The long-term growth story for nuclear power is clear. Artificial intelligence (AI) companies are scaling energy-intensive data center infrastructure as quickly as humanly possible. And the current energy grid isn't prepared for this unprecedented build-out. New energy sources will be needed quickly, and nuclear energy could deliver the reliable, low-carbon baseload power the AI industry craves.
NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) has long appreciated this data center infrastructure demand tailwind. The company's small modular reactors (SMRs) are a great fit for adding large amounts of reliable power generation to the grid.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
This year, however, I think there's an even more exciting catalyst to pay attention to than general industry demand tailwinds.
NuScale remains the only nuclear developer in the U.S. approved by regulators to build an SMR system. But it has yet to even commercialize its approved designs. That could change later this year when the company suspects it could reach a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a major customer.

#signal #nuclear #data

While it's still early in its turnaround efforts, Target has begun shifting the narrative away from its recent controversies and back toward its actual stores.
That's evident from the headlines on recent major stories covering its second-quarter earnings.
"A new look and fresh merch are winning customers back at Target as sales rebound," reported the ******* ociated Press.
Reuters took a similar, business-first approach. "Target lifts annual forecasts again as Fiddelke's turnaround takes root," the news agency shared.
That's a change from the narrative that surrounded the chain's recent struggles.

#narrative #associated

(Bloomberg) -- Crypto's true believers suddenly have a spring in their step again.
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#biggest #customers

SentinelOne (NYSE: S) will announce its earnings for the second quarter of 2026 on August 27 after the bell. The report may generate some interest, as the company has won over customers with Singularity, its AI-native cybersecurity platform.
Moreover, investors have taken notice as the stock has risen by 42% since the beginning of the year. Amid the rising interest in the stock, should investors buy before the earnings release? Let's take a closer look.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
At first glance, SentinelOne's AI-native platform may offer some advantages. Thanks to that approach, it offers on-device AI models like its on-agent autonomous AI, giving it machine learning capabilities directly on the agent. Moreover, its Purple AI generative AI ****** istant works across security operations, and its 1-click remediation and rollback can return files to a pre-attack state when necessary.
However, investors have to remember the competitive nature of the cybersecurity industry. Unfortunately, the AI-native approach has not necessarily won over customers, and established cybersecurity companies like Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Microsoft, and CrowdStrike have also built platforms to address many of the same challenges.

#NVIDIA #native #earnings #interest

Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) are eerily similar companies. Both of them produce networking equipment for data centers, but they have also launched custom AI chip businesses with a few critical customers. Custom AI chips are likely to grow in popularity, as they can offer superior cost performance to traditional GPU-based training.
This primes both stocks to benefit as these units become more popular. But which one is the better buy? I think there's one metric that settles the debate.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
To date, most training and inference has been performed on graphics processing units (GPUs), mostly made by Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). GPUs are incredible computing units, and are great for a wide variety of workloads. The amount of flexibility that Nvidia has designed into its computing unit is amazing, but if a GPU only sees one workload type during its whole service life, then this flexibility is wasted. GPUs are still necessary in the computing landscape, as there are several reasons why GPUs should still be utilized; however, custom AI chips could provide better performance in some areas.
Custom AI chips are known as ASICs, application-specific integrated circuits. ASICs are nothing new, but their application to AI is. By building a computing chip around a workload rather than the other way around, designers can optimize and make these products efficient and cost-effective. This leads to more computing power at a lower cost, often outperforming GPU-based computing.

#custom

Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) stock has plummeted by 56% from last year's record high, but I'm not convinced this is a good buying opportunity. Although the company operates some of the world's best data centers for processing artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, investors are concerned about its substantial debts, especially because some of its top customers could struggle to fulfill their financial obligations over the next few years.
Oracle will have an opportunity to ease some of those jitters in early September when it releases its financial results for its fiscal 2027 first quarter (ending Aug. 31), but here's why the report -- expected on Sept. 8 -- probably won't turn sentiment around.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Oracle has a diverse business spanning enterprise software, database systems, AI infrastructure, and more. All eyes are on the cloud infrastructure segment right now, which is where the company logs the revenue it earns from renting data center computing capacity to AI customers.
Oracle's data centers are filled with thousands of advanced chips from suppliers like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, connected by proprietary random direct memory access networking (RDMA) technology that moves information between components faster than traditional Ethernet networks. Moreover, Oracle's infrastructure is highly automated by software, so the company can bring new locations online faster than competitors that rely on human-led processes.

