Market Signal Briefing

The Christmas cheer has skipped the crypto market as the number of Bitcoin investors selling at a loss is on the rise, with daily realized losses now reaching $300 million as recent buyers become frustrated with the cryptocurrency’s current price, which is a far cry from the all-time high it achieved this year.

CryptoVizArt, lead research analyst at blockchain analytics platform Glassnode, posted on X that the realized loss volume, after filtering out internal transactions and smoothing with a 90-day simple moving average, has climbed to $300 million per day.

The figure represents an uptick in selling activity among investors who purchased Bitcoin at higher prices and are now eating losses as they exit their positions.

Source: CryptoVizArt on X
Based on Glassnode’s data, Bitcoin’s true market mean is $81,100 despite the global spot price being registered at $87,800.

Short-term holders hit over the head with losses
The pain is concentrated among short-term holders, and according to Glassnode’s data, the short-term holder cost basis now stands at $99,900, meaning this cohort is underwater by roughly 12% at current prices.

Source: Glassnode on X
The short-term holder’s cost basis as of December 16 was over $101,800, and the spot price traded at $86,400.

CryptoQuant data show that Bitcoin’s spent output profit ratio sits at 0.99, which is slightly below the neutral mark of 1. The current figure shows that investors are currently selling at a loss; however, the data also shows that the gap to breaking even on their investment is not that wide.

Source: CryptoQuant
Bitcoin slipped as low as $80,500 in November, a 36% decline from its all-time high of $126,198 recorded in early October.

Heavyweight Bitcoin backers slow down
The recent data show that Bitcoin is ending 2025 on a downward trajectory, despite firms like Strategy spending big to acquire more Bitcoin in the past few weeks. The largest Bitcoin treasury company recently raised funds but did not commit them to buying Bitcoin, which is quite unusual for the company and sends mixed messages to the market.

Some believe Strategy is catching up with the times and relaxing a bit on its bullish approach to monitor the market better. Others are not reading a lot of meaning into it.

Michael Saylor, Strategy’s chairman, recently stated that their focus goes beyond Bitcoin exposure, and this is noticeable as the company sold common stock to increase its cash buffer.

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Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine has started staking its Ether tokens, depositing roughly $451 million worth of ETH into Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) system on Saturday, December 27. This appears to be a fresh strategy from the digital asset treasury (DAT) firm, which has managed to stay relevant in a nascent, uncertain sector of the cryptocurrency industry.

How Much Would BitMine Make From Ethereum Staking?
In the early hours of Saturday, December 27, on-chain analyst EmberCN revealed that BitMine has finally started attempting to stake its Ether holdings to earn interest income. The largest Ethereum treasury firm deposited 74,880 ETH (equivalent to $219 million) into an Ethereum PoS contract.

In a later, separate transaction, BitMine went on to deposit 79,296 ETH (worth about $232 million) into Ethereum PoS staking. This brings the firm’s total stake in the ETH network to 154,176 ETH (roughly $451 million) in the past day and so far.

Source: @EmberCN on X
EmberCN added in the post on X:

They [BitMine] now hold 4.066 million ETH, with an approximate APY of 3.12%. If all of it were staked, they could earn about 126,800 ETH in interest over a year, which at the current price of $2,927 would be worth $371 million.

Earlier in November, Bitmine had disclosed its plans to start Ether staking in 2026’s first quarter through a dedicated in-house setup called the Made-in America Validator Network (MAVAN). At the time, the Ethereum treasury firm stated it had selected three institutional staking providers for a pilot program, using a small portion of its ETH to test performance, security, and operational quality before scaling.

Meanwhile, the treasury firm has not stopped accumulating Ether tokens despite the not-so-optimistic signs in the crypto market. The recent buying spree took BitMine’s Ethereum holdings to a whopping 4.066 million ETH.

As it appears, staking presents an opportunity for the largest corporate ETH holder to earn passive income from its Ethereum holdings, especially as the general market continues to underperform. With crypto prices in a downward trend, shares of most DATs have not been able to enjoy the required tailwind to soar to new heights.

BMNR 2025 Price Recap 
As of this writing, the BitMine stock (ticker: BMNR) is valued at around $28.31 per share, closing with an almost 4% decline on the last trading day. A broader look at the stock shows that the past few months have been rough for the digital asset treasuries sector.

According to data from TradingView, BMNR’s value has dropped by nearly 43% in the past three months. However, its is worth noting that the stock has grown by almost 2.5x in the past year.

The price of BMNR on the daily timeframe | Source: BMNR chart on TradingView
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView

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Opeyemi Sule is a passionate crypto enthusiast, a proficient content writer, and a journalist at Bitcoinist. Opeyemi creates unique pieces unraveling the complexities of blockchain technology and sharing insights on the latest trends in the world of cryptocurrencies. Opeyemi enjoys reading poetry, chatting about politics, and listening to music, in addition to his strong interest in cryptocurrency.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan said the Bitcoin four-year cycle is being replaced by a “10-year grind” characterized by steady returns rather than spectacular gains.

Speaking on CNBC’s Crypto World, Hougan argued that institutional adoption, regulatory progress, and stablecoin growth are stronger forces than the historical halving-driven cycle.

“I do think the four-year cycle is less important now than it was in the past,” Hougan stated. “I expect the market to be up next year. I think we’re in a 10-year grind upward of strong returns, not spectacular returns, strong returns, lower volatility, some up and down.”

Institutional buying dampens Bitcoin volatility
Hougan pointed to dropping Bitcoin (BTC) volatility as evidence of structural market changes. The cryptocurrency now exhibits lower volatility than NVIDIA over the past year, he noted.

Institutional investors rebalance portfolios mechanically rather than chasing momentum, creating a stabilizing force absent in retail-dominated markets.

