Second-quarter earnings across the S&P 500 were robust, with companies tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure continuing to account for a substantial portion of overall profit growth.
S&P 500 earnings per share increased 31% from a year earlier during the quarter when excluding one-off income related to private investment holdings. AI infrastructure companies, including hyperscalers, generated approximately half of that increase, with earnings among the group climbing 54% year-over-year.
Strength was not confined to AI-related businesses. Excluding the energy sector, which received a boost from higher oil prices, the median S&P 500 company recorded earnings growth of 14% compared with the same period last year.
However, Goldman Sachs strategists led by Ben Snider said evidence that corporate adoption of AI is translating directly into earnings improvements remains limited. Only 11% of S&P 500 companies quantified productivity benefits from AI for a specific business application during their earnings calls, such as software coding or customer support. Just 2% put a figure on AI's direct contribution to earnings, unchanged from the first quarter.
Goldman's ***** ysis also found little difference in earnings performance between companies reporting measurable AI productivity improvements and those that did not.

#earnings #Companies #year #productivity

Will this be the year that the tight end position finally lives up to its potential? For years we've hoped for a deep group of TEs riddled with talent at every draft point, only to end up with the same elite group and then a bunch of "Play and pray" options. But maybe this season will be different. Our Yahoo ****** ysts take a look at the tight end position and share their breakout candidate for 2026.
Breakouts tend to exist at the intersection of talent and situation. And for Brenton Strange, the talent piece of the equation isn't hard to see. Since joining the Jaguars in '23, Strange's routes and target share have been on an upward trajectory. The Penn State product barely saw the field his rookie season (2.2% target rate), but he evolved into one of Trevor Lawrence's go-to options as Jacksonville marched toward the playoffs.
After returning from a hip injury sustained in Week 5, Strange supplanted Brian Thomas Jr. as the "WR3" (16.6% share) and even led the team in red-zone targets (14). Plus, the added cardio has only allowed us to see more of his athletic ability, as his yards per route run (9th among all TEs in '25 – min. 10 games played) and YAC per reception picked up between Years 2 and 3.
But I'll admit Strange's situation is, well, strange! The Jaguars traded for and compensated Jakobi Meyers for bringing the passing game to life and got a breakout performance from their 6th-round WR out of the same draft class. Oh, and Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter are still there. The "lot of mouths to feed" argument will keep Strange's draft-cost down, but let's not forget his productivity and utility within this offense. — Chris Allen
After the Rashid Shaheed trade, Johnson was the TE5 in yards per game and TE8 in receptions per game from Week 10 on. With Jordyn Tyson out until the Week 6-9 range, Johnson should start out strong, as this is the same Saints receiving corps as it was during that explosive sample. The Saints have the advantages of playing against the NFC South, playing indoors and operating in the No. 1 neutral pace offense. Johnson is also good! Watch him!

#strange

ZURICH, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence can push inflation higher in the short term although the overall effect of the technology remains unclear, Swiss ‌National Bank governing board member Petra Tschudin said in an interview published ‌on Friday.
The central bank was looking closely at the impact of AI on prices, saying it could have an effect in both directions, Tschudin told newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft.
"Investment flows are being partly redirected, which can mean adjustments and difficulties for the rest of the economy," Tschudin said.
"Shortages can occur, for example with chips, causing prices to rise. In the ‌short or medium term, therefore, ⁠upward inflationary pressure can also arise."
In the longer term artificial intelligence could also lower prices by increasing productivity and making goods cheaper, ⁠she said.

#tschudin #artificial #bank #zurich

Our ***** ysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here.
Delivered positive comparable sales of 0.2% as growth in Pro, Online, and Home Services offset macro-driven softness in discretionary DIY spending.
Attributed late-quarter sales pressure to heightened competitive pricing in seasonal categories, which management believes was fueled by competitors utilizing tariff refunds.
Achieved 15.7% online sales growth driven by enhanced visualization tools, expanded marketplace offerings, and the successful rollout of the Mylow AI agent.
Maintained operational discipline through Perpetual Productivity Improvement (PPI) initiatives, enabling the company to absorb elevated fuel and transportation costs.

