SummaryCompaniesSpaceX plans to start building 8-mile pipeline next monthProject would fuel more launches of Starship moon rocketPipeline is part of sprawling SpaceX gas plans in TexasWASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - SpaceX (SPCX.O), opens new tab plans to begin next month building an eight‑mile (13-km) natural gas pipeline called "Starpipe" to its Texas launch facilities, according to county filings, as Elon Musk’s company seeks to ramp up launches of its next‑generation Starship rocket.
Starpipe, which will end at SpaceX’s Texas company town of Starbase, is expected to be in service by January 26, according to a document filed last month with the Texas Railroad Commission by SpaceX affiliate Lone Star Mineral Development and reviewed by Reuters.
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The pipeline plan, previously reported by Rio Grande Valley Business Journal, signals Musk's intent to accelerate Starship's development and lay the groundwork for a faster flight rate. The 40‑story rocket is central to SpaceX’s push to expand its Starlink broadband network, deploy orbital AI data center satellites, and eventually carry astronauts to the moon and Mars.
Designed to be fully reusable, Starship uses about 630,000 gallons (2.4 million liters) of liquid methane per launch, currently delivered by hundreds of tanker trucks in an hours-long process incompatible with Musk's expansion plans. Starship has completed 12 test launches since 2023, but Musk aims to ramp up to dozens, hundreds and eventually thousands of launches a year.
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.
SPACEX'S BIG GAS PLANSThough it is unusual for a space company to build its own natural gas pipeline for launchpad fuel, Starpipe might only be an initial step in a longer-term plan for SpaceX, which has spent years exploring its own drilling operations near Starbase and throughout Texas, according to a Reuters review of Cameron County land records.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told CNBC on June 12, when the company went public, that the company planned to build pipelines and process its own propellant, and was looking into drilling its own natural gas.
Extracting natural gas would be a challenging pursuit for a company with no oil and gas experience, said Stan Lindsey, an oil and gas consultant in Texas.
“I’m not saying it's beyond the realm of possibility … it’s possible they got a really nice prospect," Lindsey said. But if those drilling plans fall short, he added, “they’ve got a fallback position” with Starpipe.
SpaceX has signed over 100 paid-up oil and gas leases with Texas property owners since 2023, the land records show.
Starpipe would begin on an 83-acre (34-hectare) piece of land at the Port of Brownsville that SpaceX is in talks to lease from the city for 50 years, a port official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are private.
Engineering plans SpaceX filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, included in a public notice issued last August, show SpaceX wants to build a liquefaction facility at Starbase to process the piped-in natural gas into liquid methane.
"Certainly that would make the most efficient sense," said William Farrar, a longtime oil and gas lawyer in Texas and geoscientist.
The company could tap into Enbridge's Valley Crossing Pipeline expansion project that would run close to Starpipe's start point, Lindsey said.
Enbridge did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SPACEX WANTS TO OWN SUPPLY CHAINSpaceX's move into gas infrastructure, typically the domain of energy and pipeline firms, underscores its longstanding strategy of controlling as much of its supply chain as possible, a capital‑intensive approach that has helped the company outpace rivals in rocket and spacecraft development.
The effort positions SpaceX to manage an unusually broad chain of resources, stretching from natural gas deep beneath Earth's surface to the moon, where Musk wants to use lunar material for AI‑focused satellite production, an ambitious and untested goal.
The pipeline’s 16‑inch (406-mm) diameter suggests fuel demand exceeding what Starship would require for 25 launches, the annual cadence currently approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.
SpaceX ultimately aims to deploy thousands of solar‑powered, AI‑focused satellites whose combined energy output could approach one-fifth of the U.S. power grid, according to its initial public offering prospectus.
Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Joe Brock and Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Joey Roulette is a space reporter for Reuters covering the business and politics of the global space industry, often focusing on space power competition and how commercial interests intersect with international relations. He was part of a team that won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in national reporting for Reuters' coverage of Elon Musk's business empire. On the space beat for roughly a decade, Joey previously worked for the New York Times, the Verge, and various publications in Florida.
HomeIndustriesAerospace/DefenseInvestors seem to be having second thoughts about the lofty valuations in the sector, an analyst saysPublished: June 25, 2026 at 3:28 p.m. ET
Stocks in the space sector are deepening their declines on Thursday as the SpaceX halo fades further.
At least four space stocks — the space-exploration firm Virgin Galactic SPCE, satellite firm Redwire RDW, space-infrastructure firm Intuitive Machines LUNR and the in-space transit company Momentus MNTS — have recorded 50% drops so far in June, based on FactSet data. Several others, including Planet Labs PL and Firefly Aerospace FLY, are down 40% or more for the month as of Thursday afternoon.
Apple raised prices of Macs, iPads, home devices, and the Vision Pro to offset cost hikes caused by a shortage of memory chips and storage. Bloomberg's consumer tech lead Mark Gurman joins Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech.
The prices of iPads and MacBooks are rising by 15% to 25%. Companies that make storage products are focused on lucrative data center contracts rather than consumer products.
ToplineApple’s stock plunged on Thursday after the tech giant announced price hikes for laptops and tablets, following a warning from CEO Tim Cook that the increases were “unavoidable” as an AI surge fueled higher memory and storage costs.
Customers try out Apple's MacBook Neo laptops.
VCG via Getty Images
Key FactsShares of Apple dropped by 5.3% to around $277 as of Thursday afternoon, paring back earlier losses of up to 6%, lowering its market value by roughly $275 billion to just over $4 trillion.
The slide moves Apple below Alphabet ($4.1 trillion) as the third-largest company in the world by market capitalization, with the Google parent ranked behind Nvidia ($4.7 trillion).
The price changes spiked the starting cost of the MacBook Pro 1T, the cheapest MacBook Pro, to $1,999 from $1,699—the largest increase of any single product.
The MacBook Neo—the company's cheapest laptop—went up in price from $599 to $699 and the cheapest MacBook Air, the 512GB, went from $1099 to $1,299.
The cost of some iPads also spiked significantly—the iPad Air 128GB now starts at $749 (up from $599) and the iPad Pro Wifi 256GB increased from $999 to $1,199.
Cook earlier this month warned that soaring costs of memory and storage chips would be passed along to the consumer and, on Thursday, the company called the surge in demand unprecedented: "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.”
CRUCIAL QUOTE“This is a hundred-year flood,” Cook told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month. “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years.”
WHAT TO WATCH FORHow much the next iPhone costs. Apple’s next run of phones—the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and the rumored foldable iPhone Fold/Ultra—are expected to be unveiled in September. Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC he estimates the higher chip costs will mean price increases for iPhones of about $150 to $200 per phone, and the company on Thursday left the door open for more hikes when it said the chip crisis has “reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products.”
TANGENTApple isn't the only company raising its tech prices. Nintendo told customers its flagship console will cost $50 more come September, and Sony and Microsoft also recently hiked the cost of their PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Lenovo has upped its PC and server pricing, and Dell and HP have also raised their laptop prices.
Key backgroundThe surge in demand for memory chips for AI data centers has put a strain on the supply left for consumer products. Sassine Ghazi, CEO of Synopsys, a semiconductor company, told CNBC much of the world’s memory chip supply is “going directly to AI infrastructure, but many other products need memory,” which has left other industries “starved.” Memory contract prices surged 80% to 90% in the first quarter of 2026 alone, according to Counterpoint Research, after shooting up 50% in the last quarter of 2025. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley predict the undersupply of chips will persist and keep memory prices heavily inflated through at least 2027.
ForbesHow AI Is Driving Up The Costs Of Phones, Games And ComputersBy Conor MurrayForbesAI’s Hidden Cost: The Global Memory Shortage Threat To Affordable TechBy Tim Bajarin
ForbesThe World’s Largest Tech Companies: Memory Chips Skyrocket Amid AI Data Center BuildoutBy Rashi Shrivastava
Investors are certainly familiar with just how profitable Apple (AAPL 5.56%) is. Its reported net income margin in the fiscal 2026 second quarter (ended March 28) was a fantastic 26.6%. Pricing power and brand loyalty help drive bottom-line performance.
This kind of financial strength has allowed the business to take care of its shareholders. To be more specific, there are 850 billion reasons (and counting) why investors love Apple stock.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Apple started its capital returns program in 2012. Since then, the business has repurchased $851 billion worth of shares, a truly massive figure that exceeds the current market capitalizations of all but 18 publicly traded companies.
On April 30, Apple added $100 billion in capacity for additional stock buybacks. This adds to the $64 billion remaining on its prior authorization. In total, this means it won't be long until Apple eclipses $1 trillion in cumulative share repurchases.
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All else equal, buybacks introduce a tailwind to earnings per share (EPS) because they reduce the number of shares outstanding. In the past decade, Apple's diluted EPS has risen at a compound annual rate of 15.5%. During that time, the diluted outstanding share count shrank by about 33%.
Apple's stock price has soared 1,140% in the last 10 years (as of June 23). Investors should credit some of this performance to the leadership team's capital allocation policy.
Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
HomeEconomy & PoliticsEconomic OutlookEconomic OutlookOil prices aren’t the only contributor to high inflationPublished: June 25, 2026 at 3:10 p.m. ET
Apple is raising prices in another sign of persistent inflation. Photo: Getty ImagesGas is getting cheaper, but Apple is raising prices. Which one tell us more about the persistence of inflation?
Probably the higher cost of buying an iPhone or Macbook.
Key Takeaways Meta Platforms posted 33% year-over-year revenue growth to $56.3 billion, aided by AI engagement. META saw Reels watch time rise 10%, while AI-translated videos reach 500M weekly viewers. Meta Platforms expects Q2 2026 revenues of $58B-$61B as it expands AI infrastructure. Meta Platform (META - Free Report) is benefiting from its accelerating growth into artificial intelligence (AI), which is driving significant top-line growth and positioning the company for further upside.
META’s release of the Muse family of models and the upgraded Meta AI assistant has positioned the company as a leader in personal superintelligence, with billions of users now accessing these AI-powered features. This surge in AI-driven engagement is translating directly into top-line growth, as evidenced by a 33% year-over-year increase in total revenues to $56.3 billion for the first quarter of 2026.
The company’s focus on integrating AI into its platforms, which includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads, is driving user as well as advertising engagements. AI is heavily dependent on data, of which META has a trove, driven by its more than 3.56 billion daily users. Meta Platforms continues to see strong engagement trends with Instagram Reels, where watch time increased by 10% and Facebook video time increased by 8% globally in the first quarter of 2026. AI-translated videos are now watched weekly by more than 500 million users on Facebook and Instagram. Threads continue to grow with more than 500 million monthly active users.
Meta Platforms’ generative AI advertising tools are gaining strong traction, with more than 8 million advertisers using at least one GenAI ad creative tool in the first quarter of 2026. Video generation tools improved conversion rates by more than 3% while adoption among small and medium businesses has been particularly strong.
Meta Platforms is spending heavily on expanding AI infrastructure, which is expected to benefit the company’s top-line growth. For the second quarter of 2026, the company expects total revenues between $58 billion and $61 billion.
META Faces Stiff CompetitionMeta Platforms is facing stiff competition from competitors like Snap (SNAP - Free Report) and Reddit (RDDT - Free Report) . Both Snap and Reddit are expanding their portfolio in the AI space.
Reddit’s investments in artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools remain noteworthy. The launch and adoption of Reddit Max, an automated, AI-powered campaign tool, enabled advertisers to achieve a 17% reduction in cost per action and a 25% increase in conversion rate in the first quarter of 2026. About 50% of Max campaign advertisers now use AI-powered creative features, and brands like Cozy have reported a 35% higher ROAS and a 28% lower cost per acquisition with these tools.
Snap has reached 956 million monthly active users and 483 million daily active users in the first quarter of 2026, driven by the continued adoption of Augmented Reality Lenses, Spotlight and AI-powered features. Key growth drivers include its AI-powered automation solutions, AI Sponsored Snaps, Sponsored Snaps, Promoted Places, Dynamic Product Ads and subscription offerings, including Snapchat+, Memories Storage and Lens+.
META’s Share Price Performance, Valuation, and EstimatesMETA’s shares have lost 15.6% in the year-to-date period, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s return of 14.9%.
META Stock Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
META shares are overvalued, with a forward 12-month Price/Sales of 5.09X compared with the Internet - Software’s 3.54X. META has a Value Score of C.
META Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $33.01 per share, which has increased by a penny over the past 30 days. This suggests 40.53% year-over-year growth.
Meta Platforms currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) has been one of 2026’s most-debated stocks, swinging between SpaceX-merger fever and valuation skepticism. After running the numbers, our 24/7 Wall St. price target lands almost exactly where shares trade today, with a modest single-digit upside that earns a buy rating but stops well short of a table-pounding call.
