.
12:05pm: Energy risks weigh on metals Bank of America has cut its price forecasts for several base and precious metals, warning that lingering uncertainty over potential energy supply disruptions and a challenging macroeconomic backdrop are likely to pressure mined commodities through the autumn.
The bank said concerns about an energy shock remain an overhang despite easing hostilities in the Middle East, while the prospect of tighter US monetary policy and a stronger US dollar continues to weigh on sentiment, particularly for gold.
However, Bank of America expects the longer-term outlook for industrial metals to improve, citing constrained supply and resilient demand driven by global electrification. "Still, tight supply and resilient demand from the electrification of the global economy should ultimately be supportive for copper and aluminium, so we see scope for a recovery in prices after the summer," the bank said.
11:00am: Apple strikes Broadcom deal Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC) (Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC)) announced a new multiyear agreement with Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO, XETRA:1YD) (Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO, XETRA:1YD), Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO, XETRA:1YD)) valued at more than $30 billion to design and manufacture custom silicon components and wireless connectivity technologies in the United States, marking the company's largest commitment under its American Manufacturing Program.
The agreement is expected to result in the production of more than 15 billion chips in the US and includes a $1.5 billion expansion and modernization of Broadcom's manufacturing facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. Apple said the investment will support hundreds of US jobs.
Under the agreement, Broadcom will manufacture advanced radio frequency components, including FBAR filters, as well as wireless connectivity technologies used in Apple products.
Apple said the deal advances its efforts to build a domestic silicon supply chain and forms part of its broader pledge to invest $600 billion in the US economy over four years through manufacturing, job creation and technology development.
10am: Wall Street starts in the red Wall Street stocks have mostly opened in the red, after government bond yields climbed to around a seven-week high following the surge in oil prices.
The Dow Jones fell 1%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.5%, and the Nasdaq has lost 0.3%.
Sherwin-Williams, Home Depot, IBM and Boeing were among the biggest fallers on the Dow, while materials stocks led the declines on the S&P, with Smurfit WestRock, International Flavors & Fragrances, Amcor and PPG Industries among the biggest fallers.
Moderna, Palantir, ResMed, Universal Health Services and Axon Enterprise also featured prominently on the losers' list, all down 4-3%.
Top risers on the Nasdaq were AI-related, with semiconductor and storage stocks higher: SanDisk, Western Digital, Broadcom, Applied Materials, Lam Research and Arm Holdings all posting 2%-plus gains.
Baker Hughes also advanced as higher oil prices lifted energy shares, while Pinduoduo climbed as part of a wider support for Chinese tech names today.
8.15am: Stocks called lower as oil surges, Iran ceasefire 'over' US stocks are expected to extend losses on Wednesday after oil prices spiked following an exchange of strikes between the US and Iran that led to President Donald Trump declaring the ceasefire "over".
Dow Jones futures were down 1.1%, with S&P 500 futures pointing to a 0.9% drop, while those for the Nasdaq were off 1.3%.
A day earlier, the Nasdaq led the declines, falling 1.2% to 25,819 as chipmakers came under pressure, with the S&P slipping 0.5% to 7,504 and the Dow finishing down 0.3% to 52,925 after briefly hitting a new high above the 53,000 mark earlier.
This came as oil prices started rising following reports of attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Then overnight, US forces launched strikes against more than 80 targets in Iran, with Central Command reporting that these were aimed at command-and-control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats.
Alongside this, the US Treasury Department revoked a waiver that had allowed Iran to restart oil exports, which was followed by Tehran resuming attacks on its Gulf neighbours, including against Bahrain and Kuwait.
When asked about the 'memorandum of understanding' deal, Trump told reporters at the Nato summit: "To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum... They're led by sick people.
"I'll speak to our negotiators. They want to negotiate - they're good people... but they have to come back to me. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them."
West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 5.4% to $74.26 a barrel, continuing a rise from just above $67 last week.
The rise in oil has fuelled inflation concerns, pushing Treasury yields higher and prompting traders to dial back expectations of interest rate cuts.
Traders now see more than an 85% chance of at least one 25-basis point rate hike from the Federal Reserve before year-end, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool.
It comes ahead of minutes from the Fed’s last monetary policy meeting in June, which will be released later.
"But," said market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation, "with new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh unwilling to provide forward guidance, it’s debatable if the minutes will be that helpful in understanding the Fed’s outlook for rate hikes this year."
The recommendations of Wall Street analysts are often relied on by investors when deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock. Media reports about these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts changing their ratings often affect a stock's price. Do they really matter, though?
Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about Walt Disney (DIS - Free Report) .
Disney currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.50, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 31 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.50 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.
Of the 31 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 22 are Strong Buy and four are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 71% and 12.9% of all recommendations.
Brokerage Recommendation Trends for DIS
Check price target & stock forecast for Disney here>>>
While the ABR calls for buying Disney, it may not be wise to make an investment decision solely based on this information. Several studies have shown limited to no success of brokerage recommendations in guiding investors to pick stocks with the best price increase potential.
Do you wonder why? As a result of the vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover, their analysts tend to rate it with a strong positive bias. According to our research, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" recommendation.
In other words, their interests aren't always aligned with retail investors, rarely indicating where the price of a stock could actually be heading. Therefore, the best use of this information could be validating your own research or an indicator that has proven to be highly successful in predicting a stock's price movement.
With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision.
Zacks Rank Should Not Be Confused With ABRIn spite of the fact that Zacks Rank and ABR both appear on a scale from 1 to 5, they are two completely different measures.
Broker recommendations are the sole basis for calculating the ABR, which is typically displayed in decimals (such as 1.28). The Zacks Rank, on the other hand, is a quantitative model designed to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.
Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide.
In contrast, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions. And near-term stock price movements are strongly correlated with trends in earnings estimate revisions, according to empirical research.
Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns.
Another key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank is freshness. The ABR is not necessarily up-to-date when you look at it. But, since brokerage analysts keep revising their earnings estimates to account for a company's changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in indicating future price movements.
Should You Invest in DIS?In terms of earnings estimate revisions for Disney, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has increased 0% over the past month to $6.86.
Analysts' growing optimism over the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to soar in the near term.
The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for Disney. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Therefore, the Buy-equivalent ABR for Disney may serve as a useful guide for investors.
While The Odyssey dropped its social media embargo for early critic impressions nearly two weeks before release, Moana waited until the very last minute to do the same, stacking actual, full reviews the very same day. We are exactly one day before release, and those scored reviews are live. Going through many of them, it’s easy to see why Disney might have waited, given its horrific Rotten Tomatoes score.
At a 32 % Rotten Tomatoes critic review score, the live-action Moana remake is on the worst score ever out of of the growing amount of live-action animation adaptations that Disney has done, often pulling in huge profits, answering the “why” of why they’re bothering to remake so many classics. That is a big criticism about this version of Moana, that it is often a shot-by-shot, line-by-line remake of the original, so why should it have been made at all? “Money” is not usually a reason critics will consider when giving it a score.
I do find it interesting that the How to Train Your Dragon live-action film was similar, reusing some of the voice cast (like Dwayne Johnson here) in their former roles, the film again being an extremely close visual and script clone of the first movie. And that got a 78% critic score and a 97% audience score. I suppose it’s possible we see a high-end audience score like that for Moana too, but these reviews are so mixed that it would be a little surprising.
There’s also the “distance” factor here. The original Moana was only released 10 years ago, much more recently than some of the other films being remade in live action. Almost all of them, in fact. Then, Moana 2 was just released in November 2024, not even two years ago. It seems…ill-advised to reproduce these characters so quickly.
Moana
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Praises include the performance of new Moana, Catherine Laga’aia, though at the cost of outshining The Rock, where, despite the fact that he’s reprising his Maui role, it doesn’t work nearly as well onscreen with him and his silly wig. There are also often complaints about the visuals of the film, greenscreen flatness as opposed to the rich world of the animated original.
