Amazon.com, Inc. engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero; and develops and produces media content. In addition, the company offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products in its stores; and programs that allow authors, independent publishers, musicians, filmmakers, Twitch streamers, skill and app developers, and others to publish and sell content. Further, it provides compute, storage, database, analytics, machine learning, and other services, as well as advertising services through programs, such as sponsored ads, display, and video advertising. Additionally, the company offers Amazon Prime, a membership program. The company's products offered through its stores include merchandise and content purchased for resale and products offered by third-party sellers. It serves consumers, sellers, developers, enterprises, content creators, advertisers, and employees. Amazon.com, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

Amazon looks like a high-quality business with strong operational efficiency, but the market is already pricing in a great deal of good news. The company’s profitability is noticeably above the industry average: ROE of 23.34%, ROA of 11.55%, and ROI of 19.71%, while the net margin of 12.22% and operating margin of 11.50% confirm that the profitability is not a one-off, but is supported by scale and cost discipline. Gross margin of 50.60% and gross profit growth to $94.1 billion also point to high revenue quality and the ability to maintain pricing power. At the same time, revenue, net income, EBITDA, and operating income remain very large and are generally growing compared with earlier periods, while shareholders’ equity is increasing, which supports fundamental resilience. The balance sheet also looks acceptable: debt-to-equity of 0.27 is not high, the quick ratio has already risen to 1.01, and cash on hand of $143.1 billion provides a good liquidity cushion. However, the current ratio of 1.18 is still below the typical comfortable level for more conservative companies, and total liabilities continue to grow along with the scale of the business, which requires attention. The main factor limiting a higher valuation is the multiples: P/E of 28.91, P/S of 3.53, P/B of 5.88, and especially P/FCF of 1968.24 are significantly above the industry medians, meaning investors are already paying a premium for quality and growth. This combination is usually justified for a market leader, but it limits the potential for further valuation expansion without an acceleration in earnings and free cash flow. The absence of dividends means that all shareholder returns must come through share price appreciation, so expectations for execution on earnings and cash flow become higher. Overall, the fundamentals are strong and support a premium to the sector, but the current valuation looks stretched, so the target forecast should be slightly lowered while maintaining a positive long-term view of the company.

Amazon.com, Inc.

Средний индекс, значительно упал. Быки продолжают терять уверенность.

Medium index, significantly down. Bulls continue to lose confidence.

Сильный индекс, значительно упал. Медведи в растерянности.

Strong index, significantly down. The bears are confused.

Сильный индекс, без изменений. Рынок не поддерживает быков.

Strong index, flat. The market does not support the bulls.

Сильный индекс, без изменений. Рынок на стороне медведей.

Strong index, flat. The market is on the bears' side.

Сильный индекс, без изменений. Отток средств из лонгов на высоком уровне.

Strong index, flat. Outflow of funds from longs at a high level.

Сильный индекс, без изменений. Приток средств в шорты на высоком уровне.

Strong index, flat. Inflow of funds into shorts at a high level.

Amazon demonstrates strong profitability, high liquidity, and capital growth, but very expensive valuation multiples and the absence of dividends limit the upside.