#driven #delivered

On August 11, Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) reported fiscal third-quarter results that mark a turning point for a company that has spent its short public life trying to prove its uniform and workplace supply business can actually get more profitable, not just bigger. Adjusted EBITDA climbed to about $81 million, up roughly $15 million or 23% year over year, and for the first time since the company separated from Aramark, revenue per pound rose instead of fell. That single shift, small as it sounds, is the thread running through the entire quarter.
The headline number is revenue per pound, which reached $1.42 in the quarter, up $0.04 year over year and $0.05 sequentially. Management framed this as the first year-over-year increase in that metric since Vestis became a public company, driven by disciplined pricing, better customer segmentation, and a deliberate shift away from lower-margin linen volume, which fell 6% year over year on a pounds-processed basis. Vestis also let go of about 22 million pounds of volume that carried an average revenue per pound of just $0.55, meaning the business got smaller but higher quality at the same time.
Cost of services dropped about $15 million year over year, and SG&A fell roughly $7 million, or about 6%, while cost per pound held flat at $1.24 even as the company exited unprofitable business. Plant productivity rose 9% year over year, on-time delivery improved 80 basis points, and customer complaints fell 74 basis points, evidence that the operational cleanup is showing up in day-to-day service, not just the income statement. Net income swung to $11 million from a $0.7 million loss a year earlier, and the company raised its full-year free cash flow guidance to a range of $160 million to $170 million, up from $120 million to $150 million previously.
The improvement comes against a backdrop that still looks shaky in places. Total revenue for the quarter was about $662 million, down 1.8% year over year, and pounds processed fell 4.5% as Vestis kept shedding volume it didn't want. Net debt stood at $1.2 billion at quarter-end, with $1.1 billion of principal bank debt outstanding, and the company used quarterly cash flow to pay down just $30 million of term loan debt.
Management also acknowledged that the operational playbook it has been running is not producing uniform results, describing a meaningful gap between its strongest and weakest markets that it now plans to address with more customized, market-by-market execution rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Full-year revenue guidance remains flat to down 2%, and the company disclosed it is accruing a management incentive bonus for the first time at this level since going public, a cost that is already embedded in guidance but still subject to year-end certification. None of this derails the quarter's progress, but it is a reminder that Vestis is still mid-turnaround, not finished with it.

#quarter

On August 17, AECOM (NYSE:ACM) delivered a third quarter that looked strong and messy at the same time. Backlog hit an all-time high on record quarterly wins, yet the company also absorbed a $337 million pretax charge tied to a delayed construction project. The result was a quarter where headline numbers cratered even as the underlying business kept expanding. That gap between top-line noise and forward momentum is what makes this print worth a closer look.
AECOM's backlog grew 13% to a new all-time high, powered by record quarterly wins and a company-wide book-to-burn ratio of 1.6, including 1.8 times in the Americas. Year to date, that ratio sits at 1.4, giving management unusually long visibility into future revenue. The design business, adjusted for one fewer working day, grew net service revenue 5%, with the Americas up 6% and international design returning to growth at 4%, led by the UK and Australia. Stripped of the charge, adjusted EBITDA climbed 5% and adjusted earnings per share rose 11% year over year, while the company raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA margin outlook to 17.4% from 17%.
Wins are coming from every direction. Canada landed a 10-year program management role on a highway and bus transit project, one of the company's largest Canadian awards ever, while Australia's backlog jumped more than 40% year over year. In the U.K., work on the Great Grid electricity upgrade helped push growth into the high single digits. The federal pipeline is expanding too, with the pipeline tied to the Department of War up roughly 30% in the quarter and less than half of IIJA infrastructure funding in AECOM's core markets spent so far. The balance sheet backs it up, with $2 billion of undrawn borrowing capacity and no near-term debt maturities.
The $337 million pretax charge stems from a construction management project first bid in 2019, where subcontractor productivity has pushed substantial completion from the first quarter of fiscal 2027 to near the end of the second quarter. That slippage cost $1.99 of earnings per share this quarter and forced a $185 million cash use, and management expects the project to keep burning cash through the first half of fiscal 2027. A second design-build P3 project from the same era also carries a significant claim position as AECOM pursues recoveries, even though the company says it no longer bids that structure for public-private partnership clients.

