Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Nebius Group (NBIS -1.69%) has been an incredible stock to own in 2026. It has risen by more than 220% year to date, and has recovered nearly all of the losses it sustained during July's tech-sector sell-off. Its rise recently has been swift, including a jump of more than 40% in the past few weeks.

The catalyst for that growth? Its second-quarter report. Nebius knocked it out of the park with its results, and management assured investors that its impressive growth rate will likely continue into the near future. And despite its recent rally, there's still plenty of room for the stock to run.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Nebius's growth rate is among the fastest in the market Nebius operates a neocloud business, which means that it's focused on providing AI-first cloud computing services. The hyperscalers that lead the cloud infrastructure sector have booked a significant backlog of business, and they're trying to get their hands on as much computing power as possible to meet those obligations and turn backlogs into revenues. Some of Nebius's biggest clients are companies that are spending big to build computing infrastructure themselves.

Nebius is rapidly expanding its data center footprint, and has brought several new facilities online throughout 2026. This has led to tremendous growth. In Q2, its revenue rose by 454% year over year, and the rapid growth is not expected to dissipate anytime soon.

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Wall Street expects 446% growth in the third quarter and 526% in the fourth.  In 2027, analysts expect 250% growth. By the end of next year, the business will have transformed massively from where it was at the end of 2025.

With big revenue growth still to come, I'm confident that Nebius's stock can continue to do well in the future. It will be hard for most rivals to replicate this kind of growth.

The only red flag I see is Nebius' spending. It's pouring every penny it can get its hands on into its capital expense budget, and it isn't producing any profits. This shouldn't come as a surprise to investors, as Nebius wants to capture market share while it can, but it will eventually have to flip its focus from top-line growth to turning a profit. That won't be easy, and could lead to some headaches for investors when it occurs. But given that the AI build-out doesn't look like it will slow down anytime soon, it may be years before investors start wanting Nebius to shift gears and prove that it can operate its data centers profitably.

There is plenty more upside ahead for Nebius, but investors should still keep an eye on its profitability and where it's trending as the AI build-out phase matures.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) Q1 2027 Earnings Call August 20, 2026 7:30 AM EDT

Company Participants

Lydia Lu - Head of Investor Relations
Yongming Wu - CEO, Head of Core E-Commerce Business & Director
Toby Xu - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Alicis a Yap - Citigroup Inc., Research Division
Charlene Liu - HSBC Global Investment Research
Yang Bai - China International Capital Corporation Limited, Research Division
Yuan Liao - Citic Securities Co., Ltd., Research Division
Alex Yao - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division

Presentation

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Alibaba Group's June Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions].

I would now like to turn the call over to Lydia Lu, Head of Investor Relations of Alibaba Group. Please go ahead.

Lydia Lu
Head of Investor Relations

Thank you. Good day, everyone, and welcome to Alibaba Group's June Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Joining the call today are Joe Tsai, Chairman; Eddie Wu, Chief Executive Officer; Toby Xu, Chief Financial Officer; Jiang Fan, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba E-commerce Business Group.

Before we get started, I would like to remind you that today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties. We also make reference to non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP measures are included in today's earnings press release and investor presentation. Our comments will be on year-over-year comparisons unless we state otherwise. A replay of the call will be available on our website later today.

With that, I would like to turn the call over to Eddie.

Yongming Wu
CEO, Head of Core E-Commerce Business & Director

Good evening, good morning, and welcome to Alibaba Group's Earnings Call for the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2027. Over the past quarter, Alibaba's strategic AI

Starbucks is laying off over 200 corporate workers as it moves forward with the turnaround strategy that it began two years ago under CEO Brian Niccol.

The coffee giant on Thursday published a layoff notice under the WARN Act, clarifying plans to cut over 200 corporate roles after it previously disclosed plans to reduce the corporate workforce by about 300 jobs.

The WARN filing indicated that about 120 of the employee separations are associated with workers from its support team focused on designing and developing coffeehouses who declined the opportunity to relocate from Seattle, Washington, to Nashville, Tennessee.

Additionally, about 104 cuts are organizational changes resulting from restructuring plans detailed in May.

STARBUCKS' TURNAROUND PLAN SHOWS PROMISE IN US AS SALES GROWTH RETURNS FOR FIRST TIME IN 2 YEARS

Starbucks submitted a filing with details about over 200 job cuts. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The expected date of the first separations will be Oct. 19, 2026, with all completed by Nov. 1, 2026.

Starbucks indicated the organizational changes aren't altering the company's coffeehouse strategy, and it is moving forward with its "third place experience" of uplifting coffeehouses and expanding and developing its portfolio.

The filing represents the last component of Starbucks' remaining organizational changes from the restructuring announced in May so that it can focus on improving the experience at its coffeehouses and those of its employee partners and customers, according to the company.

STARBUCKS TO CLOSE STORES, CUT JOBS AS PART OF TURNAROUND STRATEGY

Ticker Security Last Change Change % SBUX STARBUCKS CORP. 103.99 -0.99 -0.94% The company is building a new regional corporate office in Nashville that comes with a price tag of $100 million and will house about 2,000 employees, though it is keeping its headquarters in Seattle.

After Niccol took the helm at Starbucks in September 2024, becoming the company's third CEO in a two-year period, he put the company on a turnaround plan to spur more business in coffeehouses.

STARBUCKS CEO SAYS COFFEE CHAIN IS 'AHEAD OF SCHEDULE' IN MAJOR TURNAROUND EFFORT AFTER ONE YEAR

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is pursuing a turnaround strategy at the coffee giant. (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Fast Company)

The plan has featured efforts to redesign interiors to encourage customers to linger, along with "personal touches," like writing names on cups and serving drinks in mugs.

It's also working to ensure proper staffing at stores, streamlining mobile orders, letting customers handle their own condiments and committing to having all drinks ready in four minutes or less.

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Last year, Starbucks moved to close some underperforming stores and cut 900 non-retail partner roles, while also freezing many open positions as it restructured.

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Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said on Thursday artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed the memory business, an industry prone to boom-and-bust cycles.

“Today there is no AI without memory. AI systems need more memory. They need higher performance memory. They need lower power memory,” Mehrotra told Jim Cramer on “Mad Money.” “So, the value of memory, that equation has totally changed.”

His comments came in the shadow of a massive semiconductor fabrication site under construction near Micron’s headquarters in Boise, Idaho, part of the company’s planned $250 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing and research. The Boise site alone will eventually include two fabs, each roughly the size of 10 football fields; a single fab will have enough steel rebar to circle Earth twice, according to Mehrotra. The first Boise fab is expected to begin producing wafers in mid-2027. The scale of that investment reflects how dramatically Mehrotra thinks AI has altered the outlook for memory.

Memory has historically been a cyclical business, with periods of strong demand encouraging manufacturers to add capacity, only for excess supply to eventually drive down prices. However, Mehrotra — an engineer by trade who’s worked in the chip industry for over 40 years and previously co-founded SanDisk — said AI is creating a more durable source of demand.

The opportunity extends beyond data centers, he said. Mehrotra said he expects autonomous vehicles, robots, and AI-enabled consumer devices to require increasingly large amounts of memory in the years ahead.

“Memory today is essential,” Mehrotra said. “That’s why I call it the strategic infrastructure of the AI era.”

That demand is also changing the value customers place on memory, according to Mehrotra. Instead of customers simply soliciting bids and buying from whichever supplier offers the lowest price, he said memory must increasingly be designed alongside the processors and systems in which it will operate. Mehrotra said that makes memory essential to the performance of the broader system rather than simply another component.

“We are working closely with them earlier and earlier in their development cycle,” he said. “Our customers recognize the value of memory, because memory is what is enabling them to design products that are driving growth engines for them.”

He said Micron still can’t produce enough to satisfy that demand.

“All our customers across our end markets will buy everything that we make,” Mehrotra said, adding that data-center customers currently want roughly 50% more supply than Micron is able to commit.

The memory maker is gaining greater visibility into that demand through long-term customer agreements, another important shift for a business historically exposed to swings in the spot market. During the company’s most recent earnings call in late June, Micron announced that it had signed five-year strategic agreements with 16 customers. Mehrotra said the company has since inked additional deals.

“They have committed to taking the supply,” Mehrotra said. “So, this gives us assurance of demand.”

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Joint venture with Eyeonix SA will create a foundation for local production capabilities in support of Greek, European, and U.S. defense priorities.

ATHENS, Greece--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in all-domain defense technologies, today announced it will establish an industrial presence in Greece through AV Eagle, a joint-venture with Athens-based Eyeonix SA, following the completion of a definitive shareholders agreement and securing Foreign Direct Investment approval from the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The joint venture builds on more than a decade of cooperation between AV and Eyeonix and is intended to expand AV’s ability to pursue defense opportunities in Greece and across the broader European market.

Share The joint venture builds on more than a decade of cooperation between AV and Eyeonix and is intended to expand AV’s ability to pursue defense opportunities in Greece and across the broader European market. AV Eagle is expected to become operational in fiscal year 2027 and provide a platform for future investing, localization and production as requirements and customer opportunities mature.

“The security environment in Europe has created unprecedented demand for advanced, reliable autonomous systems,” said Wahid Nawabi, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer at AV. “This joint venture is about more than delivering technology—it’s about building long-term capacity with Greece and our NATO allies and partners, creating opportunities for local industry, and scaling manufacturing to meet urgent operational needs.”

Expected activities with this joint venture include potentially establishing a new facility in Greece to manufacture and assemble unmanned aerial systems, loitering munition systems, and counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) for defense and civil protection customers in Greece and the broader European market. Production capabilities are expected to be operational by 2028, with employment opportunities expected to grow as production opportunities mature.

AV Eagle will collaborate with local industry and the Hellenic Center for Defence Innovation to accelerate fielding timelines, strengthen allied readiness and reinforce supply chain resilience.

“At a time of increasing geopolitical complexity—particularly along EU’s Eastern Flank—the need for interoperable, scalable, and sovereign unmanned and counter-UAS capabilities has never been more critical,” said George K. Strouzakis, Chief Executive Officer of Eyeonix SA. “Together with AV, we are advancing a new model of European defense industrial cooperation—one that supports modernization, aligns with evolving EU defense doctrines, and leverages emerging financing instruments to accelerate capability deployment. By combining proven U.S. technologies with European innovation and integration expertise, we are strengthening resilience, enhancing operational readiness, and contributing to a more unified and capable European defense posture.”

AV will hold a majority ownership interest in AV Eagle and the joint venture will be consolidated within AV’s financials statements. AV’s initial capital investment in the joint venture was included in the company’s previously provided financial guidance.

About AV

AeroVironment (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV) is a defense technology leader delivering integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. The Company develops and deploys autonomous systems, loitering munitions, counter-UAS technologies, space-based platforms, directed energy systems, and cyber and electronic warfare capabilities—built to meet the mission needs of today’s warfighter and tomorrow’s conflicts. At the core of these technologies lies AV_Halo™, a modular, mission-ready suite of AI-powered software tools that empowers warfighters and enables full-battlefield dominance: detect, decide, deliver. With a national manufacturing footprint and a deep innovation pipeline, AV delivers proven systems and future-defining capabilities at speed, scale, and operational relevance. For more information, visit www.avinc.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to, our ability to perform under existing contracts and obtain new ones; regulatory changes; competitor activities; market growth; product development challenges; and general economic conditions. For a more detailed discussion of these risks, please refer to AeroVironment’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.

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For the quarter ended June 2026, OSI Systems (OSIS - Free Report) reported revenue of $484.06 million, down 4.1% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $3.78, compared to $3.24 in the year-ago quarter.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $528.34 million, representing a surprise of -8.38%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +0.53%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $3.76.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how OSI performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

Revenues- Healthcare division: $44.75 million versus $43.6 million estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +4.8% change.Revenues- Intersegment eliminations: $-18.23 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $-19.14 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +5.2%.Revenues- Optoelectronics and Manufacturing division, including intersegment revenues: $117.81 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $117.33 million. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +4.6%.Revenues- Security division: $339.73 million compared to the $388 million average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of -7.4% year over year.Non-GAAP basis Operating Income (loss)- Security Division: $70.65 million compared to the $81.4 million average estimate based on two analysts.Non-GAAP basis Operating Income (loss)- Corporate/Elimination: $-6.9 million versus $-10.5 million estimated by two analysts on average.Non-GAAP basis Operating Income (loss)- Healthcare Division: $4.48 million compared to the $2.18 million average estimate based on two analysts.Non-GAAP basis Operating Income (loss)- Optoelectronics and Manufacturing Division: $17.27 million compared to the $16.18 million average estimate based on two analysts.View all Key Company Metrics for OSI here>>>

Shares of OSI have returned +5.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.5% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

It's no secret that the rapid proliferation of AI data centers has been a boon for GE Vernova (GEV -2.17%). As management highlighted during last month's earnings conference call, the second quarter's $2.7 billion worth of data center power equipment orders brings its year-to-date data center orders up to $5 billion, more than doubling all of last year's data center-related revenue.

Look for similar growth ahead as well. The company's total backlog now stands at $176 billion, up from just $150 billion as of the end of 2025, despite doing over $20 billion worth of business in the meantime. The stock has reflected this growth too. GE Vernova shares are up 57% year to date, and are higher to the tune of 450% for the past two years... when the AI data center industry took a keener interest in meeting its own electricity needs with on-site power plants.

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The question is, does this big move mean there's no upside left to reap?

Tailwinds are blowing Don't misread the message. It's unlikely GEV shares will be performing as well in the foreseeable future as they have in the recent past. The cat's out of the bag, so to speak -- almost everyone understands just how important natural gas power turbines have become to the artificial intelligence data center industry. 

PwC expects AI data center-driven consumption of natural gas to more than quintuple between now and 2035. That expectation is largely what's reflected in this stock's recent run-up to a premium valuation of more than 40 times next year's consensus per-share profit of $24.87.

Image source: Getty Images.

Just don't pass up what's still an above-average prospect simply because most of that stock's biggest and best gains are in the rearview mirror. This company has plenty of upside ahead, even following its recent rally. Its current backlog represents nearly five years' worth of the company's current annualized revenue, and that backlog is sure to grow in the meantime.

