Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets. It also offers credit research, credit models and analytics, economics data and models, and structured finance solutions; data sets on companies and securities; and SaaS solutions supporting banking, insurance, and know your customer workflows. The Moody's Investors Service segment publishes credit ratings and provides assessment services on various debt obligations, programs and facilities, and entities that issue such obligations, such as various corporate, financial institution, and governmental obligations, as well as structured finance securities. The company was formerly known as Dun and Bradstreet Company and changed its name to Moody's Corporation in September 2000. Moody's Corporation was founded in 1900 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Moody’s looks like a high-quality but already very expensive business: operating margin, ROE, ROA, and net margin are at exceptionally high levels and are generally improving year over year. Revenue, EBITDA, operating income, and net income are also growing, which confirms the resilience of the model and the strong monetization of the franchise. At the same time, almost all key valuation multiples are noticeably above the industry median: P/E, P/S, P/B, and P/FCF point to a premium to the sector that is already built into the price. The very high P/B is especially concerning, as the decline in capital and shareholders’ equity makes the valuation sensitive to any slowdown in growth. The debt burden does not look comfortable either: debt/equity is significantly above the median, and long-term debt remains substantial relative to capital. Liquidity is mixed: the current ratio is still acceptable, but the quick ratio is zero, and the cash position has declined compared with last year, which limits the margin of safety. The dividend yield exists, but it is low and is not the main driver of the investment case. Moody’s strength lies in its stable earnings growth, very high margins, and high returns on capital, which usually support a premium valuation. The weakness is that the market is already paying a very high price for this quality profile, so the potential for further upward revision is limited. In this setup, the fundamentals support the current valuation of the business rather than justify an aggressive increase in the target price. For an investor, this is a story about quality and resilience, but with an elevated risk of disappointment due to inflated expectations and sensitivity to any deterioration in growth or the balance sheet.

Moody's Corporation

Сильный индекс, значительно упал. Оптимистичный взгляд на свои позиции резко сменился на неуверенность.

Strong index, significantly down. An optimistic view of his position suddenly changed to uncertainty.

Сильный индекс, незначительно вырос. Рынок не поддерживает быков.

Strong index, slightly up. The market does not support the bulls.

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

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

Moody’s demonstrates strong growth in profit and margins, but trades at a very high premium to the industry and carries a significant debt burden.

Key Points
Berkshire is invested in AI through Apple, Alphabet, and Moody’s.
But those stocks have all underperformed Nvidia over the past five years.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) invests in dozens of companies across its $361 billion portfolio. However, the conglomerate isn't heavily invested in the AI boom -- and it doesn't hold a single share of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), the world's top AI chipmaker.
The three biggest AI-driven stocks that Berkshire still owns are Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Moody's (NYSE: MCO). Let's see how these stocks are exposed to the AI market -- and why they're not comparable to Nvidia.
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 »
How much do these three stocks matter to Berkshire?
Apple is Berkshire's top holding, accounting for 20.2% of its portfolio. Apple generates most of its revenue from the iPhone and other hardware. Still, it's using its Apple Intelligence AI suite to increase the stickiness of its ecosystem and subscription-based services. It's also developed custom chips to run edge AI models locally rather than on a cloud-based platform.
Alphabet, which accounts for 7.4% of Berkshire's portfolio and ranks as its fifth-largest holding, is a more focused AI play. Its Google Cloud Platform and custom chips provide the infrastructure for AI applications, while its Gemini large language model (LLM) and AI upgrades for its search, advertising, and Workspace services are widening its moat and locking in more customers.
Moody's, which accounts for 3.4% of Berkshire's portfolio as its ninth-largest holding, is one of the largest providers of financial data in America. It's using AI to upgrade its economic forecasts and credit rating services, making it a more valuable platform for its enterprise customers.
But why aren't these three stocks comparable to Nvidia?
Apple, Alphabet, and Moody's are all sound long-term investments that have generated total returns of 113%, 138%, and 35%, respectively, over the past five years. During that same period, Nvidia's stock delivered a total return of 912% as the AI market expanded.
Past performance never guarantees future gains, but Nvidia still has plenty of irons in the fire. It's the world's largest producer of discrete GPUs for data centers, which are used to train the world's most advanced LLMs. Most of the world's top AI companies -- including Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic -- use its data center GPUs. Nvidia also locks in those customers with its proprietary software and services.
In its latest quarter, Nvidia generated 93% of its revenue from its data center chips. It faces some competition from AMD's cheaper data center GPUs, Broadcom's custom AI accelerators, and newer inference-oriented chips, but Nvidia will likely dominate the general-purpose AI training market for the foreseeable future.
From fiscal 2026 (which ended this January) to fiscal 2029, analysts expect Nvidia's revenue and EPS to both grow at CAGRs of 59%. Those are incredible growth rates for a stock that trades at 23 times this year's earnings. Apple, Alphabet, and Moody's -- which are all growing at much slower rates -- trade at 36, 16, and 30 times this year's earnings, respectively.
Why did Berkshire miss out on Nvidia?
Under Warren Buffett, Berkshire avoided Nvidia for the same reason it shunned most tech stocks: it wasn't a business he fully understood. Buffett eventually invested in Apple as a consumer goods play -- while his portfolio managers likely initiated Berkshire's position in Alphabet -- but he likely avoided Nvidia because it was tough to gauge its long-term growth.
Buffett's successor, Greg Abel, also favors Apple and Alphabet over Nvidia as a long-term AI play because they're less exposed to the semiconductor sector's boom-and-bust cycles. As the previous CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Abel also likely sees more growth opportunities in energy infrastructure stocks in the AI market than in individual chipmakers.
So while Berkshire seems to be leaving some money on the table by shunning Nvidia, it's still exposed to the AI market's growth through some of its top stocks. Over the long term, we'll see whether that conservative strategy pays off -- or misses a major technological shift.
Should you buy stock in Berkshire Hathaway right now?
Before you buy stock in Berkshire Hathaway, 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 Berkshire Hathaway wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
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Leo Sun has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Broadcom, Microsoft, Moody's, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Berkshire Hathaway Owns AI Exposure in 3 Different Ways. Here's Why That's Not the Same as Owning Nvidia.

