Intel’s remarkable rally reflects growing investor confidence in the company’s turnaround efforts and its expanding role in the AI infrastructure boom.
Intel’s remarkable rally reflects growing investor confidence in the company’s turnaround efforts and its expanding role in the AI infrastructure boom.
Aleksander Tumko/iStock via Getty Images Summary During the first quarter of 2026, the Polen 5Perspectives Small-Mid Growth Composite Portfolio returned -3.4% gross and -3.6% net of fees, respectively, compared to the -3.5% return of the Russell 2500 Growth Index. The top contributors to relative performance in the period were Sandisk Corp. ( SNDK ), Bloom Energy ( BE ), and TechnipFMC ( FTI ). Th...
Aleksander Tumko/iStock via Getty Images Summary During the first quarter of 2026, the Polen 5Perspectives Small-Mid Growth Composite Portfolio returned -3.4% gross and -3.6% net of fees, respectively, compared to the -3.5% return of the Russell 2500 Growth Index. The top contributors to relative performance in the period were Sandisk Corp. ( SNDK ), Bloom Energy ( BE ), and TechnipFMC ( FTI ). The most significant detractors from the Portfolio's relative performance in the quarter were SoFi Technologies ( SOFI ), Figure Technology Solutions ( FIGR ), and Affirm Holdings ( AFRM ). Volatility was a defining feature of the first quarter, with rapidly shifting narratives. Over the quarter, the wall of worry emerged starting with AI related disruption in software and the related "HALO" trade, mounting private credit concerns, and in the final month of the quarter, geopolitical risk given the onset of the war in Iran. The heightened volatility will likely remain a feature of markets for the foreseeable future. If ever having a dynamic process to a constantly changing opportunity set was important, this year has put that on full display. As of 3-31-2026, the Polen U.S. SMID Cap Growth strategy has been renamed to Polen 5Perspectives Small-Mid Growth. 1 Performance shown represents results achieved at prior firms. The Polen 5Perspectives Small-Mid Growth strategy (the "Strategy") began in October 2005 and was managed by Cupps Capital until October 2016 at which time it was transitioned to Advisory Research Investment Management. In March 2024, it transitioned to Bosun Asset Management, and subsequently in June 2025, it transitioned to Polen Capital. Andrew Cupps has served as the portfolio manager of the Strategy since inception. Mr. Cupps has been supported in his role as portfolio manager by various individuals, including Kevin Leitner and Chris Bush. Mr. Leitner has worked on the Strategy since inception. Mr. Bush began working on the Strategy in 2007. At all times duri...
Sila Damrongsaringkan/iStock via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash Inflation surged to its highest level in nearly three years in April as the headline Consumer Price Index reached 3.8% year-over-year. This marks a sharp acceleration from March's 3.3% reading, and came in slightly above the 3.7% consensus forecast. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.6%, as expected. The spike was drive by wide...
Sila Damrongsaringkan/iStock via Getty Images By Jennifer Nash Inflation surged to its highest level in nearly three years in April as the headline Consumer Price Index reached 3.8% year-over-year. This marks a sharp acceleration from March's 3.3% reading, and came in slightly above the 3.7% consensus forecast. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.6%, as expected. The spike was drive by widespread increases across several categories such as energy (+3.8%), shelter (+0.6%), and food (+0.5%). On a "core basis," which excludes volatile food and energy prices, the data showed more moderation. Core prices rose 2.8% year-over-year and 0.4% month-over-month. Both figures came in above their respective forecasts of 2.7% and 0.3%. Here is the introduction from the BLS summary, which leads with the seasonally adjusted monthly data: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, after rising 0.9 percent in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.8 percent before seasonal adjustment. The index for energy rose 3.8 percent in April, accounting for over forty percent of the monthly all items increase. The shelter index also increased in April, rising 0.6 percent. The index for food increased 0.5 percent over the month as the index for food at home rose 0.7 percent and the index for food away from home increased 0.2 percent. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.4 percent in April. Indexes that increased over the month include household furnishings and operations, airline fares, personal care, apparel, and education. Conversely, the indexes for new vehicles, communication, and medical care were among the major indexes that decreased in April. The all items index rose 3.8 percent for the 12 months ending April, after rising 3.3 percent for the 12 months ending March. The all items less food and energy index rose 2.8 ...
Just_Super/E+ via Getty Images The semiconductor sector has seen huge gains over the past year, but in the last month, many stocks have seen parabolic moves that have brought back memories of the stock market in 1999, when the dot-com bubble was in full swing and sending many tech stocks to levels that seemed unsustainable. It turned out to be just that as the stock market crashed in 2000. There s...
