A US travel ban for people coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could make the situation worse, critics have said. The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday and continues to spread, with a new case reported in the DRC’s South Kivu province, an area under the control of armed rebel grou...
A US travel ban for people coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could make the situation worse, critics have said. The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday and continues to spread, with a new case reported in the DRC’s South Kivu province, an area under the control of armed rebel groups. The American travel ban, which applies to non-US passport holders who have been in any of the three countries in the past 21 days, has caused disruption to the DRC men’s football team’s World Cup preparations. It also caused a flight to Detroit to be diverted to Canada on Wednesday because a traveller from the DRC was onboard. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said that while it “fully recognises the sovereign responsibility of every government to protect the health and security of its people … generalised travel restrictions and border closures are not the solution to outbreaks”. The body said: “Such measures can create fear, damage economies, discourage transparency, complicate humanitarian and health operations, and divert movement toward informal and unmonitored routes – potentially increasing public health risks rather than reducing them.” View image in fullscreen A port health officer sanitises the hands of a motorbike rider transporting goods across the border between Uganda and the DRC at the Busunga border crossing in Bundibugyo. Photograph: Badru Katumba/AFP/Getty Images There is no vaccine or treatment available to fight the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for the outbreak. Africa CDC said this highlighted “a deeper structural injustice in global health innovation: the Bundibugyo Ebola virus was identified nearly two decades ago, yet no licensed vaccines or therapeutics specific to this strain exist today.” It said: “Africa CDC believes that if this disease had predominantly threatened wealthier regions of the world, medica...
Fire season kicked off early in California this year, with flames already approaching a former nuclear test site outside of Los Angeles. The rising number of natural disasters in California, and around the world, demand our attention — and, in Silicon Valley, venture investment. Convective Capital, an early-stage venture fund led by Bill Clerico, announced a new $85 million fund Thursday, followin...
Fire season kicked off early in California this year, with flames already approaching a former nuclear test site outside of Los Angeles. The rising number of natural disasters in California, and around the world, demand our attention — and, in Silicon Valley, venture investment. Convective Capital, an early-stage venture fund led by Bill Clerico, announced a new $85 million fund Thursday, following up on a $35 million fund raised in 2022. While the first fund was mainly backed by wealthy individuals (including Clerico, a cofounder of WePay who sold the startup to JPMorgan for $300 million in 2017), this latest fund is largely backed by institutions, including insurance companies and asset managers. Convective’s original mission was to develop the idea of “firetech,” investing in firms like Pano, which is building AI-powered cameras to spot fires early; Raine, which builds autonomous aircraft to dump water on fires; Burnbot, a startup creating robots for clearing brush and grasses; and an insurance company, Stand, which helps homeowners harden their homes against flames. With its new fund, Convective is expanding its mandate beyond the threat of wildfire to an evolved thesis focused on resilience to “provide risk management in the physical world.” “There’s $60 trillion of real estate at high risk from disasters, the U.S. spends a trillion dollars a year mitigating and recovering from disasters, we need a new approach to this,” Clerico told TechCrunch. “The silver lining is that it’s gotten so bad that the private markets can now take over — utilities going bankrupt, insurers leaving big markets, these are very large economic events, and those create markets for new solutions and products.” The first four investments from the new fund are in The Lumber Manufactory, a company building timber mills to help make forest management more economical; Drafted, a company using AI to do home design; Voltaire, a Y Combinator-backed firm building drones to inspect power lines; an...
Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Moderna Inc (Symbol: MRNA), where a total volume of 50,006 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 5.0 million underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 62.2% of...
Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Moderna Inc (Symbol: MRNA), where a total volume of 50,006 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 5.0 million underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 62.2% of MRNA's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 8.0 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $52 strike call option expiring May 22, 2026 , with 8,026 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 802,600 underlying shares of MRNA. Below is a chart showing MRNA's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $52 strike highlighted in orange: Workday Inc (Symbol: WDAY) options are showing a volume of 24,792 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 2.5 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 52.2% of WDAY's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 4.8 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $111 strike put option expiring May 22, 2026, with 3,532 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 353,200 underlying shares of WDAY. Below is a chart showing WDAY's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $111 strike highlighted in orange: And Lumentum Holdings Inc (Symbol: LITE) options are showing a volume of 29,245 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 2.9 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 47% of LITE's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 6.2 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $800 strike put option expiring May 22, 2026, with 1,375 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 137,500 underlying shares of LITE. Below is a chart showing LITE's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $800 strike highlighted in orange: For the v...