Tesla closed at $375.53 on June 24, 2026. Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Tesla is $404.94, implying 7.83% upside over the next 12 months. We rate the stock a buy with high confidence, but call this a fair-value setup rather than a deep discount.
24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $375.53 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $404.94 Upside 7.83% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% A Rough Six Months Sets the Stage Tesla has cooled meaningfully in 2026. Shares are down 16.5% year to date, off 11.85% over the past month, and sit roughly 16% below the $498.83 52-week high (low of $288.77).
Yet fundamentals are improving. Q1 2026 delivered $22.39 billion in revenue, up 15.8% YoY, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.41 beating consensus by 17.78%. Automotive gross margin expanded to 21.1% from 16.2%, FCF climbed 117.47% to $1.44 billion, and active FSD subscriptions hit 1.28 million, up 51% YoY.
The Case for $475 and Beyond Bulls have a real story. Management committed to over $25 billion in 2026 CapEx to fund Cybercab, Tesla Semi, Megapack 3, the Optimus ramp, AI5 silicon, and the new semiconductor research fab in Austin. CFO Vaibhav Taneja called it the “right strategy to position the company for the next era.” Barclays has an equal weight rating on the shares with a $360 price target.
Elon Musk argued Optimus could be “the biggest product ever” and guided unsupervised FSD for customer cars by Q4 2026. Wall Street’s average analyst target sits at $421.16, with 23 Buy ratings against 7 Sells. Our bull-case scenario gets shares to $475.30, a 26.57% return, if Cybercab, Robotaxi expansion, and Optimus convert the AI narrative into revenue.
What Could Go Wrong The bear case starts with valuation. Tesla trades at a 344 trailing P/E and 192 forward P/E, with a PEG of 5.45. Energy revenue fell 12% YoY, opex jumped 37%, and management openly guided for negative free cash flow the rest of 2026. Insider direction is net selling on 49 recent transactions.
Counterfactually, the opex spike reflects AI5 chip development and the CEO award SBC, both arguably investments in long-duration optionality rather than operating decay. Still, our bear scenario maps to $354.33, a 5.65% drawdown.
The Bottom Line: A Fair-Value BUY My 24/7 Wall St. price target of $404.94 reflects a stock priced almost exactly where the fundamentals justify, with our 247Factor providing the tiebreaker. The bull thesis depends on Cybercab volume production and FSD revenue inflecting in late 2026 as guided.
The bear case hinges on the $25 billion CapEx cycle pressuring margins faster than AI revenue can offset. With 90% confidence, this is a modest buy, not a conviction call.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $404.94 2027 $430.45 2028 $457.55 2029 $483.20 2030 $509.74 These projections assume Tesla executes the Cybercab, Optimus, and FSD roadmap on management’s timeline. Significant upside or downside could come from China FSD approval, the SpaceX equity relationship, or a sharper-than-expected demand softness in the core auto business.
Key Takeaways Uber added Kiehl's, FedEx Office, Blick, Academy Sports Outdoors and Choice Pet to Uber Eats.Uber Eats is expanding beyond food delivery into retail categories covering everyday consumer needs.Uber One members get no Delivery Fee on eligible retail orders and other ongoing benefits. In line with the efforts to expand its food delivery business, Uber Technologies (UBER - Free Report) announced the inclusion of multiple new retailers to the Uber Eats marketplace, aimed at expanding its retail selection availability for on-demand delivery. The new retailers include Kiehl’s, FedEx Office, Blick Art Materials, Academy Sports + Outdoors and Choice Pet, all of which can be accessed through the Uber Eats, Uber and Postmates apps.
Uber Eats, the online food ordering and delivery platform of Uber, is expanding beyond its patent food delivery business and offering a vast marketplace which covers everyday needs such as skincare, shipping supplies, art materials, sporting goods and pet supplies. This will allow consumers to browse and order from thousands of participating stores nationwide, with delivery available on demand or as scheduled.
Uber One members are entitled to enjoy no Delivery Fee on eligible retail orders and other ongoing benefits.
Uber has already added various retail locations across the United States, strengthening its position as a multi-category delivery platform.
Last year, Uber inked a deal with retailer Best Buy (BBY - Free Report) for on-demand delivery. The deal brought consumer electronics from more than 800 stores to the Uber Eats platform. Uber Eats is the online food ordering and delivery platform of the company. Following the tie-up, Best Buy customers throughout the United States are eligible to order a wide range of electronics, appliances and tech essentials on Uber Eats for delivery to their doorsteps.
Apart from the deal with Best Buy, Uber’s agreements with discount retailers Dollar General (DG - Free Report) and Dollar Tree (DLTR - Free Report) were also on the same customer-friendly lines. The tie-up with Dollar General ensured that its more than 14,000 locations arrived on the Uber Eats platform. Following the association with Dollar General, customers are using the Uber Eats app to order food, beverages and other essentials.
The deal with Dollar Tree has also enhanced UBER’s retail delivery capabilities by adding nearly 9,000 stores to the Uber Eats platform. The partnership with Dollar Tree ensures that customers across states can easily access affordable items of everyday use, ranging from party supplies to cosmetics and home essentials for on-demand delivery.
UBER’s Share Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of UBER have gained in single digits over the past three months. Despite the upbeat performance, UBER’s shares have underperformed the Zacks Internet-Services industry over the same time frame.
3- Month Price Comparison Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, UBER trades at a 12-month forward price-to-sales of 2.42X. UBER is inexpensive compared with its industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for full-year 2026 earnings has declined in the past 60 days while the same for full-year 2027 has gained in the same time frame.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
UBER's Zacks RankUBER currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL 0.62%) (GOOG 1.15%) took a hit to start the week after it was revealed that the company had recently lost some high-profile employees. Last week, the co-lead on its Gemini models, Noam Shazeer, announced he was leaving to join OpenAI. And then DeepMind's vice president and Nobel Prize winner, John Jumper, said he was heading to Anthropic.
The loss of AI talent to rivals isn't a positive, but it doesn't remove the advantages that Alphabet has created. That is why the price dip could be a great investing opportunity.
The AI model and chip advantage Alphabet's biggest edge is that it is the most complete AI company with world-class models and AI accelerator chips. By having its own models, the company can capture more AI revenue streams within its Google Cloud segment, and it is using Gemini to help add features and fuel growth with its consumer businesses, including Google Search.
The company's Gemini models are very good, but on the consumer side, the company doesn't even necessarily need the best model, especially in certain areas like coding. Its distribution -- through the ownership of Chrome, Android, and a revenue-sharing deal on search with Apple -- give it a big edge, while its ad network lets it monetize consumer AI better than anyone else.
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That said, Alphabet's biggest edge isn't its models, which are very good, but its chips. Management smartly developed its proprietary tensor processing units (TPUs) more than a decade ago and optimized its entire hardware and software stack around them.
This lets it train its models and run inference at a much lower cost than rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. Employees moving to those rivals after being involved with its AI models doesn't lessen that advantage.
This is also Alphabet's biggest growth driver. Its cloud computing business is booming, and by being able to offer its TPU infrastructure services to its customers, it captures higher margins. It is also set to sell some of its chips outside of Google Cloud to Anthropic, which opens up another high-margin revenue stream for the company.
Image source: The Motley Fool
Time to buy the stock Being a leader in both AI models and chips should position Alphabet to be one of the dominant AI players over the next decade. The loss of a few highly talented employees isn't going to change that. This makes this recent sell-off a great buying opportunity, with the stock trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just above 24 times.
That's a bargain for what looks set to be a top AI stock over the long term.
Two leading AI researchers at Google are planning to leave for rival Anthropic, according to sources, adding to a series of high-profile departures that risk undercutting the search giant's position in AI. Bloomberg's Julia Love joins Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech.
Five researchers out of Google’s core AI team in seven days, and the market noticed. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction) shares fell 5.09% over the past week to $345.29, and dropped another 1.14% Thursday morning to $341.34. The catalyst is talent, the subtext is product, and the spread between the two is where investors are getting nervous.
What Maggie Germain told CNBC On CNBC’s Closing Bell Overtime Wednesday, reporter Maggie Germain laid out why the exits look like a pattern rather than coincidence. When the host pressed whether pre-IPO equity alone explained the moves, Germain pointed at a hole in Google’s product lineup. “Google at this point doesn’t have something that competes with Codex and Claude Code, and that’s where researchers are really gravitating,” she said. Coding assistants are the wedge product for enterprise AI sales right now, and the labs building the best ones are hoovering up Google’s bench.
The standouts are real names. Noam Shazeer, a Gemini co-lead and one of the original authors of the Transformer paper, is heading to OpenAI. John Jumper, the Nobel laureate behind AlphaFold, is going to Anthropic. Two more DeepMind researchers are reportedly headed to Anthropic as well, and DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis acknowledged “the most ferociously competitive talent market the tech industry has ever seen.” The newer departures sit below Shazeer or Jumper in seniority, yet the cadence is the story.
Why pre-IPO equity changes the math Both Anthropic and OpenAI have confidentially filed S-1s, which converts a researcher’s grant from “maybe valuable someday” into “valuable on a defined timeline.” Polymarket traders are pricing the competitive gap quite directly. As of Thursday, the market gives Anthropic a 98.2% implied probability of holding the top model on Chatbot Arena by June 30, with Google at just 0.3%. Over one month, Anthropic’s odds rose 22.2 points while Google’s fell 17.7.
Compounding the mood, Gemini 3.5 Pro was reportedly pushed from a June release to July. Talent churn alongside a product slip compounds the credibility problem with enterprise buyers.
The numbers that complicate the panic Strip out the last week and the underlying business is still firing. Q1 FY26, reported April 29, delivered EPS of $5.11 against a $2.63 estimate on revenue of $109.90 billion, up 21.8% year over year. Google Cloud grew 63% to $20.03 billion, with backlog nearly doubling sequentially to over $460 billion. CEO Sundar Pichai told investors that Gemini’s API processed more than 16 billion tokens per minute, up 60% from the prior quarter, per Alphabet’s Q1 FY26 8-K.
So why the selloff. Capex hit $35.67 billion in Q1, more than doubling year over year, with FY26 guidance of $175 billion to $185 billion. Investors are being asked to fund a hyperscale build while watching the people who would justify that spend walk to competition. GOOGL’s composite sentiment score has fallen 19.16 points in seven days and 24.88 over thirty. Year to date, the stock is still up 10.46%, and over one year, up 107.64%. The selloff reflects positioning rather than a break in the business.
How the rivals are trading If you assumed talent flowing into the OpenAI and Anthropic camps was juicing their cloud backers, the price action disagrees. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is down 3.55% on the week and 24.10% year to date to $355.23, weighed by the same AI capex anxiety dragging Alphabet. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which backs Anthropic and committed roughly 5 gigawatts of Trainium capacity to it, is down 1.36% on the week to $230.05, up just 1.49% year to date.
What to keep an eye on The July Gemini release is the readable catalyst. If 3.5 Pro lands and clears the 1500 Chatbot Arena threshold the market currently prices at 25%, the talent narrative softens. If it slips again or debuts middling, the question stops being about five researchers and starts being about whether enterprise customers stay parked in Vertex AI when Codex and Claude Code keep shipping. Polymarket is currently pricing an 80% chance GOOGL closes lower on June 25, which tells you where the very short-term crowd has placed its chips.
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Stock Market Ends Mixed As Techs Struggle Again, But Micron Spreads Good Cheer Late Amazon (AMZN) stock slipped below a closely-watched technical level in Thursday trading, on a day when hyperscale cloud giants Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META) slumped as well. On the stock market today, Amazon stock dropped more than 2% to 228.11 in midday trades. Shares fell below Amazon's 200-day moving average for the first time since April. While…
Microsoft MSFT shares inched lower and printed a fresh 52-week low this morning after a senior Stifel analyst, Brad Reback, lowered his price target on the tech behemoth to $400.
As sentiment shifts from blind AI enthusiasm to cold financial scrutiny, MSFT’s relative strength index (RSI) has crashed into the late 20s, indicating “oversold” conditions that often trigger a near-term reversal.
Still, Reback recommends some caution in playing Microsoft stock that’s already down more than 25% year-to-date.
In his research note, Reback argued the current consensus estimates for Microsoft are “somewhat” ignoring the potential for severe margin compression ahead.
“Severe costs associated with running and scaling Azure’s rapid growth will create unprecedented friction,” he told clients.
According to the Stifel analyst, MSFT’s gross margins (2027) could shrink by 450 basis points on a year-over-year basis to about 63%, significantly below Street’s optimistic consensus of 66.5%.
This dramatic contraction is almost entirely structural – driven by explosive capex and subsequent heavy depreciation costs of building, cooling, and maintaining specialized AI data centers.
Note that MSFT shares are currently trading decisively below their major moving averages (MAs), reinforcing that bears remain firmly in control.
