Even A 1% Bitcoin Allocation Can Drastically Reshape Portfolio Risk, Schwab Finds Authored by Micah Zimmerman via BitcoinMagazine.com, A new research note from Charles Schwab is challenging a simple question many investors still ask: how much cryptocurrency is “right” for a portfolio. The answer, the firm argues, is less about prediction and more about psychology—specifically, how much volatility ...
Even A 1% Bitcoin Allocation Can Drastically Reshape Portfolio Risk, Schwab Finds Authored by Micah Zimmerman via BitcoinMagazine.com, A new research note from Charles Schwab is challenging a simple question many investors still ask: how much cryptocurrency is “right” for a portfolio. The answer, the firm argues, is less about prediction and more about psychology—specifically, how much volatility an investor can realistically live with. The report focuses on exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum, two of the most widely held digital assets. While they often enter portfolios as small “satellite” positions, Schwab finds they can behave like much larger holdings once risk is taken into account. Even allocations as low as 1% to 3% can meaningfully reshape portfolio behavior, the analysis shows. That shift is not just about returns. It is about how a portfolio feels during stress. In sharp market declines, crypto does not sit quietly in the background. It moves first, and often further than traditional assets. “Any allocation to cryptocurrency is likely to increase a portfolio’s volatility,” the report notes , pointing to historical drawdowns that have exceeded 70% for both Bitcoin and Ethereum in past cycles. Schwab: Steady allocations vs. risk budget The core message is not a warning to avoid crypto, but a reminder that its role changes depending on how it is used. Schwab outlines two frameworks investors tend to rely on. The first is familiar: build allocations using expected returns, volatility, and correlations with stocks and bonds. In practice, this method breaks down quickly because assumptions about future crypto returns vary widely. A second approach shifts the focus. Instead of forecasting returns, investors set a “risk budget,” deciding how much total volatility they are willing to let crypto contribute. Under this lens, portfolio construction becomes less about conviction in price targets and more about tolerance for loss. The firm stresses that there is no single...
Welcome to our guide to the commodities driving the global economy. Today, reporter Alex Longley looks at the persistent tightness in physical oil markets following the US-Iran ceasefire earlier this week. A day into the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked, meaning a clamor for oil remains unresolved. Prior to the agreement, the US Energy I...
Welcome to our guide to the commodities driving the global economy. Today, reporter Alex Longley looks at the persistent tightness in physical oil markets following the US-Iran ceasefire earlier this week. A day into the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked, meaning a clamor for oil remains unresolved. Prior to the agreement, the US Energy Information Administration predicted a supply loss of about 9 million barrels a day from the war this month, following a slightly smaller drop in March. That means 314 million barrels have been removed from the market already — almost 80% of the record release of emergency reserves announced by the International Energy Agency in March. As a result, refiners are scouting the world for whatever supplies they can get their hands on. Buyers have increasingly turned to the US to fill the gap, with American exports expected to surge to unprecedented levels in the coming weeks. On Tuesday, the Dated Brent benchmark — the most important price for physical crude transactions — hit a record above $140 a barrel. It fell along with futures prices on Wednesday, but is still north of $120. Its premium to Brent futures actually grew on the day. That’s in part because traders continue to line up bids for shipments in a vital North Sea pricing window. There, four grades were sought at more than $20 a barrel above their benchmark price, in a sign of the lingering scarcity. In normal times, the premium or discount would be in the low single digits. “Physical crude markets continue to whizz higher and paper products are beginning to rebound towards the pre-ceasefire setup,” said Neil Crosby, head of research at Sparta Commodities. In another sign of the continued pressure, Japanese media reported that the nation is considering releasing additional barrels — equivalent to 20 days of consumption — from its emergency stockpile. All the while, just three ships crossed Hormuz yesterday following the...
CoreWeave Inc. has expanded its deal to supply artificial intelligence computing power to Meta Platforms Inc. to $21 billion, building on a previous $14.2 billion agreement the companies struck in September. Under the new terms, CoreWeave will supply AI cloud capacity through December 2032, according to a company statement Thursday. The two companies had previously reached a deal that ran through ...