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST). Shares have lost about 6.7% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Upstart due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for Upstart Holdings, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Upstart Q2 Revenues Climb as Profitability Improves
Key Highlights
• Revenues: $364.7 million in second-quarter 2026, up 42% year over year.
• EPS: 16 cents, up 220% year over year from 5 cents in the prior-year quarter.
• Revenues from fees: $348 million, up 45% year over year, with platform/referral fees of $284.1 million, servicing/other fees of $54.8 million and loan sales fees of $9.1 million.
• GAAP net income: $16.5 million, up 195% year over year from $5.6 million in the prior-year quarter. Net income margin was 5% versus 2% a year earlier.
• Contribution profit: $193.1 million, up 37% year over year; contribution margin 55% compared to 58% in the prior-year quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA: $76.9 million, up 45% year over year; adjusted EBITDA margin of 21% in second-quarter 2026.
• Originations: $4.2 billion, up 50% year over year; 558,014 loans originated, up 50% year over year.
Scale, Mix & Execution Drive Q2 Results
Top-line growth was driven by higher marketplace originations, stronger fee revenues and continued expansion beyond core unsecured lending. Total originations rose to $4.2 billion, while fee-based revenues reached $348 million, as platform/referral fees, servicing/other fees and newly separated loan sales fees all contributed to the second quarter.
Profitability improved despite higher operating costs. GAAP net income increased to $16.54 million, adjusted EBITDA reached $76.9 million and adjusted EBITDA margin was 21%. Contribution profit reached an all-time high of $193.1 million, though contribution margin declined to 55% from 58% a year ago as product mix continued to include faster-growing secured products with lower current margins.
Unsecured Lending Remains the Core Engine
Unsecured Lending, which includes personal loans, small-dollar loans and Cash Line, remained the largest contributor in the second quarter. Fee revenue rose 38% year over year to $326.3 million, while originations increased 38% year over year to $3.64 billion. Loan count reached 535,191 in the reported quarter.
Contribution profit in Unsecured Lending was $200.8 million compared with $147.3 million in prior-year quarter. Contribution margin was 62%, flat year over year and up six percentage points sequentially, supported by a larger mix of higher-margin core personal loans, lower customer acquisition costs as a percentage of originations and an expected seasonal pickup in demand.
Secured Products Continue to Scale
Secured products continued to grow rapidly, with fee revenue rising 465% year over year to $22 million. Secured originations reached $589 million, including $426 million from auto and $163 million from home products. Auto originations increased 264% year over year, while home originations rose 139%.
Margins in secured products remained negative but improved materially. Contribution margin was negative 35% compared with negative 176% in the prior-year quarter and negative 96% in the first quarter of 2026. Management attributed the improvement to better take rates, operational efficiencies, automation, funnel optimization and lower HELOC origination costs, which fell 15% sequentially.
Expenses Rise as Operating Leverage Emerges
Total operating expenses were $350.1 million, up 39% year over year and 11% sequentially. Management expects fixed expenses to grow at a low-single-digit sequential pace in the third and fourth quarters of 2026.
Funding & Balance Sheet Trends
Upstart ended the quarter with $456 million in cash and cash equivalents and $526.3 million in restricted cash. Loans at fair value totaled $1.06 billion, while beneficial interest assets were $545.9 million.
The balance sheet continued to reflect a capital-light marketplace model. Loans held on Upstart’s balance sheet accounted for just 5.9% of total outstanding loans, the lowest level in nearly two years.
Management Commentary & Outlook
Management maintained full-year 2026 guidance for total revenues of approximately $1.4 billion, fee revenues of about $1.3 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $294 million, implying a 21% margin.
Management highlighted progress in reaccelerating core personal loans, improving the profitability of Home and Auto, maintaining capital efficiency and driving a rebound in overall profitability. The company also received OCC conditional approval for its national bank charter in July 2026, with additional regulatory approvals and operational work; management’s targeted launch is in early 2027.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?
In the past month, investors have witnessed a upward trend in estimates review.
The consensus estimate has shifted -20.69% due to these changes.
VGM Scores
At this time, Upstart has a subpar Growth Score of D, however its Momentum Score is doing a bit better with a C. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Estimates have been trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of this revision indicates a downward shift. Interestingly, Upstart has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry Player
Upstart is part of the Zacks Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry. Over the past month, Moody's (MCO), a stock from the same industry, has gained 1.2%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended June 2026 more than a month ago.
Moody's reported revenues of $2.19 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +15.1%. EPS of $4.68 for the same period compares with $3.56 a year ago.
Moody's is expected to post earnings of $4.26 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +8.7%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged.
The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Moody's. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of C.
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
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Upstart (UPST) Down 6.7% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF (Symbol: NULG) where we have detected an approximate $228.5 million dollar inflow -- that's a 8.4% increase week over week in outstanding units (from 23,850,000 to 25,850,000). Among the largest underlying components of NULG, in trading today Fortinet Inc (Symbol: FTNT) is up about 0.8%, Moody's Corp. (Symbol: MCO) is off about 1.9%, and Howmet Aerospace Inc (Symbol: HWM) is lower by about 7.2%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the NULG Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of NULG, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, NULG's low point in its 52 week range is $87.17 per share, with $118.72 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $114.00. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Further NULG Research:

NULG, FTNT, MCO, HWM: ETF Inflow Alert

Key Points
AWS sales increased 37.5% year over year in the second quarter, its best peformance in 18 quarters.
The chip business has long-term commitments from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI.
The e-commerce business is still growing by double digits, too.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has emerged from a challenging period with high growth and massive opportunities. Its artificial intelligence (AI) spend, which provoked an exodus from the stock last year, is paying off, and the market is starting to appreciate it again.
Amazon stock is up 15% year to date, edging out the S&P 500's 13% gain, but it still looks cheap; it's trading at 21.3 times forward, 1-year earnings, a very slight premium to the S&P 500 average of 20.4.
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 »
Amazon has massive opportunities
CEO Andy Jassy has maintained over the past few years that the AI spend is necessary to harness the incredible opportunities in AI. Amazon has a first-mover's edge and the most to gain, since it's the largest cloud company in the world.
At times, Jassy has appeared surprised by the intense, negative market reaction to what seems logical and necessary. He has reiterated many times that this is the biggest opportunity since the internet, and that there's going to be a shift to the cloud. Well, that time has come, and Amazon is ready.
Although Amazon has been reporting strong growth for a while, the second quarter was a standout. Sales increased 20% over last year, all the more impressive now that Amazon is the largest company in the world by sales. It's highly profitable as well, and operating income rose from $10 billion last year to $27.5 billion this year.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud segment, is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Sales for the cloud business increased more than 37% year over year, the highest in 18 quarters. That's in turn driven by AI. AWS offers a vast platform for AI development with a large array of features and products for every budget. It serves a huge client base of top-tier companies like Warner Bros. Discovery, Snowflake, and Moody's, all of which it signed new deals in the second quarter. AWS operating income increased from $10.2 billion to $16.6 billion, accounting for more than 60% of the total.
It also has a fast-growing chip company which would be one of the largest chip businesses in the world on its own, and it signed multi-year commitments with Anthropic and OpenAI in addition to many more clients in the second quarter. Amazon's Graviton5 chip has 25% better compute performance than Graviton4, and the line already has 30% to 40% better compute performance than similar chips. Revenue commitments for Graviton increased threefold sequentially in the second quarter.
Investors shouldn't ignore progress in e-commerce, though. Amazon added 80 U.S. cities to its ultra-fast delivery service, which gets orders to customer in less than 30 minutes. E-commerce is still Amazon's bread and butter, and the money coming in from the core e-commerce segment provides the foundation for the company to launch new businesses like AWS and the brand-new Amazon Leo satellite broadband business, which competes with Space Exploration Technologies' Starlink business. E-commerce is still growing by double digits, and if not outshined by AI, it would be impressive on its own.
Is Amazon stock a bargain?
So why is Amazon stock so cheap?
When a company is as big as Amazon, or any of the mega-cap companies, the market sees a cap on growth. Although Amazon is growing by double digits, it's not the same kind of astronomical growth as a young upstart. So while there's a long opportunity ahead, it's going to come more slowly and more steadily. That's the only reason I can think of for why Amazon stock looks so cheap today.
Investors should keep that in mind when considering Amazon stock. The company can still outperform the market and create shareholder value, but it's not going to deliver the same life-changing wealth it did in the past.
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 $429,223!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,318,055!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 965% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 212% 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.
Jennifer Saibil has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Moody's, Snowflake, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