Here’s how Moana stacks up against the other Disney live-action remakes:
The Jungle Book (2016) – 94% critic score, 86% audience scoreCinderella (2015) – 83% critic score, 78% audience scoreCruella (2021) – 75% critic score, 97% audience scoreLilo and Stitch (2025) – 72% critic score, 91% audience scoreMulan (2020) – 72% critic score, 47% audience scoreBeauty and the Beast (2017) – 71% critic score, 80% audience scoreThe Little Mermaid (2023) – 67% critic score, 93% audience scoreAladdin (2019) – 57% critic score, 94% audience scoreThe Lion King (2019) – 52% critic score, 88% audience scoreAlice in Wonderland (2010) – 51% critic score, 55% audience scoreDumbo (2019) – 45% critic score, 48% audience scoreMaleficent (2019) – 39% critic score, 95% audience scoreMoana (2026) - 32% critic score, N/A audience scoreAnd here is a sampling of what critics are saying about the film:
Mashable – “It evoked in me a similar reaction to AI slop, where I cringe at the unnerving blend of the familiar and the not-quite-right.”Independent UK – “Dwayne Johnson’s terrible wig is just one low point of a film that has all the visual allure of a Febreze advert.”Consequence – “Maui’s nipples aside, Moana contains no nightmare fuel on the level of 2025’s Snow White — which ends up being high praise for adaptations like these.”I’m sorry, what about Maui’s nipples? In any case, they’re not going to be putting any of those on the poster, that’s for sure. But now we wait and see whether audiences care and just how many hundreds of millions this might make.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Key Takeaways Target's Roundel retail media business helped support profitability in the first quarter.Advertising revenues rose to $246 million from $163 million, driven by advertiser demand.Target's gross margin improved 80 basis points to 29%, aided by advertising revenue growth. Target Corporation’s (TGT - Free Report) first-quarter fiscal 2026 performance highlighted an increasingly important contributor that extends beyond merchandise sales. The company's Roundel retail media business continued to gain momentum, reinforcing the value of its growing portfolio of higher-margin revenue streams. While comparable sales, digital growth and traffic drew most of the attention, Roundel quietly played a meaningful role in supporting profitability during the quarter.
Non-merchandise revenues increased nearly 25% in the first quarter, driven by strong growth in Roundel advertising revenues, Target Circle 360 membership revenues and the Target+ marketplace. Advertising revenues alone climbed to $246 million from $163 million in the prior-year period, reflecting continued advertiser demand for Target's retail media platform. The company also noted that Roundel advertising services are recognized either as net sales or as offsets to operating costs, depending on the advertising arrangement, allowing the business to support earnings in multiple ways.
The profitability impact was evident in the quarter's margin performance. Target reported an 80-basis-point improvement in gross margin to 29%, citing growth in advertising and other non-merchandise revenues alongside supply-chain productivity and lower markdowns.
During the first-quarter earnings call, management also identified Roundel as one of the company's high-margin revenue streams that contributed to the stronger gross margin performance, underscoring that retail media is becoming more than an ancillary business. As advertisers increasingly seek direct access to Target's shoppers, Roundel appears to be evolving into an important earnings lever that complements the retailer's core merchandising operations rather than depending solely on additional product sales.
Walmart and Kroger Are Scaling Retail Media Like TargetWalmart Inc. (WMT - Free Report) continues to strengthen its retail media platform as a high-margin growth driver. Walmart highlighted that Walmart Connect delivered another quarter of strong advertising growth, supported by expanding advertiser demand, richer first-party customer data and deeper omnichannel capabilities. Walmart also continues to integrate advertising with its marketplace and e-commerce ecosystem, reinforcing the role of retail media in driving profitability beyond traditional merchandise sales. These initiatives indicate that Walmart is increasingly leveraging its digital ecosystem to generate faster-growing, higher-margin revenue streams alongside its core retail business.
The Kroger Co. (KR - Free Report) is pursuing a similar strategy through Kroger Precision Marketing. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Kroger reported that Kroger Precision Marketing profit increased more than 20%, driven by stronger on-site customer traffic and higher advertiser commitments. Kroger also said its e-commerce business, including media, reached profitability for the first time, underscoring the growing contribution of advertising to earnings. Kroger plans to expand AI-powered advertising capabilities and deepen partnerships with platforms such as Google and TikTok, positioning itself to further scale its high-margin retail media business.
What the Latest Metrics Say About TargetTarget has seen its shares rally 20.9% over the past six months compared with the industry’s rise of 2.1%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Target's forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio stands at 14.86, lower than the industry’s ratio of 30.28. However, TGT is trading above its 12-month median level of 13.52.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Target’s current financial-year sales and earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 3.9% and 10.3%, respectively. For the next fiscal year, the consensus estimate indicates a 2.9% rise in sales and 6.4% growth in earnings.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Target currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
That’s because investors haven’t been buying Delta’s second quarter—they’ve been buying its second half. Now, management has to prove the market got ahead of itself.
The Rally Is the StoryMost earnings previews begin with analyst estimates. This one begins with the stock.
Delta shares have rallied more than 60% in less than four months as investors looked past a challenging first half and focused instead on easing fuel costs, resilient premium travel demand and expectations that profitability will improve as the year progresses.
In other words, the stock has already rewarded Delta for a recovery that Wall Street believes is still unfolding. That’s exactly what makes this earnings report different.
A Beat May Not Be EnoughConsensus estimates call for Delta to report lower earnings per share than a year ago, reflecting higher fuel costs earlier in the quarter and tougher year-over-year comparisons.
Ordinarily, beating those estimates would be enough to lift the stock. After a 60% rally, however, investors may be looking for something more.
The real questions are likely to center on the second half of the year. Are lower fuel prices beginning to translate into stronger margins? Is premium travel demand holding up? Can Delta maintain pricing discipline without sacrificing demand?
If management merely confirms what investors already expect, even a solid earnings beat could struggle to push the stock materially higher.
The Chart Suggests Investors Are WaitingChart created using Benzinga Pro
Delta’s recent price action reflects that dynamic. After climbing more than 60% from its March lows, the stock has entered a period of consolidation, pulling back modestly while continuing to trade above its rising 20-day and 50-day moving averages.
Chart created using Benzinga Pro
Momentum indicators have cooled, but there has been little evidence of aggressive selling. Instead, the technical picture suggests investors are pausing rather than exiting, waiting for management to provide the next catalyst.
That places even more emphasis on the company’s outlook than on its quarterly results.
Guidance Could Matter More Than Q2Delta has consistently pointed to premium cabins, loyalty revenue and disciplined capacity growth as competitive advantages, while lower fuel prices have improved the industry’s outlook since the company last updated investors. Those themes helped fuel the stock’s rally.
Now investors will want evidence they’re translating into stronger earnings power. That’s why this quarter may be more difficult than it first appears. When expectations are low, companies simply need to beat estimates.
When a stock has already climbed 60% in three months, investors often demand something more: stronger guidance, better margins or evidence that the next phase of growth is still ahead.
Delta may very well beat Wall Street’s numbers this week. The bigger question is whether it can give investors a new reason to keep buying a stock that’s already spent three months pricing in much of the good news.
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United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.
The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 15, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.
While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.
Zacks Consensus EstimateThis airline is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.89 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -51.2%.
Revenues are expected to be $17.69 billion, up 16.1% from the year-ago quarter.
Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 17.87% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.
Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.
Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.
A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.
Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).
How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for United?For United, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +1.26%.
On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.
So, this combination indicates that United will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.
Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.
For the last reported quarter, it was expected that United would post earnings of $1.08 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.19, delivering a surprise of +10.19%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times.
Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.
That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
United appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.
An Industry Player's Expected ResultsAnother stock from the Zacks Transportation - Airline industry, United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) , is soon expected to post earnings of $1.89 per share for the quarter ended June 2026. This estimate indicates a year-over-year change of -51.2%. Revenues for the quarter are expected to be $17.69 billion, up 16.1% from the year-ago quarter.
Over the last 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for United has been revised 17.9% up to the current level. Nevertheless, the company now has an Earnings ESP of +1.26%, reflecting a higher Most Accurate Estimate.
This Earnings ESP, combined with its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggests that United will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters.
Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Shares of American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL | AAL Price Prediction) are down 5% in midday trading Wednesday, leading a broad airline selloff. United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) shares are off 4%, while Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) stock and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) stock are each down 3%.
The catalyst is a sharp jump in crude oil prices. Per Yahoo Finance, WTI crude oil is up 7.47% over the past 24 hours to $75.70 a barrel, driven by news that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire ended after U.S. strikes, with President Trump threatening further strikes. Jet fuel is one of the largest variable costs for carriers, and every leg higher in crude compresses margins that airlines had just begun to protect through capacity discipline.
Crude Oil Spike Reprices Fuel Assumptions Airlines built their 2026 guidance around fuel near $4 to $4.30 per gallon. American Airlines guided FY 2026 assuming fuel near $4/gallon, while Delta and United both modeled roughly $4.30/gallon for Q2 2026. Today’s crude spike puts those assumptions at risk if it holds.
The oil market has been volatile. Over the past year, WTI crude oil has ranged from $55.44 to a $114.58 peak in April 2026, and traders remain jumpy about Middle East supply risk.
American Airlines Leads the Decline American Airlines stock is the most exposed to fuel shocks because of its balance sheet. The company carries $34.7 billion in total debt and negative shareholders’ equity of $4.1 billion, leaving little cushion when jet fuel spikes eat into cash flow.
The bull case is that AAL stock was up 27% over the past month heading into today, and American Airlines’ FY2026 adjusted EPS guide of -$0.40 to $1.10 already bakes in significant fuel risk. The bear case is simpler: with an analyst target of $18.95 and thin margins, a sustained oil rally could push the airline toward break-even.
