Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Microsoft (MSFT +1.58%) and Nvidia (NVDA 2.37%) are two heavyweights in the technology world and key players in artificial intelligence (AI). Microsoft seems to have its hand in every tech market segment, especially anything involving enterprise customers. Meanwhile, Nvidia has become the de facto leader in GPU chips used in AI data centers.

Both stocks have made investors very wealthy over the years. But which of these top AI stocks is the better buy for the next three years? This article will explain why I like Microsoft a tad more. Although, as you'll see below, it's hard to go wrong with either one.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Vera Rubin likely means Nvidia has more growth ahead Nvidia has enjoyed one of the most impressive growth spurts in history over these past few years as the AI build-out juiced demand for its GPUs. This supercycle continues to rage on. Vera Rubin, Nvidia's next-generation AI chip platform, is in full production and could begin shipping later this year. CEO Jensen Huang has laid out expectations for $1 trillion in orders for Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell chips through 2027.

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Wall Street analysts estimate that Nvidia's business could double over the next couple of years, from trailing-12-month revenue of $253 billion to $392 billion this fiscal year, and $554 billion the following year. Nvidia's valuation is already well below its high at less than 19 times sales, and it might become much cheaper as these next 24 months play out.

Microsoft is pivoting to capitalize on its enterprise customer base Microsoft originally tied its AI hopes to OpenAI. Although Microsoft has done well with its OpenAI investment and enjoyed significant cloud computing growth as a result of the partnership, it has still struggled to establish itself as a key AI player. Users, especially enterprises, have opted for Anthropic's Claude among other AI models. As a result, Microsoft shifted to a multi-model strategy and has reportedly considered adding open-source models to Copilot Cowork to lower token costs.

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Investors should applaud Microsoft's willingness to adapt. The company has deeply entrenched relationships with the enterprise world, which gives Microsoft more margin for error in fine-tuning its AI strategy than most companies. Plus, Microsoft's Azure remains a formidable growth engine, with a staggering $627 billion in remaining commercial performance obligations.

Nvidia's data center business has grown so much that the stock has become a concentrated investment in this ongoing supercycle. That means Nvidia has a sky-high ceiling with Vera Rubin shipping soon, but it's riskier in that the floor is much lower if companies stop pouring all this money into AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, Microsoft remains highly diversified across software, cloud computing, and AI. That lowers the company's ceiling, but it's also the safer stock.

Microsoft's impressive track record typically earns it a premium valuation. The stock has traded at an average of almost 33 times its trailing-12-month earnings over the past decade, but trades at just 22 times its earnings today. Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts expect the company to grow earnings by 16% to 17% annually over the next three to five years.

While some may opt for Nvidia's immense growth potential, Microsoft rarely offers a valuation compelling enough to buy into.

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The pitch for covered-call ETFs is the same everywhere. Trade some upside for a fat monthly check. The reality, as anyone holding JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (NYSEARCA:JEPI) through 2026 can tell you, is that not all covered-call funds behave the same when the market runs.

JEPI, Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETF (NASDAQ:GPIX), and ProShares S&P 500 High Income ETF (BATS:ISPY) all sell you S&P 500 exposure with an options-income overlay, yet their year-to-date total returns are separated by a canyon. The mechanics explain why.

Three different return engines wearing the same jacket JEPI does not directly write index calls. It builds a lower-volatility sleeve of large-cap stocks targeting roughly 80% of S&P beta, and layers on equity-linked notes that synthesize the premium of an S&P 500 call-write. You are buying JPMorgan’s stock picks plus a bank counterparty’s derivative wrapper, not an index option.

GPIX is more literal. Goldman holds a portfolio designed to track the S&P 500 and actively sells short-dated calls on a dynamically chosen 25% to 75% of the notional, dialing coverage up when premiums are rich and down when they are stingy. Net expense ratio 0.29%, distribution around 8.5% annualized, roughly $4.3 to $4.7 billion in AUM.

ISPY is the weirdest and most interesting. Rather than writing options monthly, it uses swap agreements to replicate an index that sells one-day-to-expiration S&P 500 calls every single trading day. Daily premiums are smaller than monthly premiums, but they are collected 250-ish times a year instead of twelve. ProShares also changed the distribution policy on January 29, 2026 to include a minimum-yield provision, a genuinely underdiscussed development for anyone modeling forward income.

What actually happened in 2026 Through July 1, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) was up roughly 9% year-to-date. GPIX kept pace on total return at nearly 10%, which is remarkable for a fund also handing out roughly 8.5% in annualized distributions. ISPY delivered about 8%, close behind. JEPI returned about 2%.

That gap is not a fluke. JEPI’s defensive stock sleeve deliberately underweights the AI and mega-cap tech names that drove most of the index’s gains, so when NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) and the hyperscalers rip, JEPI watches from the porch. Over one year the pattern holds. SPY up about 21%, GPIX 21%, ISPY 19%, JEPI 7%. JEPI’s July 2026 distribution came in at $0.38716, still on schedule, still monthly, still real income.

The frustration for retail is about total return leaving town while the checks keep arriving.

Reddit sentiment on JEPI has stayed bullish (scores in the 62 to 72 range through May 2026). Dividend investors accept the trade. Growth-adjacent investors do not.

The tradeoffs nobody puts on the fact sheet Structure risk differs. JEPI’s ELNs introduce a bank counterparty into your income stream. ISPY’s swaps do the same. GPIX writes actual listed options, which is cleanest but leaves the manager on the hook to time coverage well. Tax location matters. Distributions from all three are largely ordinary income, making an IRA or 401(k) the natural home. Holding these in a taxable brokerage account is a choice most spreadsheets punish. Coverage cadence changes the payoff. Daily 0DTE writing (ISPY) caps upside every day but harvests more volatility events. Dynamic monthly writing (GPIX) participates more in trends. ELN-based synthetic (JEPI) inherits whatever the underwriter negotiated. Who fits where GPIX is the closest thing to a free-lunch story in this trio. It captured index-like total return alongside high monthly income, and its 0.29% expense ratio undercuts JEPI’s 0.35%. That does not make it a permanent winner. Its 3-year record is short and includes only bull-tilted tape.

ISPY makes sense for investors who specifically want daily premium harvesting and are comfortable with a swap wrapper and a $1.25 to $1.3 billion AUM fund. The minimum-yield policy makes forward income more predictable.

JEPI is a defensive income vehicle. It will lag in AI-led rallies and cushion in drawdowns. Retirees who wanted a lower-volatility monthly paycheck got exactly what was advertised. Investors who assumed “S&P 500 plus income” meant S&P 500 returns plus income read the ticker, not the prospectus.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Have you been searching for a stock that might be well-positioned to maintain its earnings-beat streak in its upcoming report? It is worth considering MasterCard (MA - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry.