For perspective, the International Energy Agency believes AI data centers' consumption of electricity will double from 2024's levels by 2030. The utility industry isn't in a position to meet that need. These technology companies are going to need to supply their own power with equipment like GE Vernova's.

Follow analysts' lead The tailwinds are undeniably blowing now, and will continue to do so. But does that alone make the stock a buy here and now at its lofty price? Arguably, yes. GEV has a long earnings growth runway ahead to justify its current valuation. Analysts with Morningstar expect this company's profits to reach $51.12 per share in 2030, roughly doubling next year's bottom line projection.

Data source: Morningstar. Chart by author.

This might help: Even with the stock's recent, sizable gains, the analyst community is still very much on board. Most of them still rate GEV stock as a strong buy, with a 12-month consensus price target of $1,247.66 that's more than 20% above this ticker's present price. That's not a bad way to start out a new longer-term position.

Further delays await the release of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot. Production of Optimus robots will start "in the coming months" with commercial sales scheduled for the second half of 2027, according to a new note from JPMorgan Chase.

Earlier forecasts from Tesla planned for production to start this summer, with initial sales kicking off as early as the end of 2026. The new timeline came after JPMorgan analyst Rajat Gupta visited Tesla's Fremont, Calif., factory.

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Will SpaceX Follow In Tesla’s Footsteps? Kathy Donnelly Decodes The Post-IPO Chart

Is the SpaceX IPO a buy or a late bloomer in the making? Kathy Donnelly, trader and co-author of “The Lifecycle Trade”, analyzes the post-IPO volatility and compares the current chart to Tesla’s early trading days.

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Tesla (TSLA) stock was down 1.7% on Thursday, according to MarketSurge.

The official unveiling of the Tesla Optimus 3 robot will take place close to the start of production to ensure competitors wouldn't be able to copy its designs, according to Gupta. The cost, capabilities and scale of the following model, the Optimus 4, will be determined based on "Gen 3 field experience," he added.

Optimus Production Timeline
The Fremont factory began converting production lines to make Optimus robots earlier this year after Tesla discontinued its Model S and Model X.

Tesla has repeatedly delayed the start of production. In January 2025, Musk forecast "roughly 10,000 Optimus robots" would be built by the end of that year.

An Optimus 3 unveiling was later expected in Q1 2026, though it wasn't expected to be a fully finished product.

In March, Musk said production would start in the summer. By early July, production was scheduled for between late July and August. During Tesla's second-quarter earnings call in late July, Musk refrained from offering a concrete start date, saying production would begin "soon."

"I really want to emphasize here that the production scaling challenge is very substantial," Musk said during an investor call. "This is going to be the hardest product to scale manufacturing that we've ever made at Tesla because everything on the robot is new. And the difficulty of scaling the production ramp is proportionate to the newness of the parts in the robot."

When Musk and team failed to provide any concrete update on Optimus and robotaxis during Tesla's most recent earnings report, the stock tanked. Investors have built a significant portion of their valuations around the eventual success of Tesla's humanoid robot business. In March, Bank of America valued Tesla's future Optimus business at around $30 billion. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley believes Optimus will be worth up to $180 billion.

Tesla Stock
Tesla stock took a beating in late July when it plummeted 14.5% in a single day following a poorly received earnings call. Investors had been clamoring for progress on Optimus, robotaxis and self-driving software. Instead, Musk demurred, even as Tesla burned cash amid heavy capital spending that is expected to increase. The lack of any concrete timelines sent the stock tumbling close to 18% that week.

Shares haven't recovered since then. However, TSLA is on course for three straight weeks of gains, though it's only up a fraction as of Thursday afternoon.

Tesla stock is down about 23% this year.

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For all the excitement around artificial intelligence, investors have had surprisingly little visibility into one key question: how much revenue is AI actually generating? Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) (OTC:BABAF) offered one of the clearest answers yet during its fiscal first quarter earnings call, revealing that AI-related products now account for 35% of Alibaba Cloud’s external revenue—a rare metric that shows AI is becoming a meaningful commercial business rather than simply a growth narrative.

Alibaba Puts a Number on AI MonetizationChief Executive Officer Eddie Wu said the annual revenue run rate from AI-related products exceeded RMB 49.5 billion ($7.34 billion), adding that AI’s share of Alibaba Cloud’s external revenue “rose to 35%” during the quarter.

Chief Financial Officer Toby Xu reinforced the point, saying AI-related product revenue delivered a “12th consecutive quarter of triple-digit growth.” Xu added that quarterly AI-related revenue reached RMB 12.4 billion ($1.84 billion), implying an annualized run rate of RMB 49.5 billion.

While technology companies have broadly touted growing demand for AI, few have disclosed what percentage of their cloud revenue is directly tied to AI products. Alibaba’s latest disclosure therefore offers investors a more tangible measure of how quickly AI is becoming embedded in its cloud business.

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Why the 35% Milestone MattersThree years of triple-digit growth is what turns a disclosure into a trend. It suggests AI spending at Alibaba Cloud has moved past pilot projects into budgeted, recurring work — the difference between customers testing a product and customers depending on one.

It also gives investors something they have largely lacked: a number to track. Alibaba is spending heavily on AI models and data center capacity, and until now the return on that spending has been described rather than measured. A percentage that either climbs or stalls next quarter is a test management has agreed to be graded on.

What Investors Should Watch NextThe next question is whether AI can continue expanding its share of Alibaba Cloud revenue while maintaining its exceptional growth rate.

If that percentage continues to climb in coming quarters, it would strengthen the case that AI is becoming the primary engine of Alibaba’s cloud business—and provide investors with one of the clearest indicators yet that the company’s AI investments are delivering measurable commercial returns.

Image via Shutterstock

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, /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) (the "Company") today announced that it has completed its registered public offering of $1.25 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.550% senior unsecured notes due 2034 (the "Notes"). The Notes will mature on January 20, 2034, unless earlier redeemed or repurchased.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes to repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings under its floating rate term loan facilities and any remaining net proceeds to repay or refinance other existing indebtedness.

BNP Paribas Securities Corp., BofA Securities, Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. acted as lead book-running managers for the offering.

The Notes were offered and sold pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement (including a prospectus) that was filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2024, and became effective upon filing.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes or any other securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release relating to, among other things, the offering and sale of the Notes constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited, to: statements regarding terms of the offering of the Notes and the intended use of proceeds. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "committed," "could," "driving," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "encouraged," "project," "shaping up," "position," "allows," "seek," "should," "will," "would," "considering," and similar expressions are intended to help identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, are based on judgments, are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of the economic and geopolitical environment on key aspects of the Company's business, such as the demand for cruises, passenger spending, and operating costs; changes in operating costs; the unavailability or cost of air service; incidents or adverse publicity concerning the Company's ships, port facilities, land destinations and/or passengers or the cruise vacation industry in general; the effects of weather, climate events and/or natural disasters on the Company's business; risks related to the Company's sustainability activities; the impact of issues at shipyards, including ship delivery delays or ship construction cost increases; shipyard unavailability; unavailability of ports of call; vacation industry competition and increase in industry capacity; inability to manage the Company's cost and capital allocation strategies; the uncertainties of conducting business globally and expanding into new markets and new ventures, including potential acquisitions; issues with travel advisers that sell and market the Company's cruises; reliance on third-party service providers; potential unavailability of insurance coverage; disease outbreaks and increased concern about the risk of illness on the Company's ships or when travelling to or from the Company's ships, which could cause a decrease in demand, guest cancellations, and ship redeployments; the risks and costs related to cyber security attacks, data breaches, protecting the Company's systems and maintaining data integrity and security; uncertainties of a foreign legal system as the Company is not incorporated in the United States; the Company's ability to obtain sufficient financing or capital to fund its capital expenditures, operations, debt repayments and other financing needs; the Company's expectation and ability to pay a cash dividend on its common stock in the future; changes to the Company's dividend policy; growing anti-tourism sentiments and environmental concerns; changes in U.S. or other countries' foreign travel policy; impact of new or changing legislation and regulations (including environmental regulations) or governmental orders on the Company's business; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, fuel prices and interest rates; further impairments of the Company's goodwill, long-lived assets, equity investments and notes receivable; an inability to source crew or provisions and supplies from certain places; the Company's ability to recruit, develop and retain high quality personnel; and pending or threatened litigation, investigations and enforcement actions.

Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as predictions of actual results. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Royal Caribbean Group

Royal Caribbean Group is a leading global vacation company spanning cruise, exclusive destinations, and land-based vacation experiences. The company operates 71 ships sailing to more than 1,000 destinations across all seven continents through its three wholly owned brands - Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea - and a 50% joint venture interest in TUI Cruises, which operates the Mein Schiff and Hapag-Lloyd brands.

SOURCE Royal Caribbean Group

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) declared a dividend on the company’s 6.450% Fixed Rate Reset Noncumulative Preferred Shares, Series E, of $5,912.50 per share (which is equivalent to $5.91250 per related Depositary Share).

The dividend is payable on September 15, 2026, to shareholders of record on September 1, 2026.

ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS

American Express (NYSE: AXP) is a global payments and premium lifestyle brand powered by technology. Our colleagues around the world back our customers with differentiated products, services, and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.

Founded in 1850 and headquartered in New York, American Express’ brand is built on trust, security, service, and a rich history of delivering innovation and Membership value for our customers. We seek to provide the world’s best customer experience every day to a broad range of consumers, small and medium-sized businesses, and large corporations, and we build and manage relationships with millions of merchants across our global network.

For more information about American Express, visit americanexpress.com, americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/, and ir.americanexpress.com.

Source: American Express Company

Location: Global

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, /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) on Thursday, August 20, 2026, approved the company's cash dividend for the second quarter of fiscal year 2027 of $0.72 per ordinary share. This quarterly declaration is consistent with the dividend increase announcement made by the company in June 2026. Medtronic is a constituent of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index, having increased its annual dividend payment for the past 49 consecutive years. The dividend is payable on October 16, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 25, 2026.

About Medtronic
Bold thinking. Bolder actions. We are Medtronic. Medtronic plc, headquartered in Galway, Ireland, is the leading global healthcare technology company that boldly attacks the most challenging health problems facing humanity by searching out and finding solutions. Our Mission — to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life — unites a global team of 95,000+ passionate people across more than 150 countries. Our technologies and therapies treat 70 health conditions and include cardiac devices, surgical robotics, insulin pumps, surgical tools, patient monitoring systems, and more. Powered by our diverse knowledge, insatiable curiosity, and desire to help all those who need it, we deliver innovative technologies that transform the lives of two people every second, every hour, every day. Expect more from us as we empower insight-driven care, experiences that put people first, and better outcomes for our world. In everything we do, we are engineering the extraordinary. For more information on Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), visit www.Medtronic.com and follow Medtronic on LinkedIn.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

Contacts:
Justin Paquette
Public Relations
+1-612-271-7935 

Ingrid Goldberg
Investor Relations  
+1-763-505-2696

SOURCE Medtronic plc

Morgan Stanley has picked Dallas for a major expansion of its banking empire outside New York City — accelerating Wall Street’s migration to Texas following the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, The Post has learned.

The financial giant plans to relocate up to 4,800 jobs to the state by 2031, passing over Alpharetta, Georgia, according to municipal filings reviewed by The Post. The firm will anchor a new $1.3 billion, 709,000-square-foot skyscraper in the fast-growing Texas metropolis known to financiers as “Y’all Street”.

The Wall Street behemoth led by CEO Ted Pick — which began exploring options outside the Big Apple earlier this year following the election of the Big Apple’s socialist mayor — had been weighing the new regional hub against Alpharetta, where it already has 3,000 employees.

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani irritated Wall Street’s financial titans with a video taking a pop at Citadel founder Ken Griffin and his Manhattan pied-a-terre. Mayor Mamdani/X But in June, the Dallas City Council approved incentives including an $18.5 million grant tied to specific hiring benchmarks and a 10-year, 90% property tax abatement — and Morgan Stanley has since plowed ahead with the project, public filings show.

The city’s 15-member Plan Commission quietly rubber-stamped final approval on Aug. 6 for the bank to mount 366.3-square-foot illuminated exterior signs on the Fountain Place tower downtown, following a preliminary sign committee vote in July, filings show. They clearly list the bank as a tenant.

Demolition crews also began clearing a former Gold’s Gym on McKinney Avenue last week to make way for the permanent skyscraper.

“This is the latest in what should be a wake-up call for City Hall,” said Steve Fulop, CEO of the pro-business Partnership for NYC.

“Apollo, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have all highlighted Texas as a major hub in just the last few months, with thousands of jobs headed there,” Fulop added. “Texas is playing the long game and rolling out the red carpet for jobs, while New York keeps upgrading the tax calculator. The contrast is pretty clear.“

Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick has not commented on the plans, but public records show the bank’s decision has been made. Bloomberg via Getty Images Morgan Stanley and City Hall did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson declined to comment.

Morgan Stanley will execute the move in two phases. The bank will first occupy 255,000 square feet at Fountain Place on 1445 Ross Ave. in downtown Dallas, where contractors will complete a $97 million interior renovation.

Workers will eventually move to the $1.3 billion skyscraper to be located at 2401 McKinney Ave.

Morgan Stanley will first move into a building at Fountain Place before a new $1.3 billion skyscraper is completed. 4kclips – stock.adobe.com The signage filings, submitted by Dallas land attorney Victoria Morris, propose installing illuminated, 366.3-square-foot attached signs featuring three-inch back-lit channel letters reading “Morgan Stanley.”

Construction in Dallas has begun even as state records lag. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shows no new filings for the Fountain Place work or the Uptown tower.

Morgan Stanley has also published a slew of new job openings in the city on the professional networking platform LinkedIn.

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The project continues a major shift of Wall Street firms to Texas in search of lower costs and favorable tax rules.

Charlie Jewell, Alpharetta’s economic development director, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June 2026 that local leaders did not engage in a bidding war against Texas for the Morgan Stanley hub.

Demolition crews swooped in last week to raze the old Gold’s Gym. The site is to host Morgan Stanley’s potential regional office in a new 708,000-square-foot tower. Google Maps Just a mile away from the Morgan Stanley site in Dallas, Goldman Sachs is building an 800,000-square-foot urban campus that will host 5,000 staffers.

