jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Yum! Brands' ( YUM ) Taco Bell held its annual Live Más Live event last week to unveil more than 20 new items to its menu. The headline from the event is that Nacho Fries are finally becoming a permanent menu item after years of limited-time returns. In addition, Flamin' Hot Nacho Fries with a new Flamin' Hot Nacho Cheese sauce, “dusted” crispy chicke...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Yum! Brands' ( YUM ) Taco Bell held its annual Live Más Live event last week to unveil more than 20 new items to its menu. The headline from the event is that Nacho Fries are finally becoming a permanent menu item after years of limited-time returns. In addition, Flamin' Hot Nacho Fries with a new Flamin' Hot Nacho Cheese sauce, “dusted” crispy chicken, the Flamin' Hot Mini Taco Salad, new desserts, and expanded Mexican pizza menu items are also coming. Taco Bell also announced that it will add a Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla to its permanent menu this week. The Rolled Quesadilla, priced at $6.69, contains twice the meat of the previous iteration of the Cantina Chicken Quesadilla, Taco Bell said, offering consumers a more considerable value of protein per dollar. Taco Bell previously tested the rolled quesadilla format with its steak & poblano limited-time offering last fall, which was noted to have proved a major hit with consumers. Notably, Taco Bell has seen a bigger boost to comparable sales growth from new menu additions than most restaurant chains over the last two years. Food industry analysts have called this year's menu expansion even more aggressive than normal. More on Yum! Brands Yum! Brands: Stock Is Overbought, Valuation Is Fully Cooked Yum! Brands: The 'Taco Bell-ification' Of KFC (Rating Downgrade) Yum! Brands: Despite Taco Bell Success, Don't Pay A Premium (Upgrade) Pizza Hut to close some underperforming stores in the U.S. as part of a brand reset Yum! Brands targets 5%+ net new unit growth in 2026 with focus on digital expansion and Taco Bell 2030 ambitions
Google announced on Tuesday that all users in the US will now have access to its Personal Intelligence feature, which lets you connect various Google apps to provide context for Gemini’s responses and suggestions. Access was previously limited to Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers. Now, free-tier users in the US can also use Personal Intelligence through AI Mode in Search, Gemini in Chrome, an...
Google announced on Tuesday that all users in the US will now have access to its Personal Intelligence feature, which lets you connect various Google apps to provide context for Gemini’s responses and suggestions. Access was previously limited to Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers. Now, free-tier users in the US can also use Personal Intelligence through AI Mode in Search, Gemini in Chrome, and the Gemini app. However, the feature is currently only available to users on personal Google accounts, not business, enterprise, or education users. Personal Intelligence uses data from connected apps, like YouTube, Google Photos, and Gmail, to automatically personalize Gemini’s responses without requiring you to manually add extra context to your prompts. With the feature turned on, Gemini might offer shopping recommendations based on items you’ve recently purchased or give you tech troubleshooting advice based on device info Gemini already has. When Allison Johnson tried it earlier this year, she said that with personalization, “Gemini can analyze my interests and make some pretty good guesses about what I’d be interested in; it’s the details where AI gets lost.” The feature is still opt-in only, so if you don’t want Gemini to use info from any of your other Google apps, you can just leave it turned off. Google stated in its blog post on Tuesday that users can also disconnect apps from Personal Intelligence at any time, adding that “Gemini and AI Mode don’t train directly on your Gmail inbox or Google Photos library. We train on limited info, like specific prompts in Gemini or AI Mode and the model’s responses.”
Competitive pressure and investor demand may have more to do with how frequently public companies reveal their financial results in the future than the SEC does.
Competitive pressure and investor demand may have more to do with how frequently public companies reveal their financial results in the future than the SEC does.
Maven Intelligence integrates agentic AI with longitudinal clinical and outcomes data and clinical expertise to help power more connected, personalized care and better outcomes across fertility, maternity, parenting and menopause NEW YORK, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Maven Clinic , the largest virtual clinic dedicated to women's and family health, today introduced Maven Intelligence, an AI-powe...
