Getty Images Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Ford gets love for hyperscaler opportunity , not cars. (0:15) Cisco leads Dow as AI infrastructure demand boosts earnings. (1:31) Retail sales rise as tax refunds cushion spending. (1:50) This is an abridged transcript of the podcast: Our top story so far, Ford Motor ( F ) is rallying again after posting its biggest one-day gain ...
Getty Images Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Ford gets love for hyperscaler opportunity , not cars. (0:15) Cisco leads Dow as AI infrastructure demand boosts earnings. (1:31) Retail sales rise as tax refunds cushion spending. (1:50) This is an abridged transcript of the podcast: Our top story so far, Ford Motor ( F ) is rallying again after posting its biggest one-day gain in six years. But it’s not the “Motor” driving the move. Investors are focusing on Ford’s partnership with Chinese battery giant CATL and the potential to supply battery energy storage systems to utilities, data centers and commercial customers in the U.S. Morgan Stanley said the market may be underestimating Ford’s push into energy storage. Analyst Daniela Haigian wrote that investors are overlooking the opportunity to improve profitability in Ford’s Model e segment, adding that the company’s licensing agreement with CATL is a competitive advantage not fully reflected in the stock. She sees a strong likelihood that Ford signs an ESS supply agreement with large commercial customers — potentially including hyperscalers — in the coming months. Haigian estimates Ford Energy could be worth $10B, based on a 17.5x multiple applied to roughly $588M of EBIT once capacity reaches 20 gigawatt-hours. Among other active stocks, Take-Two Interactive ( TTWO ) is rallying in premarket trade as investors look ahead to the November 26 launch of Grand Theft Auto 6. Speculation is building that a third trailer could drop on May 18, alongside the start of pre-orders. While Take-Two has not confirmed the timing, Best Buy ( BBY ) affiliates reportedly received emails indicating pre-orders may run from May 18 through May 21. Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) is leading the Dow after earnings , with analysts highlighting its Silicon One platform as a competitive edge amid strong AI infrastructure demand and supply-chain constraints. POET Technologies ( POET ) is surging after announcing an optical networking...
Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in PulteGroup Inc (Symbol: PHM), where a total volume of 10,710 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately
Looking at options trading activity among components of the S&P 500 index, there is noteworthy activity today in PulteGroup Inc (Symbol: PHM), where a total volume of 10,710 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately
In this article .SPX .NDX .VIX Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 1:39 01:39 Volatility reaction to tech rip: Here's what options traders are looking at Squawk on the Street Stocks are rallying so fast it's creating a volatility dynamic that's only been seen four times in history — and equity prices kept climbing following each instance. Implied volatility in the S&P 5...
In this article .SPX .NDX .VIX Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 1:39 01:39 Volatility reaction to tech rip: Here's what options traders are looking at Squawk on the Street Stocks are rallying so fast it's creating a volatility dynamic that's only been seen four times in history — and equity prices kept climbing following each instance. Implied volatility in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 has held firm despite record after record, with the VIX little changed since slipping below 18 in mid-April despite the S&P 500 up 7% since. It's a byproduct of both aggressive call-buying in high-flying stocks and broad-market hedging by traders who see the VIX as a relative value to the implied volatility of popular sectors like tech and industry groups like semiconductors. This dynamic has gotten so extreme that the correlation between the Nasdaq 100 index and the price of its 1-month call is positive for only the fourth time in the past decade, according to an analysis by Goldman Sachs & Co. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Goldman Sachs The average return after the two connect positively is 2.7% over the following month, compared to the average 1-month return of 1.5% over the period studied. "Equity markets have crashed higher over the last month," Goldman's Brian Garrett wrote in a note to clients titled "Up Crash." "Many participants have suggested this is fuel for an unwind, but the data does not corroborate." At around 0.4, the current correlation is the highest since Jan. 2017, which could suggest even more potential bullish action ahead: 2017 was the calmest year in stock-market history as measured by the VIX, which touched an all-time low of 8.56 in Nov. '17. The S&P 500 notched a 20% rally that year, and the Nasdaq almost 32%. The catch: the following quarter – the first quarter of 2018 – was "Volmageddon," when the VIX surged to 50 and short-volatility ETFs imploded. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment ...
