If ever there was a TV show that you’d think should be left at a single season, it would be Jury Duty. The Amazon series became a slow-burning, word-of-mouth hit through 2023 for pulling off a frankly unbelievable stunt: successfully convincing one man, Ronald Gladden, that he was taking part in an LA courtroom documentary when, actually, everything about the process was staged and he was the only...
If ever there was a TV show that you’d think should be left at a single season, it would be Jury Duty. The Amazon series became a slow-burning, word-of-mouth hit through 2023 for pulling off a frankly unbelievable stunt: successfully convincing one man, Ronald Gladden, that he was taking part in an LA courtroom documentary when, actually, everything about the process was staged and he was the only participant who was not an actor. Despite the continual escalations from the cast (including the actor James Marsden, playing an arrogant parody of himself roped into jury service) and the ever-present risk of Gladden cottoning on and toppling the entire production, somehow the makers manage to maintain the ruse for long enough for the “jury” to return a verdict. Not only was 30-year-old Gladden not even a little bit peeved when the deception was revealed; the resulting comedy also managed to be warm, kind and genuinely funny. Jury Duty even won a Peabody award for proving that reality television could “bring out the best” in people. So when a second season was announced, the response – even from fans – was one of trepidation. Jury Duty had been a critical and commercial success, making the hoax extremely hard to restage. Even if it were possible, surely you couldn’t hope to find a second solid-gold gem like Ronald Gladden? Even the makers had their doubts, says director Jake Szymanski over Zoom. “We did not know if it could be done again … It is a lot of work, and there’s a lot of risk.” But, somehow, they’ve pulled it off. Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat follows 25-year-old Anthony Norman from Nashville, a temp worker hired (like Gladden) via Craigslist to support a family-owned hot sauce company on its annual retreat. When his manager abruptly takes flight, Norman is thrown in at the deep end, tasked with being “Captain Fun” to his new and eccentric co-workers. If that wasn’t enough, the company’s founder is preparing to step down; Norman finds himself responsible f...
Find winning stocks in any market cycle. Join 7 million investors using Simply Wall St's investing ideas for FREE. Microsoft (MSFT) stock is in focus after reports it may sue Amazon and OpenAI over a US$50b cloud deal that could weaken Azure’s exclusive role in commercializing OpenAI’s enterprise Frontier platform. See our latest analysis for Microsoft. Despite a busy few weeks of AI partnerships,...
Find winning stocks in any market cycle. Join 7 million investors using Simply Wall St's investing ideas for FREE. Microsoft (MSFT) stock is in focus after reports it may sue Amazon and OpenAI over a US$50b cloud deal that could weaken Azure’s exclusive role in commercializing OpenAI’s enterprise Frontier platform. See our latest analysis for Microsoft. Despite a busy few weeks of AI partnerships, product updates and now a potential dispute over OpenAI’s US$50b Frontier deal, Microsoft’s recent share price return has been under pressure. Its 90 day share price return is 19.05% and its year to date share price return is 17.16% in the red, even as the 1 year total shareholder return of 1.80% and 3 year total shareholder return of 47.29% point to a much stronger longer run picture. If you are looking beyond Microsoft and want to see how other AI infrastructure names are trading, it can be useful to scan the broader opportunity set using our AI infrastructure stocks screener, starting with 34 AI infrastructure stocks. With Microsoft trading below many analyst valuation estimates and carrying a value score of 5, the question is whether current weakness reflects an undervalued AI heavyweight, or if the market is already factoring in much of its future growth. Most Popular Narrative: 6.7% Undervalued At a last close of $391.79 against a fair value of $420.00 in the most followed narrative, Microsoft is framed as modestly undervalued, with that view built on concerns about how its AI push, Windows franchise and capital spending interact over time. Microsoft is currently digging away the foundation that makes it different. It is trapped in a perfect storm, losing the AI tech war to Google, burning cash on infrastructure without guaranteed ROI, cannibalizing its own seat-based revenue, and antagonizing users with a buggy, bloatware-filled operating system. The ship is massive, and momentum will carry it forward for years. But if Microsoft continues to sell an inferior, job-de...
