Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images Almost exactly a year ago, on May 30th of 2025, I issued a stern warning for my readers . I argued that shares of ServisFirst Bancshares ( SFBS ) were dangerously approaching the point where a downgrade might be necessary. At the time, I had the company rated a ‘hold’. And to some investors, such a warning might have seemed absurd. After all, the company had exhibited strong deposit growth, high asset quality, and other positive metrics. However, even with these factored in, the company was trading at a premium compared to other similar firms. Since that time, we have seen the stock rise up just a hair. That increase has been just 4.5%, which has fallen woefully short of the 26.9% increase that the S&P 500 saw. To be honest with you, I probably should have downgraded it at that time since I define a ‘sell’ candidate as any that should underperform the market for the foreseeable future. But you can't fix the past. Looking at the data today, I actually see that the stock is a bit cheaper in relation to earnings. Asset quality has also improved. So that's a positive. I would say that this combination of factors necessitates a bit more flexibility when it comes to assessing the company. But not so much that upgrading it is appropriate here. Shares need to be cheaper before I can bank on this name I would say that, right now, the best place to start with analyzing ServisFirst Bancshares would be to look at changes in the company's balance sheet. At the end of 2025, as an example, the firm had deposits on its books of $14.22 billion. But that grew to $14.49 billion in the first quarter of this year . Typically when you see a bump higher of that size in such a short window it's because of a rise in high cost brokered deposits. But according to management, at the end of the quarter, the company had no such thing on its books. This does not mean that it doesn't have anything problematic from a deposit standpoint. In fact, the compa...

Memorial Day is nearly here, meaning the seasonal sales are in full swing. If your weekend plans involve pool parties or barbecues, now is a great time to pick up a portable speaker or set of solar lights , as many of our favorite models are currently on sale. You can also find deals on everything from 4K OLED TVs and noise-canceling earbuds to tents , robot vacuums , and plenty of our favorite everyday essentials . To give you more options, we’ve also included a selection of deals from retailers that aren’t necessarily running their own Memorial Day sales but are still offering limited-time deals in the run-up to May 25th. Savings are savings, after all. Earbuds and headphones AirPods Pro 3 The AirPods Pro 3 have a new design that improves their fit, superior noise cancellation, better bass, and fairly accurate heart rate sensors. Read our review . Where to Buy: $249 $199.99 at Amazon $249 $199.99 at Walmart $249.99 $199.99 at Best Buy Nothing Headphone A Nothing’s second over-ear headphones may not offer everything found on the pricier Nothing Headphone 1, but you do get physical controls, good sound, and more than five days of battery life per charge. Their design is also a bit more discreet, for better or worse. Read our review . Where to Buy: $199 $169 at Amazon $199 $169 at Nothing Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) The second-gen QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have dynamic, rich sound and the best noise cancellation currently available in a pair of true wireless earbuds. They’re a terrific pick if you want to listen to your music in peace. Read our review . Where to Buy: $299 $249 at Amazon $299 $249 at Walmart $299 $249 at Best Buy Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are on sale for $149.99 ($100 off) at Best Buy , which matches their all-time low price. The wireless earbuds are our top pick for Samsung Galaxy phone device owners , thanks to their comfortable AirPods-inspired design, terrific sound quality, and good noise cancellation. They also offer helpful voi...