CoreWeave Inc. has expanded its deal to supply artificial intelligence computing power to Meta Platforms Inc. to $21 billion, building on a previous $14.2 billion agreement the companies struck in September. Under the new terms, CoreWeave will supply AI cloud capacity through December 2032, according to a company statement Thursday. The two companies had previously reached a deal that ran through December 2031 with an option to extend to 2032 with additional capacity. The additional computing will come from multiple data centers powered in part by the Rubin systems of AI chips giant Nvidia Corp. , CoreWeave said. CoreWeave is among an emerging group of “neoclouds,” businesses that rent out access to leading AI chips. Its competitors include Nebius Group NV and Nscale . CoreWeave has been one of the chief beneficiaries of a race among major technology companies to build the most advanced AI models that has sent demand for computing demand soaring. Meta has emerged as one of the top spenders on AI infrastructure. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars over the next few years on the energy, computing power and talent needed to build, train and run AI models.
nuttapong punna/iStock via Getty Images Newegg Commerce, Inc. ( NEGG ) in the H1 results ended for the half year 2025 saw solid development in terms of GMV sales and profits, though they are still negative. We want to keep things simple and say that Newegg, being a retail model, does not have good margins structurally and relies on great asset turnover. Our concern is that asset turnover may not b...
nuttapong punna/iStock via Getty Images Newegg Commerce, Inc. ( NEGG ) in the H1 results ended for the half year 2025 saw solid development in terms of GMV sales and profits, though they are still negative. We want to keep things simple and say that Newegg, being a retail model, does not have good margins structurally and relies on great asset turnover. Our concern is that asset turnover may not be supported in the medium term due to demand destruction risks, as AI development demand is driving up prices and possibly crowding out PC gaming enthusiasts. Also, there were already pull-forward effects from tariffs that will come home to roost in the H2. While there is some press about selling enthusiast-class chips for AI development, they are not a terribly viable value add in the world of distributing even more expensive chips than enthusiast-class to major buyers who are likely capable of going to manufacturers directly in the capital-intensive undertaking of training AI. With threats to continued improvements in asset turnover, we would caution those looking at Newegg, which currently remains unprofitable, even if pulled-forward inventory due to tariffs may pay off in higher unit economics as the bulging inventory liquidates at generally higher PC component prices. It may be a good ROI on the working capital this year for the H2, but the demand destruction issue of possibly a persisting AI demand vector could start hurting asset turnovers and merchandise buying costs as time goes by, perhaps mostly becoming notable in the H1 of next year. Discussion of Markets and Direction 2025 has been an interesting year from the perspective of PC component prices. The most notable headlines are of rising memory prices. RAM and SSDs are both seeing very significant increases in prices due to the memory needs of training AI . The mechanism of these price increases is that the fabs are redirecting capacity to enterprise purposes, thereby shrinking the supply of retail components th...
sankai CoreWeave ( CRWV ) intends to offer $1,250M aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2031 in a private offering, it said on Thursday. The notes will be guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by certain wholly owned subsidiaries of CoreWeave. CoreWeave intends to use the proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, repayment of outstanding i...
sankai CoreWeave ( CRWV ) intends to offer $1,250M aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2031 in a private offering, it said on Thursday. The notes will be guaranteed on a senior unsecured basis by certain wholly owned subsidiaries of CoreWeave. CoreWeave intends to use the proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, repayment of outstanding indebtedness, and to pay fees, costs, and expenses in connection with the offering of the notes. The company's shares rose about 7% in early trading. Separately, CoreWeave ( CRWV ) inked an expanded, long-term agreement with Meta Platforms ( META ) to provide AI cloud capacity through December 2032 for approximately $21 billion. With this deal, the two companies are continuing their existing relationship, increasing support for Meta’s development and deployment of AI. More on CoreWeave CoreWeave: Slew Of Positive Updates (Rating Upgrade) CoreWeave: Spending $2.6 For Every $1 In Revenue In 2026 CoreWeave: Why I Am Reiterating A Buy Nvidia's H100 GPU rental prices surge nearly 40% in 6 months: SemiAnalysis Applied Digital amends N.D. data center leases with CoreWeave
JHVEPhoto Amazon's ( AMZN ) CEO Andy Jassy discussed the company's chip business and returns on the company's massive $200B capital expenditure plans for 2026, and other things in his 2025 letter to shareholders. "We’re not investing approximately $200 billion in capex in 2026 on a hunch. The recent OpenAI ( OPENAI ) commitment (over $100 billion) is an example of this, but there are several other...