Occidental Petroleum Corporation ( OXY ) reported a significant Q1 bottom-line beat , while revenue of $5.23B fell short of Wall Street’s forecast. Meanwhile, the company achieved its production guidance high-end at 1.426M barrels per day. The stock has surged 40% over the past 12 months as oil prices spiked amid Middle East tensions, with net income rising, driven largely by the $9.7B OxyChem sal...
Occidental Petroleum Corporation ( OXY ) reported a significant Q1 bottom-line beat , while revenue of $5.23B fell short of Wall Street’s forecast. Meanwhile, the company achieved its production guidance high-end at 1.426M barrels per day. The stock has surged 40% over the past 12 months as oil prices spiked amid Middle East tensions, with net income rising, driven largely by the $9.7B OxyChem sale to Berkshire Hathaway. Still, despite the robust operational performance and aggressive debt reduction to $13.3B, analyst sentiment remains divided on whether the stock has hit a near-term ceiling at $59-$60 or has significant upside remaining. What Do Seeking Alpha Analysts Say About OXY’s Future? Bullish investors pointed to Occidental’s transformed asset base and Permian Basin leadership, with unconventional production exceeding 1M barrels per day. The company’s aggressive deleveraging stands out as a major positive, with debt reduced from nearly $29B to $13.3B in just 22 months, unlocking $830M in annual interest savings. Analysts emphasized that guidance projects 2026 free cash flow of $5.5B at $65/barrel WTI, equating to a compelling 9% FCF yield at the current valuation. With WTI prices currently above $100/barrel, there’s more than $50M per day in additional cash flow potential. Pessimists, however, highlighted that the “easy money trade” is largely behind investors, with the current share price of $59-$60 already reflecting geopolitical risk premiums that may fade. Several analysts noted the “magnetic pull” created by Berkshire Hathaway’s at-the-money warrants struck at $59.624, which effectively creates a price ceiling. JPMorgan’s Brent forecast of $60 suggests potential headwinds from lower realized prices and slower deleveraging if oil normalizes. Additionally, OXY’s dividend yield of ~1.7% to 1.89% compares unfavorably to supermajor peers like Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) at 2.68% and Chevron ( CVX ) at 3.7%. Here’s a breakdown of what some analysts had to say: Steven...
Getty Images By Elior Manier US stock benchmarks are remaining quite range-bound and muted in today's session as traders actively ease their ecstatic mood following yesterday's explosive peace rally. The early morning price action is characterized by a cautious market, with some accelerating profit-taking. Tech and consumer defensive sectors (particularly Walmart ( WMT ), down 7%!) are officially ...
Getty Images By Elior Manier US stock benchmarks are remaining quite range-bound and muted in today's session as traders actively ease their ecstatic mood following yesterday's explosive peace rally. The early morning price action is characterized by a cautious market, with some accelerating profit-taking. Tech and consumer defensive sectors (particularly Walmart ( WMT ), down 7%!) are officially leading a modest pullback across the board, dragging both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq somewhat lower on the day. However, the selling pressure is far from a panic; the downward action remains tightly contained as institutional capital simply digests the recent historic highs. Daily Market Performance (11:24). May 21, 2026 – Courtesy of Finviz Instead of aggressively pushing new positions, traders are actively stepping to the sidelines and patiently awaiting the next definitive headlines (particularly surrounding the deal). The market is desperately looking for concrete communications regarding the fragile US-Iran diplomatic deal, especially after conflicting headlines regarding uranium stockpiles reintroduced heavy geopolitical uncertainty into the energy sector. More importantly, Wall Street is firmly bracing for tomorrow's key event at the White House, where Kevin Warsh will be officially sworn in as the new Federal Reserve Chairman. With sweeping, austere changes to the central bank's balance sheet potentially on the horizon, institutional investors are understandably hesitant to commit fresh capital. Until Warsh's initial policy remarks dictate the next structural trend for global liquidity, markets are taking a breather. Let's get ready by diving into intraday charts and trading levels for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite, and S&P 500. Current Session's Stock Heatmap Current picture for the Stock Market (11:05) – Source: TradingView – May 19, 2026 The market is mostly red on the session except for semiconductors persistently running higher, ...