Maven Intelligence integrates agentic AI with longitudinal clinical and outcomes data and clinical expertise to help power more connected, personalized care and better outcomes across fertility, maternity, parenting and menopause NEW YORK, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Maven Clinic , the largest virtual clinic dedicated to women's and family health, today introduced Maven Intelligence, an AI-powered orchestration layer embedded across its virtual clinic, care programs, and benefits platform. The announcement was made at NVIDIA's annual GTC conference. Over the past decade, Maven has built one of the largest longitudinal datasets in women's and family health, comprising more than 1 billion structured data points generated across the Maven care journey. Maven Intelligence builds on this foundation, applying agentic AI-driven coordination to help deliver more personalized, proactive care and better outcomes for members and the employers who support them, including lowering the total cost of care. Unlike standalone AI tools that sit adjacent to care, Maven Intelligence is embedded within care delivery and experienced through real-time conversations that guide members at every step. Maven's conversational AI is trained to take women's health symptoms seriously and better support the clinical and emotional nuance throughout fertility, pregnancy, parenting, and menopause journeys. Unlike generic AI models, Maven Intelligence draws on a member's history, goals, benefits coverage and integrated data — including EHR records, lab results, and wearable inputs — to surface personalized, evidence-based guidance, connect members to the appropriate providers, navigate benefits and reimbursement pathways, and prompt follow-up when needed. By bringing together the full care journey — from insight to intervention to measurable outcome — within a single platform, Maven Intelligence operates in a true closed-loop design. Every interaction, intervention, and real-world outcome feeds bac...
William Luque/iStock via Getty Images Ero Copper Corp. ( ERO ) stock is a Hold, in my stance. To clarify more on this, I consider that Ero Copper is a premier self-funded mid-tier growth story here, but ERO stock is currently priced for perfection at $27. On the positive side, the possible exhaustion of peak CapEx and the commercialization of Tucumã can drive massive FCF generation, and Furnas has...
William Luque/iStock via Getty Images Ero Copper Corp. ( ERO ) stock is a Hold, in my stance. To clarify more on this, I consider that Ero Copper is a premier self-funded mid-tier growth story here, but ERO stock is currently priced for perfection at $27. On the positive side, the possible exhaustion of peak CapEx and the commercialization of Tucumã can drive massive FCF generation, and Furnas has high-value long-term IOCG optionality. However, short-term issues like a weak Q1 due to extreme weather, alarming 2026 C1/AISC cost inflation across all three assets, and high sensitivity to BRL appreciation can cap the immediate upside. ERO stock risk/reward becomes highly worthy on a pullback below $24.55. What Can Pull Ero Copper Stock Price Up? Ero Copper’s evolution from a single-asset producer to a multi-mine copper-gold powerhouse may be mispriced by the market efficiency. To answer how? This is due to the financial factors of the Furnas PEA and the immediate exhaustion of its peak capital cycle. First, Wall Street fails to accurately model the Furnas Project earn-in mechanics with Vale Base Metals (VBM). For a tier-one IOCG asset projecting 108 kt CuEq annually (first 15 years) at a first-quartile C1 cash cost of $0.24/lb , the initial $1.3 billion CapEx requires an Ero-side spend of $890 million to secure a 60% controlling stake. At consensus metal prices ($4.60/lb Cu, $3,300/oz Au), the project yields ~2 billion NPV at 8%. Ero Copper’s 60% share ($1.2 billion) represents ~43% of its current $2.81 billion mCap . This is what is unpriced in the forward 4.61x forward EV/EBITDA multiple. At $6.10/lb Cu, the NPV (at 8%) explodes to $4.7 billion (the IRR here is 44%), making Furnas a strong copper call option. In my stance, the second factor is that Ero Copper is crossing a massive FCF inflection point. With the Tucumã Operation now at commercial production since July 2025 and driving consolidated Q4-FY2025 copper output to a high 19,706 tonnes , Ero Copper is aggressi...
The stock market appears to be on shaky ground of late, as the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.35%) and the Nasdaq are both down this year. There appears to be considerable apprehension from investors of late, as there's plenty of uncertainty around the economy, and the war in Iran adds yet another element of risk into the equation. On top of all this, stocks entered the year at fairly high valuations. As a res...