This processor of debit and credit card payments has seen a nice streak of beating earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The average surprise for the last two quarters was 8.94%.

For the last reported quarter, MasterCard came out with earnings of $4.6 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.4 per share, representing a surprise of 4.55%. For the previous quarter, the company was expected to post earnings of $4.2 per share and it actually produced earnings of $4.76 per share, delivering a surprise of 13.33%.

Price and EPS Surprise

With this earnings history in mind, recent estimates have been moving higher for MasterCard. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the company is positive, which is a great sign of an earnings beat, especially when you combine this metric with its nice Zacks Rank.

Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. 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.

MasterCard has an Earnings ESP of +1.87% at the moment, suggesting that analysts have grown bullish on its near-term earnings potential. When you combine this positive Earnings ESP with the stock's Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), it shows that another beat is possibly around the corner.

When the Earnings ESP comes up negative, investors should note that this will reduce the predictive power of the metric. But, a negative value is not indicative of a stock's earnings miss.

Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, though this is not the only reason why their shares gain. Additionally, some stocks may remain stable even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.

Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

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The WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (NASDAQ:DGRW) pays a trailing yield of roughly 1.28%, which sounds thin for something with “Dividend” in its name and downright embarrassing next to the 3%-plus yields on traditional income ETFs. And yet DGRW keeps pulling in serious institutional capital.

PNC, Bank of America, and Ameriprise all lifted their stakes earlier this year, and DGRW now runs about $16.7 billion in AUM. DGRW is really a quality-growth fund that uses dividends as a passport control checkpoint, and the yield is the tax you pay for owning what is essentially a large-cap compounder ETF in disguise.

What you actually own when you buy DGRW WisdomTree recently narrowed the index from about 300 holdings to roughly 200, tightening the screen. The methodology weights companies by a factor blend of long-term earnings growth forecasts (50%), trailing five-year earnings growth (25%), and trailing five-year sales growth (25%), then dividend-weights the survivors by aggregate dollars paid. Do that math and you end up with a portfolio that is roughly 33% to 38% technology, led by NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) at 7.77%, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) at 5.7%, and Apple at 3.78%, sitting alongside classic payers like Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).

Which is why NVIDIA, a stock with a 0.02% dividend yield, is the fund’s largest position. The screen catches companies with 114% return on equity and an 85% year-over-year revenue jump, and it does not much care whether they are yielding 0.02% or 3%. When NVIDIA surprised the market with a 2,400% dividend increase in May, DGRW was already sitting on the position. That is the sales pitch, and it is a real one.

The performance argument, tested Over five years DGRW has returned 73.6% on price, and over ten years 266%, comfortably ahead of the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHD), which returned 51.7% and 224.7% over the same windows. The quality-growth screen has done what it says on the tin, at least over multi-year periods.

But the last twelve months tell a different story. SCHD has returned 23% in total versus DGRW’s 14.56%, and DGRW has bled roughly $1.38 billion in outflows over the past year per ETF Database. Part of that is probably profit-taking after a long tech-driven run, part of it is investors rotating into higher-current-yield vehicles in a high-rate environment, and part of it is the visible strain of Microsoft being down 20.4% over the past year even as its earnings kept growing.

The tradeoffs are real Tech concentration. When more than a third of your “dividend” ETF is technology, the correlation with the broader market climbs. A May 2026 analysis by Pluang argued DGRW’s holdings overlap with the S&P 500 enough that it offers no clear advantage at the fund level. Thin current income. DGRW paid $1.27504 per share across 2025 on a share price near $95. For a retiree trying to fund groceries, that is not going to cover a lot of groceries. Cost. Whatever DGRW’s US expense ratio prints at, it runs materially above SCHD’s 0.06%. That gap compounds. Who this actually fits DGRW makes sense as a core equity holding for accumulators, particularly younger investors who want rising dividend income twenty years from now rather than a check today.

The screen has historically found the Coca-Cola kind of compounder, now in its 63rd consecutive year of dividend increases, and paired it with the NVIDIAs before their payouts scale up. Retirees who need spendable income today should look at SCHD, whose top holdings in pharma, energy, and telecom generate the current yield DGRW deliberately does not. Call DGRW a total-return fund that happens to distribute monthly, and the low yield stops looking like a bug.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

On CNBC’s Squawk on the Street this morning, Jim Cramer looked at the June jobs data and told Carl Quintanilla he cannot square what he is reading with what he is seeing. June payrolls printed +57,000, roughly half of consensus, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2%, a one-year low. For Cramer, the location of the softness is what rankles. Construction and manufacturing should be lit up, and they are flat.

“The biggest story in this country is the growth of the data center. Where is it in these numbers? Construction. Manufacturing, nothing,” he said, before invoking former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and adding that “we can’t take this seriously.” Then the money line. “I don’t know how to trust this.”

Cramer’s big disconnect If you believe capex plans from a handful of hyperscalers, the U.S. is in the middle of the largest private construction cycle in a generation, and the payroll survey is not picking it up. Cramer is not entirely making it up.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) raised its full-year 2026 capex guidance to $125 billion to $145 billion, up from the prior $115 billion to $135 billion range, and spent $19.0 billion in Q1 2026 alone, a 46.8% jump year over year. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) is guiding Q2 fiscal 2027 revenue of $91.0 billion and sitting on $119 billion in total supply commitments, which is the accounting way of saying it has already promised to buy an enormous amount of stuff that other people have to build. Jensen Huang called it “the largest infrastructure expansion in human history.”

You would expect that to leave a fingerprint on the establishment survey. Cramer says it does not.

Where are the data center jobs? His second complaint stretches beyond AI. “We have data center build, which is remarkable. And we have oil and gas, which is at a high going higher because of Iran. We have warehousing at an amazing numbers because of what’s going on with e-commerce. And we have little to no change in those jobs,” he said.

The oil piece is real. The EIA’s May Short-Term Energy Outlook flagged a U.S. blockade against Iranian oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) just reported underlying Q1 earnings of $8.77 billion versus $7.58 billion a year earlier, with upstream production of 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day and first LNG cargo from Golden Pass Train 1 in April 2026. Details in the Q1 8-K filing. WTI is at $73.59 the week of June 26, off the April peak near $105.67, which is Cramer’s “inching toward 67” concern about China not soaking up idle Iranian barrels. Prices are moving. Employment in the sector, per the report, is not.

Data centers, once built, do not employ many people. Studies estimate the average data center employs about 43 workers per 100 megawatts, with the bulk of the labor concentrated in temporary construction crews. Construction payrolls have risen over the past three to four months but remain modest at around 11,000. So Cramer’s frustration is directionally right and quantitatively awkward at the same time.

