With a market cap of $347.2 billion, The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) is a leading home improvement retailer, offering a wide range of building materials, home improvement, lawn and garden, décor, and maintenance products through its stores and digital platforms. The company also provides installation and tool and equipment rental services to DIY consumers and professional customers.
Shares of the Atlanta, Georgia-based company have lagged behind the broader market over the past 52 weeks. HD stock has fallen 8.6% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 22.2%. Moreover, shares of the company have risen 1.2% on a YTD basis, compared to SPX's 13% gain.
Jeff Bezos Says He's Selling $1 Billion In Amazon Stock Every Year to Fund Blue Origin — 'It's The Most Important Work I'm Doing'
Apple's New CEO Is Bringing a Familiar Face Back From Retirement. The Shift Is Happening.
Nasdaq Futures Climb as Tech Rally Continues on Palantir Boost, U.S. JOLTS Report and ***** eX Earnings on Tap

#home

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Performance was significantly bolstered by $15.3 million in tariff refunds following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated previous IEEPA levies.
Wholesale growth of 7% was driven by momentum in the Florsheim brand, which successfully expanded into hybrid and casual footwear categories.
Management attributed the Stacy Adams recovery to strong retail sell-through of traditional dress shoes, now being leveraged to pivot into casual lifestyle products.
Nunn Bush faced headwinds in the opening price point segment, prompting a strategy to differentiate through superior materials and comfort technology against lower-priced private labels.

#ieepa #wholesale

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Management attributed the 9% overall revenue decline to a difficult year-over-year comparison involving a 2025 tariff-related pull-forward.
User engagement reached a significant milestone with active users growing 1% year-over-year, marking the first second-quarter stabilization since 2022.
The 'Think It. Make It. Cricut.' global marketing campaign is successfully driving increased web traffic and aims to expand the brand's reach beyond traditional crafters.
A bundle-only strategy for new machines like Joy 2 and Explore 5 is driving double-digit unit sell-out growth by ensuring users start with high-quality tools and materials.

#driving #make

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results, beating Wall Street forecasts for both earnings and revenue and sending its shares nearly 4% higher in pre-market trading.
The building materials manufacturer posted adjusted earnings of $3.93 per share, comfortably ahead of the ***** yst consensus estimate of $3.07. Quarterly revenue totalled $2.76 billion, exceeding expectations of $2.65 billion and remaining broadly unchanged from the same period last year.
The company generated an adjusted EBITDA margin from continuing operations of 24% during the quarter, highlighting resilient profitability despite a mixed market environment.
Chair and Chief Executive Officer Brian Chambers said the results reflected the benefits of the company's strategic transformation.
"These outstanding second-quarter results demonstrate the strength of our reshaped company," Chambers said. "Our performance is a direct result of our strategic pivot to build a large-scale, residential-focused building products company with unique and unifying competitive advantages across market-leading businesses."

#quarter #chambers #revenue

With a market cap of $347.2 billion, The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) is a leading home improvement retailer, offering a wide range of building materials, home improvement, lawn and garden, décor, and maintenance products through its stores and digital platforms. The company also provides installation and tool and equipment rental services to DIY consumers and professional customers.
Shares of the Atlanta, Georgia-based company have lagged behind the broader market over the past 52 weeks. HD stock has fallen 8.6% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 22.2%. Moreover, shares of the company have risen 1.2% on a YTD basis, compared to SPX's 13% gain.
Jeff Bezos Says He's Selling $1 Billion In Amazon Stock Every Year to Fund Blue Origin — 'It's The Most Important Work I'm Doing'
Apple's New CEO Is Bringing a Familiar Face Back From Retirement. The Shift Is Happening.
Nasdaq Futures Climb as Tech Rally Continues on Palantir Boost, U.S. JOLTS Report and **** eX Earnings on Tap

#company #billion #shares #market

Investors who buy Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) today are really betting on whether CEO Marc Benioff's "agentic enterprise" vision sticks, not just whether the next quarter beats expectations.
His conviction isn't just bravado; it's tied to a specific bet that artificial intelligence (AI) will become digital labor within Salesforce rather than a commodity feature that would make its platform irrelevant.
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 makes the stock a higher‑risk, higher‑reward hold or accumulation story, not a sleepy blue chip.
When Benioff pushes back on fears that AI will kill Salesforce, he's arguing that the company has rebuilt itself around the idea of the agentic enterprise -- a world where AI agents do work and humans provide judgment. On Salesforce's own materials, you can see the evolution: Einstein introduced predictive AI, then generative capabilities layered on top, and now Agentforce is presented as agentic AI that plans and executes multistep tasks grounded in unified customer data.