United Airlines Faces a Fuel Recapture Squeeze United Airlines stock had been one of the sector’s strongest performers, up 58% over the past year. Management warned in Q1 2026 that it expects to recover only 40 to 50% of fuel price increases in Q2, 70 to 80% in Q3, and 85 to 100% in Q4.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby stated, “Our strong financial position and success in winning brand-loyal customers enabled United to quickly make tactical adjustments to higher fuel prices while maintaining our long-term focus.” The carrier also trimmed capacity by 5 points for the remainder of the year.
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Delta Air Lines Braces for Earnings Delta Air Lines stock is the least fuel-exposed of the group thanks to diversified revenue. Loyalty, premium, and refinery streams contribute 62% of Delta’s adjusted revenue, softening the blow from higher jet fuel.
Delta reports Q2 2026 results next week, making today’s move a sentiment preview. CEO Ed Bastian asserted, “Demand remains strong, and we are taking actions to protect our margins and cash flow. This includes meaningfully reducing capacity growth, with a downward bias until the fuel environment improves.” DAL stock trades at a trailing P/E ratio of 13x, with an analyst target of $92.09 and a consensus tilting constructive on 20 Buy and 5 Strong Buy ratings.
JetBlue and the JETS ETF Feel the Pressure JetBlue Airways is the most fragile name in the group. Q2 2026 fuel is guided at $4.13 to $4.28 per gallon, 75% higher year over year, with only 30 to 40% recapture expected in Q2 and full recapture not until early 2027. JetBlue Airways CEO Joanna Geraghty observed that the “macro environment, particularly fuel, has become more volatile.”
The U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSEARCA:JETS) is down 3% to $31.44, confirming that this is a sector event rather than a single-name story. The ETF was up 16% over the past month heading into today, so part of the drop reflects a crowded position giving back gains.
What to Watch Delta reports its Q2 2026 results in mid-July and typically sets the tone for the group. Investors can watch for whether management updates its $4.30 fuel assumption and whether capacity cuts deepen across peers.
If crude oil retreats, today’s selloff could reverse quickly given the sector’s momentum. A sustained move above $75 may prompt analysts to trim their FY2026 EPS estimates and keep airline stocks under pressure into the earnings cycle. American Airlines stock looks most vulnerable to a fuel-driven downgrade cycle given its leverage, while Delta remains the most defensive with its refinery hedge and diversified revenue.
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Persistent Middle East tensions support elevated commodity prices. Exxon Mobil's profitability strategy emphasizes cost savings and advantaged asset development to boost earnings at various pricing levels. Higher-than-expected commodity prices in Q2 could generate surplus cash.
Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.
McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.
His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.
A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.
TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.
McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.
General Motors Company reported a 4.2% Y/Y Q2 sales decline, outperforming Ford's 10% drop, with strong ICE crossover and SUV demand. GM's Chevrolet brand excelled, with Trailblazer sales up 28% and Traverse up 20% year-over-year, supporting potential margin expansion. Despite negative EPS estimate revisions and bearish sentiment, GM trades at a low 5.4x forward P/E, offering up to 49% upside to fair value.
BlackRock (BLK - Free Report) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2026. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price.
The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 15, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.
While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.
Zacks Consensus EstimateThis investment firm is expected to post quarterly earnings of $12.54 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +4.1%.
Revenues are expected to be $6.75 billion, up 24.5% from the year-ago quarter.
Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.71% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.
Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.
Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction).
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.
A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.
Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).
How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for BlackRock?For BlackRock, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +1.21%.
On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.
So, this combination indicates that BlackRock will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.
Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.
For the last reported quarter, it was expected that BlackRock would post earnings of $11.46 per share when it actually produced earnings of $12.53, delivering a surprise of +9.34%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times.
Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.
That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
BlackRock appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.
Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Key Takeaways Starbucks returned to year-over-year revenue and earnings growth while raising its fiscal 2026 outlook.SBUX is benefiting from stronger customer traffic, rewards growth and continued menu innovation.International momentum, including China, and higher earnings estimates support Starbucks' turnaround. Starbucks Corporation’s (SBUX - Free Report) shares have rallied 23.1% year to date, significantly outperforming the industry’s 1.9% growth. The strong momentum has pushed the stock close to its 52-week high of $108.88. Yesterday, Starbucks closed at $103.61, just 4.8% below that peak, reflecting growing investor confidence in its turnaround strategy.
Starbucks' recent rally reflects growing confidence in its turnaround strategy. The company posted its first year-over-year revenue and earnings growth in more than two years, raised the fiscal 2026 outlook and benefited from strong comparable sales, improving customer traffic, successful menu innovation and a stronger Starbucks Rewards program, reinforcing investor optimism.
Even among the top industry players, SBUX stands tall, outperforming McDonald's Corporation (MCD - Free Report) , Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG - Free Report) and Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM - Free Report) .
Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Turnaround Strategy Is Delivering ResultsOne of the biggest catalysts behind Starbucks stock rally has been its return to revenue and earnings growth. During the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Starbucks reported year-over-year growth in both metrics for the first time in more than two years. Global comparable-store sales rose 6%, driven by more than 7% comparable sales growth in North America and strong transaction gains across all dayparts. Importantly, management noted that customer traffic reached its strongest level in three years, indicating that the company's operational improvements are encouraging consumers to visit more frequently.
The turnaround has been supported by the rollout of the Green Apron Service model, which focuses on better staffing, faster service and improved customer experience. Starbucks reported rising customer satisfaction scores while maintaining service speed despite handling higher transaction volumes. The company is also introducing scheduled mobile order pickup, which should improve convenience and throughput. These initiatives are helping restore Starbucks' premium customer experience while increasing store productivity.
Innovation and Loyalty Are Driving DemandStarbucks continues to strengthen customer engagement through product innovation and an upgraded loyalty ecosystem. New beverage launches, including premium Matcha drinks, energy refreshers and seasonal offerings, have generated strong demand and expanded afternoon sales opportunities. The company also highlighted rapid growth in its Cold Foam platform and refreshers business, which continues to attract younger consumers.
At the same time, Starbucks Rewards has become a key growth engine. Active U.S. Rewards membership reached a record 35.6 million, while the redesigned program has increased customer engagement and visit frequency. Management noted that the new 60-star redemption option has quickly become the most popular reward, supporting repeat visits and reinforcing customer loyalty. These initiatives, combined with targeted marketing, have helped improve brand affinity to its highest level in five years.
International Momentum Adds Another Growth AvenueThe recovery is no longer limited to North America. Starbucks reported positive comparable sales across all 10 of its largest international markets for the first time in nine quarters. China recorded another quarter of transaction-led growth, while Japan and South Korea delivered particularly strong performances.
The recently completed partnership with Boyu Capital also positions Starbucks China for long-term expansion while reducing capital intensity. Management expects the new licensing structure to improve profitability and support faster expansion across more than 1,500 Chinese county-level cities over the next three years. The company also reaffirmed plans to open 600-650 net new stores globally in fiscal 2026, providing another growth catalyst.
What Could Slow the Rally?Despite the encouraging progress, several risks could temper Starbucks stock’s momentum.
Management acknowledged that the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain. Although customer demand has remained resilient, executives cautioned that higher fuel prices and broader economic pressures could eventually weigh on consumer spending. Starbucks incorporated this uncertainty into its updated fiscal 2026 guidance, suggesting management remains cautious despite recent strength.
Margin pressures have not disappeared. Product and distribution costs remain elevated due to coffee inflation, tariffs and innovation-related expenses. While Starbucks expects these headwinds to ease in the second half of fiscal 2026, any rebound in commodity prices or prolonged tariff impacts could pressure profitability.
Sustaining the rally will require continued flawless execution of the "Back to Starbucks" strategy. The company is making significant investments in labor, technology and store upgrades, and investors will expect these investments to continue generating stronger traffic, higher comparable sales and expanding margins. Any slowdown in execution or a weakening of consumer demand could reduce enthusiasm for the turnaround.
SBUX’s Estimate Revision TrendThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBUX's fiscal 2026 and 2027 EPS moved up in the last 60 days, indicating positive sentiment among analysts for its earnings.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Taking a Look at Starbucks’ ValuationSBUX stock is trading below the industry. With a forward 12-month price/sales ratio of 2.98X, below its industry average. Meanwhile, other industry players like McDonald's, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Yum! Brands are trading at 6.85X, 3.23X and 4.96X, respectively.
P/S (F12M)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
End NotesStarbucks is making meaningful progress in its turnaround, supported by improving operations, stronger customer engagement, successful product innovation and growing momentum across international markets. These factors, along with improving earnings expectations and a reasonable valuation, support a Hold stance for existing investors. However, with the stock trading close to its 52-week high after a strong rally, much of the near-term optimism appears to be reflected in the share price.
In addition, macroeconomic uncertainty, lingering cost pressures and the need for continued flawless execution of the "Back to Starbucks" strategy could limit further upside. As a result, existing investors may consider holding the stock to benefit from the ongoing turnaround, while new investors may be better served waiting for a more attractive entry point.