Key Points
Microsoft reported better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday after market close.
The company's Azure cloud platform saw massive revenue growth, similar to its rivals AWS and Google Cloud.
The company also kept its capex forecast unchanged, which caused its stock to rise in after-hours trading.
After the market closed on Wednesday, tech giant and AI hyperscaler Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported better-than-expected Q4 2026 earnings for the period ending June 30.
Revenue and operating income were both up 18% year-over-year (YoY) to $90 billion and $40.6 billion, respectively. Revenue beat the consensus expectation of $87.6 billion.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Given this impressive performance, is Microsoft’s stock a buy?
Image source: Getty Images.
A big beat with a small asterisk
Although revenue and operating income both rose, it was the marquee earnings per share (EPS) number that really smashed expectations, coming in at an adjusted $4.74/share, compared to the consensus of $4.24/share, a 31% improvement over the prior-year quarter.
However, $0.27/share of those earnings was attributable to special items, including a $3.2 billion gain from the company’s investment in the AI company Anthropic. Still, even if we strip out those items, Microsoft’s EPS would be $4.47/share, up 15.8% YoY and still beating the consensus.
In general, as Microsoft CFO Amy Hood put it, it was “a strong quarter to close out the fiscal year.”
But there were a few particularly noteworthy items that deserve special attention from investors.
Cloud comes in clutch
Microsoft’s cloud computing platform Azure has long been the second-most-used cloud computing platform in the world, behind Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) AWS but ahead of Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Cloud Services. In recent quarters, Google Cloud Services has seen explosive growth in both revenue and profits, which the company attributes to its implementation of AI. AWS has also reported higher top- and bottom-line growth among users using its AI features.
That trend applied to Microsoft as well, with revenue from Azure and other cloud services increasing 43% YoY. Although Microsoft didn’t break out the actual dollar amount, the overall Intelligent Cloud segment, which includes Azure, saw revenue increase 32% to $39.3 billion.
Holding the line on spending
Shares of Microsoft rival Alphabet took a hit after its recent Q2earnings call in which it increased its capital expenditures (capex) forecast for the year, largely due to increased spending on AI infrastructure. The Google parent’s capex was already up significantly from the prior year, and investors were starting to question whether the ultimate payoff would justify the massive upfront expense.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) encountered a similar situation as it narrowed its 2026 capex guidance toward the higher end of its previously announced range, causing its shares to take a post-earnings hit as well.
But Microsoft bucked the trend. True, its quarterly capex of $35.8 billion was more than double the year-ago quarter’s capex of $17.1 billion. But the company announced it was keeping its forecast for total calendar year 2026 capex unchanged at $175 billion following an accounting change. Investors rewarded the stock by sending shares up 8% in after-hours trading.
Even with that 8% increase, Microsoft shares are still down more than 15% over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500 and cloud rivals Alphabet and Amazon. Meanwhile, its forward price-to-earnings ratio has dropped from 30 to a more reasonable 20.
With Azure showing impressive revenue growth and management keeping a lid on AI spending (at least for now), Microsoft looks like a buy.
Should you buy stock in Microsoft right now?
Before you buy stock in Microsoft, consider this:
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John Bromels has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Is Microsoft a Buy After Its Latest Earnings Report?

Key Points
Amazon could generate huge growth from its new data center facilities.
Taiwan Semiconductor is making a ton of money from AI demand.
Broadcom anticipates huge growth from its custom AI chip business next year.
There are three companies that are approaching a $3 trillion valuation mark and may reach it before investors know it. While Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is technically outside the $3 trillion valuation range, it spent significant time being valued above that threshold. The three stocks that I'm focused on are Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM), and Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO). All three of these companies are in striking distance and could breach the $3 trillion mark as soon as 2027 (or maybe even this year).
But which one will get there first? Let's take a look.
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Amazon has a significant head start
The market caps of these three vary widely. Amazon is the closest to $3 trillion with a $2.5 trillion market cap. Taiwan Semiconductor is the next closest at a $2.1 trillion market cap. Broadcom is the furthest away at $1.8 trillion, although it has some tricks up its sleeve to make it seem not so far away from a $3 trillion valuation.
All three of these companies are somewhat related as well, as each is a significant player in the artificial intelligence (AI) build-out.
Amazon may seem like an oddball inclusion in the AI space, as most investors are focused solely on its e-commerce business. Still, the reality is that Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud computing business, is a major computing provider for AI firms. Amazon plans to spend around $200 billion on data centers this year to meet rising computing demand. Because it's spending so much on AI computing capacity, investors can expect rapid growth from AWS over the next few years, as new computing capacity increases the amount of revenue the business can generate. This will be exactly what Amazon needs to get to the $3 trillion mark.
Taiwan Semiconductor also has a fairly straightforward path. It's the leading maker of logic chips in the world. As long as companies like Amazon continue to spend heavily on AI computing equipment, its foundry services will be needed. That places TSMC in a perfect spot to benefit, and with its CEO, C.C. Wei, telling investors that he sees strong chip demand lasting through at least 2029 or 2030, there is plenty of growth left for TSMC.
Last is Broadcom. Broadcom entered the AI computing scene with its custom AI chips. These are starting to become a lot more popular, and Broadocm anticipates monster growth throughout the rest of 2026 and into 2027 as those custom AI chips move from the design stage to the production phase. This will lead to the fastest growth rate next year among the three, but is it enough to catch up and beat the others to the $3 trillion point?
All three are well positioned
First, let's see if any company has an out-of-line valuation that must be accounted for.
Although Broadcom is the most expensive, I don't think that's too pricey a valuation for the stock to trade at, and it is reasonable for the growth it expects. On the flip side, TSMC may be the cheapest, but its valuation is right in line with where it has historically traded, and the same can be said for Amazon, too.
As a result, I think stock growth will match business performance, so looking at anticipated growth rates is the best way for investors to project future success. Amazon has the slowest anticipated growth rates, with 15% growth expected this year and 13% next year. Amazon needs to rise 20% to get to the $3 trillion mark in 2027, and that looks well within reach.
Taiwan Semiconductor expects 42% revenue growth this year and 32% next year. With the stock needing to rise about 43% to reach $3 trillion, I think it's also well positioned to hit the $3 trillion mark, perhaps sooner than Amazon.
Broadcom has the longest way to go, needing to grow 67% to reach the $3 trillion mark. However, Wall Street anticipates 66% growth this year and 63% next year, so it easily has the chops to get to $3 trillion.
My guess is that TSMC will reach $3 trillion first, followed by Broadcom, then Amazon, if analyst projections are accurate. However, I think analysts are way undershooting the effect Amazon's new data centers will have on its revenue, and that Amazon will actually get there first despite a slower projected growth rate.
Should you buy stock in Amazon right now?
Before you buy stock in Amazon, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Amazon wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $390,394!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,209,184!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 899% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2026.
Keithen Drury has positions in Amazon, Broadcom, Microsoft, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Broadcom, Microsoft, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Which Company Will Win the Race to $3 Trillion -- Amazon, Broadcom, or Taiwan Semiconductor?