Stifel trimmed its price objective on Microsoft shares also because it believes the consensus EPS estimates for FY27 are inflated by a full dollar.
Wall Street currently expects the titan’s full-year per-share earnings to come in at $19.45, a number analyst Brad Reback sees as highly unrealistic given its surging finance lease obligations and upper single-digit operating expense growth.
This structural expenditure leaves very little room for traditional enterprise cost-cutting measures to balance the scales.
Plus, he also highlighted a continuous decline in organic free cash flow as a major corporate red flag.
If FCF fails to rebound in FY27, Microsoft’s historical flexibility to “aggressively” fund growing shareholder dividends and execute massive share buyback plans will face restrictive boundaries – the analyst added.
All in all, Stifel’s research report perfectly encapsulates a broader, sector-wide realignment hitting the entire technology architecture space.
The market is aggressively transitionary; investors are no longer content with magnificent top-line annualized AI run rates (such as Microsoft's recent $37 billion metric) if it requires tracking toward an astronomical $190 billion in annual capital spending to secure it.
As capex intensity across the enterprise software sector balloons, Wall Street is enforcing a stricter valuation discipline, punishing firms whose near-term cash return profiles are being swallowed by multi-year infrastructure cycles.
For MSFT stock, breaking out of this bearish cycle will require proving to a newly skeptical market that its heavily funded Copilot and Azure AI products can efficiently convert into highly profitable, high-margin software recurring revenue rather than remaining capital-guzzling utilities.
Hours after Apple announced price increases for MacBooks and iPads, Microsoft said consumers can also expect to pay more for Xbox game consoles, reflecting rising component costs.
Starting Aug. 1, Xbox Series S consoles containing 512GB of storage will go up by $100 to about $500, Microsoft said Thursday, while models with 1TB will increase by $150 more. The entry-level Xbox Series X will now start at about $750.
"Last October, we increased XBOX console price by $20-$70 in the U.S.," the company said in a blog post. "We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options."
Microsoft said "console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027."
Memory manufacturers such as Micron and SK Hynix have a limited capacity, and they are prioritizing high-bandwidth memory for artificial intelligence infrastructure, such as Nvidia's graphics processing units. Manufacturers are raising prices to reflect higher demand, resulting in wider profit margins.
That puts a strain on consumers looking to buy devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers. Apple's announcement on Thursday came after CEO Tim Cook told The Wall Street Journal that price increases had become inevitable.
"The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles," the Xbox unit said in the post. "Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make."
Microsoft said the 2 TB Xbox Series X, introduced in 2024, will no longer be available.
Microsoft shares sank almost 4% on Thursday. Apple's stock dropped 5%.
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Microsoft announced price hikes for its Xbox Series X on Thursday, effective August 1. Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images Shoppers got a double whammy of bad news on Thursday as Microsoft announced yet another round of Xbox price hikes hours after Apple boosted prices.
Taken together, the price increases — which both companies say are due to spiking memory and storage costs — are set to make holiday shopping significantly more expensive. For gamers, it makes gaming increasingly feel like a luxury hobby.
Microsoft's popular Xbox game consoles are set to increase by $100-$150 on August 1. The 512 GB models will go up by $100, and the 1 TB versions will increase by $150. The Xbox with the highest available storage configuration of 2 TB will be discontinued entirely.
"Last October, we increased XBOX console price by $20-$70 in the U.S. We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options," Microsoft said in a blog post. "Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027."
The new price hikes will apply worldwide.
This is the third time Microsoft has raised prices on its latest Xbox generation, following increases in May and October 2025. The Xbox Series X is now $250 to $300 more expensive than it was when it launched in 2020.
The memory shortage has impacted a broad range of consumer electronics companies, many of which have raised prices in the last 8 months.
Microsoft's chief rivals in the gaming wars, PlayStation and Nintendo, have both previously announced price increases for the PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2, respectively.
Computers, which also rely on memory and storage chips, have also become more costly to produce, and Apple followed many of its peers in boosting MacBook and iMac prices, along with the iPad, Apple TV, HomePod, and Vision Pro, on Thursday — by as much as $300.
"The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles," Microsoft said. "Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make."
In its blog post announcing the coming price hikes, Microsoft shared details on programs it said "make XBOX consoles more accessible," such as buy-now-pay-later and interest-free financing services, along with efforts to make previously used game consoles available via retailers to purchase.
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Steven Tweedie You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Steven Tweedie is a Deputy Executive Editor at Business Insider. He launched the Business News desk in early 2020 and helped grow it into the Trending and Tech News desk, a fast-paced reporting powerhouse that tackles the biggest business and tech stories of the day in an approachable way. He now oversees the Business News desk, Corporate team, and Weekend desk. He works out of the New York newsroom and helps train fellows and new hires at all experience levels in addition to his daily editing duties.He began his career covering app startups and gadgets on the Technology desk at BI. His past reporting and scoops have been cited or syndicated by publications including the WSJ, Associated Press, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and Forbes. He attended the University of Michigan, where he studied economics and writing, and now lives in Brooklyn.While passionate about editing and helping lead the newsroom's daily business coverage, he also puts on his reporting hat every now and then to chase down a scoop — so don't hesitate to reach out!Have a news tip? Email Steven from a non-work email at [email protected] him on X and Threads for the latest.Featured work:▲Leaked memo: Wayfair CEO tells employees to expect long hours 'blending work and life' (scoop) ▲ Magic Leap's CFO is stepping down after it was 'mutually decided' it was time for someone new (scoop)▲ 48 hours after raising $500 million, Magic Leap called the cops to say an employee had stolen $1 million (scoop)▲ A conversation with the father of virtual reality about the changing culture of Silicon Valley▲ The future of virtual reality is here▲ The first details on the executive shakeup planned for Yahoo once its deal with Verizon closes (scoop)▲ What it's like to log in to computers in North Korea, which run look-alike Mac software called 'Red Star 3.0'
Microsoft (MSFT 3.48%) stock slipped 2.5% through 2:25 p.m. ET Thursday after Stifel analyst Brad Reback lowered his price target on the tech stock this morning, and maintained only a "hold" rating.
Reback thinks Microsoft stock is worth $400 a share -- and it costs less than $357 as of this writing -- but that's still not cheap enough to convince Reback to rate it a "buy."
Image source: Microsoft.
Why not buy Microsoft stock? Why not buy Microsoft at a 12% discount to its real value? Primarily, because Microsoft may disappoint a lot of investors when it reports earnings next month.
Earnings are due out on July 29, and the consensus is that Microsoft will earn a healthy $4.24 per share this quarter -- up 16% year over year. That sure sounds good, but be warned, says Reback. Microsoft's Azure computing business is growing four times as fast as the rest of the business and represents an ever-larger percentage of the company's total business. Again, this sounds good, but gross margins at Azure are compressing as Microsoft spends heavily in the artificial intelligence race.
Reback forecasts that "thanks" to Azure, Microsoft's fiscal 2027 gross margins will decline 4.5 percentage points from last year, to 63%, and miss consensus targets by at least 300 basis points.
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What it means for Microsoft stock More and more revenue coming from a division that's suffering increasingly worse-than-average profit margins? That most certainly does not sound like good news for Microsoft stock.
When viewed in conjunction with what's happening on the cash flow statement, where heavy capital spending on AI has left Microsoft with essentially no free cash flow growth at all for the past two years, and it's hard to make the argument that Microsoft stock is still worth buying.
Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
SAN DIEGO, June 25, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Robbins LLP informs stockholders that a class action was filed on behalf of all investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) securities between May 1, 2025 and January 28, 2026. Microsoft is one of the largest technology conglomerates in the world.
For more information, submit a form, email attorney Aaron Dumas, Jr., or give us a call at (800) 350-6003.
The Allegations: Robbins LLP is Investigating Allegations that Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Misled Investors Regarding Copilot User Adoption and AI-Driven Growth Prospects
According to the complaint, during the class period, defendants touted the success of Microsoft’s AI initiatives, repeatedly representing that Copilot was experiencing strong adoption, increasing user engagement, growing seat purchases, and widespread enterprise acceptance, while emphasizing Azure’s AI-driven growth and Microsoft’s competitive position in artificial intelligence. Defendants allegedly portrayed Copilot as a significant growth driver while failing to disclose that the product suffered from substantial adoption, user experience, interoperability, and capacity-related problems, that Microsoft’s AI models lagged competitors on key benchmarks, and that the Company was diverting significant Azure computing resources and increasing AI-related spending to address those issues. As a result, Microsoft allegedly failed to convert a significant percentage of Microsoft 365 users into paid Copilot subscribers and lost market share to competing AI products.
Plaintiff alleges that the truth began to emerge on January 28, 2026, when Microsoft reported fiscal second-quarter 2026 results and disclosed slower-than-expected Azure growth, increased AI-related capital expenditures, and that Microsoft 365 Copilot seats totaled only 15 million, materially below analyst estimates. According to the complaint, Microsoft further revealed that Azure growth was impacted by capacity constraints resulting from resources being redirected to Copilot applications and AI-related research and development. On this news, Microsoft’s stock price fell from $481.63 per share on January 28, 2026, to $433.50 per share on January 29, 2026.
What Now: You may be eligible to participate in the class action against Microsoft Corporation. Shareholders who wish to serve as lead plaintiff for the class should contact Robbins LLP. The lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. You do not have to participate in the case to be eligible for a recovery. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member. For more information, click here.
All representation is on a contingency fee basis. Shareholders pay no fees or expenses.
About Robbins LLP: A recognized leader in shareholder rights litigation, the attorneys and staff of Robbins LLP have been dedicated to helping shareholders recover losses, improve corporate governance structures, and hold company executives accountable for their wrongdoing since 2002.
To be notified if a class action against Microsoft Corporation settles or to receive free alerts when corporate executives engage in wrongdoing, sign up for Stock Watch today.
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A coalition of publishers of nearly 400 local and regional newspapers has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement.
The lawsuit alleges that the companies stole the newspapers’ copyrighted news articles, used that content to build and train commercial AI products, including ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, and reproduced or repurposed the content without permission or compensation, Platkin LLP, the law firm that filed the suit, said in a Wednesday (June 24) post on LinkedIn.
Platkin LLP was founded this year by former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and a team of litigators from the attorney general’s office, according to the firm’s LinkedIn profile.
Matthew Platkin said in the post that the lawsuit “seeks to ensure these local publications creating original content will have meaningful protections in the AI era.”
“AI systems do not critically evaluate city council and community meetings,” Platkin said. “They don’t investigate local crimes and corruption, publish obituaries, or cover the new restaurant opening downtown. Local reporters do. This lawsuit is not about stopping AI innovation, but ensuring that innovation happens fairly and within the bounds of the law.”
Neither Microsoft nor OpenAI immediately replied to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
The New York Times filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI in December 2023, alleging copyright infringement. The newspaper claimed the tech companies used its content without permission to develop their AI products.
Reached by PYMNTS at the time, an OpenAI spokesperson said the firm respects the right of content creators and owners and is “committed to working with them to ensure they benefit from AI technology and new revenue models.”
In December, a federal judge directed OpenAI to provide millions of anonymized ChatGPT logs in a copyright case brought by The New York Times and other media organizations. The publishers contended that the logs were necessary to determine whether the AI system reproduced protected articles.
OpenAI and Microsoft also face a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by a group of authors who accuse the companies of misusing the authors’ books to train AI software, while OpenAI faces a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster, who allege the company scraped their articles to train its AI.
Nike's (NKE 2.42%) turnaround plan is like a retired athlete returning for one last hurrah. It sounds good in theory, and everyone's cheering for a successful comeback, but the execution in practice is much more difficult.
Nike's "Win Now" strategy, led by company veteran and CEO Elliott Hill, is all about making the apparel company a lean athletic machine once again. When earnings are released on June 30, investors will get a glimpse into whether "Win Now" is actually winning now.
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The challenges Nike is facing are substantial. Tariffs and lagging sales in China are a real drag for the iconic athletic brand. As of the third quarter of its fiscal 2026, Nike's sales in China were down 10% year over year. It'll likely take a few years for those macroeconomic issues to fully work themselves out.
Competition is stiff for Nike as consumers become less and less loyal to one brand. In the running category, up-and-coming companies such as On Holding and Hoka, a subsidiary of Deckers Outdoor, are eating into market share once dominated by Nike.
Image source: Getty Images.
Nike's stock is down more than 40% from its 52-week high.
I think the "Win Now" strategy is going to work, but it's going to look more like "Win Eventually." The turnaround strategy is so massive that years, not just quarters, will be needed. Rebuilding wholesale channels, streamlining operations and inventory, and upgrading technology aren't projects a company of Nike's size can complete quickly.
