The stock market has always rewarded companies that outperform expectations. For decades, the formula was simple: beat earnings estimates, raise guidance, and watch the stock move higher. But the AI boom has changed the rules. Today, the S&P 500 continues to notch fresh all-time highs, yet much of that strength is concentrated in a relatively ... A Stock’s Most Important Phrase Is No Longer “Beat ...
The stock market has always rewarded companies that outperform expectations. For decades, the formula was simple: beat earnings estimates, raise guidance, and watch the stock move higher. But the AI boom has changed the rules. Today, the S&P 500 continues to notch fresh all-time highs, yet much of that strength is concentrated in a relatively ... A Stock’s Most Important Phrase Is No Longer “Beat Estimates” — It’s These 3 Words
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh appears poised to dismantle one of the central bank’s most closely watched communication tools as early as this month’s policy meeting, according to former top officials. The newly appointed chair, who succeeded Jerome Powell last month, has made no secret of his disdain for forward guidance—the practice of signaling future rate moves to markets. “Unlike many of m...
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh appears poised to dismantle one of the central bank’s most closely watched communication tools as early as this month’s policy meeting, according to former top officials. The newly appointed chair, who succeeded Jerome Powell last month, has made no secret of his disdain for forward guidance—the practice of signaling future rate moves to markets. “Unlike many of my colleagues past and present, I don’t believe in forward guidance,” Warsh had said during his Senate confirmation hearing. Warsh's non-participation likely would shift market ( SPY ) ( TLT ) focus to his live press conferences and actual data dependencies. And the so-called dot plot would lose its primary anchor, as traders would no longer be able to identify the Fed chair's specific path, which historically acts as the center of gravity for monetary policy. Still, the Summary of Economic Projections, which includes the dot plot, reveals the economic forecasts and rate trajectories of the remaining 18 Federal Open Market Committee members, helping investors gauge the depth of hawkish or dovish dissent. Former officials reportedly now expect Warsh to take concrete action at the mid-June FOMC meeting, potentially refusing to submit his own interest rate forecast to the quarterly dot plot—the grid of projections introduced by Ben Bernanke in 2012 that has become a fixture of Fed watching. “Warsh appreciates the Fed’s not a particularly good forecaster. And that its credibility is not furthered by doing something that it’s not good at,” said Vincent Reinhart, former senior Fed official and chief economist at BNY Investments, the Financial Times reported. The timing may be opportune. Growing committee dissent over the Fed’s easing bias—with five officials now questioning its inclusion—has created unusual alignment for change. Richard Clarida, former Fed vice-chair, suggested “the planets are aligned” for eliminating guidance language altogether. Not everyone agrees the shift sh...
Meta Platforms on Wednesday unveiled an artificial intelligence agent aimed at helping businesses carry out day-to-day operations, positioning the social media giant as a player in the enterprise AI market. Announced at the company's WhatsApp-focused Conversations conference in London, the new product expands on existing business messaging services by enabling "agentic" capabilities in which th...
Meta Platforms on Wednesday unveiled an artificial intelligence agent aimed at helping businesses carry out day-to-day operations, positioning the social media giant as a player in the enterprise AI market. Announced at the company's WhatsApp-focused Conversations conference in London, the new product expands on existing business messaging services by enabling "agentic" capabilities in which the assistant can take actions like booking calendar appointments and closing sales on behalf of businesses. The company said more than 1 million businesses were already using earlier chatbot versions of such agents on WhatsApp and Messenger.
PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images SES AI Corporation ( SES ) is a company that came onto my radar recently. I have looked for a company that manufactures NDAA compliant batteries within the drone industry. I have also been looking for a battery company within the power storage industry. I have covered a couple of companies within these industries. The demand for power and batteries is growing...
PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images SES AI Corporation ( SES ) is a company that came onto my radar recently. I have looked for a company that manufactures NDAA compliant batteries within the drone industry. I have also been looking for a battery company within the power storage industry. I have covered a couple of companies within these industries. The demand for power and batteries is growing and I think will only continue to grow. The drone market is a fast growing industry that I have covered as well. SES AI covers both of these markets with its products. I see it operating in two markets that I see as high growth markets. The company is going through a transition as it moves away from the EV battery market into the storage and drone market. The potential for the company but the large operational changes it is currently going through has caused the stock to trade with a lot of volatility over the past year. The stock is up 50% over the past year and currently trades at $1.43. It is down from a high of $3.73 during that time frame though. SES is looking to gain market share within these growing markets but still operates as a risky investment as it has not established itself within the market. There have been questions raised by short sellers as well around the company and its changes. There is also an outstanding lawsuit against the company for misleading investors. I think the company could make the transition into the energy storage and drone battery market. Both these markets are growing and there is strong potential within them for a player to capitalize. It is still to be seen whether or not SES is the company to do that. Company Overview SES has been in the battery business for some time but recently made a large shift in their strategy. They are moving away from EV batteries to the drone and storage markets. They are also putting more focus into their AI software, Molecular Universe. The company now operates in three business segments: Energy Storage S...
Michelle Weaver of Morgan Stanley discusses the outlook for equities, emphasizing the strong demand for technology driven by AI developments. The 10-year Treasury yield level around 4.5% is seen as critical for equity valuations, with yields above this level potentially weighing on equities. While some inflationary pressures, such as gasoline prices, are causing concern, Weaver views these as rela...
Michelle Weaver of Morgan Stanley discusses the outlook for equities, emphasizing the strong demand for technology driven by AI developments. The 10-year Treasury yield level around 4.5% is seen as critical for equity valuations, with yields above this level potentially weighing on equities. While some inflationary pressures, such as gasoline prices, are causing concern, Weaver views these as relatively narrow and partly linked to geopolitical factors like the Strait of Hormuz tensions, which the president has indicated could persist until September. (Source: Bloomberg)
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) stock rose 13% in May, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence . Market sentiment turned positive for the artificial intelligence (AI) stock after a report that the U.S. government is going to invest in drone companies. Palantir isn't a drone company, but its products are heavily used by the defense industry and the U.S. government. It has ...
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) stock rose 13% in May, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence . Market sentiment turned positive for the artificial intelligence (AI) stock after a report that the U.S. government is going to invest in drone companies. Palantir isn't a drone company, but its products are heavily used by the defense industry and the U.S. government. It has specialized drone technology that's integrated into its platform, which is one element of its connected network of data sets, and its Defense Solutions are used by the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy. The company's Gotham platform creates a custom ontology, or map of different data sets, to unify them and help management make critical decisions, and it's used by defense agencies as well as intelligence and law enforcement. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
In this article META Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, Sept. 25, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Meta's effort to push beyond ads and to make money from artificial intelligence is now targeting the red-hot market of AI agents. The company said Wednesday that a new Meta Business Agent feature ...
In this article META Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, Sept. 25, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Meta's effort to push beyond ads and to make money from artificial intelligence is now targeting the red-hot market of AI agents. The company said Wednesday that a new Meta Business Agent feature can be used across apps like WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram to respond to customer inquiries, recommend products and book appointments. It will be included in a business-focused subscription tier for Meta One, which the company introduced last week as a way to package premium services for creators and companies. Meta also said at the time that it would begin testing subscription services for its Meta AI app and website. "Today, I want to introduce Meta Business Agent, giving every business, of any size, an agent to talk to customers and help run your operation," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in prepared remarks for a company event in London on Wednesday. "Now, a clothing shop in Birmingham or a bakery in São Paulo can offer the same always-on, highly-personalized experience as a major brand." Zuckerberg has run a thriving online ads company since Facebook started targeting users with advertisements in 2007. Meta still counts on ads for about 98% of revenue, having repeatedly struggled to sell digital and physical products over the years. While AI has helped the company bolster its core business, Zuckerberg has bigger ambitions in AI as he tries to compete with OpenAI, Anthropic and Google in developing cutting-edge models and selling services on top. Zuckerberg said Meta is currently "building agentic capabilities" that can do advanced tasks such as "suggesting ways to grow your business, giving you competitive intelligence and real-time insights into what's working and what's not." "As our models advance, your agent will take on more and eventually help you run your who...
Meta Platforms Inc. is selling businesses access to an artificial intelligence agent for the first time, its latest effort to generate revenue to offset the company’s hefty AI investments. The social media giant will begin charging some customers for what it calls Meta Business Agent beginning Wednesday, according to a company spokesperson. The agent’s main functionality is chatting with a busines...