#signal #infrastructure #flashing #advanced

(Bloomberg) -- Michael Burry criticized Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shares as overvalued and disclosed that he recently exited his position in the Chinese tech giant in order to build a "large" position in rival online retailer JD.com Inc.
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#position #burry

Cerebras Systems (CBRS) is giving investors another reason to pay attention to its ambitions in the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator market. On Aug. 18, the company unveiled its new CS-4 rack-scale platform, which it says can deliver up to 30 times faster AI inference than comparable GPU-based systems. Built around three new WSE-3 Turbo processors, CS-4 delivers 750 petaflops of AI compute, 7.2 terabits per second of I/O bandwidth, and 129.6 petabytes per second of memory bandwidth.
The launch comes at a critical time for Cerebras. The company is seeking to establish itself as a credible alternative to Nvidia (NVDA) in AI inference, where demand is rising as businesses deploy increasingly sophisticated generative AI and agentic applications. Cerebras says CS-4 can support models exceeding 50 trillion parameters and reduce wafer-to-wafer latency to as little as two microseconds, potentially giving customers a significant speed advantage for latency-sensitive workloads.
Soros Fund Management Opened a New Position in Nebius During Q2. What This Means for NBIS Stock.
Ahead of Nvidia Earnings, Here's What Barchart Data Says Comes Next for NVDA Stock
Nvidia Earnings, Jackson Hole and Other Key Things to Watch this Week

#earnings

Semiconductor solutions provider Marvell Technology (MRVL) has recently risen after a deal was revealed with Google parent Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) that would allow Google to buy $12.20 billion worth of shares in the chipmaker. The partnership builds on the existing deal between the two companies for custom chips.
In a regulatory filing, Marvell stated that the expanded agreement will cover products tied to the tensor processing unit ecosystem, including AI inference accelerators and storage and network interface controllers. Investors are excited about the deal because it shows Marvell's custom‑silicon platform is gaining traction among hyperscalers, which can signal greater revenue visibility down the line. Therefore, the stock may be worth considering now.
Ahead of Nvidia Earnings, Here's What Barchart Data Says Comes Next for NVDA Stock
Soros Fund Management Opened a New Position in Nebius During Q2. What This Means for NBIS Stock.
Nvidia Earnings, Jackson Hole and Other Key Things to Watch this Week

#marvell #semiconductor #technology

Walmart fell more than 9% after reporting its slowest comparable-sales growth in six years. U.S. comparable sales rose 2.6%, below the 3.8% Wall Street expected, and the stock lost more than $80 billion of market value in a day. That looks like a (WMT) story. I think it may be a consumer story.
(WMT) also raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts, which is why I would not treat the selloff as evidence that the business suddenly broke. The more revealing part of the quarter was what customers were doing inside the stores. Traffic held up reasonably well, but the average amount spent weakened. (WMT) also cut prices on roughly 11,000 items during the quarter. If you lower prices and customers become more selective about what goes into the basket, I pay attention. That tells me more about consumer behavior than about Walmart itself.
Soros Fund Management Opened a New Position in Nebius During Q2. What This Means for NBIS Stock.
Ahead of Nvidia Earnings, Here's What Barchart Data Says Comes Next for NVDA Stock
Nvidia Earnings, Jackson Hole and Other Key Things to Watch this Week

#comparable #Consumer #customers

SoundHound AI (SOUN) has years of experience in conversational and voice AI, and that expertise has helped drive revenue growth. But the company has yet to turn that growth into consistent profits. This is the reason now the company is making a bet that could change that. It is bringing more of its AI technology in-house, with management expecting the move to lower costs and improve profit margins. If this bet works, SoundHound may not just become a bigger AI company; it could become a much more profitable one. Let's find out what management is planning to do.
SoundHound AI develops conversational and voice AI technology that allows businesses to use AI agents to interact with customers. Its technology is used in areas such as cars, restaurants, healthcare, financial services, and retail, among others. SoundHound has been growing revenue at a rapid pace the last few years. In the most recent second quarter, revenue increased by 45% year-over-year (YoY) and 40% sequentially to $61.9 million. Despite the rapid revenue growth, SoundHound is not profitable yet. It reported a GAAP net loss of $0.10 per share and an adjusted net loss per share of $0.02 in Q2.
Soros Fund Management Opened a New Position in Nebius During Q2. What This Means for NBIS Stock.
Ahead of Nvidia Earnings, Here's What Barchart Data Says Comes Next for NVDA Stock
Nvidia Earnings, Jackson Hole and Other Key Things to Watch this Week