If Amazon Is a Top Growth Stock, Then Why Does It Trade at Just 21.3x Forward Earnings While the S&P 500 Trades at 20.4x? This Is the Only Answer I Can Think Of.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA), Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) and ConocoPhillips (COP), as well as two micro-cap stocks Syntec Optics Holdings, Inc. (OPTX) and Universal Safety Products, Inc (UUU). The Zacks microcap research is unique as our research content on these small and under-the-radar companies is the only research of its type in the country.
These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
Ahead of Wall Street
The daily 'Ahead of Wall Street' article is a must-read for all investors who would like to be ready for that day's trading action. The article comes out before the market opens, attempting to make sense of that morning's economic releases and how they will affect that day's market action. You can read this article for free on our home page and can actually sign up there to get an email notification as this article comes out each morning.
You can read today's AWS here >>> Earnings, Cancer Vaccine, Long-Term Liquidity: A Busy Pre-Market
Today's Featured Research Reports
Shares of NVIDIA have gained +18% over the year-to-date period against the Zacks Semiconductor - General industry’s gain of +25%. The company continues to benefit from broad demand for accelerated computing as customers build AI factories across hyperscalers, AI clouds, enterprises and sovereign buyers. The Blackwell ramp, rising networking content and software integration reinforce its role across training and inference while supporting high cash generation.
Customer diversification, a rapid product roadmap and longer-term opportunities in automotive and physical AI add growth avenues. Its cash-rich balance sheet and shareholder returns provide further support.
However, risks remain from China restrictions, customer concentration, rising operating investment, large supply commitments and competition. Even so, expanding AI infrastructure demand, platform breadth and product cadence give the favorable drivers greater weight and support an Outperform view.
(You can read the full research report on NVIDIA here >>>)
Applied Materials’ shares have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry over the year-to-date period (+97.3% vs. +29%). The company is benefiting from AI-driven investment that is concentrating wafer fabrication spending in leading-edge foundry-logic, DRAM and advanced packaging, where its materials engineering portfolio has broad exposure.
New process tools, rising advanced packaging demand and a larger connected service base support continued share capture and value-based pricing. Longer customer forecasts and planned manufacturing expansion improve visibility into another growth year, while recurring services and disciplined capital returns add resilience.
However, risks remain from capital spending cyclicality, reliance on large customers, China-related export controls, competitive intensity and the execution burden of scaling capacity. Even so, the current demand mix and margin trajectory support an Outperform view over the next cycle.
(You can read the full research report on Applied Materials here >>>)
Shares of ConocoPhillips have outperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry over the year-to-date period (+42.9% vs. +39.1%). The company offers a balanced long-term profile, supported by a deep low-cost upstream portfolio, leading Lower 48 inventory and expanding LNG exposure. Willow remains on track, while Alaska exploration adds resource optionality around existing infrastructure.
Cost discipline, lower future reinvestment needs and steady cash returns support resilience through the cycle. However, the investment case remains exposed to commodity-price swings, deeply negative Lower 48 gas realizations, rising environmental accruals and geopolitical uncertainty across Qatar and newer Middle East opportunities.
Multi-year execution risk at Willow and LNG projects also remains. With Zacks’ Neutral view, durable assets and cash-return capacity are offset by macro, legal and execution risks that still limit conviction over the medium term.
(You can read the full research report on ConocoPhillips here >>>)
Syntec Optics’ shares have outperformed the Zacks Technology Services industry over the year-to-date period (+194.1% vs. -10.1%). This microcap company with a market capitalization of $335.13 million is building a diversified growth platform across defense, space, biomedical and AI markets. Defense AR orders are expanding toward a potentially decade-long supply program, while rising space-optics production, nearly $4.3 million in recent LEO awards, and new collision-avoidance optics provide additional growth avenues.
Recurring biomedical orders add revenue stability, and increasing AI data-center demand is driving dedicated capacity investment. Positive operating cash flow further supports expansion.
However, three customers account for 52% of revenues, while higher material costs reduced first-half gross profit and contributed to a $0.6 million net loss. Material weaknesses in internal controls, competitive pressure and execution risks from capacity investments add uncertainty. The stock trades at substantial valuation premiums on EV/sales basis.
(You can read the full research report on Syntec Optics here >>>)
Shares of Universal Safety Products have outperformed the Zacks Building Products - Miscellaneous industry over the past year (+96.2% vs. +0.8%). This microcap company with a market capitalization of $13.69 million is undergoing a high-risk strategic transition, with improved balance-sheet flexibility providing some runway to pursue its DeFi and tokenization ambitions.
The removal of legacy obligations and development of blockchain infrastructure offer a foundation for potential value creation, but monetization remains unproven and the new business is pre-revenue. Meanwhile, the retained operations face weak demand, margin pressure, customer concentration and a heavy fixed-cost burden, keeping cash generation under strain and increasing reliance on dilutive financing.
Persistent going-concern and internal-control concerns add uncertainty. The valuation suggests investors are pricing in meaningful transformation potential, leaving limited room for execution setbacks if monetization and operating improvements fail to materialize.
(You can read the full research report on Universal Safety Products here >>>)
Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Sandisk Corp. (SNDK), Moody's Corp. (MCO) and L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (LHX).
Mark Vickery
Senior Editor
Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>
Today's Must Read
Featured Reports
Bond Issuances, Expansion Efforts Aid Moody's (MCO), Higher Costs Ail
Per the Zacks analyst, robust bond issuance volume, a dominant position in the credit rating industry and strategic expansions aid Moody's, while higher expenses and stiff competition are concerns.
Defense Funding & Missile Demand Strengthen L3Harris (LHX)
Per the Zacks analyst, L3Harris is benefiting from elevated U.S. defense spending, strong missile-defense and Golden Dome demand, rising international orders, and a record $42 billion backlog.
Corcept (CORT) Banks on Higher Korlym Sales, Overdependence a Woe
Per the Zacks analyst, Corcept's lead drug, Korlym, approved for treating Cushing's syndrome, is driving the top line. However, heavy dependence on Korlym for revenues remains a concern.
iDose Driving Glaukos' (GKOS) Growth Despite Reimbursement Uncertainty
Per the Zacks analyst, rising adoption of iDose TR is driving robust sales growth for Glaukos. Glaucoma sales were up 64% in second quarter. However, potential restrictive final LCD can hurt prospect.
Leasing Momentum and Capital Flexibility Aid BXP (BXP) Amid Rent Risks
Per the Zacks analyst, BXP benefits from solid leasing and higher occupancy, amid growing demand and funding flexibility. However, uneven rents, free-rent periods and refinancing costs pose risks.
FTI Consulting's (FCN) Workforce Boosts Appeal, No Dividends Ail
Per the Zacks Analyst, FTI Consulting's strong workforce and service quality attract investors, but the absence of cash dividends may deter income-focused shareholders.
Calix (CALX) Rides on Growing Broadband Investments, AI Focus
Per the Zacks analyst, growing investment by broadband providers in network expansion, subscriber experience will likely drive Calix's top line. Focus on AI native portfolio expansion is a positive.
New Upgrades
Sandisk's (SNDK) Prospects Rides on Strong AI-Driven Memory Demand
Per the Zacks analyst, Sandisk is benefiting from strong AI-led memory demand along with higher pricing and mix shift towards data center SSDs.
DRAM and HBM Growth Continues to Aid Formfactor's (FORM) Prospects
Per the Zacks analysis, DRAM and HBM demand growth, rising test intensity, and HBM4 transition strength are expected to support FormFactor's margins and long-term prospects.
Mercury General Gains From Premium Growth & Higher Investment Income
Per the Zacks analyst, premium growth, improved underwriting and higher investment income are aiding MCY's revenues, while its catastrophe reinsurance program limits exposure to large events.
New Downgrades
Pool Weakness and Inventory Correction to Weigh on Pentair (PNR)
The Zacks analyst is concerned that larger-than-anticipated inventory correction along with weak end-market demand in the Pool channel will continue to hurt Pentair's results in the near-term.
Albertsons' (ACI) Rising Cost Likely to Pressure Operating Leverage
Per the Zacks analyst, Albertsons is likely to face continued pressure on operating leverage as soft sales and rising rent, transformation and other costs weigh on profitability.
Norwegian Cruise (NCLH) Faces Yield and Leverage Headwinds
Per the Zacks analyst, weaker bookings, declining net yields, elevated costs and high leverage continue to weigh on Norwegian Cruise's near-term prospects.
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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Top Research Reports for NVIDIA, Applied Materials & ConocoPhillips