The stock market appears to be on shaky ground of late, as the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.35%) and the Nasdaq are both down this year. There appears to be considerable apprehension from investors of late, as there's plenty of uncertainty around the economy, and the war in Iran adds yet another element of risk into the equation. On top of all this, stocks entered the year at fairly high valuations. As a result, investors are concerned about what will happen with the stock market this year. It's off to a slow start, but by no means is it in a full-blown free fall, at least not yet anyway. Is a crash inevitable, and if so, what should you do? A slowdown may be inevitable, but a crash isn't necessarily a guarantee It's not hard to make a case for why the stock market should decline this year, but whether it will is another story. Consider that in each of the past three years, the S&P 500 has outperformed its long-run average of 10%. In 2023 and 2024, it rose by more than 20%. Last year, its 16% gain was its worst performance during that three-year period, and that's still well above its historical average. The S&P 500's valuation also looks inflated when you look at the Shiller price-to-earnings ratio, which is at around 39 -- the highest it's been since the early 2000s. The ratio is based on inflation-adjusted earnings over the past decade and is a good gauge of how cheap or expensive stocks are. And right now, they look expensive, even with the recent softness in the market. A crash could very well be coming, but you only have to look to last year as to why it may not be worth trying to predict one. It was almost a year ago when reciprocal tariffs were announced, which spooked the market. At the time, you may have very well expected a crash to happen. And while the market did initially fall, the S&P 500 would end up having another above-average performance. It's another example of why trying to time the market may not be worth the effort. Expand SNPINDEX : ^GSPC S&P 500 Index ...
When XRP (XRP +0.91%) rallied in late 2024, there was a lot of excitement that wide-scale crypto reform would make the cryptocurrency a hot investment under President Donald Trump. And while there has been some crypto reform, it's been a bit underwhelming. Although XRP hasn't given back all of the gains it accumulated after Trump's election win, the digital currency has been nosediving for the pas...
When XRP (XRP +0.91%) rallied in late 2024, there was a lot of excitement that wide-scale crypto reform would make the cryptocurrency a hot investment under President Donald Trump. And while there has been some crypto reform, it's been a bit underwhelming. Although XRP hasn't given back all of the gains it accumulated after Trump's election win, the digital currency has been nosediving for the past several months. On Tuesday, it was trading around $1.50 -- down nearly 60% from its 52-week high of $3.65. Things have looked bleak for XRP of late. However, there may be a catalyst coming soon. Here's why I think the cryptocurrency could end up rising back to over $2 later this year. Rate cuts could spark a rally It's no secret that President Trump hasn't been happy with Fed chair Jerome Powell not cutting interest rates fast enough in order to help the economy. Recently, Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve later this year, as Powell's term ends in May. Warsh may be much more likely to cut rates, even if economic conditions aren't necessarily ideal. While the economic picture is a complicated one right now due to the ongoing war in Iran and rising oil prices impacting inflation, economists still expect rates to come down in June -- after Powell's term is set to end. There may even be multiple cuts this year. And for speculative investments, including cryptocurrencies such as XRP, that could lead to a rally. Expand CRYPTO : XRP XRP Today's Change ( 0.91 %) $ 0.01 Current Price $ 1.52 Key Data Points Market Cap $93B Day's Range $ 1.50 - $ 1.60 52wk Range $ 1.14 - $ 3.65 Volume 5.7B XRP is risky, but it may have room to rise a lot higher So far this year, XRP has fallen by 18%, which is only slightly worse than Bitcoin's 16% decline. The good news is that XRP's struggles aren't due to its own problems and instead stem from softness in the broader crypto market. And as crypto investors become more bullish, potentially due to rate cuts, there may be a rise...
Adobe (ADBE +1.22%) continues to deliver solid revenue growth and generate huge free cash flow, but its stock still struggles to shake off the narrative that Adobe's business is being disrupted by artificial intelligence (AI). Shares trade down more than 25% year to date, having been caught in this year's software-as-a-service (SaaS) sell-off, and down more than 40% over the past five years. Let's...