Key Points
GE Vernova allows artificial intelligence data centers to take power production matters into their own hands.
It’s technically a utility stock, but Vistra is a highly flexible power provider that’s no stranger to meeting institutional-level and industrial-level needs.
Construction equipment maker Caterpillar can deliver turnkey electricity-generating solutions at a meaningful scale right now.
Speaking to a Stanford University computer science class in May, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang raised eyebrows by saying, "The amount of energy that we need for [AI] computing is likely probably 1,000 times more than we currently have." He didn't add any additional detail to his mental math and even conceded, "I wouldn't be surprised if we're off by a couple orders of magnitude." If his goal was simply to provide some tangible perspective -- for effect -- on what the energy industry needs to accomplish in the foreseeable future, then mission accomplished.
The projected scope makes sense. Also in May, Goldman Sachs predicted that the power U.S. data centers alone would need would more than double between 2025 and 2027, from 31 gigawatts (GW) to 66 GW. At peak usage, this would push the domestic AI industry's consumption from just over 4% of the nation's total power output to well over 8%. Extending this trend, Bloom Energy predicts artificial intelligence could be using up to 12% of the United States' produced electricity by 2030, and it would still just be getting started.
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The same dynamics are taking shape outside of the U.S. as well, of course.
It's an opportunity, to be sure, but only for companies already ready to capitalize on it. To this end, here's a closer look at three industrial names already seeing the upside of the surge in power demand.
1. GE Vernova
GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV) is the former power-generation arm of industrial titan General Electric, which began splitting itself into smaller, more manageable pieces in 2021. This particular offshoot makes everything from wind turbines to nuclear reactors to hydropower systems to power grid solutions.Its red-hot equipment right now, however, is natural gas turbines.
Originally intended for utility companies, these power plants -- capable of producing anywhere from 34.5 megawatts to 571 megawatts of power -- are ideally suited to power data centers due to their scalability, ability to be throttled as needed, and relatively small footprint. Just as important, on-premises power generation means AI data center owners/operators don't need to wait for time-consuming (and often costly) connections to a power grid. That's why PwC believes the United States' data center-driven demand for natural gas could easily quintuple between last year and 2035, with an outside chance of further growth taking shape even sooner.
GE Vernova won't supply all the turbines linked to this surge in demand for natural gas. With a companywide backlog of $176 billion (nearly two-thirds of which is gas turbine-related) versus 2026's expected revenue of about $46 billion, however -- and a gas power equipment backlog that grew from 100 GW to 116 GW in Q2 alone - this company's certainly going to meet a huge chunk of this demand.
2. Vistra
Technically speaking, Vistra (NYSE: VST) isn't an industrial company. It's categorized as a power utility, though even by utility-stock standards, it's not exactly your typical power company. While it does directly provide electricity to about 5 million residential and business customers, Vistra's core business is generating and then selling electricity on a wholesale basis to other utility companies sharing the same grid.
The company's now making the most of this flexibility too. For instance, rather than merely connecting new artificial intelligence data centers to existing grid infrastructure and treating them like any other customer, Vistra is now entering long-term power purchase agreements directly with institutions. Early this year, the company announced it had inked long-term deals with Amazon and Facebook parent Meta Platforms to supply both tech companies with the electricity needed for existing and new AI data centers.
Such arrangements still account for only a relatively small part of the company's total business. In that these long-term agreements allow Vistra to make capital investments -- particularly in nuclear power -- with a reasonably assured return on the investment, the company can add power production capacity with the confidence that ultimately allows it to build more efficient infrastructure.
In other words, it's a win-win. That's why you shouldn't be surprised to see more such dealmaking in the future, particularly from Vistra, which has already shown its interest in custom-designed power provision solutions.
3. Caterpillar
Finally, add Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) -- yes, the construction equipment company -- to your list of stocks that will benefit from the AI industry's exploding demand for electricity. It's already benefiting, in fact.
You know it best as a maker of bulldozers, backhoes, and dump trucks. And that's still a huge part of its business to be sure. Largely overlooked, though, is that Caterpillar also manufactures high-capacity mobile diesel and gas generators, battery-based energy storage systems, and more, all of which are proving to be much-needed stopgap solutions while data center owners and operators are waiting on more permanent equipment. Outfits including Space Exploration Technologies and Microsoft (through Nscale) are utilizing off-grid generators to power some of their AI data centers.
To this end, while all of Caterpillar's business lines grew last year, its power generation arm, which provides these generators, experienced company-leading growth of roughly 30%. The company expects this business to double between 2025 and 2030, and S&P Global doesn't exactly disagree with this outlook. It's looking for Caterpillar's power and energy division to grow another 17% this year -- from last year's revenue of $33.4 billion -- en route to $54.8 billion in annual revenue by 2030.
Should you buy stock in GE Vernova right now?
Before you buy stock in GE Vernova, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and GE Vernova wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $390,394!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,209,184!*
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James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Bloom Energy, Caterpillar, GE Vernova, Goldman Sachs Group, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, S&P Global, and Vistra. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Jensen Huang Says AI Needs "1,000 Times More Power Than We Currently Have." These 3 Industrial Stocks Will Deliver It.