The migration mounts pressure on Mamdani, who has vowed to heavily tax the rich and rein in corporate real estate.

JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon warned in his annual shareholder letter that punitive taxes threaten New York City, noting bluntly that residents and businesses “vote with their feet.”

Citadel founder Ken Griffin has also openly battled the mayor. The dispute erupted in April when Mamdani filmed a viral video outside Griffin’s $239 million Manhattan penthouse to promote a new pied-à-terre tax, a stunt Griffin blasted as “creepy and weird.”

 | Source: Sysco Corporation

HOUSTON, Aug. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) today announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.55 per share, payable on October 23, 2026, to common stockholders of record at the close of business on October 2, 2026.

About Sysco

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food and related products to customers who prepare meals away from home. This includes restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments, entertainment venues, and more. Sysco operates 333 distribution centers, in 10 countries, with 75,000 colleagues serving approximately 670,000 customer locations. The company generated sales of more than $84 billion in fiscal year 2026 that ended June 27, 2026.

As the world’s largest food-away-from-home distributor, Sysco offers customized supply chain solutions, bespoke specialty product offerings, and culinary support to drive customers to innovate and optimize their operations. We act as a trusted business partner to our customers, helping them grow through our industry-leading portfolio that includes fresh produce, premium proteins, specialty products, sustainably focused items, equipment and supplies, and innovative culinary solutions.

For more information, visit www.sysco.com. For important news and key information for Sysco investors, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at investors.sysco.com.

For more information contact:
  Kevin KimCassandra MauelInvestor ContactMedia [email protected]@sysco.comT 281-584-1219T 281-584-1390   SYY-INVESTORS

NEW YORK, Aug. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prospect Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: PSEC) (“Prospect”, “our”, or “we”) today announced financial results for our fiscal quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2026.

FINANCIAL RESULTS

All amounts in $000’s except
per share amounts (on weighted average
basis for period numbers)
Quarter EndedQuarter EndedQuarter EndedJune 30, 2026March 31, 2026June 30, 2025    Net Investment Income (“NII”)$77,692$78,457$79,043NII per Common Share$0.15$0.16$0.17Interest as % of Total Investment Income90.1%93.4%94.9%    Net Income (Loss) Applicable to Common Shareholders$(38,091)$26,408$(226,369)Net Income (Loss) per Common Share$(0.08)$0.05$(0.50)    Distributions to Common Shareholders$57,988$65,421$61,181Distributions per Common Share$0.115$0.135$0.135Cumulative Paid and Declared Distributions to Common Shareholders(1)$4,809,658$4,770,919$4,569,727Cumulative Paid and Declared Distributions per Common Share(1)$22.14$22.07$21.66    Total Assets$6,448,627$6,383,972$6,804,938Total Liabilities$1,945,331$1,816,573$2,186,266Perpetual Preferred Stock$1,574,450$1,613,772$1,629,900Net Asset Value (“NAV”) to Common Shareholders$2,928,846$2,953,627$2,988,772NAV per Common Share$5.71$6.05$6.56    Balance Sheet Cash + Undrawn Revolving Credit Facility Commitments$1,602,744$1,752,375$1,315,967    Net of Cash Debt to Total Assets28.6%27.0%30.4%Net of Cash Debt to Total Equity Ratio(2)40.7%37.6%44.4%Net of Cash Asset Coverage of Debt Ratio(2)345%366%325%Interest Coverage(3)366%356%351%    Unsecured Debt + Perpetual Preferred Equity as % of Total Debt + Perpetual Preferred Equity83.7%88.0%77.1%Unsecured and Non-Recourse Debt as % of Total Debt100.0%100.0%100.0% (1)Declared dividends are through the October 2026 distribution. August 2026 through October 2026 distributions are estimated based on shares outstanding as of 8/19/2026.(2)Including our perpetual preferred stock as equity.(3)Calculated as (Net Investment Income + Interest Expense + Incentive Fees) / Interest Expense.     CASH COMMON SHAREHOLDER DISTRIBUTION DECLARATION

Prospect is declaring distributions to common shareholders as follows:

Monthly Cash Common Shareholder DistributionRecord DatePayment DateAmount ($ per share)September 20269/28/202610/21/2026$0.0350October 202610/28/202611/18/2026$0.0350
Taking into account past distributions and our current share count for declared distributions, since inception through our October 2026 declared distribution, Prospect will have distributed $22.14 per share to original common shareholders, aggregating over $4.8 billion in cumulative distributions to all common shareholders.

Since Prospect’s initial public offering in July 2004 through June 30, 2026, Prospect has invested approximately $23 billion in more than 450 investments, exiting over 350 of these investments.

Since Prospect's initial public offering in July 2004 through June 30, 2026, Prospect's exited investments resulted in an investment level exited gross internal rate of return ("IRR") of approximately 12% (based on total capital invested of approximately $13.4 billion and total proceeds from such exited investments of approximately $17.2 billion).

In Prospect’s primary business of middle market lending since 2004, Prospect’s exited investments resulted in an investment level exited gross IRR of approximately 14.4% (based on total capital invested of approximately $11.5 billion and total proceeds from such exited investments of approximately $14.7 billion), with an annualized realized loss rate of 0.2%.

Middle-Market Lending Track RecordOverallExitedInvestments365293Total Capital Invested$17.5 billion$11.5 billionTotal Proceeds$19.2 billion$14.7 billionAmount Remaining(1)$5.3 billion$0 billionTotal$24.5 billion$14.7 billion   Exited Gross IRR 14.4%   Credit StatisticsReference(2)PSEC AverageMiddle-Market Net Leverage6.1x4.9xMiddle-Market Cash Interest Coverage160%223%Annualized Net Realized Loss Rate1.0%0.2%(3) (1)Amount remaining represents the fair value of investments and any additional net interest receivable.(2)Reference Middle-Market Net Leverage and Middle-Market Cash Interest Coverage from KBRA Private Credit: Q2 2026 Middle Market Compendium. Such quarterly report includes median statistics for 2,785 unique global middle-market sponsored borrowers assessed over the last twelve months ended June 30, 2026. Reference Loss Rate is calculated by taking the default rate * (1 – the recovery rate). The default rate is calculated by taking the PitchBook average monthly reported LTM default rate for leveraged loans from September 2004 through June 2026. The recovery rate reflects Moody’s average assumption from its loss given default framework used for speculative-grade issuers.(3)PSEC annualized net realized loss rate defined as realized gains/(losses) on investments as a percentage of total invested capital since inception, divided by the number of years since inception for the respective investments.     Drivers focused on optimizing our business include:

(1) rotation of assets into and increased focus on our core business of first lien senior secured middle market loans (with our first lien mix increasing 840 basis points to 72.5% (based on cost) from June 2024), including investments in companies with smaller funded private equity sponsors, independent sponsors, and no third party financial sponsors;

(2) reduction in our second lien senior secured middle market loans (with our second lien mix decreasing 454 basis points to 11.9% (based on cost) from June 2024);

(3) exit of our subordinated structured notes portfolio (with our subordinated structured notes mix decreasing 837 basis points to 0.0% (based on cost) from June 2024);

(4) exit of targeted lower yielding equity linked assets, including real estate properties (with six additional properties sold in the fiscal year ended June 2026) and certain corporate investments (such as the exit of Echelon Transportation, LLC in February 2026 and Valley Electric Company, Inc. in July 2026), with other potential exits targeted and in process;

(5) enhancement of portfolio company operating performance and profitability, including through adoption of AI and automation initiatives focused on enhancing revenues and producing cost efficiencies; and

(6) utilization of our cost effective floating rate revolver (which significantly matches our majority floating rate assets) while continuing to operate with one of the lowest debt leverage levels in the industry (28.6% net of cash debt to total assets as of June 30, 2026, which did not reflect the immediately deleveraging impact of the Valley Electric Company, Inc. (“Valley Electric”) sale that closed on July 1, 2026).

On July 1, 2026, Prospect closed the successful sale of its portfolio company Valley Electric, with total consideration of approximately $328 million (subject to post-closing adjustments and payments). Over the life of the Valley Electric investment since 2012 and including expected net exit proceeds of approximately $281 million (including potential post-closing adjustments and payments), together with prior interest on debt, equity distributions, and other cash flow streams, Prospect achieved a 20.5% realized gross annualized internal rate of return (“IRR”) and 4.8 times multiple of invested capital.

On June 30, 2026, $562.3 million was drawn under our current $2.1 billion revolver. Such drawn amount would have been $322.7 million on a pro forma basis assuming that the cash received on July 1, 2026, from the sale of Valley Electric had been received previously and repaid borrowings under our revolver.

In our middle market lending strategy, which represented 85% of our investments at cost as of June 30, 2026, we continued our focus on first lien senior secured loans during the quarter. Middle market investments comprised 91% of our $166.3 million of originations during the June 2026 quarter. Investments during the quarter included new first lien senior and secured loan investments in Safety Solutions Financing, LLC (a provider of fire security products and services), Abacus Dermatology Management, LLC (a management services organization), and Eyefive, LLC (d/b/a Shipoffers, a provider of on-demand product and order fulfillment services), as well as follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies to support acquisitions, working capital needs, organic growth initiatives, and other objectives.

As of June 30, 2026, our portfolio included 2.3% (based on fair market value) of investments in software companies, significantly lower than the 22% average across business development companies included in a June 9, 2026 Oppenheimer equity research report.

Our real estate property portfolio at National Property REIT Corp. (“NPRC”) totaled 14.2% of our investments at cost as of June 30, 2026 and continued its focus on already developed and occupied cash flow multifamily investments. Since the inception of this strategy in 2012 and through June 30, 2026, we have exited 58 property investments that have earned an unlevered investment-level gross cash IRR of 24% and cash on cash multiple of 2.4 times. We exited six property investments in the current fiscal year through June 30, 2026 that earned an unlevered investment-level gross cash IRR of 18% and cash on cash multiple of 2.3 times. The remaining real estate property portfolio as of June 30, 2026 included 52 properties and paid us an income yield of 5.3% for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. These properties provide from time to time opportunities for Prospect to exit certain such investments and recycle into more and higher yielding corporate first lien senior secured loans with selected equity linked investments outside of NPRC. Our aggregate investment in NPRC included a $185 million unrealized gain as of June 30, 2026.

Our senior management team and employees own 26.7% of all common shares outstanding or approximately $0.8 billion of our common equity as measured at NAV.

PORTFOLIO UPDATE AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

All amounts in $000’s except
per unit amounts
As ofAs ofAs ofJune 30, 2026March 31, 2026June 30, 2025    Total Investments (1)$6,315,369$6,192,901$6,693,501Total Investments (2)$6,342,558$6,302,465$6,673,516Number of Portfolio Companies918997Number of Industries313133    First Lien Debt72.5%72.0%70.5%Second Lien Debt11.9%12.4%14.4%Total Senior and Secured Debt84.4%84.4%84.9%Unsecured Debt0.1%0.1%0.1%Subordinated Structured Notes—%—%0.6%Equity Investments15.5%15.5%14.4%Total Investments (1)100.0%100.0%100.0%    First Lien Debt67.6%66.9%66.9%Second Lien Debt9.1%9.4%11.5%Total Senior and Secured Debt76.7%76.3%78.4%Unsecured Debt0.1%0.1%0.1%Subordinated Structured Notes—%0.1%0.5%Equity Investments23.2%23.5%21.0%Total Investments (2)100.0%100.0%100.0%    Non-Accrual Loans as % of Total Assets (2)0.7%0.7%0.3% (1)Calculated at cost.(2)Calculated at fair value.     During the March 2026 and June 2026 quarters, investment originations (including follow on investments in existing portfolio companies) and repayments were as follows:

All amounts in $000’s
Quarter EndedQuarter EndedJune 30, 2026March 31, 2026   Total Originations$166,321$115,276   Middle-Market90.5%94.2%Real Estate9.5%5.4%Other—%0.4%   Total Repayments and Sales$45,827$222,242   Originations, Net of Repayments and Sales$120,494$(106,966)   
For additional disclosure see “Primary Origination Strategies” at the end of this release.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTOMATION INITIATIVES

Prospect, together with affiliates, and including portfolio company executives and external advisors, has a broad and deep cross-functional team that includes software and information technology engineers, portfolio company operations professionals, and other individuals focused on bringing best practice artificial intelligence (“AI”) and automation initiatives to both Prospect’s operations and that of its portfolio companies, especially those companies where Prospect holds not just senior secured debt but also equity, whereby Prospect can capture economic upside from profit enhancements (including both revenue increase projects as well as cost efficiency projects) in such businesses. Examples of portfolio company use cases include:

First Tower using AI and machine learning to improve credit scoring and decisioning (further reducing loss rates and expanding approvals to additional creditworthy borrowers) and to target pre-qualified prospects (with cross-sell and re-borrow opportunities), in addition to various ongoing AI projects designed to deploy customer service agents, automate collections communications, and detect fraud;Town & Country continuing to prioritize AI to optimize operations and support growth initiatives, including investing in a dedicated AI team and equipping all employees with AI tools. For example, the team has deployed an AI agent that generates design concepts based on retailer, brand, packaging, and product guidelines;InterDent executing on AI initiatives for diagnostic imaging patient treatment plans, clinician automatic credentialling, revenue cycle management collection improvement, recruiting (reducing time to fill), call center efficiency/effectiveness boosting, and other projects;Pacific World using AI for consumer insight testing for new product development, optimizing accounts receivable collections review and dispute processes, and building an enterprise data warehouse unifying finance, marketing, and sales data that makes siloed data accessible to the entire organization;Ubique utilizing AI to benchmark competitor products across competitor websites against its own product portfolio, informing each of product development and sales strategy;Mity hiring a new head of technology who is deploying AI to certain business processes, with an initial focus on sales-related activities, including lead generation, customer outreach, account executive handoffs, and data integration;Refuel deploying an AI-driven lead generation engine to identify, qualify, and convert sales opportunities;National Property REIT Corp rolling out AI across its multifamily platform, including dynamic pricing and revenue management to maximize revenue per available unit; AI-driven applicant screening that evaluates credit, rental history, and employment for consistent and unbiased risk scoring; LLM-based leasing communication and call analytics to improve prospect-to-lease conversion, automated renewals pricing, and outreach to reduce tenant turnover; and AI-assisted preventative maintenance that flags equipment degradation and property risks; andProspect applying AI tools to specific processes within its own operations. First-pass review of investor due diligence questionnaires, which frequently run to several hundred questions, are drafted from the firm's own prior submissions rather than assembled manually. Portions of quarter-end reporting and reconciliation for Prospect's finance vehicles have been automated. These are process-level efficiencies in back-office and administrative work, while investment decisions continue to be made by Prospect's investment professionals and investment committee. “Prospect is actively assessing and implementing the best use cases for artificial intelligence and automation within our critical business processes, including both within our investment processes as well as at the portfolio company operational level,” said John Barry, Prospect Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We view AI as the most transformational game changer to come along in a generation, and we expect profit enhancing results within our businesses. Prospect has a long history of innovation and first to market accomplishments in the business development company industry, and our embracing of AI and automation is consistent with that innovative culture.”