#salesforce #signal #whether #higher

A Trump-appointed federal appeals judge spent months running a Washington public affairs firm after being appointed to the bench last year, an arrangement that contributed to an exodus among the firm's staff and clients and only ended when the firm went out of business at the end of June.
Jennifer Mascott, a former conservative law professor who sits on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, was deeply involved in daily operations at the firm, Adfero, for at least six months after she was confirmed as a judge in October 2025, according to 14 former employees and clients granted anonymity to discuss internal details of the firm's final months.
Nine of the former employees said Mascott, who inherited her ownership stake in the firm from her late husband in 2023, worked at least once a week out of Adfero's office in Washington and oversaw the firm's staffing, business development efforts and client relations in between her full-time judicial duties in Wilmington and Philadelphia.
The firm was historically a nonpartisan business that did public relations and marketing work for companies and trade ******* ociations such as PhRMA and the National Retail Federation. In the final months of the business, Mascott brought on consultants with strong MAGA credentials, according to eight of the former employees and clients. Her leadership of the firm involved operational and strategic decisions: She required her signoff on marketing materials and suggested staff pitch the firm's services to health insurers after the loss of crucial clients like PhRMA.
The details of Mascott's involvement with the firm, which have not been previously reported, come amid a yearslong push by members of Congress and others in the legal community for stricter ethical requirements for judges. While judges are barred from engaging in business activities that could call their impartiality into question, they may maintain ownership of family businesses as long as they are not using the prestige of their judgeship to further the business or taking significant time away from their judicial duties.

#firm #months #employees

Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK) reported second-quarter 2026 results that exceeded Wall Street forecasts, supported by stronger profitability in its Performance and Essential Materials business.
The better-than-expected performance lifted the company's shares 2.78% in pre-market trading.
Westlake posted adjusted earnings of $2.01 per share, ahead of the ******* yst consensus estimate of $1.86.
Revenue reached $3.27 billion, slightly above market expectations of $3.25 billion and representing an 11% increase from $2.95 billion in the second quarter of 2025.
The results reflected higher sales volumes and improved pricing across several product categories.

#quarter

Apple's (AAPL) acquisition of PlasmaSolve, a Czech materials science company, was disclosed by the European Commission on Monday, revealing that the transaction was completed through a subsidiary in April.
AAPL purchased the entire issued share capital of PlasmaSolve and offered employment to selected employees, though neither party disclosed the purchase price or financial terms of the deal.
General Motors vs. Ford: 1 Auto Giant Is Winning the EV Race
1 ****** anese Company Just Waved a Red Flag for Micron Stock. How to Play It Here.
Billionaire Ken Griffin Just Saved Situational Awareness, But Here's What a Rescue Call From Citadel Really Sounds Like — 'I… Heard the Grim Reaper's Scythe'

#european

Saint Paul, Minnesota-based 3M Company (MMM) is a diversified global technology and manufacturing company that develops products for industrial, healthcare, consumer, transportation, electronics, and safety markets. With operations in more than 70 countries and products sold in nearly every corner of the world, 3M is known for combining materials science, engineering, and innovation to create solutions used by businesses and consumers alike. It is currently valued at $90.9 billion by market cap.
Shares of this conglomerate giant have outperformed the broader market over the past year. MMM has gained 22.7% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 21.8%. However, the stock has slightly trailed the benchmark this year, rising 10.7% YTD versus the SPX's 11% gain.
General Motors vs. Ford: 1 Auto Giant Is Winning the EV Race
1 **** anese Company Just Waved a Red Flag for Micron Stock. How to Play It Here.
Billionaire Ken Griffin Just Saved Situational Awareness, But Here's What a Rescue Call From Citadel Really Sounds Like — 'I… Heard the Grim Reaper's Scythe'