“Retail investors historically are very much momentum based. If it’s up, they’re buying. If it’s down, they’re selling,” Bea explained. “Institutions in their plan documents actually have the opposite built in.

The distribution shift from retail to institutional ownership is ongoing. Harvard’s endowment is buying while retail sells, creating what Hougan described as a “staircase up and then an elevator down” pattern.

The reason Bitcoin is down 30% rather than 60% from October highs is “persistent, slow-moving institutional buying that’s keeping the market up,” he stated.

Regulatory clarity provided one-time boost
Hougan characterized the Trump administration’s impact as a one-time effect that cleared regulatory concerns.

“If you asked institutional investors in previous years why they weren’t investing in Bitcoin, the number one reason wasn’t volatility or valuation. It was actually regulatory concerns,” he said.

Both executives identified clarity legislation as critical for crypto rallies. “If clarity doesn’t pass, it’s going to be hard for crypto to rally,” Hougan warned. “I think if you do see it pass, that’s probably something like the all-clear signal on this pullback.”

Sun, 28/12/2025 - 16:08

A viral new prediction by the man with 267 IQ says XRP could outperform gold and silver in 2026, even after 2025 showed XRP losing 14.99% while silver ran +167.70%.

Cover image via U.Today

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Silver just had the kind of year that makes traditional assets look untouchable. It is up about 167.70% on the 2025 overlay. Meanwhile, XRP ended the same period down 14.99%. The timing is almost comedic. The chart screams "metals won," and then a one-line prediction says that XRP will outrun both gold and silver in 2026.

That prediction came from YoungHoon Kim, who claims to have an IQ of 276 — the highest in the world — and it quickly gained traction because it frames XRP in the most provocative comparison possible: not against another token, but against the two assets that people associate with "safe money."

XRP's price is currently around $1.87, up 1.44% in the last 24 hours and slightly up in the last hour. Its market cap is $113,285,137,301, which pales in comparison to gold's $31.719 trillion and silver's $4.485 trillion.

HOT Stories

Source: TradingViewHowever, "outperform" is not about size. It is about percentage return over time, and crypto is the category that can accomplish in a month what would take other assets a full year.

Is this even possible?If this bullish call is validated, 2025 may be the setup year where metals ran, XRP lagged and positioning got cheap enough that a single catalyst in 2026 could reprice the whole story. The cynical version is also clear: silver has already proven that it can trend while crypto fluctuates, and a prediction is not a catalyst.

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Either way, the trade framing is now on the table. If XRP reclaims attention at the top-five market cap level, it does not need to outperform gold or silver; it just needs to outperform them on the scoreboard that investors actually track.

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Launched in Q4 2025, solana spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) wasted no time attracting capital. Strong early inflows, rising liquidity, and steady asset growth position them as a credible new player heading into 2026.

Solana has experienced a negative year in terms of price movement, but that hasn't stopped the constant influx of long-term investors.

The Solana (SOL +1.29%) blockchain has a reputation for being cheaper, faster, and more eco-friendly than Bitcoin and Ethereum, yet it still lags behind the two tokens in terms of price, trading volume, and market capitalization. However, that may not matter at all, as Solana is carving out a major lane of its own.

Solana has had a strong year of integration within different financial markets, especially in the institutional sector. At least six different exchange-traded products (ETPs) were launched in 2025, with Solana being the underlying asset. Bitwise launched the first-ever Spot Solana ETP, BSOL, on Oct. 28, and as of Dec. 16, it reached 33 consecutive days of positive inflows, surpassing $647 million. Fidelity launched its Fidelity Solana Fund (FSOL) in mid-November, followed by Charles Schwab introducing Solana futures for institutional and retail investors a month later.

Image source: Getty Images.

Solana continues to grow in revenue and integration
Outside of the institutional sector, Solana has become more integrated within the DeFi space, as Hex Trust, a Hong Kong-based digital asset firm, launched Wrapped XRP (wXRP) on Dec. 12. Wrapped XRP is a 1:1-backed token that follows the price of XRP on the Solana blockchain, offering Solana-focused investors exposure to the low-priced cryptocurrency.

Today's Change

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With the success Solana has achieved in 2025, it's on pace to surpass Ethereum in annual revenue, with Solana estimated to reach $1.4 billion compared to Ethereum's $522 million. Benzinga predicts that by 2030, Solana will reach a bearish target of $1,004, an average target of $1,042, and a bullish target of $1,258. While the bearish target is a high prediction in itself, the continuous adoption of Solana blockchain technology makes the token ideal for significant gains within the next five years.

Charles Schwab is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Adé Hennis has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. The Motley Fool recommends Charles Schwab and recommends the following options: short December 2025 $95 calls on Charles Schwab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Active Currencies 19051

Market Cap $3,060,550,480,266.30

Bitcoin Share 57.26%

24h Market Cap Change $0.70

AMBCrypto

Ethereum whales add $850mln in 2 days as ETH stalls – Here’s why!

Journalist

Posted: December 28, 2025

What are the Ethereum whales seeing that we’re not?

Ethereum’s economy does the heavy lifting
The underlying economy continues to expand, and that’s what we should be seeing. At press time, Token Terminal data showed Ethereum’s Total Value Locked (TVL) at $330.7 billion, while its Fully Diluted Market Cap at around $353.2 billion, putting the valuation multiple near 1.1x.

Source: X

In simple terms, ETH’s price is closely tracking the size of the economy built on top of it.

This relationship has so far acted as a valuation anchor. As DeFi, stablecoins, and RWAs grow on Ethereum, they reinforce demand for ETH itself.

Price stalls below resistance

Ethereum’s daily chart showed price struggling to regain pace after slipping below key moving averages (MAs).

At press time, ETH was trading around $2,940, still capped beneath the 50, 100, and 200-day EMAs, which acted as overhead resistance between $3,100-$3,380. Momentum indicators also show that traders are a bit hesitant.