#year

The Goldman Sachs Group (GS) is seeing an intriguing new way to play the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, shifting attention from the chipmakers and infrastructure providers that have dominated the trade toward companies that can use AI to cut labor costs while lifting productivity.
Following Q2 earnings, Goldman refreshed its AI Productivity Beneficiaries basket after screening Russell 1000 companies for two traits that could make AI especially valuable. They were high labor costs relative to sales and significant exposure of their wage bills to AI automation.
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#labor #costs #following

The Mets dropped the middle game of their three-game set with the Padres, 5-2.
The Mets' string of good luck somewhat dried up tonight, although starter Zac Thornton gave them a perfectly cromulent start, five inning performance, allowing three earned runs on two home runs, while striking out seven and walking just one. Thornton has bent but not broke in many of his starts thus far, and this start continued that trend.
In fact, if Thornton had been able to control Fernando Tatis Jr., his start would've looked quite different. Tatis drilled two home runs in the first five innings, driving in three runs and putting the Padres up ahead enough that he didn't need the insurance runs provided by his teammates. But alas, Tatis has woken up his bat in the second half, and Thornton was on the other side of that tonight.
The sole Mets' offense came from solo home runs from Luis Torrens and Luis Robert Jr. The Torrens renaissance continues, and while Robert is more than likely not a Met next season, it's nice to see the Mets producing up and down the lineup. Bo Bichette collected two hits, and first baseman [checks notes] Christopher Morel collected one hit as well. But aside from a few walks, that's all folks.
Some of that can be credited to Robbie Ray, who looked really good over his six innings of work, allowing just three hits, three walks, and striking out four. He wasn't overpowering, but he kept the Mets off-balance enough to limit their productivity.

#start #luis #torrens

The Dallas Cowboys are trying to turn things around. After missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons, the franchise has rejigged the roster to make a deep run through the postseason.
Since defense was a major problem throughout last season, it has been a key area of emphasis this summer. Now, they might have added the final piece of the puzzle by signing two-time Super Bowl champion Von Miller.
A former first-round pick, Miller has already built a stellar resume in the NFL. Starting his career with the Denver Broncos, he was a perennial All-Pro candidate, earning seven selections in his first eight seasons.
However, since he moved from the Broncos to the Los Angeles Rams, and on additional pit stops with the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Commanders, his productivity has taken a hit.
While not the same game-wrecking presence he once was, he still ranked at number 61 on PFN's EDGE Impact Metrics last season, which would be the third-highest mark on the Cowboys roster, representing a viable upgrade for Dallas.

#miller #seasons #season

The tax man is coming for ETFs… eventually. This week's ETF Zoo digs into the recent action from the Treasury looking into newer ETF structures that include box spreads and 351 exchanges, what Goldman Sach's acquisition of NEOS says about the broader options income category, and why the struggling consumer matters less and less to markets. ETF.com hosts Dave Nadig, President and Director of Research, and Sumit Roy, Senior ETF ***** yst, are joined this week by Brent Sullivan, Editor of Tax Alpha Insider and Todd Sohn, Chief ETF Strategist at Baird Strategas.
You can also find this episode on our YouTube channel, as well as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Goldman Sachs just dropped $2.3 billion on NEOS, its second major ETF acquisition after Innovator, vaulting the bank into the top ten issuers with roughly $130 billion on platform. The Zoo crew believes it's a straight-up bet on retiring boomers hungry for income and downside protection. But the real intrigue is under the hood, where NEOS's covered-call funds lean heavily on return-of-capital distributions (untaxed, tax-efficient income) via 1256 contracts, a structure that's genuinely different from rivals like JEPI/JEPQ. While they're great products, tune in to find out what concerns the crew had.
From there the conversation zooms out to the bigger income-obsession story eating the market. Options income ETFs are going parabolic even as the S&P grinds higher and 30-year Treasury yields sit near multi-decade highs. Todd Sohn's theory: these products are quietly stealing market share from boring old dividend ETFs, especially with younger investors looking to add something more dynamic to their portfolios. Meanwhile, there's something strange happening in the market. Consumer stocks have practically vanished from index influence, with tech (and AI subscriptions) soaking up the wallet share that used to go to staples and discretionary names. Equal-weight and small-/mid-cap stocks are having a surprise moment, potentially riding the AI wave's downstream productivity gains rather than getting crushed by it.
The back half got spicier on taxes: Brent Sullivan previewed a coming reckoning as Treasury scrutinizes aggressive structures, including 351 exchanges, box spreads, dividend-avoidance ETFs. When the cards are on the table, we'll find out who's been bluffing. He expects enforcement to start with the most public, most obviously aggressive cases, though a timeline is anyone's guess. The group also piled on a Bloomberg feature that used Cliff Asness as the poster child for tax-aware long/short strategies, finding a strange scapegoat in Asness and the criticism unnecessarily pointed. Things then close on a cautionary tale of a Market Wizards-famous manager's ETF that's down a brutal 96-97% year-to-date after leaning into short-dated QQQ options. Investors would do well to remember that in this corner of the ETF world, someone's always selling you something.

