A foundational shift in artificial intelligence (AI) is underway, moving from the congested highways of centralized cloud data centers to the private driveways of localized, on-premise hardware. This migration is not a matter of preference, but of necessity. The financial model for running sophisticated, autonomous AI agents in the public cloud has officially reached its breaking point, creating a...
A foundational shift in artificial intelligence (AI) is underway, moving from the congested highways of centralized cloud data centers to the private driveways of localized, on-premise hardware. This migration is not a matter of preference, but of necessity. The financial model for running sophisticated, autonomous AI agents in the public cloud has officially reached its breaking point, creating a powerful secular tailwind for a new class of hardware providers poised to dominate the next decade of computing. Get Dell Technologies alerts: Sign Up Hyperscale Sticker Shock: Why AI Is Leaving the Cloud The initial wave of generative AI was defined by massive, centralized training models housed in hyperscale data centers, a paradigm that favored the cloud oligopoly. That era is definitely over. The next evolution, agentic AI, is incompatible with the public cloud. Dell Technologies Today DELL Dell Technologies $294.97 -0.22 (-0.07%) 52-Week Range $106.38 ▼ $298.32 Dividend Yield 0.85% P/E Ratio 33.83 Price Target $211.32 Add to Watchlist These autonomous systems, which execute complex, multi-step tasks, exist in a state of perpetual reasoning. According to Dell Technologies NYSE: DELL COO Jeff Clarke, this has caused token consumption, the effective currency for AI processing, to surge by an astonishing factor of 320x. This exponential rise in variable costs completely upends the enterprise P&L, transforming a predictable IT budget into a volatile, uncontrollable operational expense. It forces a return to a more disciplined financial model. The solution is a hardware refresh supercycle centered on the corporate edge. By repatriating AI workloads from the public cloud to dedicated on-premise servers and high-performance workstations, organizations can convert unpredictable operational expenses into manageable, depreciable capital expenditures. Financial analysis confirms the urgency of this pivot. Enterprises can achieve break-even on public cloud API costs in as little a...
mustafaU/iStock via Getty Images 2026 Review The S&P 500 is extending its strong run from April into May; the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF ( SPY ) is up 3.75% through Memorial Weekend. The Dividend Kings, on the other hand, are not faring as well; collectively, they are down 0.82%. This sour performance in May, as well as the tail end of April, has seen SPY move ahead of the Kings year-to-date, +9.66% vs. +...
mustafaU/iStock via Getty Images 2026 Review The S&P 500 is extending its strong run from April into May; the SPDR® S&P 500® ETF ( SPY ) is up 3.75% through Memorial Weekend. The Dividend Kings, on the other hand, are not faring as well; collectively, they are down 0.82%. This sour performance in May, as well as the tail end of April, has seen SPY move ahead of the Kings year-to-date, +9.66% vs. +5.58%. Despite the sour collective performance in April, 20 out of the 58 Dividend Kings continue to outperform SPY in 2026. Best Dividend Kings in 2026 As of May 22nd, 20 Dividend Kings have double-digit gains this year, with 8 up more than 20%. These are the 15 best-performing Kings: Gorman-Rupp Company ( GRC ) +52.61% Nucor Corporation ( NUE ) +42.72% Archer-Daniels-Midland ( ADM ) +35.88% Altria Group ( MO ) +30.29% Target ( TGT ) +29.76% W.W. Grainger ( GWW ) +23.90% Federal Realty Investment Trust ( FRT ) +21.44% Nordson ( NDSN ) +20.95% H2O America ( HTO ) +19.67% Farmers & Merchants Bancorp ( FMCB ) +18.41% Canadian Utilities ( CDUAF ) +18.04% Coca-Cola ( KO ) +17.34% Colgate-Palmolive ( CL ) +16.10% Tennant Company ( TNC ) +14.38% Sonoco Products ( SON ) +14.20% An additional 4 Dividend Kings dipped into the red year-to-date, bringing the total to 17 Kings now. The worst-performing Kings are Marzetti Company ( MZTI ) at -29.62%, Abbott Laboratories ( ABT ) at -29.45%, and Pentair ( PNR ) at -27.76%. Dividend Growth Since my last update, 7 more Kings have announced a dividend increase. Three of them were pretty attractive, with the rest being average or low. As of today, the average dividend growth rate for all of the Dividend Kings in 2026 stands at 3.71%, up from 3.11% a month ago. Here are the recently announced dividend increases. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Increased its dividend payout from $5.10 to $5.35, or by 4.90%. W.W. Grainger Increased its dividend payout from $2.26 to $2.49, or by 10.18%. MSA Safety Increased its dividend payout from $0.53 to $0.54, or...