Meta Platforms Inc. is selling businesses access to an artificial intelligence agent for the first time, its latest effort to generate revenue to offset the company’s hefty AI investments. The social media giant will begin charging some customers for what it calls Meta Business Agent beginning Wednesday, according to a company spokesperson. The agent’s main functionality is chatting with a business’s customers over WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, the spokesperson said. Larger businesses that use the agent will pay Meta for the data used to power it, known as tokens. Smaller businesses will also have to pay for the agent via one of Meta’s new subscription offerings, the spokesperson said. Meta, which offers multiple business subscriptions, declined to comment on which tier will feature the agent. The company previously offered AI agents for customer interactions, but didn’t charge for the feature. Meta has been looking for ways to earn revenue from its AI investments , which are expected to total hundreds of billions of dollars over the next few years. It also announced a consumer subscription for its AI chatbot late last month, though it’s only offered in a few countries. Meta was initially caught flatfooted by the boom in AI, with startups like OpenAI and Anthropic PBC faster out of the gate with consumer and enterprise-friendly AI tools that they monetize through subscriptions. Meta has repeatedly said its AI models are leading to better targeting for ads and content recommendations on Instagram and Facebook, but some investors were spooked in April when the company announced an increase in AI spending. While the AI agent is primarily used for chat conversations, it will eventually be able to complete other tasks without human oversight, like conducting market research, surfacing product insights and managing a user’s calendar, according to a Meta blog post.
Mohamad Faizal Bin Ramli/iStock via Getty Images Commentary as of 03/31/26 The fund posted returns of -0.06% (Institutional shares) and -0.02% (Investor A shares, without sales charge) for the first quarter of 2026. Credit, duration (interest rate sensitivity), and yield curve positioning drove weak relative performance. During the quarter, the fund reduced its overweight duration exposure, mainly...
Mohamad Faizal Bin Ramli/iStock via Getty Images Commentary as of 03/31/26 The fund posted returns of -0.06% (Institutional shares) and -0.02% (Investor A shares, without sales charge) for the first quarter of 2026. Credit, duration (interest rate sensitivity), and yield curve positioning drove weak relative performance. During the quarter, the fund reduced its overweight duration exposure, mainly by continuing its shift away from maturities in a 7-10-year range. It had overweight positions in credit, and A and BBB rated securities, and underweight holdings in AAA and AA rated securities. The fund had overweight allocations to the corporate-backed, health care, housing, and transportation sectors, and underweight exposures to the taxed-backed, education, utility, and pre-refunded sectors. Contributors Detractors The largest contributor to performance was sector positioning, with the health care, housing, and corporate-backed sectors notably positive. The fund also benefited from excess yield and “roll-down” (where a bond’s value gains as it gets closer to maturity). The overweight duration position was the largest detractor, while yield curve positioning also had a negative impact. Within credit, security selection in the transportation and prepaid gas sectors hurt performance. Click to enlarge Further insight The quarter was marked by increased volatility induced by the war in the Middle East. Volatility, as measured by the VIX index, spiked, 10-year Treasuries traded out of a well-defined range on the upside and downside, and investors priced out the prospect of further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year. Prior to the market shift, municipal bonds had performed positively due to solid technical factors, as flows accelerated. The market had set up for a record year of supply, though as the calendar began to underwhelm week after week, secondary demand increased. The fund continues to maintain an overweight duration stance and would look to reposition some...
sankai/iStock via Getty Images Introduction The AI IPO era has begun, and it's not SpaceX that is making the first move. It's all over the news: Alphabet ( GOOG ; GOOGL ) is raising $80B to fund its AI investment cycle ; Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.A ; BRK.B ) is anchoring the deal with a $10B private placement at a price around $350. Berkshire's choice is no surprise: in recent months, the Greg Abel...