RSI showed weak bullish strength, while the MACD made it clear that upside pressure is fading.

Source: TradingView

Sellers haven’t forced a breakdown, but buyers also lack confidence. For now, ETH is stuck in consolidation. A big move is likely only if volume and acceleration return in force.

Final Thoughts

With whales adding $850M+ in ETH while price stays flat, whales are prepping ahead of a larger move.
As long as Ethereum’s $330B+ on-chain economy holds steady, downside pressure looks limited.

Samyukhtha L KM is a Financial Journalist and Market Analyst at AMBCrypto whose work is defined by one central question: Is the latest trend in blockchain hype, or history in the making?
Her expertise is built on a strong academic foundation, with a Master’s in Journalism and Mass Communication from Amity University and a Bachelor’s in Commerce from the University of Madras. This dual qualification equips her with a unique skill set: the financial acumen to dissect market mechanics and the journalistic rigor to investigate and communicate complex subjects with clarity.
Samyukhtha specializes in analyzing the socio-economic impact of blockchain adoption and assessing the viability of new market narratives. This includes a focus on high-velocity, community-driven assets such as memecoins, where she evaluates sentiment and fundamentals. She is dedicated to providing readers with insightful, well-researched commentary that looks beyond immediate market moves to understand the long-term implications of decentralized technology.

Cover image via U.Today

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

The end of the week has turned out to be bullish for most of the cryptocurrencies, according to CoinStats.

SHIB chart by CoinStatsSHIB/USDThe price of SHIB has gone up by 2.27% since yesterday.

Image by TradingViewOn the hourly chart, the rate of SHIB is on the way to the local resistance of $0.00000741. If buyers can hold the gained initiative, the breakout may lead to a further upward move to the $0.00000750 area.

Image by TradingViewOn the bigger time frame, the price of SHIB is far from the main levels. In this case, traders should focus on yesterday's candle high.

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If closure happens above $0.00000740 and with a high wick, the growth may lead to a test of the $0.00000770 zone over the next few days.

Image by TradingViewFrom the midterm point of view, the rate of the meme coin has made a false breakout of the formed support at $0.000007. If the weekly bar closes far from that mark, traders may see a bounce back to the $0.000008 range.

SHIB is trading at $0.00000736 at press time.

TLDR:

Binance Exchange Netflow for ETH reaches +15K on 14-day SMA, marking the highest level since July 2025.
Ethereum maintains position above $2,800 support while trading below descending trendline resistance.
High Volume Node at $2,800 reinforces support zone where buyers have previously demonstrated strength.
Exchange inflow spike indicates holders preparing to either liquidate positions or engage derivatives.

Ethereum faces a pivotal market juncture as on-chain data reveals elevated exchange inflows coinciding with price compression at key technical levels. 

Binance Exchange Netflow for ETH has reached +15K on its 14-day simple moving average, the highest reading observed since July 2025.

Meanwhile, the asset trades below descending trendline resistance while maintaining position above the $2,800 threshold. 

This convergence of on-chain signals and technical structure suggests the market stands at a decision point that could determine near-term directional momentum.

Exchange Inflow Data Points to Heightened Supply Pressure
The surge in Binance Exchange Netflow reflects a substantial increase in ETH being moved onto the platform. 

This movement typically indicates growing preparedness among holders to either liquidate positions or engage with derivatives markets. The 14-day simple moving average now registers +15K ETH, representing the most pronounced inflow level seen in five months.

Source : Cryptoquant

Historical patterns show that netflow spikes of this magnitude often emerge during transitional phases. These periods frequently precede either sustained selling that breaks support zones or temporary volatility followed by stabilization. 

The current reading suggests market participants are positioning for potential action rather than maintaining passive holdings.

The timing of this netflow increase adds weight to its potential market impact. Coming as price approaches a well-defended support area, the elevated exchange supply creates conditions where buyer absorption becomes crucial. 

How the market digests this incoming supply will likely influence short-term price behavior.

Technical Structure Reinforces Support-Resistance Dynamic
Ethereum currently trades within a defined range bounded by a descending trendline above and horizontal support near $2,800 below. 

The upper boundary has capped recent rally attempts, establishing resistance that price has yet to overcome. This pattern creates downward pressure that compounds the bearish tone from exchange data.

Source : Cryptoquant

The $2,800 level carries notable technical importance beyond simple horizontal support. This zone coincides with a High Volume Node, indicating substantial historical trading activity. 

Areas with concentrated volume often act as demand zones where buyers have previously stepped in with conviction. The level has proven resilient through multiple tests in recent weeks.

Two distinct scenarios now present themselves based on upcoming price action. A breakdown beneath $2,800 could transform the netflow spike into fuel for accelerated selling. 

Alternatively, a successful reclaim of the descending trendline would demonstrate buyer strength capable of absorbing exchange supply. 

For the moment, ETH remains suspended between these outcomes, with on-chain metrics suggesting caution while price structure defends established support.

A surge in the price of silver to record highs this month has prompted a warning from Elon Musk that manufacturers could suffer the consequences.

Silver has risen sharply during December, part of a precious metals rally that also pushed gold and platinum to record levels on Boxing Day.

Analysts have attributed the jump in prices to expectations of US interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2026, leading to increased demand for hard assets that protect against inflation and currency debasement.

New restrictions on silver exports from China, which begin on 1 January, have created supply fears while geopolitical worries have lifted demand for safe-haven assets.

Silver hit $79 (£58) an ounce for the first time last Friday, a new peak, up from $56 at the start of December, and just $29 an ounce at the start of 2025.

“This is not good. Silver is needed in many industrial processes,” Musk posted on X.

Uses for the metal include in electrification, solar power panels, electric vehicles and data centres, all areas in which demand has been rising, eating into silver inventories.

