Erik Isakson/DigitalVision via Getty Images Oracle Corporation ( ORCL ) just reported one of the strongest quarters of the entire AI buildout and the market responded by taking the stock apart. ORCL’s Q4 revenue came in at $19.18 billion which was an increase of 21% YoY as it beat the consensus estimates on the top and bottom lines. Oracle cloud infrastructure grew 93% YoY while the remaining perf...
Erik Isakson/DigitalVision via Getty Images Oracle Corporation ( ORCL ) just reported one of the strongest quarters of the entire AI buildout and the market responded by taking the stock apart. ORCL’s Q4 revenue came in at $19.18 billion which was an increase of 21% YoY as it beat the consensus estimates on the top and bottom lines. Oracle cloud infrastructure grew 93% YoY while the remaining performance obligations (RPO) climbed 363% to $638 billion and cash from operations for the 2026 fiscal year jumped 54% to $32 billion. None of it mattered as shares continued to decline as management outlined plans to raise around $40 billion in the 2027 fiscal year to continue their AI buildout. ORCL went on to post its worst week since the 2001 dot-com bust , falling 19% in five sessions and June closed out as its worst month since September of 1990 . Shares of ORCL are now trading for $140.85 and are down -39.03% over the past year and -27.35% on a YTD basis. What may be even crazier is that ORCL has fallen -59.326% from it’s 52-week highs of $345.72. I think the market is trading ORCL's balance sheet while ignoring its cash flow statement. The debt is real but what is also real is that the CapEx that ORCL has been pouring into AI data centers is converting into cash from operations. This is still a high-risk high-reward investment and over the past month the market repriced the risk without the fundamentals deteriorating. In my opinion that's the type of disconnect that creates alpha over a multi-year period and why I have been adding to my position in ORCL as I remain bullish on it’s long-term potential. Seeking Alpha Following Up On My Previous Oracle Article In my previous article on ORCL which can be read here , I made the case that the market was missing the relationship between CapEx allocation and cash from operations growth. The argument was simple as Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ), Amazon.com , Inc. ( AMZN ), and Alphabet Inc. ( GOOG )( GOOGL ) all went through pe...
Erik Isakson/DigitalVision via Getty Images Oracle Corporation ( ORCL ) just reported one of the strongest quarters of the entire AI buildout and the market responded by taking the stock apart. ORCL’s Q4 revenue came in at $19.18 billion which was an increase of 21% YoY as it beat the consensus estimates on the top and bottom lines. Oracle cloud infrastructure grew 93% YoY while the remaining perf...
Erik Isakson/DigitalVision via Getty Images Oracle Corporation ( ORCL ) just reported one of the strongest quarters of the entire AI buildout and the market responded by taking the stock apart. ORCL’s Q4 revenue came in at $19.18 billion which was an increase of 21% YoY as it beat the consensus estimates on the top and bottom lines. Oracle cloud infrastructure grew 93% YoY while the remaining performance obligations (RPO) climbed 363% to $638 billion and cash from operations for the 2026 fiscal year jumped 54% to $32 billion. None of it mattered as shares continued to decline as management outlined plans to raise around $40 billion in the 2027 fiscal year to continue their AI buildout. ORCL went on to post its worst week since the 2001 dot-com bust , falling 19% in five sessions and June closed out as its worst month since September of 1990 . Shares of ORCL are now trading for $140.85 and are down -39.03% over the past year and -27.35% on a YTD basis. What may be even crazier is that ORCL has fallen -59.326% from it’s 52-week highs of $345.72. I think the market is trading ORCL's balance sheet while ignoring its cash flow statement. The debt is real but what is also real is that the CapEx that ORCL has been pouring into AI data centers is converting into cash from operations. This is still a high-risk high-reward investment and over the past month the market repriced the risk without the fundamentals deteriorating. In my opinion that's the type of disconnect that creates alpha over a multi-year period and why I have been adding to my position in ORCL as I remain bullish on it’s long-term potential. Seeking Alpha Following Up On My Previous Oracle Article In my previous article on ORCL which can be read here , I made the case that the market was missing the relationship between CapEx allocation and cash from operations growth. The argument was simple as Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ), Amazon.com , Inc. ( AMZN ), and Alphabet Inc. ( GOOG )( GOOGL ) all went through pe...
