For decades, software stocks were considered the cream of the crop. But in today's landscape, posting solid earnings results is no longer enough to win over the market in what has become an embattled sector. Shares of IBM (NYSE: IBM) and ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) tanked today after both companies reported earnings last night. Shares of IBM had fallen nearly 9%, while ServiceNow's had crashed nearly 18%, as of 2:02 p.m. ET. While both companies reported earnings that came in ahead of Wall Street consensus estimates, investors found other issues, including guidance and factors largely outside the companies' control, such as the Iran war. Continue reading

Image source: The Motley Fool. April 23, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. ET Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email pr@fool.com Continue reading

Earnings Call Insights: CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Q1 2026 Management View “On today's call, I'd like to address 4 key areas of focus for the quarter,” including “yet another significant increase in our firmly committed load forecast to 12.2 gigawatts of new industrial load,” and “growing optimism for transformational load growth opportunities for our Indiana Electric service territory.” (President, CEO & Chairman Jason Wells) “This morning, we reported non-GAAP EPS of $0.56 for the first quarter of 2026,” and “we are reiterating our full year 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance of $1.89 to $1.91.” (President, CEO & Chairman Wells) “We now have clear line of sight to 12.2 gigawatts of firmly committed load,” with “ERCOT approval for 3.2 gigawatts of this load,” and the company expecting “to submit the remaining 9 gigawatts of projects to ERCOT for approval within the next few weeks.” (President, CEO & Chairman Wells) “We invested $1.2 billion in the first quarter” and “remain firmly on track to execute the $6.8 billion of planned work this year,” while noting the Ohio LDC sale is “on track to close in the fourth quarter of this year.” (Executive VP & CFO Christopher Foster) Outlook “We are reiterating our full year 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance of $1.89 to $1.91,” and “over the long term, we continue to expect to grow non-GAAP EPS at the mid- to high end of our 7% to 9% annual guidance range through 2028 and 7% to 9% annually thereafter through 2035.” (President, CEO & Chairman Wells) “Beyond our base 10-year $65.5 billion plan, we will continue to fold in the over $10 billion of incremental capital investment opportunities,” including potential additional investments as the company refreshes transmission planning, which it is “targeting to complete in the second half of this year.” (Executive VP & CFO Foster) Compared with the prior quarter, management repeated the same 2026 non-GAAP EPS guidance range and again pointed to incremental capital upside, while updating Houston’s “fi...

Earnings Call Insights: WEX (WEX) Q1 2026 Management view Melissa Smith (Chairman of the Board, President & CEO) said, “The first quarter marked a strong start to the year for WEX,” adding, “We exceeded the high end of our guidance range for both revenue and adjusted net income per diluted share.” Smith (Chairman of the Board, President & CEO) highlighted an AI-driven efficiency and reinvestment framework: “In 2026, we plan to deliver $50 million in cost-saving actions, including savings from automation and modernization with a portion of the proceeds to be reinvested in the business and the remainder to flow through to margins.” On Mobility, Smith (Chairman of the Board, President & CEO) emphasized execution despite market pressure: “Payment processing transactions were down 3%, so this is not a story of the market suddenly snapping back. Rather, it's a story of improving execution.” She also said, “We are closely monitoring energy price volatility related to the Middle East conflict.” On Corporate Payments, Smith (Chairman of the Board, President & CEO) announced, “We entered into a long-term renewal with a large and strategically important travel customer,” and added, “the economics of the renewal are already contemplated in our guidance and are fully reflected in our Q1 results.” Jagtar Narula (Chief Financial Officer) framed the quarter as execution plus macro noise: “Overall, this was a very noisy quarter in the macro. But the real story is a solid performance across the business that is positioning us well for the remainder of 2026.” Outlook Narula (Chief Financial Officer) guided Q2 revenue to $727 million to $747 million and adjusted net income EPS to $4.93 to $5.13. Narula (Chief Financial Officer) raised full-year guidance to revenue of $2.82 billion to $2.88 billion and adjusted net income EPS of $18.95 to $19.55, stating, “Compared to the midpoints of the previous ranges, these represent increases of $120 million in revenue and $1.70 in EPS.” Narula (Ch...

hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction Lam Research Corporation ( LRCX ) has appreciated by over 93% since I last covered it in October and gave it a Hold rating. Since I last reviewed it, Lam has been able to navigate both a complex geopolitical trade environment as well as an expansion of its served addressable market. With the latest earnings in, I’ll dive into why Lam might need a stock re-rating. Current Dynamics Lam just released its fiscal Q3 , which came out to a double beat as revenue stood at $5.84B, a slight beat of $80MM, but an impressive 23.7% Y/Y growth rate. On the bottom line, Lam posted a non-GAAP EPS of $1.47, which was a strong beat of 11 cents. The quarter was basically a record for Lam in terms of both top and bottom line, which raised the industry-wide outlook for the remainder of the year. It beat the firm’s own guidance in terms of revenue, and this was largely thanks to the customer support business group and advanced packaging applications. Diving deeper, it reflects the intense technological shifts occurring in the semiconductor market as the foundry applications remained the dominant driver of systems revenue at 54%. Though this was a Q/Q decline from 59%, this was mainly linked to an explosion of memory-related investments . DRAM revenue reached an all-time high as well, accounting for 27% of systems revenue, up from the previous quarter at 23%. This is largely attributed to the transition to 1c node devices and the high capital intensity of high bandwidth memory ("HBM") production. On the NAND side, it still represents the smaller portion of the revenue mix at 12%, though it has shown sequential improvement. Management has stated that the NAND market is on the verge of a major upgrade cycle , with $40B in conversion spending anticipated as customers transition to architectures exceeding 200 layers. This demand is effectively a direct result of AI data center requirements for high-speed and high-capacity enterprise SSDs...

格隆汇4月24日｜外汇分析师Adam Button表示，如果市场上还有人曾对中东外交解决冲突抱有一丝希望，现在或许是时候该担心了。刚刚从伊朗传出的两条消息，清晰地描绘出局势正朝严峻方向发展，而非趋向缓和。首先，伊朗总统佩泽希齐扬发帖，彻底否定了内阁中还存在任何“改革派”声音的说法。他上任时曾被宣传为“温和派”。但现在，他明确表示再无“温和派”与“强硬派”之分，只有“对最高领袖的绝对服从”。与此同时，更具爆炸性的消息是：据以色列媒体N12报道，伊朗议会议长卡利巴夫已退出谈判团队。这一系列动态表明，务实派已经出局。卡利巴夫虽是保守派，但同时也是务实的政治家，深知无休止冲突对国内经济的巨大消耗。如果他因伊斯兰革命卫队的介入而被挤出谈判，意味着强硬派和军方正在掌控大局。如果目标是达成协议，你不会把权力交给革命卫队。只有当准备迎接冲击并巩固权力时，才会这样做。伊朗正在收紧内部阵线，要求绝对的意识形态统一，让政治家靠边站，为将领们让路。这意味着，战争的可能性在增加。