But as well as industrial applications, silver has a role as a monetary metal – a store of value.

Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said a “generational bubble” was playing out in silver, as more capital was drawn into the precious metals market.

“The rally in precious metals has been supported by expectations of multiple Fed rate cuts in 2026, alongside robust central bank and private investor buying. However, the dominant driver of late has been a severe structural supply-demand imbalance in silver, sparking a scramble for physical metal,” Sycamore said.

According to Bloomberg, much of the world’s readily available silver is sitting in New York awaiting the outcome of a US commerce department investigation into whether imports of critical minerals pose a national security risk. The review could pave the way for tariffs or other trade curbs on the metal, Bloomberg said.

Gold and silver are on track for their best years since 1979. Gold has risen by more than 70% this year to more than $4,500 an ounce, up from $2,623 at the start of 2025.

Spot platinum rose 5.3% on Friday to $2,338.20 an ounce, in its strongest weekly rise on record.

Both platinum and palladium, which are key components in automotive catalytic converters, have surged on tight supply, tariff uncertainty, and rotation from gold investment demand, with platinum up roughly 170% this year.

The stock is down by 98% over the past five years, and it's not a dip that you want to buy.

New Fortress Energy (NFE +1.74%) has woefully underperformed the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.03%)
with a 93% decline this year. Zooming out doesn't make it much better, with the stock down by 98% over the past five years. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has logged one-year and five-year gains of 17% and 86%, respectively.

Bullish investors are viewing New Fortress Energy as a "down but not out" play that can become a winner if a long-term contract pans out. Can New Fortress Energy Stock beat the market going forward?

Image source: Getty Images.

The Puerto Rico contract is a major catalyst
Most of the optimism centers around a seven-year contract with the Puerto Rican government that one analyst projects will come to $3.2 billion. The contract will improve Puerto Rico's grid stability with natural gas and support cleaner power generation for Puerto Rico's energy system That averages out to roughly $457 million per year.

While not all of that $457 million is profit, it can greatly help the company. New Fortress Energy reported $301.7 million in Q2 revenue, which was down by almost 30% year over year. The Puerto Rico contract can double the energy company's total revenue. New Fortress Energy also told investors in its Q2 press release that its developments in Brazil, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico should increase core earnings as they come online.

The balance sheet is horrendous
Although the Puerto Rico deal is a good development, New Fortress Energy needs perfect execution to remain solvent, never mind beating the S&P 500. The company entered into forbearance agreements after missing interest payments this month. Those are some of the last payments a company is supposed to miss, and it indicates a weak balance sheet.

New Fortress Energy is bleeding through cash and currently spends more than $200 million on interest each quarter. Almost two-thirds of its Q2 revenue went to interest payments, resulting in a massive net loss.

The balance sheet shows $1.48 billion in total current assets and $2.20 billion in total current liabilities. Combine that with a streak of quarterly earnings that feature net losses, and it's heavily relying on the Puerto Rico deal just to stay afloat. New Fortress Energy also needs high margins from that deal to catch up with its debt, and its previous quarterly margins don't offer much optimism in that regard.

Today's Change

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Stick with quality companies
There is a chance that New Fortress Energy turns things around, but a 98% drop over the past five years suggests otherwise. If anything, the stock may be eligible for a meme rally, especially as other developments get closer to going online.

Perfect execution is required just to keep the company in business. It's never a good sign when a corporation can't make on-time interest payments. Investing in an index fund has been more rewarding than holding this stock, and that pattern is likely to continue.

Investing in companies with solid fundamentals, attractive growth prospects, and healthy balance sheets will give you a better shot at outperforming the S&P 500.

HomeMarket OutlookToday's Market

SummaryAfter a healthy 18% gain in 2025, can the S&P 500 repeat its performance in 2026? The outlook sure encourages some optimism.Starting with the macro outlook, with the Fed's and IMF's recent upgrades for the US's growth in 2026 supported by an exceptional performance in Q3 2025, the economy is supportive.Even though the forward P/E for the index indicates fair valuation, pockets of sectoral undervaluation are still promising, which is also seen for its biggest 10 holdings.There's need for some caution, though, as not all forecasters are convinced of the US economy's health. And if corporate profits were to rise less than expected, the valuation picture can look very different. Getty Images

An 18% increase in the S&P 500 (SP500) (SPY) is a pleasant way to wrap the year at any time. But it's even more so for 2025 considering the rocky first quarter, which resulted in a

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

A deal collapse rewrote the stock’s near-term narrative, so the story has changed quite a bit since quarter-end.

On November 13, Zurich-based PSquared Asset Management disclosed a new position in Core Scientific (CORZ 1.80%), acquiring 405,800 shares valued at approximately $7.28 million.

What HappenedAccording to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated November 13, PSquared Asset Management AG established a new position in Core Scientific during the third quarter. The firm acquired 405,800 shares, bringing its end-of-quarter holding to $7.28 million, or 5.78% of its $125.97 million in U.S. equity assets. Core Scientific did not appear in the fund's previous quarterly filing.

What Else to KnowTop holdings after the filing: 

NYSE: K: $42.77 million (34.0% of AUM)NYSEMKT: SLSR: $25.04 million (19.9% of AUM)NYSE: TECK: $18.99 million (15.1% of AUM)NASDAQ: TASK: $11.34 million (9.0% of AUM)NASDAQ: HOLX: $8.42 million (6.7% of AUM)As of Friday, Core Scientific shares were priced at $15.29, up 5.5% over the past year and well underperforming the S&P 500, which is up about 15% in the same period.