Starbucks currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Key Takeaways Hewlett-Packard Enterprise reported record AI systems orders, boosting cumulative AI bookings and backlog. Alphabet increased its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to expand AI servers, data centers and networking. Amazon's AWS AI momentum and major Trainium commitments support long-term AI infrastructure growth. Artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure spending is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, creating long-term opportunities across cloud computing, data centers and AI hardware. Rapid advancements in large language models, generative AI, agentic AI, multimodal learning and high-performance computing enabled by innovations in GPUs and Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) are driving breakthroughs across healthcare, finance, robotics, cybersecurity and e-commerce industries.
The rapid deployment of AI technology and huge spending on its development efforts offer significant growth opportunities for Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) , and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE - Free Report) . Amazon, Alphabet, along with Microsoft and Meta Platforms, are expected to spend around $700 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, with a substantial portion directed toward building AI-ready data centers, expanding cloud regions and deploying GPU clusters.
Before discussing the stocks in detail, let’s dig deeper into the trends.
AI Infrastructure Attracting Significant SpendingData centers have become the backbone of the AI ecosystem, providing the computational power, high-speed networking and large-scale data storage required to train and deploy advanced AI models. Unlike traditional enterprise data centers, AI data centers are built around high-density GPU clusters, ultra-fast networking, advanced cooling systems and scalable power infrastructure to support compute-intensive workloads. Per an IDC report, global AI infrastructure spending reached a record $318 billion in 2025, more than doubling year over year, and is projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2029, driven by hyperscaler investments and the growing adoption of sovereign AI initiatives.
From conversational chatbots and medical diagnostics to fraud prevention and autonomous systems, AI has become a core enabler of organizational agility, while also driving meaningful gains in productivity and operational efficiency. In 2026, the worldwide AI spending is expected to reach $2.59 trillion, representing 47% year-over-year growth. This rapid growth is expected to have been driven primarily by technology vendors and hyperscale cloud providers that are expanding AI infrastructure to meet rising demand for generative AI and agentic AI applications.
AI infrastructure spending extends beyond AI-optimized servers to encompass GPUs and custom AI accelerators, PCIe-enabled platforms, advanced chip-to-chip interconnects, high-speed networking technologies, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), optical connectivity and AI storage solutions.
According to Gartner, AI infrastructure, including AI-optimized cloud services, servers, networking, and semiconductors, is forecasted to account for more than 45% of total AI spending in 2026, with AI-optimized servers emerging as the largest spending category over the next five years.
Our PicksHewlett-Packard Enterprise is benefiting from the modernization of traditional IT infrastructure and huge capex investment in AI. HPE is driving rapid growth by expanding beyond traditional servers into AI-optimized compute, networking, storage, security, private cloud, virtualization and software for AI data centers.
The company’s focus on enterprise and sovereign AI, combined with the Juniper Networks integration, strengthens HPE’s competitive position. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, HPE reported record AI systems orders of $1.8 billion, lifting cumulative AI bookings to $16.4 billion and backlog to $5.9 billion.
This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company expects continued growth from record order pipeline, sustained AI server demand, expanding AI networking deployments and rising on-premises AI adoption. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $3.41 per share, which has been unchanged over the past 30 days. This represents 75.77% year-over-year growth.
Alphabet is benefiting from surging AI infrastructure demand, strengthening growth across Google Cloud and Search. GOOGL’s full-stack AI strategy, spanning custom TPUs, Axion CPUs, NVIDIA GPUs and advanced Gemini models, provides scalable AI infrastructure for enterprises and consumers.
To support rising demand, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company raised 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $180-190 billion, with a significant portion allocated to servers, data centers and networking equipment to meet unprecedented internal and external demand for AI compute resources. Alphabet expects 2027 capital expenditure to increase significantly as it continues to scale its infrastructure to capture the expanding AI opportunity.
The consensus mark for 2026 earnings is pegged at $14.32 per share, which has increased by a couple of cents over the past 30 days. This represents 32.47% year-over-year growth.
Another Zacks Rank #2 company, Amazon, is benefiting from massive capital expenditures on AI infrastructure through significant investments in custom silicon like Trainium and Graviton chips, data centers and AI services. These have positioned Amazon’s cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services (“AWS”), as a leader in the rapidly growing AI market.
With AWS’s AI revenue run rates exceeding $15 billion and strong customer commitments, including more than $225 billion in revenue commitments for Trainium, these CapEx investments are expected to yield compelling operating margins and long-term returns, signaling further upside as AI adoption accelerates across industries.
The consensus mark for 2026 earnings is pegged at $8.86 per share, which has increased by a penny over the past 30 days. This represents 23.57% year-over-year growth.
Beverage and food giant PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) is set to report second-quarter financial results Thursday before market open.
• PepsiCo stock is showing downward pressure. Where is PEP stock headed?
Here are the earnings estimates, analyst ratings and key items to watch.
Pepsi Q2 Earnings EstimatesAnalysts expect PepsiCo to report second-quarter revenue of $23.94 billion, up from $22.73 billion in last year’s second quarter, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in five straight quarters and in six of the past 10 quarters overall.
Analysts expect PepsiCo to report second-quarter earnings per share of $2.21, up from $2.12 in last year’s second quarter.
The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in four straight quarters and in nine of the past 10 quarters overall.
Pepsi Analyst RatingsAnalysts have been lowering their price targets on PepsiCo stock ahead of the financial results. Here are some of the latest analyst ratings and price targets on the stock.
Key Items to WatchCelsius beat analyst estimates for revenue and earnings per share, with overall revenue up 138% year-over-year to a record $782.6 million. The company was helped by the addition of the Alani Nu brand, which saw record first-quarter revenue of $368.1 million.
Pepsi, which is an investor and key distribution partner, was credited with helping the record results as Alani Nu grew its distribution in the quarter.
While energy drinks are only part of the PepsiCo portfolio, they could be one of the bright spots.
Investors will be watching to see if other beverages and snack foods also saw strength in the quarter.
Pepsi has in the past highlighted changes in prices and sizes for some food products like chips as it fights off inflation and tries to win back consumers who thought prices were too high.
Pepsi’s report comes ahead of rival Coca-Cola Co (NYSES:KO), which reported earnings on July 28. Coca-Cola has beaten analyst estimates for earnings in nine straight quarters and beaten revenue estimates in seven of the past 10 quarters, more consistent beats than Pepsi.
The other big difference is guidance. Pepsi lowered its full-year guidance for sales and earnings per share after first-quarter results. Coca-Cola raised its guidance.
Pepsi shares are up 1% year-to-date in 2026, underperforming Coca-Cola’s gain of 21.6% and the 8.9% gain of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), which tracks the S&P 500.
Investors and analysts will likely be expecting a strong report, a double beat and updated positive guidance. A miss and/or cut guidance could put further pressure on shares.
Pepsi Stock Price ActionPepsi stock is down 0.9% to $143.64 on Wednesday, versus a 52-week trading range of $132.96 to $171.48.
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Mad Money host Jim Cramer has been a vocal fan of shares of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC | INTC Price Prediction). And in spite of the red-hot rally that’s in the rearview, I do think Mr. Cramer is right on the money to stay aboard the rollercoaster ride as its first big wild move lower unfolds.
Either way, Mr. Cramer referred to Intel as his “favorite stock” in the market, pounding the table on the turnaround, even amid volatility. Of course, one could argue that the easy money has already been made in the historic comeback play. But, for the most part, I do think Jim is right on the money when he praises the leadership team (they pretty much pulled off a miracle) and the advancement of its foundry business.
In many ways, Intel’s turnaround is something that ought to be studied closely.
It’s historic amid an unprecedented AI revolution with a new CEO who took the helm when shares were at multi-year lows. It felt like Intel was no longer relevant when Lip-Bu Tan stepped into the firm, which, at the time, felt like a sinking ship with considerable cash bleed and miles to go to catch up in the AI chip race, one that only seemed to get more intense over time. Fast forward to today, and Intel is no longer a throw of the dice; its foundry business has gone from a gamble to a more certain winning bet.
Wall Street analysts are pounding the table, too Even after the meteoric rise in the shares (up 367% in just a year), a slew of Wall Street analysts are growing increasingly bullish on the name and its path forward. You can’t blame them, given the exceptional progress the firm has made in the past few quarters alone.
As to whether shares of Intel can eclipse $200 per share (that’s the Wall Street-high right now) remains the big question. Today, the target seems a tad far-fetched, but, then again, who envisioned shares surpassing $100 per share just a year ago? Not many, I’d imagine.
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Of course, just because Intel’s foundry business is looking up doesn’t mean there won’t be bumps in the road. Delays can happen, and if they do, there’s really no telling what the reaction will be, especially since many investors punching their ticket at over $100 per share have fairly high expectations from a firm that’s pretty much back in the race after staying stuck in the back of the pack for so long.
Is it time to get into Intel stock as shares take a dive? While Intel isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, I am inclined to view the latest pullback in the name as more of a buying opportunity than anything else. For Intel, the tough money has already been spent, and as the foundry really has a chance to flex its muscles, all while AI compute demand heads to even more explosive levels, my guess is that Intel could prove too cheap at these levels.