#company

Technology giant NVIDIA is furthering its support of artificial intelligence (AI) and data center construction. Cloverleaf Infrastructure, a group that supports the AI buildout by providing power sources and infrastructure for site development, on August 21 said it has entered into a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to advance the development of digital infrastructure across the U.S.NVIDIA reportedly as part of the agreement is taking a minority stake in Cloverleaf, which was founded in 2024 and raised $300 million in its first year. Cloverleaf is often considered a middleman between utility companies and data centers as the AI factories seek ways to ensure their electricity supply.NVIDIA has begun taking a larger role in financing and developing data centers that then buy the company's AI systems. NVIDIA earlier this month announced it would invest $1.5 billion into SB Energy to support that group's PORTS-Pike campus, an OpenAI-linked 10-GW data center project in Pike County, Ohio. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, said of that deal, "AI is becoming infrastructure—the foundation for intelligence in every industry—and land, power and shell have become vital in the age of AI. Now is the time to scale the AI infrastructure that will power the next industrial revolution. We are securing long-lived infrastructure for NVIDIA compute so OpenAI can deploy the most productive AI factories that can be upgraded repeatedly with each new generation delivering more intelligence and better economics."NVIDIA will be featured prominently at the upcoming Experience POWER conference, hosted by POWER and scheduled for Sept. 28–30, 2026, at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. John Josephakis, NVIDIA's Global Vice President of HPC, AI & Supercomputing, is a featured speaker addressing AI integration in federal energy initiatives. POWER also will host the Data Center POWER eXchange event at the same venue on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
Cloverleaf on Friday in a news release said the NVIDIA investment will enable the company "to help its customers and utility partners meet increasing demand for accelerated computing." The companies will work together "to advance the foundational infrastructure needed to support AI factory development," according to the release. Cloverleaf already has a large AI development pipeline, and has "delivered multiple GW-scale projects to customers across North America," according to the company.
[evtx_block slug="ep-dpx-26-textblock"]

#development #intelligence

Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU) has been an incredible long-term success story. Founded in 2013, the online-only bank now has nearly 140 million customers across just three countries: Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Year-over-year revenue growth has consistently been in the double digits, sometimes exceeding 100%.
Some ***** ysts worry that the fintech's biggest days of growth are behind it. After all, the competition is catching on to Nu's ***** et-light business model. But a few key figures from the company's recent quarterly earnings announcement suggest that the fintech stock remains a long-term buy.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
As I detailed earlier this month, Nu is facing increased competition, but its competitive advantages continue to give it a durable edge. In recent years, competing banks have acquired more customers, but at the expense of declining credit quality and rising deposit costs. Meanwhile, Nu has been able to maintain high revenue and customer growth without sacrificing borrower quality or net interest margins.
This quarter, the company posted a consolidated cost of deposits of 88% the interbank rate, three percentage points lower than a year ago. Its efficiency ratio (a measure of how well the bank is managing operating costs) and ***** et quality metrics also improved.

#NVIDIA #signal #quality #term

AT&T (NYSE: T) is part of a cellphone oligopoly in the United States. Essentially, the telecom giant and its main competitors dominate the sector, making it difficult for a newcomer to break in. However, that hasn't stopped companies from trying, including cable operators offering bundled services and, perhaps, even **** e Exploration Corporation's (NASDAQ: SPCX) Starlink. Here's how investors should view AT&T's ability to maintain its well-above-market 4.4% dividend yield as more companies try to break into the lucrative cellphone market.
The first thing to consider when looking at AT&T's business is the competitive landscape. It has always been intense, as the members of the cellphone oligopoly fight tooth and nail for market share. There's a good reason for that, however: customer revenues tend to be annuity-like. That provides a solid foundation for paying the dividend. And while the involvement of cable companies and **** eX increases competition, AT&T should be able to hold its own as a business.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
That big picture view of the situation, however, doesn't mean it will be able to continue paying its dividend at the current level. Most investors **** sing dividend support will look to the payout ratio to determine whether the company can continue paying nearly $2 billion in dividends each quarter. The 36% trailing 12-month payout ratio suggests the answer is yes.
But that $2 billion in dividends number came from the cash flow statement, not the income statement, where earnings live. This is because earnings aren't what pay the dividend; cash flow is. When you compare the dividend to cash flow, using the cash dividend payout ratio, you get a slightly lower coverage rate of 45%. That, however, still looks like ample coverage.