Company OverviewMetricValuePrice (as of Friday)$15.29Market Capitalization$4.74 billionRevenue (TTM)$334.18 millionNet Income (TTM)($768.31 million)Company SnapshotCore Scientific provides digital asset mining, blockchain infrastructure, and colocation hosting services, generating revenue from both proprietary mining and third-party hosting contracts.The company operates a dual business model: mining digital assets for its own account and offering datacenter colocation and hosting services for institutional-scale blockchain clients.Primary customers include large-scale blockchain miners and enterprises seeking secure, high-performance infrastructure for distributed ledger operations in North America.Core Scientific, Inc. provides blockchain infrastructure and digital asset mining services, operating datacenter facilities across North America. The company develops blockchain-based platforms and software solutions, mines digital assets for its own account, and provides hosting and colocation services for large-scale blockchain clients.

Foolish TakeAt quarter-end, Core Scientific looked a lot like a stabilizing digital infrastructure play. Hosting contracts were expanding, the balance sheet had improved post-restructuring, and the proposed CoreWeave merger offered a clean path to monetizing power-heavy data center assets. For a concentrated fund, the position fit a familiar playbook: buy into optionality while sentiment was still repairing.

That context is critical because a steep stock drawdown did not occur until late October, after Core Scientific formally terminated its merger agreement with CoreWeave when shareholders failed to approve the deal. Shares have fallen nearly 30% as investors repriced the loss of a clear catalyst and questioned the pace of the company’s pivot toward high-density colocation and AI-adjacent workloads. Operationally, however, little changed overnight. Core Scientific still controls valuable power infrastructure and continues to shift capacity away from pure bitcoin mining toward hosting and compute services. But without the merger, execution risk moved back to center stage.

Glossary13F assets: U.S. equity holdings that institutional investment managers must report quarterly to the SEC.
Assets under management (AUM): The total market value of investments managed on behalf of clients by a fund or firm.
Position: The amount of a particular security or asset held by an investor or fund.
Net position change: The difference in the number or value of shares held after a transaction compared to before.
Colocation hosting: Providing space, power, and security for clients’ computing hardware in a third-party data center.
Proprietary mining: Mining digital assets for a company's own account, rather than for clients or third parties.
Trailing twelve months (TTM): The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
Digital asset mining: Using computing power to validate blockchain transactions and earn digital currencies as rewards.
Blockchain infrastructure: The hardware and software systems supporting blockchain networks and applications.
Distributed ledger: A digital record of transactions shared and synchronized across multiple sites or participants.
Institutional-scale: Refers to services or operations designed for large organizations, not individual consumers.
Datacenter: A facility housing computer systems and networking equipment for data processing and storage.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends TaskUs and Teck Resources. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

HomeETFs and Funds AnalysisETF Analysis

SummaryThe Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares ETF offers double the daily performance of the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index but is intended solely for intraday trading.Gold miners, as tracked by GDX, remain attractively valued versus the S&P 500, with potential for earnings upside if gold prices exceed analyst forecasts.Persistent U.S. fiscal deficits, quantitative easing, and expected rate cuts in 2026 create strong tailwinds for gold and gold miners’ earnings growth.NUGT’s structure leads to value decay if held overnight; GDX is recommended for sustained exposure, while NUGT can tactically amplify intraday gains. Michael H/DigitalVision via Getty Images

The Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares ETF (NUGT) is a leveraged exchange-traded fund that aims to provide its owners with double the daily price movement of the MarketVector Global Gold

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of NEM either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

I am long physical gold, physical silver, and physical platinum. I have a long position in the common equity of Newmont and positions in various gold mining funds that may hold shares of any company mentioned in this article.
I do not have any position in GDX or NUGT.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: INSP) between August 6, 2024 and August 4, 2025, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), of the important January 5, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Inspire Medical common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Inspire Medical class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=21452 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than January 5, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases.  Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved, at that time, the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants misrepresented and failed to disclose key facts about Inspire V, a sleep apnea device, including the actual market demand for the device and whether Inspire Medical had taken the steps necessary to launch it. Defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading statements that led investors to believe that demand for Inspire V was strong and that Inspire Medical had taken the necessary steps for a successful launch. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Inspire Medical class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=21452 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

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Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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Contact Information:

        Laurence Rosen, Esq.
        Phillip Kim, Esq.
        The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
        275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
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Nvidia is, in crucial ways, nothing like Enron – the Houston energy giant that imploded through multibillion-dollar accounting fraud in 2001. Nor is it similar to companies such as Lucent or Worldcom that folded during the dotcom bubble.

But the fact that it needs to reiterate this to its investors is less than ideal.

Now worth more than $4tn (£3tn), Nvidia makes the specialised technology that powers the world’s AI surge: silicon chips and software packages that train and host systems such as ChatGPT. Its products fill datacentres from Norway to New Jersey.

This year has been an exceptional one for the company: it has struck at least $125bn in deals, ranging from a $5bn investment into Intel – to facilitate its access to the PC market – to $100bn invested in OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT.

But even as those deals have fuelled surging stock prices and paved the way for chief executive Jensen Huang’s energetic world tour, doubts have emerged about how Nvidia does business, especially as it has become increasingly central to the health of the global economy.

The start of these concerns has been the circular nature of many of its deals. These arrangements resemble vendor financing: Nvidia lending money to customers so they can buy its products.

The largest of these is its deal with OpenAI, which involves Nvidia investing $10bn into the company each year for the next 10 years – most of which will go to buying Nvidia’s chips. Another is its arrangement with CoreWeave, a company that provides on-demand computing capacity to big AI firms, essentially leasing out Nvidia’s chips.

The circularity of these deals has drawn comparisons with Lucent Technologies, a telecoms company that also aggressively lent money to its customers, only to overextend itself and unravel in the early 2000s. Nvidia has aggressively rebutted suggestions of any similarity, saying in a leaked recent memo that it “does not rely on vendor financing arrangements to grow revenue”.