In 2016, when Pep Guardiola took his place in the dugout for his first game in charge of Manchester City, the fashion plates in the Premier League included José Mourinho, in a quarter zip and mac at Manchester United and Arsène Wenger, dapper in his suit and unzippable puffer jacket at Arsenal. Guardiola, dressed like an overgrown schoolboy in V-neck, shirt, tie and blazer, didn’t seem as if he was going to be that much of a sartorial threat. But 10 years down the line, he is the undisputed champion of dugout style. Guardiola can be credited as the man to relax the unwritten manager dress code, which swung between wedding-worthy smart suits or club-issued tracksuits. Instead, he chose clothes that worked beyond that small patch of grass managers stand on: blouson jackets, nice brogues, three-quarter coat. By 2019, his style was a talking point – and he had a hand in making cardigans a trend for men. He wore a £1,200 “lucky” grey knit 30 times in the season Man City won a domestic treble. View image in fullscreen Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola during the Premier League match between Burnley FC and Manchester City at Turf Moor on 28 April 2019 in Burnley, United Kingdom. Photograph: Visionhaus Guardiola’s loosening up continued – he brought sneakers to the dug out, preferring baseball boots by catwalk designer Rick Owens as well as combat-style trousers and Stone Island jackets. If he was increasingly praised for what he wore, in 2022 he credited his then-wife, Cristina Serra, as the person to pick his outfits. “Absolutely, ever since I met her,” he told Sky Sports “before I was a disaster, now I’m elegant, thanks to her.” View image in fullscreen Pep Guardiola. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA When Guardiola wore a slacker-style checked shirt by Swedish brand Our Legacy to a Champions League game in March, the look – which GQ described as “cool stoner” – went viral across fashion and football time lines. Some speculated the look was the influence of his Gen Z dau...

EvgeniyShkolenko/iStock via Getty Images Thesis My buy case, Rocket Lab Corporation ( RKLB ), is pretty much centered on their transition into a vertically integrated space/defense platform. And the contracts we’re now starting to see validate that transition once you break down the kind of tech this company is getting involved with. We have a growing exposure to higher-margin Space Systems and national security contracts, which drive long-term revenue visibility. If we see management execute on the Neutron and continue scaling their backlog, particularly in defense and GEO-related programs, then I see a path toward sustained high-growth and multiple support. It makes Rocket Lab a compelling, albeit high-risk, buy for me. The stock has also seen a lot of strong momentum and is actually up about 72% since my previous coverage , which looked at Rocket Lab going into Q1 '26 earnings. Seeking Alpha SpaceX IPO Filing The way I see it, what’s actually driving this momentum from a potential Space Exploration Technologies Corp./SpaceX ( SPCX ) IPO isn’t just that it proves to us vertical integration works for Rocket Lab; their contracts do that. Rather, it forces the market to explicitly quantify what a fully built space ecosystem is worth here. In the sense that it reframes how investors look at every adjacent player, including Rocket Lab. If SpaceX’s filing breaks out revenue streams, such as launch, satellite services like Starlink, defense contracts, manufacturing, and a lot of other data/communications revenue, then it essentially turns what has been a black box into a sum-of-the-parts benchmark. And it will be for everyone to see, which matters because it shows that launch is often the lowest-margin, most commoditized layer. I think the real value accrues in owning downstream capacity with upstream control. Once that financial stack is visible to us, investors can then start mapping which parts of that hefty stack other companies are building toward. In that scenario,...

核心要点 美国政府周四公布入股九家量子计算公司，这是特朗普政府持续收购私营企业股份的最新举措。 预测市场平台 Kalshi 的交易员认为，另一家量子公司 IonQ 最有可能成为下一个被政府入股的对象。 美光 科技（Micron） 与私营防务企业 Anduril Industries 也在交易员的押注名单上。 2025 年 12 月 16 日，美国加利福尼亚州圣何塞，美光科技办公室。 本周，美国政府宣布入股包括 IBM 在内的九家量子计算公司，受此消息推动，量子板块个股大涨。特朗普政府持续推进收购私营企业股份的策略。 那么，政府的 “收购清单” 下一站会指向哪里？预测市场平台 Kalshi 上的交易员正纷纷押注。 交易员认为， IonQ 在 2026 年获得政府入股的概率为 32% 。IonQ 是量子计算企业，虽未出现在周四的入股名单中，但消息公布后其股价仍暴涨超 12%，周五再涨超 7%。 紧随其后的是 Anduril Industries ，交易员给出的今年获美国政府入股概率为 31%。 Anduril 是总部位于加州的私营防务科技公司。上周，该公司宣布完成新一轮融资，估值翻倍至 610 亿美元 。由帕尔默・拉基创立的这家企业与特朗普政府合作紧密，参与了备受关注的 “ 金色圆顶（Golden Dome） ” 导弹防御系统项目。 最后，交易员认为 美光科技 获得美国政府入股的概率为 28%。受人工智能热潮带动的存储芯片短缺影响，美光科技股价 2026 年以来已飙升超 160%。 相关合约规定， 只有在公司或政府机构正式宣布或确认后，合约才会判定为 “成真” 。 今年 8 月，美国政府首次披露入股 英特尔 的消息时，就有报道称政府正考虑入股美光。但该提议最终未落地，白宫当时表示，不会寻求入股那些在美扩大投资的芯片企业。 目前，美光科技、Anduril Industries 及 IonQ 的代表暂未回应置评请求。 责任编辑：郭明煜