Adobe (ADBE +1.22%) continues to deliver solid revenue growth and generate huge free cash flow, but its stock still struggles to shake off the narrative that Adobe's business is being disrupted by artificial intelligence (AI). Shares trade down more than 25% year to date, having been caught in this year's software-as-a-service (SaaS) sell-off, and down more than 40% over the past five years. Let's take a closer look at Adobe's results and prospects to see if anything can get the stock out of its funk. Consistent growth continues Nothing suggests that Adobe is being disrupted by AI, with the company consistently delivering low-double-digit revenue growth, quarter in and quarter out. That continued for its fiscal first quarter of 2026, as it produced revenue growth of 12% year over year to $6.4 billion. This was above its previous forecast for revenue of between $6.25 billion and $6.3 billion. Annual recurring revenue (ARR), meanwhile, jumped 11% to $26.06 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) climbed 19% year over year to $6.06, ahead of Adobe's prior $5.85 to $5.90 outlook. The company also achieved a record operating cash flow of $2.96 billion in the quarter. The "creative & marketing professionals" customer group saw revenue increase by 12% to $4.39 billion. Revenue from the "business professionals & consumers" group jumped by 16% to $1.78 billion. While the investor narrative has been that AI is going to hurt Adobe's business, the company saw its AI ARR more than triple in the quarter, and it highlighted strong momentum for both Adobe Firefly and GenStudio. It noted that Firefly generative credit consumption surged 45% quarter over quarter, led by AI video and audio. One area of weakness was in the smaller stock-photo business, which saw a steeper-than-expected decline. Adobe will look to improve this business segment by offering royalty-free stock images that can then be manipulated through the use of its AI solutions. Looking ahead, Adobe reaffirmed its fu...
The Invesco Oil & Gas Services ETF is seeing unusually high volume in afternoon trading Tuesday, with over 129,000 shares traded versus three month average volume of about 25,000. Shares of PXJ were down about 1.3% on the day. Components of that ETF with the highest volume on Tuesday were Schlumberger, trading off about 0.1% with over 2.4 million shares changing hands so far this session, and Hall...
The Invesco Oil & Gas Services ETF is seeing unusually high volume in afternoon trading Tuesday, with over 129,000 shares traded versus three month average volume of about 25,000. Shares of PXJ were down about 1.3% on the day. Components of that ETF with the highest volume on Tuesday were Schlumberger, trading off about 0.1% with over 2.4 million shares changing hands so far this session, and Halliburton, down about 0.7% on volume of over 2.4 million shares. Profrac Holding is the component faring the best Tuesday, up by about 3.2% on the day, while Kodiak Gas Services is lagging other components of the Invesco Oil & Gas Services ETF, trading lower by about 9.1%. VIDEO: Tuesday's ETF with Unusual Volume: PXJ The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Since deep-learning super-sampling (DLSS) launch on 2018's RTX 2080 cards , gamers have been generally bullish on the technology as a way to effectively use machine learning upscaling techniques to increase resolutions or juice frame rates in games. With yesterday's tease of the upcoming DLSS 5 , though, Nvidia has crossed a line from mere upscaling into complete lighting and texture overhauls inf...
Since deep-learning super-sampling (DLSS) launch on 2018's RTX 2080 cards , gamers have been generally bullish on the technology as a way to effectively use machine learning upscaling techniques to increase resolutions or juice frame rates in games. With yesterday's tease of the upcoming DLSS 5 , though, Nvidia has crossed a line from mere upscaling into complete lighting and texture overhauls influenced by "generative AI." The result is a bland, uncanny gloss that has received an instant and overwhelmingly negative reaction from large swaths of gamers and the industry at large. While previous DLSS releases rendered upscaled frames or created entirely new ones to smooth out gaps, Nvidia calls DLSS 5—which it plans to launch in Autumn—"a real-time neural rendering model" that can "deliver a new level of photoreal computer graphics previously only achieved in Hollywood visual effects." Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said explicitly that the technology melds "generative AI" with "handcrafted rendering" for "a dramatic leap in visual realism while preserving the control artists need for creative expression." Unlike existing generative video models , which Nvidia notes are "difficult to precisely control and often lack predictability," DLSS 5 uses a game's internal color and motion vectors "to infuse the scene with photoreal lighting and materials that are anchored to source 3D content and consistent from frame to frame." That underlying game data helps the system "understand complex scene semantics such as characters, hair, fabric and translucent skin, along with environmental lighting conditions like front-lit, back-lit or overcast," the company says. Read full article Comments
400tmax First announced in January, Google ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ) said on Tuesday that it is expanding the use of personal intelligence in different products in the U.S. The tech giant's Gemini artificial intelligence tools will be expanded to be used in AI mode for its ubiquitous search offering, Google said in a blog post . It is also available for free-tier users in the Gemini app and its Gemini in...