#etfs #market #neos #brent

Interested in Nomad Foods Limited? Here are five stocks we like better.
Revenue and volumes declined: Organic revenue fell 2.9% and volume dropped 5.9%, mainly because retailer disputes caused out-of-stocks and reduced promotions in Germany and France. Nomad said shelves are being replenished and market-share trends are beginning to improve.
Margins benefited from pricing and productivity: Adjusted gross margin expanded 110 basis points, while productivity initiatives offset more than 60% of inflation year to date. However, adjusted EBITDA declined 4.3% and adjusted EPS fell slightly to EUR 0.39.
Outlook was largely maintained but EPS was cut: Nomad reaffirmed its full-year revenue and EBITDA decline forecasts but lowered adjusted EPS guidance to EUR 1.38–EUR 1.53 because of higher interest costs following its debt refinancing. The company is prioritizing debt reduction and extended its debt maturities, with no meaningful maturities until 2032.
3 Underfollowed Stocks Wall Street Still Likes—And for Good Reason

#nomad #fell

With a market cap of $51.3 billion, Corteva, Inc. (CTVA) is a global pure-play agriculture company providing innovative seed, crop protection, and digital solutions to address the world's most pressing agricultural challenges. Through its strong brands, advanced technology pipeline, and customer-focused approach, the company helps farmers maximize productivity while supporting sustainable progress across the food system.
Shares of the agriscience company have underperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. CTVA stock has risen 8.6% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has gained 22.4%. However, the stock has increased 14.9% on a YTD basis, outpacing SPX's 13.3% return.
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#market #corteva

During CNBC's Mad Money episode on August 5, a caller questioned the near-term trajectory of SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFI), pointing out that the stock has remained stuck in a tight trading band between $16 and $19 over the past six months. The long-term shareholder asked whether host Jim Cramer maintains a positive outlook on the company despite its stagnant price action. Cramer responded:
Okay, look, SoFi, Robinhood, a bunch of these fintech companies have kind of been in the doldrums, as people said, "You know what? We're focusing, we're going to go right back to the old, JPMorgans and Bank of Americas and Bank of New Yorks. So, I think what you're doing is you're seeing a shift toward the old. It'll come back to the new. Take your time. SoFi is good. I would own it.
SoFi Technologies, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SOFI) six-month range-bound pattern between $16 and $19 reflects a digestion period following prior expansion waves. For long-term shareholders, Cramer's advice centers on patience rather than panic. By advising investors to "take your time" and confirming that he "would own it," Cramer emphasized that SoFi Technologies, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SOFI) long-term growth thesis remains intact.
The frustration over SoFi's range-bound share price contrasts with its performance. The company delivered strong second-quarter 2026 financial results, beating Wall Street expectations across top-line and bottom-line metrics. Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.12, beating estimates by a penny, while adjusted net revenue surged 40% year-over-year to $1.21 billion, outperforming consensus of $1.12 billion. Total loan originations reached a record $14.8 billion during the period.
Furthermore, customer acquisition and product cross-selling also expanded significantly during the quarter. Total membership grew 35% year-over-year to a record 15.8 million, while total products increased 42% to 24.4 million. SoFi Technologies, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SOFI) financial services productivity loop gained further traction, with existing members opening 51% of new products added during the quarter.