It’s not just Mr. Cramer and a wave of sell-side analysts who are believers. The husband of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi also reportedly purchased call options in the firm just a few weeks ago. Given the U.S. government’s vested interest in Intel’s success and the deal momentum it’s experienced of late, I certainly wouldn’t want to bet against the firm, just because the semiconductor scene is in a bit of a troubled spot.
Arguably, Intel may deserve a free pass since it’s one of the very few capable players in the foundry scene. Any way you look at it, I think there’s a strong case for having Intel in one’s top three semi names to consider as the trade runs out of steam in the coming sessions.
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SUQIAN, CHINA - JUNE 1, 2026 - A netizen is using his mobilephone to view intel logo and using his computer to view intel webpage in Suqian, Jiangsu, China on June 1, 2026. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
This article was written by Doug Nathman, with research by his team at Trefis.
Intel’s (INTC) shares have surged more than 5 times in the last year, advancing from approximately $19 to a recent level around $120. Intel has increased its market capitalization by nearly $500 billion, which is certainly a significant figure.
There are two primary factors contributing to this growth.
Revived CPU demand, with autonomous AI tasks rendering server processors more integral to the AI infrastructure than anticipated a year ago. The broader storyline has been enthusiasm around Intel Foundry, the manufacturing division led by CEO Lip-Bu Tan who aims to establish it as a legitimate external enterprise.
The rationale for investment is quite clear. AI is fueling the need for advanced manufacturing capabilities, customers are seeking to reduce reliance on Taiwan, and Intel is the sole U.S. firm that both designs and fabricates state-of-the-art chips domestically. The organization is striving to evolve its foundry operation from merely a cost center into a world-class contract manufacturer.
Nonetheless, the disparity between the narrative and the financial reality is substantial. External clients account for only a small fraction of foundry income, losses remain considerable, and the strategy has altered several times within just two years. If Intel Foundry is genuinely poised to become a leading semiconductor enterprise, where are the evidence points?
What Q1 2026 Actually IndicatesIntel Foundry achieved $5.4 billion in revenue during Q1 2026, an increase from $4.7 billion in the previous year. External foundry revenue was recorded at $174 million. The operating deficit stood at $2.4 billion, remaining largely unchanged from the $2.3 billion deficit the previous year. For the entire year of 2025, total foundry revenue was $17.8 billion, with external contributions a mere $307 million, alongside a $10.3 billion operating loss for that year. The foundry continues to serve predominantly as an internal supplier for Intel’s own chip designs. This distinction is significant. Manufacturing chips for Intel verifies the technology, yet the financial viability of a foundry only improves when external clients have sufficient trust in the process to commit to large production volumes.
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A Strategy That Has Frequently AlteredUnder Pat Gelsinger’s leadership, Intel established 18A as the premier node for both internal products and external clientele simultaneously. When Lip-Bu Tan assumed leadership in 2025, he shifted the external emphasis towards the subsequent node, 14A, primarily viewing 18A as an internal-only process due to its initial yield difficulties. Enhanced yields and renewed interest from customers in 2026 prompted Intel to once again promote 18A and a new variant, 18A-P, to foundry clients. These shifts in strategy generate uncertainty for customers making multi-billion-dollar, multi-year manufacturing commitments, where stability in processes and consistent roadmaps is vital.
Yield Is Improving, Yet Still Trails TSMCAlthough Intel does not disclose yield information for its manufacturing nodes, industry evaluations indicate that Intel 18A yields are currently within the 50% to 60% range for the Panther Lake compute tile, with further improvements anticipated as production matures. Yields are crucial since they dictate the quantity of functional chips produced from each wafer, directly impacting production costs, profit margins, and a foundry's competitiveness in attracting external customers. Even so, Intel's yields are likely still inferior to those of a fully developed leading-edge TSMC process, where yields frequently surpass 70% to 80%, dependent on die size.
Who’s Actually Expressed InterestMicrosoft (MSFT) has confirmed a custom silicon partnership with Intel, though the specific manufacturing node has not been revealed. AWS is collaborating with Intel on custom Xeon and AI fabric chips, while Apple (AAPL) is reported to have received an initial Intel 18A-P design kit for assessment. Nvidia (NVDA) and SoftBank have also acquired equity in Intel, indicating their confidence in the company’s overarching strategy, although this does not equate to a commitment to produce chips at Intel Foundry. It is crucial to understand the significant distinction between evaluating a process, obtaining a design win, and committing production quantities. Receiving a design kit or verifying a manufacturing process represents an early milestone, but substantial foundry revenue is realized only when clients pledge wafer volumes and transition into mass production.
The Evidence Points Still RequiredThe forthcoming evidence points are clear-cut: a substantial external client committing to significant production volumes, sustained high yields at a commercial scale, and external revenue forming a significant portion of foundry sales. Until these metrics improve, Intel Foundry stands as an encouraging manufacturing platform, but not yet as a demonstrated foundry enterprise.
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Key Takeaways INTC and SIMO are competing in AI, advanced chips and data center semiconductor markets.Intel has surged 371% in the past year, topping Silicon Motion's 294.7% gain and the industry's 30.3%.Silicon Motion trades at 5.77 forward sales, below Intel's 9.1, making it more attractive on valuation. Intel Corporation (INTC - Free Report) and Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (SIMO - Free Report) are two premier semiconductor firms focusing on AI (artificial intelligence), advanced chip technologies and the data center semiconductor ecosystem. Intel is currently focusing on AI chips for data centers and PCs, which marks one of the largest architectural shifts for the company in 40 years. The decision is primarily aimed at gaining a firmer footing in the expansive AI sector, spanning cloud and enterprise servers to networks, volume clients and ubiquitous edge environments, in tune with the evolving market dynamics. The foundry operating model is a key component of the company's strategy and is designed to reshape operational dynamics and drive greater transparency, accountability and focus on costs and efficiency.
Silicon Motion is a leading developer of microcontroller ICs for NAND flash storage devices. The semiconductor company also designs, develops and markets high-performance, low-power semiconductor solutions for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other customers.
Let us try to analyze some of the competitive strengths and weaknesses of the companies to understand who is in a better position to maximize gains from the emerging market trends.
The Case for IntelIntel is witnessing healthy traction in AI PCs that have taken the market by storm. The company has launched Intel Core Ultra series 3 processor (code-named Panther Lake) in January this year and Xeon 6+ (code-named Clearwater Forest) in June. Manufactured in a new, state-of-the-art factory in Chandler, AZ, both products are built on Intel 18A, the most advanced semiconductor process in the United States. Panther Lake is designed to power a broad spectrum of consumer and commercial AI PCs, gaming devices and edge solutions. Clearwater Forest is an E-core server processor that enables business enterprises to scale workloads, reduce energy costs and power more intelligent services.
Intel's innovative AI solutions are set to benefit the broader semiconductor ecosystem by driving down costs, improving performance and fostering an open, scalable AI environment. It has secured a $5 billion investment from NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) to jointly develop cutting-edge solutions that are likely to play an integral role in the evolution of the AI infrastructure ecosystem. Leveraging the core strengths of both firms, namely NVIDIA’s AI and accelerated computing and Intel’s CPU technologies and x86 ecosystem, the collaboration is expected to sow the seeds of innovation through the development of state-of-the-art custom data center and PC products.
In August 2025, Softbank invested $2 billion in Intel to propel AI research and development initiatives that support digital transformation, cloud computing and next-generation infrastructure. The investment enabled Softbank to gain about 2% ownership in Intel, with the former paying $23 per share. This followed $7.86 billion in direct funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act to advance critical semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging projects in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon. The significant capital infusions have enabled Intel to expand its manufacturing capacity to accelerate its IDM 2.0 (Integrated Device Manufacturing) strategy.
However, Intel derives a significant part of its revenues from China. As Washington tightens restrictions on high-tech exports to China, Beijing has intensified its push for self-sufficiency in critical industries. This shift poses a dual challenge for Intel, as it faces potential market restrictions and increased competition from domestic chipmakers. The company is also lagging behind in the GPU and AI front compared to peers, such as NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD - Free Report) . Leading technology companies are reportedly piling up NVIDIA’s GPUs to build clusters of computers for their AI work, leading to exponential revenue growth.
The Case for SIMOSilicon Motion has established itself as the leading merchant supplier of client SSD (solid state drive) controllers to module makers, including most market leaders in the United States, Taiwan and China. The company believes that it is well-equipped to adapt to industry changes as it has collaborated with flash vendors for developing proprietary controller technology to overcome the existing weakness of 3D NAND and outshine peers. Silicon Motion has commenced initial sales of 3D SSD controllers to flash partners. It expects this controller to be a significant SSD controller growth driver for the next year, as NAND Flash partners’ 3D capacity expands.