Find winning stocks in any market cycle. Join 7 million investors using Simply Wall St's investing ideas for FREE. Microsoft (MSFT) stock is in focus after reports it may sue Amazon and OpenAI over a US$50b cloud deal that could weaken Azure’s exclusive role in commercializing OpenAI’s enterprise Frontier platform. See our latest analysis for Microsoft. Despite a busy few weeks of AI partnerships,...
Find winning stocks in any market cycle. Join 7 million investors using Simply Wall St's investing ideas for FREE. Microsoft (MSFT) stock is in focus after reports it may sue Amazon and OpenAI over a US$50b cloud deal that could weaken Azure’s exclusive role in commercializing OpenAI’s enterprise Frontier platform. See our latest analysis for Microsoft. Despite a busy few weeks of AI partnerships, product updates and now a potential dispute over OpenAI’s US$50b Frontier deal, Microsoft’s recent share price return has been under pressure. Its 90 day share price return is 19.05% and its year to date share price return is 17.16% in the red, even as the 1 year total shareholder return of 1.80% and 3 year total shareholder return of 47.29% point to a much stronger longer run picture. If you are looking beyond Microsoft and want to see how other AI infrastructure names are trading, it can be useful to scan the broader opportunity set using our AI infrastructure stocks screener, starting with 34 AI infrastructure stocks. With Microsoft trading below many analyst valuation estimates and carrying a value score of 5, the question is whether current weakness reflects an undervalued AI heavyweight, or if the market is already factoring in much of its future growth. Most Popular Narrative: 6.7% Undervalued At a last close of $391.79 against a fair value of $420.00 in the most followed narrative, Microsoft is framed as modestly undervalued, with that view built on concerns about how its AI push, Windows franchise and capital spending interact over time. Microsoft is currently digging away the foundation that makes it different. It is trapped in a perfect storm, losing the AI tech war to Google, burning cash on infrastructure without guaranteed ROI, cannibalizing its own seat-based revenue, and antagonizing users with a buggy, bloatware-filled operating system. The ship is massive, and momentum will carry it forward for years. But if Microsoft continues to sell an inferior, job-de...
is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Soon, some of TikTok’s biggest personalities are going to be launching new streaming series on Tubi. Today, Tubi and TikTok announced that they are w...
is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Soon, some of TikTok’s biggest personalities are going to be launching new streaming series on Tubi. Today, Tubi and TikTok announced that they are working together to launch a new Creatorverse Incubator that will help content creators produce long form original series for the Fox-owned streaming service. Once selected for the program, a group of Tiktokkers will work with Tubi to develop a variety of scripted and unscripted (think competition / dating / game shows) projects covering a number of different genres. In a statement about the initiative, Tubi said that it plans to announce its first cohort of participants some time later this summer. TikTok’s global head of entertainment partnerships Dawn Yang also stressed that the company sees the incubator as another way of “empowering creators on our platform and throughout their career journey.” ”Our creators have built deeply engaged audiences on TikTok, and our partnership with Tubi will give the next generation of entertainers more opportunities to expand their audiences, tell bigger stories, and turn their creativity into lasting impact,” Yang said. The Creatorverse Incubator sounds a bit like Tubi’s Stubios initiative, which gave up-and-coming filmmakers an opportunity to develop new streaming projects whose funding was contingent on hitting certain fan engagement metrics. While the Stubios program has featured social media stars, the Creatorverse Incubator seems like it’s going to be much more focused on directly capitalizing on its participants’ previous success on TikTok. That makes some sense in a media environment where more studios are beginning to invest in TikTok-inspired vertical videos. But Tubi’s emphasis on the incubator being meant for long form content...
After Six Nations, focus back on clubs with Saracens’ director of rugby saying ‘there’s everything to play for’ Remember the Prem? It’s been in hibernation almost as long as your tortoise. The last sighting of England’s elite men’s domestic league was on 24 January but now, finally, it is re-emerging from the shadows of the Six Nations , starting under the Friday night lights at the Rec where seco...