Key Points Iren just gained a valuable partner with Nvidia to help accelerate its data center expansion plans. Nvidia's five-year option to invest up to $2.1 billion in Iren only vests if certain performance milestones are triggered. This partnership comes as Iren recently announced global expansion plans in Spain and Australia. 10 stocks we like better than Iren › Iren (NASDAQ: IREN) just landed a strategic partnership with Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), which could accelerate its efforts to build data centers optimized for advanced artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. The deal gives Iren a $3.4 billion AI cloud contract over five years to run Nvidia's internal workloads. It also supports Iren's plans to deploy up to 5 gigawatts of data center capacity powered by Nvidia hardware. For a business transitioning from Bitcoin mining to a leading AI cloud infrastructure provider, this deal validates that opportunity and could change Iren's growth trajectory forever. 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 » Nvidia has incentive to help Iren win Iren is tackling key constraints in AI's physical infrastructure. As co-CEO Daniel Roberts said, "Power, land, data center construction -- the pieces that cause delays for others are the pieces we own and control." These assets become increasingly valuable in a compute-constrained world. Goldman Sachs estimates there will be a 45-gigawatt power shortfall for U.S. data centers by 2028, requiring 72 gigawatts of new capacity through 2030. This power shortage could lead to higher contract prices for Iren, which owns grid-connected power ready to energize new data centers as they are completed. Goldman Sachs estimates the cost to build new AI data centers at $15 million to $20 million per megawatt, which implies a substantial sum for Iren's 5-gigawatt power portfol...

White House And Pentagon Clash Over $80M ReElement Critical Minerals Deal The Pentagon is reconsidering an $80 million conditional loan to rare-earths refiner ReElement Technologies, raising tensions with the White House over efforts to reduce US reliance on China for critical minerals, according to Bloomberg . The loan, announced in November through the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), was part of a broader $1.4 billion critical-minerals initiative alongside Vulcan Elements. But officials reviewing the deal have questioned ReElement’s ability to scale production and meet long-term revenue targets, according to people familiar with the matter. The loan has not been canceled, and no funds have been disbursed. Pentagon officials emphasized from the outset that ReElement still needed to pass financial, legal, and technical due diligence before receiving funding. The dispute highlights a broader divide inside the Trump administration between moving quickly to build domestic rare-earth supply chains and conducting rigorous vetting. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro criticized OSC’s review process as too burdensome for emerging companies, calling ReElement “exactly the kind of asymmetric bet we should be making.” Bloomberg writes that Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell defended OSC’s oversight, saying the office balances speed with disciplined dealmaking. The effort is overseen by Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg. ReElement CEO Mark Jensen said the company’s work with the government is ongoing and confirmed plans to continue developing its Indiana refining facility. Under the agreement, ReElement would produce rare-earth oxides from recycled materials, while Vulcan would turn them into magnets used in defense and energy technologies. The Pentagon previously said the companies aimed to produce up to 10,000 metric tons of magnet materials over the coming years. Despite concerns, the government’s backing helped ReElement attract additional private in...