Shares of Alibaba Group Holding surged to a high of 13.8 per cent in Hong Kong on Wednesday as equity analysts expect revenue to reaccelerate in the June quarter, driven by growing demand for artificial intelligence and narrowing losses in food delivery. The gain, the strongest this year, came before the company closed up 12.2 per cent at HK$107.5 (US$13.71). Rivals Tencent Holdings and Meituan sa...
Shares of Alibaba Group Holding surged to a high of 13.8 per cent in Hong Kong on Wednesday as equity analysts expect revenue to reaccelerate in the June quarter, driven by growing demand for artificial intelligence and narrowing losses in food delivery. The gain, the strongest this year, came before the company closed up 12.2 per cent at HK$107.5 (US$13.71). Rivals Tencent Holdings and Meituan saw their shares grow 3.8 and 3.3 per cent, respectively, while the Hang Seng Tech Index increased by...
In the animated Soviet film The Golden Antelope, inspired by Indian folklore, a magical antelope tries to save a boy from a greedy raja by promising him as much gold as he wants. When she asks whether there can be too much, the raja laughs: “You can never give me too much gold.” But when the gold begins to bury him, he cries “enough” – and loses everything. Today’s financial system risks repeating...
In the animated Soviet film The Golden Antelope, inspired by Indian folklore, a magical antelope tries to save a boy from a greedy raja by promising him as much gold as he wants. When she asks whether there can be too much, the raja laughs: “You can never give me too much gold.” But when the gold begins to bury him, he cries “enough” – and loses everything. Today’s financial system risks repeating the raja’s mistake. For too long, rising nominal wealth, asset prices and the fortunes of the ultra...
andrii zakoliukin/iStock via Getty Images The Thread I Left Hanging A few days ago, I published an article where I shared the symbios thesis ( symbios being Greek for "living together"), where I added yet another piece to the puzzle that is making me more and more certain about the mutually beneficial relationship that we will all see between the hyperscalers building AI infrastructure and the sof...
andrii zakoliukin/iStock via Getty Images The Thread I Left Hanging A few days ago, I published an article where I shared the symbios thesis ( symbios being Greek for "living together"), where I added yet another piece to the puzzle that is making me more and more certain about the mutually beneficial relationship that we will all see between the hyperscalers building AI infrastructure and the software companies that rent it to monetize it. That article made me briefly touch on one point of the debate about how AI-era output is distributed between capital and labor. Now I want to pick that thread back up, because it is not simply a philosophical or ethical detour, but it is the hinge that connects three important data series (that are currently bullish signals) on the U.S. economy to what is happening to lower-income households. I have been continuously investigating productivity data to understand whether we can talk about an AI-productivity dividend, and some figures I shared in my previous works go in that direction. So, without further ado, let's look at the numbers I have been considering. The BLS Productivity And Costs Release On June 4, 2026, the BLS released the Q1 productivity and costs release . The number that appeared was the labor share of nonfarm business income, which fell to 53.7% in Q1 2026. This is the lowest reading since the series began back in 1947. Why is this important? Well, let's start with what labor share is. Imagine you own a hot dog stand, and you make $100 a day. To sell hot dogs, your business will need to buy sausages, the bun, toppings, and napkins or wrappers. This is more or less what you would consider the cost of goods sold. Let's say that after accounting for these, your stand ends up with $70, which represents the value the hot dog stand created. This money ends up divided, as part of it goes to the workers. If 53.7% is the labor share, it means that wages will receive $37.59 in total. What's left will be used to pay rent, int...
Tim Robberts/DigitalVision via Getty Images AppLovin ( APP ) is one of the most exceptional stories the market has seen in recent years. Since I downgraded the stock from a "Strong Buy" to a "Buy" in April of this year, the share price has risen 12.2%. That's almost double the 5.4% increase that the S&P 500 saw over the same window of time. But that's nothing. In the entire time that I have been b...