CAPITAL AND LIQUIDITY

Our multi-year, long-term laddered and diversified historical funding profile over our more than 22 year history has included our current $2.1 billion revolver (aggregate commitments with 48 current lenders), program notes, institutional bonds, convertible bonds, listed preferred stock, and program preferred stock. As of today, we have retired multiple upcoming maturities, including repurchasing $36 million of our next institutional bond maturity, leaving $264.5 million due in November 2026.

On October 30, 2025, we successfully completed the institutional issuance of approximately $167.6 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured 5.5% Series A Notes due 2030 (the "Notes"), which mature on December 31, 2030.

Our unfunded eligible commitments to portfolio companies aggregate approximately $64.6 million, of which $52.4 million is considered at our sole discretion, representing 1.0% and 0.8% of our total assets as of June 30, 2026, respectively.

 As ofAs ofAll amounts in $000’sJune 30, 2026March 31, 2026Net of Cash Debt to Total Assets Ratio28.6%27.0%Net of Cash Debt to Total Equity Ratio(1)40.7%37.6%% of Interest-Bearing Assets at Floating Rates76.0%74.3%Unsecured Debt + Perpetual Preferred Equity as % of Total Debt + Perpetual Preferred Equity83.7%88.0%   Balance Sheet Cash + Undrawn Revolving Credit Facility Commitments$1,602,744$1,752,375   Unencumbered Assets$4,242,977$4,177,553% of Total Assets65.8%65.4% (1)Including our perpetual preferred stock as equity.     We currently have three separate unsecured debt issuances aggregating approximately $701.4 million outstanding, not including our program notes, with laddered maturities extending through December 2030. At June 30, 2026, $614.9 million of program notes were outstanding with laddered maturities through March 2052.

At June 30, 2026 our weighted average cost of unsecured debt financing was 4.78%.

We have raised significant capital from our existing perpetual preferred stock offering programs. The perpetual preferred stock provides Prospect with a diversified source of programmatic capital without creating scheduled amortization or maturity risk as we benefit from multiple perpetual preferred tranches.

DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN

We have adopted a dividend reinvestment plan (also known as our “DRIP”) that provides for reinvestment of our distributions on behalf of our shareholders, unless a shareholder elects to receive cash. On April 17, 2020, our board of directors approved amendments to the Company’s DRIP, effective May 21, 2020. These amendments principally provide for the number of newly-issued shares pursuant to the DRIP to be determined by dividing (i) the total dollar amount of the distribution payable by (ii) 95% of the closing market price per share of our stock on the valuation date of the distribution (providing a 5% discount to the market price of our common stock), a benefit to shareholders who participate.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN

Shares held with a broker or financial institution

Many shareholders have been automatically “opted out” of our DRIP by their brokers. Even if you have elected to automatically reinvest your PSEC stock with your broker, your broker may have “opted out” of our DRIP (which utilizes DTC’s dividend reinvestment service), and you may therefore not be receiving the 5% pricing discount. Shareholders interested in participating in our DRIP to receive the 5% discount should contact their brokers to make sure each such DRIP participation election has been made through DTC. In making such DRIP election, each shareholder should specify to one’s broker the desire to participate in the "Prospect Capital Corporation DRIP through DTC" that issues shares based on 95% of the market price (a 5% discount to the market price) and not the broker's own "synthetic DRIP” plan (if any) that offers no such discount. Each shareholder should not assume one’s broker will automatically place such shareholder in our DRIP through DTC. Each shareholder will need to make this election proactively with one’s broker or risk not receiving the 5% discount. Each shareholder may also consult with a representative of such shareholder’s broker to request that the number of shares the shareholder wishes to enroll in our DRIP be re-registered by the broker in the shareholder’s own name as record owner in order to participate directly in our DRIP.

Shares registered directly with our transfer agent

If a shareholder holds shares registered in the shareholder’s own name with our transfer agent (less than 0.1% of our shareholders hold shares this way) and wants to make a change to how the shareholder receives dividends, please contact our plan administrator, Equiniti Trust Company, LLC by calling (888) 888-0313 or by mailing Equiniti Trust Company LLC, PO Box 10027, Newark, New Jersey 07101.

EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL

Prospect will host an earnings call on August 21, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Dial 888-338-7333. For a replay after August 21, 2026 visit www.prospectstreet.com or call 855-669-9658 with passcode 3651062.

      PROSPECT CAPITAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
       June 30, 2026  June 30, 2025       Assets     Investments at fair value:     Control investments (amortized cost of $3,367,618 and $3,416,244, respectively)$3,644,274  $3,696,367 Affiliate investments (amortized cost of $12,835 and $11,735, respectively)30,447  27,057 Non-control/non-affiliate investments (amortized cost of $2,934,916 and $3,265,522, respectively)2,667,837  2,950,092 Total investments at fair value (amortized cost of $6,315,369 and $6,693,501, respectively)6,342,558  6,673,516 Cash and cash equivalents (restricted cash of $2,812 and $4,282, respectively)43,572  50,788 Receivables for:     Interest, net17,350  25,144 Other9,228  1,642 Derivative Assets, at fair value18,900  — Deferred financing costs on Revolving Credit Facility14,128  18,842 Prepaid expenses1,419  1,488 Due from Prospect Administration1,351  — Due from Affiliate61  125 Due from broker60  33,393 Total Assets6,448,627  6,804,938 Liabilities     Public Notes (less unamortized discount and debt issuance costs of $10,547 and $6,556, respectively)690,841  593,444 Prospect Capital InterNotes® (less unamortized debt issuance costs of $7,399 and $8,687, respectively)607,480  638,545 Revolving Credit Facility562,328  856,322 Due to Prospect Capital Management38,946  41,757 Dividends payable18,252  28,836 Interest payable13,968  15,116 Due to broker9,156  5,639 Accrued expenses3,675  3,490 Due to Prospect Administration—  2,602 Other liabilities685  515 Total Liabilities1,945,331  2,186,266 Commitments and Contingencies     Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (766,678,529 and 836,490,792 shares of preferred stock authorized; 68,468,200 and 70,915,937 issued and outstanding, respectively)1,574,450  1,629,900 Net Assets Applicable to Common Shares$2,928,846  $2,988,772 Components of Net Assets Applicable to Common Shares and Net Assets, respectively     Common stock, par value $0.001 per share (1,233,321,471 and 1,163,509,208 common shares authorized; 512,746,556 and 455,902,826 issued and outstanding, respectively)513  456 Paid-in capital in excess of par4,310,026  4,182,453 Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)5,801  — Distributions in excess of earnings(1,387,494) (1,194,137)Net Assets Applicable to Common Shares$2,928,846  $2,988,772 Net Asset Value Per Common Share$5.71  $6.56        PROSPECT CAPITAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except share and per share data)         Three Months Ended June 30,
 Year Ended June 30,
 2026  2025  2026  2025 Investment Income           Interest income (excluding payment-in-kind (“PIK”) interest income):           Control investments$        56,932  $        55,725  $        230,683  $        226,077 Non-control/non-affiliate investments65,229  82,819  285,157  340,762 Structured credit securities—  2,512  —  14,017 Total interest income (excluding PIK interest income)122,161  141,056  515,840  580,856 PIK interest income:           Control investments13,084  12,721  50,226  55,230 Non-control/non-affiliate investments5,118  4,663  15,866  35,023 Total PIK Interest Income18,202  17,384  66,092  90,253 Total interest income140,363  158,440  581,932  671,109 Dividend income:           Control investments8,239  —  32,503  8,774 Affiliate investments627  540  1,612  681 Non-control/non-affiliate investments2,450  1,714  12,852  9,923 Total dividend income11,316  2,254  46,967  19,378 Other income:           Control investments591  3,158  1,659  18,957 Non-control/non-affiliate investments3,491  3,094  8,896  9,992 Total other income4,082  6,252  10,555  28,949 Total Investment Income155,761  166,946  639,454  719,436 Operating Expenses           Base management fee32,081  34,503  130,934  145,756 Income incentive fee6,939  7,253  26,508  40,772 Interest and credit facility expenses31,872  34,385  129,885  148,275 Allocation of overhead from Prospect Administration5,525  5,523  22,095  22,257 Audit, compliance and tax related fees543  1,754  1,701  4,137 Directors’ fees150  150  600  600 Other general and administrative expenses4,715  4,335  18,469  18,799 Total Operating Expenses81,825  87,903  330,192  380,596 Reimbursement of Administration Expenses(3,756) —  (17,125) — Total Net Operating Expenses78,069  87,903  313,067  380,596 Net Investment Income77,692  79,043  326,387  338,840 Net Realized and Net Change in Unrealized Gains (Losses) from Investments           Net realized gains (losses)           Control investments(1,615) 4  (116,426) 6,378 Non-control/non-affiliate investments203  (308,483) (107,293) (525,060)Net realized gains (losses)(1,412) (308,479) (223,719) (518,682)Net change in unrealized gains (losses)           Control investments(91,822) (83,010) (3,466) (300,131)Affiliate investments(5,990) 4,364  2,291  8,847 Non-control/non-affiliate investments15,438  112,308  48,349  230 Net change in unrealized gains (losses)(82,374) 33,662  47,174  (291,054)Net Realized and Net Change in Unrealized Gains (Losses) from Investments(83,786) (274,817) (176,545) (809,736)Net realized gains (losses) on extinguishment of debt1,486  (156) 4,219  972 Net realized gains (losses) from derivative instruments and foreign currency transactions(344) —  (1,042) — Net change in unrealized gains (losses) from derivative instruments and foreign currency transactions435  —  643  — Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations(4,517) (195,930) 153,662  (469,924)Preferred Stock dividends(26,436) (26,739) (106,645) (106,822)Net gain (loss) on redemptions of Preferred Stock(5,263) (1,749) (9,592) (1,937)Gain (loss) on Accretion to Redemption Value of Preferred Stock(1,875) (1,951) (7,597) (15,079)Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations applicable to Common Stockholders$        (38,091) $        (226,369) $        29,828  $        (593,762)              PROSPECT CAPITAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
ROLLFORWARD OF NET ASSET VALUE PER COMMON SHARE
(in actual dollars)  Three Months Ended June 30,
 Year Ended June 30,
  2026   2025   2026   2025  Per Share Data(9)               Net asset value per common share at beginning of period$6.05   $7.25   $6.56   $8.74  Net investment income0.15   0.17   0.68   0.77  Net realized and change in unrealized gains (losses)(1)(0.18)  (0.62)  (0.40)  (1.87) Net increase (decrease) from operations(0.02)(6) (0.44)(6) 0.28   (1.11)(6)Distributions of net investment income to preferred stockholders(0.05)(3) (0.06)  (0.22)(3) (0.24) Total distributions to preferred stockholders(0.05)  (0.06)  (0.22)  (0.24) Net increase (decrease) from operations applicable to common stockholders(0.08)  (0.50)  0.06   (1.35) Distributions of net investment income to common stockholders(0.12)(3) (0.14)  (0.50)(3) (0.44)(5)Return of capital to common stockholders— (3) —   (0.02)(3) (0.16)(5)Total distributions to common stockholders(0.12)  (0.14)  (0.52)  (0.60) Effect of other comprehensive income(7)0.02   —   0.01   —  Common stock transactions(2)(0.17)  (0.06)  (0.41)  (0.25) Net asset value per common share at end of period$5.71 (6) $6.56 (6) $5.71 (6) $6.56 (6) (1)Realized gains (losses) is inclusive of net realized losses (gains) on investments, net realized losses (gains) from extinguishment of debt, net realized gains (losses) on derivative instruments and foreign currency transactions, and net realized gains (losses) from the repurchases and redemptions of preferred stock.  (2)Common stock transactions include the effect of our issuance of common stock in public offerings (net of underwriting and offering costs), shares issued in connection with our common stock dividend reinvestment plan, common shares issued to acquire investments, common shares repurchased below net asset value pursuant to our Repurchase Program, and common shares issued pursuant to the Holder Optional Conversion of our 5.50% Preferred Stock and 6.50% Preferred Stock.  (3)Tax character of distributions is not yet finalized for the respective fiscal period and will not be finalized until we file our tax return for our tax year ending August 31, 2026.  (4)For all periods presented above, all shares of our issued and outstanding Convertible Preferred Stock had an anti-dilutive effect.  (5)The amounts reflected for the respective fiscal periods were updated based on tax information received subsequent to our Form 10-K filing for June 30, 2025. Certain reclassifications have been made in the presentation of prior period amounts.  (6)Does not foot due to rounding.  (7)Effect of other comprehensive income is related to income/(loss) deemed attributable to instrument specific credit risk derived from changes in fair value associated with liabilities valued under the fair value option (ASC 825.)  (8)Effect is less than $0.01 per share.  (9)Per share data amount is based on the basic weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the year/period presented (except for dividends to stockholders which is based on actual rate per share).     INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN

Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) is the discount rate that makes the net present value of all cash flows related to a particular investment equal to zero. IRR is gross of general expenses not related to specific investments as these expenses are not allocable to specific investments. Investments are considered to be exited when the original investment objective has been achieved through the receipt of cash and/or non-cash consideration upon the repayment of a debt investment or sale of an investment or through the determination that no further consideration was collectible and, thus, a loss may have been realized. Prospect’s gross IRR calculations are unaudited. Information regarding internal rates of return are historical results relating to Prospect’s past performance and are not necessarily indicative of future results, the achievement of which cannot be assured.