Key Points Infleqtion is getting $100 million in funding from the United States government. The company is researching new quantum computing technologies. The stock's shares look overvalued right now. 10 stocks we like better than Infleqtion › Shares of Infleqtion (NYSE: INFQ) have soared 41% this week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The quantum research firm is receiving $100 million in funding from the United States government to further its research into the exciting new technology. The stock went public earlier this year, but is already catching the eye of Wall Street. Should you follow and buy some Infleqtion stock for your portfolio? 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 » New funds for research Infleqtion is a publicly traded quantum research lab with technologies spanning both hardware and software across its "single neutral atom" platform. The United States government has deemed quantum computing a strategic interest and has therefore invested $2 billion across the sector, including $100 million into Infleqtion. Looking at the business, it is clear that the company is still well in the research stage. It generated just $9.5 million in revenue last quarter and had an operating loss of $33.5 million. Expect losses like these for many years to come. Time to buy? Quantum technologies are exciting. However, it is meaningless that the U.S. government has invested in them. The technology has never been commercialized, even though hundreds of research labs have invested in it over the last few decades. Don't think Infleqtion is the magic quantum stock that will take you to the moon. Should you buy stock in Infleqtion right now? Before you buy stock in Infleqtion, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 ...

NVIDIA’s Earnings Show “Parabolic” Demand. Here’s What Comes Next… InvestorPlace

J Studios Chip and AI-related stocks were largely in the green on Friday over hopes of positive talks with Iran. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) rose around 0.63%. At the same time, the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) climbed about 0.65%. The blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) gained nearly 0.80%. On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that indirect negotiations over a potential deal to end the U.S.-Israel war with Iran had seen "a little bit of movement, and that's good." However, Rubio tempered expectations for a peace deal, alluding to unresolved differences over Iran's nuclear enrichment and calling the Iranian move to "create a tolling system" in the Strait of Hormuz "not acceptable." Meanwhile, Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, a mediator between Iran and the U.S., is heading to Tehran, CBS News reported . Shares of AI chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ), which reported earnings earlier this week, dipped about 1%. However, Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) surged nearly 5% after CEO Lisa Su said the company is working with partners in Taiwan to expand production capacity as stronger-than-expected demand tightens the global CPU market. Separately, GF Securities (Hong Kong) expects Intel ( INTC ), AMD, and Arm ( ARM ) to benefit in the CPU space because of agentic AI-driven growth. The analysts said that the rising Arm-based penetration will not cannibalize the x86 camp, as the overall Total Addressable Market, or TAM, is expanding rapidly enough. GF also noted that Nvidia is expected to focus on its Vera CPUs, while Intel ( INTC ) is anticipated to highlight its entry-level CPU Wildcat Lake at the COMPUTEX 2026 trade show in Taiwan from June 2. Qualcomm ( QCOM ) surged about 12% on Friday, a day after the company and Stellantis ( STLA ) said they expanded their existing multi-year technology partnership to adopt Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions across next-generation vehicle architectures. Meanwhile, Broadcom ( AVGO ) was largely flat but in the...