Snowflake SNOW is benefiting from the accelerating adoption of enterprise AI, which is fundamentally reshaping how organizations operate and innovate. The company’s strong focus on AI security and governance, which is rapidly becoming a key differentiator in the enterprise AI landscape, has been noteworthy. 13,912 customers trust its AI Data Cloud for its enterprise-grade governance and security.
Snowflake’s AI products, which include Snowflake Intelligence and Cortex Code (CoCo), are seeing rapid adoption, with CoCo already in use by more than 7,100 accounts. These products allow both business users and developers to interact with enterprise data and build AI-powered applications directly within Snowflake, all while maintaining strict governance. With the intended acquisition of Natoma, Snowflake is extending its agentic control plane to everyday business applications, enabling users to perform tasks like sending emails or summarizing Slack conversations within a governed environment.
Building on this momentum, Snowflake recently unveiled Cortex AI Gateway and new AI security capabilities to help enterprises securely deploy and manage AI agents across platforms. The centralized gateway enables organizations to govern first- and third-party AI agents, monitor agent activity, optimize AI spending and control token usage from a single interface.
Built on Snowflake’s Natoma acquisition, the platform supports secure interoperability and integrates with partners including 1Password, Okta, SailPoint and Saviynt. The company also introduced zero-trust security enhancements, including AI risk monitoring, verified agent identities and data protection, to accelerate enterprise AI adoption.
The AI-driven momentum is translating into tangible financial results. Snowflake expects fiscal second-quarter 2027 product revenues in the range of $1.415-$1.420 billion, implying 30% year-over-year growth, citing meaningful uplift from AI capabilities.
SNOW Suffers From Stiff Competition
Snowflake is facing stiff competition from major players like Amazon AMZN and Oracle ORCL, which are also expanding their footprint in the AI space.
Amazon’s AI initiatives gained significant momentum during the first quarter of 2026. Amazon’s cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services’ chips business, including Graviton, Trainium, and Nitro, exceeded a $20 billion annual revenue run rate and is growing triple-digit percentages year over year.
Oracle’s expanding portfolio has been noteworthy. In June 2026, Oracle introduced Oracle OPERA Cloud Assistant, a suite of AI-powered capabilities built into OPERA Cloud that automates guest room assignments, generates AI-driven rate descriptions, supports multilingual operations across 230 countries and territories and gives hotel staff real-time operational guidance.
SNOW’s Share Price Performance, Valuation, and Estimates
Snowflake shares have gained 23.2% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s increase of 9.6%. The Internet Software industry has declined 10.2% in the same time frame.
SNOW Stock Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Snowflake stock is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month Price/Sales ratio of 13.79X compared with the Internet Software industry’s 3.81X. SNOW has a Value Score of F.
SNOW's Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SNOW’s fiscal 2027 earnings is pegged at $1.96 per share, which has been unchanged over the past 30 days. The figure indicates a 56.80% year-over-year increase.
Snowflake Inc. Price and Consensus
Snowflake currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Snowflake's Enterprise AI Push Deepens: A Sign for More Upside?

