Brandon Moser SpaceX ( SPCX ) on Thursday priced its initial public offering at $135 per share, raising roughly $75 billion in what is set to become the largest IPO ever. The offering surpasses Saudi Aramco's 2019 listing by a wide margin and values Elon Musk's company at about $1.77 trillion, or roughly $1.8 trillion on a fully diluted basis. The deal drew extraordinary interest from individual i...
Brandon Moser SpaceX ( SPCX ) on Thursday priced its initial public offering at $135 per share, raising roughly $75 billion in what is set to become the largest IPO ever. The offering surpasses Saudi Aramco's 2019 listing by a wide margin and values Elon Musk's company at about $1.77 trillion, or roughly $1.8 trillion on a fully diluted basis. The deal drew extraordinary interest from individual investors, with retail orders exceeding $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Retail buyers were allocated about 20% of the shares, leaving much of that demand unmet ahead of the stock's Nasdaq debut under the ticker SPCX. Investor significance The offering is a major test of investor appetite for large-scale artificial intelligence and technology listings. Wall Street is closely watching the stock's performance because other AI giants, including Anthropic and OpenAI, are expected to pursue public offerings that could also carry valuations above $1 trillion. A strong debut could bolster confidence in the next wave of mega-cap technology IPOs. A bet on AI and Musk SpaceX's valuation has surged rapidly over the past year. The company's private-market value climbed following the integration of Musk's xAI business and a series of funding transactions that pushed its worth above $1 trillion before the IPO. At its IPO price, SpaceX ranks among the world's largest publicly traded companies and exceeds the market value of Tesla. The company has increasingly positioned itself as an AI infrastructure provider in addition to its traditional businesses in launch services and satellite communications. Investors are betting that AI-related revenue opportunities, including large-scale computing and data infrastructure projects, can support continued growth. Skeptics question the valuation Not all investors are convinced. Short seller James Chanos described the IPO as being driven more by enthusiasm for Musk and AI than by current financial performance, noting that the...
Tesla had a 2025 to forget all around, as the company reported its first-ever decline in revenue, along with its second consecutive year of falling sales. One of the EV maker's biggest issues was in Europe, where the company experienced major declines in the world's second-most-mature EV market. ...
Tesla had a 2025 to forget all around, as the company reported its first-ever decline in revenue, along with its second consecutive year of falling sales. One of the EV maker's biggest issues was in Europe, where the company experienced major declines in the world's second-most-mature EV market. ...
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis The Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD ) and Virtus InfraCap US Preferred Stock ETF ( PFFA ) are somewhat similar funds in terms of income, but at the same time, they have produced diametrically opposed results. The strategy of the former focuses on investing in the most stable and resilient U.S. companies, while the latter seeks to gene...
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis The Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD ) and Virtus InfraCap US Preferred Stock ETF ( PFFA ) are somewhat similar funds in terms of income, but at the same time, they have produced diametrically opposed results. The strategy of the former focuses on investing in the most stable and resilient U.S. companies, while the latter seeks to generate alpha by purchasing preferred shares. But the results since the start of 2026 show that while the former is reaping rewards by outperforming the broader market, in contrast, results for the latter have been significantly worse. Upon first glance, the comparison between SCHD and PFFA may seem like a classic case of comparing "apples and oranges." Yet, their comparison is warranted by the fact that they compete for capital from the same category of income-oriented investors. If you're choosing between the two, or want to know how either of these would fare today, this comparison article is for you. The macroeconomic realities in mid-2026 are driving a trend of rising U.S. Treasury yields, with a strong labor market only increasing the likelihood of a Fed rate hike in early 2027. As such, we need to reassess the potential of these funds in an environment where high interest rates are pressuring PFFA's investment strategy. By using preferred shares, which are sensitive to interest rates, duration risk increases, exacerbated by NAV erosion caused by its use of leverage. Unlike SCHD, PFFA focuses on high-quality corporations with strong market power and the capability to pass on inflationary costs and rising interest rates to consumers. Meanwhile, the fund's dividend payouts continue to grow by more than 8% annually. Actual results for the funds in 2026 confirm my thesis that the current market environment and macroeconomic situation require a focus on quality rather than on high yields driven by excessive leverage. Therefore, although I am downgrading PFFA from "Buy" to "Ho...