Key Points
Buffett has praised Coca-Cola as an "inevitable," meaning that people will always buy it, and it will always dominate its industry.
It has always focused on large-scale marketing campaigns to strengthen its relationship with its customers.
It has raised its dividend annually for 64 years, resulting in a large annual payout for Berkshire Hathaway.
Warren Buffett has been clear about his favorite stocks in recent years. He keeps returning to the same handful of names, three of which were Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) largest positions under his tenure.
One of them is the equity portfolio's longest-held position, and Greg Abel is holding on to it as he leads the company into the artificial intelligence (AI) era: Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). (For the curious, the other two large positions are Apple and American Express, and the fourth that has been mentioned at times is Moody's.)
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 »
Why Coca-Cola is foundational
Let's go back to the very first time Buffett bought Coca-Cola stock, in 1988, when he explained why he wants to own it. For outstanding businesses with outstanding management, he wrote, "our favorite holding period is forever."
What makes the business so outstanding?
In 1996, Buffett called Coca-Cola, along with Gillette, one of the "inevitables." He said, "No sensible observer [...] questions that Coke and Gillette will dominate." He explained that as far back as 1896, when Coca-Cola was all of a decade old, it already had high public opinion and a national sales force that kept it at the top of consumers' minds.
Then there's the fantastic dividend. Coca-Cola is a Dividend King, and it has raised its dividend annually for the past 64 years.
Altogether, Berkshire purchased $1.3 billion worth of Coca-Cola stock from 1988 through 1994, and it has never sold a share. Today, the position is worth nearly $35 billion, not including the annual dividends that Berkshire receives. In 2026 alone, that's scheduled to be $848 million.
Why Coca-Cola just hit an all-time high
These are the same reasons Coca-Cola is so reliable today, and likely the same reasons that the stock just hit an all-time high. While the S&P 500 is up a respectable 14% year to date, Coca-Cola stock is crushing it, up 26%. That's not too bad for a company that's over a century old.
The market is loving the company's strong performance despite inflation and a tough operating environment. It still has a robust marketing system that put it in front of customers' faces during the summer's World Cup, and its healthy relationship with its fans resulted in a 6% year-over-year increase in organic revenue in the second quarter (organic revenue strips out acquisitions, divestitures, and currency swings).
Investors know that they can count on Coca-Cola even when the market is challenging. It's a dividend payer that can reward patient retail investors, even if nobody buying today starts from Berkshire's low cost basis.
Should you buy stock in Coca-Cola right now?
Before you buy stock in Coca-Cola, 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 Coca-Cola 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 $421,511!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,381,960!*
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American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Jennifer Saibil has positions in American Express and Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends American Express, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, and Moody's. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Meet the Dividend Stock That Warren Buffett Backed for Decades. Here's Why It Just Hit an All-Time High Under Greg Abel.