JHVEPhoto Amazon's ( AMZN ) CEO Andy Jassy discussed the company's chip business and returns on the company's massive $200B capital expenditure plans for 2026, and other things in his 2025 letter to shareholders. "We’re not investing approximately $200 billion in capex in 2026 on a hunch. The recent OpenAI ( OPENAI ) commitment (over $100 billion) is an example of this, but there are several other customer agreements completed (and unannounced), or deep in process. Of the AWS capex we expect to spend in 2026, much of which will be monetized in 2027-2028, we already have customer commitments for a substantial portion of it," said Jassy in the letter, which was out on Thursday. During the company's fourth-quarter earnings call in February, Jassy said that the company expects to invest about $200B in capital expenditures, or capex, across Amazon, but predominantly in Amazon Web Services, or AWS. He added that the company has very high demand and customers want AWS for core and AI workloads, and "we're monetizing capacity as fast as we can install it." Jassy said in the letter that the annual revenue run rate for the company's chips business (inclusive of Graviton, Trainium, and Nitro) is now over $20B and growing triple-digit percentages year-over-year. "To dimensionalize this versus other chips companies, that run rate is somewhat understated by our currently only monetizing our chips through EC2. If our chips business was a stand-alone business, and sold chips produced this year to AWS and other third parties (as other leading chips companies do), our annual run rate would be ~$50 billion. There’s so much demand for our chips that it’s quite possible we’ll sell racks of them to third parties in the future," Jassy noted. Jassy added that at scale, Amazon expects the Trainium AI chips will save it tens of billions of capex dollars per year and provide several hundred basis points of operating margin advantage versus relying on others' chips for inference. AI inference ...
genkur/iStock via Getty Images Note: I have covered Aehr Test Systems, Inc., or "Aehr" ( AEHR ) previously, so investors should view this as an update to my earlier articles on the company. Aehr Test Systems Overview After the close of Tuesday's regular session, aspiring semiconductor test and burn-in system supplier Aehr Test Systems reported another set of less-than-stellar quarterly results wit...
genkur/iStock via Getty Images Note: I have covered Aehr Test Systems, Inc., or "Aehr" ( AEHR ) previously, so investors should view this as an update to my earlier articles on the company. Aehr Test Systems Overview After the close of Tuesday's regular session, aspiring semiconductor test and burn-in system supplier Aehr Test Systems reported another set of less-than-stellar quarterly results with revenues coming in below consensus expectations and persistent cash burn: Company Press Releases / Regulatory Filings While non-GAAP gross margin of 36.5% recovered from multi-year lows below 30% experienced in the preceding quarter, the replacement of high-margin silicon carbide wafer-level burn-in system sales with lower-margin package-level burn-in products continues to negatively impact profitability. Aehr burned $3.8 million in cash during the third quarter. Similar to Q2, the company used the ongoing AI hype to replenish its dwindling cash balances by selling shares at elevated prices into the open market. During the quarter, the company raised gross proceeds of $10.5 million from sales under its up to $40 million Open Market Sale Agreement with Jefferies LLC (JEF ). Subsequent to quarter-end, Aehr sold additional shares into the open market for gross proceeds of $19.5 million thus exhausting the Open Market Sale Agreement. However, weak financial results and persistent dilution were more than offset by the company's stellar bookings performance as also celebrated by management in the press release: We are very pleased with the strong momentum in our business across multiple market segments, highlighted by more than $37 million in quarterly bookings and a book-to-bill ratio exceeding 3.5x. Demand continues to accelerate across both WLBI and PLBI as semiconductor devices grow in size, complexity, and power and are increasingly deployed in mission-critical AI, networking, automotive, and industrial applications. Subsequent to quarter-end, Aehr booked an additional $12...