400tmax First announced in January, Google ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ) said on Tuesday that it is expanding the use of personal intelligence in different products in the U.S. The tech giant's Gemini artificial intelligence tools will be expanded to be used in AI mode for its ubiquitous search offering, Google said in a blog post . It is also available for free-tier users in the Gemini app and its Gemini in Chrome web browser. “Personal Intelligence is designed to be helpful on your terms,” Google wrote in the post. “It combines the power of more relevant insights with transparency, choice, and control. The goal is simple: technology that feels like a natural extension of how you get things done.” In January, Google brought personal intelligence to Gmail, Photos, YouTube, and search. Shares of Google parent company Alphabet were modestly higher in Tuesday trading. More on Alphabet Alphabet: Inside Google Cloud's New Growth Pillars Alphabet Q4: A Fairly Valued Tech Titan To Buy Now Alphabet: Apple AI Deal Is The Biggest Blind Spot Google to source power from DTE Energy for new data center in Michigan Google explores liquid cooling equipment deals with Envicool, other Chinese firms: report
In trading on Tuesday, the VanEck Oil Service ETF is outperforming other ETFs, up about 3.5% on the day. Components of that ETF showing particular strength include shares of Solaris Energy Infrastructure, up about 13.5% and shares of Liberty Energy, up about 4.7% on the day. And underperforming other ETFs today is the Sprott Silver Miners & Physical Silver ETF, off about 1.2% in Tuesday afternoon ...
In trading on Tuesday, the VanEck Oil Service ETF is outperforming other ETFs, up about 3.5% on the day. Components of that ETF showing particular strength include shares of Solaris Energy Infrastructure, up about 13.5% and shares of Liberty Energy, up about 4.7% on the day. And underperforming other ETFs today is the Sprott Silver Miners & Physical Silver ETF, off about 1.2% in Tuesday afternoon trading. Among components of that ETF with the weakest showing on Tuesday were shares of First Majestic Silver, lower by about 2.4%, and shares of Silvercorp Metals, lower by about 2% on the day. VIDEO: Tuesday's ETF Movers: OIH, SLVR The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Apple ( AAPL ) CEO Tim Cook squashed any rumors that he was considering retiring from the company he has led since 2011 during an interview Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America." Cook said he "can't imagine a life without Apple." "No, I didn't say that," Cook responded when questioned over the possibility of him stepping down from his position. "I haven't said th...
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Apple ( AAPL ) CEO Tim Cook squashed any rumors that he was considering retiring from the company he has led since 2011 during an interview Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America." Cook said he "can't imagine a life without Apple." "No, I didn't say that," Cook responded when questioned over the possibility of him stepping down from his position. "I haven't said that." "I love what I do deeply," he added. "Twenty-eight years ago, I walked into Apple, and I've loved every day of it since." When Cook took over Apple after co-founder and long-term CEO Steve Jobs' death, Apple had a market capitalization of $377B. It now has a value of more than $3.7T. Apple shares in 2011 were worth less than $15 each. Apple will celebrate its 50th anniversary on April 1. Cook turned 65 in November, and rumors have swirled over his departure and a potential successor. Several sites, such as Polymarket and Kalshi, have running bets on his expected retirement date. More on Apple Apple: Rising Free Cash Flow Expectations Strengthen The Bull Case Apple's Agentic Moment Is Here - But It Isn't Siri The MacBook Neo Is A Brilliant Move For Apple, But A Worrying Sign For The Economy Apple urged by China’s party paper to fix alleged ‘monopolistic’ policies Apple to acquire Final Cut Pro plugin maker MotionVFX
The dollar index (DXY00) today is down by -0.12%. The dollar gave up an overnight advance and turned lower today as T-note yields fell after the weekly ADP employment change showed the smallest number of new jobs added in five weeks, a dovish factor for Fed policy. Losses in the dollar are limited after Feb pending home sales unexpectedly increased, and as the war against Iran enters its eighteent...