The immigration angle Quintanilla surfaced the piece that ties this together. “We have and we’ve talked about labor supply getting pinched, right, because of immigration and a bunch of other things,” he said. Cramer took it further. “META’s putting together this plan because they can’t find enough workers to put to build data centers… Every single one of these companies is traumatized by trying to find enough workers.”

If that is true, the payroll survey may simply be misread. A weak headline number with a falling unemployment rate is consistent with fewer people available to hire. Private payrolls have now fallen for a third straight month, and BLS survey response rates have collapsed over the past decade, which is why the April and May 2026 payroll figures are still flagged preliminary and subject to revision.

Cramer’s read is one interpretation. But when Meta is flagging “employee compensation for technical talent” as a 2026 expense driver, Exxon is pumping at record rates, and NVIDIA has $119 billion of orders staged behind it, a headline of +57,000 with jobless claims still at 215,000 is worth reading twice before drawing conclusions about a slowing economy.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Goldman Sachs on Thursday announced that it will make a matching contribution to Trump Accounts for eligible children of the firm’s employees.

The company will make a one-time matching contribution of $1,000 to employees with children born between 2025 and 2028 upon the time of enrollment in Trump Accounts, matching the $1,000 federal seed contribution.

“Starting early and staying invested for the long term is one of the most reliable ways American families build lasting financial security,” said Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.

“We have long been committed to the importance of savings and investment as a pathway to a more resilient financial future, and we’re proud to continue our support of this partnership and invest in the future of America,” Solomon added.

The company said in a statement that it views the public-private initiative as a way to “instill the fundamental economic principles of savings and investing in America’s next generation.”

With the matching contribution, Goldman Sachs joins the ranks of US companies that have opted to participate in the Trump Accounts program.

David Solomon’s Goldman Sachs joins the ranks of US companies that have opted to participate in the Trump Accounts program. REUTERS Financial firms including Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Vanguard have all announced that they will make contributions to the Trump Accounts of their employees’ children that at least match the $1,000 federal contribution for children born between 2025 and 2028. 

Michael and Susan Dell also announced the donation of $6.25 billion to seed 25 million accounts belonging to children 10 and under with $250 each, providing a boost that includes some children who wouldn’t have been eligible for the federal seed money.

Trump Accounts were created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the package of tax cuts and reforms that Republicans passed through Congress and was signed into law by President Trump last year.

Trump Accounts were created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the package of tax cuts and reforms that Republicans passed through Congress and was signed into law by President Trump last year. MediaPunch / BACKGRID

Parents and guardians may contribute up to $5,000 per year to the accounts belonging to their children. David Buchan for Ca Post The initiative invests the savings in low-cost index funds that provide broad, diversified exposure to the US stock market.

Parents and guardians may contribute up to $5,000 per year to the accounts belonging to their children, while a parent’s employer can contribute up to $2,500 annually without impacting the employee’s taxable income.

Looking for a stock that has been consistently beating earnings estimates and might be well positioned to keep the streak alive in its next quarterly report? Colgate-Palmolive (CL - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Consumer Products - Staples industry, could be a great candidate to consider.

When looking at the last two reports, this consumer products maker has recorded a strong streak of surpassing earnings estimates. The company has topped estimates by 3.25%, on average, in the last two quarters.

For the most recent quarter, Colgate-Palmolive was expected to post earnings of $0.95 per share, but it reported $0.97 per share instead, representing a surprise of 2.11%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $0.91 per share, while it actually produced $0.95 per share, a surprise of 4.40%.

Price and EPS Surprise

For Colgate-Palmolive, estimates have been trending higher, thanks in part to this earnings surprise history. And when you look at the stock's positive Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction), it's a great indicator of a future earnings beat, especially when combined with its solid Zacks Rank.

Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. 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.

Colgate-Palmolive currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.78%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner. We expect the company's next earnings report to be released on July 31, 2026.

With the Earnings ESP metric, it's important to note that a negative value reduces its predictive power; however, a negative Earnings ESP does not indicate an earnings miss.

Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, though this is not the only reason why their shares gain. Additionally, some stocks may remain stable even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.

Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

NEW YORK, July 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kuehn Law, PLLC, a shareholder litigation law firm, is investigating whether certain officers and directors of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders.

According to a federal securities lawsuit, PayPal Holdings misrepresented the state of its branded checkout business by asserting that it had successfully implemented significant enhancements that were driving sustainable growth. According to the lawsuit, the Company was in truth grappling with substantial execution deficiencies within its branded checkout operations that were impairing growth.

If you currently own PYPL and purchased prior to February 8, 2025 please contact Sophia Anne Silayan by email at [email protected] or call (833) 672-0814. Kuehn Law pays all case costs and does not charge its investor clients. Shareholders should contact the firm immediately as there may be limited time to enforce your rights.

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For additional information, please visit Shareholder Derivative Litigation - Kuehn Law.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contacts:
Kuehn Law, PLLC
Justin Kuehn, Esq.
53 Hill Street, Suite 605
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[email protected]
(833) 672-0814

If you've invested in AMD (AMD 5.05%) or Intel (INTC 5.41%) over the past year, you're likely a very happy investor. Intel has risen about 480%, and AMD has risen around 280% over the past 12 months. Those are major gains, but not all stock gains are created equally.

Sometimes, stocks go up for odd or technical market reasons (think about some of the stocks driven by posters in the WallStreetBets subreddit or meme stocks). Other times, companies are growing rapidly, so the market values them differently. Or investors might be willing to pay more for a stock for a different reason. 

A company growing sustainably is the best scenario for investors. Investors can get burned when a stock looks like it's doing well but the business behind it isn't living up to expectations.

I think that's exactly where AMD and Intel inventors find themselves now, and if they're not careful, all of the gains may be for nothing.

Image source: Getty Images.

AMD and Intel are turnaround plays Both AMD and Intel were, and arguably still are, losing in their primary industries. Intel has two major businesses: its own chip line and a semiconductor business. On the chip side, Intel is still the industry standard, though AMD is pushing it as the top processor provider. However, this isn't a major growth area, and Intel's best chance to grow is through its foundry business.

The problem is Intel's foundry business lacks clients because most of them use Taiwan Semiconductor. That may be changing in the future, as U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced that Apple and Intel have a deal to make chips. We'll see if that pans out; it would be one of Intel's first major customer wins in a long time if it's true. Still, Intel has a long way to go before investors can truly claim that it's back.

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AMD was never really down on its luck; its products were just inferior to those from Nvidia. But AMD has launched a few exciting new products that help it better compete against Nvidia.