For investors, taking a wait-and-see approach to June 30 is likely best. The stock is priced low enough that, if the fundamentals improve, there will still be time to buy in afterward. However, if the turnaround is further delayed or fails to materialize, Nike will need much more time, and investors should wait on the sidelines.
Catie Hogan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Deckers Outdoor, Nike, and On Holding. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
In the artificial intelligence (AI) investing sector, several stocks look like great buys right now. There is still massive demand for AI computing power, and companies are racing to build infrastructure and take market share in hopes of creating viable, long-term revenue streams.
Despite many companies offering nearly the same product, there can be large pricing disparities within the same industry, meaning you can find major deals. I think I've discovered three of them, and if you've got $3,000 to deploy, you should consider buying this trio.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Microsoft Microsoft (MSFT 3.48%) may be one of the most mispriced stocks in the entire stock market right now. It has a strong AI business, integrating Copilot into its business productivity software, and a dominant cloud computing business in Azure. Both of these two are growing rapidly, with their AI business growing at a 123% year over year pace and cloud computing rising at a 40% clip. As more businesses integrate AI and more computing capacity becomes available, these numbers will continue to rise, leading to solid, sustainable revenue streams for Microsoft.
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Despite these strengths, the stock is down around 30% from its all-time high, and it looks like an absolute bargain. Microsoft's fiscal year (FY) ends in June, so it's best to use FY 2027 projections to value the stock. From this perspective, Microsoft trades for 19 times forward earnings -- far less than the S&P 500 at 22 times forward earnings.
Microsoft is a dominant and rapidly growing company for its size, and this pricing mismatch doesn't make a ton of sense. As a result, Microsoft is a solid stock to buy now.
2. Nvidia Nvidia (NVDA 2.55%) may seem like an odd recommendation because it's the world's largest company, but the reality is it has a ton of growth left in the tank. The AI hyperscalers' data center expenditures are expected to reach a record $650 billion in 2026, but Nvidia projects they will reach $1 trillion in 2027. If that's true, then Nvidia has major upside ahead.
Right now, the stock trades for just 23 times forward earnings, barely more expensive than the S&P 500 at 22. However, if you use next year's earnings projections, the stock really starts to look cheap.
NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
At 16 times next year's earnings, it's clear that none of next year's growth has been priced into the stock. It won't stay that way forever, and by buying the stock now, you can get in on those gains before everyone else, making Nvidia an excellent stock to buy now.
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3. Nebius If you're looking for outright growth, then Nebius (NBIS 2.12%) is your stock. It's a neocloud company and offers a cloud computing platform specifically catered to AI. Nebius also has a deal with Nvidia to get cutting-edge hardware first, making it an incredibly popular platform for running AI workflows. Nebius has huge expansion plans and believes it can grow its annual recurring revenue from $1.25 billion at the end of 2025 to $7 billion to $9 billion by the end of 2026.
Early results confirm this trajectory, as Nebius's revenue rose 684% in Q1. Wall Street is equally bullish on Nebius's stock, expecting 550% revenue growth this year and 225% next year. So, despite the stock more than tripling already this year, if the stock price follows revenue growth, Nebius still has far more upside ahead.
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I think Nebius is a great stock to sprinkle in with solid, established companies like Microsoft and Nvidia. It's far riskier, but it could yield far greater returns if Nebius can build an AI computing empire over the next few years.
NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) both posted earnings confirming AI infrastructure dominates semis. NVIDIA reported a $75.246 billion Data Center quarter. AMD reported $5.775 billion. The scale gap is one part of the picture. The software lock-in is the more durable factor.
CUDA Carries NVIDIA. MI450 Carries AMD’s Hopes. NVIDIA’s Q1 FY2027 revenue hit $81.615 billion, up 85.2% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.87. Networking alone grew 199% to $14.8 billion, because customers buying Blackwell also buy NVLink, Spectrum-X, and InfiniBand. That bundling is the moat. Jensen Huang framed it bluntly, calling NVIDIA “the only platform that runs in every cloud, powers every frontier and open source model, and scales everywhere AI is produced”.
AMD’s quarter was strong on its own terms. Revenue rose 37.9% to $10.253 billion, with Data Center up 57% and free cash flow surging 252.96%. Lisa Su pointed to “a growing pipeline of large-scale deployments” for MI450 and Helios, anchored by Meta’s 6 gigawatts commitment. They still arrive at roughly a fourteenth of NVIDIA’s Data Center scale.
Closed Stack vs. Open Stack NVIDIA sells a closed, vertically integrated stack where CUDA-X, Dynamo, and Omniverse keep developers tethered long after hardware ships. AMD counters with ROCm, an open-source alternative, plus a wider product surface across EPYC, Ryzen, Radeon, and Xilinx. That diversification is real, but AMD competes on multiple fronts without owning any of them.
Lens NVIDIA AMD Core moat CUDA software ecosystem Open ROCm, broad portfolio Gross margin 75.0% 55% Key vulnerability China export restrictions Catching CUDA before MI450 ramps NVIDIA’s $4.84 trillion market cap trades at a forward P/E near 23. AMD trades at a richer multiple after a 275.45% one-year run, while NVIDIA shares are up 34.73% over the same window. The market is paying up for AMD’s catch-up story rather than its current cash flow.
The Next Test Is Developer Mindshare I will be watching whether MI450 Helios deployments pull engineering teams off CUDA, or whether they sit alongside it as a hedge. NVIDIA’s $119.0 billion in supply commitments and $91.0 billion Q2 guide suggest hyperscalers are not slowing orders. The SpaceX-Reflection compute deal circulating on Reddit hints at alternatives, but rewriting a decade of CUDA-native code is the real friction AMD has to overcome.
Why I Lean NVIDIA for the Moat, AMD for the Trade For investors prioritizing durable, predictable cash flow priced reasonably against earnings power, NVIDIA screens better. The CUDA lock-in produces 63% profit margins that hardware cycles alone cannot explain. For investors seeking higher-variance upside who believe ROCm gains traction in 2027, AMD offers a cleaner expression of that thesis, though Lisa Su’s sustained selling of over 200,000 shares across May and June gives me pause. The toll-road economics of CUDA contrast with AMD’s position as a challenger building a parallel highway.
Nvidia (NVDA 2.55%) and AMD (AMD +0.78%) are the two largest producers of discrete GPUs. They both produce data center GPUs for the booming AI market.
However, Nvidia often attracts more attention than AMD because it controls more than 90% of the discrete GPU market. AMD, which tries to compete against Nvidia with its cheaper chips, only holds a single-digit share. Nvidia also generates most of its revenue from its data center GPUs, but AMD still sells x86 CPUs for the slower-growth PC market.
Image source: Getty Images.
Nvidia's stock has rallied more than 930% over the past five years, while AMD's stock has risen nearly 520%. Yet Nvidia still trades at just 21 times its projected EPS for fiscal 2027 (which started in January 2026), while AMD trades at 97 times its projected EPS for 2026.
Therefore, it certainly seems like Nvidia, with a market cap of $4.71 trillion, is still fundamentally cheaper than AMD, which is only worth $854 billion. So are analysts setting the bar too high for AMD, and too low for Nvidia? Let's dig deeper to find out.
Wall Street has consistently underestimated Nvidia From fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2026, Nvidia's revenue and net income grew at CAGRs of 69% and 94%, respectively. That explosive growth, driven by surging sales of data center GPUs to hyperscalers and AI companies, repeatedly crushed Wall Street's estimates.
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Even after the AI boom lit a blazing fire under Nvidia's business, its analysts still underestimated its growth potential. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, its revenue surged 85% year over year to $81.6 billion, beating analysts' expectations by a whopping $2.5 billion.
From fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2029, analysts expect Nvidia's revenue and EPS to each grow at CAGRs of 46%. That growth should be driven by its new Vera Rubin platform, which merges its Vera CPUs and next-gen Rubin GPUs; the growth of the agentic AI market, increased government spending on AI solutions, and the expansion of its sticky software ecosystem. The auto sector will also likely install more of its chips in autonomous vehicles.
But if you expect Nvidia to consistently beat analysts' estimates over the next three years as those catalysts kick in, then it's likely even cheaper than 21 times this year's earnings.
AMD has also stayed ahead of Wall Street's expectations From 2020 to 2025, AMD's revenue and net income rose at CAGRs of 29% and 12%, respectively. Its sales of Instinct data center GPUs accelerated during that period, but those cheaper chips didn't gain much ground against Nvidia's industry-standard GPUs.
Its sales of Epyc CPUs for data centers also rose, but they still control a tiny sliver of the market compared to Intel's (INTC 0.89%) market-leading Xeon CPUs. In other words, AMD is growing -- but it remains an underdog in the GPU and CPU markets.
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From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect AMD's revenue and EPS to grow at CAGRs of 44% and 82%, respectively. That acceleration should be driven by its new Instinct MI400 and MI500 AI chips, which could pull more cost-conscious hyperscalers away from Nvidia. Its upcoming Zen 6 server chips could also boost its share of the data center market, and it will expand its ROCm software ecosystem to challenge Nvidia's proprietary CUDA software.
However, AMD has only stayed slightly ahead of Wall Street's expectations. In the first quarter of 2026, its revenue rose 38% year over year to $10.25 billion, beating the consensus forecast by $336 million but falling short of Nvidia's explosive growth.
At 97 times forward earnings, a lot of AMD's future growth is already baked into its stock. But those projections are pinned to the expectations that it will gain more momentum against Nvidia and Intel -- and that might not be as simple as Wall Street's estimates suggest.
What's Wall Street wrong about? I believe analysts are still underestimating Nvidia while overestimating AMD's growth potential. Both stocks could still be great long-term AI plays, but Wall Street's poor track record with Nvidia suggests its stock is even cheaper than its forward multiple indicates.
Key Takeaways 3M's Safety & Industrial segment posted 3.2% adjusted organic sales growth in Q1 2026.MMM's segment margin rose 100 bps on volumes, productivity and capital discipline.3M expects about 3% organic sales growth and EPS of $8.50-$8.70 in 2026. 3M Company (MMM - Free Report) continues to gain from the strong momentum in its Safety & Industrial segment, a key contributor to its growth. An increase in demand across personal safety, industrial adhesives and tapes, abrasives and electrical has been aiding the segment’s momentum. Sales in the personal safety, industrial adhesives and tapes, abrasives and electrical markets collectively increased in the mid-single-digit range in the first three months of 2026.
A rise in demand for electrical infrastructure products like medium voltage cable accessories and insulation tapes also supported performance. The segment’s adjusted organic sales grew 3.2% year over year in the first quarter. Its adjusted operating margin also improved 100 basis points year over year, supported by higher sales volumes, productivity initiatives and disciplined capital allocation. However, continued investments aimed at business expansion and tariffs partially offset the results. Weakness in the roofing granules business is also concerning for 3M.
Backed by strong operational execution, 3M has provided a positive outlook for 2026. The company expects adjusted organic sales growth of about 3% year over year and projects adjusted earnings in the range of $8.50-$8.70 per share, indicating continued earnings growth from 2025 levels.
Segmental Snapshot of MMM’s PeersAmong 3M’s major peers, Honeywell International Inc. (HON - Free Report) is witnessing solid momentum in its Building Automation segment, driven by ongoing strength in both the building solutions and building products businesses. In the first quarter of 2026, Honeywell’s segment’s revenues increased 11% year over year. It contributed approximately 20.6% to Honeywell’s total revenues during the quarter.
MMM’s another peer, Carlisle Companies Incorporated’s (CSL - Free Report) Carlisle Construction Materials segment decreased 5.1% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. Carlisle’s segment’s revenues were offset by the weakness in the new construction market. It contributed approximately 72.2% of Carlisle’s total revenues during the quarter.
The Zacks Rundown for MMMShares of 3M have gained 10% in the past year against the industry’s decrease of 4%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, 3M is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40X, above the industry average of 15.78X. MMM carries a Value Score of D.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MMM’s earnings for 2026 has increased a penny in the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
MMM stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Once upon a time, Netflix (NFLX +0.23%) was a component in that era's "Magnificent Seven" club. I'm reminiscing about the FANG or FAANG groups, of course.
Netflix was the "N" in both of these market-moving stock lists. The original 2013 handful also included Facebook, Amazon (AMZN 2.83%), and Google. Apple (AAPL 5.56%) added another "A" four years later. But the FANG/FAANG lists are so old that Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms (META 2.09%), and Google is now known as Alphabet (GOOG 0.98%) (GOOGL 0.36%).
Over the years, Netflix fell out of favor while the Magnificent Seven became market darlings. More recently, investors got excited when Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX 1.25%), better known as SpaceX, entered the market.
Last summer, Netflix's stock peaked at a record price of $134 per share and a market cap of $567 billion. Instead of marching on to earn a seat in the trillion-dollar club, the stock was hamstrung by a couple of canceled buyout ideas. As of June 25, Netflix's stock is down 46% from its 2025 high.