The tech investor James Anderson has expressed concern about Nvidia’s deal with OpenAI. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianJames Anderson, a renowned tech investor, describes himself as a “huge admirer” of Nvidia, but said this year that the OpenAI deal presented “more reason to be concerned there than before”.

He added: “I have to say the words ‘vendor financing’ do not carry nice reflections to somebody of my age. It’s not quite like what many of the telecom suppliers were up to in 1999-2000, but it has certain rhymes to it. I don’t think it makes me feel entirely comfortable from that point of view.”

Other high-profile recent deals include the tech firm Oracle spending $300bn on datacentres for OpenAI in the US – with the ChatGPT developer then paying back roughly the same amount to use those datacentres. In October, OpenAI and the chipmaker AMD signed a multibillion-dollar chip deal that also gave OpenAI the option to buy a stake in the Nvidia rival.

There is also a deal with CoreWeave where, along with a commitment to buying $22bn of data centre capacity from the cloud provider, OpenAI is receiving $350m in CoreWeave stock. Asked this month about circularity in the AI industry, the chief executive of CoreWeave, Michael Intrator, said: “Companies are trying to address a violent change in supply and demand. You do that by working together.”

All these moves form part of OpenAI’s $1.4tn bet on computing capacity to build and operate models that, it argues, will transform economies – and make back that expenditure. OpenAI argues that, while the Nvidia and AMD deals have an investment component, it only kicks in once the chips have been bought and deployed, while the investments themselves create aligned incentives to build out AI infrastructure at huge scale.

Graphic showing the companies Nvidia has deals with and the types of deals they areNvidia has also used structures called special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) in financing deals. The best-known example is the SPV linked to Elon Musk’s xAI: an entity into which Nvidia invested $2bn, money that will be used to buy Nvidia’s chips.

This drew comparisons with Enron, which used SPVs to keep debts and toxic assets off its balance sheets, convincing investors and creditors that it was stable while concealing ballooning liabilities.

Nvidia has also strongly denied that it is like Enron: in the same leaked memo where it discussed Lucent, it said its reporting was “complete and transparent” and “unlike Enron” it “does not use special-purpose entities to hide debt and inflate revenue”.

The journalist Ed Zitron, a noted sceptic of the AI boom, agrees that Nvidia is not like either company. Unlike Lucent, it does not appear to be taking on a great deal of debt to finance its circular deals, he says, and most of the customers it is supporting are not as obviously risky as Lucent’s dotcom bubble partners. And it isn’t like Enron, Zitron argues, because it’s being fairly transparent about its own complex, off-balance sheet deals.

So what could warrant a comparison? Nvidia “is not hiding debt, but it is leaning heavily on vendor-financed demand, which creates exposure if AI growth slows,” says Charlie Dai, an analyst at the research firm Forrester. “The concern is about sustainability, not legality.”

Essentially, whether Nvidia is able to stick the landing depends on whether AI really takes off, generating billions for its corporate users and putting companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and CoreWeave – Nvidia’s customers – firmly in the black, and able to keep buying its systems. That possibility alone is debatable. If this does not happen, says Dai, Nvidia “could face write-downs on equity stakes and unpaid receivables”: meaning, it could lose a lot of money and its stock price could then tank.

Approached for comment, an Nvidia spokesperson referred the Guardian to remarks its chief financial officer, Colette Kress, made to investors in early December. Kress said they were not seeing an AI bubble, instead gesturing at trillions of dollars of business that lie ahead for Nvidia in the next decade.

In particular, Kress argued that Nvidia’s recent – massive – deals are just the start for the company, and the real money will be made in the coming years, largely through replacing almost all the chips in existing datacentres with its products.

There is another complexity, which is that Nvidia’s health – and therefore the health of the entire global economy – also depends on whether AI takes off in time for Nvidia and its customers to service the debt from their huge datacentre buildouts and significant capital expenditures.

Huang signs autographs at a summit in Gyeongju. Nvidia’s deal with the South Korean government is estimated to be worth billions of dollars. Photograph: Lee Jin-man/APAdd to this a final category of concern: recent, big-ticket deals with countries such as South Korea and Saudi Arabia, worth multiple billions of dollars, whose terms are opaque. In October, Nvidia said that it would supply 260,000 of its Blackwell chips to South Korea’s government and South Korean companies. The value of this deal was not disclosed, but is estimated to be in the billions.

Likewise with Saudi Arabia. Its government-owned AI startup, Humain, has committed to deploying up to 600,000 Nvidia chips: when that deployment will involve actual purchases, and at what price, is again undisclosed. Nvidia has a number of other strategic partnerships like this – with Italy, with the French AI champion Mistral and with Deutsche Telekom, for example – all involving thousands of chips and unknown sums.

Governments are likely to pay. There’s nothing circular about a sovereign partnership with Germany. But the deals mean more – quite large – uncertainties nested within a straining web of commitments that require massive capital outlay, and rely on ambitious assumptions about the economy undergoing a revolution in the next years.

“They concentrate risk in a few big customers,” says Dai. “If execution delays occur, Nvidia’s revenue recognition and cashflow could be affected.”

HomeStock IdeasLong IdeasFinancials 

SummaryBrookfield Wealth Solutions operates an investment-led insurance model built around long-duration annuities, liabilities, and investments.Brookfield’s ecosystem creates a powerful flywheel between BWS, BAM, Brookfield Corporation and its operating subsidiaries.Recent acquisitions and partnerships highlight BNT's global expansion ambitions.With a distributable earnings multiple of 18x, Brookfield Wealth Solutions' valuation is very attractive.gremlin/E+ via Getty Images

Brookfield Wealth Solutions (BNT), formerly known as Brookfield Reinsurance, is the insurance and retirement services arm of Brookfield, which trades under the ticker symbol BNT (NYSE & TSX). Over the last five years, the company has experienced tremendous growth, going from less than $2

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of BNT either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Heading into 2026, investor focus could shift from fixed-income instruments to attractive dividend stocks, given a lower interest rate backdrop.