#company #nearly #market

Argus
•
Aug 05, 2026
Sector(s)
Basic Materials, Technology, Real Estate, Healthcare, Industrials, Consumer Cyclical

#materials

The Dow Jones Industrial Average held in record-high territory Wednesday afternoon, following reports that Iran and Oman have reached a tentative agreement about waterway routes in the Strait of Hormuz. But a broader drop in tech names including ******* e Exploration Technologies (SPCX), known as ******* eX, on the stock market today pressured other indexes.
The Nasdaq reversed into the red, losing 0.4%. The Dow rose more than 400 points, or 0.8%, but pared its gain. The S&P 500 trimmed its advance to 0.1%, with six of its 11 sectors moving lower. Tech gained but lagged the rise in the defensive materials and health sectors. The S&P 500 and the Dow ended with record closing highs on Tuesday. Small caps turned lower Wednesday, pushing the Russell 2000 down 0.4%.
On the Dow, Walt Disney (DIS) climbed following the entertainment giant's third-quarter earnings report, but pared gains. The Nasdaq was hurt by slides in Astera Labs (ALAB) and ******* eX, as each fell more than 10%, and a loss of 6% in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Reports Wednesday citing Iran's Foreign Ministry said Iran reached a memorandum of understanding related to coordinates for routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Stocks opened higher Wednesday after President Donald Trump late Tuesday told reporters there had been progress in talks about reopening the Strait of Hormuz and that an agreement could be announced Wednesday or Thursday.

#hormuz #SpaceX #Tech #record

After making several moves this year to win back customers, Home Depot is making headlines again over a lawsuit that alleges it violated customers' rights.
In 2025, the home-improvement giant had a ******* py year, marked by several consumer boycotts over its decision to cut its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies; its alleged cooperation with ICE's immigration crackdown; and price hikes to address tariff pressures.
In 2026, it turned a new leaf by making several moves to lure shoppers back to its stores and offerings. Home Depot made a major expansion of its "Pro" ecosystem with high-tech tools such as an AI-powered Material List Builder and a first-of-its-kind real-time GPS delivery tracker for bulky materials. It also improved the physical store experience with Wahlburger's food trailers and expanded its rewards program.
Now, the home improvement retailer is facing legal challenges after being accused of using its customers' personal data without their consent.
A new class action lawsuit accuses Home Depot of selling customers' personally identifiable information (PII) to third parties without providing notice or obtaining their consent.

#year

Shares of chip company On Semiconductor rose Monday after it beat ******* ysts’ expectations for both earnings and revenue in its second fiscal quarter. It also raised guidance on revenue from sales to artificial intelligence data centers, which it now says will more than double this year.
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The semiconductor materials supplier reported second-quarter earnings per share of $1.19 on sales of $1.4 billion. Wall Street was looking for EPS of $1.07 and sales of just under $1.4 billion.

#company #semiconductor #revenue #Monday

Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) rose about 15% on Thursday, July 30, without releasing any news of its own. Shares closed that day at $501.77 and edged higher again on Friday, leaving them more than 30% short of their 52-week high of $739.67. And the company's next chance to justify the move arrives on Thursday, Aug. 13, when it reports fiscal third-quarter results.
The catalyst was a peer, not Applied itself. Lam Research, which sells chip-manufacturing equipment into many of the same factories, reported record June-quarter revenue, operating margin, and earnings per share on Wednesday, and it guided for about $8.1 billion in September-quarter revenue.
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 »
Investors marked up equipment stocks across the board on Thursday, and Applied Materials, already up more than 200% from its 52-week low of $154.47, moved with them.
Applied's own most recent update supports the optimism. In May, the company reported record fiscal second-quarter results: Revenue rose 11% year over year to $7.91 billion, and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share grew 20% to $2.86. Management guided for fiscal third-quarter revenue of about $8.95 billion, plus or minus $500 million, which would be another record. Also worth noting, Applied raised its quarterly dividend 15% this year, to $0.53 per share, its ninth straight annual increase.