The next ultra-elite stock grouping will probably include SpaceX and most of the Magnificent Seven, but not Netflix. Does that make Netflix an undervalued buy today or just another fallen giant with limited prospects?
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Netflix shares are on sale right now Let me cut to the chase. In my eyes, Netflix is the kind of durable winner that deserves a look even at scary share prices. These days, you get all of the upside at a very reasonable stock price. Netflix trades at 23 times trailing earnings and 25 times free cash flow, well below the average S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.09%) stock at 30x and 28x, respectively.
So Netflix is one of my top picks in this market. I'm not saying it's a perfect setup, and the true bottom may still be ahead, but that's all right. Market timing is an impossible game, after all. I would still hit the buy button on Netflix before any of the Magnificent Seven stocks or SpaceX right now.
The company lost a few bidding wars, not its mojo Netflix is having one of those years. The company tried to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, got outbid, shrugged, and moved on. Then it eyed Roku until Fox swooped in like a rival, showing up with a bigger buyout budget. As recently as this week, rumor has it that the company also considered bidding for Lionsgate, though Netflix's management denies it.
Backing away from the Warner Bros. bidding sent Netflix's stock higher, but share prices have been sliding back through the spring and early summer.
Here's the thing, though: Netflix didn't get rejected because something's broken. Management simply refused to overpay. That's not desperation; that's fiscal discipline.
Meanwhile, the company still commands less than 10% of U.S. TV viewing time, according to Nielsen, leaving substantial runway to capture share from linear television's 40%-plus hold on American eyeballs. Beyond that, it's a big world out there, and Netflix isn't even the top streaming service in many countries. You say "po-tah-to," I say "opportunity."
Image source: Netflix.
Netflix has more tricks up its sleeve than Wall Street thinks The Magnificent Seven get all the attention because AI is the shiniest object in the room. Fair enough. Netflix lacks that narrative right now. But narratives shift, and Netflix has many potential growth drivers in its pocket, from video games and international expansion to Netflix House entertainment venues and a booming advertising platform.
I'd much rather buy more of that innovative entertainment veteran's stock at a reasonable price than pay through the nose for SpaceX, Nvidia (NVDA 2.55%), and Tesla (TSLA 0.59%).
Netflix isn't broken. It's just unfashionable. And unfashionable stocks often come at tempting prices.
Anders Bylund has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Netflix, Nvidia, and Roku. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Netflix, Nvidia, Roku, Tesla, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Visa has launched a travel platform as it moves to expand its role beyond payments.
Visa Destinations, announced Thursday (June 25), is live now in Paris, London, Dubai, Milan, Rome, Mexico City, New York City, Miami, San Francisco and Thailand.
“Travel is expected to grow 10% annually over the coming years. It consistently shows resilience to the world’s events and consumers protect it,” Katya Petelina, head of global cross-border and global sales and commercial operations at Visa, said in a news release.
She also cited company research showing that customers will cut back everyday spending to save up for travel.
“With Visa Destinations, we are accompanying travelers throughout their journey and helping them discover the moments that make a destination memorable, while giving our issuers and merchant partners a meaningful way to participate in the economic growth that travel creates.”
Available to Visa customers via a mobile first platform, Visa Destinations provides “tastemaker recommendations, city guides, and curated experiences” in keeping with what Visa calls its pivot from “being the way to pay for travel to becoming a travel companion.”
Research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows the increasing importance of digital tools for travelers and travel companies.
The data shows that 93% of those companies now offer at least one embedded finance capability, with digital wallets the most common. The research also indicates that companies tie these tools to higher conversion rates and fewer abandoned bookings, as well as gains in efficiency and quicker product rollout.
“The shift reflects how travel platforms are being built,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this year. “Search, booking, payments and loyalty are being woven into a single flow. Keeping the customer inside that flow reduces friction and creates more opportunities to capture spend.”
In other travel news, PYMNTS wrote recently about the resurrection of global business travel, with spending in that sphere projected between $1.62 trillion and $1.69 trillion for the calendar year, according to estimates cited by the Global Business Travel Association industry group, an all-time high that surpasses the record set before the pandemic.
“What makes business travel particularly significant in 2026 is not the volume of trips being taken. It is the nature of those trips,” PYMNTS wrote.
“Organizations are traveling with greater intention, focusing on activities that create measurable business value. Those journeys increasingly revolve around supplier relationships, customer acquisition, market expansion and strategic partnerships—the very activities that generate future trade and payment flows.”
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Stock Market Ends Mixed As Techs Struggle Again, But Micron Spreads Good Cheer Late JPMorgan Chase (JPM) stock continues to show excellent relative strength, with the stock holding above its 21-day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Traders looking for a way to play the Wall Street banking titan using options could try a bull put spread. As a reminder, a bull put spread is a defined-risk strategy, so you always know the worst-case scenario…
It's often said that an old dog can't be taught new tricks. Folksy wisdom to be sure, but in business, it's evolve and lead or risk getting left behind.
When investing for the long term, market participants want to find companies that aren't just performing well today but are also making moves to position for long-term success. What the right moves are vary from industry to industry, but among oil stocks, ExxonMobil (XOM +0.20%) is a prime example of a name that's rewarding today and could be even more rewarding down the road.
ExxonMobil will look significantly different in the future and investors stand to benefit. Image source: Getty Images.
By the time the next decade starts, and certainly by 2040, the version of ExxonMobil investors see is likely to be starkly different from the one they see today. That could be a good thing.
Exxon evolution in full swing There are only so many ways to cook an oil production omlette. Exploration and production companies primarily drill offshore or on land in shale regions such as the Permian Basin in West Texas. Limitations on where oil is typically found don't cap producers' ability to evolve. Exxon confirms as much.
Already one of the world's largest energy companies, Exxon is fortifying that status by leaning heavily on technology to maximize cost-efficiencies across its primary assets, including Guyana, the Permian Basin, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sites. Exxon's tech prowess and realized efficiencies are paying off for investors. In its 2030 plan, the company forecasts annual earnings and cash flow increases of $5 billion WITHOUT increasing spending.
Here's the math: Exxon's 2030 plan lays out $25 billion in earnings growth and a $35 billion jump in cash flow from 2024 through 2030 with "cumulative surplus cash flow of roughly $145 billion through 2030." Again, the company is forecasting those impressive targets without the need for significant spending increases, but it told investors it expects the return on currently deployed capital to reach 17% by 2030.
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In other words, Exxon is becoming a leaner, "meaner" outfit. So the company investors potentially embrace is likely to look significantly different, in a good way, five to 15 years out.
What Exxon is doing today in the Permian Basin is proof positive of that assertion. In West Texas, Exxon is leveraging technology to more effectively keep well fractures open, boosting output along the way. It's possible that as the company deploys that technology across more wells in the region, it could add billions to what's already an 18-billion-barrel treasure trove.
One thing that won't change Those of us old enough to remember "new Coke" from the 1980s know change for the sake of change isn't always a good thing. However, if properly executed, Exxon's evolution has the potential to reward investors.
Bolstering the case for being patient with this energy name is the one thing highly unlikely to change: the company's commitment to being a stalwart oil dividend stock.
Exxon is the second-largest dividend payer in the S&P 500, and its payout has increased for 43 years. That level is matched or topped by just 5% of S&P 500 member firms. Dividends aren't guaranteed, but Exxon's operational prowess suggests its payout is safe and primed to grow, adding to the long-term buy thesis with this stock.
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Ford scored a big quality award on Thursday. The company is praising veteran workers. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Ford staged a quality comeback. The automaker credits part of the turnaround to pairing AI with something more old-school: veteran engineers.
Executives at Ford told reporters this week that the company had hired, promoted, or brought back about 350 experienced technical specialists as part of a sweeping effort to fix vehicle-quality problems. Those engineering veterans have helped mentor younger staff, lead design reviews, and improve the AI and automated quality tools Ford uses to catch defects before vehicles reach customers, they said.
They also offered a striking admission: AI and automation were not enough on their own.
"Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but it's only as good as information you use to train it," Charles Poon, Ford's vice president of vehicle hardware engineering, said. "Mistakenly, we thought that by just introducing artificial intelligence and ingesting the design requirements that we had, that would produce a high-quality product."
Poon said Ford had not done enough in prior years to preserve the knowledge of its most experienced engineers, some of whom left the company before their expertise was fully integrated into Ford's systems. He said quality problems often showed up at the boundaries between teams, where design, manufacturing, software, and hardware collide.
Quality win, recall hangover
Ford just improved its standing in one of the auto industry's biggest yearly tests. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images The comments came as Ford celebrated a major milestone.
Consumer data analytics firm JD Power named Ford the top mass-market brand in its latest initial-quality study, trailing only Porsche and Genesis overall, according to the study released Thursday. Ford narrowly beat Lexus, which has long been one of the strongest performers in the rankings.
That's a big turnaround. Just three years ago, Ford ranked 15th out of 25 major automakers in the same study.
For years, Ford has faced headwinds on its product quality. In 2025, Ford issued 152 recalls, nearly doubling the previous record set by General Motors in 2014 with 77 safety bulletins.
As of Thursday, Ford had issued 51 recalls this year, according to the NHTSA's dashboard. That's still more than double Chrysler, the next-closest automaker, which had issued 19.
Ford executives said many of the continued recall issues are tied to vehicles and platforms designed between 2013 and 2020, calling recalls a "lagging indicator." They framed the JD Power win as proof that a new approach is taking hold, and said internal data shows "clear improvement" in newer vehicles.
Still, the initial-quality study measures problems in new vehicles, not long-term durability, making it an early signal rather than a full verdict on whether Ford has solved its recall problem.
Ford says it changed how it catches problems
Ford says it's been making manufacturing quality improvements since 2023. Bloomberg/Getty Images Ford launched its quality reset in 2023.
In that time, Kumar Galhotra, Ford's COO, said the company has more than doubled its technical specialist population. Those specialists now lead mandatory design reviews and look for failure points before parts ever reach the plant floor.
"They hunt for failure points before a part ever reaches the plant floor," he said.
The company also created an industrial system team to bring engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain closer together. Before that approach, Galhotra said Ford had previously relied too heavily on a "find and fix" approach — identifying problems after they appeared and trying to resolve them quickly.
Now, Ford says it is trying to prevent problems before they happen.
Ford previously told Business Insider that it had developed two bespoke AI-enhanced scanning tools that helped validate that cars were properly assembled before rolling off the lot. The tools, called AiTriz and MAIVs, both debuted in 2024.
While Ford has previously said the tools are helping improve product quality, the company did not say whether the 350 specialists worked directly on them.
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Ben Shimkus You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email.
Ben Shimkus is a reporter for the Business News desk. He writes about cars, transportation, retail, and jobs. Ben's reporting has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Verge, Automotive News, USA Today, AutoBody News, LGBTQ Nation, TopSpeed, and Out Magazine. He's also held staff writing positions at The U.S. Sun and the Daily Mail. He graduated from NYU with a Master's in journalism in 2024. Email Ben at [email protected] or message him privately on Signal at bshimkus.41.
Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley talks about how human workers are making all the difference on the factory floors. He speaks on "Bloomberg Open Interest.
Amid recent bouts of stock volatility and a new Fed chair coming into a complex inflation environment, the action in bond ETFs is sending an important signal to the market.
"Flows tell the story," Steve Laipply, global co-head of iShares fixed-income ETFs at BlackRock, told CNBC's Dominic Chu this week. And that is a story of rising investor interest in yield across the fixed-income market. "In the U.S., bond ETF flows are up a shocking 60% relative to last year," Laipply said.
Laipply said a significant share of the flows are going into U.S. treasuries, but there also has been a significant move by investors into multi-sector income ETFs.
"The income story is very robust and enduring, because rates will continue to move around and 'real yields' are definitely an opportunity," he said, a reference to bond yields net the rate of inflation. "Real yields reflect a growth story," he said, led by the AI boom and the anticipated increase in productivity that is tied to it.
Investor interest in multi-sector income funds, according to Laipply, is also an indication of greater emphasis on "income per unit of duration."
"The idea of getting a little more duration, but really still focusing on income ... that's sort of the sweet spot," he said.
"As a bond investor, real yield is your very good friend," George Bory, chief investment strategist of fixed income at Allspring Global Investments, told Chu.
How the Fed fits into the fixed-income investment pictureNew Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh has put the market on watch for signs of greater volatility in bonds as he shapes a new approach at the Fed. "The most significant one, at least right now, is about the lack of forward guidance," Bory said. When the Fed telegraphed its every move, managing duration risk was a less active process for investors. Now there will be more of an "uncertainty premium" built into the market, he said.
At his first FOMC meeting last week, Warsh was clear about maintaining the Fed's inflation-fighting credentials for the time being, Bory said.