After Six Nations, focus back on clubs with Saracens’ director of rugby saying ‘there’s everything to play for’ Remember the Prem? It’s been in hibernation almost as long as your tortoise. The last sighting of England’s elite men’s domestic league was on 24 January but now, finally, it is re-emerging from the shadows of the Six Nations , starting under the Friday night lights at the Rec where second-placed Bath are hosting sixth-placed Saracens. It has certainly felt like a protracted hiatus, even if the lower-profile Prem Cup has taken up some slack. And with only eight regular season rounds remaining every would-be playoff contender has no choice but to hit the ground running. As Bath’s head coach, Johann van Graan, says: “It doesn’t really matter what you’ve done before. It’s about what you do going forward.” Which, up to a point, is true. The race to make the top four still has six realistic candidates separated by only 11 points. Given the lack of relegation in a 10-team-league, though, the organisers will be praying for a compelling run-in with Sale Sharks, Gloucester, Harlequins and Newcastle Red Bulls already trailing the rest of the peloton. The good news is that a spectacular Six Nations has raised rugby’s profile at just the right time. Next week is being billed as the Big Match Bonanza, with a triple-header of games scheduled for Villa Park, Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. By then a few more battered England squad members should be back out on the field, including the national captain Maro Itoje and Jamie George. Reducing the number of fallow Six Nations weeks from two to one may have assisted the tournament’s momentum but, inevitably, there is a knock-on effect. Ben Spencer, though, is back to lead Bath just six days after playing for England in Paris and Scotland’s Finn Russell, too, is straight in at 10. Guy Pepper and Sam Underhill are on the bench, while Elliot Daly starts for Sarries. The two clubs, as it happens, are ...
primeimages/iStock via Getty Images The iShares National Muni Bond ETF ( MUB ) is in focus today as we dial in on an asset class that I find highly appealing in the current market climate. I believe municipal bonds will provide excellent risk-adjusted value to fixed-income investors during this period of global uncertainty. Municipal bond vehicles are available in abundance. However, I find the MU...
primeimages/iStock via Getty Images The iShares National Muni Bond ETF ( MUB ) is in focus today as we dial in on an asset class that I find highly appealing in the current market climate. I believe municipal bonds will provide excellent risk-adjusted value to fixed-income investors during this period of global uncertainty. Municipal bond vehicles are available in abundance. However, I find the MUB ETF particularly appealing. I last covered the vehicle in June 2025, where I assigned a bullish outlook on the basis of its risk-adjusted value versus corporate credit. Why I'm Bullish TEY Is Competing With Corporate Bond Yields I'm attracted to municipal bonds at this stage of the credit cycle due to their relative value attributes and moderate credit risk sensitivity. For example, MUB ETF has a tax-equivalent yield of ~5.37%, which is roughly 12 basis points higher than the aggregate yield on U.S. investment-grade corporate bonds. I find the phenomenon particularly impressive, given the fact that MUB ETF has 14.80 basis points in option-adjusted credit sensitivity, which is much lower than AAA corporate bonds' 43 basis points –low credit sensitivity is arguably suitable to the current market environment, given that perceived global economic risk has risen during a period of compressed credit spreads. Side note: As visible in figure 1, MUB ETF maintains investment-grade exposure with an emphasis on AA and AA. These ratings may change as time passes. In addition, MUB ETF has a duration of 6.41, which may differ from aggregate corporate bond durations. Figure 1 (iShares) Furthermore, MUB ETF possesses strong relative value properties compared to Treasury yields, echoed by its TEY of 5.37% being ~115 basis points higher than the U.S. 10-year yield , ~135 basis points higher than the U.S. 7-year yield, and 155 basis points higher than the 5-year yield. What's particularly impressive is that municipal TEYs are higher without on-boarding much credit risk. For example, MUB ETF ...