#applied

The man behind a "lot of ridiculous stuff" has told the BBC he is trying to build a floating pub.
Will Bower, from Angmering in West Sussex, said he wants to create the buoyant boozer for his father's 60th birthday.
"[My dad] loves being on the water. He loves beer. I thought what better idea than to make a floating pub?" Bower said.
Bower plans to float the pub on the River Adur once he has finished building it.
He has purchased materials and building is currently under way.

#floating #loves

AMLP's C-corp structure forces the fund to pay corporate taxes on gains, and this erodes its advertised 7 to 8% yield before distributions ever reach investors.
Over ten years, MLPX returned 212% and ENFR returned 208% versus AMLP's 97%, thanks to RIC structures that avoid corporate tax entirely.
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If you own the Alerian MLP ETF (NYSEARCA:AMLP), you are paying both a fund manager and a corporate tax bill that the marketing materials rarely draw attention to. AMLP is structured as a C-corporation, which means the fund itself pays federal and state income tax on the gains inside your portfolio before you ever see them.
Start with the sticker fee. AMLP carries a 0.85% expense ratio, or about $85 per year on every $10,000 invested. Some third-party trackers cite an all-in figure closer to 1.01% once operating costs are folded in. Either way, it is expensive for what is essentially a rules-based basket of midstream pipeline partnerships.

#amlp #fund #gains #returned

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Revenue growth of 19% was driven by strong consumer response to trend-right **** ortments in the flagship Steve Madden brand and the integration of Kurt Geiger.
Brand heat for Steve Madden accelerated significantly, evidenced by a 71% increase in global online searches during the quarter.
The Kurt Geiger U.S. expansion is yielding high profitability, with new premium mall locations and a unique 'one-of-a-kind' personalization service driving 17% of handbag sales in participating stores.
Management attributed the return to strong growth in handbags to a successful pivot toward trending materials like straw, jelly, and denim.

#steve #madden #kurt #geiger

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Organic sales growth accelerated to 8% in Q2, driven by a combination of underlying market strength and significant customer inventory pre-buying in the Materials Group.
Management attributes the strong performance to a step change in sales and earnings growth, even when excluding the temporary tailwind from customer stocking.
Materials Group growth of 10% was fueled by high-single-digit volume/mix and the initial implementation of pricing actions to mitigate rising raw material inflation.
High-value categories returned to mid-single-digit growth, led by specialty labels and the Embelex platform, which benefited from robust World Cup demand.

#sales #customer #single

Updated 2026년 7월 30일 오후 11:43 New York 시간
Stocks bounced back after yesterday’s punishing session, with chip stocks rebounding and Microsoft turning in its best day in nearly two decades.
Nasdaq surged 2.8%, while the Dow industrials and S&P 500 added 1.2% and 1.7% respectively. The PHLX Semiconductor Index jumped 8%, driven by momentum in Micron, Applied Materials, Intel and others.
Microsoft stock meanwhile shot up 16%, its biggest percentage gain since 2008. The rally added $450 billion to the company's market cap, a record for any U.S. company. Microsoft's surge followed earnings late Wednesday that beat expectations thanks to robust cloud growth and resilient free cash flow.