J Studios Chip and AI-related stocks were largely in the green on Friday over hopes of positive talks with Iran. The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) rose around 0.63%. At the same time, the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) climbed about 0.65%. The blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) gained nearly 0.80%. On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that indirect negotiations over a potential deal to end the U.S.-Israel war with Iran had seen "a little bit of movement, and that's good." However, Rubio tempered expectations for a peace deal, alluding to unresolved differences over Iran's nuclear enrichment and calling the Iranian move to "create a tolling system" in the Strait of Hormuz "not acceptable." Meanwhile, Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, a mediator between Iran and the U.S., is heading to Tehran, CBS News reported . Shares of AI chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ), which reported earnings earlier this week, dipped about 1%. However, Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) surged nearly 5% after CEO Lisa Su said the company is working with partners in Taiwan to expand production capacity as stronger-than-expected demand tightens the global CPU market. Separately, GF Securities (Hong Kong) expects Intel ( INTC ), AMD, and Arm ( ARM ) to benefit in the CPU space because of agentic AI-driven growth. The analysts said that the rising Arm-based penetration will not cannibalize the x86 camp, as the overall Total Addressable Market, or TAM, is expanding rapidly enough. GF also noted that Nvidia is expected to focus on its Vera CPUs, while Intel ( INTC ) is anticipated to highlight its entry-level CPU Wildcat Lake at the COMPUTEX 2026 trade show in Taiwan from June 2. Qualcomm ( QCOM ) surged about 12% on Friday, a day after the company and Stellantis ( STLA ) said they expanded their existing multi-year technology partnership to adopt Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions across next-generation vehicle architectures. Meanwhile, Broadcom ( AVGO ) was largely flat but in the...

Austin, Texas, May 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MEDX HOLDINGS ANNOUNCES Q1 2026 HIGHLIGHTS, MULTI-CITY EXPANSION, AND CORPORATE ACTION TO REBRAND AS DAZED INC. (TICKER: DAZE) AUSTIN, Texas — May 22, 2026 — MedX Holdings, Inc. (OTC: MEDH), a leader in the converging cannabis, hemp, and hospitality sectors, today announced its operational and financial highlights for the first quarter of 2026. Building on the net profitability achieved in Q4 2025, the company continues to execute its aggressive expansion strategy, marked by upcoming store openings, strategic product partnerships, and a major corporate rebranding initiative to align with its rapidly growing consumer footprint. Corporate Action: Rebranding to Dazed Inc. To align the company’s corporate identity with its flagship consumer brands and long-term vision, MedX Holdings has announced its intention and initiated the required corporate actions to change its name to Dazed Inc. Alongside this name change, the company intends to request a formal ticker symbol change to DAZE. This strategic evolution reflects the company's dominant focus on scaling the Lazydaze franchise ecosystem and Dazed Distribution networks. Q1 Financial and Operational Milestone Highlights Continued Debt Reduction: MedX sustained its disciplined focus on balance sheet strength, further paring down long-term liabilities throughout Q1 to enhance cash flow and shareholder equity. MedX sustained its disciplined focus on balance sheet strength, further paring down long-term liabilities throughout Q1 to enhance cash flow and shareholder equity. Lazydaze Coffee & K-Cup Partnerships: The company is currently in the final stages of talks with potential strategic partners to massively scale its proprietary Lazydaze Coffee and Infused K-Cups . Positioned to become a cornerstone of the company’s revenue model and brand identity, these products will soon be available direct-to-consumer (DTC) through the newly dedicated e-commerce platform, www.lazydazecoff...

To support the development of the related business, the Company plans to establish an international business platform, including a BVI holding company and a Singapore operating company. The Singapore operating company is expected to serve as an important entity for the implementation of AI Smart Living products and services, market expansion, channel development, supply chain coordination, and commercial operations in Southeast Asia and international markets. These arrangements will be advanced in stages in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, corporate governance procedures, and business development needs. In the Smart Living sector, the Company intends to focus on areas including smart home products, smart living consumer products, AI-enabled lifestyle services, digital health management, intelligent community services, cross-border distribution of lifestyle consumer products, intelligent robot applications, and related solution services. The Company will gradually evaluate and select products and services with potential commercialization value based on market demand, supply chain conditions, team capabilities, and commercial feasibility. The Company believes that AI applications in the Smart Living sector are undergoing continuous development and iteration, which may help improve consumer acceptance of smart living products and services and support potential demand growth. Against the backdrop of supportive policies and the accelerating development of emerging application scenarios such as intelligent robots, AI Living may create broader opportunities in areas including home life, community services, health management, consumer services, and human-machine interaction. The Company believes that an early strategic presence in this sector may create potential first-mover advantages. The Company believes that, with the continued development of artificial intelligence technologies, rising consumer demand for smart living solutions, and the expansion of int...

Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) is one of the 8 High Return Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now. On May 19, 2026, Evercore ISI raised the firm’s price target on Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) to $297 from $215 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. Following a new round of Q1 AI channel checks, the firm said key themes included a shift from AI training-driven workloads toward inference-driven workloads by the end of 2026. Evercore added that the transition is increasing focus on cost-per-token, return on investment, and total cost of ownership, which is driving greater hyperscaler interest in internally developed ASICs and alternative accelerators. Needham also raised the firm’s price target on Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) to $260 from $220 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said the company delivered another significant beat-and-raise quarter, supported by growth across its Scorpio, Aries, and Taurus product families. Needham also noted that Astera Labs expects its optical portfolio to begin ramping in FY27, leveraging technology obtained through the aiXscale acquisition. Is Astera Labs (ALAB) the Best High Return Semiconductor Stock to Buy Now? Close-up of Silicon Die are being Extracted from Semiconductor Wafer and Attached to Substrate by Pick and Place Machine. Computer Chip Manufacturing at Fab. Semiconductor Packaging Process. Earlier in the month, Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) reported Q1 EPS of 61c, versus the consensus estimate of 54c. Revenue totaled $308.36M, versus the consensus estimate of $292.32M. CEO Jitendra Mohan said revenue increased 14% sequentially and 93% year over year to a record $308.4M, driven by strong demand for the company’s PCIe 6 portfolio. Mohan added that adoption of Astera Labs’ Intelligent Connectivity Platform continues expanding through the launch and initial shipments of its Scorpio X-Series 320-lane AI scale-up fabric switch, new customer engagements for custom and optical solutions, and growing market sha...

Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) is one of the 8 High Return Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Now. On May 19, 2026, Evercore ISI raised the firm’s price target on Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) to $297 from $215 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. Following a new round of Q1 AI channel checks, the firm said key themes included a shift from AI training-driven workloads toward inference-driven workloads by the end of 2026. Evercore added that the transition is increasing focus on cost-per-token, return on investment, and total cost of ownership, which is driving greater hyperscaler interest in internally developed ASICs and alternative accelerators. Needham also raised the firm’s price target on Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) to $260 from $220 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said the company delivered another significant beat-and-raise quarter, supported by growth across its Scorpio, Aries, and Taurus product families. Needham also noted that Astera Labs expects its optical portfolio to begin ramping in FY27, leveraging technology obtained through the aiXscale acquisition. Is Astera Labs (ALAB) the Best High Return Semiconductor Stock to Buy Now? Close-up of Silicon Die are being Extracted from Semiconductor Wafer and Attached to Substrate by Pick and Place Machine. Computer Chip Manufacturing at Fab. Semiconductor Packaging Process. Earlier in the month, Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB) reported Q1 EPS of 61c, versus the consensus estimate of 54c. Revenue totaled $308.36M, versus the consensus estimate of $292.32M. CEO Jitendra Mohan said revenue increased 14% sequentially and 93% year over year to a record $308.4M, driven by strong demand for the company’s PCIe 6 portfolio. Mohan added that adoption of Astera Labs’ Intelligent Connectivity Platform continues expanding through the launch and initial shipments of its Scorpio X-Series 320-lane AI scale-up fabric switch, new customer engagements for custom and optical solutions, and growing market sha...

Is Astera Labs (ALAB) the Best High Return Semiconductor Stock to Buy Now? Yahoo Finance