Suphanat Khumsap/iStock via Getty Images New Fortress Energy ( NFE ) secured permission from a U.K. court Thursday to arrange creditor votes on a sweeping restructuring that will see the vast majority of the company's debt load converted into equity, shifting ownership of the business to its lenders, Bloomberg reported. A London High Court judge allowed New Fortress Energy's ( NFE ) creditors, who...
Suphanat Khumsap/iStock via Getty Images New Fortress Energy ( NFE ) secured permission from a U.K. court Thursday to arrange creditor votes on a sweeping restructuring that will see the vast majority of the company's debt load converted into equity, shifting ownership of the business to its lenders, Bloomberg reported. A London High Court judge allowed New Fortress Energy's ( NFE ) creditors, who are owed $6.5B, to convene meetings to vote on two interlinked restructuring plans; if approved, the proposals would extinguish ~90% of the company's total debt. Under the plan, creditors would receive new equity in exchange, along with $971M of new debt instruments, Bloomberg reported; the group would be split into one entity housing New Fortress Energy's ( NFE ) assets and operations in Brazil, and another comprised of everything outside the country. Existing shareholders would retain a 35% stake in the remaining group, known as CoreCo, under the plan that has already gained the support of 97% of interested creditors. The sanction hearing, where the court will consider whether to approve the restructuring plan, is scheduled for June 18. More on New Fortress Energy New Fortress Energy: Existing Shareholders Draw Short Straw Under U.K. Restructuring Plan New Fortress Energy: Restructuring Leaves Limited Option Value For Common Shares New Fortress Energy Discusses Debt for Equity Exchange and Consensual Restructuring Plan - Slideshow
Nvidia Corp. shares rose on Thursday, extending a 20% rally over the past seven days as investors plow into the chipmakers profiting from a flood of investment spending on artificial intelligence. The stock rose as much as 4.7% to $236.47. The advance added more than $900 billion to its market capitalization and pushed it toward $6 trillion, a valuation no company has ever reached. The advance is ...
Nvidia Corp. shares rose on Thursday, extending a 20% rally over the past seven days as investors plow into the chipmakers profiting from a flood of investment spending on artificial intelligence. The stock rose as much as 4.7% to $236.47. The advance added more than $900 billion to its market capitalization and pushed it toward $6 trillion, a valuation no company has ever reached. The advance is the latest reflection of how intensely investors are gravitating toward perceived AI winners, with semiconductors at the epicenter of it. Nvidia has also drawn attention this week after Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang joined President Donald Trump on his visit to China as a last-minute addition. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index has soared nearly 70% since the end of March, while companies like Intel Corp. , Micron Technology Inc. , Advanced Micro Devices Inc. , and Broadcom Inc. have all seen sizable gains. The scale of the rally has increased concerns in some quarters that the stock market is being elevated by an AI bubble that could burst. Nvidia and Micron alone, for example, have accounted for more than 30% of the gain in the S&P 500 Index this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Thursday also saw an initial public offering from AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems Inc. , the largest this year. The demand was massive , with shares jumping as much as 109% after their debut.
Quantum computing is an emerging field promising to solve problems so complex that even the world's most powerful supercomputers would need longer than the age of the universe to crack them. Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) sits at the center of this exciting narrative. For a brief window, investors treated the company like the next great artificial intelligence (AI) play. But shortly after the st...