#stocks #york

Honeywell Technologies (NASDAQ:HON) used to be one giant company that made everything from thermostats to jet engines. Not anymore. Over the past year, it split into three separate public companies: Solstice Advanced Materials, spun off last October; Honeywell Aerospace, spun off just last month; and Honeywell Technologies, the automation business that's left, which is what CEO Vimal Kapur now runs. This week's earnings report was the first one for Honeywell Technologies as its own standalone firm, and the stock jumped more than 5% on the news.
Since the aerospace spinoff only finished right at the end of the quarter, this report still includes some of Honeywell Aerospace's results mixed in, which makes straight comparisons tricky. Total revenue, including that leftover aerospace piece, came in at $9.72 billion, up 4% from a year ago and beating the roughly $9.5 billion **** ysts expected. Strip aerospace back out, and revenue for just the automation business was $5.19 billion, up 3%, beating the $5.02 billion Wall Street had modeled specifically for the smaller, standalone company.
On profit, adjusted earnings per share, including the leftover aerospace results came in at $4.52, actually down 4% from $4.72 a year earlier. On a standalone basis without aerospace, adjusted earnings were $1.95 a share, up 10% from $1.77 a year ago and beating the $1.82 **** ysts expected for the new, smaller Honeywell Technologies. There was also a one-time boost: net profit under standard accounting rules hit $5.68 billion, largely because of a $6.63 billion one-time accounting gain tied to deconsolidating Quantinuum, Honeywell's quantum computing venture, a separate transaction from the aerospace spin-off, not from the actual operating business doing better.
That raises a real question. Is this a genuinely strong first quarter as a standalone firm, or does the messy, one-time nature of a spinoff quarter make it hard to tell what Honeywell Technologies (NASDAQ:HON) actually looks like going forward?
All three of Honeywell's remaining automation segments grew organically, and orders for the standalone business overall grew 16%, with backlog reaching about $20 billion. Building Automation was the standout, with organic sales up 9% and orders up 13%, driven by strong demand from data centers and hotels. Industrial Automation grew sales 4% organically on strong demand for sensing and measurement equipment. Process Automation, the one segment with sales down slightly this quarter, actually saw orders surge 24%, with Middle East orders alone up more than 50% on refurbishment projects, and management expects a "sharp inflection" in that segment's growth starting in the third quarter. Kapur said the results reflect a "year-plus long process to simplify our business," and that the benefits are already showing up.

#automation #technologies #year #business

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Second quarter results were impacted by client-driven delays in the Marine segment, specifically regarding site readiness and timing of client-provided materials, rather than operational execution issues.
The Concrete business achieved historic performance levels, with 30% top-line growth and 45% adjusted EBITDA growth driven by data center infrastructure demand and expansion into site civil services.
Management characterizes the current environment as the 'doorstep of a marine infrastructure investment mega cycle' supported by long-duration capital investments in defense, energy, and port resilience.
The company is shifting its pursuit strategy toward larger, more technically complex projects that utilize specialized equipment and highly skilled labor to improve competitive positioning.

#concrete

This story was originally published on Construction Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Construction Dive newsletter.
The Turner Building Cost Index rose 5.2% year over year in the second quarter, providing further evidence that construction costs are increasing on an annual basis, even as monthly numbers offered a momentary reprieve.
The construction cost yardstick from New York City-based Turner Construction, the industry's largest contractor by revenue, increased 1.4% from the first quarter as high-growth sectors drove demand for both labor and materials, according to a July 24 news release.
"Demand remains strongest in data centers, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and mission-critical facilities, particularly in the Midwest and Southeast," Attilio Rivetti, Turner's vice president responsible for compiling the index, said in the release. "The industry's biggest challenge continues to be the availability of skilled Mechanical and Electrical labor."
Monthly costs have whipsawed recently. In June, nonresidential input costs decreased 1.1% month over month, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that dip came after a 2.6% month-over-month surge in May, a jump that helped spur the fastest annual increase since the pandemic.

#construction #dive #monthly

FIFA hopes to have private funding in its controversial World Cup company complete by the end of October, the Press ******* ociation understands.
Plans to sell stakes in a private company which would oversee all commercial and operational aspects of FIFA's competitions have drawn a furious reaction from UEFA, and raised concerns among European clubs and major leagues around the world.
Now PA has obtained documents setting out an indicative timeline to complete the investment process by the end of October.
Investors will be given access to a term sheet and select materials in August, with investors submitting initial 'Letters of Intent' (LOIs) in September, indicating the amount they wish to invest.
Binding bids would be agreed in October and funds from investors would be transferred to FIFA by the end of that month.