Key Points
Solana has dropped 75% from its all-time high.
It could bounce back, but it still faces too many near-term headwinds.
Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), one of the world's fastest-growing developer-driven cryptocurrencies, set a record high of $295 on Jan. 18, 2025. But today, it trades at about $73. Let's see why this hot token fizzled out, and if it's worth buying as a contrarian play.
The bulls vs. the bears
Solana is a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain that supports staking (locking up tokens to earn yields) and smart contracts (used to develop decentralized apps). That makes it similar to Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), the world's largest PoS blockchain, but Solana timestamps transactions with its own proof-of-history (PoH) mechanism before they're validated.
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That upgrade makes Solana's Layer-1 (L1) blockchain much faster than Ethereum's L1 blockchain. That's why Solana is now the world's second-largest developer-driven PoS blockchain after Ethereum, and it's gaining new developers at a faster rate than Ethereum.
A growing number of fintech companies -- including Circle, Visa, PayPal, and Stripe -- are using Solana's blockchain to settle stablecoin transfers, tokenize assets, and launch new cryptocurrencies. Moody's even recently integrated its industry-standard credit ratings into Solana's blockchain to cover tokenized bonds and fixed-income securities.
The bulls believe Solana's Alpenglow upgrade this year will further boost its network speeds, improve its security, and widen its moat against Ethereum and other PoS blockchains. They also expect the passage of the CLARITY Act, which remains stalled in the Senate, to set clearer regulations for stablecoins, tokenized assets, and decentralized apps. Those rules could drive more companies to run their financial services on Solana's blockchain rails. More AI agents could also use Solana to fund their own autonomous workflows.
The bears argue that Solana relies too heavily on speculative meme coins to drive network activity and faces significant competition from Ethereum's L2 networks. They'll also point out that Solana is inflationary because it creates new tokens to reward validators and stakers. Moreover, fears of interest rate hikes are still chilling the crypto market -- and Solana could struggle to recover as quickly as blue chip tokens like Bitcoin and Ether.
Is Solana worth buying right now?
Solana's more than 40% decline this year indicates the bears are winning that debate. It still has plenty of irons in the fire, but it probably won't attract much interest until inflation cools, interest rates decline again, and the CLARITY Act passes. I'd keep an eye on Solana, but I wouldn't rush to buy it in this challenging cryptocurrency market.
Should you buy stock in Solana right now?
Before you buy stock in Solana, 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 Solana 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 $386,727!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,232,139!*
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*Stock Advisor returns as of August 2, 2026.
Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Moody's, PayPal, Solana, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short September 2026 $47.50 calls on PayPal. 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 Solana (SOL) a Buy Right Now?