Tim Robberts/DigitalVision via Getty Images AppLovin ( APP ) is one of the most exceptional stories the market has seen in recent years. Since I downgraded the stock from a "Strong Buy" to a "Buy" in April of this year, the share price has risen 12.2%. That's almost double the 5.4% increase that the S&P 500 saw over the same window of time. But that's nothing. In the entire time that I have been bullish about the company from May of 2022 through the present day, the share price has achieved an upside of 1,260.1%. That absolutely crushes the 89.3% rise that the S&P 500 experienced. To be honest with you, the stock is most certainly getting closer to another downgrade. After all, shares can only rise so much before they hit fair value or a point of being overvalued. However, I'm not ready to pull that trigger just yet. This is because management has achieved really remarkable growth over the last couple of years. And that growth continues into 2026. Because of this, I believe that maintaining it as a soft "Buy" is the right move. But if we see further upside of another 20% or so, a downgrade will be almost unavoidable. Great growth has its limits As much as I would love to dig deeper into financial performance over the last few years, I think it would be unwise to emphasize those results considering that I dug in deep to those data points in my last article about the business. Instead, I think that focusing on more recent figures is appropriate. And the only new data that investors have access to right now covers the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year . By all accounts, this was a fantastic time for shareholders. Revenue during that time amounted to $1.84 billion. That represented an increase of 59% compared to the $1.16 billion generated a year earlier. Author - SEC EDGAR Data This surge in revenue was driven, according to management, mostly by improvements to Axon Ads Manager, which resulted in net revenue per installation surging 93%. This does not mean everythi...
MarioGuti/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Investment Thesis I reiterate my hold rating on Banco Santander (Brasil) ( BSBR ) stocks. This is the sixth article in my coverage initiated two years ago. The company faces strong challenges caused by the Brazilian macroeconomic situation and sectoral challenges, and I'll analyze both impacts on Santander Brasil's investment thesis. Corporate Profile a...
MarioGuti/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Investment Thesis I reiterate my hold rating on Banco Santander (Brasil) ( BSBR ) stocks. This is the sixth article in my coverage initiated two years ago. The company faces strong challenges caused by the Brazilian macroeconomic situation and sectoral challenges, and I'll analyze both impacts on Santander Brasil's investment thesis. Corporate Profile and Relevance in the Brazilian Banking Sector Santander Brasil is one of the private incumbent banks in Brazil, competing with Bradesco ( BBD ) and Itaú ( ITUB ). Another relevant peer is the state-owned Banco do Brasil ( BDORY ). Although these banks compete with each other, they focus on certain customer profiles: Banco do Brasil focuses on public servants and agribusiness; Bradesco focuses on classes with lower disposable income; Itaú focuses on the high-income customer profile; Santander Brasil focuses on companies and SMB credit; 15 years ago these four banks were dominating the Brazilian banking sector, but technology and new peers such as Nu ( NU ) and Inter & Co ( INTR ) have increased competition recently, not to mention the Brazilian macroeconomic challenges. My Latest Recommendations I'm covering all the private incumbent banks here on SA. I have a buy rating on Itaú and Bradesco and a hold rating on Santander Brasil. Ratings on ITUB, BBD and BSBR (The Author) In the last twelve months, ITUB rose 24.8%, BBD rose 12.9% and BSBR fell 0.5%, so I consider all my last recommendations assertive. BSBR vs BBD vs ITUB (1Y) (SA) Comparative Financial Analysis One of the most important indicators for banks is the return on equity. In this sense, Itaú shows a higher Return on Equity, which is not the case for Santander Brasil. Profitability (SA) The earnings revisions are also an interesting catalyst for the stocks. According to SA, BBD and ITUB show two up revisions each, while BSBR shows two down revisions. Another signal that the latest results of ITUB and Bradesco were be...
Stanislav Gvozd/iStock via Getty Images The crisis avoided? Maybe not Here are the facts. The US and Iran attacked Iran on February 28th, and in response Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, and it was closed for over three months. In addition, the war escalated to the full regional conflict where regional energy infrastructure was damaged. Given that 20% of global oil supply flows through Hormuz, in...