Key Points
Meta's core advertising business is delivering strong growth.
The stock trades at a P/E ratio of just 19.
Meta looks poised to launch a cloud computing business.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is due to report earnings after the market closes today, July 29. The stock has been under pressure lately, falling nine sessions in a row, indicating skepticism about the company's capital expenditure plans, which tracks with a sell-off in Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) stock after that company reported negative free cash flow for the first time ever last week.
However, I think Meta is poised to pop after the earnings report. Here are three reasons why.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
1. The digital advertising market remains strong
Meta earns nearly all of its revenue from advertising. Despite the pearl-clutching over its capex spending and the losses in reality labs, its ad business continues to deliver brisk growth, driving overall revenue up 33% in the first quarter.
Alphabet reported 14% growth in advertising revenue in the second quarter, and a report from media platform Skai said paid social ad spend was up 26% in the same period, a bullish sign for Meta. Meta has been gaining market share on Google for years, and that likely continued in the second quarter. In fact, its ad revenue could soon surpass that from Google Search.
Another round of strong ad growth should help reassure investors, showing that the core business is executing at a high level.
2. The stock is cheap
Meta has historically traded at a low earnings multiple and been undervalued for its growth rate.
However, the stock looks especially cheap now, trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of just 19 after adjusting for one-time tax penalties and benefits, a roughly 30% discount to the S&P 500, which trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.
After the nine-day slide over the last two weeks, the stock looks oversold. It's rare for a company growing revenue by 33%, especially one with Meta's competitive advantages, to be trading at just 19 times earnings.
3. It could announce a cloud computing business
The buzz is building around a Meta cloud computing business. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said weeks ago that offering cloud computing services is "definitely on the table," and that his company receives weekly requests from potential customers.
Following that comment, Bloomberg reported that the company is planning a cloud business to sell AI computing power. Earlier in July, The Wall Street Journal said that Meta was hiring a top executive at Amazon's cloud business, another strong indicator of its cloud ambitions.
Launching a cloud business seems like a no-brainer for the company. Cloud revenue growth is accelerating among its hyperscaler peers, as Google Cloud just reported 82% revenue growth, and a cloud business would give Meta a way to monetize the billions it's spending on AI infrastructure.
Meta has yet to make a formal announcement about its cloud business, but it could come in its Q2 earnings report. Investors are likely to cheer the news.
Should you buy stock in Meta Platforms right now?
Before you buy stock in Meta Platforms, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Meta Platforms wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $390,394!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,209,184!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 899% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2026.
Jeremy Bowman has positions in Amazon and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Prediction: Meta Stock Will Pop After Q2 Earnings. 3 Reasons Why