Silicon Motion operates a fabless business model, focusing on chip design while outsourcing manufacturing to foundries like TSMC. Consequently, the company has a low capital investment requirement as it does not require expensive fabrication plants, enabling it to adopt advanced manufacturing nodes quickly, leading to higher margins compared to integrated manufacturers. This, in turn, enables the company to focus on innovation and product development rather than manufacturing complexity. The key growth drivers for SIMO include AI and high-performance computing, cloud data centers, automotive storage, smartphones and mobile devices. Each of these end markets is growing fast and offers lucrative growth potential. Over the past 10 years, the company has shipped more than 5 billion controllers cumulatively – more than any other company in the world. Silicon Motion ships more than 750 million NAND controllers on average every year.
However, sluggishness in the global economy is likely to weigh on the company’s wireless and broader semiconductor market. The demand for PCs and smartphones in the end market continues to be soft as numerous suppliers are focusing on reducing their inventory levels. The near-term price fluctuation in the PC market remains a concern. Silicon Motion continues to acquire a large number of companies. While this improves revenue opportunities, business mix and profitability, it adds to integration risks. Moreover, the semiconductor industry is highly dynamic as it is prone to swift technological changes, stiff competition from evolving industry standards and declining average selling prices.
How Do Zacks Estimates Compare for INTC & SIMO?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Intel’s 2026 sales implies year-over-year growth of 9.9%, while that for EPS indicates a surge of 152.4%. The EPS estimates have trended up 0.9% over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Silicon Motion’s 2026 sales indicates a year-over-year rise of 77.7%, while that for EPS suggests growth of 149.9%. The EPS estimates have trended up 1.5% over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance & Valuation of INTC & SIMOOver the past year, Intel has surged a stellar 371% compared with the industry’s growth of 30.3%. Silicon Motion has gained 294.7% over the same period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Silicon Motion looks more attractive than Intel from a valuation standpoint. Going by the price/sales ratio, Intel’s shares currently trade at 9.1 forward sales, higher than 5.77 for Silicon Motion.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
INTC or SIMO: Which is a Better Pick?Both Intel and Silicon Motion currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Both companies expect their revenues and earnings to improve. In terms of price performance, Intel has outperformed Silicon Motion. However, SIMO is trading cheaply compared to INTC. With a similar Zacks rank, solid fundamentals and healthy growth potential, there is very little to choose between the two firms. Nonetheless, Silicon Motion’s cheaper valuation metrics make it a better investment option at the moment.
Shopify Inc (TSX:SH., NYSE:SHOP) has been awarded a ‘Buy’ rating and a $150 price target in reinstated coverage, citing the company’s potential to benefit from the evolution of AI-driven “agentic commerce,” as well as ongoing international expansion and enterprise adoption.
The firm’s price target is based on a valuation of 22 times estimated calendar 2027 enterprise value to gross profit. Bank of America wrote that Shopify could become a key beneficiary of AI-native commerce as its payments and checkout infrastructure become increasingly important to transactions conducted through artificial intelligence-powered shopping experiences.
The analyst noted that concerns over AI disrupting Shopify’s position in the commerce ecosystem have weighed on investor sentiment, but argued that the company is positioned to benefit from the shift rather than be bypassed.
“We believe Shopify could be a core beneficiary of the shift toward AI-driven, agentic commerce rather than being disintermediated by it,” Bank of America wrote.
The firm expects agentic commerce to become a meaningful part of e-commerce over the coming years and believes value will increasingly concentrate around transaction and infrastructure layers, where Shopify has an established presence.
Bank of America also highlighted international growth and expansion into larger merchants as additional long-term growth drivers. The firm noted that international gross merchandise volume grew 45% year over year in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, while payments volume outside the U.S. increased more than 70%. Non-U.S. revenue currently represents 37% of Shopify’s total revenue.
The analyst also pointed to continued momentum among enterprise customers, noting that merchants with more than $25 million in gross merchandise volume are growing at the fastest pace and that Shopify Plus revenue increased 20% year over year.
Bank of America forecasts Shopify revenue growth of 24% to 28% from fiscal 2026 through fiscal 2028, with gross margins expected to remain in the mid-to-high 40% range. The firm expects operating margins to expand from 17.1% in 2025 to 20.5% in 2028, while free cash flow margins are forecast to increase from 17.4% to 20.3% over the same period.
The firm noted that Shopify’s payments-focused business model results in structurally lower gross margins, making enterprise value to gross profit a more relevant valuation measure. Its 22-times target multiple is above the peer group average of 18.1 times, reflecting Shopify’s growth outlook and expected margin expansion.
Shares of Shopify were down 5% at $115 in Wednesday trading.
American Express Company is upgraded to Buy ahead of Q2 earnings, driven by robust consumer spending and improving credit trends. Sequential acceleration in billed business and plummeting delinquencies signal strong underlying credit quality and operational momentum for AXP. Guidance for 9-10% revenue growth and EPS of $17.30-$17.90 appears achievable, with potential for a 3% EPS guidance raise post-Q2.
Motley Fool co-founder and CEO Tom Gardner shares five long-term stock ideas -- but first lays out three "outrageous" statements about how he believes investors should approach today's market.
Also in this video:
Why Gardner thinks the average investor should own at least fifty stocks -- and how Peter Lynch's record supports it. How AI agents are reshaping investment research, and why a long-term orientation still wins. Five picks across the risk spectrum, from cautious to aggressive. Five companies Gardner highlights for a diversified, long-term portfolio: Cisco Systems (CSCO +1.31%), MSCI (MSCI 1.75%), Kingstone Companies (KINS 1.23%), Marvell Technology (MRVL 1.31%), and BillionToOne (BLLN 3.01%).
A full transcript is below the video.
This video was published on July 7, 2026.
Hello, Foolish investors. I'm Tom Gardner, co-founder and CEO of The Motley Fool, and I'm here with five stocks for you to invest in for the long term. But before I present those five companies, I'm going to say three outrageous things about investing, and you can decide whether you agree.
The first is that after thirty years serving members around the world -- tens of millions of people working to make better investment decisions and to live smarter, happier, and richer lives -- we've concluded from all that data that it's a very good idea for the average individual investor to own at least fifty stocks.
I know there will be protests in the comments. Fifty stocks? That sounds like an index fund. Why would I ever do that? Well, there is so much disruption and so many questions about resiliency to AI. It's going to roll across every industry, and running a concentrated portfolio through that seems quite risky to me.
Fifty also seems like a lot until you remember that Peter Lynch held more than five hundred companies at Fidelity Magellan and delivered twenty-nine percent annualized returns for more than a decade. Plenty of very successful investors have owned hundreds of companies and still beaten the market. The reason is that there are forty thousand public companies in the world, and over any rolling 10-year period, about four thousand of them drive most of the upside. The majority will be mediocre, marginal, or outright losers -- it's the top ten percent that win. But out of forty thousand companies, that still leaves four thousand great businesses to choose from. And you can't find fifty? Of course you can.
The second outrageous thing is that we're moving into a completely new world of investing. The methodical way that fundamental and technical analysts look at one company after another is being transformed. The Motley Fool started in 1993, and we watched the shift from magazines, newspapers, and print subscriptions mailed once a quarter to a world that moved online -- real-time information for free, the ability to talk to investors around the world, and investment clubs that scaled to millions of people. That transformation changed the way we invested. This one is even more dramatic. We may be in just the second or third inning, but soon you'll have teams of AI agents doing research for you night and day, following more companies and understanding more twists and turns in the categories you care about most. If you don't have those systems working on your behalf, you're going to be at a disadvantage.
The Motley Fool is making substantial investments in building out AI scoring systems to find businesses that make sense as long-term investments. We're not competing on day trading or speculative high-frequency trading, and we're not here to predict where the market or Bitcoin will be in the next six months. We look out five, ten, and twenty years, because the vast majority of money made in the equity markets is made by business owners -- the CEOs and founders with large equity stakes. Every one I've met, whether Herb Kelleher at Southwest Airlines, Jim Sinegal at Costco, or Howard Schultz at Starbucks, and dozens more over these thirty years, none of them cared about their stock's performance over ninety days. When their stock was down twenty percent in a given year, that wasn't on their priority list of things needed to build a great business.
So a long-term-anchored, AI-powered scoring system is going to help us find the future Netflixes, Teslas, and Googles. Consider Nvidia: it has fallen fifty percent four times since our Rule Breakers team first recommended it at what is now $0.16 a share in 2005. The stock has risen thirteen hundred times in value since then, and it was never sold. That's why some Motley Fool members can say, "I put in five thousand dollars, and I have six million dollars in Nvidia." That's what a 1,300x return does -- and you don't get it by fishing for minnows day to day. It comes from buying companies and holding them for very long periods.
The last thing I'll say is that most of us probably feel we're in a pricey market. Remember that when large IPOs come public one after another, those are some of the best-informed businesses in history choosing this moment to sell equity to the public -- an indication that we're in richly priced territory. For that reason, three of these five recommendations carry a risk profile inside The Motley Fool of cautious, one is ranked moderate, and only one is scored aggressive. Tilting toward cautious and moderate makes sense right now.