"The very front end of the curve is now very steep, as the market is now pricing in multiple rate hikes from the Fed. You don't have to move very far out the curve to start to see a very material increase in yields," Bory said.
Laipply said recent declines in what is known as the breakeven inflation rate, which have been falling "very, very sharply" at both the short and long end of the treasuries curve, say to him that "the market is sniffing out something here."
The breakeven inflation rate is a measure of the difference between standard treasury yields and treasury- inflation protected securities.
Laipply said with "breakevens' where they are, it is not necessarily a bad time for investors still worried about inflation to consider short-dated TIPS. But many bond investors, he said, are "looking past this volatility, and no matter what yields are, they are at a level where income is very attractive relative to what it has been," he said.
U.S. 10-year treasury bond yield performance in 2026.
One of the biggest recent debates in the market among investors is the declining risk premium for holding stocks over bonds.
Bory described it as a "pretty attractive" environment for bond investors, but said there are caveats. "We need to be a little careful because credit spreads are very tight," he said, and he added that he thinks those spreads are likely to "stick with us."
Tighter credit spreads between various bonds along the traditional risk spectrum are typically a sign of higher investor confidence, but some worry potentially a sign of market complacency.
"Modest inflation is a meaningful tailwind to credit worthiness and I think we are in bit of a super-cycle for credit more broadly," Bory said. He added that as a fixed-income investor he would be "happy to take the extra income, but won't be too aggressive in going after it."
The latest core inflation data from the government was at the highest level since October 2023, but it was in line with market expectations and reinforced the need for the inflation-fighting stance to remain at the Fed.
Oil prices are back at their pre-war level as tankers flow through the Strait of Hormuz again, though gas prices are likely to remain elevated, according to Chevron.
The labor market complicates the story for investors and the Fed as it attempts to balance its dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability. Laipply said about 90% of recent job creation has been in healthcare, government services, and leisure. "Most of the labor market is soft," he said.
"The real trick is ... how much weight do you put on that near-term inflation concern versus a softening labor market, or if you want to put it another way, a labor market that's very, very concentrated," Laipply added.
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Qualcomm says its expansion into chips for data centers will produce “billions” in revenue in the fiscal year that begins in October, suggesting the company is gaining a foothold in the booming market for AI gear. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon joins Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow and Romaine Bostick on "Bloomberg Tech.
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Stock Market Ends Mixed As Techs Struggle Again, But Micron Spreads Good Cheer Late Qualcomm (QCOM), known for its smartphone chips, is diving into the hot market for AI data center computers. Qualcomm stock rose on the news Thursday. The San Diego, Calif.-based company laid out its data center infrastructure strategy late Wednesday at an investor event in New York City. Qualcomm is targeting revenue of more than $15 billion from the data center…
QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) Analyst/Investor Day June 24, 2026 2:15 PM EDT
Company Participants
Cristiano Amon - CEO, President & Director
Antonios Pialis - Executive VP & General Manager of Data Center for Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Tim Davis - Co-Founder, President, Chief Product Officer & Secretary
Tony Pialis
Nakul Duggal - EVP, Group GM of Automotive, Industrial, Embedded IoT, & Robotics - Qualcomm Technologies
Brett Adcock - CEO, CFO, Secretary & Director
Chris Lattner - Co-Founder & CEO
Clément Delangue - Co-Founder, President, CEO & Director
Akash Palkhiwala - Executive VP, CFO & COO
Conference Call Participants
Brett Simpson - Arete Research Services LLP
Satya Nadella - Microsoft Corporation
Mark Zuckerberg - Meta Platforms, Inc.
Tareq Amin - Al-Mustaqbal Lil-Thaka Al-Istinai Company
David Reger - Neura Robotics GmbH
Panos Panay - Amazon.com, Inc.
Rick Osterloh
Christopher Caso - Wolfe Research, LLC
James Schneider - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
Joseph Cardoso - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
Presentation
Brett Simpson
Arete Research Services LLP
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Qualcomm's 2026 Investor Day. It's great to be here in New York, and it's great to see so many familiar faces.
Now a lot of you have been asking me recently why I joined Qualcomm. And well, I think it's pretty clear. I think we have a really compelling investment case. And today is an opportunity to really share with you why we're so excited about what lies ahead for Qualcomm. We've got a lot to share with you today.
Before we jump into things, I just want to say a big thanks to everyone involved from Qualcomm and making this day possible. It's a huge amount of work. I really had no idea how much man hours goes into put an event like this on. And just wanted to say thanks to everyone. It's really amazing. And I also wanted to say a big thanks to all the executives from
For years, Qualcomm (QCOM +4.76%) has been seen as a premium smartphone chipmaker that raked in billions from the mobile revolution. However, investors may be witnessing the beginning of a new chapter.
At yesterday’s investor day, the company unveiled ambitious plans to more than double its non-handset sales in just three years, to $40 billion. While total revenue growth doesn’t seem significant, what’s huge is the changing revenue composition, driven by AI compute, which signals massive opportunities ahead across multiple large markets. Management estimates a combined total addressable market of $1.7 trillion by 2030.
Image source: Getty Images.
Qualcomm stock was up 11% in pre-market trading, and while the initial excitement seems to have worn off, the stock is still up nearly 8.5% by 1:15 p.m. The bigger story, though, is the hidden opportunities for retail investors willing to hold this stock over the next three to five years.
The opportunity no one else is actively pursuing Qualcomm’s expertise in smartphone chip manufacturing makes it the ideal candidate to pursue a potentially explosive segment lurking in the sidelines: edge AI compute.
Today, most artificial intelligence (AI) models run in the cloud, which explains the explosive growth in data centers worldwide. What’s yet to takeoff at a massive level is the ability to run AI models on the millions of devices themselves, whether owned by individuals or corporations.
Essentially, management at Qualcomm is predicting that AI models will become more efficient in both compute and energy use during inference, which is when the model produces an output based on what it has already learned. Additionally, there will be leaner, task-specific AI models trained for a particular job, which could then reside on the device itself.
Why edge AI mattersAs large language models (LLMs) become more sophisticated and capable of performing more generalized tasks, their utility for niche, specialized, and privacy-focused applications could eventually become limited. As AI compute proliferates, the need to reduce latency between the device and the large language model, usually located on a distant server, can’t be overstated. A smartphone camera that needs instant photo processing, or self-driving cars that can’t wait for a response from the cloud, are examples where any latency could be a major hindrance.
The other advantages are increased privacy for in-device processing and lower costs for enterprises looking to wean certain compute activities off expensive data centers.
Expansion into multiple fieldsQualcomm expects to generate $40 billion in non-handset revenue by fiscal 2029. As of the second quarter of fiscal 2026, which ended on March 29, of the total $44 billion in trailing twelve-month sales, non-handset revenue stood at little over $16 billion, and the remaining $27 billion came from its smartphone chip business.
To reach a $40 billion annualized target, management needs to ramp up the non-smartphone business by a massive 150% over the next three and a half years, with edge computing contributing more than a third of the revenue.
Qualcomm’s foray into data centers could yield $15 billion annually. Meta Platforms (META 1.97%), the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to use Qualcomm’s data center CPU, the Qualcomm Dragonfly™ C1000, to power its next-generation data centers. The CPU is expected to be in production in the second half of 2028.
The market is already pricing a different businessToday's rally reflects confidence in Qualcomm's transformative AI ambitions beyond smartphones.
The smartphone business is cyclical. People don’t usually upgrade their phones every year, but rather over a three- to four-year period, when existing handsets become obsolete. The result is faltering demand for legacy smartphone chips. Not surprisingly, over the last five years, the stock has gained only 57%, significantly underperforming both the Nasdaq-100 and the S&P 500.
At a little over 23 times trailing 12-month earnings and five times sales, the stock looks quite cheap for a company that is inevitably moving into the red-hot AI-infrastructure business.
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QCOM PE Ratio data by YCharts.
Execution holds the keyWhile ambitions are easy to digest, what is actually challenging is gaining market share. Hyperscalers are competing for the best available chip at the lowest available price. In fact, many of them, such as Alphabet and Amazon, are designing their own chips.
The real question investors must ask is whether Qualcomm can prove it can live up to its ambitions.
Diversifying away from a predominantly single source of income, while initially scary, is a requirement. For Qualcomm, the next decade of growth could look very different from its last.
While Micron (MU) is taking much of the trading attention Thursday, Qualcomm (QCOM) shares have also surged as investors seek positive momentum in the company's AI infrastructure reach. Qualcomm also penned new partnerships with Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT).
The market may seem to be on the ropes right now, led lower by setbacks for several of its most popular AI stocks. The post-IPO weakness from SpaceX is adding to bearish undertones too.
As veteran investors can attest, however, these stumbles are often second chances to step into names you missed on the way up the first time around.
With that as the backdrop, here's a rundown of three top stocks to buy that are now on sale, and not necessarily just because of the market's recent weakness. In no particular order...
S&P Global S&P Global (SPGI 0.43%) hasn't performed particularly well of late, tumbling in February due to disappointing guidance and worries that the advent of artificial intelligence poses a threat to its software business. The 24% plunge from that pre-earnings peak, however, is an opportunity to get into a name that's undergoing some exciting evolutions.
But first things first.
Yes, this is the company behind the S&P 500 index, which may be the market's best-known market barometer. It's also a profit center, as S&P Global licenses the use of this index and others. This business accounts for about 12% of its total top line.
The company's breadwinners, however, are its stock and bond ratings services and the sale of in-depth market data. These are businesses in perpetual demand, even if they're rarely high-growth. That being said, with higher interest seemingly here for a while in a market environment that's a bit tricky to read, there's an argument to be made that these two arms are actually going to see unexpectedly decent growth ahead, as was already seen in Q1 with the 13% year over year improvement in ratings revenue.
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As for the laggard mobility arm that provides data and forecasts regarding automobiles and transportation, that's one of the exciting changes in the works. In May, shareholders approved the spinoff of this business into its own publicly traded entity. It won't technically change much on a net basis, since current SPGI owners will actually be receiving their share of the impending spinoff. But the maneuver should unlock the value that's otherwise been obscured by keeping this oddball business combined with its core operation.
S&P Global is also selling its energy software business to technology outfit SLB, which can arguably do more with it.
These divestitures will allow S&P Global to focus on more fitting and fruitful ventures, and of course, sidestep the risk that artificial intelligence poses on this front. Very little of this smart strategic shift, though, is currently reflected in the stock's price.
Qualcomm Qualcomm (QCOM +4.76%) has been a tough name to get a handle on for a while now. The chipmaker wasn't really a big part of the beginning of the artificial intelligence revolution, simply because it doesn't make data center chips. As AI computing moved out of the data center and onto mobile devices, however, its high-performance Snapdragon mobile processors became pretty popular pretty quickly. Then last year, the company actually entered the artificial intelligence data center processor market, although this had little impact on the stock until April, when shares soared following an impressive fiscal Q2 earnings beat and word that it had lined up its first paying data center customer, setting up recent profit-taking stemming from broader weakness from the entire AI sector.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now take a step back and look at the bigger picture. CEO Cristiano Amon is right about this company's future. So-called "edge" computing within automobiles, wearables, medical equipment, mobile devices, and more -- where on-board AI can offer true constructive value without requiring the involvement of a remote data center -- is the future, and the company's portfolio is largely built from the ground up for this very purpose. Nobody else has anything quite like this company's tech.
It matters simply because, according to Precedence Research, the worldwide mobile artificial intelligence business is poised to grow at an average annual pace of 26% through 2035, when it will be worth an estimated $325 billion per year.
Just make sure you're truly prepared to be patient with QCOM stock here. You'll need a long-term mindset to weather the volatility that's sure to linger for a while.
Chewy Finally, if you've got a few thousand bucks you're ready to put to work for the long haul, add Chewy (CHWY 3.50%) to your watchlist, if not your portfolio.
It's not too difficult to understand why shares of this online pet supplies store have been down for the past few days. Although the company met its earnings estimates and topped sales estimates for its fiscal first quarter ending in early May, in mid-June, it also dialed back its full-year revenue guidance from the previous quarterly report's outlook, with CEO Sumit Singh warning that "the consumer pet environment has become incrementally more challenged" in this inflation-riddled environment.
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Just don't lose perspective on the matter. Last quarter's top line still improved 7.7% year over year -- extending long-established trends -- while the proportion of its business from autoship customers who enjoy the convenience of automatically recurring delivery of their pet's supplies grew again to a record 84.4% of revenue. This business is, of course, relatively easy to retain.
But the consumerism headwind? It's certainly nothing to ignore. Morgan Stanley's analysts see it too, recently acknowledging this about the pet-care industry's revenue: "After nearly 20% growth in 2021 and a 9% annual pace through 2025, expansion is expected to slow to about 4% through 2030."