The dollar index (DXY00) today is down by -0.12%. The dollar gave up an overnight advance and turned lower today as T-note yields fell after the weekly ADP employment change showed the smallest number of new jobs added in five weeks, a dovish factor for Fed policy. Losses in the dollar are limited after Feb pending home sales unexpectedly increased, and as the war against Iran enters its eighteenth day with no end in sight, boosting safe-haven demand for the dollar. The ADP weekly employment change for the four weeks ending February 28 increased by +9,000, the smallest increase in five weeks and a sign of a slowdown in hiring by US employers. Join 200K+ Subscribers: US Feb pending home sales unexpectedly rose +1.8% m/m, stronger than expectations of a -0.6% m/m decline. The 2-day FOMC meeting begins today, and market expectations are for the Fed to keep the federal funds target range unchanged at 3.50%-3.75%. With the Jan core PCE price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, at 3.1%, well above the Fed’s 2.0% target, the Fed is expected to signal an extended pause ahead. Swaps markets are discounting the odds at 1% for a -25 bp rate cut at the Tue/Wed FOMC meeting. The dollar continues to be undercut by a poor outlook for interest rate differentials, with the FOMC expected to cut interest rates by at least -25 bp in 2026, while the BOJ and ECB are expected to raise rates by at least +25 bp in 2026. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) today is up by +0.17%. The dollar’s weakness today is supporting gains in the euro. However, the upside in the euro is limited after today’s economic news showed the German Mar ZEW survey expectations of economic growth fell more than expected to an 11-month low. Also, today’s +1% increase in crude oil prices is negative for the euro, as higher crude prices are bearish for the Eurozone economy, which relies heavily on energy imports. The German Mar ZEW survey expectations of economic growth fell -58.8 to an 11-month low of -0.5, weaker than expectat...
Key Points Most exchange-traded funds that invest in stocks use weightings that are based on market capitalization. That can lead to heavy concentrations of the largest companies within an ETF’s portfolio. Simply by shifting to a different weighting method, you can get much more actual diversification in your ETF. 10 stocks we like better than Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF › Exchange-traded fun...
Key Points Most exchange-traded funds that invest in stocks use weightings that are based on market capitalization. That can lead to heavy concentrations of the largest companies within an ETF’s portfolio. Simply by shifting to a different weighting method, you can get much more actual diversification in your ETF. 10 stocks we like better than Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF › Exchange-traded funds, and index mutual funds before them, were designed with a basic objective in mind: mimic the returns of popular stock market averages. The reason why funds designed to track the S&P 500 Index have attracted so much capital is because you can't find a simpler way to get stock market exposure without having to do any stock-picking or research. Buy the ETF and match the market's return. Recently, though, the popularity of index investing has contributed to a phenomenon that ironically has made these index-tracking ETFs less effective in providing actual diversification. Because of the particular methodology that the S&P 500 and many other popular stock benchmarks use in determining how much of any given stock to buy, many of the biggest index ETFs now have surprisingly concentrated stock portfolios. For those whose entire purpose in choosing an ETF was to avoid concentration, that's a surprise. 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 » Fortunately, there's an ETF that offers an elegant solution to the problem of concentration. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEMKT: RSP) avoids the problems that other S&P ETFs have with just one simple tweak to the rules most funds follow. As the Voyager Portfolio continues to look at some of the most popular ETFs in the investing universe, it's natural to turn your attention to the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF and the advantages it has over its rivals. The f...
The AI arms race still seems to be in play as the great AI data center buildout moves ahead, while demand for AI “compute” remains off the charts. With Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) top boss Jensen Huang taking to the stage for the annual GTC conference, there’s sure to be a lot of action in the AI ... The AI Arms Race Is Shifting Again—These 2 “Picks and Shovels” Plays are Worth Adding to the Radar
The AI arms race still seems to be in play as the great AI data center buildout moves ahead, while demand for AI “compute” remains off the charts. With Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) top boss Jensen Huang taking to the stage for the annual GTC conference, there’s sure to be a lot of action in the AI ... The AI Arms Race Is Shifting Again—These 2 “Picks and Shovels” Plays are Worth Adding to the Radar
In trading on Tuesday, packaging & containers shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1%. Helping drag down the group were shares of Eightco Holdings, down about 13.2% and shares of Graphic Packaging Holding off about 0.6% on the day. Also lagging the market Tuesday are metals fabrication & products shares, down on the day by about 0.9% as a group, led down by Ampco-Pittsburgh, tra...
In trading on Tuesday, packaging & containers shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1%. Helping drag down the group were shares of Eightco Holdings, down about 13.2% and shares of Graphic Packaging Holding off about 0.6% on the day. Also lagging the market Tuesday are metals fabrication & products shares, down on the day by about 0.9% as a group, led down by Ampco-Pittsburgh, trading lower by about 32.5% and Almonty Industries, trading lower by about 6.4%. VIDEO: Tuesday Sector Laggards: Packaging & Containers, Metals Fabrication & Products The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
In trading on Tuesday, cigarettes & tobacco shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 5.1%. Leading the group were shares of Ispire Technology, up about 27.4% and shares of Universal up about 1.5% on the day. Also showing relative strength are advertising shares, up on the day by about 4% as a group, led by Fluent, trading up by about 15.2% and Thryv Holdings, trading up by about 10.3% ...