Still, the problem is that Nvidia has such a large share of the AI infrastructure market that it's difficult for companies to switch from Nvidia to AMD products. This may shut AMD out of a lot of businesses and make it difficult to expand. Still, AMD has landed several major contracts with companies like OpenAI, so all hope is not lost. But when you compare AMD's growth rates to Nvidia's, they just don't match.

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During each company's most recent quarter, AMD's data center division grew at a 57% pace. Nvidia grew at a 92% pace. That's a huge mismatch and shows that Nvidia is still the company to beat in its industry.

AMD and Intel have premium valuations What concerns me are the stocks' prices compared to estimates for future earnings. The forward price-to-earnings ratio accounts for future growth in a stock's valuation. So, if a stock is overvalued from this perspective, that means its earnings must grow substantially in 2027 and beyond.

Given the industries and growth rates Intel and AMD are experiencing, I'd expect them to trade at around 25 to 30 times forward earnings estimates. However, both are valued far higher than that.

AMD PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

For AMD to come to a reasonable level, it must nearly triple its earnings starting in 2027. For Intel, it has to deliver even greater earnings growth.

Considering the growth rates these two are putting up right now (AMD grew revenue at a 38% pace and Intel at a 7% clip), that's far too high a price for investors to pay. Investors would be far better off buying their primary competitors' stocks (like Nvidia or Taiwan Semiconductor), as these two are better-priced and still beating AMD and Intel. The market thinks they have already won.

Keithen Drury has positions in Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Takeaways Adobe is expanding Firefly with Topaz Labs' AI tools for image and video enhancement.Topaz Labs adds upscaling, sharpening, noise removal and restoration capabilities to Adobe. Adobe expects fiscal 2026 revenues of $26.5B-$26.6B as AI demand continues to grow. Adobe (ADBE - Free Report) has been leveraging AI to boost top-line growth. The acquisition of Topaz Labs strengthens Adobe’s AI strategy by adding image and video enhancement technology to its growing Firefly ecosystem. The deal complements Adobe’s broader vision of becoming the AI platform of choice for creators by expanding AI capabilities beyond content generation into professional-quality enhancement, restoration and editing.

Topaz Labs’ AI models specialize in upscaling, sharpening, noise removal, stabilization, frame interpolation and archival restoration. Once integrated into Adobe Firefly, Firefly Services and Creative Cloud applications such as Photoshop, Lightroom and Premiere Pro, these technologies will enable creators to seamlessly combine AI-generated and traditionally captured content while maintaining professional-grade quality. This strengthens Adobe's ability to serve filmmakers, photographers, designers and enterprises that increasingly rely on hybrid AI workflows.

The acquisition advances Adobe’s strategy of attracting more AI users through Firefly. During its latest earnings call, management said AI-driven content creation demand is accelerating rapidly, as creative freemium monthly active users (MAUs) surged from more than 50 million to more than 90 million on a year-over-year basis. Firefly’s annual recurring revenue grew roughly 50% sequentially. Adobe is intentionally expanding its freemium AI offerings to acquire hundreds of millions of new creators before monetizing them through subscriptions and AI credit consumption.

Topaz Labs’ proprietary Neurostream technology enables large AI models to run efficiently on local devices instead of relying solely on the cloud. This aligns with Adobe’s goal of delivering faster, lower-cost and more responsive AI experiences while expanding access to advanced creative tools across a broader range of devices. On-device AI can also reduce inference costs and improve responsiveness, supporting Adobe's long-term push to scale AI profitably.

As enterprises and creators increasingly demand end-to-end AI-powered content production, the addition of Topaz Labs makes Adobe’s Firefly and Creative Cloud ecosystem more comprehensive and better positioned to capture the growing AI-powered creative market. For fiscal 2026, Adobe now expects total revenues between $26.5 billion and $26.6 billion. Adobe expects Business Professionals and Consumers’ subscription revenues between $7.44 billion and $7.48 billion. Creative and Marketing Professionals subscription revenues are expected to be between $18.21 billion and $18.27 billion.

Adobe Faces Tough CompetitionAdobe’s AI business is minuscule compared with Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) .

Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud revenues are benefiting from growth in Azure AI services and a rise in the AI Copilot business. The company monetizes AI through existing customer relationships, reducing customer acquisition costs while expanding revenue per user. The Intelligent Cloud segment delivered third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues of $34.7 billion, up 30%, and is guided between $37.95 billion and $38.25 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, indicating 27% to 28% growth. Azure’s comprehensive infrastructure capabilities position the company to capture increasing cloud migration spending while maintaining pricing power through differentiated services.

 Alphabet’s focus on leveraging AI to drive growth is a key catalyst. AI is heavily infused across its offerings, including Search and Google Cloud. AI is driving Alphabet’s Search & Other revenues, which grew 19% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. Gemini Enterprise’s paid monthly active users grew 40% sequentially, while revenues from products built on Google’s generative AI models increased nearly 800% year over year. Alphabet’s total paid subscriptions reached 350 million, driven in part by Gemini app adoption and premium AI plans.

ADBE’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesAdobe shares have dropped 39.7% year to date, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s return of 18.3%.

Adobe Stock’s Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The ADBE stock is trading at a discount, as suggested by a Value Score of A. In terms of trailing price/book, Adobe shares are trading at a discount of 7.28X compared with the broader sector’s 10.28X.

ADBE Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $24.17 per share, up 2.8% over the past 30 days, suggesting 15.43% year-over-year growth. 
 

Adobe currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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SummaryUnitedHealth Group is reiterated as a buy, with a raised price target near $460, reflecting improved earnings guidance and operational turnaround.Q1 results beat expectations, with non-GAAP EPS of $7.23 and revenue of $111.7B, prompting an FY 2026 EPS outlook above $18.25 and a $2B buyback.UNH benefits from strong free cash flow, a 2.18% yield, positive EPS revisions, and strategic investments in modernization and AI.Technical momentum is robust, but near-term resistance exists below $440; support is at $380, with a measured-move upside target near $480. JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) have been on a roller coaster ride in the past year-plus. At one point in 2026, the Health Care sector giant was down more than 20% YTD. Jump ahead more than three

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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.

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Signal Or Noise? Deciphering The Fed's New Direction.

Stock Market Skids As Trump Makes This Trade Call; Jobs Report Due Caterpillar (CAT) dropped 6.9% on the first day of the third quarter 2026, but Caterpillar stock is still on a solid uptrend and is one of the best-performing stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average this year. The heavy equipment maker is benefiting from strong demand in construction and power‑generation markets, including a growing backlog tied to the energy needs…

Copyright ©2026 Investor's Business Daily, LLC. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

NEW YORK, July 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lowey Dannenberg P.C., a preeminent law firm in obtaining redress for consumers and investors, is investigating Hyliion Holdings Corp (AMEX: HYLN) ("Hyliion" or the "Company") for potential violations of the federal securities laws.