Getting An 'A' At Harvard Will Be Tougher Starting In 2027 Authored by Micaiah Bilger via The College Fix, Two thirds of faculty vote to approve cap on A grades for undergrads... Harvard University faculty gave an emphatic “yes” to capping A grades in a vote Wednesday amid concerns about grade inflation and academic rigor at the prestigious institution. Approximately 70 percent voted to approve th...
Getting An 'A' At Harvard Will Be Tougher Starting In 2027 Authored by Micaiah Bilger via The College Fix, Two thirds of faculty vote to approve cap on A grades for undergrads... Harvard University faculty gave an emphatic “yes” to capping A grades in a vote Wednesday amid concerns about grade inflation and academic rigor at the prestigious institution. Approximately 70 percent voted to approve the 20-percent cap on As in undergraduate courses, The Crimson , Harvard’s student newspaper, reports . Nearly 700 professors participated in the vote. The measure will go into effect in the fall of 2027. Harvard psychology Professor Steven Pinker praised the decision in an X post Wednesday, calling it “a big step in combatting the grade inflation that has been dumbing down our courses, conveying the wrong message to students, and making universities a national laughingstock.” Another professor, political scientist Max Abrams at Northeastern University noted the impact of the decision on other higher education institutions. Harvard isn’t just some university. Many universities look to Harvard to inform their own decisions. I am strongly in favor of Harvard’s moves to reduce grade inflation. When everyone gets an A there is no signal. pic.twitter.com/Tpb4enuADA — Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) May 20, 2026 Other scholars called for their Ivy League institutions to follow Harvard’s lead. Along with limiting As, the faculty also approved a measure by a large majority “to use average percentile rankings, rather than GPA, to determine internal awards and honors,” according to The Crimson. A third measure within the proposal did not pass. It would have allowed professors “to petition to opt out of the A cap” if the grading for their course is on an “unsatisfactory, satisfactory, and satisfactory-plus basis,” the report states: When the proposal was first introduced in February, its architects pitched the A cap and percentile-ranking system as paired reforms: the ranking system would pre...
Add Decrypt as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. In brief Bank of America reiterates “buy” on Nvidia and lifts its target to $350 after record Q1 revenue of $81.6 billion. BofA sees the AI market topping $3 trillion by 2030, plus a $200 billion CPU opportunity and $145 billion in customer commitments. BofA says Nvidia’s biggest risk is its sheer size: The stock now accoun...
Add Decrypt as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. In brief Bank of America reiterates “buy” on Nvidia and lifts its target to $350 after record Q1 revenue of $81.6 billion. BofA sees the AI market topping $3 trillion by 2030, plus a $200 billion CPU opportunity and $145 billion in customer commitments. BofA says Nvidia’s biggest risk is its sheer size: The stock now accounts for 8.3% of the S&P 500. Nvidia just delivered the biggest revenue quarter in its history. The stock fell anyway. That's become a pattern—the chipmaker has declined after three of its last four earnings calls, even as the numbers keep getting bigger. Bank of America isn't fazed. Lead analyst Vivek Arya and his team reiterated their buy rating yesterday, named Nvidia a top pick, and raised their price target from $320 to $350—implying 56.6% upside from the current price of $223.47. The investment note’s top line read: "Beat/raise speaks volumes, ignore noise, buy top pick." Before unpacking why, a quick decoder for readers who don't follow Wall Street jargon daily. A "beat" means a company earned more than analysts predicted. A "raise" means its guidance—its own forecast for next quarter—also came in above expectations. When both happen at once, it's typically very, very, good news. The fact that the stock corrected is the "noise" Bank of America is telling investors to ignore. The quarter in numbers Nvidia Q1 revenue came in at a record $81.6 billion—up 85% from a year ago and 20% from the prior quarter. Analysts had expected around $79.1 billion. Nvidia beat that by 3.1%, or roughly $2.5 billion extra, in a single quarter. Think of it this way: The prior quarter was already a record at $68.1 billion. Nvidia added $13.5 billion on top of that in three months. The engine behind all of it: data centers—the giant warehouses of servers that power AI models, cloud computing, and pretty much everything else on the internet. Data center revenue alone hit $75.2 billion, up 92%...
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET Call participants Chairman and Chief Executive Officer — Angeliki Frangou Chief Operating Officer — Efstratios Desypris Chief Financial Officer — Erifili Tsironi Chief Trading Officer — Vincent Vandewalle Takeaways Net Income -- $106.3 million for the quarter, reflecting the reported bottom-line result. -- $106.3 million for the...