With respect to the Retail sector 2026 Q1 earnings season scorecard , we now have results from 25 of the 31 retailers in the S&P 500 index. Regular readers know that Zacks has a dedicated stand-alone economic sector for the retail space, unlike its placement in the Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary sectors in the Standard & Poor’s industry classification. The Zacks Retail sector includes...
With respect to the Retail sector 2026 Q1 earnings season scorecard , we now have results from 25 of the 31 retailers in the S&P 500 index. Regular readers know that Zacks has a dedicated stand-alone economic sector for the retail space, unlike its placement in the Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary sectors in the Standard & Poor’s industry classification. The Zacks Retail sector includes not only Walmart, Target, and other traditional retailers, but also online vendors like Amazon and restaurant players. The very strong sales performance at Target confirms this favorable reading for Walmart, suggesting that the persistent softness in discretionary spending categories in the post-COVID period may have run its course. Target is far more indexed to discretionary product categories than Walmart, though Target management was understandably cautious in its outlook given the macroeconomic uncertainty. A favorable read-through from the Walmart report is the strong results from the company’s general merchandise business, which broadly corresponds to discretionary product categories. Management noted that sales trends improved as the quarter progressed, and the gains were across various general merchandise categories, such as apparel, gaming, and automotive. Walmart acknowledged stress in its customer base, a comment that has a direct read-through to all retailers on deck to report results in the coming days. Retailers on deck to report results this week include Best Buy, Costco, Gap, Kohl’s, Dicks Sporting Goods, and others. The size and scale of Walmart’s operations make it a bellwether for consumer spending trends, which have been in the spotlight amid high oil prices. Affordability was already an issue due to cumulative inflation in the post-COVID period, and the recent rise in fuel costs has raised concerns about reversing the gains made on the inflation front over the past year. Walmart continued to benefit from market share gains and showed strong momentum in...
(RTTNews) - Kingfisher (KGF.L) reported first quarter Total Group sales of 3.3 billion pounds, up 1.4% as reported. Total sales including marketplace Gross merchandise sales was up 0.8%. Group like for like sales declined 0.9%. Underlying like for like sales were down 0.7%. For fiscal 26/27, the Group expects adjusted profit before tax in the range of approximately 565-625 million pounds. Thierry ...
(RTTNews) - Kingfisher (KGF.L) reported first quarter Total Group sales of 3.3 billion pounds, up 1.4% as reported. Total sales including marketplace Gross merchandise sales was up 0.8%. Group like for like sales declined 0.9%. Underlying like for like sales were down 0.7%. For fiscal 26/27, the Group expects adjusted profit before tax in the range of approximately 565-625 million pounds. Thierry Garnier, CEO, said: "Sales including marketplace grew 0.8%, with core categories proving resilient - even as a late start to spring impacted footfall and seasonal demand. E-commerce and trade sales both delivered double-digit growth. We are confident in achieving our fullyear guidance." For more earnings news, earnings calendar, and earnings for stocks, visit rttnews.com. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
There's a growing expectation that Elon Musk will eventually combine all his businesses under a single entity. Earlier this year, he oversaw the merger of SpaceX and xAI, the latter of which had previously acquired his social media company, X (formerly Twitter). The next step of combining SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA +1.94%) may be a bit more difficult, but it's still well within reason. Musk further st...
There's a growing expectation that Elon Musk will eventually combine all his businesses under a single entity. Earlier this year, he oversaw the merger of SpaceX and xAI, the latter of which had previously acquired his social media company, X (formerly Twitter). The next step of combining SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA +1.94%) may be a bit more difficult, but it's still well within reason. Musk further strengthened the tie between the two companies earlier this year with the launch of their Terafab joint venture, which aims to make custom chips for both companies' artificial intelligence (AI) endeavors. Despite the sprawling business empire Musk has built, one company finds itself with a significant number of operations that go head-to-head with Tesla or SpaceX. And it could be worth more than both companies combined by next year. Here's why Amazon (AMZN 0.70%) should be on your radar. Can Amazon top $3 trillion? SpaceX is set to make its public debut at a valuation of $1.75 trillion. Tesla's market cap is around $1.6 trillion. That means Amazon will have to top $3 trillion to outweigh the combined heft of the two competitors. To be sure, Amazon is already within spitting distance of $3 trillion, with a market cap of $2.85 trillion at this writing. Still, the stock looks undervalued based solely on its core businesses of retail and cloud computing. And it has potential upside in business endeavors in satellite internet and robotaxis, where it directly competes with SpaceX and Tesla. In retail, the company is producing solid double-digit revenue growth, but the real story is its expanding operating margin. There are three key drivers of its operating margin. Amazon's improved logistics network is driving down shipping costs. Amazon's new stand-alone logistics service could continue to drive down cost-per-unit thanks to scale advantages. Additionally, high-margin Prime subscription and advertising revenue continue to outpace retail sales. Expand NASDAQ : AMZN Amazon Today's C...