Just_Super/E+ via Getty Images The semiconductor sector has seen huge gains over the past year, but in the last month, many stocks have seen parabolic moves that have brought back memories of the stock market in 1999, when the dot-com bubble was in full swing and sending many tech stocks to levels that seemed unsustainable. It turned out to be just that as the stock market crashed in 2000. There seems to be a level of euphoria over the AI revolution right now that is similar to the excitement felt by many investors during the dot-com boom. There have been incredible gains with so many tech stocks lately, in particular with the memory sector, and it is looking very frothy and similar to the type of price action that develops during the final stages of a bull market. This is frequently described as being a blow-off top. I was an early investor in a number of chip and memory stocks, and I believed it made sense to buy these stocks at much lower levels. However, I think valuations are very stretched to the point whereby we could see a major correction in tech stocks, which could also cause the entire market to plunge, especially since tech stocks now represent a huge weighting in the S&P 500 Index ( SPY ) and other major market indexes. Let's take a look below at why the huge recent gains in chip stocks could be a sign of a market top, which could ultimately end with a major market correction. The Charts As shown in the chart below, semiconductor stocks have been on a nearly relentless rally for the past couple of years and have made a parabolic move in the past few wee ks. The iShares Semiconductor ETF ( SOXX ) has sur ged from the low $300 level all the way to around $520 per share. I think it is worth noting that in late 2022, SOXX was trading for less than $100 per share, and with the recent surge, it is now more than 5x that level. The chart also shows that this sector is extremely overbought, as it now trades well above the 50-day moving average of around $383 and...
Ahead of its Q1 earnings result, Nebius ( NBIS ) announced on Tuesday that the company broke ground on its flagship AI factory campus in Independence, Missouri – its first gigawatt-scale digital infrastructure project in the US. The AI cloud company stated that it started the construction of the multi-building AI factory on approximately 400 acres in eastern Independence . Nebius already operates ...
Ahead of its Q1 earnings result, Nebius ( NBIS ) announced on Tuesday that the company broke ground on its flagship AI factory campus in Independence, Missouri – its first gigawatt-scale digital infrastructure project in the US. The AI cloud company stated that it started the construction of the multi-building AI factory on approximately 400 acres in eastern Independence . Nebius already operates in the Kansas City area and sees the Independence AI factory as a critical next step in its long-term growth in the US. The company stated that the new facility is expected to create approximately 1,200 construction jobs and 130 permanent high-tech positions at full operation. Additionally, Nebius added that its Independence investment is also expected to generate $650M in tax payments to local school districts and taxing jurisdictions over the next 20 years. “Projects like this are built for the long term, and we are committed to developing this facility in a way that directly benefits Independence,” said Nebius Board Chairman, John Boynton . “We want to create lasting opportunities, act as a good partner with the community, and set a standard for developing AI and digital infrastructure responsibly.” More on Nebius Group Nebius Q1 Preview: The $18B Question Nebius: 2 Warnings From CoreWeave's Q1 2026 Earnings Nebius Q1: One Number May Settle The CapEx Funding Debate Nebius Group Q1 Preview: Capex deployment, ARR trends in focus Quant snapshot: Beachbody, Deutsche Telekom among top-rated names as IceCure Medical, Fold Holdings lag
OpenAI is facing down another wrongful-death lawsuit after ChatGPT told a 19-year-old, Sam Nelson, to take a lethal mix of Kratom and Xanax. According to a complaint filed on behalf of Nelson's parents, Leila Turner-Scott and Angus Scott, Nelson trusted ChatGPT as a tool to "safely" experiment with drugs after using the chatbot for years as a go-to search engine when he was in high school. The tee...
OpenAI is facing down another wrongful-death lawsuit after ChatGPT told a 19-year-old, Sam Nelson, to take a lethal mix of Kratom and Xanax. According to a complaint filed on behalf of Nelson's parents, Leila Turner-Scott and Angus Scott, Nelson trusted ChatGPT as a tool to "safely" experiment with drugs after using the chatbot for years as a go-to search engine when he was in high school. The teen viewed ChatGPT so highly as an authoritative source of information that he once swore to his mom that ChatGPT had access to "everything on the Internet," so it "had to be right," when she questioned if the chatbot was always reliable, the complaint said. Read full article Comments
CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) has had a phenomenal 2026. Its stock is up nearly 60% since the start of the year, but nearly all of that rally started once the calendar flipped to April. With returns like that, investors would be forgiven if they thought they had missed the best of CoreWeave's stock, but once you look at its growth rates, it may cause investors to take another look. The reality is that ...
CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) has had a phenomenal 2026. Its stock is up nearly 60% since the start of the year, but nearly all of that rally started once the calendar flipped to April. With returns like that, investors would be forgiven if they thought they had missed the best of CoreWeave's stock, but once you look at its growth rates, it may cause investors to take another look. The reality is that CoreWeave's business is rapidly expanding, which usually warrants a rapidly increasing stock price. That's exactly what we're seeing, but has the stock run up too far, too fast? Or is the growth driving this rise? Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Trump Ready To Raise "Core Of China's Core Interests" In Xi Summit: Daily Schedule & What To Expect Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to raise the issue of increasingly costly US arms transfers to Taiwan during their bilateral summit at the end of this week, spanning Thursday through Friday. Taiwan of course remains the "core of China's core interests" - as Beijing has in the recent past ch...
Trump Ready To Raise "Core Of China's Core Interests" In Xi Summit: Daily Schedule & What To Expect Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to raise the issue of increasingly costly US arms transfers to Taiwan during their bilateral summit at the end of this week, spanning Thursday through Friday. Taiwan of course remains the "core of China's core interests" - as Beijing has in the recent past characterized the issue . While Trump officials have previewed that it will be focused on trade and investment, the White House too is reportedly placing Taiwan and regional geopolitical hot button issues on the agenda. "I'm going to have that discussion with President Xi," Trump told reporters at the White House, specifically on the question of weapons sales. "President Xi would like us not to, and I’ll have that discussion. That's one of the many things I’ll be talking about." via Reuters Also there's the looming question of the future of the Iran war and blockaded Strait of Hormuz. Currently there's a stalemated situation and supposed ceasefire which is barely holding. By many accounts, Trump was hopeful that the Iran 'excursion' would be wrapped up by now, but it now seems to be sliding into protracted quagmire - critics point out. The WSJ says that Beijing is feeling confident as it prepares to receive Trump and what's looking to be a rather large entourage : But behind the scenes, Beijing feels more emboldened, and more insistent on defending areas it regards as vital to its long-term strategic interests. These include resisting U.S. pressure to relax its grip over global supply chains and fundamentally rebalance trade between the two countries. They also include urging Washington to look the other way as it pressures Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own, and as it projects military power across Asia. “They feel very well about how last year played out,” said Jonathan Czin, a fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution and a former U.S. ...
PM accused of dragging heels on forcing tech firms to block transmission of nude photos on children’s phones Internet safety and children’s rights campaigners say they have been frustrated for months by Keir Starmer’s lack of leadership on blocking child abuse images on children’s phones, speaking out after Jess Phillips resigned from the government saying she was tired of seeing “opportunities fo...
PM accused of dragging heels on forcing tech firms to block transmission of nude photos on children’s phones Internet safety and children’s rights campaigners say they have been frustrated for months by Keir Starmer’s lack of leadership on blocking child abuse images on children’s phones, speaking out after Jess Phillips resigned from the government saying she was tired of seeing “opportunities for progress stalled and delayed”. The influential Labour politician was one of four ministers who quit on Tuesday and joined more than 80 MPs to have called for the prime minister to go. Continue reading...
OpenAI has agreed to cap the total revenue it shares with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) at $38 billion through 2030, down sharply from a prior arrangement that could have generated as much as $135 billion in cumulative payments for the software giant, according to people familiar with the...
OpenAI has agreed to cap the total revenue it shares with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) at $38 billion through 2030, down sharply from a prior arrangement that could have generated as much as $135 billion in cumulative payments for the software giant, according to people familiar with the...
Shiseido Company press release ( SSDOY ): Q1 net sales of ¥232B (+3.7% Y/Y). Core operating profit of ¥13B. More on Shiseido Company Top and bottom quant-rated midcap consumer staple stocks after latest quarterly results Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Shiseido Company Historical earnings data for Shiseido Company Dividend scorecard for Shiseido Company Financial information for Shiseido Company
Shiseido Company press release ( SSDOY ): Q1 net sales of ¥232B (+3.7% Y/Y). Core operating profit of ¥13B. More on Shiseido Company Top and bottom quant-rated midcap consumer staple stocks after latest quarterly results Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Shiseido Company Historical earnings data for Shiseido Company Dividend scorecard for Shiseido Company Financial information for Shiseido Company