On May 13, 2026, Hyliion announced in connection with its first quarter 2026 earnings release that it had signed a letter of intent with VFG Holdings for "up to" 250 KARNO power module cores, representing approximately $133 million in potential revenue and approximately one-third of the Company's reported $400 million pipeline. Following that announcement, Hyliion's stock surged approximately 150%. Then, Pelican Way Research published a short report entitled "Hyliion: A Glorified Science Project Who Has Continuously Failed To Meet Expectations And Is Now Throwing Around A Meaningless Deal." The Pelican Way report alleges, among other things, that the VFG Holdings entity was incorporated only in January 2026, has just four employees, no funding history, and a website consisting of only two pages, and that the Company's pipeline is "artificially inflated by at least ~33%." The report further alleges that Hyliion's CEO Thomas Healy has been paid approximately $15.4 million since 2021 while the Company generated only approximately $8 million in total revenue over the same period.

On this news, the price of Hyliion shares dropped significantly.

"Our investigation concerns whether the company and its executives provided investors with accurate and complete information about the company," said attorney Andrea Farah, Lowey Dannenberg, P.C. partner and head of the firm's securities practice.

If you suffered a loss in Hyliion securities, and wish to participate, or learn more about your eligibility, contact our attorneys Andrea Farah ([email protected]) at (914)​733-7256 or Vincent R. Cappucci Jr. ([email protected]) at (914)​733-7278. You can also submit your trading records for our review here.

About Lowey Dannenberg

Lowey Dannenberg is a national firm representing institutional and individual investors, who suffered financial losses resulting from corporate fraud and malfeasance in violation of federal securities and antitrust laws. The firm has significant experience in prosecuting multi-million-dollar lawsuits and has previously recovered billions of dollars on behalf of investors.

Contact

Lowey Dannenberg P.C.
44 South Broadway, Suite 1100
White Plains, NY 10601
Tel: (914) 733-7256
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Lowey Dannenberg

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Six months into 2026, the boring stuff is winning. The SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:SDY) is up 12.57% year to date, while the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF is down 11.4% over the same stretch. That is a wide gap between dividend aristocrats and enterprise software. SDY, the plain-vanilla index of companies that have raised dividends for 20-plus consecutive years, has quietly outrun the sector everyone assumed would carry the market.

What SDY owns and how it makes money SDY holds the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index, weighted by yield rather than market cap. The top slots read like an insurance policy against excitement. Verizon (NYSE:VZ | VZ Price Prediction) sits near 2.2%, Realty Income (NYSE:O) at 2.15%… and so on. Utilities, energy, consumer staples, and one big monthly-paying REIT. The return engine is dividends plus modest capital appreciation from companies that grow earnings slowly and reliably. Expense ratio is 0.35%, defensible for the yield-weighted methodology.

Realty Income exemplifies what SDY does at the holding level. It yields 5.2%, pays monthly, and just delivered its 114th consecutive quarterly dividend increase. The stock is up 12.54% YTD. Nobody writes novels about triple-net lease REITs, but the check clears every month.

The SaaS downturn and recovery SDY is lapping software because software fell into a hole in Q1 and is still climbing out. When Anthropic launched Claude Cowork and OpenAI shipped Operator in January and February, investors panicked that AI agents would cannibalize per-seat SaaS licensing. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF fell as much as 20-30% peak-to-trough, with Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) down 28% YTD and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) down about 34%. Estimates of destroyed market cap ran into the trillions.

Software staged a ferocious comeback. The tech-software ETF is up 8.32% in the past week alone and has clawed back much of the Q1 damage by June. The AI-kills-SaaS thesis has partly reversed. But the initial drawdown was severe enough, even after the rally. Software rescued itself, but not in 2026.

SDY is winning by not participating. The correct framing is smoother ride versus roller coaster. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) is up just 2.6% YTD.

The tradeoffs The obvious one is opportunity cost. If software’s June rally continues through year end, SDY’s lead compresses fast. Over five years, SDY has returned 43% against the software ETF’s 20%, but over ten years software crushed it, 348% versus 148%. Aristocrats do not compound like winners of secular technology waves.

The second tradeoff is interest-rate sensitivity. With the 10-year Treasury at 4.44% and Fed funds parked at 3.75% since December 11, 2025, dividend equities compete directly with risk-free coupons. If yields pop back toward the May high of 4.67%, SDY holdings like utilities and REITs feel it first. The third is concentration in old-economy sectors, which look like ballast when inflation runs above 4% and look like anchors when growth reaccelerates.

Who this fits SDY makes sense as a 10-20% core holding for investors who want dividend growth without the concentration risk of picking individual aristocrats, and who have made peace with lagging in bull markets.

If you already own a broad S&P 500 index and want defensive income tilted toward the yield-weighted end of the aristocrat universe, SDY does the job at reasonable cost. For readers chasing YTD leadership or betting the software comeback has more room to run, SDY is not the vehicle. The reason SDY is beating software right now is precisely the reason it will trail when the roller coaster is climbing.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

​@OptionsPlay's Tony Zhang talks about why stocks are mixed to close out a holiday-shortened trading week. He offers two bullish cases in different corners of the consumer space through Mastercard (MA) and eBay Inc. (EBAY) while walking investors through example options trades in both.

Palantir (PLTR +3.93%), an AI-driven data mining and analytics company, began trading at $10 per share after going public via a direct listing on Sept. 30, 2020. It set a record high of $207.18 on Nov. 3, 2025, but it now trades at about $129. Does that pullback make Palantir's stock, which has been richly valued ever since its public debut, a more attractive investment?

How fast is Palantir growing? Palantir operates two main platforms: Gotham for its government clients and Foundry for its commercial ones. Both platforms aggregate data from disparate sources to help their clients make faster data-driven decisions. Most U.S. government agencies use Gotham, while commercial giants like Amazon and Walmart use Foundry.

Image source: Getty Images.

From 2021 to 2025, Palantir's revenue grew at 30.5% CAGR from $1.54 billion to $4.48 billion. It also turned profitable in 2023, and its net income rose nearly eightfold from $210 million that year to $1.63 billion in 2025. Those soaring profits led to its inclusion in the S&P 500 in 2024.

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Palantir's government business grew as military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East drove the U.S. government to ramp up the use of its data-gathering services. Its commercial business flourished as it gained even more enterprise customers in the U.S. market. It's also expanding its AI platform for creating custom apps within its ecosystem.