Denis Shevchuk/iStock via Getty Images After war erupted between the US and Iran, and even in spite of the fact that we are currently in a fragile ceasefire, you would think that most every company in the oil industry would be up significantly this year. But that's not the case. In fact, some of the firms, especially those that are tied much more heavily to natural gas than oil, were down. One goo...
Denis Shevchuk/iStock via Getty Images After war erupted between the US and Iran, and even in spite of the fact that we are currently in a fragile ceasefire, you would think that most every company in the oil industry would be up significantly this year. But that's not the case. In fact, some of the firms, especially those that are tied much more heavily to natural gas than oil, were down. One good example of this can be seen by looking at Expand Energy Corporation ( EXE ), a company that I last called a 'buy' in March of 2025. From that time through today, the stock is up only 1.1%. By comparison, the S&P 500 is up 20.5%. And year to date, shares are down about 9.5%. This makes sense, however, when you consider that only about 2.6% of its revenue last year came from oil. The vast majority of sales, approximately 61.3%, comes from natural gas. Another 6% involves NGLs, with the rest of revenue coming from things like derivatives, marketing activities, and the like. Despite the fact that the business is in the red from a trading standpoint this year, I actually am optimistic. Management is forecasting attractive growth for 2026, and shares are priced at levels that make it attractive compared to other similar enterprises. Add on top of this low leverage, and I firmly believe that sticking with my 'buy' rating makes all the sense in the world right now. Drilling into Expand Energy Corporation If you are not familiar with Expand Energy Corporation, that is understandable. The company actually has not been around for all that long. You see, after Chesapeake Energy declared bankruptcy years ago, it subsequently emerged from that process in February of 2021. It then ended up merging with Southwestern Energy in a transaction that valued the latter party at $7.4 billion. Ever since then, management has been focused on growing the company. Grow the company they have. Author - SEC EDGAR Data In the chart above, you can see financial performance for the 2023 through 2025 fisca...
Emanuel Espinoza/iStock via Getty Images Thesis In my view Corning ( NYSE: GLW ) is the most compelling proposition available in the physical AI infrastructure space today. It makes the optical fiber without which no 21st‑century data center is viable, makes Gorilla Glass , which is used in most smartphones, and is now venturing into a whole new defense market with fiber‑optic drone tethers. A rob...
Emanuel Espinoza/iStock via Getty Images Thesis In my view Corning ( NYSE: GLW ) is the most compelling proposition available in the physical AI infrastructure space today. It makes the optical fiber without which no 21st‑century data center is viable, makes Gorilla Glass , which is used in most smartphones, and is now venturing into a whole new defense market with fiber‑optic drone tethers. A robust balance sheet , huge long‑term contracts ( culminating with a potential $6 billion deal with Meta ), an end‑to‑end product cycle that should accelerate revenue growth, and a surge in operating profit margins of four percentage points in just two years turn this 175‑year‑old blue‑chip industrial company into anything but sleepy. At the same time, I can be honest: the valuation is rich, the customer base relatively narrow, and the company has high ambition and execution risk. Nevertheless, the structural tailwinds are just too compelling not to merit a spot in a diversified portfolio. Company Overview Corning is, in other ways, not a traditional tech company. Instead, it is a materials science company that has been creating products people have had trouble replicating for over 170 years. Starting in the 19th century, the company was even supplying NASA with windows for the earliest craft. Today, the company has divided itself into six segments : Optical Communications (the most lucrative, roughly $1.7 billion total quarterly revenue), Display Technologies, Specialty Materials (comprising Gorilla Glass), Automotive, Life Sciences, and Hemlock and Emerging Growth. The diversity is a real mark of quality because it is impossible for a single segment to crumple the entire business. Corning has been one of the S&P 500‘s leaders for 31 years in a row, with total revenue of $15.6 billion in fiscal 2025. What I find most motivating is that Corning doesn’t sell luxuries, but necessities. When capital expenditure on AI ramps up, data centers have to find fiber. When people get sick...