Taiwan Semiconductor to raise prices on advanced node: report MSN

Earnings Call Insights: Oceaneering International (OII) Q1 2026 Management View “I'm pleased with our first quarter results, which reinforce our confidence in the year ahead. We generated consolidated revenue and adjusted EBITDA consistent with our guidance and drove strong commercial momentum, capturing new awards and extensions across the portfolio.” (President, CEO & Director Roderick Larson) “Importantly, we further solidified our outlook with a strong first quarter order intake of approximately $1 billion, one of the healthiest intakes since 2020, which resulted in a constructive first quarter book-to-bill ratio.” (President, CEO & Director Larson) “SSR awards totaled approximately $300 million, including projects extending to 2031, which improves our visibility into utilization levels across the next several years.” (President, CEO & Director Larson) “As we shared on our last earnings call, we formally introduced Momentum, our next-generation electric work-class ROV... We expect to mobilize it on one of our U.S. Gulf vessels during the second quarter.” (President, CEO & Director Larson) “First and foremost, the safety of Oceaneers is our top priority and all in the region are accounted for and safe... Operationally, we've experienced intermittent disruption during this period, though the consolidated financial impact has thus far been modest.” (President, CEO & Director Larson) “Overall, results were in line with the guidance we provided last quarter.” (Senior VP & Chief Financial Officer Michael Sumruld) Outlook “We expect to build on our first quarter results with sequential improvement... we expect our revenue to increase and EBITDA to be in the range of $100 million to $110 million.” (President, CEO & Director Larson) “Against that backdrop, we are reaffirming our consolidated guidance ranges of low to mid-single-digit revenue growth and EBITDA of $390 million to $440 million.” (President, CEO & Director Larson) “For IMDS... Middle East activity remains un...

Alphabet’s new 8th‑generation TPUs are positioned as the backbone of its next AI growth phase.

The company plans to replace old vehicle computers in a plan that one analyst said seemed “expensive and perhaps not even sensible.”

OpenAI is introducing an artificial intelligence model that’s intended to be better at completing work without much direction, part of a push to keep pace with rivals like Anthropic PBC in courting business customers. The ChatGPT maker on Thursday unveiled GPT 5.5, a new model that it says is better at aiding scientists, streamlining software development and carrying out more complex tasks. That includes using email, spreadsheets, calendars and other applications to follow a user’s commands on a computer. “It just goes and kind of figures it out, deals with ambiguity,” OpenAI co-founder and President Greg Brockman said of the model’s ability to accomplish tasks without much guidance. “It’s a much more intuitive experience.” OpenAI and Anthropic are locked in a heated battle to convince a broader mix of businesses to pay for their software and offset the immense cost of building more advanced systems. The two companies are particularly focused on pushing out AI software that is more adept at coding, cybersecurity and scientific applications. Both firms are also expected to move ahead with initial public offerings as soon as this year , adding pressure to bolster revenue. Anthropic has gained new momentum in recent months, fueled in part by demand for AI coding tools that streamline the process of software development. Earlier this month, Anthropic unveiled a more powerful AI model called Mythos that it said is capable of detecting and exploiting security vulnerabilities in critical software. The company has limited release of that tool to a select group of partners; OpenAI has taken similar steps with its own cyber-focused model. In a briefing with reporters, Brockman stressed that GPT-5.5 is “extremely” good at coding, a lucrative market for AI developers. Brockman also said the model will be used to power a so-called super app that OpenAI plans to launch, bringing together its chatbot, coding tool and web browser. Last week, OpenAI also rolled out an early version ...

Study of fossilised beaks shows patterns of wear and suggests some ancient species were up to 19 metres long Giant “kraken-like” octopuses that used powerful beaks to crunch through bones of prey were among the most formidable predators of the Cretaceous oceans, according to research. Analysis of dozens of newly identified fossils reveals that some ancient octopus species reached up to 19 metres in length, meaning they would have rivalled – and possibly even preyed upon – apex predators such as mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. Continue reading...

The following companies are expected to report earnings after hours on 04/23/2026. Visit our Earnings Calendar for a full list of expected earnings releases.Intel Corporation (INTC)is reporting for the quarter ending March 31, 2026. The semiconductor company's consensus earnings

OpenAI just announced its new GPT-5.5 model, which the company calls its "smartest and most intuitive to use model yet, and the next step toward a new way of getting work done on a computer." OpenAI just released GPT-5.4 last month , but says that the new GPT-5.5 "excels" at tasks like writing and debugging code, doing research online, making spreadsheets and documents, and doing that work across different tools. "Instead of carefully managing every step, you can give GPT-5.5 a messy, multi-part task and trust it to plan, use tools, check its work, navigate through ambiguity, and keep going," according to OpenAI. The company also notes that … Read the full story at The Verge.