From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect Palantir's revenue and net income to grow at CAGRs of 53% and 65%, respectively. The expansion of its AI enterprise "bootcamps", which help its U.S. commercial customers build new AI applications in days, new government mega-contracts, and its expansion into the space economy market should drive that growth.

By replacing fragmented data silos with its unified platforms, Palantir locks in its customers and widens its moat against smaller data-mining companies. To expand its total addressable market beyond its core government and commercial customers, it's also rolling out cheaper, modular components for smaller businesses that can't afford a seven-figure contract.

Is Palantir becoming a bargain? Palantir's business is firing on all cylinders, but much of that growth is baked into its valuation. When it hit its all-time high in Nov. 2025, it traded at 329 times the $0.63 per share in generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings per share (EPS) it would generate in 2025. Its market cap also peaked at $493.8 billion, or 110 times its 2025 sales of $4.48 billion.

At the time, many growth-oriented investors were willing to pay a premium for Palantir because they expected more rate cuts in 2026. But in the first half of the year, the Iran war and soaring inflation have forced the Fed to keep its benchmark rate unchanged. The Fed's recent decision to stop issuing forward guidance also implies interest rate hikes -- which could drive investors away from pricier growth stocks like Palantir -- are still on the table. Inflation and higher interest rates could also drive its commercial customers to rein in their near-term spending.

All of those headwinds caused Palantir's stock to retreat from its record high. But at $129 per share with a market cap of $301.4 billion, it still trades at 93 times this year's earnings and 39 times this year's sales. So while Palantir is cheaper than it was seven months ago, it's still an expensive hypergrowth stock.

How much upside potential does Palantir have? If it matches analysts' earnings expectations through 2028 but trades at 50 times its current-year earnings in July 2028, its stock would only rise about 3% to $133 over the next two years. If it trades at a more generous 60 times earnings, its stock would rise 24% to $160.

Palantir's business is booming, but its stock's upside is limited. Its valuations are gradually catching up to its growth rates, but it will take at least two or three more years for its price-to-earnings and price-to-sales ratios to stabilize at more sustainable levels.

PLTR's Rule of 40 has more than doubled in less than two years, fueled by accelerating revenue growth and expanding profitability.

Palantir (PLTR +3.93%) stock has been a dud so far in 2026. As of Wednesday's close, it was down around 30% year to date, and off about 8% over the past 12 months. That's particularly disappointing after the impressive returns it gave investors from 2023 to 2025. However, there are still plenty of calls for Palantir stock to deliver jaw-dropping returns over the next year.

Currently, the stock trades for about $126 per share, but Bank of America (BAC +0.33%) analyst Mariana Perez Mora has a price target of $255 per share on the stock. That's a one-year price target, and Palantir obviously would have a long climb to make before it could hit that mark. But if Bank of America and Mora are right, the stock is about to more than double in the next year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Palantir's valuation leads to a different conclusion Palantir got its start as an AI-powered data analytics company. Originally, its software was designed strictly for use by government agencies and militaries. The company's expansion into catering to commercial clients came relatively recently. While government contracts are still the core of its business, Palantir has evolved to become a generative AI company that helps businesses interweave AI solutions into their operations.

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This has led to monster growth for Palantir, and Q1's revenue growth spiked to 85% year over year. But that may have been its peak. The consensus view among Wall Street analysts is that Palantir's growth rate will decline to 80% next quarter and land at 72% for 2026 overall. For 2027, they expect 45% revenue growth. While these are still strong growth rates, they're nothing compared to what Palantir is putting up now.

That's a problem because Palantir still has a ton of optimism about future growth priced into the stock.

Because it is a profitable business, the best tool for measuring Palantir's value is the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. This accounts for the 2026 growth projections. Many big tech stocks trade in the range of 20 to 30 times forward earnings. However, Palantir is far more expensive.

PLTR PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.

Palantir tips the scales at 85 times forward earnings. So, for the stock to trade for a far more reasonable 30 times forward earnings, it would need to grow its earnings by about 180% beyond what growth is expected in 2026. That tells me that several years' worth of potential growth are already baked into its stock price. As a result, I think it's more likely that Palantir's stock price will continue its decline as investors' expectations realign with reality.

I don't foresee any future where this stock hits Bank of America's 12-month price target of $255. It's just one more illustration of why investors need to take their own deep looks at stocks rather than blindly trusting Wall Street analysts' price projections.

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Keithen Drury has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

United States President Donald Trump has confirmed that Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) invested $250 million in the Trump Accounts, also known as 530A Accounts.

In a post through this Truth Social account on July 2, President Trump reiterated his support for Micron following its investments in American children. Trump maintained bullish sentiment for MU stock following the announcement.

“Micron, a GREAT American Company, announced that they are putting in 250 Million Dollars into the Trump Accounts for the future benefit of children, and their stock went up 9 points today,” Trump noted.

Notably, the company unveiled an employee-matching benefit for contributions of up to $1,000 per child under 18. Additionally, the company announced it would provide a community benefit: a one-time $250 seed deposit for children with Trump Accounts where it operates, including Idaho, New York, Virginia, California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Texas.

“As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, this investment is about helping children build a strong foundation for future opportunity while supporting the workforce and communities that will shape U.S. semiconductor leadership,” Sanjay Mehrotra, Micron Chairman, President and CEO, stated.

The Trump Accounts were established under the Working Families Tax Cuts in 2025, which provided that any child born in the U.S. between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, receives $1,000 from the government.

Micron stock performance amid Trump’s support Although the company received renewed support from President Trump, its stock market continues to fall. Over the past five days, Micron Technology shares dropped over 20%, trading at about $985.50 at press time.

MU stock 5-day chart. Source: Finbold As such, Micron stock valuation declined to approximately $1.2 trillion at the time of reporting. Nevertheless, Micron Technology shares have rallied by more than 690% over the past 12 months, driven by the AI (Artificial Intelligence) boom.

The Micron stock valuation has declined over the past few weeks, especially after Mehrotra sold shares, as Finbold reported. Nonetheless, Wall Street analysts remain bullish on Micron stock, as Finbold highlighted, amid strong support from President Trump.

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Looking for a stock that has been consistently beating earnings estimates and might be well positioned to keep the streak alive in its next quarterly report? Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry, could be a great candidate to consider.

This investment bank has an established record of topping earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The company boasts an average surprise for the past two quarters of 11.65%.

For the most recent quarter, Morgan Stanley was expected to post earnings of $3.06 per share, but it reported $3.43 per share instead, representing a surprise of 12.09%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $2.41 per share, while it actually produced $2.68 per share, a surprise of 11.20%.

Price and EPS Surprise

With this earnings history in mind, recent estimates have been moving higher for Morgan Stanley. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the company is positive, which is a great sign of an earnings beat, especially when you combine this metric with its nice Zacks Rank.

Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. 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.

Morgan Stanley currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.30%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner. We expect the company's next earnings report to be released on July 15, 2026.

When the Earnings ESP comes up negative, investors should note that this will reduce the predictive power of the metric. But, a negative value is not indicative of a stock's earnings miss.

Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, though this is not the only reason why their shares gain. Additionally, some stocks may remain stable even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.

Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Fifty years after Apollo 17, humans are headed back to the Moon – and this time, it’s not just about planting flags and coming home.

A real commercial ecosystem is forming around lunar access: private companies building landers, communications networks, and surface infrastructure that governments are now paying to use on a recurring basis. This is what people mean when they talk about lunar economy stocks – companies positioned to profit as the Moon transitions from a one-off mission destination to an actual, serviceable location with infrastructure, supply chains, and yes, eventually a base.

This article breaks down what the lunar economy actually is, the government programs driving it, the strongest moon exploration investment options heading into 2027, and the real risks you need to weigh before putting money toward any space infrastructure stocks tied to this race.

What Is the Lunar Economy?A handful of companies are already proving this model works. Intuitive Machines made history in 2024 by successfully soft-landing its Nova-C lander on the Moon – the first U.S. lunar surface landing since 1972 – and has since won six NASA contracts and expanded aggressively into national security and lunar infrastructure work.

The investment opportunity here is real but early-stage. This is a sector with genuine government backing and growing private capital, but most of the companies involved are still years away from consistent profitability.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) LunA-10Artemis AccordsA set of non-binding principles established in 2020 governing how nations cooperate on lunar and deep-space activity. They’ve grown from eight founding signatories to more than 60 countries as of early 2026, making them one of the most important diplomatic frameworks shaping how the lunar economy will actually operate across borders.

Commercial ProvidersCompanies like Intuitive Machines, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are no longer just waiting on NASA checks – they’re building reusable platforms, acquiring smaller specialists, and competing directly for recurring lunar and cislunar contracts. That shift is exactly what the lunar economy depends on to become self-sustaining.

NASA’s Artemis ProgramArtemis is NASA’s program to return humans to the Moon and, eventually, prepare for Mars. The uncrewed Artemis I flew in November 2022, and on April 1, 2026, Artemis II carried four astronauts – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen – on a crewed lunar flyby, the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo.

Several publicly traded companies sit directly in the path of this spending. Intuitive Machines holds active NASA Artemis and Lunar Terrain Vehicle contracts. Lockheed Martin builds the Orion crew capsule. Northrop Grumman contributes solid rocket motors – the final booster motor segments for Artemis III’s SLS rocket shipped from Northrop’s facility in June 2026 – and space logistics systems supporting the broader architecture.

Not every company playing the Moon race looks the same from an investment standpoint. Some are pure-play lunar bets with volatile stocks and no profits yet. Others are defense giants with Moon exposure quietly tucked inside a much larger balance sheet.

Intuitive Machines (LUNR)The fundamentals are improving. LUNR posted record quarterly revenue of $186.7 million and its first positive adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2026, alongside a record backlog of $1.1 billion. Analysts carry a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $39.29 – Roth Capital has a $75 target.

The stock itself is a different story. LUNR is currently trading around $20, down more than 52% from its 52-week high of $46.75, with a market cap near $4.2 billion. It’s still posting operating losses, and the volatility here is extreme. If you buy LUNR, you’re making a bet on long-term execution – not near-term price stability. LUNR trades on the NASDAQ.

Lockheed Martin (LMT)The steady hand on this list. Lockheed builds the Orion capsule central to every crewed Artemis mission, plus GPS and missile-warning satellites that generate reliable, diversified revenue regardless of what the Moon program does in any given quarter. You’re not buying lunar upside here so much as defense-backed stability with lunar exposure layered in – which, for some investors, is exactly the right combination. LMT trades on the NYSE.

Northrop Grumman (NOC)Best known broadly for the James Webb Space Telescope, Northrop also contributes directly to Artemis through solid rocket motors and lunar logistics vehicle development alongside partners like Intuitive Machines. Like Lockheed, it’s a large, diversified defense contractor rather than a pure lunar bet – but it gives investors a lower-volatility path to the same government contract flow that’s funding the Moon race. NOC trades on the NYSE.

Bottom LineThe lunar economy is no longer science fiction. NASA has astronauts flying lunar flybys again, DARPA and 14 companies are actively designing shared Moon infrastructure, a permanent lunar base is now officially funded and planned, and more than 60 countries have signed onto a framework for how to operate there.

For investors, that translates into a real but genuinely risky opportunity. Intuitive Machines offers the most direct exposure to the Moon race itself – real contracts, real backlog, and real revenue growth – but the stock has been punishing to hold through its volatility swings. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman offer steadier, more diversified exposure through their Artemis contracts, without the white-knuckle price action.

The risk across all of this is real. Government space programs have a long history of schedule slips and budget swings. Smaller pure-play names like Intuitive Machines are still burning cash at the operating level. And the entire lunar economy thesis depends on technology and timelines that are only now starting to prove out. Go in with clear expectations about the time horizon you’re investing on.

FAQsWhat is Intuitive Machines?

A Houston-based space company that has successfully landed on the Moon twice, and has since expanded into satellite infrastructure, national security space programs, and lunar logistics through acquisitions. It just secured its sixth NASA CLPS contract, worth up to $148.3 million, to deliver a lunar lander by 2028.

How do I invest in the lunar economy?

Buy shares of publicly traded lunar economy stocks like Intuitive Machines, Lockheed Martin, or Northrop Grumman through any standard brokerage account, searching their respective tickers – LUNR, LMT, and NOC.

What companies are involved in the moon landing?

Intuitive Machines has successfully landed on the Moon twice. Lockheed Martin builds the Orion capsule for NASA’s Artemis missions, and Northrop Grumman contributes propulsion and lunar logistics systems. SpaceX and Blue Origin are both developing lunar landers for Artemis IV’s first crewed landing, targeted for 2028.

Which stocks benefit from NASA’s Artemis program?

Intuitive Machines, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman are the most direct publicly traded beneficiaries –each holds active Artemis-related contracts.

Is the lunar economy a real investment opportunity?

Yes, but it’s an early-stage one. Government funding and commercial contracts are genuinely growing, Intuitive Machines is posting real revenue and backlog, and NASA now has a funded plan for a permanent Moon base. That said, the sector carries significant volatility and execution risk, and most pure-play names aren’t consistently profitable yet.

Benzinga Disclaimer: This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

If you are looking for a stock that has a solid history of beating earnings estimates and is in a good position to maintain the trend in its next quarterly report, you should consider The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW - Free Report) . This company, which is in the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry, shows potential for another earnings beat.