sankai/iStock via Getty Images Introduction The AI IPO era has begun, and it's not SpaceX that is making the first move. It's all over the news: Alphabet ( GOOG ; GOOGL ) is raising $80B to fund its AI investment cycle ; Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.A ; BRK.B ) is anchoring the deal with a $10B private placement at a price around $350. Berkshire's choice is no surprise: in recent months, the Greg Abel led company has accumulated a meaningful stake in Alphabet, owning almost 58M shares worth something close to $20B (at a share price of $360). The initial purchase happened in Q3 2025, when Warren Buffett was still at the helm, meaning that he approved the investment. Alphabet's equity offering is one of the largest financing events I have heard of. Its rationale is clear: the AI infrastructure buildout is increasingly competitive, and those who don't find the capital to fund the required expansions will be left behind. The numbers support this view: Google Cloud reported $20B in Q1 revenue, representing a 63% YoY growth (with a backlog of $460B, half of which is to be recognized in the next two years). I rarely write on Alphabet, even though it is my largest position in my quality growth portfolio with a 16% weighting. The last two times I wrote about the company, I wanted to show why I was aggressively buying Alphabet, as it was clear to me that we were buying Google Search for free. Since then, the stock doubled. Then I wrote what I consider one of my best articles on Seeking Alpha, probably being one of the first (or even the first) to claim here that Alphabet has won . The reasoning was grounded on Alphabet's vertical integration, making it the only company that owns the whole AI ecosystem from the infrastructure to the LLM, and the end users. I also rarely write on Berkshire, even though I monitor it quite closely. When I do, it is because I find some particular choices or investment cases quite helpful for us as investors. Therefore, you might have stumbled across o...
Brown Advisory, an investment management company, released its “Brown Advisory Global Leaders Strategy” for the first quarter of 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The strategy focused on delivering strong long-term performance by investing in a focused portfolio of companies that solve customer problems and provide good returns for […]
Brown Advisory, an investment management company, released its “Brown Advisory Global Leaders Strategy” for the first quarter of 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The strategy focused on delivering strong long-term performance by investing in a focused portfolio of companies that solve customer problems and provide good returns for […]
With shares down about 10% year-to-date, Meta Platforms stock has been left out from the recent market rally. Meta stock rose in morning trades. "Meta investor sentiment continues to lag megacap peers due to lower visibility and confidence in GenAI return-on-invested-capital and/or concerns that Meta's $380 billion+ of capital expenditures (2027+2028) and roughly $25 billion of annual hyperscaler ...
With shares down about 10% year-to-date, Meta Platforms stock has been left out from the recent market rally. Meta stock rose in morning trades. "Meta investor sentiment continues to lag megacap peers due to lower visibility and confidence in GenAI return-on-invested-capital and/or concerns that Meta's $380 billion+ of capital expenditures (2027+2028) and roughly $25 billion of annual hyperscaler investment will not generate return," Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said in a Wednesday client note.
mbbirdy/E+ via Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump used a recent appearance on the “Podforce One” podcast to tout the strength of the U.S. economy, pointing to record stock market gains, easing inflation, and lower energy prices compared with the Biden administration. Trump said the stock market has repeatedly reached all-time highs during his presidency, arguing that strong equity performanc...
mbbirdy/E+ via Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump used a recent appearance on the “Podforce One” podcast to tout the strength of the U.S. economy, pointing to record stock market gains, easing inflation, and lower energy prices compared with the Biden administration. Trump said the stock market has repeatedly reached all-time highs during his presidency, arguing that strong equity performance and rising 401(k) balances reflect growing economic confidence. He also claimed the U.S. economy remains resilient despite geopolitical tensions involving Iran and volatility in oil markets. On inflation, Trump said price pressures have cooled significantly since he returned to office, while blaming the Biden administration for the earlier surge in consumer prices. He acknowledged that energy costs remain a key inflation concern but argued broader inflation has moderated. Trump also focused heavily on gasoline prices, saying his administration is working to bring fuel costs lower over time. He pointed to previous periods of low gas prices during his first term and predicted prices would decline again once tensions in the Middle East stabilize. The President also highlighted investment and manufacturing growth, claiming trillions of dollars in new investment commitments are flowing into the U.S. economy alongside new factory and auto plant construction projects. Dear readers: We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion. More on markets Energy Shock Looms, But Q2 GDP Still Looks Surprisingly Strong Investment Strategy For The Upcoming Inflationary Recession This Market Looks Insane: But It's A Stock Picker's Dream SA analyst highlights inflation pressures as stocks push to new highs Weekly ETFs: Five of 11 sectors record outflows; consumer discretionary leads inflows