You just inherited an IRA from a deceased loved one. While you're likely still mourning the loss, you may also be relieved to have the extra cash to spend how you like. So it can be a bit of a shock when you learn you don't have complete control over the funds. If the money comes from a traditional IRA, you'll owe taxes on the withdrawals. You'll also likely have to follow the 10-year rule to avoid IRS penalties. Here's how that works. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading

Yet Another Dead NASA Scientist: Nuclear Propulsion Expert Was Found Charred Inside Crashed Tesla Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, The case of yet another top NASA nuclear engineer turning up dead in a fiery crash has hit the headlines, adding to the dark and mysterious pattern of experts tied to advanced propulsion and space secrets apparently being targeted. Joshua LeBlanc, 29, a team lead on NASA’s most cutting-edge nuclear thermal propulsion projects, was found charred beyond recognition inside his burned Tesla after vanishing from his Huntsville, Alabama home. His family immediately feared abduction. He left his phone and wallet behind—an act they called completely uncharacteristic. Tesla Sentry Mode data later showed the vehicle sat motionless at Huntsville International Airport for four hours the morning of July 22, 2025. The car was discovered that afternoon after colliding with a guardrail, slamming into trees, and erupting in flames. Authorities confirmed his identity days later through forensic examination. A NASA nuclear scientist was found deceased in his Tesla after colliding with a guardrail, leaving his body so burned that he was completely unrecognizable, according to a new report from Fox News. 29-year-old Joshua LeBlanc, who worked on nuclear propulsion projects, died in a… https://t.co/C793en0aeU pic.twitter.com/8YIhgG7fE3 — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 22, 2026 LeBlanc had worked at NASA for over five years, first as team lead for the Space Nuclear Propulsion (SNP) Instrumentation and Control Maturation project, then leading NASA’s Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operation (DRACO)—a nuclear thermal propulsion engine designed to slash travel times to Mars and beyond. His family told local outlets the trip west was never part of his plans for the day, and he had been in regular contact right up until he vanished. “They feared he had been abducted,” reports confirmed. NASA nuclear engineer found dead in burned Tesla after van...

The company told staff the cuts will take effect May 20, alongside the elimination of 6,000 open roles it had planned to fill

Investors Are Rotating Out of Tech. Here's Why That's Great News for This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Growth Stock. The Globe and Mail

Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California, on Jan. 22, 2026. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Semiconductor stocks are powering the U.S. equity market to records in recent days and traders are predicting that means a big swing in shares of Intel after earnings after the bell Thursday. Options are pricing in a $6.23 move on the report, a roughly 9% swing. That wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the chipmaker: Shares slid as much as 18% after reporting fourth-quarter earnings in January before staging a 50% rally just this month alone. The semiconductor group is up 145% in the past year, and Intel's been a key leader, climbing more than 230% over that period. The catch is, the stock has dropped after three of its last four earnings reports. Sentiment looks like it's shifting more bullish this time around. There are about as many puts trading as calls, but options traders are paying beefier premiums in upside calls, with total call premiums nearing $100M versus $50M in puts, according to data compiled by SpotGamma. One big bullish trader this morning spent $2.2 million buying 3,200 $70 strike calls expiring June 18. Given the stock's recent history of dropping after earnings, that seems less like a bet on the direction Friday and more that the stock will find footing in its long-term uptrend that's been in play since last summer. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images AT&T Inc. ( T ) reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Wednesday, which was supported by robust growth in the broadband business. AT&T acquired Lumen’s Mass Market fiber business last year, which has led to an expansion in the customer base and which sets AT&T up for sustained growth in the years ahead. Unfortunately, the telecommunications company also saw an increase in its net debt as a result of this transaction. While I believe the transaction made strategic sense for AT&T from a growth perspective, the increase in net debt is not something that I like to see, especially since AT&T already carried a large amount of debt on its balance sheet before the transaction closed in Q1'26. However, given the firm's solid free cash flow outlook and strong dividend coverage, I am staying bullish on AT&T but would recommend income investors pay close attention to the telecom's leverage trend going forward. YCharts Previous Rating In October 2025, I highlighted a strong value proposition for AT&T, a 4% Yield, Strong Broadband Growth, Cheap Stock , because the telecommunications company benefited from strong momentum in its broadband segment, allowing it to add hundreds of thousands of new subscribers each quarter amid a rapid broadband buildout. I like the broadband momentum after the acquisition of Lumen's fiber business, but I am mindful that this transaction came at the expense of a rising leverage ratio. I maintain a 'Strong Buy' rating for now, amid a high degree of free cash flow and dividend visibility, but a deterioration in the leverage ratio going forward may result in a rating downgrade. AT&T Beats Q1’26 Estimates On Broadband Strength The telecommunications company beat top and bottom line estimates for the first fiscal quarter on Wednesday: AT&T published non-GAAP earnings of $0.57 per share, which beat the consensus estimates by $0.02 per share. AT&T’s top line came in at $31.5 billion, sur...