Quantum computing is an emerging field promising to solve problems so complex that even the world's most powerful supercomputers would need longer than the age of the universe to crack them. Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) sits at the center of this exciting narrative. For a brief window, investors treated the company like the next great artificial intelligence (AI) play. But shortly after the stock became a phenomenon, reality arrived. With shares now down 66% from all-time highs, here is what smart investors should understand before touching Rigetti stock . Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
PSMT Jonathan Kitchen/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Current Setup PriceSmart, Inc. ( PSMT ), for those unfamiliar, is a warehouse club retailer operating in Central America and the Caribbean, with corporate headquarters in San Diego, CA. The company has a successful 30-year track record, having grown from its initial location in Panama to 56 locations today. This research piece acknowledges P...
PSMT Jonathan Kitchen/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Current Setup PriceSmart, Inc. ( PSMT ), for those unfamiliar, is a warehouse club retailer operating in Central America and the Caribbean, with corporate headquarters in San Diego, CA. The company has a successful 30-year track record, having grown from its initial location in Panama to 56 locations today. This research piece acknowledges PSMT’s long-term track record while pointing to some nearer-term valuation and execution risk concerns embedded in the current stock price. The stock’s recently reported results appear to have benefitted, at least in part, from some unanticipated FX tailwinds. Longer-term consensus views imply a material increase in unit economics for the business. Execution risks against these objectives pose a concern at these valuation levels. Current valuation levels are stretched on an absolute basis, against PSMT’s own historical levels, and relative to the S&P 500. Trading near $158 at the time of this writing, shares of PSMT are up roughly 30% year to date in 2026, against the S&P 500 YTD return of ~9%. While the recent quarter’s results have been slightly better than expectations, we would call into question the outsized run in the stock, given the following concerns. Seeking Alpha At this level, PSMT trades at 29 times the Wall St. consensus EPS estimate of $5.45 per share for the upcoming fiscal year ending August 2026. That estimate represents growth of 13% vs. FY 2025. Contrast that with the broader S&P 500 index, where EPS is projected to grow ~15% for 2026 and valued at about 21 times that estimate. To add more context to the extent of PSMT’s stretched valuation here, the table below shows the company’s valuation over recent years as a function of actual warehouse clubs (operating as of the end of periods shown). SEC filings and TIKR As the data shows, coming out of the most recently reported quarter (ended Feb 2026), PSMT shares were valued almost 70% higher than the long-ter...
hernan4429/iStock via Getty Images U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that China will be working "behind the scenes" to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. “It’s very much in their interest to get the strait reopened,” Bessent told CNBC in an interview. “I think they will be working behind the scenes to the extent anyone has any say over the Iranian leadership.” CNBC not...
hernan4429/iStock via Getty Images U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that China will be working "behind the scenes" to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. “It’s very much in their interest to get the strait reopened,” Bessent told CNBC in an interview. “I think they will be working behind the scenes to the extent anyone has any say over the Iranian leadership.” CNBC noted that China imports over half of its oil from the Middle East, including around 10% from Iran. Bessent told CNBC that China accounts for nearly all of Iran's crude oil exports. “China has a much bigger interest in reopening the strait than the U.S. does,” Bessent added. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are currently engaged in a two-day summit in Beijing to discuss a wide range of economic and geopolitical issues. Earlier Thursday, a White House official said that both men have agreed the strait needs to be reopened. “The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy,” the White House official said, according to CNBC. “President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use.” More on SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, State Street® Energy Select Sector SPDR® ETF 6 Key Numbers Highlighting Continued Credit Deterioration Student Loan Defaults Surge As Treasury Assumes Collections April Retail Sales About As Expected - Consumers Spending At A Modest Pace Midday Need to Know: Initial jobless claims rises, Oil prices stabilize & more Deregulation could ease inflation pressures, Fed’s Miran says - CNBC interview
Mike Banks, who led Trump’s border crackdown, resigned weeks after reports of prostitution allegations Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Mike Banks, the border patrol chief who oversaw the most aggressive militarization of the US southern border in recent history, has resigned with immediate effect. “It’s just time,” Banks told Fox News in an interview. “I feel like I got the ship ...