#NVIDIA

(Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent came to office blasting his predecessor for trying to re-engineer the world's largest bond market. This week he took a stab at it himself.
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#refiners #import

On the first day of classes in Pullman, WSU announced its starting quarterback: UC Davis transfer Caden Pinnick. Many people thought Pinnick was the favorite to win the starting job the minute he stepped on campus, but meaningful separation wasn't made until later in fall camp.
Pinnick will bring a level of dynamism that the Cougars became accustomed to with Jayden de Laura, Cam Ward, and John Mateer. Offensive coordinator Matt Miller will look to leverage Pinnick's elite running ability to create better opportunities for his returning running backs. Last season, when Zevi Eckhaus took over for Jaxon Potter, we saw how much that opened up the run game for Kirby Vorhees, as defenses had to respect Zevi's running ability.
Pinnick turned in an incredible season at FCS UC Davis last year, putting up over 3,200 passing yards and 32 touchdowns, with only 10 interceptions. Not to mention 437 yards rushing. Obviously, Pinnick will be making the jump to a higher level of football, but there is no reason to think he can't make that transition in Washington State's offense.
Pinnick was the runner-up for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in the FCS, was the unanimous 2025 Big Sky Freshman of the Year, and earned FCS first-team Freshman All-American honors.
Spring and fall haven't been quite as clean as offensive coordinator Matt Miller might have liked, but as time went along, Pinnick began to take more control of the offense and show his experience. However, it is important to point out that these internal camps greatly favor the defenses, who know your tendencies, and coaches (especially ones as good as Trent Bray) often know what plays are coming.

#pinnick #running #davis

VRT and EQIX both raised 2026 guidance fueled by AI demand, with Vertiv targeting $14 billion in sales and Equinix posting a record 9,700 net interconnections in Q2.
DLR holds a record $1.9 billion backlog and 1.4 gigawatts under construction, with CEO Andy Power projecting double-digit earnings growth in 2027.
Act now: the ***** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Equinix didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
The AI capex story now extends well beyond GPUs. As hyperscalers, neoclouds, and sovereign customers race to stand up inference and training capacity, the bottleneck has moved to the physical layer: power, cooling, interconnection, and megawatts of pre-leased shell. That is where the picks in this month's list live. Three US-listed names offer complementary exposure across the data center stack, and each just raised guidance for full-year 2026 on the back of accelerating AI demand.
Below are the three data center stocks worth researching this August, backed by tool-verified pricing, ***** yst consensus, and management commentary from the most recent earnings reports.

#demand #earnings

When most people hear the term "growth stock," they may think someone is about to talk about a company connected to artificial intelligence (AI), like Micron Technology, or about a quantum computing company, like IonQ. But sometimes you can find a growth stock outside of typically classified high-risk/high-reward opportunities.
One such company is Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST), which some may view as more of a mature operator. That said, for investors who understand the retailer is nowhere near finished increasing its revenue-boosting capacity, this could be a misunderstood opportunity turned to their advantage.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Costco's biggest strength is its brand loyalty. Customers often describe shopping there as a treasure hunt, and its in-store brand, Kirland Signature, has a following all of its own. That brand is so powerful, in fact, that just releasing a competing product was enough to contribute to the shares of energy drink maker, Celsius Holdings, falling by as much as 17% lower.
That loyalty for Costco and its products is reflected in renewal rates, with the company boasting a global renewal rate of 89.7%. That renewal rate is even better in North America at 92.2%. Costco also still steadily grew its paid membership by 4.1% to 82.9 million in its fiscal third quarter of 2026.

