Andreypopov | Istock | Getty Images The average tax refund is 10.2% higher so far this season, compared to about the same period in 2025, according to the latest IRS filing data. The year-over-year percentage change is down from the 14.2% increase reported last week . As of Feb. 20, the average refund amount for individual filers was $3,804, up from $3,453 about one year prior, the IRS reported on...
Andreypopov | Istock | Getty Images The average tax refund is 10.2% higher so far this season, compared to about the same period in 2025, according to the latest IRS filing data. The year-over-year percentage change is down from the 14.2% increase reported last week . As of Feb. 20, the average refund amount for individual filers was $3,804, up from $3,453 about one year prior, the IRS reported on Friday. The total amount refunded was about $109 billion, up 6.9% from 2025, according to the IRS release. But the total returns processed were down by 2.4%. Read more CNBC personal finance coverage Average IRS tax refund is up 10.2%, based on early filing data IRS: Nearly 1 in 5 eligible filers miss a 'valuable' credit worth thousands Block cuts about half its workforce: How to move forward after a mass layoff Trump said tariffs may 'substantially replace' income taxes. What policy experts say Some student loan borrowers are getting Navient settlement checks — who qualifies Trump accounts aren't exactly 'tax-free,' as the president said. How they work Trump said beef, egg and chicken prices are falling. Here's what the data shows Trump pitches new retirement plan with a match of up to $1,000 — who may benefit Think of active managers and index funds as portfolio 'teammates,' not 'rivals': CFP Many workers want a career change. Are you one of them? ACA health coverage subsidy lapse hit 22 million people. Here are some of their stories Trump's $2,000 tariff dividend checks just got a lot less likely, experts say Student loan forgiveness is taxable again. How to plan for a five-figure IRS bill What the Trump administration's Harvard lawsuit could mean for future applicants Homebuyers are paying more for credit checks. Here's why CNBC's Financial Advisor 100: Best financial advisors, top firms ranked Amid consumer concerns about affordability , the Trump administration has emphasized how Trump's "big beautiful bill" may impact the size of tax refunds this season. In a late Ja...
James O'Neil/DigitalVision via Getty Images Since I last wrote about part-nuclear energy utility Duke Energy Corporation ( DUK ) in September last year, its price is up by only 5.3%. Even YTD, while the stock has done better, with a little over a 10% increase, it's just at par with the rise in State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLU ). Price Returns (YTD): DUK and XLU (Source: Seeking ...
James O'Neil/DigitalVision via Getty Images Since I last wrote about part-nuclear energy utility Duke Energy Corporation ( DUK ) in September last year, its price is up by only 5.3%. Even YTD, while the stock has done better, with a little over a 10% increase, it's just at par with the rise in State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLU ). Price Returns (YTD): DUK and XLU (Source: Seeking Alpha) I do believe that the case for a further uptick in DUK just got stronger, though. The company is developing its nuclear energy capacity further, which can hold the stock price in good stead over the longer term and possibly even in the short term. Here, I discuss these developments and assess whether the rest of the Duke Energy story supports further price uptick. Expanding Nuclear Energy Capacity The company plans to expand its capacity by 1 GW by 2031 , with additions to multiple energy segments. Of these, nuclear is expected to contribute some 25% increase, but the biggest rise is planned for gas, which will bring in 67% of the increase. In terms of the details of nuclear energy development, some initial progress related to small modular reactors (SMRs) is particularly heartening. With their relative cost-effectiveness, smaller build time, and better safety than traditional reactors, SMRs are speculatively considered the future of nuclear energy. While the technology isn't commercially proven yet, if the company dips its toes into the segment now, it could be ready to reap the benefits if and when it becomes viable. The developments related to SMRs are as follows: Permit Requested For SMR Site The company recently submitted an early site permit (ESP) for an SMR at Belews Creek in North Carolina to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If it receives the permit, licensing and construction can be a smoother process. While the company doesn't commit to this development, if it does so, the site will already have an environmental clearance. It will also add 600 MW of nucl...
Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Fulgent Genetics Inc (Symbol: FLGT), where a total of 1,532 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 153,200 underlying shares. That amounts to about 67.
Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Fulgent Genetics Inc (Symbol: FLGT), where a total of 1,532 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 153,200 underlying shares. That amounts to about 67.
chameleonseye Shares of PayPal ( PYPL ) rallied earlier this week on reports that fintech Stripe ( STRIP ) was interested in buying some or all of the payment processing company. While news outlet Semafor later refuted those claims , it also reported that PayPal has been preparing for the possibility of an unwanted takeover offer. We asked Seeking Alpha analysts Ragmar Rikberg and Atilla Zambito w...