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET Call participants Chairman and Chief Executive Officer — Angeliki Frangou Chief Operating Officer — Efstratios Desypris Chief Financial Officer — Erifili Tsironi Chief Trading Officer — Vincent Vandewalle Takeaways Net Income -- $106.3 million for the quarter, reflecting the reported bottom-line result. -- $106.3 million for the quarter, reflecting the reported bottom-line result. EBITDA -- $212.7 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $204 million, representing a $51 million increase compared to the same period last year. -- $212.7 million, with adjusted EBITDA of $204 million, representing a $51 million increase compared to the same period last year. Revenue -- $357 million, up 17% due to higher combined time charter equivalent rates, despite a 3% reduction in available days. -- $357 million, up 17% due to higher combined time charter equivalent rates, despite a 3% reduction in available days. Combined TCE Rate -- $25,679 per day, a 21% increase from the comparable quarter last year. -- $25,679 per day, a 21% increase from the comparable quarter last year. Segment TCE Rates -- Bulkers saw a 39% increase to $17,632 per day; tankers rose 23% to $32,209; containers increased 4% to $31,696 per day. -- Bulkers saw a 39% increase to $17,632 per day; tankers rose 23% to $32,209; containers increased 4% to $31,696 per day. Distribution per Unit -- $0.06 declared for the quarter, representing a 20% increase from the prior level. -- $0.06 declared for the quarter, representing a 20% increase from the prior level. Unit Repurchases -- 240,502 units or 0.8% of the float repurchased for $15.6 million year-to-date; total program has repurchased 5.8% of units outstanding with $16.4 million remaining capacity. -- 240,502 units or 0.8% of the float repurchased for $15.6 million year-to-date; total program has repurchased 5.8% of units outstanding with $16.4 million remaining capacity. Backlog for Contracted Revenue -- ...
The Pentagon is testing artificial intelligence models to see which are most favored by 25 of the department’s “power users,” as the US military races to find alternatives to Anthropic PBC ’s Claude, according to a senior defense official. Tests began at the start of March, according to the senior official, three days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Anthropic a supply-chain risk over...
The Pentagon is testing artificial intelligence models to see which are most favored by 25 of the department’s “power users,” as the US military races to find alternatives to Anthropic PBC ’s Claude, according to a senior defense official. Tests began at the start of March, according to the senior official, three days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Anthropic a supply-chain risk over the company’s insistence on guardrails for its technology and moved to drop it as a provider of AI tools. The company is now battling the designation in court, saying it could cost it billions of dollars in revenue. The US military relies heavily on Anthropic’s Claude for a digital mission control platform known as Maven Smart System for its classified operations against Iran. Claude has gained fans within the department for its ease of use and performance, although the full extent of its deployment in AI targeting isn’t public. Following the split with Anthropic, the Pentagon gave itself six months to wind down its use of the company’s products. Earlier this month, the Defense Department announced new agreements with several other companies to use their AI tools on classified networks as it seeks to develop multiple new model suppliers. Read More: Microsoft, Amazon Hand Pentagon More Control Over AI Systems There have been signs of de-escalation between the White House and Anthropic, particularly in the wake of the release of Mythos, a new powerful model from Anthropic that has threatened to upend existing cybersecurity defenses. But Pentagon officials show no signs of wanting to mend fences with the company. Emil Michael , the US undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg Television that negotiations with Anthropic remain on ice because of the company’s legal challenge to the supply-chain risk designation and that the Pentagon is prepared to move on to other vendors. Although experts have argued that Mythos far ou...
Meta Platforms Inc. reached an agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit alleging that addiction to Instagram and other top social media platforms upended learning across America and pushed US public schools to spend enormous resources fighting a mental health crisis, according to a court filing. Meta was the sole remaining defendant in a trial scheduled for June after Snap Inc. , Google’s YouTube an...