#brand #renewal

Aug 23 (Reuters) - - Vietnam's National ******* embly on Sunday approved amendments to the customs law that strengthen customs powers to intercept ‌counterfeit and intellectual property-infringing goods, a move that could address some ‌concerns raised in a U.S. trade investigation into the country's protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
• The changes come after the U.S. Trade Representative in May launched a Section 301 investigation into Vietnam's intellectual property regime after designating the country a "priority foreign country" in its annual Special 301 review.
• Among ‌the concerns cited by ⁠USTR were widespread counterfeiting, weak border enforcement, limited use of customs' authority to seize suspected counterfeit goods on its ⁠own initiative, and the absence of similar powers over goods transiting Vietnam.
• The revised law, which takes effect in March 2027, expands customs enforcement provisions to cover not only imported and exported goods but also goods transiting ‌through Vietnam, broadening the range of shipments that may be subject to intervention by customs authorities.
• Under the amendments, customs authorities retain the power to suspend clearance when rights holders provide evidence of possible infringement and a financial guarantee. Customs officers may also proactively halt the clearance of ‌imported, exported or transit goods if they identify clear signs of counterfeiting or other intellectual property violations.

#vietnam

When someone asks me to name the best semiconductor stock to buy for now and the next few years, my answer is Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). I look at plenty of other chip names, including Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices, yet I keep coming back to Nvidia because it sits at the center of how artificial intelligence (AI) is built and used, not just at the edge of the hardware market.
The core of the story is Nvidia's data center business. In the most recent fiscal year (ended Jan. 25, 2026), Nvidia reported quarterly data center revenue of $62.3 billion, up 75% year over year, and full-year data center sales are expected to be in the neighborhood of $180 billion. These are massive numbers and show that data centers are the main engine for the company. When hyperscalers and enterprises decide how many AI clusters to build, they start with Nvidia's platform, then layer everything else around it.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
The company's platform is not just about a single AI chip. The company's Blackwell architecture connects hundreds of billions of transistors, custom interconnects, and massive pools of memory into unified graphics processing units (GPUs), then scales those GPUs into rack-level systems like GB200 and GB300 that act like giant accelerators. On top of those systems sit DGX SuperPODs, Grace CPUs, and software like CUDA and TensorRT that developers already know and trust. When I picture the AI factories that companies are building, I see Nvidia in the center of the blueprints.
All the above is the technical side. The psychological side matters, too. Nvidia has become the default AI stock for many investors. It is the ticker people think of when they hear about new models, new data centers, or new AI enterprise rollouts. **** ysts often mention Nvidia first when discussing AI infrastructure, and the stock still carries a broad buy rating and targets pointing to meaningful upside from current levels. That attention can create volatility, yet it also means the company gets a steady stream of capital and scrutiny, which pushes management to keep delivering.

#NVIDIA #like #gpus #flashing

A new trading card game (TCG) shop in Shrewsbury has become a community hub for enthusiasts, with customers travelling from across the West Midlands to join in.
Owner Aydin Uyan said the shop's success had come through word of mouth after he spent several years on the scene selling cards at shows around the UK.
Uyan's shop Triple A Collectibles specialises in selling individual cards covering franchises including Pokémon, One Piece, Union Arena, Dragon Ball Z, Magic: The Gathering and Star Wars.
He told the BBC the community feel inside the premises was what set it apart.
"I was really busy on Saturday and a few of my regulars were in - I had one of them re‑sleeving cards, helping out," he said.

#shop #west #aydin

For a man reportedly worth more than $10 billion, entrepreneur Mark Cuban spends a lot of time talking about wealth inequality—and how to distribute it more evenly.

The 'Shark Tank' star has long shared suggestions—and has enacted his plans—to better balance income throughout the U.S. economy. One of Cuban's ideas was to give employees company stock: he told a recent episode of the 'What It Takes' podcast that he awarded 330 employees at his media company, Broadcast.com, stock ahead of Yahoo's $5.7 billion acquisition of the company in 1999. Three hundred of those employees became millionaires as a result, he said.

Cuban also awarded equity and cash bonuses to employees of his first IT consulting company, MicroSolutions.
But the famed investor has now taken the suggestion a step further: If founders and CEOs don't seek to share the wealth generated by their companies with their employees, they should be forced to give back to society by paying higher corporate taxes.
Writing on X, the cofounder of online pharmacy Cost Plus Drugs, was asked what his plan would be to reduce wealth inequality across the country. He responded: "Increase the taxes of any company that doesn't offer equity to every employee on a pro rata basis to non-founder executives. If they get rich from the market, so do they.
"It's exactly what I have done for employees in companies I have started. Most wealthy people get that way from selling their companies or taking them public."
While Cuban proposes increased taxes as a motivator to get business leaders to share equity more broadly, a criticism of higher taxes (and tariffs, as consumers have learned the hard way) is that increases to company costs are often passed back to customers and ultimately the public. This represents a further stretch on budgets of consumers already dealing with above-target inflation, and without the boon of company stock to fall back on.