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AlexSecret/iStock via Getty Images The Renaissance IPO ETF ( IPO ) surged more than 7% from Wednesday into Thursday this week, all on the heels of the hotly anticipated SpaceX ( SPCX ) IPO. With OpenAI and Anthropic surely on SpaceX’s heels, it’s a natural time to revisit price action and fundamentals with the IPO ETF. I had a "B uy" rating on IPO back at the start of the year . Shares are up 12% since then, outperforming the S&P 500 by four percentage points. My instinct was to downgrade IPO to a "H old" today, given the fervor surrounding the mega go-public stories right now. But technicals and seasonality suggest there’s more room to run. Fundamentally, the valuation is high but not out of this world, while prospective investors must acknowledge the tech-centric nature of the IPO portfolio. Of course, IPO itself may not hold SPCX and other AI-related equities for several months, but the broad narrative has created a buying wave that may be in the early stages. IPO ETF Outperforming The S&P 500 YTD StockCharts.com Weak S&P 500 Returns After Mega IPOs Fundstrat Goldman's IPO Barometer Is Strong GS 2026 A Record-Smashing Year For IPO Proceeds BofA Global Research IPO Risk Around Lock-Ups Goldman Sachs According to the issuer , the IPO ETF seeks to provide investors with access to the largest, most liquid U.S.-listed newly public company stocks in a single security, reducing the risk of single-stock ownership while avoiding overlap with major core indices for optimal diversification across markets and time. Each quarter, the ETF is rebalanced as new IPOs are included, and older constituents cycle out three years after their IPO, with a cap imposed on any weightings exceeding 10%. IPO is a small ETF, with just $151 million in assets under management as of May 21, 2026. That’s up from $145 million at the time of my previous analysis. Its annual expense ratio is moderate at 60 basis points, while the trailing 12-month dividend yield is low at 0.5%, about 0.6 percentage ...

tupungato Microsoft ( MSFT ) has agreed to pay $250M to settle a lawsuit from former shareholders of Activision that they were shortchanged during the 2023 acquisition. The disclosure was made in a Delaware state court on Thursday. Redmond, WA-based Microsoft acquired Activision in October 2023 for $68.7B, which is one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the technology sector. More on Microsoft Microsoft's AI Transition Still Looks Early Microsoft: The Case For A Rerating Is Getting Stronger Microsoft: A Look At Whether Azure's 40% Growth Justifies The AI Spending Spree Kawasaki teams up with Nvidia, Microsoft, and others to develop physical AI Microsoft slips despite reported talks with Anthropic about using its AI chips

A ruthless Thomas Tuchel has left several big names at home for his England squad at this summer’s World Cup. There was no space for Harry Maguire, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer or Phil Foden – previous stalwarts in former manager Gareth Southgate’s squads. The announcement comes as the club season nears its end, with a historic week for Arsenal winning its first Premier League title in 22 years, sparking an incredible and diverse celebration from fans. Lucy Hough speaks to sportswriter and columnist Jonathan Liew Continue reading...

In this episode of Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing, Motley Fool contributors Travis Hoium and Lou Whiteman and Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser discuss: What worked (and what didn’t work) this earnings season. What’s wrong with restaurant and apparel stocks. Should inflation talk worry investors? Plus, the stocks on our radar. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy. A full transcript is below. This podcast was recorded on May 15, 2026. Travis Hoium: IPOs are hot again. Welcome to Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing. I'm Travis Hoium, joined today by Jason Moser and Lou Whiteman. Guys, there is a lot going on in the market. We are through earnings season, so we don't have quite as many numbers to talk about. But we've gotten inflation data, we've got the market going absolutely crazy. Lou, I wanted to start with you. When you look at where we are in this market, there's so many pieces that seem to be pulling in different directions. Inflation data was really high this week. We saw interest rates jump. That seems bad, but at the same time, earnings are relatively strong. We have this AI trade that is going absolutely crazy. Where are you seeing opportunities and threats, and just what's your pulse of the market right now? Lou Whiteman: It's amazing, for all the time we spend talking about so many different things like inflation, like jobs numbers, all of the GDP, the market has blinders, and the market really only cares about earnings. Earnings has done very well despite all of it. S&P 500 earnings were up 28% year over year on average. That's the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit profit growth, that's margin growth. It's partially AI efficiency, but the real story here is that pricing power that companies first started exploring during the pandemic has been sticky, and companies had a lot more pricing power than they might have realize...