Now read the rest of analyst Simeon Gutman's take on the matter. He adds, "but key growth drivers are intact: Emotional attachment to pets is high, the vet is still very important, and digitally positioned players are best placed to capitalize on evolving shopping trends."
Chewy is one of these well-positioned digital players, offering pet owners the price and value they're now shopping around for. The challenging economic backdrop could quietly favor it. Analysts seem to think so anyway. Most of those keeping tabs on this ticker currently consider it a strong buy, with a consensus price target of $ 30.82, which is more than 70% above Chewy's current price.
Shopify (SHOP) saw its shares surge in the last session with trading volume being higher than average. The latest trend in earnings estimate revisions may not translate into further price increase in the near term.
Energy ETFs are facing a fresh challenge as oil prices retreat below $70 a barrel, raising questions about whether the sector’s strong run can continue if crude remains under pressure.
Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude have both pulled back toward levels seen before the recent Middle East-driven spike, with easing concerns over supply disruptions helping push prices lower.
• What’s next for XLE stock?
Traditionally, falling oil prices weigh on energy producers by reducing revenue and profit expectations. Yet energy stocks have so far shown surprising resilience, supported by disciplined capital spending, shareholder returns and expectations that global demand will remain healthy.
For ETF investors, the key question is whether energy equities can continue outperforming if crude prices stay below the psychologically important $70 threshold.
Energy ETFs Remain Leveraged To Oil PricesWhy Energy ETFs May Prove More Resilient This CycleUnlike previous downturns, many energy companies have prioritized profitability over production growth. Rather than aggressively increasing output when prices rise, producers have focused on generating free cash flow, repurchasing shares and maintaining dividends.
That shift has helped attract investors seeking value and income in a market where many growth-oriented sectors trade at elevated valuations. As a result, energy ETFs have become less dependent on ever-rising oil prices than they were during past commodity cycles.
Additionally, if lower gasoline prices boost consumer spending and support broader economic growth, energy demand may remain stronger than investors expect, limiting downside pressure on oil.
While oil prices remain the most important driver for the sector, upcoming earnings reports may prove equally critical. Investors will be looking for signs that producers can sustain cash generation, dividends and buyback programs even in a sub-$70 oil environment.
For now, energy ETFs are caught between weak crude prices that threaten earnings and a fundamentally healthier industry that appears better equipped to weather a downturn. How those forces balance out could determine whether funds such as XLE, XOP and OIH continue to outperform in the second half of the year.
Photo: Shutterstock
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) shocked the global oil market in April when it announced it would leave OPEC in May. The UAE had been an OPEC member since 1967 and was the third-largest oil producer in the group before its surprising exit. Leaving OPEC frees the UAE from production quotas, allowing it to increase its production at will.
Now, Iraq is warning OPEC that it could also leave the group. Here’s why and what that would mean for oil stocks.
Image source: Getty Images.
Iraq wants to increase its outputIraq is considering leaving OPEC if the cartel doesn’t allow it to meaningfully increase its oil production. That would be an even more devastating blow to the group than the UAE's exit. Iraq is currently OPEC’s second-largest oil producer behind Saudi Arabia. Further, it’s one of the five founding members of OPEC, which formed the organization in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1960.
Iraq’s current quota is 4.378 million barrels per day (BPD). However, its output has been significantly below that level due to the disruption to the Strait of Hormuz caused by fellow OPEC member Iran. It produced only 1.48 million BPD in May, down from nearly 4.2 million BPD before the closure. That’s having a significant impact on its economy, as Iraq gets most of its income from oil sales.
The country’s new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, wants to rebuild his country’s economy and attract more foreign investment. As part of that aim, Iraq wants to increase its oil production to 7 million BPD in the coming years. If OPEC won’t allow it to reach that target, Iraq could follow the UAE and leave the cartel to pursue its independent strategy.
If Iraq ultimately leaves OPEC, it would allow the country to significantly increase oil production. That would likely put downward pressure on oil prices in the coming years, especially as the UAE increases output and Iran and Venezuela are also likely to pump more oil. Those lower oil prices would hurt the profitability of producers that maintain their production.
However, some oil companies stand to benefit from increased Iraqi oil production. For example, Chevron (CVX +0.55%) entered exclusive talks with the country earlier this year to take over operations of the West Qurna 2 field. It’s one of the largest oil fields in the world, responsible for 0.5% of global supply and nearly 10% of Iraq’s output. Chevron also signed a deal last year for the Nassiriya project, which includes producing fields and exploration blocks. Chevron could invest capital to help Iraq grow its production, providing the oil company with another future growth driver.
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Fellow oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM +0.34%) could also benefit if Iraq leaves OPEC. The company signed an agreement with the country last year to develop its massive Majnoon oilfield and expand its oil exports. Majnoon is one of the largest oil fields in the world, with an estimated 38 billion barrels of oil. Investing in expanding Iraq’s production would provide Exxon with another long-term growth catalyst.
An interesting development to monitorIraq wants to tap the full potential of its oil resources, but it can’t do so under OPEC’s current quota. If OPEC won’t raise its production quota, Iraq could leave the cartel. That would be another devastating blow to the group, which recently lost the UAE. While rising production from these countries would push down oil prices and producer profits, it would also benefit oil giants Exxon and Chevron, which would have more freedom to increase production from Iraqi fields. That makes it an intriguing development that oil investors should watch.
Shares of Carnival Corp. (CCL 2.15%) declined 5% on Tuesday. The world's largest cruise line operator in terms of passenger count and revenue reported mixed financial results for its fiscal second quarter.
The market's reaction suggests that there was more bad than good in Tuesday's update. I had three burning questions for Carnival to answer this week. Let's see how things stand now that the financial report is fading in the wake of the cruise line's quarterly performance.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Can the bottom-line beats keep coming? Yes. This was the one positive in the report. Carnival had an impressive run of 11 consecutive quarters of beating Wall Street's adjusted profit targets heading into this week's reveal. It stretched that winning streak to a clean dozen reports on Tuesday.
Revenue rose a modest 5% to $6.66 billion, just shy of the $6.69 billion analysts were modeling. The bottom-line showing was the real star. Carnival's adjusted earnings rose 15% to $0.41 per share, even after a 30% rise in fuel costs resulted in an unfavorable impact of $0.06 per share.
Analysts weren't expecting Carnival's operations to overcome the rising fuel costs. They were forecasting an adjusted profit of $0.34 a share, just below the $0.35 a share it delivered a year earlier. Clocking in at $0.41 a share is a clear beat, its second-largest positive surprise over the past year.
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2. Can guidance continue to impress? No. Here is where the wheels -- or, I guess we can say, rudder -- started to come off. Carnival is feeling the brunt of rising costs and their impact on the company heading into its seasonally potent fiscal third quarter and beyond.
Despite soundly beating expectations on the bottom line, Carnival's view for the entire fiscal year that ends in November is now $2.22 a share in adjusted earnings, a penny shy of where the market was docked. The $1.35-a-share adjusted net income it's now guiding for the current quarter -- the busy summer season for the industry, when the lion's share of its profit is made -- is well short of the $1.42 a share the market was projecting.
Carnival also lowered its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance for fiscal 2026. It's now at $7.11 billion. It was holding out for $7.19 billion three months ago.
3. Can Carnival retain its newfound market leadership? No.
Demand remains strong for the watery escapes that Carnival offers. The cruise line operator points out that bookings for the balance of this fiscal year are ahead of where they were a year ago for fiscal 2025. Passengers are also willing to pay more to board.
That's the good news. The bad news is that the argument I made for Carnival's market leadership centered largely on the stock's outperformance relative to its two closest rivals among publicly traded ocean cruise specialists. Carnival's 30% jump over the past year was roughly double what its closest rival, Royal Caribbean (RCL 0.04%), was delivering. Just three trading days later, the one-year stock charts have become passing ships.
Royal Caribbean is now up 17% over the past year, rising even as industry bellwether Carnival takes on some water. Carnival stock is now just 16% higher over the past year.
It's a fair transfer of market leadership. Royal Caribbean may be smaller in fleet size and revenue, but it has commanded a higher market cap due to its superior profitability, margins, and passenger loyalty. Royal Caribbean is the shareholder returns leader, as it has been for most of the past few years.
Carnival NYSE: CCL just reported its second fiscal quarter, and it’s clear from the numbers that the company is sailing in the right direction. But warning signs of rough waters ahead spooked investors.
Carnival Today
$28.26 -0.65 (-2.24%)
As of 03:29 PM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.
52-Week Range$23.45▼
$34.03Dividend Yield2.12%
P/E Ratio12.73
Price Target$35.13
Based on the latest figures, Carnival continues to execute one of the stronger post-pandemic recoveries in travel. For the three months ended May 31, Carnival posted record levels of revenue, adjusted net income, net yields, and customer deposits. Even with geopolitical tensions and significantly higher fuel costs, the company’s net income rose more than 20%.
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But the company’s forward guidance did little to calm nerves, and that overshadowed an otherwise positive quarterly performance. The stock slid sharply after earnings were announced and closed the day down roughly 5%.
Most analysts still like the stock, but investors should recognize that with real strengths come risks.
Strong Quarterly Results Beat ExpectationsCarnival’s second-quarter results were convincing. Net income came in at $537 million, 5% lower than a year earlier, though adjusted net income, which strips out one-time items, reached $569 million, up more than 21% year-over-year. Overall, revenue of $6.66 billion represented a 5.3% increase over the same period a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was a record $1.58 billion, up from $1.5 billion a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were 39 cents, and adjusted EPS rose more than 15% to 41 cents, up from 35 cents in the prior-year period and above analysts’ expectations.
The company also said it repurchased more than $450 million of company stock and, with a dividend yield of 2%, distributed $207 million in dividends in the latest quarter.
Healthy Margins Despite Higher Fuel CostsWhile the headline figures were impressive, the unit economics were also encouraging. Net yields in constant currency rose 2.2% for the quarter. Continued price discipline showed up as well, as adjusted daily cruise costs per bed, excluding fuel, held essentially flat year-over-year.
Predictably, fuel was the most visible cost challenge during the quarter. Carnival noted that the increase in earnings per share came despite fuel prices and currency movements, which lowered per share earnings by 6 cents, equal to an overall hit of $73 million for the quarter.
Given 30% higher fuel costs, gross margin yields were down 3.9%. But with adjusted earnings still hitting records, the operating model appears to be holding.
An additional bright spot was a 5.6% improvement in fuel consumption per available lower berth day, suggesting that operational efficiency was at least partially offsetting price pressures.
Debt Reduction Continues to Strengthen the Balance SheetThe latest numbers also showed Carnival’s recovery continuing after more than three years in the making. When the global cruise industry shut down during the pandemic, Carnival took on enormous debt to survive, suspended its dividend, and watched its stock collapse from the low $50s to nearly $7 in the space of a few months.
Its recovery has been methodical and convincing. As of May 31, long-term debt had dropped to $23.4 billion, continuing a steady decline from $32 billion near the end of 2022. The company’s net interest expense improved in the latest quarter to $285 million from $341 million a year earlier.
Strong Demand Faces External RisksThe rest of the year looks strong for the company, though concerns remain.
On the plus side, customer deposits, or the amount consumers have paid to book a cruise months in advance, hit a record $9 billion by the end of the quarter, up more than $450 million compared with the prior year record. In all, Carnival has booked 93% of its capacity and expects record net yields for the rest of the year, the company’s CEO said.
That positive outlook, however, is paired with cautionary forward concerns. The ongoing tensions in the Middle East have significantly cut into Carnival’s operations in the Mediterranean Sea, and concerns linger about demand and net yields going forward.
While earnings for the second quarter came in above analysts’ expectations, revenue missed fractionally from what analysts projected. Further instability in high-tourist areas could continue to cut into passenger bookings.
Further, energy costs remain a significant variable that can shift results quickly. And weather disruptions, macroeconomic slowdowns, or a shift in consumer spending priorities could each push a slowdown that’s not easy to offset. The consumer discretionary sector is always subject to volatility, and competitors, such as Royal Caribbean NYSE: RCL and Norwegian Cruise Line NYSE: NCLH, are stepping up their offerings.
Current Price$28.73High Forecast$45.00Average Forecast$35.13Low Forecast$28.70Carnival Stock Forecast Details
Overall, though, Wall Street analysts like what they see. Of the 26 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a 12-month average target price of $35.13 per share, up more than 20% from current levels.
Finally recovering from its collapse five years ago, shares are up roughly 12% over the past three months. That upside got even more attractive after the pullback that occurred after Carnival reported second-quarter earnings—a reaction similar to what occurred after its first-quarter report.
In all, 21 analysts recommend Buy, while five have the stock as a Hold. The highest price target is $45, while the lowest is $28.70 per share.