#taxes #Stock #Equity

Sustainable Growth Advisers (SGA), an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for its "Global Growth Strategy." The letter can be downloaded here. The SGA Global Growth Portfolio returned 7.4% gross and 7.2% net, compared with 14.9% for the MSCI ACWI and 19.8% for the MSCI ACWI Growth Index. Momentum leadership and enthusiasm around AI infrastructure drove markets, with semiconductor, memory, and hardware stocks accounting for much of the gain. Although the portfolio owned AI beneficiaries, broader holdings lagged despite fundamentals, as median revenue and EPS growth reached 12% and 14% and more than 60% of the holdings beat expectations. SGA believes valuation compression reflects sentiment rather than weaker business quality, leaving the portfolio near its widest discount to the market since inception. The firm continues to favor durable compounders and expects 16% revenue growth and 20% earnings growth over three years. Also, please check the Fund's top five holdings to see its best picks for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, SGA Global Growth Strategy highlighted Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) as a new holding. Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) operates as the world's leading industrial gas company. On August 21, 2026, Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) closed at $487.57 per share. The one-month return of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) was -3.84%, and its shares gained 2.03% over the past 52 weeks. Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) has a market capitalization of $224.76 billion.
SGA Global Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN), the world's largest industrial gas company, was added to the portfolio in April. We had previously exited the position in 2024 due to valuation considerations and forced attrition; since then, the stock price has consolidated while fundamentals continued to progress. Linde remains an attractive long-term investment, supported by a highly durable business model and meaningful structural advantages. A large share of revenue is generated from long-term, recurring customer contracts in essential end markets, providing strong pricing power and cash flow visibility even in a slower growth environment. The company's strengths are rooted in its production efficiency and broad exposure across diverse end markets, including healthcare, manufacturing, electronics, chemicals, and energy.
Looking ahead, Linde is well-positioned to benefit from structural improvements and a potential acceleration in global growth across several of its core markets over the medium term. The U.S., which accounts for roughly 45% of revenue, is likely to see improved growth driven by an industrial recovery, increased semiconductor manufacturing, and higher refinery utilization. Europe (approximately 25% of revenue) has been a headwind in recent years due to negative volume growth, but is expected to stabilize over the medium term, with the potential for mo

Sustainable Growth Advisers (SGA), an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for its "Global Growth Strategy." The letter can be downloaded here. The SGA Global Growth Portfolio returned 7.4% gross and 7.2% net, compared with 14.9% for the MSCI ACWI and 19.8% for the MSCI ACWI Growth Index. Momentum leadership and enthusiasm around AI infrastructure drove markets, with semiconductor, memory, and hardware stocks accounting for much of the gain. Although the portfolio owned AI beneficiaries, broader holdings lagged despite fundamentals, as median revenue and EPS growth reached 12% and 14% and more than 60% of the holdings beat expectations. SGA believes valuation compression reflects sentiment rather than weaker business quality, leaving the portfolio near its widest discount to the market since inception. The firm continues to favor durable compounders and expects 16% revenue growth and 20% earnings growth over three years. Also, please check the Fund's top five holdings to see its best picks for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, SGA Global Growth Strategy highlighted Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM). Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a cloud computing company that offers Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together. On August 21, 2026, Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) closed at $209.17 per share. The one-month return of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is 21.95%, while its shares lost 14.59% over the past 52 weeks. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has a market capitalization of $171.31 billion.
SGA Global Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"Salesforce was a detractor from performance during the quarter as investor sentiment remained cautious following another quarter that merely met its guidance targets. Current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) growth were in line at roughly 9% rather than the historical pattern of beating by about a point, and the forward quarter guide was modest. Management acknowledged continued weakness in Marketing, Commerce, and Tableau (roughly 20% of revenue), partially offset by strength in Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Slack, and Data Cloud (roughly 75% to 80% of revenue), with Sales and Service Cloud each posting seat growth in the quarter. Additionally, Agentforce annualized recurring revenue reached $1.2 billion, growing 205%. Management reiterated full-year guidance and a second-half reacceleration based on bookings strength and lower attrition, alongside a long-term double-digit organic growth target through CY29 with about 100 basis points of annual margin expansion. Despite concerns around AI‑driven competition, we believe Salesforce's integration into customer business processes, large installed base, and wide product set position it well to compete effectively in the Agentic AI era, supporting low-teens earnings growth over the next three years. We