All track record data herein is as of 6/30/2026, unless otherwise noted. Middle-market lending track record segmentation by EBITDA represents EBITDA at the date of initial investment.

ANNUALIZED NET REALIZED LOSS RATE

Annualized net realized loss rate defined as realized gains/(losses) on investments as a percentage of total invested capital since inception, divided by the number of years since inception for the respective investments. Numbers may not add up to precise totals due to rounding.

PRIMARY ORIGINATION STRATEGIES

Our primary investment strategy is investing in private, middle-market companies in the U.S. in need of capital for refinancings, acquisitions, capital expenditures, growth initiatives, recapitalizations and other purposes. Typically, we focus on making investments in middle-market companies with annual revenues of less than $750 million and enterprise values of less than $1 billion. These private, middle-market companies are primarily owned by private equity funded and independent sponsors or us, as well as by a portfolio company’s management team, founder(s), or other investors. Our typical investment involves a senior and secured loan of less than $250 million.

Our investments in senior and secured loans are generally senior debt instruments that rank ahead of unsecured debt and equity of a given portfolio company. These loans also have the benefit of security interests on assets of the applicable portfolio company, which often rank ahead of any other security interests. We also make equity and equity-linked investments with capital-appreciation potential (such as senior and secured convertible debt, preferred equity, common equity and warrants).

We also invest a lesser amount of our assets in senior and secured debt and controlling equity positions in real estate investment trusts (“REIT” or “REITs”). The real estate investments of National Property REIT Corp. (“NPRC”) are in various classes of developed and occupied real estate properties that generate current yields, including multi-family properties and other tenant-diversified properties; historically, NPRC made investments in structured credit (primarily debt tranches). We historically invested in structured credit (primarily equity tranches).

We may also invest in other strategies and opportunities from time to time that the Investment Adviser views as attractive. The Investment Adviser may continue to evaluate other origination strategies in the ordinary course of business with no specific top-down allocation to any single origination strategy.

We directly originate the significant majority of our investments through our long-term relationships with private equity funded and independent sponsors, financial intermediaries, and management teams, as well as other sources. We seek to maximize returns, including both current yield and capital-appreciation potential, and minimize risk for our investors by applying rigorous credit and other analyses and cash-flow and asset-based lending techniques to originate, close, and monitor our investments.

We are consistently pursuing multiple investment opportunities. There can be no assurance that we will successfully consummate any investment opportunity we pursue. If any of these opportunities are consummated, there can be no assurance that investors will share our view of valuation or that any assets acquired will not be subject to future write downs, each of which could have an adverse effect on our stock price.

MIDDLE MARKET LENDING PORTFOLIO COMPANY EBITDA, NET LEVERAGE AND CASH INTEREST COVERAGE

Middle-Market Lending Portfolio Company Net Leverage (“Middle-Market Portfolio Net Leverage”) and Middle-Market Lending Portfolio Company Cash Interest Coverage (“Middle-Market Portfolio Cash Interest Coverage”) provide clarity into the underlying capital structure of PSEC’s middle-market loan portfolio investments and the likelihood that such portfolio will make interest payments and repay principal. Investments in real estate, subordinated structured notes, and equity (for which principal repayment is not fixed) and for which EBITDA is not available, negative or de minimis are not included in the calculations.

Middle-Market Portfolio Net Leverage reflects the simple average net leverage of each of PSEC’s middle-market loan portfolio investments. The net leverage for each such investment is calculated based on PSEC’s loan investment in the capital structure of the portfolio company, with a maximum limit of 10.0x, and adjusted EBITDA. This calculation excludes debt subordinate to PSEC’s position within the capital structure because PSEC’s exposure to interest payment and principal repayment risk is limited beyond that point. The calculation does not exceed 10.0x adjusted EBITDA for any individual investment because 10.0x captures the highest level of risk to PSEC.

Middle-Market Portfolio Cash Interest Coverage reflects the simple average cash interest coverage of each of PSEC’s middle-market loan portfolio investments. The cash interest coverage for each middle-market loan portfolio investment is calculated based on the portfolio company’s cash interest and adjusted EBITDA.

Middle-Market Portfolio Net Leverage and Middle-Market Portfolio Cash Interest Coverage generally indicates a portfolio company’s ability to make interest payments and repay principal. Adjusted EBITDA provides PSEC with insight into profitability and scale of the portfolio companies within PSEC's middle-market loan portfolio.

These calculations include addbacks and adjustments that are often negotiated and documented in the applicable investment documents, including but not limited to transaction costs, share-based compensation, management fees, foreign currency translation adjustments, and nonrecurring transaction expenses. Consumer finance companies are adjusted to treat third-party receivables financing as a cost of goods sold (rather than financing) because consumer finance companies typically rely on such financing to fund their lending activities.

Middle-Market Portfolio Net Leverage and Middle-Market Portfolio Cash Interest Coverage assist PSEC in assessing the likelihood that PSEC will timely receive interest and principal payments. However, these calculations are not meant to substitute for an analysis of PSEC’s underlying portfolio company debt investments, but to supplement such analysis.

About Prospect Capital Corporation

Prospect is a business development company that primarily lends to and invests in middle market privately-held companies. Prospect’s investment objective is to generate both current income and long-term capital appreciation.

Prospect has elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Prospect has elected to be treated as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, whose safe harbor for forward-looking statements does not apply to business development companies. Any such statements, other than statements of historical fact, are highly likely to be affected by other unknowable future events and conditions, including elements of the future that are or are not under our control, and that we may or may not have considered; accordingly, such statements cannot be guarantees or assurances of any aspect of future performance. Actual developments and results are highly likely to vary materially from any forward-looking statements. Such statements speak only as of the time when made, and we undertake no obligation to update any such statement now or in the future.

For additional information, contact:

Grier Eliasek, President and Chief Operating Officer
[email protected]
Telephone (212) 448-0702

"Rocket Lab onboarded to U.S. Space Force's $981M NITE-STAR Program to advance space test and training infrastructure," blared the headline Monday evening. Managed by the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command, the announcement proceeded to explain, NITE-STAR will "support a distributed test and training architecture to help prepare space operators for contested scenarios." Fast-growing space company Rocket Lab (RKLB -3.81%) will participate in the program -- and potentially win up to $981 million in contracts.

Good news for Rocket Lab?

Yes, but... the devil's in the details.

Image source: Rocket Lab.

What we know about NITE-STAR Someone worked late nights to come up with the NITE-STAR acronym, which, in full, reads as the "NSTTC Innovative Technology & Engineering – Space Test and Range" program. Announcing its participation, Rocket Lab explained that NITE-STAR will develop "distributed test and training architecture to help prepare space operators for contested scenarios."

Translated from Pentagon-speak, that appears to mean NITE-STAR is a wargames program that will allow Space Force Guardians (that's the official name for servicemen and servicewomen in this military branch) to train for and practice military operations in space. Participating in this near-billion-dollar program holds promise for Rocket Lab. What you may not know, however, is that Rocket Lab is only one of several defense companies working on NITE-STAR.

What you also may not know is that the actual value to Rocket Lab will probably be a whole lot less than $981 million.

NITE-STAR by the numbers NITE-STAR first appeared in a March announcement on GovConWire.com seeking requests for proposals (RFPs) to build the architecture. Winners were announced on the Department of Defense website late last month.

And that's where we find the details of this contract.

Two stand out. First, the NITE-STAR program will last 10 years (so the $981 million contract ceiling must be divided by 10 to determine how much will actually be paid out annually). Second, Rocket Lab is only one of 15 companies allowed to bid for task orders under the contract. (Other winners include such big space names as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Viasat.)

So take that number that you already divided by 10, and divide it again -- this time by 15.

The result of all this dividing is that, on average, investors can expect each winner of a NITE-STAR task order to collect about $6.5 million per year over the contract term.

Today's Change

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-3.81

%) $

-2.89

Current Price

$

72.95

What it means to Rocket Lab investors That number -- $6.5 million -- is, of course, a whole lot less impressive number than $981 million, so you can understand why Rocket Lab accentuated the more positive number in its press release. Still, the upshot for Rocket Lab investors is that, while their company may win some funds from NITE-STAR, it probably won't be enough to move the needle.

With Rocket Lab currently pulling in nearly $770 million annually, the near-billion-dollar NITE-STAR contract will likely add less than 1% to the company's revenue. It's better than nothing -- but it's not enough to turn Rocket Lab stock -- which trades at more than 60 times sales and is unprofitable -- into a buy.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

In July, Interactive Brokers (IBKR -0.76%) proved yet again that it is one of the fastest-growing brokerages in the world. Customer margin loans surpassed $100 billion in July, and were up 49% year over year.

This indicates that the animal spirits of the bull market are in full swing and that Interactive Brokers is capturing significant market share in the financial asset trading space. Here's why the electronic broker's margin debt has grown so quickly, and what it means for earnings this quarter.

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Current Price

$

89.85

Growing customers means growing interest income In July, the total number of Interactive Brokers customers grew 34% year over year to 5.3 million. The company is attracting increasingly sophisticated customers and professionals to its platform due to its global coverage of financial assets and its low margin-debt rates.

Margin loans offer a way for a brokerage's customers to bet more aggressively on stocks, as well as the interest charged on short-selling. When the customer base grows, so too will Interactive Brokers' total margin debt. In fact, last month, it grew much faster than the overall customer count, likely due to aggressive trading in the artificial intelligence (AI) market.

Margin debt growing by 49% year over year is going to provide a huge boost to the company's net interest income in Q3, at least, if it continues to grow this quickly in August and September. Last quarter, net interest income grew 23% year over year to $1.06 billion. At this rate of margin debt growth, Interactive Brokers should see an acceleration in net interest income growth this quarter.

Image source: Getty Images.

Should you buy Interactive Brokers stock? One potential headwind to Interactive Brokers' net interest income would be a decline in interest rates. The company charges interest on clients' margin loans at a variable rate based on standardized cost-of-borrowing benchmarks such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). In the last two years, the Federal Reserve has begun to lower its benchmark interest rates, which is a headwind for the company's net interest income.

Depending on where interest rates head over the next few years, they will be either a headwind or a tailwind for the low-cost broker's net interest income, which provides the majority of its revenue. Today, the stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 36, which indicates that investors do not believe interest rates will fall in the near future, and that they anticipate that Interactive Brokers will continue to grow its total customer count at a similar pace to previous years. If they are correct on both counts, then Interactive Brokers stock will probably prove a good buy at today's levels.

Brett Schafer has positions in Interactive Brokers Group. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Interactive Brokers Group. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $43.75 calls on Interactive Brokers Group and short January 2027 $46.25 calls on Interactive Brokers Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE: MTH, “Meritage” or the “Company”), the fifth-largest homebuilder in the U.S., today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share. This dividend is payable on September 30, 2026 to shareholders of record as of the close of trading on September 15, 2026.

About Meritage Homes Corporation

Meritage is the fifth-largest public homebuilder in the United States, based on homes closed in 2025. The Company offers energy-efficient and affordable entry-level and first move-up homes. Operations span across Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Meritage has delivered over 210,000 homes in its 41-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and award-winning customer experience. The Company is an industry leader in energy-efficient homebuilding, an eleven-time recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence Award and Residential New Construction Market Leader Award, as well as a four-time recipient of the EPA's Indoor airPLUS Leader Award.

For more information, visit www.meritagehomes.com.

Contacts:   
Emily Tadano, VP Investor Relations and External Communications
(480) 515-8979 (office)
[email protected]

AppLovin Corp (NASDAQ:APP) faces a mostly negative investor mood heading into the back half of the year, with few able to make a clear bullish case, according to a new Jefferies note summarizing recent investor conversations and a debate the firm hosted on the stock.

Jefferies said questions about whether AppLovin could follow a trajectory similar to The Trade Desk's downturn represent the most negative line of questioning the firm has received in its years covering the company.

Jefferies believe the two businesses don't overlap much. The Trade Desk relies more on large agencies and Fortune 100 advertisers moving budgets to rivals like Amazon DSP and Google DV360, while AppLovin is built around performance marketing tied to measurable results rather than fixed brand spending.

On the bull side, investors point to AppLovin's potential to grow its e-commerce business by expanding its sales team and building out agency partnerships, which could bring more large, sophisticated direct-to-consumer brands onto the platform. Bulls also argue that continued growth in in-app advertising works in AppLovin's favor even if the broader mobile gaming market slows, so long as the company keeps improving its ad targeting.

Bears counter that a slowing mobile games market limits how much upside is left. Third-party data pointing to declining install volumes and rising cost-per-install figures suggests some game studios are pulling back spending, they argue, which would put more weight on take-rate expansion and e-commerce growth to sustain results. Both of those areas have seen expectations soften over the past quarter.

Bears also flagged take-rate compression in the second quarter, tied to double-digit percentage growth in publisher revenue disclosures from AppLovin's MAX ad exchange. Rising competition from Unity, Meta and Liftoff is pressuring AppLovin's 35-40% take rate. Jefferies can't say how much stems from competition versus stalled improvement in AppLovin's AXON ad model.

Jefferies estimates the addressable market for mobile games, excluding China, at about $105 billion for 2026 across in-app purchases, direct-to-consumer spending and in-app advertising, up in the mid-single digits year over year.

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Aurora Innovation, Inc. (AUR) Discusses AI Advancements, Commoditization Concerns, and Defensibility in Autonomous Trucking August 20, 2026 12:00 PM EDT

Company Participants

Stacy Feit - Vice President of Investor Relations
Christopher Urmson - Co-Founder, CEO & Non-Independent Executive Chairman
David Maday - Chief Financial Officer

Presentation

Stacy Feit
Vice President of Investor Relations

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Before we begin the Q&A portion of today's town hall, I want to quickly note that as you just saw at the end of the video, we will be making forward-looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions and beliefs as of today's date and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to the risk factors and other disclosures in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC.

