Wolterk/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I last covered Xcel Energy Inc. ( XEL ) in April 2025 when the stock was trading at ~$69. My rating was Hold—I wanted to see a greater discount to historical valuation norms before considering adding shares. That never materialized. The stock’s now trading near $79, and the forward multiples are modestly higher. Two things have changed since then that have...
Wolterk/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I last covered Xcel Energy Inc. ( XEL ) in April 2025 when the stock was trading at ~$69. My rating was Hold—I wanted to see a greater discount to historical valuation norms before considering adding shares. That never materialized. The stock’s now trading near $79, and the forward multiples are modestly higher. Two things have changed since then that have pushed my assessment in opposite directions. Xcel’s growth profile has improved: expanded capital plan, higher EPS growth rate, and signed data center contracts. But the risk profile has grown more concerning. Among others, Xcel is right in the middle of the affordability backlash against electric utilities. For me, the growth is still not enough to justify a Buy rating. I do expect further upside from earnings growth and the dividend (not multiple expansion), but I would need a pullback to below $75 to justify adding shares. What does Xcel Energy Do? Here’s an updated rundown of Xcel’s business model: XEL operates four vertically-integrated, regulated utilities. Together they have ~3.9M electricity customers and ~2.2M natural gas customers across eight states: NSP-Minnesota – Serves Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Owns the Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear stations (both in MN) and repurposes former coal and wind interconnection sites for new renewable generation. NSP-Wisconsin – Smaller, operating in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Heavy transmission ties into the Midcontinent ISO grid. Public Service Company of Colorado – Serves electric and gas customers across the state with a mix of generation resources including natural gas, coal, solar, wind, and hydro. Southwestern Public Service – Operates in Texas and New Mexico. Benefits from some of the highest wind energy output rates in the U.S. and is seeing growing electric demand from oil-field operators. Xcel Energy Service Map (Xcel Energy (on sec.gov )) Each subsidiary owns its own generation, ...
VanEck Short Muni ETF (NYSEMKT:SMB) offers tax-exempt income for bond investors, whereas Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF (NYSEMKT:SCHO) provides a lower-cost, higher-yielding alternative through sovereign U.S. debt and significant liquidity. Both funds serve as defensive portfolio anchors designed for capital preservation and liquidity. They operate on the short end of the yield curve, yet the...
VanEck Short Muni ETF (NYSEMKT:SMB) offers tax-exempt income for bond investors, whereas Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF (NYSEMKT:SCHO) provides a lower-cost, higher-yielding alternative through sovereign U.S. debt and significant liquidity. Both funds serve as defensive portfolio anchors designed for capital preservation and liquidity. They operate on the short end of the yield curve, yet they differ fundamentally in their underlying credit exposure and the tax treatment of their interest distributions for investors. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield. Continue reading
SAND555/iStock via Getty Images Since my last article , Teck Resources ( TECK ) became less reliant on expectations and showed us more numbers. The stock has gone up almost 20%, so I cannot really pretend that this is still a cheap setup that we had before. Fundamentally, though, the situation has improved a lot. Q1 2026 showed that higher copper prices, a more stable QB project, and better unit c...
SAND555/iStock via Getty Images Since my last article , Teck Resources ( TECK ) became less reliant on expectations and showed us more numbers. The stock has gone up almost 20%, so I cannot really pretend that this is still a cheap setup that we had before. Fundamentally, though, the situation has improved a lot. Q1 2026 showed that higher copper prices, a more stable QB project, and better unit costs already started to show up in EBITDA, EPS and operating cash flow results, which allowed me to make a proper SOTP valuation, which you can see below. This is the best change I could have expected, as the majority of my last thesis was dependent on what should happen in the future. And now part of it can be seen happening. At the same time, I started debating with myself whether I should remain bullish after the stock ran up. Q1 2026 Proof To better understand that this company is moving forward, we have to look at Q1, which was the quarter giving a first real proof to me that the Teck thesis is not just a copper cycle story. The company generated $3.94 billion revenue, adjusted EBITDA was at $2.1 billion, adjusted EPS was at $1.75, while operating cash flow reached $1.0 billion. The numbers look strong, and I believe that higher copper prices are being reflected in profitability and cash flow. To me, this is important because Teck is starting to show better cash flow conversion when the copper market remains strong. In other words, we cannot really now build a thesis on future potential, because we have actual results. Although one quarter does not close the whole risk, it is worth looking forward to Q2 and Q3. Quite an important Q1 signal was that Teck's copper segment generated $1.8 billion in gross profit, when a year ago it was just $704 million. Gross profit from the copper segment alone reached $1.4 billion, and the average price for copper was $5.83/lb. Also, worth knowing that Teck sold 150,000 tonnes of copper, and overall copper production increased to 140,00...
2017 年夏天，在谷歌大脑（Google Brain）一间平常的办公室里，八个年轻人敲完了论文《Attention Is All You Need》的最后一个字符。当时，几乎没有人意识到这篇论文会在接下来的几年里彻底引爆万亿美元的 AI 革命。用卢卡斯·凯泽（Łukasz Kaiser）自己的话说：“ 对我们来说，那不过是办公室里极其普通的一天（just another day in the o...