DNY59/E+ via Getty Images Over the long run, REITs have been incredibly rewarding investment vehicles, outperforming most other asset classes, including the S&P 500 ( SPY ) and even Tech stocks ( QQQ ): NAREIT via The Book "The REIT Advantage" This really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, as real estate has been one of the most lucrative investments in history, and the REIT structure makes i...
DNY59/E+ via Getty Images Over the long run, REITs have been incredibly rewarding investment vehicles, outperforming most other asset classes, including the S&P 500 ( SPY ) and even Tech stocks ( QQQ ): NAREIT via The Book "The REIT Advantage" This really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, as real estate has been one of the most lucrative investments in history, and the REIT structure makes it even more rewarding thanks to the economies of scale, stronger bargaining power with tenants, development know-how, additional service profits, and better access to capital. You really don't need exceptional assumptions for this to work out well. All a REIT has to do is buy properties at a 6-8 cap rate, enjoy 2-3% annual rent growth, and a bit of external growth from new acquisitions, and this will typically result in near or above double-digit total returns when accounting for the leverage. It is a highly repeatable business model that has consistently worked well over time. NNN REIT, Inc. ( NNN ) is a great example of it, among many others: NNN REIT Data by YCharts But just like other asset classes, REITs are still not immune to the moody nature of the market. One year, REITs are very popular, and the next year, they are out of favor, and lately, unfortunately for REIT investors, they have been highly unpopular. As interest rates began to surge in 2022, investors pulled out of the REIT sector to invest in fixed income instead. This capital outflow pushed REIT share prices to much lower levels: Data by YCharts The perception was that the fundamentals of leveraged vehicles like REITs would take a big hit in a rising interest rate environment, but that proved to be wrong. What the market had overlooked was that REIT leverage was at an all-time low of just 35% on average, and besides, interest rates were only surging because inflation was high, which resulted in rapidly growing rents, benefiting most REITs. As a result, most REITs actually kept growing their cash flows and ...
Escalating tensions in the Middle East are continuing to ripple through global markets, with rising oil prices wreaking havoc on supply chains. Soaring gas prices not only force many consumers to cut back on discretionary spending, but they also result in businesses paying more to transport goods and manufacture plastic products, fertilizer, and other items that use oil during the production proce...
Escalating tensions in the Middle East are continuing to ripple through global markets, with rising oil prices wreaking havoc on supply chains. Soaring gas prices not only force many consumers to cut back on discretionary spending, but they also result in businesses paying more to transport goods and manufacture plastic products, fertilizer, and other items that use oil during the production process. Historically, prolonged spikes in oil prices have been linked to economic pullbacks and recessions. In fact, the Federal Reserve itself has noted that "nearly all post-World War II recessions were preceded by higher oil prices." Continue reading
(RTTNews) - The Buckle, Inc. (BKE), a specialty retailer, on Thursday reported higher comparable sales for the five-week period ended April 4, 2026, along with an increase in net sales.
(RTTNews) - The Buckle, Inc. (BKE), a specialty retailer, on Thursday reported higher comparable sales for the five-week period ended April 4, 2026, along with an increase in net sales.
For long-term investors looking to track the U.S. stock market, S&P 500 ETFs are a popular choice. Two of the most widely held options are the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) from Vanguard and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) from State Street. Using the TipRanks’ ETF Comparison Tool, we have placed VOO and SPY against each other to find the best ETF for investors in 2026. VOO vs. SPY: Key Differences ...
For long-term investors looking to track the U.S. stock market, S&P 500 ETFs are a popular choice. Two of the most widely held options are the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) from Vanguard and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) from State Street. Using the TipRanks’ ETF Comparison Tool, we have placed VOO and SPY against each other to find the best ETF for investors in 2026. VOO vs. SPY: Key Differences Every Investor Should Know The main difference between VOO and SPY comes down to cost and trading st