chameleonseye Shares of PayPal ( PYPL ) rallied earlier this week on reports that fintech Stripe ( STRIP ) was interested in buying some or all of the payment processing company. While news outlet Semafor later refuted those claims , it also reported that PayPal has been preparing for the possibility of an unwanted takeover offer. We asked Seeking Alpha analysts Ragmar Rikberg and Atilla Zambito whether they thought PayPal would be taken over and who might be interested in acquiring it. Ragmar Rikberg : I think PayPal’s ( PYPL ) current valuation makes it an attractive takeover target for a wide range of suitors. It’s important to remember that the company has 430M accounts, and in today’s fintech landscape—where wallets are one of the hottest areas—such scale is very attractive. With an enterprise value of around $40B and roughly $6B in annual free cash flow, PayPal trades at low multiples that could also draw interest from private equity. They could potentially unlock more value by breaking the company into parts. A spinoff of Venmo, a growing business and a leader in its category, could make sense and might even be worth the majority of PayPal’s current market cap on its own. Apple ( AAPL ) could be interested in PayPal’s consumer-facing business, given its strong push into wallets and the influence it already has over PayPal’s destiny through Apple Pay. Alphabet's ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ) Google Pay could also be a logical contender, along with Meta ( META ), which explored fintech a few years ago with WhatsApp-based payments. Large platforms are likely not interested in Braintree or PayPal’s other B2B units, but the consumer accounts and wallet base represent a highly attractive strategic asset, as I see it. Atilla Zambito : After PayPal ( PYPL ) reached a market cap of just $38B, it was only a matter of time until the company received interest in all or part of its business. First, PayPal is highly cash-generative and has a healthy balance sheet. Second, it has one ...
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, in trading on Friday, shares of Kohl's Corp. (Symbol: KSS) were yielding above the 3% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $0.5), with the stock changing hands as low as $16.24 on the day. Dividends
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, in trading on Friday, shares of Kohl's Corp. (Symbol: KSS) were yielding above the 3% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $0.5), with the stock changing hands as low as $16.24 on the day. Dividends
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, in trading on Friday, shares of TriCo Bancshares (Symbol: TCBK) were yielding above the 3% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.44), with the stock changing hands as low as $47.49 on the day. Divi
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, in trading on Friday, shares of TriCo Bancshares (Symbol: TCBK) were yielding above the 3% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.44), with the stock changing hands as low as $47.49 on the day. Divi
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, in trading on Friday, shares of Stock Yards Bancorp Inc (Symbol: SYBT) were yielding above the 2% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.28), with the stock changing hands as low as $63.92 on the day
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, in trading on Friday, shares of Stock Yards Bancorp Inc (Symbol: SYBT) were yielding above the 2% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $1.28), with the stock changing hands as low as $63.92 on the day
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, in trading on Friday, shares of BOK Financial Corp (Symbol: BOKF) were yielding above the 2% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $2.52), with the stock changing hands as low as $124.60 on the day. D
Looking at the universe of stocks we cover at Dividend Channel, in trading on Friday, shares of BOK Financial Corp (Symbol: BOKF) were yielding above the 2% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $2.52), with the stock changing hands as low as $124.60 on the day. D
Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Xponential Fitness Inc (Symbol: XPOF), where a total of 3,011 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 301,100 underlying shares. That amounts to about 7
Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Xponential Fitness Inc (Symbol: XPOF), where a total of 3,011 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 301,100 underlying shares. That amounts to about 7
In this article NFLX PSKY WBD Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT An American flag flies at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California, on Sept. 12, 2025. Mario Tama | Getty Images The Warner Bros. Discovery board may have enriched its shareholders Thursday when it chose Paramount Skydance 's acquisition offer over Netflix 's, but it also terrified a lot of its employees. While some of...
In this article NFLX PSKY WBD Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT An American flag flies at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California, on Sept. 12, 2025. Mario Tama | Getty Images The Warner Bros. Discovery board may have enriched its shareholders Thursday when it chose Paramount Skydance 's acquisition offer over Netflix 's, but it also terrified a lot of its employees. While some of those people own WBD shares and may prefer the financials of Paramount's $31-per-share bid to Netflix's $27.75-per-share offer , CNBC spoke to 10 WBD employees in a variety of different roles at the company. All 10, who asked not to be named for fear of potential backlash, expressed concerns about potential job losses and questions of who would ultimately run their divisions if Paramount and WBD are eventually merged. "It's fair to say people are deflated by the news," said one long-term WBD executive. Nonetheless, a WBD-Paramount merger "is not a done deal," as California Attorney General Rob Bonta said yesterday. The transaction must gain regulatory approval both in the U.S. and in Europe. WBD CEO David Zaslav acknowledged at an all-hands meeting Friday that the deal may still be blocked and expressed sympathy for those experiencing a sense of whiplash going from Netflix to Paramount, according to people familiar with the matter. "The deal may not close. If it doesn't close, we get $7 billion, and we get back to work," Zaslav said, according to leaked audio provided to Business Insider. Still, several WBD employees told CNBC they wished Netflix had acquired WBD, citing several factors. While Paramount and WBD both have core competencies in news, sports, theatrical film and streaming TV, Netflix has far less overlap . Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos repeatedly said he planned to leave the WBD business alone, keeping its theatrical business separate from Netflix while also keeping HBO Max as a separate, independent streaming service for the foreseeable future. Netflix also was...
Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in FIGS Inc (Symbol: FIGS), where a total volume of 79,194 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 7.9
Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in FIGS Inc (Symbol: FIGS), where a total volume of 79,194 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 7.9