Wendy's chief executive Bob Wright outlined a five-point turnaround strategy on Monday, saying the burger chain sacrificed ingredient quality for cost savings and became too dependent on discounts — factors he said contributed to Wendy's losing its long-held position as the country's second-largest burger chain by U.S. sales.
Wright told The Wall Street Journal that Burger King seized that position by overhauling its Whopper sandwich and modernizing its restaurant fleet. "We have made some decisions around quality that were rooted in efficiency and cost savings," Wright said. "We have let our value equation erode."
Wright, 58, took the helm as permanent president and CEO in May. His turnaround plan covers five areas: food quality and value, operations, store upgrades, marketing, and digital sales. Wright said a comprehensive menu overhaul is needed, working from individual ingredients through finished items and across every major category, including hamburgers, chicken, salads, and the Frosty-anchored dessert lineup.
As part of the leadership overhaul, Wright said Tariq Hassan, a former McDonald's executive, has joined Wendy's in the newly created role of chief marketing and customer growth officer. The current head of U.S. marketing is set to leave the company within weeks. Wright noted that the chain's marketing spending amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars annually, and said both the creative messaging and the way that money is placed across media channels require a rethink.
On the question of store count, Wright acknowledged that net unit losses have accumulated over the last year, with more closures anticipated, and framed those shutdowns as a deliberate mechanism for helping individual franchisees bring greater financial health to their restaurant holdings.

#quality #chief #executive

John Barrowman's expensive flight from Los Angeles to London took a turbulent turn before he even reached his destination. The "Doctor Who" actor posted a video from American Airlines' business class cabin complaining about missing pajamas, an incorrect meal order and what he described as "shady" customer service. However, his attempt to hold the airline accountable quickly backfired as social media users accused the 59-year-old performer of acting like a "diva."
Eroteme / MEGA
Barrowman filmed himself from his seat while his father and husband were seated behind him. "Hi American [Airlines] we have paid for the flagship service," the Scottish-American actor began.
He explained that the three travelers expected to receive pajamas after purchasing costly business class tickets. "My father and my husband behind and the tickets were very expensive and we get on thinking we'd get pajamas with the flagship service," Barrowman said.
The actor claimed that complimentary sleepwear was instead distributed only to certain passengers at the front of the cabin. "Then you apparently only give them to the first two rows in business class. What's that all about?" he asked. "So far you're not batting very high."

#airlines #barrowman #cabin

Choosing between precious metals and critical rare earths requires balancing traditional mining stability against high-tech growth potential. Is First Majestic Silver Corp (NYSE:AG) or MP Materials Corp (NYSE:MP) the better addition for your portfolio today?
First Majestic focuses on maximizing silver and gold production through underground mining operations in North America. MP Materials provides the materials necessary for electric vehicles and defense systems. Both companies operate within the metal stocks industry, yet they offer very different financial profiles for investors looking toward 2026.
First Majestic Silver focuses on mining silver and gold within Mexico and the United States. It operates four primary underground mines, including San Dimas, Santa Elena, La Encantada, and Los Gatos. The company manages a workforce of more than 5,100 employees to supply physical metals to global markets. Customer concentration is not disclosed as a significant factor in its latest annual report, filed for the most recent fiscal period.
In FY 2025, revenue reached nearly $1.3 billion (the company reports in Canadian dollars; they have been converted to U.S. dollars here), representing a significant growth of approximately 128% compared to the prior year. This sharp increase helped the company achieve net income of close to $168 million, a major improvement from the net loss reported in FY 2024. The net margin, which measures the percentage of revenue kept as profit, stood at roughly 13% for the period.
As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is approximately 0.1x. This ratio shows that for every dollar of shareholder equity, the company has roughly ten cents in total debt. The so-called current ratio, which measures the ability to pay short-term bills, is close to 2.6x. Free cash flow, which is cash from operations minus capital spending, reached approximately $352 million during the year.