2017 年夏天，在谷歌大脑（Google Brain）一间平常的办公室里，八个年轻人敲完了论文《Attention Is All You Need》的最后一个字符。当时，几乎没有人意识到这篇论文会在接下来的几年里彻底引爆万亿美元的 AI 革命。用卢卡斯·凯泽（Łukasz Kaiser）自己的话说：“ 对我们来说，那不过是办公室里极其普通的一天（just another day in the office）。 ” 这八位作者相继离开谷歌，成为了硅谷历史上最传奇的“Transformer 八子”。 将近十年后的今天，已经身为 OpenAI 资深科学家的卢卡斯每天用 Cursor 来协助研究，好玩的是，他让 AI 做的第一件事，居然是花了两天时间，去完美复现他十五年前因为丢了源码而再也无法运行的学术论文。 这个亲手参与设计了全球最大“统计机器”的人，在桌前坦言：“ 我们其实根本还没有参透 ‘学习’ 本身的真正奥秘。 ” 在卢卡斯眼里，今天的行业陷入了一种奇怪的盲目狂热。大模型像是一个极度低效的学习者，它必须吞噬掉整个互联网万亿级的语料，穷尽所有错误的表象规律，才极其被动地去“理解”一个底层的概念。 这不仅与人类的学习方式背道而驰，也正在让当前的 Scaling Law 撞上效率的冰山。 去年，当卢卡斯在与 CSDN 高级副总裁李建忠对谈时，他曾泼下冷水，指出“推理模型目前仅相当于极早期的 RNN 阶段”。一年过去，当大模型的预训练大步跨越明显放缓，行业全面转向 Agent 落地和工程化探索时，时间正精准地印证着他的“冷思考”。 以下为这场对话的要点速览： 大语言模型确实能学会一个概念，但前提是必须穷尽所有的其他可能。 它是在泛化，但它用的是一种我们无法完全参透的、“外星人”式的独特思维在泛化。 模型目前还无法敏锐地觉察到自己是否正在一条死胡同里越跑越远。 随着越来越多的人开始将这些系统融入日常工作，我们将积累海量的、长达数周乃至数月的真实人类工作流数据。一旦有人把 强化学习 应用到这些复杂的工作流中，或许会带给我们意想不到的惊喜。 AI 行业每隔一段时间就会经历一次技术海啸；你必须时刻把筹码压在那个代表 【明天】 的趋势上，而不是一味贪恋 【今天】 的繁华。 当你离开了主力实验室的庇护，一看到采购显卡所需的天文数字和稀缺性，可能也会面临不小的骨感现实。 在 OpenA...
NVIDIA (NVDA.US) accelerates its push into physical AI: Deepens collaboration with Hyundai Motor to advance the industrialization of robotics into a phase of tangible implementation Moomoo
NVIDIA (NVDA.US) accelerates its push into physical AI: Deepens collaboration with Hyundai Motor to advance the industrialization of robotics into a phase of tangible implementation Moomoo
Addressing lawmakers, Leo XIV also highlights migration at a time when Madrid is bucking European trends Pope Leo XIV has used a landmark address to the Spanish parliament to warn the world is undergoing “a deep spiritual and cultural crisis” and to urge the international community to tackle the causes and consequences of what he termed “the tragic drama of migration”. In a wide-ranging speech del...
Addressing lawmakers, Leo XIV also highlights migration at a time when Madrid is bucking European trends Pope Leo XIV has used a landmark address to the Spanish parliament to warn the world is undergoing “a deep spiritual and cultural crisis” and to urge the international community to tackle the causes and consequences of what he termed “the tragic drama of migration”. In a wide-ranging speech delivered to lawmakers in Madrid, the pontiff also touched on conflict, artificial intelligence , the climate emergency, and the issues of abortion and euthanasia. Continue reading...
(RTTNews) - Following the sell-off seen during last Friday's session, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.8 percent.
(RTTNews) - Following the sell-off seen during last Friday's session, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Monday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.8 percent.
MF3d Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, says the broader U.S. economy is still waiting for the benefits of artificial intelligence to spread beyond a small group of dominant technology firms, highlighting a growing divide between large-cap leaders and the rest of corporate America. According to Slok, productivity and profitability gains linked to AI remain concentrated amon...