#quarter

Today, women's football is a real sports phenomenon, followed by millions of fans worldwide, but it hasn't always been the case. It all started on the 7th of May 1881, when the first recorded ladies' football match took place in Edinburgh between England and Scotland. Come the 1890s, women's club football gathered momentum. Local women's football clubs were being formed (some by women factory workers) with the aim of competing in matches and competitions.
In 1895, Alfred Hewitt Smith and Nettie J Honeyball formed the BLFC (British Ladies Football Club). The president of the club was Lady Florence Dixie, a celebrated Scottish author, who ruled that lady players should wear practical clothing, including shin pads, football boots, and bloomers.
During WW1, with many of the menfolk called up for National Service, women were increasingly being employed in factories, many of which were dark and dingy. Sport was a way of offering women workers the opportunity to improve the standards of their health and wellbeing, to boost morale and increase levels of productivity.
Unlike modern ladies, they didn't have the opportunity to go online and check websites telling them about all possible ways of entertainment. Today, players can visit expert reviewers of, say, legal Polish casinos and choose the place to spend time with a favorite game. Back then, workers, whether men or women, chose among what was offered by employers.
Football was a popular choice, and in 1917, munitions factories created the Munitionettes' Cup, the final of which saw Blyth Spartans Munitionettes defeat Bolckow, Vaughan & Co 5-0. On December 5th, 1921, the FA banned women's football.

#club #place

I've been writing about Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) for years, and my conviction has never been higher, because the company keeps doing the boring, hard things that compound over time: It protects its brands, invests in innovation, and quietly returns a lot of cash to shareholders even when the environment is rough.
Fiscal 2026 was not a blowout year for Procter & Gamble. Net sales grew 3%, organic sales rose 1%, and core earnings per share increased 1%. That's the kind of result many investors would shrug at. What matters to me is that those numbers landed right inside the company's guidance in a year that featured currency swings, higher energy and transportation costs, and uneven demand across regions.
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 »
P&G's strategy is deliberately simple. It focuses on daily use categories where performance drives brand choice and seeks to deliver superiority in product, packaging, communication, retail execution, and value. It pairs that with what it calls "constructive disruption" and a heavy dose of productivity, meaning it constantly looks for ways to do the same work with fewer resources. The result is a business that rarely looks spectacular quarter to quarter but, over many years, keeps nudging growth and margins in the right direction.
This is not a sleepy soap company. In April, Procter & Gamble was named the top household products company on Fortune's America's Most Innovative Companies list for the third year in a row, with product innovation singled out as its biggest strength.

#signal #conviction #flashing

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) had one of the roughest weeks in its history, and it happened almost right on top of a product launch. On August 4, the company announced a new agent integrated into Microsoft 365 Copilot, putting business formation, compliance filings, and attorney consultations directly inside the productivity tool millions of small businesses already use. Two days later, on August 6, the stock dropped 30% after second-quarter earnings revealed a guidance cut. Investors now have to decide which story matters more.
The Copilot integration is a meaningful distribution move. Instead of asking small business owners to leave their workflow and visit LegalZoom's site, the new agent lets Microsoft 365 Copilot users compare business structures like LLCs, corporations, nonprofits, and DBAs right where they are already working. A founder can ask Copilot how to start a business, get walked through a formation checklist covering state, name, and ownership, and see LLC packages with pricing, all backed by LegalZoom's 100% accuracy filing guarantee. The same agent connects users to attorneys in LegalZoom's network for consultations on contracts, intellectual property, and employment matters, complete with attorney bios and available appointment times for either async chat or scheduled calls. LegalZoom even generates an AI-powered briefing document so attorneys walk into each consultation with context on the client already in hand.
That product push lands on top of a subscription business that has actually been performing. Subscription revenue rose 11% in the second quarter, marking five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in that category, the part of the business LegalZoom is leaning into most. Total revenue came in at $205.3 million, up 7% year over year and roughly in line with what ******* ysts expected. For investors willing to look past this week's news, the forward price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22 is strikingly cheap for a company still growing its highest-margin revenue line by double digits.
The reason the stock fell 30% is that the good subscription numbers came wrapped in bad news elsewhere. Management said abrupt changes to Google's search algorithm hurt the company's traffic from the world's largest search engine, a serious problem for a business that depends heavily on customers finding it online. In response, LegalZoom cut its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $795 million to $805 million, down from a prior range of $810 million to $830 million. The company also trimmed the top end of its adjusted EBITDA guidance to $195 million, down from a previous ceiling of $200 million. Adjusted net income, which excludes certain accounting items, actually fell 3% to $27.4 million, or $0.16 per share, even as revenue grew. Management is now taking what it calls a more cautious approach to customer acquisition while it works to offset the search disruption with subscription and specialized product growth, a pivot that will ta

Our **** ysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here.
Achieved 4% currency-neutral net sales growth driven by the One Interface strategy, which integrates global functions to support local selling teams and enhances commercial productivity.
Performance was broad-based across all regions and segments, with Healthcare notably delivering 19% global billings growth on top of a 28% comp from the prior year.
Operational improvements, including automation and robotics in Europe and Australia, contributed significantly to margin expansion by reducing costs and increasing throughput.
The Corporate Office segment grew 5% globally, benefiting from a 'flight to quality' in Class A **** es and the need for companies to redesign offices for collaboration and talent retention.