#silver #majestic #NYSE

Guinness Global Innovators, an investment management company, recently released its Q2 2026 quarterly investor update for its "Guinness Global Innovators Fund". You can download the letter here. The Guinness Global Innovators Fund focuses on investing in global companies that benefit from innovation in technology, communication, globalization, and management strategies. In the second quarter of 2026, the Guinness Global Innovators Fund returned 13.8% in GBP, compared with 13.0% for the MSCI World Index and 13.1% for the IA Global sector average. Easing Middle East tensions, falling oil prices, and renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence helped reverse much of the caution seen earlier in the year, with investors rotating back toward growth stocks and AI infrastructure beneficiaries. The Fund benefited from its overweight position in the Information Technology sector, while its overweight position in Communication Services detracted. Avoiding weaker Utilities, Materials, and Energy also supported relative performance. Also, please check the Fund's top five holdings to see its best picks for 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Guinness Global Innovators Fund highlighted Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU). Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) provides financial management, payments and capital, compliance, and marketing products and services. On August 21, 2026, Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) closed at $367.00 per share. The one-month return of Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) was 20.76%, and its shares lost -44.14% over the past 52 weeks. Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) has a market capitalization of $100.4 billion with a 52-week trading range between $252.84 - $705.08.
Guinness Global Innovators Fund stated the following regarding Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"We initially bought Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) for its market-leading position in mission-critical tax and accounting software, a deeply embedded QuickBooks platform with significant switching costs, and a strong consumer brand in TurboTax. QuickBooks' c.80% market share, high customer retention and accountant-led distribution created a durable competitive advantage, while Intuit's expanding ecosystem across payments, payroll, lending, Mailchimp, and tax services provided a clear runway for long-term growth and further monetisation. Toward the end of 2025 and in early 2026, markets became increasingly concerned with the 'Saaspocalypse', the implications of AI disruption of the software sector, causing sentiment on the stock to sour. While Intuit continued to deliver resilient results overall, its most recent earnings print changed the thesis for us. Revenue and earnings were modestly ahead of consensus, but the quarter was overshadowed by disappointing TurboTax performance, where revenue growth of 7% fell short of expectations (c.8%) and paid DIY returns declined sharply, particularly among price-sensitive, lower-income filers. This reignited concerns that Intuit's pricing power

UPS disclosed Monday that it is investing more than $2 billion across its international, healthcare, and supply chain solutions businesses, revealing the total figure for the first time. The investments began in 2024 and are set to continue through 2028, the company said.
Scott Szwast, UPS vice president of international strategy, framed the spending as an effort to build out capabilities that help customers in specialized sectors navigate increasingly complicated global supply chains. "These investments are really aligned to one of our big strategic areas of focus, which is creating capabilities to enable our customers, particularly in complex industries, to more effectively run their global supply chains," he told CNBC.
Among the initiatives are a new hub in the Philippines slated for this year, a facility in Ontario, Canada, due to open in 2027, and an air hub at Hong Kong International Airport scheduled for 2028. UPS has also opened a technology-enabled logistics center in Taiwan and an Amsterdam facility that integrates freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and cold-chain capabilities under one roof. The Taiwan facility has used automation and robotics to cut total supply chain time by one day, Szwast said. UPS also operates weekly service on the Paris–Hong Kong route and the Shenzhen–Sydney route, each running five days a week.
Szwast said that as global supply chains come under growing strain, companies have moved to spread risk across multiple sourcing and distribution points rather than relying on a single node, even as those same businesses push out new products with unfamiliar logistics demands faster than ever before. "What they find in a lot of cases is that their supply chains look more like their histories than their strategies," he said.
The $2 billion figure encompasses a previously announced $48 million buildout of 27 temperature-controlled facilities across the Americas, Europe, and Asia aimed at handling temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, including GLP-1 weight loss drugs. UPS said the healthcare initiative is part of its broader effort to grow in higher-margin logistics services.

#chains #facility #Logistics

Anthropic's revenue surged sevenfold to $65B annualized, supporting a planned $2 trillion IPO with $200B in revenue targeted by 2028.
Anthropic's most powerful Fable 5 model stalled at just 11% of corporate AI spending, while the cheaper Opus 5 surpassed it within weeks.
If customers keep choosing cheaper 'good enough' models over frontier AI, Anthropic's $200B revenue target by 2028 becomes significantly harder to reach.
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The AI market has entered a new phase. Early buyers were willing to pay almost any price for the most capable models, but businesses are now asking a more ordinary question: How much intelligence do we actually need for the job?

#models #don 't #free