#fifa #company #press #plans

O'Keeffe Stevens Advisory, an investment advisory firm, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. During Q2 2026, the market experienced notable dispersion between perceived AI losers and winners. The firm has made investments early in AI infrastructure companies, which yielded gains during market repricing. The second quarter experienced strong equity rallies, with the S&P 500 gaining 15.2% and the Nasdaq 21.4%, marking the best quarter since Q2 2020. While the software sector faced challenges, with the iShares Software ETF dropping ~27% before a rally, reflecting high volatility. This volatility is seen as an opportunity, despite the potential for 'dead money' in underperforming stocks. The firm remains cautious, focuses on owning durable businesses at reasonable prices, holding cash, and hedging risks to navigate unpredictability. In addition, please check the Strategy's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its Q2 2026 investor letter, O'Keeffe Stevens Advisory highlighted Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW). Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is a technology company that operates through its Optical Communication, Display Technologies, Environmental Technologies, Specialty Materials, and Life Sciences business segments. On July 27, 2026, Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) closed at $143.36 per share. One-month return of Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) was -43.88%, and its shares gained 131.30% over the past 52 weeks. Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) has a market capitalization of $123.38 billion.
O'Keeffe Stevens Advisory stated the following regarding Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) in its Q2 2026 investor update:
"Qualcomm and Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) both appreciated materially in Q2. We trimmed both positions using a combination of options and stock sales.
Corning appreciated over 20% in Q2. Corning spent the second quarter signing up the biggest names in AI as customers and partners. In May, Nvidia and Corning announced a multiyear commercial and technology partnership under which Corning will increase its U.S. optical connectivity manufacturing capacity tenfold and expand U.S. Fiber production by more than 50%, including three new plants in North Carolina and Texas. Nvidia paid $500 million for rights to Corning shares, including warrants on up to 15 million shares at a $180 exercise price; if exercised in full, Nvidia's total equity investment could reach $3.2 billion. In June, Amazon signed a multiyear, multibillion-dollar agreement for Corning to supply the optical Fiber, cable, and connectivity for its expanding U.S. data centers. These follow the up to $6 billion supply agreement Meta signed in January. Historically, data centers used copper cables to connect their technology, some of which is switching to Fiber. Corning's Fiber may be a future bottleneck. As legacy data centers convert to newer, Fiber-connected racks, Corning contends with new data centers demand

Columbia Threadneedle Investments, an investment management company, released its "Columbia Seligman Global Technology Fund" second quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. During the quarter, the Fund's Institutional Class shares returned 50.34%, outperforming the MSCI World Information Technology Index's 33.65% gain. Stock selection in semiconductors, technology hardware and software, together with an off-benchmark electrical equipment allocation, supported relative performance, while exposure to financials, consumer discretionary and healthcare detracted. Technology stocks rallied as concerns over the Iran conflict eased and AI infrastructure spending boosted demand for semiconductors, memory, networking, servers and power solutions. The Fund expects AI and data-centre investment to remain strong, supported by broadening earnings growth and improving software bookings, cloud consumption and customer spending. However, geopolitical uncertainty, higher interest rates and heavy AI investment could pressure valuations and free cash flow. The strategy holds 50–75 technology companies across market capitalisations and uses bottom-up GARP research to identify misunderstood and undervalued businesses in the technology industry. In addition, please check the Fund's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Columbia Seligman Global Technology Fund highlighted Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT). Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) provides materials engineering solutions, equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor and related industries. On July 27, 2026, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) closed at $516.89 per share. One-month return of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) was -28.51% and its shares gained 174.34% over the past 52 weeks. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has a market capitalization of about $410.39 billion.
Columbia Seligman Global Technology Fund stated the following regarding Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
"The fund also held an overweight position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), which operates in a similar ******* e as Lam Research. The company's share price rose during the quarter as its investor base grew more confident that AI-driven semiconductor demand would support sustained wafer fabrication equipment spending, specifically in leading-edge logic and advanced packaging."
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) ranks 39 on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 138 hedge fund portfolios held Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) at the end of the first quarter, up from 111 in the previous quarter. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) reported record revenue of $7.91 billion, up 13% sequentially and 11% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Applied Materials

Michael Burry's short targets Applied Materials after shares fell 26% from their peak, now trading at a steep 53x trailing price-to-earnings multiple.
China shifting to domestic toolmakers and potentially pulled-forward memory CapEx pose the two biggest risks to Applied Materials' future order pipeline.
Micron delivers cleaner, lower-valuation exposure to the memory boom than owning the equipment supplier one step removed from actual chip production.
Act now: the ***** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Applied Materials didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
There's no mystery why Dr. Michael Burry is so bearish on the semi trade. It's overheated, and if you think AI is in a bubble, it just makes sense to bet against the broad basket. With an individual bearish position in Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), though, questions linger as to whether there's more pain to be had in the individual name targeted by the great Michael Burry.