The first recommendation is the long-standing Cisco Systems. This was the backbone of the internet twenty-five years ago; the market peaked and the stock never really came back. But here it is, providing networking equipment to connect data centers, with a healthy security business growing out of its Splunk acquisition. It has thirteen billion dollars in free cash flow and double-digit return on assets -- very efficient with its capital. Leadership has shown it can sit at the center of the most dramatic technical transformations in history while running a disciplined financial story. We first recommended it in Hidden Gems at forty-nine dollars in 2024; the stock's now at one hundred twenty. I think we can get twelve to fourteen percent annualized from Cisco over the next five years.
The second company, also cautious, is MSCI. It provides global benchmarks for institutional investors -- if you run an ETF or fund and need an index to measure your performance against, MSCI creates those indexes, and it builds the underlying index for many index funds too. Institutions pay on a subscription basis, so it's recurring, highly profitable revenue, with over a billion dollars in free cash flow and unbelievable rates of return on invested capital. A very well-managed business.
The third company is one probably no one here has heard of: a very small homeowners insurance company called Kingstone Companies. In 2019, Merrill Golden joined as chief operating officer, and about four years later the succession plan advanced and she became CEO. She fixed a troubled, nearly broken insurer whose stock had fallen below a dollar a share; it's now around fifteen dollars -- an amazing return over just two and a half years. The company now runs an eighty-eight percent combined ratio, meaning it earns a twelve percent profit margin on the contracts it writes, mostly homeowners insurance in New York, but it's now expanding into Connecticut and, most importantly, California, where many insurers are pulling back from wildfire risk. Kingstone is stepping in because it believes it can price that risk correctly. It's a tiny company and the stock could be volatile, but it's cautiously rated because it's a very disciplined insurer with a CEO doing an outstanding job.
Those first three -- Cisco, MSCI, and Kingstone -- are all cautious, a reminder that The Motley Fool believes we should always be investing in any market environment. When stocks collapse and the S&P 500 falls thirty percent, which happens about once a decade, we have to be prepared. That's often when we look for aggressive positions in great growth businesses whose stocks have been discarded and are down sixty percent even though their prospects look very bright. When markets are richly priced, we prefer caution -- which is why the first three here are cautious.
Let's finish with a moderate and an aggressive idea. My moderate pick is Marvell Technology. Data has to move very quickly between servers and data centers, and that requires custom chips. Think of Nvidia's GPUs as the engine and Marvell's chips as the highways and tunnels. Within a couple of years, Marvell will have six billion dollars in free cash flow. Jensen Huang recently said he believes Marvell could be the next trillion-dollar company; it's capitalized at two hundred fifty billion today, so that would mean a 4x. My belief is that takes a decade -- but if Jensen Huang thinks it'll take less, I'm betting on Jensen Huang.
The fifth and final recommendation is an aggressive classification: BillionToOne. It sounds aggressive, doesn't it? You'd think you'd need some obnoxious, narcissistic, risk-taking founder to name a company BillionToOne. But the name comes from having the most advanced genetic testing for prenatal and oncology testing -- effectively looking for a tiny signal among three billion base pairs in DNA, trying to find the one molecule that flags a problem so a patient can get treatment. The two founders were Princeton-trained scientists with deep engineering backgrounds. It's a tactically advanced and deeply mission-driven business. If you read about the company and its founders, you're going to want to own shares -- even one or three shares just to get started. It usually doesn't matter in the long term how much money you start with; it's the discipline you bring to the portfolio you're building.
We're in a richly priced market, and it will be a volatile one. But if you tilt toward some cautious investments and build a well-rounded fifty-plus-stock portfolio, I think you'll be very happy with your Foolish returns. Thank you for entertaining these ideas. I look forward to your comments below, and of course we always hope you'll like and subscribe to every Motley Fool video you watch. We look forward to serving you and helping you live a smarter, happier, and richer life for many decades to come. Fool on.
Key Takeaways Travelers' Personal Insurance segment generates recurring premium revenue from auto and homeowners coverage. TRV uses telematics, AI, predictive analytics and digital claims tools to improve pricing and efficiency. Strong customer retention, policy bundling, and disciplined underwriting support long-term earnings of TRV. The Travelers Companies, Inc.’s (TRV - Free Report) automobile and homeowners insurance business of the Personal Insurance segment is a significant contributor to the company's revenues and underwriting earnings. The Personal Insurance segment offers property and casualty insurance covering personal risks, primarily automobile and homeowners insurance, to individuals in the United States and Canada.
The business generates a stable stream of recurring premium revenues through annual policy renewals, supported by high customer retention and strong agency relationships. Travelers' ability to bundle auto and homeowners policies enhances customer loyalty, increases policyholder lifetime value and creates cross-selling opportunities that support premium growth.
Travelers differentiates itself through disciplined underwriting, sophisticated pricing models and advanced data analytics. TRV leverages telematics, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and digital claims technologies to improve risk selection, detect fraud, optimize pricing and streamline claims handling. These capabilities help maintain underwriting profitability despite inflationary pressures and elevated catastrophe losses.
The homeowners insurance business also benefits from rising home values and increasing insured property values, while the auto insurance business is supported by favorable pricing actions and continued demand for mandatory auto coverage. Although both lines can experience earnings volatility from severe weather events and higher repair costs, Travelers' disciplined underwriting and prudent risk management help mitigate these pressures.
Overall, the automobile and homeowners insurance business provides Travelers with a large, recurring premium base, consistent underwriting income over the insurance cycle, valuable investment float and strong cash generation. Together, these businesses reinforce Travelers' market leadership in U.S. personal lines insurance and support long-term revenue growth, earnings stability and shareholder returns.
What About Its Peers?The Progressive Corporation (PGR - Free Report) offers one of the largest personal lines insurance businesses in the United States, with automobile insurance serving as its core business and homeowners insurance complementing its product portfolio. Progressive strengthens customer retention and premium growth by encouraging customers to bundle auto and home coverage, while leveraging advanced telematics, data analytics and AI-driven pricing to improve underwriting accuracy, claims management and profitability. Together, its automobile and homeowners insurance businesses generate recurring premium revenues and represent a major source of the company's earnings and cash flow.
Allstate Corporation (ALL - Free Report) operates one of the largest personal lines insurance businesses in the United States, with automobile and homeowners insurance forming the core of its operations. Allstate emphasizes bundled auto and home policies to enhance customer retention, increase cross-selling opportunities and drive premium growth. Supported by advanced pricing analytics, telematics and digital claims capabilities, its automobile and homeowners insurance businesses generate recurring premium revenues and serve as the primary drivers of the company's earnings, cash flow and long-term profitability.
TRV’s Price PerformanceShares of TRV have gained 34.6% in the past year, outperforming the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
TRV’s OvervaluationThe stock is overvalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-book value multiple of 2.29, higher than the industry average of 1.49. It carries a Value Score of A.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimate Movement for TRVThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for TRV’s second-quarter 2026 EPS has moved up 0.4% in the past 60 days. The same for the full-year 2027 EPS has moved down 0.1% in the past 60 days.
ARMONK, N.Y., July 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss its second-quarter 2026 financial results on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The live webcast of the earnings call can be accessed at www.ibm.com/investor.
Please also visit the investor website for the earnings press release prior to the webcast. A replay, associated charts and prepared remarks will be available after the event.
Key Takeaways IBM introduced compact z17 and LinuxONE 5 systems with up to 82 cores and 18 TB of memory.IBM added Rockhopper 5 with AI acceleration, confidential computing and post-quantum cryptography.IBM launched new software and security tools to simplify operations and strengthen protection. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM - Free Report) has unveiled new configurations for its IBM z17 and LinuxONE 5 platforms, expanding its enterprise infrastructure portfolio with compact single-frame and rack-mount systems. Both deployment options are available across the company's entire Z and LinuxONE lineup, giving organizations greater flexibility to optimize data center space while maintaining high performance, security and reliability.
The latest systems support up to 82 processor cores and 18 TB of memory, delivering more computing power in a compact design. The IBM z17 ME2 offers better per-core performance than the previous generation. These upgrades are designed to address limited data center space and rising operating costs. IBM gives customers the flexibility to deploy either fully integrated single-frame systems or rack-mount configurations that fit into industry-standard racks.
IBM also expanded its LinuxONE product lineup with Rockhopper 5, offered in both scalable and compact models. The systems include built-in artificial intelligence (AI) acceleration, confidential computing, and post-quantum cryptography for secure and efficient Linux workloads. In addition, it has launched software tools such as IBM Infrastructure Management for Z and LinuxONE and IBM COBOL Elevate for z/OS to simplify infrastructure management and improve the performance of existing applications.
The company has introduced new security enhancements, including post-quantum cryptography as a standard feature on its systems and IBM Crypto Discovery & Inventory to help organizations manage their security. With these updates, IBM aims to provide flexible, AI-powered and secure solutions allowing businesses to improve performance and optimize their IT infrastructure.