Stanislav Gvozd/iStock via Getty Images The crisis avoided? Maybe not Here are the facts. The US and Iran attacked Iran on February 28th, and in response Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, and it was closed for over three months. In addition, the war escalated to the full regional conflict where regional energy infrastructure was damaged. Given that 20% of global oil supply flows through Hormuz, in addition to 20–25% of global LNG, this was the biggest energy supply shock ever. In this situation, oil was supposed to spike to over $200/barrel. Yet, the price of oil remained well contained during this period between $100-120/barrel. So, what happened? First, the release from global strategic oil reserves made up for some of the supply lost. Second, China decreased oil imports. Countries like the US and Russia increased oil production. Some oil was found the alternative way out of the Middle East via pipelines. Some oil likely transited the Hormuz secretly. But most importantly, traders believed the narrative that this war would be short-lived and that once Hormuz reopened, the oil supply would quickly reach the pre-war levels, and the price of oil would collapse. However, the global inventory levels were quickly approaching the stress levels and were potentially weeks away from reaching the critical operating levels, estimated by July. Thus, at the last moment in early June, the US and Iran signed the Memorandum of Understanding or the MOU for a ceasefire and a 60-day negotiations period to make a nuclear deal - but most importantly, the Strait of Hormuz would be fully reopened during the period. However, it appears that the MOU was not understood equally by each side. Iran understood that it would "control" the traffic through Hormuz and continue to charge "tolls" after the 60-day negotiation period expires. The US understood that the traffic would be completely free and without any fees imposed. The US solution for this agreement appears to be that Iran continues to ...
MIAMI, July 08, 2026--Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced it will support a seven-flight humanitarian air delivery operation into Caracas, Venezuela, in response to the devastating twin earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on June 24, leaving more than 650,000 people in need of aid.
MIAMI, July 08, 2026--Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced it will support a seven-flight humanitarian air delivery operation into Caracas, Venezuela, in response to the devastating twin earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on June 24, leaving more than 650,000 people in need of aid.
Most coverage of Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) focuses on one number: how much weight its drugs help people take off. The question that matters more for the rest of 2026 is a different one. How many people can now access those drugs in the first place? That shift, from a science story to a drug access story , is the reason I think the stock has room to climb before the year is out. In April, the FDA appro...
Most coverage of Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) focuses on one number: how much weight its drugs help people take off. The question that matters more for the rest of 2026 is a different one. How many people can now access those drugs in the first place? That shift, from a science story to a drug access story , is the reason I think the stock has room to climb before the year is out. In April, the FDA approved Foundayo (orforglipron), the first GLP-1 pill for weight management that a person can take at any time of day with no food or water restrictions. That last detail carries more weight than it seems. Injectable treatments need refrigeration, needles, and a comfort with self-injection that keeps a lot of would-be patients on the sidelines. A daily pill strips away those barriers. Eli Lilly started shipping Foundayo through its own LillyDirect platform within days of approval, with self-pay pricing that starts near $149 a month for the lowest dose. For newer investors, here is why the format is such a big deal. An oral drug is cheaper to make and far simpler to ship at scale than an injection. That means Eli Lilly can serve markets where cold-chain logistics have made injectable versions hard to distribute, including large parts of the world that the current obesity drug boom has barely reached. Continue reading
Olekcii Mach/iStock via Getty Images Intro Our last commentary on QuidelOrtho Corporation ( QDEL ) was in early February this year when we reiterated our 'Hold' rating in the US-based diagnostic-testing-solutions outfit, just before the release of the company's fourth-quarter and full-year numbers. However, the jury was still out in that piece on whether the November lows of last year could indeed...
Olekcii Mach/iStock via Getty Images Intro Our last commentary on QuidelOrtho Corporation ( QDEL ) was in early February this year when we reiterated our 'Hold' rating in the US-based diagnostic-testing-solutions outfit, just before the release of the company's fourth-quarter and full-year numbers. However, the jury was still out in that piece on whether the November lows of last year could indeed hold. As we see below on the 12-month technical chart, sentiment once more turned sour on the release of that fourth quarter report, which unfortunately has hurled the stock into an even more aggressive pattern of lower highs and lower lows. The resulting carnage has been to the effect of a 40%+ negative return since our February commentary, which pales in insignificance really to the losses investors have suffered since the merger of Quidel with Ortho Clinical Diagnostics back in 2022. Results have been abysmal, considering the almost $5 billion loss of market cap, from a standing-start $6 billion market-cap back in May 2022. QDEL 12-Month Technicals ( stockcharts.com ) Q4 Results Beat Consensus But Poor 2026 Guidance QDEL announced its fourth-quarter and full-year numbers on the 11th of February this year. Although the company's non-GAAP EPS of $0.46 and revenues of $724 million beat consensus, FY26 guidance of between $2 & $2.42 at the time (consensus was $2.49 per share) really highlighted the company's profitability struggles that it continues to contend with. We had already flagged the implications of the impairment charge in the prior quarter, along with the dire need for the keys LABS business to start improving its bottom-line numbers immediately. Suffice it to say, when debt is rising (in a negative cash-flow environment), more focus inevitably must fall on cash generation to keep operations in check as opposed to reporting better profitability. Rising interest expense on the income statement, along with over $600 million in inventory, limits QDEL's ability to ne...