MF3d Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, says the broader U.S. economy is still waiting for the benefits of artificial intelligence to spread beyond a small group of dominant technology firms, highlighting a growing divide between large-cap leaders and the rest of corporate America. According to Slok, productivity and profitability gains linked to AI remain concentrated among the Magnificent Seven technology companies. Revenue generated per employee continues to climb across those firms, while the same metric has been declining among small-cap businesses. A similar pattern is emerging in profitability, with margins expanding for the Magnificent Seven even as profit growth remains largely stagnant across the other 493 companies in the S&P 500 ( SP500 ). The divergence underscores the ongoing impact of higher interest rates and elevated borrowing costs. Companies with weaker balance sheets and less favorable credit profiles continue to face pressure from the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle and the higher cost of capital that has followed. While enthusiasm surrounding AI has fueled strong performance among major technology stocks, Slok noted that there is still limited evidence that the technology is materially boosting revenues or profit margins across the broader economy. For now, the financial benefits of AI appear concentrated among a handful of large-cap market leaders rather than being widely distributed throughout corporate America. Magnificent Seven group’s year-to-date performance: Alphabet ( GOOG )( GOOGL ), +16.5% YTD. Apple ( AAPL ), +13.1% YTD. Nvidia ( NVDA ), +9.9% YTD. Amazon ( AMZN ), +6.6% YTD. Meta Platforms ( META ), -10.1% YTD. Tesla ( TSLA ), -13.1% YTD. Microsoft ( MSFT ), -13.8% YTD. Magnificent Seven Focused ETFs: ( MAGS ), ( MAGX ), ( QQQU ), and ( QQQD ). S&P 500 ETFs: ( SPY ), ( VOO ), ( IVV ), ( RSP ), ( SSO ), ( UPRO ), ( SH ), ( SDS ), ( SPXU ), ( FXAIX ), ( VFIAX ), ( VFFSX ), and ( SWPPX ). More on markets Trum...
Key PointsAlerian MLP ETF provides significant income through infrastructure-focused master limited partnerships but carries a substantially higher expense ratio than iShares Global Clean Energy ETF.
Key PointsAlerian MLP ETF provides significant income through infrastructure-focused master limited partnerships but carries a substantially higher expense ratio than iShares Global Clean Energy ETF.
Sandwish/iStock via Getty Images The leadership team of the combined REIT created by the merger of Equity Residential ( EQR ) and AvalonBay Communities ( AVB ) represents a mix of managers from both companies, the companies said on Monday. When the merger agreement was announced, the companies had already named Benjamen Schall, AvalonBay's CEO, as president and CEO of the new company and Steve Ste...
Sandwish/iStock via Getty Images The leadership team of the combined REIT created by the merger of Equity Residential ( EQR ) and AvalonBay Communities ( AVB ) represents a mix of managers from both companies, the companies said on Monday. When the merger agreement was announced, the companies had already named Benjamen Schall, AvalonBay's CEO, as president and CEO of the new company and Steve Sterret, Equity Residential's lead independent trustee, as chairman. Michael Manelis, currently chief operating officer of Equity Residential ( EQR ), will be executive vice president and COO of the merged company. AvalonBay's ( AVB ) chief financial officer, Kevin O'Shea, will be executive vice president and CFO. Matthew Birenbaum, currently chief investment officer at AvalonBay ( AVB ), will be executive vice president and chief development officer. Sean Breslin, currently AvalonBay's COO, will be executive vice president and chief investment and growth officer. Equity Residential's ( EQR ) executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary, Scott Fenster, will hold the same title at the merged company. The personnel changes will become effective when the merger closes, expected in the second half of 2026, the company said. Equity Residential ( EQR ) stock rose 0.5% in premarket trading, and AvalonBay ( AVB ) stock was unchanged at $189.72. More on Equity Residential, AvalonBay Communities Pass On The Equity Residential And Avalon Bay Merger Equity Residential / AvalonBay Merger Is Not A Game Changer Equity Residential (EQR) M&A Call Transcript Essex Property upgraded, Equity Residential cut at Evercore ISI Equity Residential downgraded at Piper Sandler over potentially delayed merger synergies
Cryptocurrency investors are having a difficult year, with the total value of all coins and tokens in circulation plunging to a new 52-week low of $2.17 trillion last week. That marks a 50% decline from the 2025 peak of $4.37 trillion, but many individual coins are faring even worse. Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) , for instance, is down 74% from its all-time high as I write. It's the native cryptocurrency ...
Cryptocurrency investors are having a difficult year, with the total value of all coins and tokens in circulation plunging to a new 52-week low of $2.17 trillion last week. That marks a 50% decline from the 2025 peak of $4.37 trillion, but many individual coins are faring even worse. Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) , for instance, is down 74% from its all-time high as I write. It's the native cryptocurrency in the Solana ecosystem, where developers can build decentralized software applications. It was designed as a faster, cheaper, and more efficient alternative to the Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) network, which remains the leader in the decentralized space. But despite Solana's legitimate use case, which should theoretically create value over time, it still hasn't escaped the brutal crypto sell-off. Could this be a golden buying opportunity for investors? Continue reading
Cerebras shares gained on Monday as multiple Wall Street firms initiated coverage with bullish calls after the quiet period, backing the chip designer's unconventional AI strategy more than three weeks after its strong debut. Shares of the company rose 5.5% in premarket trading, with at least nine brokerages — including IPO bookrunners Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Barclays and UBS — initiating co...
Cerebras shares gained on Monday as multiple Wall Street firms initiated coverage with bullish calls after the quiet period, backing the chip designer's unconventional AI strategy more than three weeks after its strong debut. Shares of the company rose 5.5% in premarket trading, with at least nine brokerages — including IPO bookrunners Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Barclays and UBS — initiating coverage of the stock. The California-based firm designs wafer-scale engine chips roughly the size of a dinner plate to speed up processing, challenging traditional GPU-based systems, like those of Nvidia, that rely on clusters of interconnected chips.