Mike Banks, who led Trump’s border crackdown, resigned weeks after reports of prostitution allegations Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Mike Banks, the border patrol chief who oversaw the most aggressive militarization of the US southern border in recent history, has resigned with immediate effect. “It’s just time,” Banks told Fox News in an interview. “I feel like I got the ship back on course from the least secure, most disastrous, most chaotic border to the most secure border this country has ever seen.” Continue reading...
Nicolae Popescu Netflix ( NFLX ) is hiring producers, software engineers, and CG artists for a new AI-driven animation studio called INKubator, according to technology and entertainment newsletter Lowpass. The job listings classify INKubator as a “next-generation, creative-led, GenAI-native animation studio to bridge innovation with imaginative storytelling.” The development of INKubator follows t...
Nicolae Popescu Netflix ( NFLX ) is hiring producers, software engineers, and CG artists for a new AI-driven animation studio called INKubator, according to technology and entertainment newsletter Lowpass. The job listings classify INKubator as a “next-generation, creative-led, GenAI-native animation studio to bridge innovation with imaginative storytelling.” The development of INKubator follows the company’s recent acquisition of Ben Affleck-founded AI startup InterPositive, which relies heavily on artificial intelligence in post-production, signaling Netflix’s ( NFLX ) efforts to include more AI-generated content. Lowpass claims the studio may have been established several months ago with former DreamWorks Animation, MRC Studios, and A24 Films executive Serrena Iver among top management. More on Netflix Don't Cancel Your Netflix Investment Disney And Netflix: Both Names Look Attractive Netflix Reigns Supreme With Unmatched Viewership, Global Reach, And Robust Fundamentals Netflix brings back fan favorites, more NFL games, and Quasimodo at the 2026 Upfront event From red envelopes to red carpets: The Netflix Effect and its impact on the global economy
Key PointsCoca-Cola, American Express, and Apple represent the core of Buffett's investment philosophy -- wide moats, durable brands, and loyal customers.
Key PointsCoca-Cola, American Express, and Apple represent the core of Buffett's investment philosophy -- wide moats, durable brands, and loyal customers.
In this article MU CRWV Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 8:30 08:30 Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman on IPO debut: This is the right way to fund our growth Squawk Box Cerebras Systems soared in its Nasdaq debut on Thursday, opening at $350 after selling shares at $185, well above the company's expected range. That values the chipmaker at over $100 billion. The company sol...
In this article MU CRWV Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 8:30 08:30 Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman on IPO debut: This is the right way to fund our growth Squawk Box Cerebras Systems soared in its Nasdaq debut on Thursday, opening at $350 after selling shares at $185, well above the company's expected range. That values the chipmaker at over $100 billion. The company sold 30 million shares in its offering late Wednesday, raising $5.55 billion , the largest IPO for a U.S. tech company since Uber's debut in 2019. If underwriters exercise their option to buy 4.5 million additional shares, total proceeds could reach $6.38 billion. Cerebras, based in Silicon Valley, is benefiting from the artificial intelligence boom, which has lifted wide swaths of the semiconductor space in recent months, with Intel , Advanced Micro Devices and Micron all notching triple-digit gains this year. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF has jumped 58% so far in 2026. The rise of AI agents that can automatically complete tasks has boosted demand for Nvidia's dominant graphics processing units, as well as more traditional central processing units. Cerebras is the biggest pureplay AI IPO to hit Wall Street and the first notable tech offering in months, as the market has struggled to rebound from the downturn that began in 2022, when inflation began soaring. But investors could be in for a wave of historic IPOs with a focus on AI. Elon Musk's SpaceX, which merged with AI company xAI in February, is gearing up for a share sale, and model developers OpenAI and Anthropic could hit the market later this year. Andrew Feldman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Cerebras Systems Inc., center left, during the company's initial public offering (IPO) at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, US, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images There were only 31 tech IPOs in 2025, down from 121 four years earlier, according to data from University of Florida's Jay Ritte...