Key Points
Amazon has long seen the promise of warehouse automation, deploying over 1 million robots across its operation networks since 2012.
More companies will be following Amazon's playbook in robotics, as the global warehouse automation market is expected to reach $59.5 billion by 2030.
Robot and automation company Symbotic could be a long-term winner, but the stock price has dropped over 30% in 2026.
Amazon has been an early adopter of warehouse automation, deploying over 1 million robots across its operations network since 2012. Its fulfillment center in Shreveport, Louisiana, uses eight different robotics systems for package fulfillment and delivery, and robots are used across Amazon's other warehouses to also sort, lift, and carry packages.
One way to invest in warehouse robotics is just to buy Amazon stock. Those robots can help boost efficiency, which can lead to increased profitability; Amazon's advanced facilities can cut processing times by 25%.
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There is, however, another company in the warehouse robotics field trading at a fraction of Amazon's cost, around $40 as of this writing: Symbotic (NASDAQ: SYM).
Cooling down after heating up
Symbotic had a huge run in 2025 as it expanded its client base and reported solid revenue growth in a growing field that's catching investors' attention; shares climbed 150% in 2025. In 2026, however, it's been a different story, with shares dropping more than 30%.
Part of that drop is just that expectations were high after the stock price run-up in 2025. For instance, Symbotic reported revenue climbed 23% to $676 million in its fiscal 2026 second-quarter earnings report. The robotics company also swung from a net loss of $10 million to net income of $9 million in the second quarter of 2026. That said, it missed the mark for analysts on earnings per share (EPS), reporting EPS of $0.01 against expectations of $0.12.
With that context in mind, there are still plenty of reasons to like Symbotic's long-term potential.
A new acquisition
On July 2, Symbotic announced that it completed the acquisition of ARMS Innovation. ARMS provides real-time intelligence for automated warehouse environments, further enhancing Symbotic's offerings. The company said:
By integrating ARMS's advanced software capabilities, the Symbotic System will expand beyond industry-leading automation into a comprehensive, real-time operational solution that unifies and optimizes every element of warehouse performance -- across both automated systems and human workflows.
Essentially, a robot can be programmed to perform a task, but its ability to function can go awry if something out of the ordinary happens. Integrating ARMS into warehouse automation, however, enables real-time disruption identification and predictive maintenance. The software can also identify who is working on-site, assign workers to where they are needed most, and even order parts.
A strategic backstop
A worry some investors have with Symbotic is its reliance on Walmart, as 85% of its fiscal 2025 revenue came from the retail giant. In addition, a large portion of the company's $22.5 billion backlog at the end of 2025 was from Walmart.
That's a significant customer concentration risk, which is often counted as a knock against Symbotic. That relationship, however, has some nuance, as Walmart serves more as a protective backstop for Symbotic with upside potential than as a concentration risk.
For starters, as of March 31, Walmart owns an 11.7% stake in the robot company, which means it should be rooting for its financial success as much as anyone. Second, Walmart sold its advanced systems and robotics business to Symbotic in 2025 for $200 million while also paying Symbotic $520 million for automation systems it wants to add to 400 of its accelerated pickup and delivery centers.
All of that combined has both companies tied together for the foreseeable future.
Is Symbotic worth the investment?
Warehouse automation is not a trend that is going away. The global automation warehouse market is expected to grow from $27.4 billion in 2026 to $59.5 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research. That gives Symbotic a lot of opportunity ahead, but it may still struggle to get out of its slump in 2026.
Symbotic will report earnings on Aug. 5, and with expectations so high, anything short of a stellar report could send the stock price lower. But in the long term, for investors who can handle the risk and want an investment in the growing robotics market in their portfolio, Symbotic could fit as a small, speculative position.
Should you buy stock in Symbotic right now?
Before you buy stock in Symbotic, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Symbotic wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $390,394!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,209,184!*
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Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Symbotic, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Amazon's Warehouse Robot Army Keeps Growing. Is Symbotic Still the Best Way to Play It?

Alibaba's BABA weakening cash flow could become a headwind to its long-term growth potential if heavy investments continue to outpace cash generation. The company generated solid revenue growth in fiscal 2026, but its cash generation deteriorated sharply as it accelerated spending on AI infrastructure, cloud capacity, quick commerce and the Qwen AI ecosystem. Operating cash flow declined 53% year over year in fiscal 2026, while free cash flow swung to an outflow of RMB46.6 billion from an inflow of RMB73.9 billion a year earlier. This decline is primarily due to investments in quick commerce, cloud infrastructure and Qwen user acquisition, underscoring that these initiatives remain strategic priorities despite near-term financial pressure.
At the same time, management indicated that AI demand will require an even larger data center footprint over the next five years, implying sustained capital commitments that could keep free cash flow under pressure. Although Alibaba maintains a strong balance sheet, including RMB520.8 billion of cash and other liquid investments, continued negative free cash flow may eventually reduce financial flexibility if investment returns take longer to materialize.
On the positive side, Cloud Intelligence revenues continue to accelerate, supported by robust AI adoption, suggesting these investments could generate meaningful long-term returns. However, investors should closely monitor whether improving cloud monetization and operating efficiencies can offset persistent cash outflows. Until Alibaba demonstrates consistent recovery in ‘free cash flow’ alongside AI-driven revenue growth, cash flow weakness will likely remain a significant negative factor affecting its long-term investment potential.
How Does Alibaba Stack Up Against Its Main Rivals?
Alphabet GOOGL generates substantially stronger operating cash flow than Alibaba, enabling larger AI and cloud investments without compromising financial flexibility. Alphabet produced $39.1 billion in operating cash flow in the second quarter of 2026 while expanding AI infrastructure and strengthening its global monetization engine. Alphabet's diversified Search, YouTube and Cloud businesses provide durable competitive advantages, whereas Alibaba's free cash flow remains under pressure from aggressive AI investment.
Amazon AMZN enjoys a stronger cash flow profile than Alibaba, supporting massive AI infrastructure spending backed by customer commitments and long-term returns. Amazon continues funding AWS, custom chips and logistics expansion while expecting future free cash flow acceleration. Amazon benefits from diversified businesses, scale and enterprise demand.
BABA’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
BABA shares have declined 21.4% year to date compared with the industry’s fall of 4.1%.
BABA’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, BABA is currently trading at a price-to-book ratio of 1.7, below the sector’s average of 4.23. The company carries a Value Score of C.
BABA’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 and 2028 EPS has been revised downward over the past 30 and 60 days. The company has also missed earnings expectations in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average negative surprise of 37.65%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Alibaba currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Will Alibaba's Cash Flow Weakness Hurt Its Long-Term Growth Potential?