#NVIDIA #Europe

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Achieved record consumable revenue and units, driven by a growing installed base and higher system utilization across the top 20 pharma customers.
Attributed the 15% record gross margin to successful execution of margin expansion strategies, including manufacturing efficiencies and service productivity improvements.
Observed a strategic shift in customer behavior toward integrating the Growth Direct platform into broader automation, digital, and data enablement workflows.
Reported that the MilliporeSigma partnership is expanding the commercial funnel into new geographies and adjacent markets, though it remains in the early stages.

#tell #Growth #direct

LegalZoom.com (NASDAQ:LZ) had one of the roughest weeks in its history, and it happened almost right on top of a product launch. On August 4, the company announced a new agent integrated into Microsoft 365 Copilot, putting business formation, compliance filings, and attorney consultations directly inside the productivity tool millions of small businesses already use. Two days later, on August 6, the stock dropped 30% after second-quarter earnings revealed a guidance cut. Investors now have to decide which story matters more.
The Copilot integration is a meaningful distribution move. Instead of asking small business owners to leave their workflow and visit LegalZoom's site, the new agent lets Microsoft 365 Copilot users compare business structures like LLCs, corporations, nonprofits, and DBAs right where they are already working. A founder can ask Copilot how to start a business, get walked through a formation checklist covering state, name, and ownership, and see LLC packages with pricing, all backed by LegalZoom's 100% accuracy filing guarantee. The same agent connects users to attorneys in LegalZoom's network for consultations on contracts, intellectual property, and employment matters, complete with attorney bios and available appointment times for either async chat or scheduled calls. LegalZoom even generates an AI-powered briefing document so attorneys walk into each consultation with context on the client already in hand.
That product push lands on top of a subscription business that has actually been performing. Subscription revenue rose 11% in the second quarter, marking five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in that category, the part of the business LegalZoom is leaning into most. Total revenue came in at $205.3 million, up 7% year over year and roughly in line with what **** ysts expected. For investors willing to look past this week's news, the forward price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22 is strikingly cheap for a company still growing its highest-margin revenue line by double digits.
The reason the stock fell 30% is that the good subscription numbers came wrapped in bad news elsewhere. Management said abrupt changes to Google's search algorithm hurt the company's traffic from the world's largest search engine, a serious problem for a business that depends heavily on customers finding it online. In response, LegalZoom cut its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $795 million to $805 million, down from a prior range of $810 million to $830 million. The company also trimmed the top end of its adjusted EBITDA guidance to $195 million, down from a previous ceiling of $200 million. Adjusted net income, which excludes certain accounting items, actually fell 3% to $27.4 million, or $0.16 per share, even as revenue grew. Management is now taking what it calls a more cautious approach to customer acquisition while it works to offset the search disruption with subscription and specialized product growth, a pivot that will take

Our ******* ysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here.
Recurring revenue growth of 12.4% in Q4 was driven by a differentiated value proposition centered on a modern, unified platform for HCM, finance, and IT.
Average revenue per client (ARPU) increased by 5% to approximately $37,200, fueled by the expansion of the product portfolio and increased adoption of high-value modules.
The launch of Paylocity Ignite AI represents a strategic shift toward embedding agentic capabilities directly into core workflows to drive measurable productivity gains for clients.
Sales execution remained strong with the benefit broker channel consistently contributing more than 25% of new business due to a non-compete strategy on insurance products.