Carnival Appeals Most to Aggressive InvestorsFor investors, the choices seem clear. Carnival Corporation has just delivered its best-ever quarter by several key measures, and the record customer deposit balance suggests demand is not fading.
Aggressive investors who are willing to accept cyclicality and balance-sheet risk could likely find the stock interesting. For those who believe in the durability of consumer travel demand, Carnival offers a combination of strong fundamentals, forward momentum, and a meaningful upside.
Conservative investors seeking above a 2% dividend yield, more predictable results, and greater balance-sheet strength might prefer other options.
Should You Invest $1,000 in Carnival Right Now?Before you consider Carnival, you'll want to hear this.
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The AI boom is creating opportunities across semiconductors, cloud computing, enterprise software, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and automation.
Inside this report, you’ll find 10 companies positioned to benefit as artificial intelligence moves from hype to real-world deployment and becomes a core growth driver for corporate America.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of CRM either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Today’s widely discussed smart-money signal on a SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX)-T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS | TMUS Price Prediction) tie-up comes from a single TD Cowen analyst, not consensus. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s broader view on T-Mobile remains bullish on fundamentals rather than takeover speculation. A TD Cowen analyst, as reported via TheFly and StockTwits, floated the scenario that SpaceX’s Starlink unit could need to acquire a major U.S. wireless carrier and T-Mobile “seems to us the clear choice.”
This remains speculation at the analyst level. SpaceX hasn’t announced or been reported to be pursuing T-Mobile, and the market reflects that. SPCX stock traded near $153 in Thursday’s afternoon session, down 1%, while T-Mobile stock rose 1% to $182 and change; neither move was consistent with a real bid catalyst.
For institutional investors, the operative read is straightforward: treat the TD Cowen note as a strategic thought experiment about Starlink’s terrestrial network gap, not a deal in progress. The note explores a hypothetical path rather than signaling imminent corporate action.
What the TD Cowen Analyst Actually Argued The analyst’s reasoning rests on SpaceX’s prospectus filings, which point to explicit ambitions for Starlink to compete directly in high-density urban and suburban markets, segments demanding a far larger terrestrial footprint than the rural and isolated areas Starlink has historically served. Next-generation Starlink Mobile satellites would require a massive terrestrial footprint to deliver on those ambitions.
The analyst noted that the “Big Three” U.S. wireless carriers have reportedly refused to lease network capacity to SpaceX via mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreements, leaving acquisition as the apparent strategic path. T-Mobile’s momentum, “maverick” culture, position as a pure-play wireless provider, and existing Starlink partnership made it the analyst’s preferred candidate, with AT&T (NYSE:T) floated as “another thought.”
What the Data Says About TMUS and SPCX On T-Mobile, consensus is decisively bullish independent of M&A talk. Alpha Vantage shows an analyst target price of $259.08, with 9 Strong Buy, 15 Buy, 4 Hold, and zero Sell or Strong Sell ratings against T-Mobile stock’s current $182.76. T-Mobile’s trailing P/E ratio is 20x, the forward P/E ratio is 18x, and the beta sits at 0.3.
Operationally, T-Mobile posted Q4 2025 revenue of $24.33 billion, up 11% year over year (YoY), free cash flow of $4.19 billion, and 962,000 postpaid phone net adds in the quarter. Management guided FY2026 core adjusted EBITDA of $37 billion to $37.5 billion and authorized a $14.6 billion stockholder return program through December.
SpaceX has no public analyst coverage, no consensus price target, and no institutional positioning data. SPCX carries a market cap of roughly $1.16 trillion. SpaceX stock IPO’d June 15 at $135, surged to a peak around $225 before sharp volatility, and has dropped in five of its first eight sessions, with a one-week change of around -20%.
The Gap Between the Story and the Tape Wall Street’s consensus target of $259.08 on T-Mobile stock sits well above the current share price, a gap unrelated to SpaceX speculation. TMUS stock is down 10% year to date, even as analysts maintain their constructive stance on fundamentals.
For SpaceX, the absence of any prediction market on a wireless-carrier acquisition signals skepticism. Polymarket hosted active SpaceX M&A markets, with the Cursor/Anysphere acquisition question settling at a last trade price of 0.999, yet no carrier-acquisition contracts exist on the platform. So far, traders generally aren’t pricing in the T-Mobile scenario.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was reportedly bearish on both SPCX and TMUS this week, a notable divergence from the institutional bull case. That split is a useful indicator of speculative-versus-fundamental cross-currents in both names.
Is the Smart Money Right, and Should You Act on It? On T-Mobile, institutional consensus rests on documented cash-flow growth, broadband subscriber leadership, and a multi-billion-dollar capital return program, not takeover speculation. The TD Cowen scenario is internally logical given SpaceX’s stated urban broadband ambitions, but it remains one analyst’s hypothetical without corporate confirmation from either company.
A SpaceX acquisition of T-Mobile would face significant regulatory, antitrust, financing, and integration hurdles. Besides, SpaceX is already digesting its $60 billion Anysphere acquisition announced June 16.
Investors can monitor Starlink’s terrestrial buildout disclosures and any official carrier commentary from SpaceX as real signals worth tracking. It makes sense to keep one’s position sizes modest given how speculative the M&A premise remains. For now, the smart money’s verifiable view rests on T-Mobile’s fundamentals, not takeover talk.
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Turning a $50,000 income stream into a $100,000 income stream sounds like it should require another million dollars, a lucky stock pick, or a second career. Sometimes it requires none of those things.
The secret is that retirement income is not a snapshot. It is a moving target. A portfolio that pays $50,000 today and grows that income year after year can eventually produce six figures without the investor adding another dollar.
That is why the highest-yielding portfolio is not always the best choice. The investments that generate the biggest paycheck on day one often struggle to grow it. Meanwhile, a portfolio built around dividend growth can start with a smaller check and end up paying twice as much. The difference is not yield. It is time, compounding, and a steady stream of annual raises.
The Capital Required at Three Yield Levels The conservative tier sits at 3 to 4% yield, where dividend growers and broad equity income funds live. To pull $50,000 from a 3.5% yield, you need roughly $1,428,571 invested. This is the “sleep at night” tier: more capital up front, the most diversification, and the highest probability that both income and principal grow.
The moderate tier covers 5 to 7% yield: REITs, preferred shares, covered call equity funds, high-dividend ETFs. At 7%, $50,000 requires only $714,286. Income arrives faster, but growth slows and inflation protection thins.
The aggressive tier covers 8 to 14% yield: business development companies, mortgage REITs, leveraged covered call funds, high-yield bond funds. At 12%, you need just $416,667. The catch is principal erosion and distribution cuts, common in this tier.
For context on the alternative, the 10-year Treasury yields almost 4.5% and the national 12-month CD average sits near 1.7%. Neither grows.
Why $50,000 Beats $100,000 Over Time Picture two retirees starting from opposite directions. Investor A chooses the big paycheck and collects $100,000 a year from a portfolio yielding 9%. Investor B accepts a smaller starting income of $50,000 from a portfolio of dividend growers.
At first, Investor A looks like the genius.
But Investor B’s income rises 8% a year. Using the Rule of 72, that means the income stream roughly doubles every nine years. Around year 10, Investor B is collecting close to $100,000 annually. By year 15, the income is approaching $150,000. By year 25, it is pushing toward $350,000 a year.
Investor A is still receiving the same $100,000.
That is where inflation becomes the silent villain. A flat income stream may feel generous today, but every year it buys a little less. Over a long retirement, the retiree with the growing dividend stream is not merely keeping up. They are widening the gap. What started as a $50,000 income stream eventually becomes a six-figure paycheck, while the larger initial payout gradually loses purchasing power.
The Stocks That Actually Do This Five names illustrate the conservative-tier engine. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ | JNJ Price Prediction) yields 2.2% and just notched its 64th consecutive annual increase, with the quarterly payout climbing to $1.34. Shares are up 168% over 10 years.
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) yields 2.5% with 145% price appreciation over a decade. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) just delivered its 70th straight annual hike and yields 2.9%. PepsiCo yields 3.9% and lifted its quarterly payout to $1.48, the 54th annual raise.
For faster compounding, NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) yields 2.7% but guides roughly 10% dividend growth through 2026, with shares up 256% over 10 years. To straddle tiers, Realty Income (NYSE:O) pays monthly, yields 5.2%, and has raised 114 consecutive quarters.
When the High-Yield Path Wins Dividend growth is powerful, but it is not magic. It needs time. An investor who is 80 years old, in poor health, or trying to bridge a short-term income gap may not have the luxury of waiting a decade for a growing income stream to catch up. In those situations, a higher starting yield can make more sense. The same logic applies to retirees delaying Social Security, where benefits increase by roughly 8% annually between full retirement age and age 70. A high-yield portfolio can provide the cash flow needed to fund the wait.
The key question is not which strategy is better. It is how long the money needs to work. For retirement horizons measured in years rather than decades, starting yield often has the advantage. For investors expecting 15, 20, or 30 more years of retirement, dividend growth becomes increasingly difficult to ignore. The portfolio that starts with the smaller paycheck may ultimately deliver the larger income stream, the greater purchasing power, and the bigger nest egg.
What to Do This Week Calculate your real spending, not your salary. Replacement need is usually 20 to 30% below gross income after payroll taxes and savings stop. Compare 10-year total returns side by side. Pull the dividend growth and price chart of a conservative-tier name against any 10%-plus yield fund you own. The compounding gap is usually visible by year seven. Model your tax bracket at each tier. Qualified dividends and REIT distributions are taxed differently, and within five years of retirement that delta can be worth a full percentage point of after-tax yield.
Despite upbeat earnings from Micron Technology (MU), the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) has swung into negative territory. The index is down triple digits as Apple (AAPL) slides 5% after announcing price increases, dragging Big Tech lower. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is up 488 points and trading at fresh record highs as Caterpillar (CAT) climbs to its own all-time high, while the S&P 500 Index (SPX) enjoys a modest gain.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
Wendy's stock saw an early morning retail trader rally. Western Digital stock enjoys Micron tailwinds. Plus, options traders target tumbling TCOM; SNDK rallies; and PLTR hits 52-week lows.
Trip.com Group Ltd (NASDAQ:TCOM) is gapping to more than two-year lows, last seen down 14.9% at $39.38, after the company issued disappointing first-quarter results and warned of slowing current-quarter revenue growth, as well as a "significant fine" from an ongoing antitrust probe by China's top market regulator. So far, TCOM has seen 4,800 calls and 6,153 puts exchanged, which is already five times its average daily options volume. The July 40 put is the most popular, followed by the 45 put in the same series.
The tech rebound may be already be cooling, but memory and storage chip stock SanDisk Corp (NASDAQ:SNDK) is still rallying, up 13.4% at $2,171.00 at last check. The shares have been on a rollercoaster all week, carrying the South Korean Kospi with them, and are now nearing their June 22 record high of $2,354.39. Since the start of the year, SNDK is up 817%.
Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:PLTR) is headed for its seventh consecutive loss, down 5.3% at $107.47 at last glance and earlier hitting a 52-week low of $106.37. The stock is headed for its worst month since February 2021 amid numerous headwinds including the recent tech rotation, while "The Big Short" investor Michael Burry has been publicly maintaining an ongoing short position on PLTR. Year to date, the equity is down 39.5%.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR 5.43%) stock, one-time star of the defense technology industry, tumbled 5.2% through 12:50 p.m. ET Thursday. In fact, earlier in the morning, the company briefly set a new 52-week low share price of $106.39.
And here's the weird thing: It dropped not on bad news but on good news.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Palantir's still winning contracts Monday, Palantir confirmed it will play a role in the U.S. Army's Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) project, helping modernize command-and-control. Separately, the company announced a partnership with Zeta Global (ZETA 4.62%) to use Palantir's AI infrastructure to support Zeta's marketing.
But here's the thing: Palantir didn't put a dollar value on its NGC2 contract. And according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives (who's a Palantir fan, with an outperform rating and a $230 price target), the Zeta deal will "drive more than $100 million in revenue for Zeta over multiple years."
That's not a lot of money relative to Palantir's $5.2 billion annual revenue stream. What's more, this is revenue Zeta will collect with help from Palantir. What it pays Palantir for that help will almost certainly be much less than $100 million and "over multiple years."
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What it means for Palantir So neither contract promises to move the needle much for Palantir, restore the one-time tech darling's momentum, or pull Palantir out of its 52-week funk. But here's the good news for Palantir investors:
Valued today at $272 billion, generating $2.7 billion in annual free cash flow, and expected to grow earnings at 54% annually, Palantir is finally approaching a defensible valuation -- a price-to-FCF-to-growth ratio of less than 2.0.
I'm not quite ready to buy Palantir at this price. But if the stock drops much more, I could finally see that happening.
Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