Now on to Q&A.

Question-and-Answer Session

Stacy Feit
Vice President of Investor Relations

First, thank you to everyone who submitted and upvoted questions. We had a tremendous turnout. We're going to extend our time together today to cover as much ground as possible.

A quick note on how the segment will work. We'll be addressing the top of voted questions submitted by our retail investor community, all of which have been anonymized. Please keep in mind, we aren't in a position to provide investment advice, and we won't be discussing our financial outlook beyond the 2026 guidance we've already provided.

With that, let's dive in. Chris, Dave, the most upvoted question we received is, there has been a lot of speculation about AI leading to commoditization of autonomous drivers. How would you respond to this speculation? Do you believe Aurora has a defensible moat? Is the industry nearing an inflection point where it's nearly impossible for new competitors to enter the market?

Southfield, Michigan, Aug. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Credit Acceptance Corporation (Nasdaq: CACC) (referred to as the “Company”, “Credit Acceptance”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) announced today the completion of a $600.0 million asset-backed non-recourse secured financing (the “Financing”).  Pursuant to this transaction, we conveyed loans having a value of approximately $750.2 million to a wholly owned special purpose entity which will transfer the loans to a trust, which will issue three classes of notes:

Note Class Amount Average Life Price  Interest Rate  A $319,880,000  2.54 years  99.99218%    5.01%  B $117,300,000  3.23 years  99.97598%   5.29%  C $162,820,000  3.69 years  99.98270%   5.51%  The Financing will:

have an expected average annualized cost of approximately 5.5% including upfront fees and other costs;revolve for 24 months after which it will amortize based upon the cash flows on the conveyed loans; andbe used by us to repay higher cost outstanding indebtedness and for general corporate purposes. We will receive 4.0% of the cash flows related to the underlying consumer loans to cover servicing expenses. The remaining 96.0%, less amounts due to dealers for payments of dealer holdback, will be used to pay principal and interest on the notes as well as the ongoing costs of the Financing. The Financing is structured so as not to affect our contractual relationships with dealers and to preserve the dealers’ rights to future payments of dealer holdback.

Following the completion of this financing, Credit Acceptance maintained approximately $1.8 billion in unused and available borrowing capacity on its revolving credit facilities and unrestricted cash. “We are pleased with the execution of this $600 million securitization, matching the largest ABS transaction in our history,” said Jay Brinkley, Treasurer of Credit Acceptance. “Strong demand from our investor base enabled us to achieve our lowest credit spreads since late 2021, and while the all-in cost increased modestly from our most recent securitization in May, the increase was driven by higher Treasury rates.”

The notes have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This news release does not and will not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the notes. This news release is being issued pursuant to and in accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act of 1933.

Description of Credit Acceptance Corporation

We make vehicle ownership possible by providing innovative financing solutions that enable automobile dealers to sell vehicles to consumers regardless of their credit history. Our financing programs are offered through a nationwide network of automobile dealers who benefit from sales of vehicles to consumers who otherwise could not obtain financing; from repeat and referral sales generated by these same customers; and from sales to customers responding to advertisements for our financing programs, but who actually end up qualifying for traditional financing.  

Without our financing programs, consumers are often unable to purchase vehicles, or they purchase unreliable ones. Further, as we report to the three national credit reporting agencies, an important ancillary benefit of our programs is that we provide consumers with an opportunity to improve their lives by improving their credit score and move on to more traditional sources of financing. Credit Acceptance is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol CACC. For more information, visit creditacceptance.com.

, /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra (NYSE: SRE) today announced the successful completion of Sempra Infrastructure's sale of Ecogas México, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Ecogas), a natural gas distribution network in Mexico serving over 600,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across the Mexicali, Chihuahua and La Laguna-Durango regions. Through this strategic transaction, Sempra continues to advance its capital recycling program and execute on its 2026 value creation initiatives, helping simplify the company's business model, strengthen its financial position and support long-term growth at its regulated utilities in Texas and California. 

"The successful completion of this transaction reflects the disciplined execution of our strategy and continued focus on recycling capital to the opportunities we believe will create the greatest long-term value," said Jeffrey W. Martin, chairman and CEO of Sempra. "As energy demand continues to grow, we are executing a series of strategic initiatives to better support our customers, while advancing our mission of building America's leading utility growth business."

The transaction generated approximately $500 million in U.S. dollar-equivalent in proceeds and advances Sempra's capital recycling program in support of its record five-year capital plan of approximately $65 billion1, with more than 95% of planned investments directed toward regulated utility infrastructure.

The Ecogas sale complements other strategic actions undertaken by the company, including an agreement to sell a 45% equity interest in Sempra Infrastructure Partners, one of North America's leading energy infrastructure platforms, to affiliates of KKR. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.

Taken together, these transactions are expected to support investments across Sempra's growing portfolio of opportunities in Texas and California, enabling critical transmission and distribution infrastructure investments that serve customers while strengthening safety, reliability and resilience. They also aim to help reduce the company's reliance on future common-equity issuances to fund growth while supporting credit quality and financial strength.

About Sempra

Sempra's mission is to build America's leading utility growth business. As owner of one of the largest energy networks on the continent, Sempra is electrifying and improving energy resilience in California and Texas, the two largest economies in the U.S. The company is recognized as a leader in responsible business practices and for its high-performance culture focused on safety and operational excellence, as demonstrated by Sempra's inclusion in The Wall Street Journal's Management Top 250 and Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies. More information about Sempra is available at sempra.com, including investor.sempra.com/corporate-updates which contains important information for investors, and on social media @sempra.

We use the investor.sempra.com/corporate-updates webpage as a means of disclosing important information to investors, some of which may be material, and complying with our disclosure obligations under SEC Regulation FD. The information on this webpage is supplemental to the information we disseminate to investors through other channels, including filings with the SEC, press releases, and public conference calls and webcasts, and investors should monitor all these sources for material information about us.

###

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

In this press release, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "contemplate," "plan," "estimate," "project," "forecast," "envision," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "in process," "construct," "develop," "opportunity," "preliminary," "pro forma," "strategic," "initiative," "target," "outlook," "optimistic," "poised," "positioned," "maintain," "continue," "progress," "advance," "goal," "aim," "commit," or similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities, strategies, goals, vision, mission, projections, intentions or expectations.

Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement include: California wildfires, including potential liability for damages regardless of fault and any inability to recover all or a substantial portion of costs from insurance, the wildfire fund established by California Assembly Bill 1054 and the wildfire fund continuation account established by California Senate Bill 254, rates from customers or a combination thereof; decisions, disallowances or denials of cost recovery, audits, investigations, inquiries, ordered studies, regulations, legislative actions, denials or revocations of permits, consents, approvals or other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions, including the failure to honor contracts and commitments, by the (i) Comisión Nacional de Energía, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc., U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Public Utility Commission of Texas and other regulatory bodies and (ii) U.S., Mexico and states, counties, cities and other jurisdictions therein and in other countries where we do business; the success of business development efforts, construction projects, acquisitions, divestitures, and other significant transactions, such as the planned sale of a portion of our equity interest in Sempra Infrastructure Partners, including risks related to, as applicable, (i) being able to reach a positive final investment decision, (ii) negotiating pricing and other terms in definitive contracts, (iii) completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule and budget, (iv) realizing anticipated benefits from any of these efforts if completed, (v) obtaining regulatory and other approvals and (vi) third parties honoring their contracts and commitments, including with respect to closing or post-closing payments; changes to our capital expenditure plans and their potential impact on rate base or other growth; changes, due to evolving economic, political and other factors and increasing geopolitical instability as a result of wars or other conflicts in various parts of the world, to (i) trade and other foreign policy, including the imposition of tariffs by the U.S. and foreign countries (and uncertainty related to the implementation and enforceability thereof), and (ii) laws and regulations, including those related to tax and the energy industry in the U.S. and Mexico; litigation, arbitration, property disputes and other proceedings; cybersecurity threats, including by nation-state actors, of ransomware or other attacks on our systems, the energy grid or our other infrastructure, or the systems of third parties with which we conduct business; the availability, uses, sufficiency, and cost of capital resources and our ability to borrow money or otherwise raise capital on favorable terms and meet our obligations, which can be affected by, among other things, (i) actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our credit ratings or place those ratings on negative outlook, (ii) instability in the capital markets, and (iii) fluctuating interest rates and inflation; the impact of efforts to increase affordability of U.S. utility customer rates on our ability to obtain cost recovery from applicable regulators, our capital expenditure and other growth plans and our ability to advance statewide policies; the impact on affordability of customer rates, cost of capital and operating margin due to (i) volatility in inflation, interest rates, commodity prices, tariff rates, and foreign currency exchange rates and (ii) with respect to SDG&E's and SoCalGas' businesses, the cost of meeting the demand for lower carbon and reliable energy in California; the impact of air quality and climate-related policies, laws, rules, regulations, trends and required disclosures, including actions to reduce or eliminate reliance on natural gas, increased uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment for California natural gas distribution companies, the risk of nonrecovery for stranded assets, and uncertainty related to emerging technologies; weather, natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures, explosions, terrorism, information system outages or other events, such as work stoppages, that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities or systems, cause the release of harmful materials or fires or subject us to liability for damages, fines and penalties, some of which may not be recoverable through regulatory mechanisms or insurance or may impact our ability to obtain satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability and reliability of electric power, natural gas and natural gas storage and transportation capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the transmission grid or pipeline and storage systems or limitations on the injection and withdrawal of natural gas from storage facilities; Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC's (Oncor) ability to reduce or eliminate its quarterly dividends due to regulatory and governance requirements and commitments, including by actions of Oncor's independent directors or a minority member director; and other uncertainties, some of which are difficult to predict and beyond our control.

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on Sempra's website, www.sempra.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.

Sempra Infrastructure Partners and its subsidiaries, and the Sempra Texas utilities (Oncor and Sharyland Utilities) are not the same companies as the Sempra California utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas, nor are they regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

1 Refers to Sempra's 2026-2030 capital plan, which (i) includes Sempra's proportionate ownership interest in projected capital expenditures at unconsolidated equity method investees while excluding Sempra's projected future contributions to those equity method investees and (ii) excludes noncontrolling interests' proportionate ownership interest in projected capital expenditures at Sempra and at unconsolidated equity method investees. Our 2026-2030 capital plan reflects our 80.25% ownership of Oncor and assumes our projected 70% ownership of SI Partners through March 31, 2026, and 25% ownership thereafter.

SOURCE Sempra

, /PRNewswire/ -- Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) today reported financial results for the company's 12-week second quarter ended July 18, 2026.

Second Quarter Summary:
Compared to the prior year second quarter where applicable

Net sales(1) decreased 4.0% to $1.193 billion as favorable price/mix was more than offset by lower volume. Net income decreased 30.3% to $40.7 million, representing 3.4% of sales, a 130-basis point decrease, primarily due to a challenging consumer environment, increased marketing expense, and increases in labor and freight costs, partly offset by lower interest expense and moderating ingredient costs. Adjusted net income(2) decreased 30.5% to $44.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA(2) decreased 19.2% to $111.3 million, representing 9.3% of net sales, a 180-basis point decrease. Diluted EPS decreased $0.09 to $0.19. Adjusted diluted EPS(2) decreased $0.09 to $0.21. Chairman and CEO Remarks:
"Our second quarter results reflect the continued challenges across the fresh packaged bread category, where macroeconomic pressures, evolving consumer purchasing behavior, and sustained competitive activity created a more difficult operating environment than we anticipated," said Ryals McMullian, chairman and CEO of Flowers Foods. "While these headwinds weighed on our performance, they also reinforced the actions we are taking to strengthen our competitiveness and improve execution.

"Against this backdrop, we are accelerating initiatives already underway to improve our performance and better align our resources with the opportunities that we believe will create the greatest long-term value. That includes sharpening our value proposition, improving in-store execution, accelerating innovation, winning new business opportunities, and continuing to invest behind our leading brands.

"The relaunch of Nature's Own is an important example of that strategy in action. Early feedback from customers and distribution partners has been excellent, particularly around the brand's simpler ingredients, stronger better-for-you positioning, and Non-GMO Project Verified offering at national scale. While this initiative remains in its early stages and has not yet meaningfully contributed to results, positive customer feedback and the brand's growing presence in the better-for-you segment reinforce our confidence in Nature's Own's ability to extend its category leadership over time.

"In addition, consistent with the findings in our comprehensive review, we are taking select actions to further realign our organization and improve our cost structure. These actions are intended to simplify our operations, improve execution, and better position the company to respond to evolving consumer needs.

"Given our first-half performance and the current category environment, we are updating our full-year outlook to reflect a more cautious view for the balance of 2026. While near-term conditions remain challenging, we are confident that the actions underway will strengthen our top-line trajectory and better position our portfolio to meet evolving consumer demand."

Revised Outlook: 52-week Fiscal 2026, the Company Expects:

Net sales of approximately $5.070 billion to $5.142 billion, representing a -3.5% to -2.2% change compared to the prior year. Prior guidance called for net sales of approximately $5.163 billion to $5.267 billion. Adjusted EBITDA(3) in the range of approximately $453 million to $481 million, compared to prior guidance of $465 million to $495 million.  Adjusted diluted EPS(2) of approximately $0.75 to $0.85 per share, compared to prior guidance of $0.80 to $0.90 per share. The company's outlook is based on the following assumptions:

Depreciation and amortization of approximately $165 million to $170 million. Net interest expense of approximately $65 million to $70 million. An effective tax rate of approximately 26%. Weighted average diluted share count for the year of approximately 213.5 million shares. Capital expenditures of approximately $115 million to $125 million.  Matters Affecting Comparability:

Reconciliation of Earnings per Share to Adjusted Earnings per Share

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

Net income per diluted common share

$

0.19

$

0.28

Business process improvement costs

NM

NM

Restructuring-related implementation costs

0.02

0.01

Acquisition and integration-related costs

—

0.01

(a)

Legal settlements and related costs

—

NM

Recovery on inferior ingredients

(0.01)

—

Adjusted net income per diluted common share

$

0.21

$

0.30

(a) Deductible tax impact of prior period acquisition-related costs that impacted this period by $0.01 per
share.