Meta Platforms Inc. reached an agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit alleging that addiction to Instagram and other top social media platforms upended learning across America and pushed US public schools to spend enormous resources fighting a mental health crisis, according to a court filing. Meta was the sole remaining defendant in a trial scheduled for June after Snap Inc. , Google’s YouTube and TikTok settled a week earlier . The terms of Meta’s settlement were not disclosed in Thursday’s filing, but a spate of additional lawsuits brought by school districts could open the tech companies to a “collective theoretical liability of almost $400 billion,” according to an estimate from Bloomberg Intelligence. In a statement, plaintiffs’ attorneys Lexi Hazam, Previn Warren, Chris Seeger and Ronald Johnson confirmed they had resolved Breathitt County School District’s claims against Meta, as well as its claims against Snap, TikTok and YouTube. “Our focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases,” the attorneys said in a joint statement. A Meta spokesperson said, “we’ve resolved this case amicably and remain focused on our longstanding work to build protections like Teen Accounts that help teens stay safe online, while giving parents simple controls to support their families.” It’s been a busy year for tech companies embroiled in child safety litigation. Meta and Google went to trial in a first-of-its-kind personal injury suit over youth social media addiction in January in Los Angeles. A jury found the companies liable for harming a 20-year-old woman with products designed to keep her hooked, awarding a total of $6 million in damages. TikTok and Snap, also named in the suit, settled just ahead of that trial. In March, Meta lost a separate case in New Mexico alleging the company failed to protect children from online predators; jurors assessed a penalty of $375 million . Thursday’s settlement means that Meta Chief Executiv...
"I think we do need to broaden out the debates, and we need to start from a point of saying, how do we make sure that everyone has access to the services they need, and that will be different things for different people," she said.
"I think we do need to broaden out the debates, and we need to start from a point of saying, how do we make sure that everyone has access to the services they need, and that will be different things for different people," she said.
BING-JHEN HONG/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Originally published on May 20, 2026 Let's talk about Nvidia ( NVDA ) earnings. It was three years ago, almost to the day, that Nvidia reported a growth shock that changed the world. Remember, Jensen Huang told us that the world was beginning a trillion-dollar transition from general purpose computing to accelerated computing. And he said it started...
BING-JHEN HONG/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Originally published on May 20, 2026 Let's talk about Nvidia ( NVDA ) earnings. It was three years ago, almost to the day, that Nvidia reported a growth shock that changed the world. Remember, Jensen Huang told us that the world was beginning a trillion-dollar transition from general purpose computing to accelerated computing. And he said it started with the ChatGPT moment (the launch of OpenAI's generative AI model, which crystallized productization of AI). He said the demand for Nvidia's AI data center chips was so steep that the growth he just reported (in May of 2023) would be even bigger the following quarter. Moreover, he said the hyper-growth would continue for the foreseeable future. That was the Nvidia moment . It was the moment the world realized AI was about to reinvent computing. With that, the transformation has been bigger and faster than Jensen predicted. Still, there has been plenty of doubt about the significance and the durability of the AI revolution along the way. Then we had a series of "moments" earlier this year that gave clear signals that the entire AI ecosystem wasn't just sustaining, it was removing the ceiling on what is thought as possible for the economy. First, it was data storage. Sandisk ( SNDK ) reported $3 billion in revenue and then guided to $4.4 to $4.8 billion for the very next quarter - a 50% sequential leap in 90 days. The same shape as Nvidia's famous 2023 guide. It was the moment the world realized AI doesn't just need chips. It needs endless storage to hold the oceans of data those chips produce. The Nvidia moment for storage had arrived. Then it was the chips themselves. Taiwan Semiconductor ( TSM ), the company that manufactures the world's most advanced semiconductors, reported a 20% jump in revenue in a single month, in what is normally a quiet, post-holiday lull. At the same time, its board greenlit a $45 billion plan to build more capacity. The bottleneck was starting ...
The market remained flat over the last week but has shown a robust 27% increase over the past year, with earnings projected to grow by 17% annually. In this context, identifying growth companies with high insider ownership can be particularly appealing as they often indicate strong confidence from those closest to the business and have shown impressive revenue growth. Top 10 Growth Companies With ...