How Are Competitors Advancing in the Enterprise Market?IBM faces competition from Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) . Microsoft is strengthening its enterprise business by expanding AI services across Azure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot. The company has launched Microsoft Frontier Company to help businesses adopt AI with dedicated engineering support. Microsoft is expanding its Sovereign Cloud offerings to help enterprises and government organizations meet data security, compliance and data residency requirements.
Amazon is expanding its AI and cloud services for businesses through Amazon Web Services (“AWS”). The company has launched the Forward Deployed Engineering initiative to help enterprises adopt AI faster. Amazon is also introducing new tools on AWS to simplify the development and deployment of business applications.
IBM’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesIBM shares have gained 5.5% over the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 216.3%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, IBM trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 3.93, below the industry average of 6.1.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Earnings estimates for 2026 have increased 0.4% to $12.45 over the past 60 days, while the same for 2027 have increased 0.8% to $13.47.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
IBM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Key Takeaways Beyond Meat is rolling out Beyond Steak Filet at Meijer after launches at Wegmans and H-E-B. Beyond Steak Filet became the top-selling direct-to-consumer item after its late-2025 debut.Beyond Meat's Q1 revenues fell, but margins improved, expenses decreased, and cash use declined. Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND - Free Report) is expanding the retail availability of Beyond Steak Filet, with the product set to roll out at Meijer stores this month. The launch builds on recent availability at Wegmans and H-E-B, marking another step in the company’s effort to widen access to one of its newer premium plant-based offerings.
The move is important because Beyond Steak Filet has already gained traction through the company’s direct-to-consumer platform, where it became the top-selling product after its late-2025 debut. Made with mycelium and avocado oil, the whole-cut filet is positioned around taste, texture and nutrition, offering high plant protein, fiber and low saturated fat while supporting Beyond Meat’s clean-label messaging.
The rollout also fits with the company’s broader strategy discussed in its first-quarter 2026 earnings call. Beyond Meat is working to stabilize its core retail business through distribution gains, product renovation and innovation while emphasizing products with simpler ingredients, strong nutrition profiles and broader consumer appeal. The company has also expanded other parts of its portfolio, including new chicken and breakfast sausage offerings, as it looks to refresh demand in a difficult plant-based meat category.
Beyond Meat’s first-quarter results showed that the turnaround is still in progress. Revenues declined amid weak category demand and distribution pressures, but gross margin improved year over year, operating expenses decreased, and quarterly cash use fell meaningfully. These trends suggest that cost actions and restructuring efforts are beginning to help, even as top-line recovery remains a concern.
The Meijer launch highlights Beyond Meat’s attempt to use product innovation and broader distribution to support its core business. If consumer response remains strong as availability expands, Beyond Steak Filet could help the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company rebuild momentum in retail.
BYND Stock Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of BYND have risen 18.4% over the past three months against the industry’s decline of 10.1%.
BYND Price Performance Versus Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, BYND trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 1.47, higher than the industry’s average of 0.58.
BYND Valuation Compared to Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BYND’s current and next fiscal-year earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 92.4% and 11.4%, respectively.
Better-Ranked Stocks to ConsiderUnited Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI - Free Report) , a major food wholesaler serving grocery retailers, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for United Natural’s current and next fiscal-year earnings per share suggests a year-over-year increase of 254.9% and 21.4%, respectively. UNFI delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29.9%, on average.
Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL - Free Report) , a global branded food company offering meat, protein and packaged food products, carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hormel Foods’ current and next fiscal-year EPS calls for a year-over-year jump of 9.5% and 3.5%, respectively.
Mama's Creations, Inc. (MAMA - Free Report) , a maker of refrigerated prepared foods for retail and foodservice, carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mama's Creations’ current and next fiscal-year EPS suggests growth of 73.3% and 46.2%, respectively, from the prior-year reported levels. MAMA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 129.2%, on average.
When deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock, investors often rely on analyst recommendations. Media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts often influence a stock's price, but are they really important?
Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about Baidu Inc. (BIDU - Free Report) .
Baidu Inc. currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.52, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 21 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.52 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.
Of the 21 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 15 are Strong Buy and one is Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 71.4% and 4.8% of all recommendations.
Brokerage Recommendation Trends for BIDU
Check price target & stock forecast for Baidu Inc. here>>>
While the ABR calls for buying Baidu Inc., it may not be wise to make an investment decision solely based on this information. Several studies have shown limited to no success of brokerage recommendations in guiding investors to pick stocks with the best price increase potential.
Are you wondering why? The vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover often results in a strong positive bias of their analysts in rating it. Our research shows that for every "Strong Sell" recommendation, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations.
This means that the interests of these institutions are not always aligned with those of retail investors, giving little insight into the direction of a stock's future price movement. It would therefore be best to use this information to validate your own analysis or a tool that has proven to be highly effective at predicting stock price movements.
With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision.
ABR Should Not Be Confused With Zacks RankAlthough both Zacks Rank and ABR are displayed in a range of 1--5, they are different measures altogether.
The ABR is calculated solely based on brokerage recommendations and is typically displayed with decimals (example: 1.28). In contrast, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model allowing investors to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.
It has been and continues to be the case that analysts employed by brokerage firms are overly optimistic with their recommendations. Because of their employers' vested interests, these analysts issue more favorable ratings than their research would support, misguiding investors far more often than helping them.
On the other hand, earnings estimate revisions are at the core of the Zacks Rank. And empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns.
Another key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank is freshness. The ABR is not necessarily up-to-date when you look at it. But, since brokerage analysts keep revising their earnings estimates to account for a company's changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in indicating future price movements.
Is BIDU a Good Investment?In terms of earnings estimate revisions for Baidu Inc., the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has remained unchanged over the past month at $8.22.
Analysts' steady views regarding the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by an unchanged consensus estimate, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Baidu Inc. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
It may therefore be prudent to be a little cautious with the Buy-equivalent ABR for Baidu Inc.
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Stocks plunged and oil prices jumped to nearly $80 a barrel after President Trump said Wednesday the ceasefire with Iran is “over” and the US is preparing another night of strikes in the region after Tehran attacked vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3%, or 693 points, by about 10:40 a.m. ET, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slumped 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.
Brent crude oil futures jumped 7.5% to $79.71 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate crude increased 7.2% to $75.52 a barrel.
US stocks plunged after President Trump said the ceasefire with Iran is “over.” Getty Images The national average gasoline price was roughly $3.80 a gallon Wednesday, according to AAA, far below wartime highs of $4.56 – but the price has remained roughly flat over the past few days as US-Iran tensions have reheated.
There is typically a one- to two-week lag between movements in the oil markets and prices at the pump – and fresh tensions over the strait, a vital maritime route for 20% of the world’s oil, could keep gasoline from falling below the $3 mark.
Asked Wednesday at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, whether the preliminary peace deal with Iran was dead, Trump replied: “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum.”
“We hit them very hard last night,” he added. “We’ll probably hit them hard again tonight.”
Last month, Trump signed a memorandum of understanding giving the US and Iran 60 days to reach a final agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief and the unfreezing of billions of dollars worth of Iranian assets.
The US military on Tuesday launched “powerful” overnight strikes against Iran in response to the nation’s attacks on three commercial ships near the strait, which American officials viewed as a violation of the memorandum.
Robert Edwards, chief investment officer of Edwards Asset Management, said the market moves on Wednesday were a clear sign that geopolitical tensions remain front and center – but there’s no reason to sound the alarms yet.
“This is the most noticeable escalation of Iran tensions since the ceasefire took hold almost one month ago, and the typical market playbook has commenced, with rising oil prices, rising bond yields and falling stock prices,” Edwards said in a note Wednesday.
President Trump said he doesn’t “want to deal with” Iran anymore. POOL/AFP via Getty Images “Any downside moves in stocks over the next few weeks are a buying opportunity, as I still see the S&P 500 reaching 7,700 by year-end, largely due to earnings strength, which has thrived throughout this period of geopolitical uncertainty.”
Energy stocks also jumped Wednesday as investors anticipated higher earnings from industry giants.
Shares in ConocoPhillips, Marathon Petroleum, Chevron and Exxon Mobil rose 2.5%, 4.3%, 2.2% and 0.9%, respectively.
Meanwhile, tech stocks – especially chipmakers – continued to fall as investors remain concerned about a potential “AI bubble” from massive spending on future technologies.
National average gasoline prices have fallen from their wartime highs, but have yet to dip below the $3 mark. John McCoy for CA Post Shares in Samsung, Intel and AMD fell 6.3%, 2.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
Investors are looking ahead to the release of the Federal Reserve’s June minutes at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday for more insight into Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as chairman – especially after he took a surprisingly hawkish anti-inflation stance.
Though the majority of traders still expect policymakers to hold interest rates at their meeting later this month, the long-term outlook has flipped from rate cuts to rate hikes, according to CME FedWatch.