NM - not meaningful.

Certain amounts may not add due to rounding.

Consolidated Second Quarter Operating Highlights
Compared to the prior year second quarter where applicable

Net sales decreased 4.0% to $1.193 billion. Pricing/mix(4) increased 1.8% and volume(5) declined 5.8%. Branded Retail net sales decreased $31.7 million, or 3.8%, to $794.6 million due to volume declines partially offset by favorable pricing/mix. Pricing/mix(4) rose 3.8%, volume(5) decreased 7.6%. Other net sales decreased $18.2 million, or 4.4%, to $398.3 million due to inflationary pressure on consumer spending impacting store branded sales. Pricing/mix(4) decreased 1.0% and volume(5) declined 3.4%. Materials, supplies, labor, and other production costs (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) were 51.6% of net sales, a 40-basis point increase. These costs increased as a percentage of net sales mostly due to lower production volumes and an increase in labor costs and outside purchases of product (sales with no associated ingredient costs). This increase was partially offset by moderating ingredient costs. Selling, distribution, and administrative (SD&A) expenses were 39.7% of net sales, a 160-basis point increase. SD&A expenses increased as a percentage of net sales due to higher workforce-related and freight costs and increased marketing spend, partially offset by lower distributor distribution fees. Excluding matters affecting comparability, adjusted SD&A(2) was 39.1% of net sales, a 140-basis point increase. Depreciation and amortization (D&A) expenses were $38.6 million or 3.2% of net sales, flat with last year's second quarter. Net interest expense decreased $1.3 million primarily due to lower debt balances. Net income decreased 30.3% to $40.7 million, representing 3.4% of sales, a 130-basis point decrease, and diluted EPS decreased $0.09 to $0.19. Adjusted net income(2) decreased 30.5% to $44.1 million and adjusted diluted EPS(2) decreased $0.09 to $0.21. Adjusted EBITDA(2) decreased 19.2% to $111.3 million, representing 9.3% of net sales, a 180-basis point decrease. Cash Flow, Capital Allocation, and Capital Return
Year-to-date, cash flow from operating activities decreased $24.9 million to $241.5 million, capital expenditures decreased $11.9 million to $44.5 million, and dividends paid to shareholders decreased $23.7 million to $81.0 million. Cash and cash equivalents were $52.8 million at quarter end.

(1) Any reference to sales refers to net sales inclusive of allowances and deductions against gross sales for variable consideration and consideration payable to customers
(2) Adjusted for items affecting comparability. See reconciliations of non-GAAP measures in the financial statements following this release. Earnings are net income. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are reconciled to net income.
(3) No reconciliation of the forecasted range for adjusted EBITDA to net income for the 52-week Fiscal 2026 is included in this press release because the company is unable to quantify certain amounts that would be required to be included in the GAAP measure without unreasonable efforts. In addition, the company believes such reconciliation would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors. For the same reasons, the company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could be material to future results.
(4) Calculated as (current year period units X change in price per unit) / prior year period net sales dollars
(5) Calculated as (prior year period price per unit X change in units) / prior year period net sales dollars

Pre-Recorded Management Remarks and Question and Answer Webcast
In conjunction with this release, Flowers Foods will post pre-recorded management remarks and a supporting slide presentation on the investors page of flowersfoods.com. The company will host a live question and answer webcast at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on August 21, 2026, which will be archived on the investors page along with the other related materials.

About Flowers Foods
Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2025 net sales of $5.3 billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company's top brands are Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Canyon Bakehouse, Simple Mills, Wonder, and Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com.

FLO-CORP FLO-IR

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release and certain other written or oral statements made from time to time by Flowers Foods, Inc. (the "company", "Flowers Foods", "Flowers", "us", "we", or "our") and its representatives that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to current expectations regarding our business and our future financial condition and results of operations and are often identified by the use of words and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," "is likely to," "is expected to" or "will continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions we believe are reasonable. Forward-looking statements are based on current information and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected. Certain factors that may cause actual results, performance, liquidity, and achievements to differ materially from those projected are discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2026 (the "Form 10-K") and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and may include, but are not limited to, (a) unexpected changes in any of the following: (1) general economic and business conditions; (2) the competitive setting in which we operate, including advertising or promotional strategies by us or our competitors, as well as changes in consumer demand; (3) interest rates and other terms available to us on our borrowings; (4) supply chain conditions and any related impact on energy and raw materials costs and availability and hedging counter-party risks; (5) relationships with or increased costs related to our employees and third-party service providers; (6) laws and regulations (including environmental and health-related issues and the impacts of tariffs, including retaliatory tariffs); and (7) accounting standards or tax rates in the markets in which we operate,  (b) the loss or financial instability of any significant customer(s), including as a result of product recalls or safety concerns related to our products, (c) changes in consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including health and whole grain trends and consumer buying habits, the movement toward less expensive store branded products, and the continued reduction of purchases in the fresh packaged bread category, (d) the level of success we achieve in developing and introducing new products and entering new markets, (e) our ability to implement new technology and customer requirements as required, (f) our ability to operate existing, and any new, manufacturing lines according to schedule, (g) our ability to implement and achieve our corporate responsibility goals in accordance with regulatory requirements and the expectations of our stakeholders, suppliers, and customers; (h) our ability to execute our business strategies which may involve, among other things, (1) the ability to realize the intended benefits of completed, planned or contemplated acquisitions, dispositions or joint ventures, such as the acquisition of Simple Mills, (2) the deployment of new systems (e.g., our enterprise resource planning ("ERP") system), distribution channels and technology, and (3) an enhanced organizational structure (e.g., our sales and supply chain reorganization), (i) consolidation within the baking industry and related industries, (j) changes in pricing, customer and consumer reaction to pricing actions (including decreased volumes), and the pricing environment among competitors within the industry, (k) our ability to adjust pricing to offset, or partially offset, inflationary pressure or tariffs (including retaliatory tariffs) on the cost of our products, including ingredient and packaging costs; (l) disruptions in our direct-store-delivery distribution model, including litigation or an adverse ruling by a court or regulatory or governmental body that could affect the independent contractor classifications of the independent distributor partners ("IDPs"), and changes to our direct-store-delivery distribution model in California, (m) increasing legal complexity and legal proceedings that we are or may become subject to, (n) labor shortages and turnover or increases in employee and employee-related costs, (o) the credit, business, and legal risks associated with IDPs and customers, which operate in the highly competitive retail food and foodservice industries, (p) any business disruptions due to political instability, pandemics, armed hostilities, incidents of terrorism, natural disasters, labor strikes or work stoppages, technological breakdowns, product contamination, product recalls or safety concerns related to our products, or the responses to or repercussions from any of these or similar events or conditions and our ability to insure against such events, (q) the failure of our information technology systems to perform adequately, including any interruptions, intrusions, cyber-attacks or security breaches of such systems or risks associated with the implementation of the upgrade of our ERP system; and (r) the potential impact of climate change on the company, including physical and transition risks, our availability or restriction of resources, higher regulatory and compliance costs, reputational risks, and our availability of capital on attractive terms. The foregoing list of important factors does not include all such factors, nor does it necessarily present them in order of importance. In addition, you should consult other disclosures made by the company (such as in our other filings with the SEC or in company press releases) for other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by the company. Refer to Part I, Item 1A., Risk Factors, of our Form 10-K, Part II, Item 1A., Risk Factors, of the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 18, 2026 and subsequent filings with the SEC for additional information regarding factors that could affect the company's results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date made and are inherently uncertain. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update such statements, except as required by law. You are advised, however, to consult any further public disclosures by the company (such as in our filings with the SEC or in company press releases) on related subjects.

Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The company prepares its consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). However, from time to time, the company may present in its public statements, press releases and SEC filings, non-GAAP financial measures such as, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, adjusted income tax expense, adjusted selling, distribution and administrative expenses (SD&A), and gross margin excluding depreciation and amortization. The reconciliations attached provide reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures used in this presentation or release to the most comparable GAAP financial measure. The company's definitions of these non-GAAP measures may differ from similarly titled measures used by others. These non-GAAP measures should be considered supplemental to, and not a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP.

The company defines EBITDA as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Earnings are net income. The company believes that EBITDA is a useful tool for managing the operations of its business and is an indicator of the company's ability to incur and service indebtedness and generate free cash flow. The company also believes that EBITDA measures are commonly reported and widely used by investors and other interested parties as measures of a company's operating performance and debt servicing ability because EBITDA measures assist in comparing performance on a consistent basis without regard to depreciation or amortization, which can vary significantly depending upon accounting methods and non-operating factors (such as historical cost). EBITDA is also a widely-accepted financial indicator of a company's ability to incur and service indebtedness.

EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to (a) income from operations or net income (loss) as a measure of operating performance; (b) cash flows provided by operating, investing and financing activities (as determined in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of the company's ability to meet its cash needs; or (c) any other indicator of performance or liquidity that has been determined in accordance with GAAP.

The company defines adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, adjusted income tax expense and adjusted SD&A, respectively, to exclude additional costs that the company considers important to present to investors to increase the investors' insights about the company's core operations. These costs include, but are not limited to, the costs of closing a plant or costs associated with acquisition and integration-related activities, restructuring activities, certain impairment charges, legal settlements, costs to implement an enterprise resource planning system and enhance bakery digital capabilities (business process improvement costs) to provide investors direct insight into these costs, and other costs impacting past and future comparability. The company believes that these measures, when considered together with its GAAP financial results, provide management and investors with a more complete understanding of its business operating results, including underlying trends, by excluding the effects of certain charges. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a performance measure in the company's incentive compensation program.

Presentation of gross margin includes depreciation and amortization in the materials, supplies, labor and other production costs according to GAAP. Our method of presenting gross margin excludes the depreciation and amortization components, as discussed above.

The reconciliations attached provide reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures used in this release to the most comparable GAAP financial measure.

Flowers Foods, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(000's omitted)

July 18, 2026

January 3, 2026

Assets

Cash and cash equivalents

$

52,766

$

12,100

Other current assets

712,002

694,753

Property, plant and equipment, net

926,854

952,725

Right-of-use leases, net

309,305

321,116

Distributor notes receivable (1)

129,910

130,723

Other assets

42,410

40,007

Cost in excess of net tangible assets, net

2,012,595

2,032,437

Total assets

$

4,185,842

$

4,183,861

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

Current liabilities

$

543,163

$

502,804

Long-term debt (2)

1,686,246

1,755,132

Right-of-use lease liabilities (3)

317,102

325,075

Other liabilities

315,830

297,363

Stockholders' equity

1,323,501

1,303,487

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

4,185,842

$

4,183,861

(1)  Includes current portion of $21,577 and $22,241, respectively. 

(2)  Includes current portion of $399,885 and $399,575, respectively. 

(3)  Includes current portion of $75,162 and $73,778, respectively.

Flowers Foods, Inc.

Consolidated Statement of Operations

(000's omitted, except per share data)

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

Net sales

$

1,192,935

$

1,242,835

$

2,764,512

$

2,797,065

Materials, supplies, labor and other production costs (exclusive of
   depreciation and amortization shown separately below)

615,005

636,060

1,410,394

1,414,406

Selling, distribution, and administrative expenses

473,185

473,537

1,116,119

1,107,050

Restructuring charges

—

—

1,652

573

Plant closure costs and impairment of assets

—

—

—

7,397

Recovery on inferior ingredients

(1,963)

—

(1,963)

—

Depreciation and amortization expense

38,579

39,826

90,369

89,094

Income from operations

68,129

93,412

147,941

178,545

Other pension cost (benefit)

88

(88)

206

(205)

Interest expense, net

13,787

15,036

33,421

29,084

Income before income taxes

54,254

78,464

114,314

149,666

Income tax expense

13,598

20,099

31,603

38,303

Net income

$

40,656

$

58,365

$

82,711

$

111,363

Net income per diluted common share

$

0.19

$

0.28

$

0.39

$

0.53

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

212,493

211,991

212,545

212,084

Flowers Foods, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

(000's omitted)

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income

$

40,656

$

58,365

$

82,711

$

111,363

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating
   activities:

   Total non-cash adjustments

53,018

74,705

139,506

151,840

   Changes in assets and liabilities

40,014

(2,241)

19,328

3,260

Net cash provided by operating activities

133,688

130,829

241,545

266,463

Cash flows from investing activities:

   Purchase of property, plant and equipment

(23,853)

(30,810)

(44,476)

(56,366)

   Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired

—

—

—

(791,880)

   Other

(1,274)

(4,563)

(284)

(23,141)

Net cash disbursed for investing activities

(25,127)

(35,373)

(44,760)

(871,387)

Cash flows from financing activities:

   Dividends paid

(26,594)

(52,449)

(81,024)

(104,772)

   Stock repurchases

(37)

—

(3,824)

(5,499)

   Net change in debt borrowings

(38,000)

(41,700)

(70,000)

734,880

   Payment of financing fees

(289)

(64)

(2,056)

(10,120)

   Other

(2,394)

2,462

785

(3,525)

Net cash (disbursed for) provided by financing activities

(67,314)

(91,751)

(156,119)

610,964

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

41,247

3,705

40,666

6,040

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

11,519

7,340

12,100

5,005

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

$

52,766

$

11,045

$

52,766

$

11,045

Flowers Foods, Inc.

Net Sales by Sales Class and Net Sales Bridge

(000's omitted)

Net Sales by Sales Class

For the 12-Week Period
Ended

For the 12-Week Period
Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

$ Change

% Change

Branded Retail

$

794,642

$

826,364

$

(31,722)

(3.8)

%

Other

398,293

416,471

(18,178)

(4.4)

%

Total Net Sales

$

1,192,935

$

1,242,835

$

(49,900)

(4.0)

%

For the 28-Week Period
Ended

For the 28-Week Period
Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

$ Change

% Change

Branded Retail

$

1,839,860

$

1,837,551

$

2,309

0.1

%

Other

924,652

959,514

(34,862)

(3.6)

%

Total Net Sales

$

2,764,512

$

2,797,065

$

(32,553)

(1.2)

%

Net Sales Bridge

For the 12-week period ended July 18, 2026

Branded Retail

Other

Total

Pricing/mix^*

3.8

%

(1.0)

%

1.8

%

Volume*

(7.6)

%

(3.4)

%

(5.8)

%

Total percentage point change in net sales

(3.8)

%

(4.4)

%

(4.0)

%

For the 28-week period ended July 18, 2026

Branded Retail

Other

Total

Pricing/mix^*

3.9

%

(1.0)

%

1.9

%

Volume*

(5.8)

%

(2.6)

%

(4.4)

%

Acquisition (until cycled on February 21, 2026)

2.0

%

—

1.3

%

Total percentage point change in net sales

0.1

%

(3.6)

%

(1.2)

%

The table above presents certain sales by category that have been reclassified from amounts previously reported to conform to the current period
presentation.