Key Points
Card member rewards spending is elevated following the launch of the revamped Platinum Card in September 2025.
American Express continues to grow revenue and earnings at a breakneck pace.
American Express is returning boatloads of cash to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.
On Jan. 1, Greg Abel succeeded Warren Buffett as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB), taking over a portfolio of publicly traded equities worth hundreds of billions of dollars, as well as other controlled companies worth even more -- such as Berkshire's insurance businesses, railroads, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, manufacturing, service, retail businesses, and more.
Abel wasted no time making some massive portfolio moves, including selling several small positions and pole-vaulting Alphabet (on Buffett's recommendation) to one of Berkshire's top five holdings. Amid the portfolio changes, Abel added steadfast conviction to Berkshire's largest holdings, saying that Berkshire's concentration in American Express (NYSE: AXP), Apple, Coca-Cola, and Moody's will continue, as Berkshire expects these companies to compound over decades.
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But it has been a rough year for American Express investors. The stock fell 4.3% on July 24 in response to its second-quarter 2026 earnings report, putting American Express down 11.8% year to date.
Here's why American Express is a no-brainer value stock to buy now despite its post-earnings sell-off.
On pace for a banner year
American Express barely missed on revenue expectations and noted an uptick in expenses related to its revamped U.S. Platinum Card perks. The sell-off seems overblown, given that the payment processor and card issuer raised its guidance and now expects a 10% increase in 2026 revenue.
The upbeat growth stems from strong customer additions and increasing customer spending. On a foreign-exchange-adjusted basis, which accounts for currency fluctuations, American Express reported 9% card member spending growth in Q2, which is the highest rate in three years. American Express is guiding for full-year earnings per share of $17.30 to $17.90, which would be an all-time high.
American Express's loyal customer base and steadily rising earnings enable it to consistently increase dividends and repurchase stock at a breakneck pace, accelerating earnings-per-share growth. As of the six months ended June 30, American Express has 682 million shares outstanding, down 3% from a year prior. And over the past decade, American Express has reduced its share count by more than 25%, it's roughly tripled its dividend, and the stock price has more than quintupled. Yet American Express remains an incredible value because earnings growth and buybacks have kept the valuation in check. American Express trades at just 18.5 times the midpoint of its 2026 earnings estimate.
A winning formula
American Express continues to deliver double-digit revenue and earnings growth even amid strained consumer spending. That growth is a testament to the strength of its business model.
American Express caters to an affluent customer base with a reward system built around discretionary spending and perks. Because of high spending on wants rather than needs, the customer base may be less sensitive to inflationary pressures, such as higher gas, food, and shelter costs.
Its members win because their perk value nearly doubles their membership costs on average. American Express collected just $5.61 billion in net card fees in the six months ended June 30, compared with $9.94 billion in card member rewards expenses.
If card fees were the only source of American Express's income, the company wouldn't last long. But like its card members, American Express also wins because customers have an incentive to prioritize spending with their American Express cards to justify the high annual fees and maximum membership rewards. The amount of fees that American Express collected from merchants alone in the six months ended June 30 was roughly double card member reward expenses.
And the merchants win because, although they pay American Express high fees, they still generate sales they might not have made if they hadn't accepted American Express.
American Express shareholders have historically won too because the company generates steady earnings growth that has justified a higher stock price, as well as rising cash flows that allow it to return capital to shareholders through a growing dividend and buybacks.
Add it all up, and American Express is as close to a perfect business model as you'll find.
A top-tier stock to buy now
American Express checks all the boxes of a textbook Warren Buffett stock. It has an established business model and brand, a wide moat from the network effects of its loyal customer base, and a clear path to growing earnings for decades to come. So it's no surprise that Abel called it out as a core Berkshire holding he expects to compound well into the future.
Add it all up, and American Express stands out as one of the best dividend growth stocks for investors to buy now, and one worthy of building an everlasting portfolio around.
Should you buy stock in American Express right now?
Before you buy stock in American Express, 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 American Express 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 $377,990!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,269,518!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 896% — 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.
American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Foelber has positions in American Express. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, American Express, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, and Moody's. 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.