Picking the right names from a vast universe of dividend-paying companies is a challenging task. Tracking the stock picks of top Wall Street analysts can help investors make the right choices, as these experts assign their ratings after conducting a thorough analysis of a company's fundamentals.

Here are three dividend-paying stocks, highlighted by Wall Street's top pros, as tracked by TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

ChevronOil and gas giant Chevron (CVX) is this week's first dividend pick. The company returned $6 billion of cash to shareholders in the third quarter via $3.4 billion in dividends and $2.6 billion in share repurchases. With a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share (annualized dividend of $6.84 per share), Chevron offers a yield of about 4.5%.

Following meetings with Chevron's management, Piper Sandler analyst Ryan Todd reiterated a buy rating on CVX stock with a price target of $178. Interestingly, TipRanks' AI Analyst is also bullish on the energy company, with an "outperform" rating and a price target of $164.

Todd noted that while the ongoing scenario of an unfavorable crude backdrop and positive refining business has affected Chevron's performance, his meetings with the management reflected the company's solid position.

The analyst contends that Chevron's capital efficiency is underappreciated. Notably, the company's upstream capital expenditure/boe (barrel of oil equivalent) produced is 29% below the peer average. He added that given the declining capex and operating expenses, the benefits from artificial intelligence (AI) that have yet to materialize, and a resource base that is better than feared, Chevron's free cash flow (FCF) annual growth outlook of 10% per year seems conservative.

Additionally, Todd argued that "while investors may continue to worry about TCO [Tengizchevroil joint venture] contract extensions, lingering post-2030 resource depth questions are misguided." In this matter, the analyst noted that aside from the projects included in Chevron's official plan, management is upbeat about additional opportunities presented by improved global access (especially in the Middle East), a rise in exploration activities, and expansion and technology-driven prospects.

Todd ranks No. 868 among more than 10,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 58% of the time, delivering an average return of 8.5%. See Chevron Ownership Structure on TipRanks. 

Darden RestaurantsRestaurant company Darden Restaurants (DRI) owns a portfolio of brands, including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Yard House. It recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, payable on Feb. 2, 2026. At an annualized dividend of $6 per share, DRI offers a yield of 3.2%.

Following the company's mixed results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh reiterated a buy rating on Darden stock with a price target of $225. In comparison, TipRanks' AI Analyst has a price target of $218 with an "outperform" rating.

Saleh noted that Darden posted a mixed, but "mostly positive," quarter, with better-than-anticipated comparable sales fueled by improved traffic at the company's major brands.

"Its strategy of under-pricing inflation, leaning on delivery, and offering a desirable menu resonated with guests, driving another quarter of sizable industry outperformance," said Saleh.

The five-star analyst highlighted that high beef prices continued to be a headwind and weighed on the quarter's restaurant margins and earnings per share (EPS). That said, Saleh is optimistic about Darden achieving its guidance, as beef costs appear to have peaked, labor cost pressures are easing, and management is relying slightly on price increases to offset commodity costs.

Overall, Saleh continues to be impressed by the momentum in Darden's sales, and although earnings haven't kept pace yet, they are expected to improve going forward.

Saleh ranks No. 641 among more than 10,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 61% of the time, delivering an average return of 10.5%. See Darden Restaurants Statistics on TipRanks. 

Ares CapitalThis week's third dividend pick is Ares Capital (ARCC), a specialty finance company that provides direct loans and other investments to private middle-market companies. The company announced a dividend of 48 cents per share, payable on Dec. 30, 2025. At an annualized dividend per share of $1.92, ARCC stock offers a yield of 9.5%.

In his latest research note on business development companies (BDCs), RBC Capital analyst Kenneth Lee called Ares Capital one of his favorite BDC names for 2026 and reaffirmed a buy rating with a price target of $23. TipRanks' AI Analyst has assigned an "outperform" rating to ARCC stock with a price target of $24.

While Lee is less constructive on the BDC space heading into 2026 due to a potential decline in net interest income (NII) and return on equity (ROE) from lower base rates, he remains bullish on Ares Capital. In particular, he cited management's confidence in sustaining dividends at current levels despite expectations of lower base rates.

Among the key strengths, Lee noted ARCC's dominant position in the BDC market, its extensive scale, and strong originations in the Ares direct lending platform. He also highlighted Ares Capital's more than 20 years of experience.

"In our view, ARCC's dividends are well supported by the company's core earnings per share generation plus potential net realized gains," said Lee to support his bullish stance.

Lee ranks No. 341 among more than 10,200 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 66% of the time, delivering an average return of 11.5%. See Ares Capital Insider Trading Activity on TipRanks. 

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of AMZN either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

An impressive historical gain hasn't prevented this dominant business from seeing its shares soar 64% in 2025.

Alphabet (GOOGL 0.20%) (GOOG 0.23%) became a publicly traded company in August 2004. Since that date, it has been one of the best stocks investors could have owned. The share price has climbed 12,240% during that time (as of Dec. 22). The S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.03%) has generated a total return of 844% over that stretch.

Even after such a monumental gain, this growth stock continues to crush the market, soaring 64% just in 2025. Alphabet is a monster business with a $3.75 trillion market cap. Nonetheless, investors might still want to consider buying shares.

Image source: Alphabet.

Alphabet possesses powerful competitive advantages
It's not an accident that the company's stock has done so well. This is one of the best businesses on the face of the planet. One of the most important reasons comes down to the economic moat. Alphabet possesses many durable competitive strengths that play to its advantage, giving it a dominant position in the industries it operates in.