The Dow and the S&P 500 ended higher on Tuesday, driven by robust earnings and a decline in energy prices, as investors continued to dump chip stocks and take refuge in other defensive assets. The Nasdaq ended in negative territory.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) jumped 1%, or 537.24 points, to close at 52,747.32 points.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, to finish at 7,428.78 points. Health care, communication services, and consumer staples stocks were the biggest gainers, while energy and tech stocks were the worst performers.
The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) lost 1.8%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) dropped 1.4%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) gained 2.4%. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) added 2%, while the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) rose 1.9%. Seven of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.2%, to end at 24,876.91 points.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was down 2.46% to 18.21. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the S&P 500 by a 2.5-to-1 ratio. A total of 17.2 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 17.4 billion.
On the S&P 500, there were 63 new 52-week highs and one new low.
Robust Earnings Boost Markets, Chip Selloff Continues
The S&P 500 rallied on Tuesday, boosted by gains in The Boeing Company (BA) and The Coca-Cola Company (KO) after the companies reported their quarterly results. Shares of Boeing jumped 4.8% despite the company reporting a wider-than-expected loss in the second quarter of 2026.
Boeing reported a quarterly loss of $0.76 per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.34. However, it posted revenues of $24.56 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.11%.
The Coca-Cola Company reported second-quarter 2026 earnings of $0.97 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.92 per share. The company’s shares ended up 5%.
Dow, which posted its third straight day of gains, got a boost from The Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW). The company’s shares jumped 8.3% after it reported second-quarter 2026 earnings of $3.7 per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.56 per share. The Sherwin-Williams Company has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The earnings season is fast gathering pace, and robust quarterly results from some of the industry bellwethers somewhat offset the bleeding chip stocks. Investors are concerned that companies like Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) and Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL) are investing too much in AI data centers, which could be a risky affair.
Chip stocks continued to suffer on Tuesday, with the PHLX Semiconductor (SOX) declining 4.5%. Investors are now waiting to see the quarterly guidance from tech giants Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Inc. (AAPL) and Meta Platforms Inc. (META), which will report their quarterly results this week.
Declining oil prices also helped markets, as Iran started talks with Oman and Saudi Arabia regarding the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped nearly 4% to end at $79.26 a barrel. International Brent crude settled at $84.09, declining 4.8%.
Economic Data
The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that consumer confidence fell to 90.8 in July from an upwardly revised 92.2 in the prior month. The reading came sharply lower than the consensus estimate of a rise to 92.3.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
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CocaCola Company (The) (KO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Stock Market News for July 29, 2026

Key Points
AWS reported 28% year-over-year growth in the first quarter, the fastest rate in nearly four years.
The company is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure.
Demand from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI could lead to even better growth than the market expects.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is set to report its second-quarter earnings on Thursday, July 30, and expectations are high, especially for the AWS cloud services business. For example, analysts at Bank of America recently raised their AWS growth forecast to 33% year-over-year, specifically calling out demand from Anthropic and OpenAI workloads.
This would be a significant acceleration from the 28% growth rate the commerce and tech giant reported in the first quarter and would likely be taken as a positive sign by investors. But I'm going to make the bold prediction that even these lofty expectations aren't enough -- in fact, I predict that AWS revenue growth could come in at 35% or more.
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Amazon's second-quarter earnings: What the market expects
As mentioned, Amazon reports earnings on Thursday (after the market's close), and analysts expect about $197 billion in total revenue and $1.82 in earnings per share, which would be 8% higher than a year ago.
When it comes to AWS, expectations vary depending on who you ask, but virtually all analysts expect to see acceleration compared to the first quarter. Most reputable analyst forecasts expect AWS revenue growth in the 31%-33% range.
So, why am I predicting an even better number? For one thing, I agree that the demand from Anthropic and OpenAI is likely to be a big driver of second-quarter growth. And AWS revenue growth has already been accelerating -- in fact, the 28% revenue growth rate AWS posted in the first quarter was the fastest in nearly four years.
The most important number isn't AWS top line growth
Don't get me wrong. If AWS posts a blowout number, it could make or break the market's reaction to Amazon's earnings report. But the AWS growth all by itself isn't the full story -- it's how efficiently Amazon is spending its money to achieve said growth.
In February, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy guided for $200 billion in capex for 2026, most of which will be spent on AI infrastructure. And while Amazon can certainly afford to spend this money, the big question on investors' minds has been whether it will produce an adequate return for the company. In other words, will the growth (and profits) that Amazon produces justify such a large price tag?
To put it mildly, accelerating AWS growth would be a big step in the right direction, showing investors that the juice is worth the squeeze. And if AWS can report better-than-expected growth without an alarming increase in projected capex, it would be even better. But when the earnings report is released, it will be important to pay close attention to AWS's growth and the cost of that growth.
Should you buy stock in Amazon right now?
Before you buy stock in Amazon, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Amazon wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $379,662!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,206,116!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 886% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
Matt Frankel, CFP® has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Prediction: Amazon's Earnings Report Shows That AWS Growth Accelerates