#michael #memory #bearish #individual

Updated July 27, 2026 12:23 pm ET
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0919 ET – Lundin Mining’s Caserones operations guidance could be at risk after the company found damaged powerline towers that need repairing following a storm. TD Cowen’s Craig Hutchison figures that the two-to-three weeks downtime on top of the nine days since a power outage on July 18 will hit production by 8,000 to 10,500 tons of copper. Hutchison now estimates that operations will reduce to 125,000 to 127,000 tons of copper in the year, bringing total annual production to 312,000-314,000 tons from all its operations, in line with guidance of 310,000-335,000 tons. (adriano.marchesewsj.com)

#july #updated

The AI memory supercycle has emerged as one of 2026's most defining stories, and also one of its most contested. Hyperscaler capital expenditure is expected to reach $750 billion this year, with Goldman Sachs forecasting $7.6 trillion in total AI infrastructure spending through 2031, resulting in a supply shortage of NAND and DRAM memory as data center demand for high-performance storage clashes against the chipmakers' capacity limitations.
That scarcity has been aggravated by reports that TSMC may boost contract chip manufacturing prices by up to 10% in 2027, with some products facing increases of up to 20%, owing to increased materials, equipment, and overseas facility development expenses.
Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) is one of the names that have benefited the most from the supercycle. Since its February 2025 spinoff from Western Digital at $35.06 per share, Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) has become the single best-performing stock in the S&P 500, climbing up to 858% at its late-June peak on the back of explosive fundamentals: fiscal Q3 2026 revenue reached $5.95 billion, up 97% sequentially and 251% year-over-year, with datacenter revenue specifically up 645% year-over-year.
Management anticipates continued sequential acceleration in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, with total revenue expected to range between $7.75 billion and $8.25 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share between $30 and $33, as gross margins increase to near 80%. More crucially, Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) reported that its remaining performance obligations and contracted backlog came in between $41.6 billion and $42 billion. Sandisk's entire 2026 enterprise AI storage capacity is sold out under long-term agreements, thus locking in multibillion-dollar cash flows for the rest of the calendar year.
Despite its strong operational reports, Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) has not been immune to macroeconomic turbulence. In mid-July, shares fell 8% to 15% across a number of sessions, contributing to a 39% slide from late-June record highs, as the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell more than 20%. According to market ****** ysts, this pullback is the result of an industry-wide valuation adjustment rather than a structural decline in memory demand or corporate earnings power.

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The Trump administration is weighing whether to extend access to some Chinese rare earth materials beyond the January 1, 2027 cutoff after U.S. producers acknowledged they cannot build sufficient domestic processing and magnet capacity before the deadline, Reuters reported on Monday.
Industry executives and Pentagon suppliers told Reuters that U.S. processing and magnet manufacturing capacity remains insufficient to meet despite billions of dollars in federal support for new mines, separation facilities and downstream manufacturing.
The gap threatens not only military procurement but also supply chains serving electric vehicles, offshore wind, robotics, data centers and other energy-intensive industries that depend on high-performance permanent magnets.
The shortage centers on neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) and samarium-cobalt magnets, which rely on rare earth supply chains that China continues to dominate. Beijing still controls the overwhelming majority of global rare earth refining and permanent magnet production, giving it enormous leverage over downstream manufacturing even as Western governments accelerate efforts to diversify supply.
While the United States has made meaningful progress expanding domestic mining, processing, alloy production and magnet manufacturing require specialized infrastructure that has taken China decades to develop.

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