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 1 p.m. ET Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email pr@fool.com Continue reading

Key PointsAfter sinking initially when the Iran war began, the stock market quickly bounced back.

Regulators may require equal access for rival AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude under Digital Markets Act rules.

Oil jumped after a report from Iran said the country’s air defense had been activated against hostile targets , as tensions simmer with Israel and the US and the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked to vital global energy flows. West Texas Intermediate futures rose as much as 5% to trade above $97 a barrel in New York, after gaining almost 11% in the three previous sessions. Brent traded near $106. Shipowners are facing mounting evidence that it is unsafe to transit the key waterway, despite Washington’s assurances to the contrary, while all warring parties ramp up hawkish rhetoric. Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Israel is poised to resume the war with Iran and is currently just “waiting for a green light from the US.” That compounded bullish momentum from after Trump said in a social media post that he had ordered the US Navy to “shoot and kill” boats laying mines in the strait, through which about a fifth of global energy typically transits. US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum later denied this marked an escalation of the conflict.

CrowdStrike ( NASDAQ: CRWD ) dropped 5.55% to $440.78 in Thursday afternoon trading, breaking a six-day rally. The stock had gained more than 17.11% over that stretch, outpacing the S&P 500’s 2.45% increase. Despite that run, shares are down 4.52% year to date versus the index’s 4.27% rise. A Seeking Alpha analyst, Stone Fox Capital , assigned a “Strong Sell” rating to CRWD, pointing to valuation headwinds despite AI-led growth and ties to Anthropic’s Claude Mythos. The analyst noted that share buybacks at elevated multiples and evolving AI risks leave the stock exposed to downside. In contrast, Seeking Alpha analyst Amrita Roy has a “Buy” rating on the company, saying the company is well positioned to benefit from Anthropic’s Project Glasswing, which reframes AI as an enabler rather than a threat to cybersecurity. Roy highlighted 47% year-over-year growth in net new ARR for the Falcon platform, driven by strong adoption of cloud security, identity, and SIEM modules, adding that recent product launches reinforce CrowdStrike’s role in AI-led security. KeyBanc analyst Eric Heath, in a recent report, upgraded CrowdStrike to “overweight” with a $525 price target, citing Anthropic’s Mythos as a catalyst for higher cybersecurity spending. Heath said the breadth of the Falcon platform, strong positioning across near-term security needs and long-term runtime defense, and inclusion in Project Glasswing provide a competitive edge while mitigating AI disruption risks. He added that growing concern around Mythos among executives and policymakers could further support cyber budgets. Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive, with 41 analysts rating the stock a buy or better and 12 assigning Hold ratings, with no Sell recommendations. However, Seeking Alpha’s Quant system assigns a Hold rating with a score of 3.16, reflecting strong profitability and growth tempered by valuation concerns. Seeking Alpha analysts also maintain a Hold stance overall. More on CrowdStrike Claude,...