In trading on Tuesday, cigarettes & tobacco shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 5.1%. Leading the group were shares of Ispire Technology, up about 27.4% and shares of Universal up about 1.5% on the day. Also showing relative strength are advertising shares, up on the day by about 4% as a group, led by Fluent, trading up by about 15.2% and Thryv Holdings, trading up by about 10.3% on Tuesday. VIDEO: Tuesday Sector Leaders: Cigarettes & Tobacco, Advertising Stocks The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
KLA KLAC is benefiting from strong spending in the Wafer Fabrication Equipment (“WFE”) market. The company expects the WFE market to grow from about $110 billion in 2025 to the mid-$130 billion range in 2026. The growth is driven by increasing demand for AI chips, advanced logic chips and memory such as DRAM. Higher WFE spending will benefit the company’s Semiconductor Process Control segment, whi...
KLA KLAC is benefiting from strong spending in the Wafer Fabrication Equipment (“WFE”) market. The company expects the WFE market to grow from about $110 billion in 2025 to the mid-$130 billion range in 2026. The growth is driven by increasing demand for AI chips, advanced logic chips and memory such as DRAM. Higher WFE spending will benefit the company’s Semiconductor Process Control segment, which accounted for 91.1% of second-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues. The segment sees higher demand for KLAC’s semiconductor manufacturing tools that are used inside wafer fabrication facilities. These tools include systems for rigorous defect inspection to detect wafer defects, metrology tools that measure tiny features during chip manufacturing and yield optimization solutions. As demand for AI chips grows exponentially, semiconductor manufacturers are spending more on WFE equipment, which increases demand for KLA’s process-control tools. WFE demand is supported by multiple growth vectors like Foundry/Logic, Memory, Advanced Packaging and Services, which drive demand for KLA tools, as these growth areas are directly linked to global WFE spending trends. In calendar 2025, KLA generated total systems revenues of $950 million, which jumped 70% year over year, primarily driven by advanced packaging revenue growth and market share gains. KLAC expects this momentum to continue in calendar 2026, with a year-over-year growth rate in the mid-to-high teens, driven by strong growth in process control products. Strong investments in WFE and advanced packaging represent a growth opportunity for the company. Growth in advanced packaging, supporting heterogeneous chip integration, has become a new market for KLA, which is currently worth $11 billion and expanding faster than core WFE. KLA now expects third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues of $3.35 billion (+/- $150 million), reflecting a modestly weak product mix on a sequential basis. The guidance reflects the rapidly escalating cost of DRAM chi...
krblokhin/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Ferrovial SE ( FER ) is a large multinational infrastructure company. It is largely staying under the radar of US investors. The company is pivoting to US toll roads to drive its growth. Not only that, this produces stable and reliable cash flows in a monopoly-like setting. This makes Ferrovial a leveraged bet on growing traffic congestion in North Ameri...
krblokhin/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Ferrovial SE ( FER ) is a large multinational infrastructure company. It is largely staying under the radar of US investors. The company is pivoting to US toll roads to drive its growth. Not only that, this produces stable and reliable cash flows in a monopoly-like setting. This makes Ferrovial a leveraged bet on growing traffic congestion in North America. Ferrovial is bidding for new US managed lanes projects. But, the current stock price comes with a lot of execution risk and reduced margin of safety. After the recent rally, I rate FER as HOLD as the stock is fully priced. Ferrovial Investment Profile Ferrovial is tracing its roots to Spain in 1952. In 2023 it moved its headquarters to Amsterdam. This helped the company secure a Nasdaq listing and inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index. Ferrovial derives over 40% of its revenues from North America. Ferrovial's Geographic Revenue Breakdown (Company's filings) At first impression, Ferrovial may look just like another construction company. Most of its revenues come from engineering and construction projects. But that's not what drives the company's profitability. Construction Highways Airports Energy Revenues €7,653 €1,374 €111 €339 EBITDA 511 989 36 3 EBITDA margin 6.7% 72.0% 32.4% 0.9% Click to enlarge Source: Company's filings; includes intersegment items and excludes corporate expenses Instead, FER's business strategy is increasingly relying on capital cycles with these steps: bid for and design infrastructure (airports, toll roads) finance and build it operate it under long-term concessions collect tolls and fees for many decades Many construction projects that turn into concession businesses involve a public-private partnership, or P3. After building infrastructure, Ferrovial gains a share of future tolls/fees for decades. This arrangement generates stable cash flows adjusted for inflation. On top of it, these roads and airports are irreplaceable assets and act like utili...