This past Monday morning, Dollar Tree (DLTR 3.92%) released its fourth-quarter earnings, reporting solid revenue and earnings. Net sales rose 9% to $5.5 billion, and same-store sales rose 5%, while diluted earnings climbed 38% to $2.56 a share. And the company opened 402 new Dollar Tree stores in 2025 while divesting its Family Dollar chain, which didn't perform as well. It now has more than 9,000...
This past Monday morning, Dollar Tree (DLTR 3.92%) released its fourth-quarter earnings, reporting solid revenue and earnings. Net sales rose 9% to $5.5 billion, and same-store sales rose 5%, while diluted earnings climbed 38% to $2.56 a share. And the company opened 402 new Dollar Tree stores in 2025 while divesting its Family Dollar chain, which didn't perform as well. It now has more than 9,000 locations. Management said it expects net sales to rise to about $20.6 billion for full-year 2026, up slightly from $19.4 billion last year. And it plans to open an additional 400 stores this year while closing about 75. Dollar Tree stock jumped 6.4% after its earnings release. Could there be more upside for investors ahead? Expand NASDAQ : DLTR Dollar Tree Today's Change ( -3.92 %) $ -4.39 Current Price $ 107.45 Key Data Points Market Cap $21B Day's Range $ 106.56 - $ 110.92 52wk Range $ 61.87 - $ 142.40 Volume 106K Avg Vol 3.1M Gross Margin 36.40 % Higher-income shoppers are flocking to Dollar Tree stores The best news may be coming down the pike. The company is repricing its merchandise to sell more items in the $3-$5 range, especially toys and party supplies. Why? Because its customer mix is changing, and these customers can afford more expensive items. Dollar Tree, like many discount chains, is seeing an influx of shoppers with higher incomes. And the company is moving into wealthier areas, too, as its popularity grows among customers who earn $100,000 or more. The company claims that last quarter, 60% of its customers had income that high. The increase in higher-income customers is not unique to Dollar Tree. Since prices soared during the bout of COVID-19 pandemic-related inflation a few years ago, lots more affluent Americans have drifted to retailers like Dollar Tree, Aldi, Five Below, and Walmart. They may not do all their shopping at these chains, but they are making them part of their broader shopping routines. Wage gains have largely caught up with higher price...
Key Points In a challenging economy, higher-income shoppers are flocking to discount chains. Dollar Tree has moved to reprice its merchandise to take advantage of this trend. 10 stocks we like better than Dollar Tree › This past Monday morning, Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) released its fourth-quarter earnings, reporting solid revenue and earnings. Net sales rose 9% to $5.5 billion, and same-store sa...
Key Points In a challenging economy, higher-income shoppers are flocking to discount chains. Dollar Tree has moved to reprice its merchandise to take advantage of this trend. 10 stocks we like better than Dollar Tree › This past Monday morning, Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) released its fourth-quarter earnings, reporting solid revenue and earnings. Net sales rose 9% to $5.5 billion, and same-store sales rose 5%, while diluted earnings climbed 38% to $2.56 a share. And the company opened 402 new Dollar Tree stores in 2025 while divesting its Family Dollar chain, which didn't perform as well. It now has more than 9,000 locations. Management said it expects net sales to rise to about $20.6 billion for full-year 2026, up slightly from $19.4 billion last year. And it plans to open an additional 400 stores this year while closing about 75. 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 » Dollar Tree stock jumped 6.4% after its earnings release. Could there be more upside for investors ahead? Higher-income shoppers are flocking to Dollar Tree stores The best news may be coming down the pike. The company is repricing its merchandise to sell more items in the $3-$5 range, especially toys and party supplies. Why? Because its customer mix is changing, and these customers can afford more expensive items. Dollar Tree, like many discount chains, is seeing an influx of shoppers with higher incomes. And the company is moving into wealthier areas, too, as its popularity grows among customers who earn $100,000 or more. The company claims that last quarter, 60% of its customers had income that high. The increase in higher-income customers is not unique to Dollar Tree. Since prices soared during the bout of COVID-19 pandemic-related inflation a few years ago, lots more affluent Americans have drifted to retailers like Do...