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LewisTsePuiLung/iStock Editorial via Getty Images JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) is planning to deploy capital into loans sourced by the company's commercial bankers as part of a wider strategy, Bloomberg News reported , citing executives of the asset management division. The banking giant is in talks with institutional investors to raise several billion dollars, having already secured some commitments, according to J.P. Morgan Asset Management's George Gatch, CEO, and Bob Michele, head of global fixed income, currency, and commodities. Commercial bankers "will be sourcing and originating loans, asset management will look and take bites," Michele told Bloomberg News, adding the push is "genuinely independent of the credit cycle." The move reportedly marks JPM Asset Management's most aggressive effort to reclaim ground in the $1.8 trillion private credit market after HPS Investment Partners spun out from the New York-based company in 2016. The push comes amid a surge in redemption requests in the private credit sector, with the managers, including Apollo Global Management ( APO ), Ares Management ( ARES ), Blackstone ( BX ), Blue Owl Capital ( OWL ), and KKR ( KKR ), said to have received $20.8B in redemption requests during the first quarter. In the past, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has downplayed systemic risks from the rapid growth of private credit while warning that looser underwriting standards could amplify losses in the next downturn. JPM executives are said to have started laying the groundwork for the strategy that it's raising money for now shortly after deal talks with Monroe Capital (MRCC) failed. "It's an interesting time given the growth of the private credit business and some of the dislocations," Gatch reportedly said. "We think there's a great opportunity going forward." "We've looked at many different options over time and decided to organically expand our efforts in this area," Gatch reportedly said. More on JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Preferreds Pair Trade Idea...

Amtrak is seeking a preliminary injunction against Metro-North Railroad that would allow its non-revenue trains to run between New York City’s northern suburbs and Connecticut. Amtrak said Metro-North has during the past two months denied requests to run work trains, reposition equipment and test NextGen Acela trains between New Rochelle and New Haven, according to a lawsuit the national passenger rail provider filed late Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. Metro-North owns the tracks along that line. Amtrak said Metro-North’s refusals stem from an unrelated disagreement regarding the cost of repairs to the New Haven Line’s overhead wire system, called catenary, which Metro-North says were damaged by a NextGen Acela train, according to the filing. “Their actions are violating agreements we’ve had in place for more than 35 years, causing escalating harm to Amtrak’s operations, undermining safety‑critical rail activity, disrupting service needed by millions of passengers, and putting the reliability of intercity rail service at risk,” Amtrak said in a statement Thursday. The court filing is the latest dispute between Amtrak and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , which runs New York City’s subways, buses, and two commuter rail lines, including Metro North. The MTA is working to bring Metro-North service into Penn Station, creating more transit service to Bronx residents. But last year it postponed the completion date by three years to 2030, claiming that Amtrak — which owns the tracks in the Bronx — failed to provide enough access to their infrastructure for the MTA to conduct work. “The people of the Bronx have been waiting generations watching trains blow by without stopping,” John J. McCarthy, MTA’s head of policy and external relations, said in a statement Thursday. “We have a project that will change that and improve lives for people in the Bronx, cutting their commute times by 40 minutes. It’s not clear who in the federal government is directing Amtrak...

Brazil's antitrust watchdog CADE approved on Thursday a recommendation to deepen ‌investigations into the use of journalistic content ‌by Alphabet's Google, which would assess potential abuse of the company's ​dominant market position. CADE's members backed a proposal from its interim chief Diogo Thomson de Andrade to return the case to its general superintendence for formal administrative proceedings, citing ‌the evolution of ⁠Google's conduct since the 2019 inquiry began. CONTEXT • The case began following CADE's 2019 determination ⁠to examine competitive conditions in search and news markets.