Network effects are certainly at play. Google Search is constantly getting better, as more queries generate more data that's always refining the algorithm. YouTube is a two-sided ecosystem, with a higher number of viewers and engagement drawing in more content creators, which then improves the user experience. These are positive feedback loops that are hard to stop.

"With 15 products that each serve half a billion people, and six that serve over 2 billion each, we have so many opportunities to deliver on our mission," CEO Sundar Pichai said in July 2023.

There might be no company out there that collects more data than Alphabet. This is a powerful advantage in today's internet economy. Imagine the vast amounts of data that the business can leverage to enhance its various apps. This data also helps train Alphabet's artificial intelligence (AI) models.

Google Cloud benefits both from a cost advantage and from switching costs. Sizable fixed investments are required to scale up the infrastructure needed to serve cloud customers.

Google Cloud was unprofitable for quite some time. However, now it's producing robust profits. And its customers, who have integrated their own workflows with Google Cloud, are discouraged from changing providers unless they want to disrupt their operations and deal with training and onboarding employees to a new system.

Assume you're a highly motivated, extremely skilled, very resourceful, and well-funded tech entrepreneur. Your mission is to disrupt Alphabet's key segments, including Google Search, YouTube, Google Cloud, and Waymo. Where do you even begin?

It's an almost impossible task that underscores just how dominant this company has become. And for long-term investors, it makes Alphabet a less risky opportunity, since it seems to always be in a position of power.

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What about the stock's valuation?
Successful businesses, especially those with massive market caps like this one, don't fly under the radar. That's why it might come as a surprise that Alphabet's shares aren't expensive today. Investors interested in adding this growth stock to their portfolios are being asked by the market to pay a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.6.

That's more expensive than the S&P 500. And it's a 23% premium to Alphabet's trailing-five-year average. But the quality of this company is worth the price tag.

Alphabet is humming along. Revenue in Q3 2025 (ended Sept. 30) increased 16% year over year to $102 billion, with net income rising at a faster rate of 33%.

The business has its foot on the gas pedal in the AI race, with forecasted capital expenditures this year of $91 billion to $93 billion, a sizable sum. Alphabet is planning to introduce ads on its Gemini app, which has 650 million monthly active users. This could bring incremental revenue to the mix, giving the company a clear path to monetize all its free AI users.

Sometimes investment opportunities just hit you over the head with how obvious they are. Alphabet is precisely that right now.

Investors might be more interested in this stock since it trades 21% off its record high.

Costco (COST +0.21%) is a massive business. In fiscal 2025 (ended Aug. 31), it registered $270 billion in net sales. This huge sum makes it the world's third-biggest retailer, behind only Walmart and Amazon.

Costco shares have historically performed very well. Over the past decade, for example, they're up 429% (as of Dec. 23), providing a nice boost to investor portfolios. The retail stock is down 7% in 2025, though.

Before you hit the buy button, here are three must-know facts about Costco.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Costco's memberships are its money maker
Through its 921 warehouse clubs, Costco sells merchandise ranging from groceries and apparel to electronics and home goods. But making lots of money on merchandise sales isn't Costco's key focus. The gross margin was just 11.3% in Q1 2026 (ended Nov. 23), which reveals that management implements low mark-ups on its inventory. Retail peers typically have much higher mark-ups on their goods.

Instead, Costco runs a thriving membership model. Consumers must pay an annual fee to enter a warehouse and shop for items. Costco's membership count grew 5.2% year over year to 81.4 million in the last quarter, helping increase membership income to $1.3 billion. The worldwide renewal rate usually hovers around 90%, showcasing strong loyalty.

Memberships introduce a high-margin and recurring revenue stream. And they have proven pricing power. They also drive customers to visit stores more frequently, so they feel that the annual fee is worth it. This might explain why Costco has a stellar track record of posting same-store sales growth.

2. Having a massive scale helps tremendously
Great businesses are those that have economic moats, a term popularized by Warren Buffett. Costco excels in this area. Its moat is supported by a powerful cost advantage. Credit directly goes to the company's incredible scale, as demonstrated by the previously mentioned fiscal 2025 net sales of $270 billion.

The average Costco club has about 4,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs). This is a significantly smaller number than the 30,000 SKUs a normal supermarket might carry. As a result of a narrow product focus, Costco buys large quantities of a limited number of goods. This gives it immense buying powerful and negotiating leverage over its supplier base, leading to low costs and everyday savings for shoppers. This cost advantage only improves over time, as greater sales support more supplier leverage that leads to ongoing savings. It's a positive feedback loop.

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3. Even after a stock dip, the shares are expensive
Since hitting a peak in February 2025, shares have fallen 21%. That drop has occurred despite Costco putting up solid financial results that don't indicate at all that it's losing its competitive edge. Investors might be interested in buying the dip.

The valuation still doesn't look like a bargain, though. Investors can purchase the stock if they are willing to pay a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 45.7. This is an 81% premium to the S&P 500 index. Value investors might not be comfortable with this setup, as it evidently provides no margin of safety.

There's an optimistic view that investors can adopt as well. Perhaps the market will always give Costco a higher valuation because it's a durable, predictable, and stable business. This seems to have always been the case, as the financials are robust. Net income soared 241% between fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2025. Costco continues to open about 25 new stores each year, too.

It's impossible to accurately assess market sentiment to figure out what the right valuation should be. But I believe there is some merit to the argument that Costco shares will never trade at an optically cheap P/E multiple.

Transition from concept to industrial execution is underway, with production, launches, and contracts now driving the story. Business risk has shifted from technology viability to operational delivery and timing discipline. The model offers high convexity, limited downside visibility, and large upside tied to successful network build-out.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in NVO over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

The information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this article should be taken as a solicitation to purchase or sell securities. Before buying or selling any stock, you should do your own research and reach your own conclusion or consult a financial advisor. Investing includes risks, including loss of principal.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of JNJ, MRK, PG, QCOM either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.