The announcement follows Trump's decision to nominate an ally and political attack dog to serve as acting director. The pick sparked a backlash that doomed efforts to renew a key intelligence tool. (Image credit: Alex Wong)
The announcement follows Trump's decision to nominate an ally and political attack dog to serve as acting director. The pick sparked a backlash that doomed efforts to renew a key intelligence tool. (Image credit: Alex Wong)
US President Donald Trump said he is nominating Jay Clayton to be the next director of national intelligence, following controversy over his selection of housing regulator Bill Pulte to serve in the role on an acting basis. Clayton has been serving as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and was chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term. “I encourage the Unite...
US President Donald Trump said he is nominating Jay Clayton to be the next director of national intelligence, following controversy over his selection of housing regulator Bill Pulte to serve in the role on an acting basis. Clayton has been serving as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and was chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term. “I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible,” Trump said on social media. Trump stunned...
Gargolas/iStock via Getty Images Black Hills ( BKH ) up 0.4% in Thursday's trading as Bank of America upgraded the utility company to Buy from Neutral with a $78 price target, raised slightly from $76, believing the shares do not reflect the potential earnings growth, financing, and valuation benefits of the pending merger with NorthWestern Energy ( NWE ). BofA's Ross Fowler sees the combination o...
Gargolas/iStock via Getty Images Black Hills ( BKH ) up 0.4% in Thursday's trading as Bank of America upgraded the utility company to Buy from Neutral with a $78 price target, raised slightly from $76, believing the shares do not reflect the potential earnings growth, financing, and valuation benefits of the pending merger with NorthWestern Energy ( NWE ). BofA's Ross Fowler sees the combination offering greater scale, a stronger balance sheet, broader jurisdictional diversity, and a larger infrastructure runway across data centers, transmission, generation, and natural gas. Wyoming is emerging as a credible but underappreciated data center market, Fowler says, with active sites, additional development underway, and broad political and regulatory support for large-load growth, with the Jade project the most visible opportunity "with material expansion potential that we view as progressing vs. paused." Black Hills' ( BKH ) ring-fenced LPCS tariff provides a path to earn on both company-owned and customer-funded infrastructure while protecting existing customers from large-load rate impacts, the analyst adds. More on Black Hills Black Hills Q1 2026 Earnings Call Presentation Black Hills Shareholder/Analyst Call - Slideshow Black Hills: Plug Your Portfolio Into Strong Utility Returns
Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images Thesis My view on Plug Power ( PLUG ) is Hold. There has been tangible progress on the operating front with new CEO Jose Luis Crespo as gross margins in Q1 2026 improved 42ppts y/y and revenues were up 22% y/y, according to the official Q1 2026 earnings release Plug Power Q1 2026 Earnings . Having said that, PLUG has a quarterly cash burn of $150M ($...
Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images Thesis My view on Plug Power ( PLUG ) is Hold. There has been tangible progress on the operating front with new CEO Jose Luis Crespo as gross margins in Q1 2026 improved 42ppts y/y and revenues were up 22% y/y, according to the official Q1 2026 earnings release Plug Power Q1 2026 Earnings . Having said that, PLUG has a quarterly cash burn of $150M ($600M annualized) and an accumulated deficit of $8.2B, causing a liquidity cliff that could reappear as early as Q1 2027. While the risk-reward is balanced at the stock level for current shareholders, I would not initiate a position until the company demonstrates it can hold its margin trend and secure the important Stream Data Centers deal by 30 June 2026. Company Overview Plug Power has been in the hydrogen economy for more than 25 years and develops and manufactures proton exchange membrane fuel cells, electrolyzers , and hydrogen infrastructure. The company's three segments are material handling (hydrogen-powered forklifts used to transport warehouses' goods), electrolyzers (utilities used for the production of green hydrogen), and on-site hydrogen generation and liquefaction. It supplies its products to large retailers and logistics companies that install hydrogen fuel cells in their distribution centers. In the hands of former CEO Andy Marsh, Plug Power was an aggressive growth-at-all-costs play, growing electrolyzers and green hydrogen production at the expense of the bottom line and effectively burning cash in the process. With Jose Luis Crespo arriving in early 2026, the company's strategy shifted firmly onto "cost discipline and execution," in what has been called "Project Quantum Leap," the most serious effort the company has ever made to deliver on its profitability promise, detailed in this SEC filing Project Quantum Leap SEC Filing . Today, Plug Power is trading at around $2.90 per share, with a $4.0–4.1B market capitalization (by the lowest valuation the compa...