#arpu

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New CEO Dan Krawczyk emphasized that the ongoing strategic review is progressing with urgency and discipline, with a mandate to maximize shareholder value through either a transaction or stand-alone optimization.
Performance improvement in the second quarter was primarily driven by a 21% year-over-year increase in Cellulose Specialties (CS) pricing, reflecting a disciplined value-based pricing strategy.
Management identified a tangible pipeline of reliability, productivity, and cost initiatives to improve the manufacturing network's earnings and cash generation capability.
The company is leveraging its unique position as the sole remaining U.S. supplier of nitrocellulose grade dissolving wood pulp for defense and NATO applications, citing it as a critical strategic ****** et.

#strategic #year

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Management attributes the record EBITDA performance to a fundamental transformation of the AA&S segment from a cyclical business to a high-margin, durable earnings engine.
The AA&S shift is driven by portfolio optimization, with aerospace and defense now accounting for 44% of segment revenue, more than double its share from five years ago.
ATI is leveraging its position as one of only three qualified Western producers of high-purity hafnium and zirconium to capture value as China limits exports to aerospace and nuclear markets.
The 'Elevation' operating system is driving measurable productivity gains, including a 30% increase in ultrasonic inspection throughput and 15% in isothermal forgings.

#NVIDIA #western

Etsy (ETSY) laid off 12% of its workforce for strategic refocusing rather than for AI reasons, while posting 6% revenue growth to $668 million.
Block (XYZ) axed 40% of its workforce and Oracle (ORCL) fired 21,000 workers, both citing AI-driven productivity gains as justification.
Act now: the ***** yst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Etsy didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
AI is already behind tens of thousands of layoffs, according to the companies that made them. The most well-known is that Block (NYSE: XYZ) laid off 40% of its workforce in March. Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) fired 21,000 people earlier this year.
The layoffs were made in the name of AI, making their workforces more productive. However, skeptics said it was simply a matter of improving the bottom line. This was cynical and impossible to prove.

#orcl #laid

A project that used to take three weeks now takes one. A report that required a full day gets done before lunch. And employees are being evaluated against that accelerated standard before anyone has agreed it is sustainable, accurate, or fair. The time savings went to the company, but the pressure went to the employee.
Here is the dynamic playing out inside nearly every organization adopting AI right now: efficiency gains from AI are not being returned to employees as breathing room. They are being immediately converted into higher output expectations. The ***** umption is simple and rarely stated out loud: if AI freed up your afternoon, that afternoon now belongs to the next ***** ignment. Workers are not getting time back. They are getting more work, on a faster clock, with the same number of hours in the day.
New research from GoTo and Workplace Intelligence makes the paradox explicit. The Pulse of Work in 2026 study, which surveyed 2,500 employees and IT decision-makers across ten countries, found that employees save more than two hours per day using AI tools. But the same study found that 60% of employees feel pressured to use AI to boost productivity, 50% say they rely on it too much, and 39% say that reliance is making them less intelligent. The productivity gain and the human performance cost are arriving simultaneously. Most organizations are only tracking one of them.
An ActivTrak's ***** ysis of 443 million hours of work activity across more than 1,100 organizations found that AI doubled time spent on email and messaging while focused deep work fell by 9%. A Harvard Business Review study published earlier this year found that after AI adoption, workers operated at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks, and extended work into more hours of the day, often without being asked. The tools are generating more activity while depleting the capacity for the high-quality thinking that makes that activity valuable.
When AI compresses timelines, the most visible change is speed, and speed quickly becomes the proxy for performance because it is the most legible output of AI adoption. Gallup's research finds that 65% of employees say AI has improved their productivity, and frequent AI use among managers has doubled from 15% to 30% since 2023. But that growing adoption is producing a widening gap between who benefits and who absorbs the pressure: leaders report the strongest gains, while individual contributors remain the least likely to receive guidance on how to use AI effectively. And 54% of managers say workplace expectations have directly increased due to AI. The bar is rising and the measurement framework is not keeping pace.

#employees #hours #adoption #workers

UK-based self-adhesive labels manufacturer Crown Labels has added a Domino N730i digital label press to expand output.
The machine has taken the place of one of the company's two Domino N610i presses.
The change is intended to help the business handle rising order volumes, lift throughput and undertake more high-end label work.
With the N730i, production speeds have reached 90m/min in high-speed productivity mode while print resolution goes up to 1,200dpi.
Its seven-colour configuration, including orange and violet inks, has also enabled Crown Labels to move a larger share of work from flexographic processes to digital production.