This company has an established record of topping earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The company boasts an average surprise for the past two quarters of 2.54%.

For the most recent quarter, Charles Schwab was expected to post earnings of $1.39 per share, but it reported $1.43 per share instead, representing a surprise of 2.88%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $1.36 per share, while it actually produced $1.39 per share, a surprise of 2.21%.

Price and EPS Surprise

With this earnings history in mind, recent estimates have been moving higher for Charles Schwab. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the company is positive, which is a great sign of an earnings beat, especially when you combine this metric with its nice Zacks Rank.

Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. 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.

Charles Schwab currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.53%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner. We expect the company's next earnings report to be released on July 21, 2026.

With the Earnings ESP metric, it's important to note that a negative value reduces its predictive power; however, a negative Earnings ESP does not indicate an earnings miss.

Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, but that may not be the sole basis for their stocks moving higher. On the other hand, some stocks may hold their ground even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.

Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Prologis, Inc. maintains a robust competitive moat through prime locations, scale, and expansion into data centers and renewable energy services. PLD's embedded growth is underpinned by a 17% mark-to-market rent spread (~$750M in lease rollover revenue) and a $42B development pipeline. The REIT's strong balance sheet, 3.3% average interest rate, and nearly 8-year debt maturity enable opportunistic growth and M&A flexibility.

Description

Autodesk is making a $350 million investment in training and tools to help people learn how to use artificial intelligence, said Dara Treseder, the company's chief marketing officer, in an interview at the 2026 Cannes Lions Festival.

Treseder cited insights gleaned from the company's recent AI jobs report. "It showed that while 82% of people are very comfortable using LLMs in their daily lives, only a third of people are comfortable using AI in their job," she said. In the report, respondents said they fear AI might not work properly or will make humans irrelevant.

"That education is so key, not only to give people the skills and the talent," she said, "but to change the mindset."

Autodesk is making a $350 million investment in training and tools to help people learn how to use artificial intelligence, said Dara Treseder, the company's chief marketing officer, in an interview at the 2026 Cannes Lions Festival.

Treseder cited insights gleaned from the company's recent AI jobs report. "It showed that while 82% of people are very comfortable using LLMs in their daily lives, only a third of people are comfortable using AI in their job," she said. In the report, respondents said they fear AI might not work properly or will make humans irrelevant.

"That education is so key, not only to give people the skills and the talent," she said, "but to change the mindset."

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Key Takeaways ADP's AI tools saved payroll time, cut HR action clicks, and lowered call volumes and labor in India.ADP expects a 70-80 bps adjusted EBIT margin expansion in fiscal 2026, with EPS growth of 10-11%.ADP has strong liquidity, regular dividends and no current debt, but PEO margins and volume remain pressured. Shares of ADP (ADP - Free Report) have gained 16.4% over the past three months, beating the industry’s 6.8% rally and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 14.7% rise.

3-Month Share Price Performance                                                               Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 revenue is $21.9 billion, suggesting 6.6% year-over-year growth. For 2027, the same is expected to increase 5.9%. For EPS, the consensus estimate is set at $11.08, indicating a 10.7% rally from that reported in the preceding year. The same is expected to move up 10% year over year in 2027.

Factors That Augur Well for ADP’s SuccessAI Unlocks Operational Prowess: ADP Assist Payroll, which is an AI-powered HR and payroll assistant, saved 30 minutes per payroll. Smart Actions search led to a reduction in clicks and time expenditure by nearly 80% for common HR actions. The company witnessed a dip in cost to serve and an improvement in clients’ experience from productivity gains facilitated by AI incorporated in service tools and product innovation.

For instance, ADP’s RUN platform and AI-powered tools deployed to benefit more than 900,000 small business clients resulted in an 8% year-over-year decline in client contracts during the third quarter of fiscal 2026, the busiest quarter. First-time deployment of AI in India allowed ADP to reduce call volumes and labor by 35%.

Pricing Power Drives Margins: In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, ADP stated an expected 70-80 basis point (bps) expansion in its adjusted EBIT margin for fiscal 2026. It is bolstered by a 130-bps expansion in Employer Services (ES) margins reported in the third quarter of fiscal 2026.

With margins gaining momentum, ADP’s earnings moved up to $3.38 per share from the year-ago quarter’s $3.06. Capitalizing on this enhancement, management expects adjusted diluted EPS growth to be 10-11% for fiscal 2026. These metrics paint an attractive profile highlighting its ability to scale profitability.

Ideal for Income-Seeking Investors: ADP pays out dividends regularly, with $1.9 billion, $2.2 billion and $2.4 billion paid out to its shareholders in fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Furthermore, the company raised its quarterly payout to $1.7 per share at the end of 2025 and kept it consistent for the first, second and third quarters of fiscal 2026.

This is a shareholder-friendly move, capitalizing on steady income growth and cash flow over the past years. Betting on this bullish trajectory, we expect the company to pay out stable dividends, which is a green flag for dividend-seeking investors.

Solid Balance Sheet Drives Liquidity: ADP ended the third quarter of fiscal 2026 with a cash chest of $3.2 billion against no current debt. A current ratio of 1.04 solidifies ADP’s ability to pay off short-term obligations, signaling a strong liquidity position. While the company holds nearly $4 billion in long-term debt, a 13.5X times interest earned multiple flaunts robust debt coverage ability, fueling investor optimism.

Risks Faced by ADPPEO Segment’s Margin Setback: The PEO segment gained 6.5% year over year in revenues during the third quarter of fiscal 2026, representing 32% of the top line. Despite this improvement, segmental margins declined by 120 basis points from the year-ago quarter. While the primary factor affecting margins was increasing selling expenses, the drag was furthered by higher state unemployment insurance costs and lower positive reserve releases in workers’ compensation reserves for indemnity.

Softening Volume: Low baseline volume growth is demonstrated by the rally in ES pays per control stalling at 1%. This weak expansion is affected by softening of PEO pays per control, which strips away high-margin revenue streams, affecting PEO margins. It hints at a structural shift in ADP’s growth story, which unveils that the expansion is no longer accelerated by additions of organic headcount or raw workforce volume.

High Competition Faced Across Segments: ADP operates in a fiercely competitive environment in each of its product lines. Both its Employer Services and PEO Services segments compete with other independent business outsourcing companies in most of their operating regions. ADP has observed negative impacts on its retention rate due to the rising competition and migration from the legacy business.

ADP’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderThe company has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector are BILL Holdings (BILL - Free Report) and Datadog (DDOG - Free Report) , currently flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

BILL Holdings has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 30%. BILL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.7%, on average.

Datadog has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 15.3%. DDOG delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.4%, on average.