The market remained flat over the last week but has shown a robust 27% increase over the past year, with earnings projected to grow by 17% annually. In this context, identifying growth companies with high insider ownership can be particularly appealing as they often indicate strong confidence from those closest to the business and have shown impressive revenue growth. Top 10 Growth Companies With High Insider Ownership In The United States Name Insider Ownership Earnings Growth Uxin (UXIN) 33.4% 74.1% Upstart Holdings (UPST) 13% 58.1% SharonAI Holdings (SHAZ) 29.9% 105.4% KVH Industries (KVHI) 16.3% 146.1% Karman Holdings (KRMN) 15.7% 52.6% IEH (IEHC) 37.3% 114.7% EHang Holdings (EH) 29.4% 55.4% Corcept Therapeutics (CORT) 11.8% 48.7% Astera Labs (ALAB) 10.7% 31.5% AppLovin (APP) 27.4% 21.6% Click here to see the full list of 180 stocks from our Fast Growing US Companies With High Insider Ownership screener. Let's take a closer look at a couple of our picks from the screened companies. Simply Wall St Growth Rating: ★★★★★☆ Overview: Pagaya Technologies Ltd. is a technology company that utilizes data science and AI-powered technology for financial services, catering to customers and investors in the United States, Israel, and the Cayman Islands, with a market cap of approximately $1.05 billion. Operations: Pagaya Technologies generates revenue primarily from its Software & Programming segment, which amounted to $1.33 billion. Insider Ownership: 15.5% Revenue Growth Forecast: 12.4% p.a. Pagaya Technologies is experiencing significant growth, with earnings expected to increase by 35.2% annually, outpacing the US market. The company recently became profitable and trades at a substantial discount to its estimated fair value. Its strategic partnership with Experian enhances its AI-driven lending capabilities, potentially boosting revenue streams. Despite large one-off items affecting earnings quality, Pagaya's raised guidance for 2026 reflects confidence in achieving betwe...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is making a bigger Taiwan push, pledging to invest more than $10 billion as it works to expand partnerships and add packaging capacity in one of the world's most important semiconductor hubs. The company said Thursday it is working with ASE Technology, Powertech Technology, Sanmina, and Inventec, a move that could help s...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is making a bigger Taiwan push, pledging to invest more than $10 billion as it works to expand partnerships and add packaging capacity in one of the world's most important semiconductor hubs. The company said Thursday it is working with ASE Technology, Powertech Technology, Sanmina, and Inventec, a move that could help strengthen AMD's regional capabilities as AI demand keeps pulling more capacity into the chip supply chain. The investment comes as AMD tries to narrow the gap with Nvidia, which remains the dominant provider of AI processors. Still, data center customers are increasingly looking for alternatives, and that shift has helped AMD gain more attention in the AI GPU race. For investors, the key question is execution: whether AMD can turn this Taiwan expansion into stronger supply capacity, deeper partner alignment, and a more credible challenge in the AI infrastructure buildout. CEO Lisa Su framed the move around rising compute demand, saying global customers are rapidly scaling AI infrastructure as AI adoption accelerates. Su is currently visiting Taiwan and is scheduled to join a fireside chat hosted by a local media outlet on Friday, giving the announcement added visibility at a time when semiconductor investors are watching how quickly AMD can convert AI demand into real capacity and competitive momentum.
Shares of Welltower WELL have gained 16.9% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the industry’s 12.6% upside. This healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) features a well-diversified portfolio of healthcare real estate assets in key markets across the United States, Canada and the UK. With an aging population driving up healthcare spending among senior citizens, its seniors housing oper...
Shares of Welltower WELL have gained 16.9% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the industry’s 12.6% upside. This healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) features a well-diversified portfolio of healthcare real estate assets in key markets across the United States, Canada and the UK. With an aging population driving up healthcare spending among senior citizens, its seniors housing operating (SHO) portfolio stands ready to witness strong demand. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Let us decipher the possible factors behind the surge in the stock price of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company. Welltower continues to benefit from a demand backdrop, supported by an aging population and muted new supply, which have kept occupancy recovery and pricing power intact across the SHO portfolio. Its first-quarter 2026 results reflected total portfolio same-store net operating income (SSNOI) year-over-year growth of 16.4%, driven by 22.1% increase in the SHO portfolio. Welltower’s investment strategy remains focused on expanding its seniors housing assets in high-growth markets while increasing operator and geographic diversification. In the first quarter of 2026, the company closed $3.3 billion of pro rata gross investments and, after quarter-end, closed or is under contract to close $7.2 billion of pro rata gross investments. Welltower continues to recycle capital to fund seniors housing investments and simplify the portfolio. The outpatient medical portfolio disposition remains a key source of proceeds, with 60 properties sold in the first quarter of 2026 for a total sales price of $1.38 billion. Total cash proceeds from real estate dispositions were $1.72 billion in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting a mix of outpatient medical, triple-net and seniors housing asset sales. Management’s 2026 guidance framework contemplates $4.3 billion of dispositions, which should continue to provide funding capacity for reinvestment. Welltower’s recent acquisitions have incre...