#n730i

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Agentic AI is exceeding expectations around productivity and satisfaction at work, according to data from Accenture's Pulse of Change report released last week, which surveyed 3,000 C-suite leaders and 3,000 non-C-suite employees. More than two-thirds of C-suite respondents said the effect of agentic AI has been greater than expected on employee productivity, and about the same number of employees said they're overall more satisfied with their jobs overall.
Though most companies are seeing some positive impact, fewer say they're seeing sustained business value — impact that can be reported to a company's board — from their AI investments. Just 23% of companies said they saw reportable business value in the July survey, down from 32% earlier this year.
The dip follows a theme executives are seeing in 2026, where companies are trying to apply the technology to as many places as possible, rather than in targeted ways, Muqsit Ashraf, industry and enterprise global lead at Accenture, told CIO Dive. "Companies have rolled out the tools and copilots, and that produces local productivity, but it doesn't produce enterprise-level PnL impact," he said.
Nearly every enterprise is using AI in some capacity, but only the organizations that redesign their work around it can recover the millions spent on the technology.

#dive #daily

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Management is intentionally prioritizing commercial channel quality and long-term value creation over 'growth at all costs,' leading to a disciplined evaluation of smaller distributors.
Spine Fixation performance is bifurcated, with the top 30 distributors (80% of sales) performing well while smaller distributors face productivity challenges and potential consolidation or exits.
Biologics showed significant stabilization, moving from double-digit declines in 2025 to approximately flat year-over-year performance, driven by improved account engagement and utilization.
Therapeutic Solutions demonstrated resilience despite temporary reimbursement pressure, benefiting from steady demand and a strong margin profile.

#Potential #tell #management

As we move closer towards the start of the new season, Barcelona are still yet to find a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski.
Julian Alvarez is the obvious pick, but Atletico Madrid have made things quite difficult for the Blaugrana and are not willing to sell their star player to a direct rival.
To make things worse, Ferran Torres is reportedly keen on a move to PSG, with Barcelona not expected to go out of their way to keep hold of the Spaniard.
That leaves Barcelona with an uphill task: find a strike combination that can replace the productivity offered by both Ferran and Lewandowski last season.
Barcelona are looking to fill Lewandowski's void. (Photo by Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)

#find

The Seattle Seahawks continued their 2026 training camp with a lighter practice in front of fans on Saturday afternoon. After doing padded practices on Thursday and Friday, Seattle opted to go pad-less for Saturday. With Sunday scheduled as an off-day before a return to the field on Monday, it seems like the goal for the Seahawks coaching staff is to still keep players fresh and not overdo it with intensity and physicality.
Here's a recap of Saturday's practice!
Elijah Arroyo and Tory Horton shine on offense
It was an injury-riddled year for both Arroyo and Horton last season. Arroyo had a stint on IR due to a knee injury, while Horton cracked his tibia and had his season end after Week 9. Horton had a fair bit more productivity than Arroyo, but they each have enticing traits that could help elevate the passing game.
Saturday's practice will be encouraging for Seahawks fans, as they each caught touchdowns during practice.

#practice

Federico Chiesa's Liverpool future is back under the spotlight, with Foot Mercato reporting fresh interest from Atletico Madrid. For a player who has lived on the fringes at Anfield, the latest developments feel significant, particularly at a time when Liverpool are recalibrating under Andoni Iraola.
The numbers from Chiesa's 2025/26 Premier League campaign offer a compelling counterpoint to his bit-part status. In around 318 league minutes, the Italy international produced two goals and one **** ist. On a per 90 basis, those figures point to sharp attacking efficiency, while his non-penalty expected goals return suggests a player still capable of generating high-value moments in the final third.
That is why this situation carries intrigue. The issue around Chiesa has rarely been productivity, it has been availability in the starting picture. He made only one league start last season and, across two years on Merseyside, managed 36 appearances in all competitions with only five starts. Those totals explain why external interest has emerged, even if the player's own stance has remained relatively clear.
According to the report, Atletico Madrid have made an attempt for Chiesa and continue to monitor him closely. Diego Simeone is said to appreciate the profile, which is understandable given Chiesa's direct running, intensity and ability to attack **** e from wide positions. Any firm progression from the Spanish side appears linked to the outcome of the Julian Alvarez situation, which remains central to their summer planning.
Photo IMAGO

#Liverpool #around #goals