Growth stocks are attractive to many investors, as above-average financial growth helps these stocks easily grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock. In addition to volatility, these stocks carry above-average risk by their very nature. Also, one could end up losing from a stock whose growth story is actually over or nearing its end. However, the task of finding cutting-edge growth stocks is made easy with the help of the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects. Our proprietary system currently recommends Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) as one such stock. This company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank. Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And returns are even better for stocks that possess the combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy). Here are three of the most important factors that make the stock of this company a great growth pick right now. Earnings Growth Earnings growth is arguably the most important factor, as stocks exhibiting exceptionally surging profit levels tend to attract the attention of most investors. For growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is highly preferable, as it is often perceived as an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration. While the historical EPS growth rate for Palantir Technologies is 21.1%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 98.6% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of 23%. Cash Flow Growth Cash is the lifeblood of any business, but higher-than-average cash flow growth is more beneficial and important for growth-oriented companies than for mature companies...

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) is an Incredible Growth Stock: 3 Reasons Why Yahoo Finance

The stock market hates uncertainty, and Parsons Corp. (PSN +1.70%) is serving it up. The engineering and defense company lost a heavily promoted $12.5 billion Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contract bid in December and faces top-line pressure from the wind-down of a large government contract. The stock has been hammered, trading down nearly 40% over the past six months, including a 21% single-day drop in December. Yet as revenue expectations decline, actual profitability is improving, with margins hitting a record high in the first quarter. In addition, its backlog reached a new high, driven by solid contract wins at the start of the year. A tale of two segments Parsons is a provider of integrated solutions and services for the security, defense, and infrastructure markets. It operates two primary segments, federal solutions and critical infrastructure, each of which contributes roughly half of total revenue. The company's troubles began in December, when it lost the bid to modernize the FAA's air traffic control system. Adding to the pressure, a large, confidential contract for the Department of State ended after a government agency reorganization, weighing on near-term organic growth. The federal solutions business has felt most of the recent pain. Although the defense and intelligence (D&I) division within the segment is performing well. D&I Revenue grew 13.5% year-over-year in the first quarter, driven by U.S. government spending on high-tech areas like cybersecurity, space, and missile defense. Meanwhile, the critical infrastructure segment has been a bright spot. This division, which designs and manages massive projects such as airports and bridges, is benefiting from spending tied to the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and from large-scale projects in the Middle East. This strength shows up in the company's backlog, which stands at a record $9.3 billion. For margins, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization f...

Trafigura Group has moved to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars of copper from London Metal Exchange warehouses as lucrative trading opportunities emerge in the US and China, according to people familiar with the matter. The trading house was the main party involved in orders to withdraw more than 51,000 tons of copper from LME warehouses in the US and Asia on Friday, said the people, who asked not to be identified due to the commercial sensitivity of the matter. The orders — which were the largest seen on the LME since 2013 — come as copper futures on New York’s Comex have surged above prices on the LME, creating a huge incentive for traders to deliver copper into the US. Comex contracts have been trading at a premium over the LME for most of the past year, due to the possibility that the Trump administration will impose tariffs on the metal. Record volumes of copper were shipped to the country last year as traders cashed in on the arbitrage, and Trafigura’s withdrawal of stock is a sign that the seismic trading opportunity is gaining new momentum. More than 30,000 tons of metal was ordered out of LME warehouses in New Orleans and Baltimore on Friday, and they’re likely to be delivered into Comex warehouses or to end buyers in the US market, the people said. The trading opportunity exists because Comex copper prices are inclusive of duties, while LME prices aren’t. Nearly 20,000 tons of copper was also withdrawn from LME warehouses in Asia. While the US could be an attractive destination for some of that metal, rising prices in China are also creating incentives to ship copper there too. With LME prices trading around $13,660 a ton on Friday, the total value of the metal that’s been ordered from the exchange is more than $700 million. A spokesperson for Trafigura declined to comment.