Key Points SpaceX is set to IPO with a $1.75 trillion valuation while Tesla maintains a $1.6 trillion market cap. This company could be worth well over $3 trillion based on its core businesses. SpaceX and Tesla's valuations are tied to uncertain business prospects. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › There's a growing expectation that Elon Musk will eventually combine all hi...
Key Points SpaceX is set to IPO with a $1.75 trillion valuation while Tesla maintains a $1.6 trillion market cap. This company could be worth well over $3 trillion based on its core businesses. SpaceX and Tesla's valuations are tied to uncertain business prospects. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › There's a growing expectation that Elon Musk will eventually combine all his businesses under a single entity. Earlier this year, he oversaw the merger of SpaceX and xAI, the latter of which had previously acquired his social media company, X (formerly Twitter). The next step of combining SpaceX and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) may be a bit more difficult, but it's still well within reason. Musk further strengthened the tie between the two companies earlier this year with the launch of their Terafab joint venture, which aims to make custom chips for both companies' artificial intelligence (AI) endeavors. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Despite the sprawling business empire Musk has built, one company finds itself with a significant number of operations that go head-to-head with Tesla or SpaceX. And it could be worth more than both companies combined by next year. Here's why Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) should be on your radar. Can Amazon top $3 trillion? SpaceX is set to make its public debut at a valuation of $1.75 trillion. Tesla's market cap is around $1.6 trillion. That means Amazon will have to top $3 trillion to outweigh the combined heft of the two competitors. To be sure, Amazon is already within spitting distance of $3 trillion, with a market cap of $2.85 trillion at this writing. Still, the stock looks undervalued based solely on its core businesses of retail and cloud computing. And it has potential upside in business endeavors in satellite internet and robotaxis, wh...
The Black Label Inc. , the studio behind the soundtrack for Netflix Inc. ’s KPop Demon Hunters , raised about 120 billion won ($80 million) of expansion capital from major entertainment names including Tencent Holdings Ltd. ’s music arm. South Korean gaming firm Krafton Inc. and Tencent Music Entertainment Group led a Series B funding round that valued the record label at 1 trillion won. Existing ...
The Black Label Inc. , the studio behind the soundtrack for Netflix Inc. ’s KPop Demon Hunters , raised about 120 billion won ($80 million) of expansion capital from major entertainment names including Tencent Holdings Ltd. ’s music arm. South Korean gaming firm Krafton Inc. and Tencent Music Entertainment Group led a Series B funding round that valued the record label at 1 trillion won. Existing investors including Saehan Ventures participated, the startup said in a statement. K-pop agencies and content studios are keen for new capital to fuel global expansion and tap rising demand for content ranging from music to gaming. Galaxy Corp., an AI-focused studio managing artists including G-Dragon and Taemin, is also seeking overseas funding ahead of a potential listing next year. Founded by hitmaker Teddy Park, who produced songs for Blackpink and Bigbang during his time at YG Entertainment, The Black Label has launched groups including MEOVV and AllDay Project. Its recent successes include the soundtrack for KPop Demon Hunters , the viral sensation that won a slew of Academy Awards and Golden Globes. The new funding will serve as a “strong foundation for the company to take a leap forward as an entertainment firm that’d lead the global market,” Jung Kyoung In, chief executive officer, said in the statement. For Krafton, the investment fuels its push into entertainment. The game developer has acquired major stakes in companies including Japanese animation group ADK Holdings Inc. and Seoul-based short-video platform Spoon Labs. The Black Label deal is expected to accelerate collaboration using intellectual property tied to the studio’s acts in gaming and content. The investment marks another bet by Tencent on K-pop, about a year after the Chinese company invested roughly $180 million in SM Entertainment Co. , part of a long-term partnership that included plans to launch idol groups in China. Tencent also owns 4.3% stake of YG Entertainment Inc. and a 6% holding in Kakao...
The US, Japan, India and Australia launched new joint initiatives for the Indo-Pacific region as the countries' foreign ministers gathered in New Delhi for a summit. (Source: Bloomberg)
The US, Japan, India and Australia launched new joint initiatives for the Indo-Pacific region as the countries' foreign ministers gathered in New Delhi for a summit. (Source: Bloomberg)