^ Includes sales reductions from variable consideration and payments to customers.

* Computations above are calculated as follows (the Total column is consolidated and is not adding the Branded Retail and Other columns):

      Price/Mix $ = Current year period units × change in price per unit

      Price/Mix % = Price/Mix $ ÷ Prior year period Net Sales $

      Volume $ = Prior year period price per unit × change in units

      Volume % = Volume $ ÷ Prior year period Net Sales $

Flowers Foods, Inc.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

(000's omitted, except per share data)

Reconciliation of Earnings per Share to Adjusted Earnings per Share

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

Net income per diluted common share

$

0.19

$

0.28

$

0.39

$

0.53

Business process improvement costs

NM

NM

0.01

NM

Plant closure costs and impairment of assets

—

—

—

0.03

Restructuring charges

—

—

0.01

NM

Restructuring-related implementation costs

0.02

0.01

0.05

0.03

Acquisition and integration-related costs

—

0.01

(a)

NM

(a)

0.06

Legal settlements and related costs

—

NM

0.05

NM

Recovery on inferior ingredients

(0.01)

—

(0.01)

—

Adjusted net income per diluted common share

$

0.21

$

0.30

$

0.49

$

0.65

NM - not meaningful.

Certain amounts may not add due to rounding.

(a) Includes the reclassification of costs between deductible and non-deductible for income tax purposes for certain acquisition-related costs from
the prior period.

Reconciliation of Gross Margin

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

Net sales

$

1,192,935

$

1,242,835

$

2,764,512

$

2,797,065

Materials, supplies, labor and other production costs (exclusive
   of depreciation and amortization)

615,005

636,060

1,410,394

1,414,406

Gross margin excluding depreciation and amortization

577,930

606,775

1,354,118

1,382,659

Less depreciation and amortization for production activities

21,910

21,072

50,871

48,555

Gross margin

$

556,020

$

585,703

$

1,303,247

$

1,334,104

Depreciation and amortization for production activities

$

21,910

$

21,072

$

50,871

$

48,555

Depreciation and amortization for selling, distribution, and
   administrative activities

16,669

18,754

39,498

40,539

Total depreciation and amortization

$

38,579

$

39,826

$

90,369

$

89,094

Reconciliation of Selling, Distribution, and Administrative Expenses to Adjusted SD&A

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

Selling, distribution, and administrative expenses
   (SD&A)

$

473,185

$

473,537

$

1,116,119

$

1,107,050

Business process improvement costs

(1,010)

(471)

(2,251)

(1,362)

Restructuring-related implementation costs

(5,545)

(2,896)

(13,772)

(7,184)

Acquisition and integration-related costs

—

(871)

(1,897)

(14,635)

Legal settlements and related costs

—

(205)

(14,400)

(902)

Adjusted SD&A

$

466,630

$

469,094

$

1,083,799

$

1,082,967

Flowers Foods, Inc.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

(000's omitted, except per share data)

Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

Net income

$

40,656

$

58,365

$

82,711

$

111,363

Income tax expense

13,598

20,099

31,603

38,303

Interest expense, net

13,787

15,036

33,421

29,084

Depreciation and amortization

38,579

39,826

90,369

89,094

EBITDA

106,620

133,326

238,104

267,844

Other pension cost (benefit)

88

(88)

206

(205)

Business process improvement costs

1,010

471

2,251

1,362

Plant closure costs and impairment of assets

—

—

—

7,397

Restructuring charges

—

—

1,652

573

Restructuring-related implementation costs

5,545

2,896

13,772

7,184

Acquisition and integration-related costs

—

871

1,897

14,635

Legal settlements and related costs

—

205

14,400

902

Recovery on inferior ingredients

(1,963)

—

(1,963)

—

Adjusted EBITDA

$

111,300

$

137,681

$

270,319

$

299,692

Net sales

$

1,192,935

$

1,242,835

$

2,764,512

$

2,797,065

Adjusted EBITDA margin

9.3

%

11.1

%

9.8

%

10.7

%

Reconciliation of Income Tax Expense to Adjusted Income Tax Expense

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

Income tax expense

$

13,598

$

20,099

$

31,603

$

38,303

Tax impact of:

Business process improvement costs

253

118

563

341

Plant closure costs and impairment of assets

—

—

—

1,850

Restructuring charges

—

—

413

144

Restructuring-related implementation costs

1,386

724

3,443

1,796

Acquisition and integration-related costs

—

(1,510)

(a)

2,214

(a)

1,929

Legal settlements and related costs

—

52

3,600

226

Recovery on inferior ingredients

(491)

—

(491)

—

Adjusted income tax expense

$

14,746

$

19,483

$

41,345

$

44,589

(a) Includes the reclassification of costs between deductible and non-deductible for income tax purposes for certain acquisition-related costs from the prior period.

Flowers Foods, Inc.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

(000's omitted, except per share data)

Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted Net Income

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 12-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

For the 28-Week
Period Ended

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

July 18, 2026

July 12, 2025

Net income

$

40,656

$

58,365

$

82,711

$

111,363

Business process improvement costs

757

353

1,688

1,021

Plant closure costs and impairment of assets

—

—

—

5,547

Restructuring charges

—

—

1,239

429

Restructuring-related implementation costs

4,159

2,172

10,329

5,388

Impairment of intangible assets

—

—

—

—

Acquisition and integration-related costs

—

2,381

 (a)

(317)

 (a)

12,706

Legal settlements and related costs

—

153

10,800

676

Recovery on inferior ingredients

(1,472)

—

(1,472)

—

Adjusted net income

$

44,100

$

63,424

$

104,978

$

137,130

(a) Includes the reclassification of costs between deductible and non-deductible for income tax purposes for certain acquisition-related costs from
the prior period.

Reconciliation of Earnings per Share -
Full Year Fiscal 2026 Guidance

Range Estimate

Net income per diluted common share

$

0.64

to

$

0.74

Business process improvement costs

0.01

0.01

Restructuring charges

0.01

0.01

Restructuring-related implementation costs

0.05

0.05

Acquisition and integration-related costs

NM

NM

Legal settlements and related costs

0.05

0.05

Recovery on inferior ingredients

(0.01)

(0.01)

Adjusted net income per diluted common share

$

0.75

to

$

0.85

NM - not meaningful.

Certain amounts may not add due to rounding.

SOURCE Flowers Foods, Inc.

 | Source: LPL Financial Holdings, Inc.

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA) (the “Company”) today released its monthly activity report for July 2026.

Total client assets at the end of July were $2.55 trillion, a decrease of $16.1 billion, or 0.6%, compared to the end of June. Advisory assets as a percentage of total assets increased to 60.6%, up from 55.5% a year ago.

Total organic net new assets (“NNA”) for July were $7.4 billion, translating to a 3.5% annualized growth rate.

Total client cash balances at the end of July were $54.3 billion, a decrease of $2.6 billion compared to the end of June. Net buying in July was $14.7 billion.

(End of period $ in billions, unless noted)July June Change July Change 2026 2026 M/M 2025 Y/Y Client Assets     Advisory1,544.2 1,548.4         (0.3%)1,077.0         43.4%Brokerage1,002.4 1,014.3         (1.2%)862.4         16.2%Total Client Assets2,546.6 2,562.7         (0.6%)1,939.4         31.3%      Organic NNA     Advisory10.2 13.3 n/m 7.5 n/m Brokerage(2.8)(2.0)n/m (2.0)n/m Total Organic NNA7.4 11.3 n/m 5.4 n/m       Acquired NNA     Advisory0.0 0.5 n/m 0.0 n/m Brokerage0.0 0.0 n/m 0.0 n/m Total Acquired NNA0.0 0.5 n/m 0.0 n/m       Total NNA     Advisory10.2 13.8 n/m 7.5 n/m Brokerage(2.8)(2.0)n/m (2.0)n/m Total NNA7.4 11.8 n/m 5.5 n/m       Net brokerage to advisory conversions1.9 2.3 n/m 2.4 n/m       Client Cash Balances     Insured cash account sweep36.8 38.4         (4.2%)33.7         9.2%Deposit cash account sweep15.0 15.6         (3.8%)10.8         38.9%Total Bank Sweep51.8 54.1         (4.3%)44.4         16.7%Money market sweep1.1 1.1         — %3.4         (67.6%)Total Client Cash Sweep Held by Third Parties52.8 55.2         (4.3%)47.9         10.2%Client cash account1.5 1.7         (11.8%)1.6         (6.3%)Total Client Cash Balances54.3 56.9         (4.6%)49.5         9.7%      Net buy (sell) activity14.7 13.1 n/m 13.7 n/m             Market Drivers     S&P 500 Index (end of period)7,490 7,499         (0.1%)6,339         18.2%Russell 2000 Index (end of period)2,931 3,024         (3.1%)2,212         32.5%Fed Funds daily effective rate (average bps)363 363         —%433         (16.2%)       For additional information regarding these and other Company business metrics, please refer to the Company’s most recent earnings announcement, which is available in the quarterly results section of investor.lpl.com.

Contacts

Investor Relations
[email protected]

Media Relations
[email protected]

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA) is among the fastest growing wealth management firms in the U.S. As a leader in the financial advisor-mediated marketplace, LPL supports more than 32,000 financial advisors and the wealth management practices of approximately 1,100 financial institutions, servicing and custodying approximately $2.6 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets on behalf of approximately 8 million Americans. The firm provides a wide range of advisor affiliation models, investment solutions, fintech tools and practice management services, ensuring that advisors and institutions have the flexibility to choose the business model, services, and technology resources they need to run thriving businesses. For further information about LPL, please visit www.lpl.com.

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial LLC (“LPL Financial”) and LPL Enterprise, LLC (“LPL Enterprise”), both registered investment advisers and broker-dealers. Members FINRA/SIPC.

Throughout this communication, the terms “financial advisors” and “advisors” are used to refer to registered representatives and/or investment advisor representatives affiliated with LPL Financial or LPL Enterprise.

We routinely disclose information that may be important to shareholders in the “Investor Relations” or “Press Releases” section of our website.

Key Takeaways Darling Ingredients' core ingredients adjusted EBITDA rose to $352.5M in Q2 from $206.9M a year earlier.Darling's DGD adjusted EBITDA share jumped to $389.2M, with EBITDA per gallon sold rising to $2.23.DAR's 2026 earnings estimate rose 55.1% in four weeks, while capacity and higher costs remain key offsets. Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (DAR - Free Report) have gained 12.8% in the past week, putting the durability of the move in focus. The rally is backed by a sharp improvement in core ingredients profitability and much stronger renewable-fuel economics.

Estimate revisions have also moved decisively higher. The question now is whether Darling can sustain those earnings drivers as capacity constraints, higher costs and a weaker momentum signal create offsets.

DAR's Core Earnings Base Looks StrongerCore ingredients adjusted EBITDA climbed to $352.5 million in the second quarter of 2026 from $206.9 million a year earlier. Contract management, commercial optimization, price-risk management and operating efficiencies are helping Darling extract more earnings from its existing asset base.

Management expects third-quarter core ingredients adjusted EBITDA of $325-$340 million. Excluding the second-quarter tariff recovery in Food, that outlook implies underlying earnings generally consistent with the elevated second-quarter level, supporting the case for a more durable core earnings base.

Darling's DGD Economics Add Another Earnings LiftDarling's share of Diamond Green Diesel adjusted EBITDA surged to $389.2 million from $42.6 million a year earlier. EBITDA per gallon sold rose to $2.23 from 34 cents, helped by higher Renewable Identification Number values, diesel prices, production tax credits and about $50.5 million of tariff recovery at the DGD entity level.

Valero Energy Corporation (VLO - Free Report) , Darling's partner in Diamond Green Diesel, also has direct exposure to the venture's renewable-diesel economics. Bunge Global SA (BG - Free Report) is relevant on the feedstock side, with its renewable-fuels partnerships and oilseed processing network positioning it in the same policy-driven demand chain.

DAR's Estimate Revisions Support the RallyThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has risen 55.1% in the past four weeks and 53.6% over the past 12 weeks. That magnitude of upward revision gives the recent stock-price advance a clearer earnings foundation.

Darling reported second-quarter earnings of $2.41 per share, compared with 8 cents a year earlier, and topped the consensus mark of $1.45. Continued estimate support will depend on core-margin execution and renewable-fuel economics holding up through the balance of the year.

Darling Still Faces Capacity and Cost PressureFeed raw material processed remained at 3.1 million metric tons in the second quarter, unchanged from both a year earlier and the first quarter. Darling is out of rendering capacity in Brazil, while faster U.S. poultry line speeds could put additional pressure on its processing network.

Selling, general and administrative expenses rose to $151 million from $138.1 million a year earlier, while acquisition and integration costs increased to $13.2 million from $3.4 million. If commodity prices or DGD margins retreat, those costs could limit operating leverage and cash conversion.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

DAR's Ratings Mix Supports Cautious OptimismDAR's 12.8% weekly rally has a solid earnings foundation, but continuation is not assured. Stronger core earnings, favorable DGD economics and sharply higher estimates are constructive, while throughput constraints and a higher expense base leave less room for weaker pricing or renewable-fuel margins.

DAR currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). It also has a VGM Score of A, Growth Score of A and Value Score of B, while its Momentum Score of D is the weaker signal. The favorable Rank and broader Style Score mix support the earnings case, but the Momentum Score argues for a measured view after the rapid weekly advance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.