Roman Tiraspolsky/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Large investors, including KKR & Co. ( KKR ) and Blackstone ( BX ), rejected certain data center funding projects over a lack of sufficient insurance coverage, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times . Some lenders worry that insufficient insurance could leave them exposed to risks such as natural disasters, while others are conc...
Roman Tiraspolsky/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Large investors, including KKR & Co. ( KKR ) and Blackstone ( BX ), rejected certain data center funding projects over a lack of sufficient insurance coverage, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times . Some lenders worry that insufficient insurance could leave them exposed to risks such as natural disasters, while others are concerned about costly future disruptions in power or water supply, the Tuesday, March 17, report noted. Kimberly McGrath, a partner specializing in data center financing at law firm Kirkland & Ellis, reportedly told the newspaper that instead of covering full replacement costs of data centers, many construction-stage projects are currently insured against so-called maximum foreseeable loss. The maximum foreseeable loss calculates the highest damage a business could suffer based on certain assumptions, according to McGrath. Insurers such as Chubb ( CB ), Swiss Re ( SSREF ) ( SSREY ), and Zurich ( ZURVY ) ( ZFSVF ) are said to be limiting their exposure on any single site on the back of concerns about possible outages to the supply of power and water. Investors are struggling to obtain enough insurance because of a rapid increase in the size and value of the data center sites, brokers told the FT . More on KKR & Co., Blackstone KKR & Co: Crushed As Private Credit Fearmongering Goes Into Overdrive Wall Street Lunch: Private Credit Funds Face $10B Investor Exit Wave KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR) Presents at RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference 2026 Transcript Private credit funds face massive redemption wave as wealthy investors head for exits - FT Quant ratings roundup for firms exposed to private credit as concerns grow
putilich/iStock via Getty Images Investment Summary The story that PubMatic's ( PUBM ) management conveys is the following: they showcase strong CTV and mobile growth numbers, they see revenue from emerging revenue rapidly scaling, with other revenue boosters (AI, AgenticOS, Activate, their in-house infrastructure) that bring optionality. They see growth resuming in H2/26 as a consequence of that ...
putilich/iStock via Getty Images Investment Summary The story that PubMatic's ( PUBM ) management conveys is the following: they showcase strong CTV and mobile growth numbers, they see revenue from emerging revenue rapidly scaling, with other revenue boosters (AI, AgenticOS, Activate, their in-house infrastructure) that bring optionality. They see growth resuming in H2/26 as a consequence of that resuming traction. So far, the numbers are telling a different story. Revenue growth has been minimal since 2022, with FY25 being down versus FY24, and Q4/25 being down YoY, showcasing decent numbers partially thanks to seasonality that typically benefits AdTech businesses in the last quarter of the year. Now management is guiding for a weak Q1/26. With no full-year guidance and the announced turnaround not yet being visible in the financials, we see a disconnect between the metrics highlighted by management and what the market still sees, namely fairly lumpy revenue and a still unproven inflection. PubMatic is not a broken company, but we do not see it as a compelling buy either as of today. The stock may be cheap for a reason. Let us try to see whether the new growth engines they're putting in place can offset the structural pressures they are facing. Business Overview PubMatic sits in the middle of the programmatic chain as a Sell-Side Platform (SSP, the Ad Inventory's sellers' tool) between Demand-Side Platforms (DSP, the Ad Inventory's buyers' tool) and Ad Publishers. Their SSP helps publishers monetize their inventory by running auctions and connecting supply to advertiser demand. They are active across display, mobile, video and Connected TV (CTV). They are essentially an intermediary with long-standing integrations with many DSPs, embedded in the workflows of thousands of publishers. They are connected to over 100k sites and apps, with 28 of the top 30 global streams, to more than 450 CTV publishers and to over 250 data partners. In FY25 they processed 337T impressi...