Douglas Rissing Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) on Wednesday said it had expanded its Basic fare options to include premium products such as Delta First, Delta Premium Select, and Delta One. The Basic tier allows customers to access premium onboard services at a lower price point, while giving up certain benefits such as advance seat assignments, higher mileage earnings, some baggage allowances, upgrades,...
Douglas Rissing Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) on Wednesday said it had expanded its Basic fare options to include premium products such as Delta First, Delta Premium Select, and Delta One. The Basic tier allows customers to access premium onboard services at a lower price point, while giving up certain benefits such as advance seat assignments, higher mileage earnings, some baggage allowances, upgrades, and flexible travel changes. The entry-level Delta One option, called Basic Business, offers the same onboard features as Delta One, including lie-flat seats, premium meals, and amenities, but excludes certain ground benefits. Delta First Basic is available from July 8 on select domestic and Latin American routes, with Delta Premium Select Basic and Basic Business fares beginning service in September on select domestic and long-haul international markets. Basic fares can be changed or canceled for a fee, with customers receiving an eCredit for future Delta ticket purchases. Availability will vary by market, route, and timing. Basic Business customers will receive Delta One’s onboard experience, including lie-flat seats, premium meals, and amenities, but will not receive certain ground benefits such as Delta One Lounge access or Delta One check-in through their fare after January 18, 2027. More on Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines Q2 Earnings Preview: Here Are The Real Long-Term Signals Delta Air Lines: Bracing For A Potential Q2 Earnings Miss And Light Q3 Guidance Delta Air Lines: My Buy Thesis Played Out, But Growing Risks Are A Real Concern (Rating Downgrade) Cruise operators, airlines, and hotels fall on renewed geopolitical tensions Chapter 11 may be JetBlue's best option as debt burden weighs—Raymond James
Sundry Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Cloudflare ( NET ) and OpenAI ( OPENAI ) are launching a research pilot to explore how insights from participating websites across Cloudflare’s global network can help AI search engines improve indexing web content. Cloudflare said that the pilot is focused on improving the accuracy and timeliness of answers. By using Cloudflare’s real-time netw...
Sundry Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Cloudflare ( NET ) and OpenAI ( OPENAI ) are launching a research pilot to explore how insights from participating websites across Cloudflare’s global network can help AI search engines improve indexing web content. Cloudflare said that the pilot is focused on improving the accuracy and timeliness of answers. By using Cloudflare’s real-time network insights — like content freshness, traffic quality, and actual page changes — the project aims to improve AI systems' indexing and crawling of the web, the company added. "By sharing our sophisticated network signals, we can find a better way to make AI search more efficient and help people get quality answers faster," said Cloudflare's Co-Founder and CEO Matthew Prince. The companies added that they will examine how signal-driven crawling and indexing can improve accuracy and freshness in answers. "Up-to-date information is important for delivering accurate answers to people using ChatGPT," said Nick Ryder, vice president of Research at OpenAI. "Piloting this with Cloudflare will allow us to explore whether network-level insights can help us discover content more efficiently." Shares of Cloudflare dipped about 2% premarket on Wednesday. More on CloudFlare and OpenAI Cloudflare: Too Expensive, Too Little Room For Error Cloudflare: A Brilliant Business Trapped Inside A Punishing Valuation Cloudflare: Structural Acceleration Driven By Agentic AI Traffic Kalshi bets shift to Quantum, semiconductor stakes over OpenAI government deal OpenAI set to launch GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna globally this Thursday