Key Points
Investors have been concerned about rising oil prices, AI spending, and a richly valued market.
Apple's cautious approach to AI is paying off as it focuses its resources on its hot-selling iPhones.
Nvidia's products are deeply embedded in the hyperscaler building boom.
The "Magnificent Seven" are a group of the world's largest tech stocks. Because they have become the predominant winners in the market during the past decade or so, all of the largest companies in the world are tech stocks. The first large company that isn't, drugmaker Ely Lilly, is the ninth most-valuable company in the world.
The Magnificent Seven, in order of value as of this writing, include Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Tesla. Today, Broadcom and Space Exploration Technologies are both larger than Tesla by market cap.
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These companies, which are all artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, have soared to their current rankings due to rapid growth, much of which is recently associated with the explosion of AI. However, only two of them were beating the S&P 500 as of this writing: Apple and Nvidia.
Is this an ominous warning about what's happening in the markets?
Is the S&P 500 hitting new highs?
This is the fourth straight year that the S&P 500 is showing a gain. It's not uncommon for the market to remain in bull territory for four years in a row, and during the past 25 years -- since it recovered from the dot-com bubble -- it has lost value only four times annually.
As of this writing, the S&P 500 is up about 8% year to date. However, it's off its record high, and it has been little changed during the past two months.
Investors have been worried about high oil prices due to the Iran war, AI spending, and a richly valued stock market. Oil prices have been up and down since the war started in February, and that volatility has the market concerned about longer-term effects.
Higher oil prices can trickle down to higher prices in nearly every industry, since many companies rely on oil for production, and they have to pass along higher costs to consumers.
As for AI spending, Amazon stock has borne the brunt of the market's worries about it for the past few months. However, Alphabet's recent announcement about its own capital expenditure forecast, which topped Amazon's outlook at $205 billion, sent its stock down as well. In fact, Alphabet stock had been beating the market as well until the announcement. But all of the large companies have been spending quite freely, and that's worrying investors.
Lastly, investors also recognize that the market is heading toward its highest-ever valuation. The price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) is the standard valuation metric for most companies, but it has its drawbacks. It's unusable for companies that aren't profitable, and it doesn't account for anomalies, such as tax-advantaged or disadvantaged profits, one-time deviations, and inflation that distorts historical averages.
The cyclically adjusted P/E ratio, or CAPE ratio, was developed to account for most of these irregularities, and today, it stands at 41. Not only is that its second-highest figure ever since the metric was created, but it's also more than double the historical average of 17.8.
Why Nvidia and Apple are beating the market
Nvidia and Apple have both been up and down this year, but the market may see certain advantages in these stocks, the two most valuable companies in the world, as valuations rise and volatility increases. Many of the hottest AI stocks have begun to falter as fantastic gains outpace fundamental performance.
For example, chipmaker Sandisk continues to demonstrate phenomenal performance, but its P/E ratio has expanded as well, implying that stock growth is exceeding earnings growth. Many of the AI-adjacent stocks are in the same boat, and many have headed down recently.
Apple, on the other hand, laid low as AI exploded, and its cautious approach to AI development has proved to be savvy. Its iPhone remains the backbone of the company as it continues to be a hot seller, again proving that investing in its hardware, the known entity, rather than costly AI, was the right move.
Nvidia, at the same time, remains at the epicenter of the AI revolution for a number of reasons. It controls as much as 90% of the AI chip market, and it's deeply embedded in hyperscaler AI construction, so it is picking up a nice chunk of the spending.
In times like these, investors tend to head toward the safe stocks that can withstand market volatility, and Apple and Nvidia might fit the bill for many.
Should you buy stock in Apple right now?
Before you buy stock in Apple, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Apple wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $379,662!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,206,116!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 886% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2026.
Jennifer Saibil has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Broadcom, Eli Lilly, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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