Meet the Dividend Growth Stock That Warren Buffett Held for Decades, and Greg Abel Pegged as One of Berkshire Hathaway's Multidecade Compounders

An updated edition of the June 3, 2026 article.
A wide moat refers to companies with lasting competitive advantages that protect them from rivals, similar to how a moat defends a castle. Made famous by Warren Buffett, this strategy targets businesses that can sustain strong long-term profitability due to factors like distinct market positions, strong brand loyalty, cost advantages, network effects and regulatory barriers.
Among the companies that are recognized for their wide moats, some are Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT, Texas Instruments Incorporated TXN, Moody's Corporation MCO, Visa Inc. V and Walmart Inc. WMT. These companies compete in industries with significant barriers to entry, which safeguard their market positions and promote consistent revenue growth by reducing the risk of new competitors.
Wide-moat companies generally benefit from several key factors such as brand strength, network effects, high customer switching costs, regulatory protections and economies of scale. These characteristics make it challenging for new entrants or existing competitors to erode their market share. Companies with wide moats typically benefit from strong pricing power, stable profit margins and the capacity to reinvest in their businesses, further reinforcing their competitive advantages.
The case for investing in wide-moat businesses is rooted in their ability to deliver steady, long-term returns. In contrast to companies operating in fiercely competitive industries, where profits can be highly volatile due to pricing pressures and rivalry, wide-moat businesses tend to show greater resilience during economic downturns and market turbulence. Their solid market positions and robust balance sheets enable them to endure challenges that might seriously impact less competitive firms.
Investing in wide-moat companies can be an effective strategy for building long-term wealth, as these businesses typically produce steady cash flows, navigate market volatility with resilience, and deliver value to shareholders through dividends and stock price growth. While no investment is entirely risk-free, companies with strong economic moats provide a level of durability that many investors seek in an ever-changing market. Our Wide Moat Screen makes it easy to identify high-potential stocks at any given time — just like the ones mentioned above.
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5 Wide-Moat Stocks to Buy Now
Applied Materials’ moat is supported by a strong position in semiconductor equipment, efficient operational scale and a broad portfolio. It is a dominant name in the semiconductor equipment sales domain. AMAT is one of the world’s largest suppliers of equipment for the fabrication of semiconductors, flat panel liquid crystal displays, and solar photovoltaic cells and modules. AMAT has the broadest and most diversified offerings as it provides solutions across multiple fabrication steps, such as deposition, materials engineering, etch, metrology and packaging.
Applied Materials expects to strengthen its position even further in wafer fabrication equipment (“WFE”) thanks to an expanding product portfolio. Furthermore, the emergence of data centers will continue to be a major contributor to the company's top-line growth with the growing demand for dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”) by the cloud service providers.
Applied Materials is seeing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption broaden and diversify, which is pushing wafer fab equipment spending toward leading-edge foundry-logic, DRAM and advanced packaging. Management expects these three areas to drive more than 80% of year-on-year total WFE growth in calendar 2026, with a similar profile in 2027. The company also expects its semiconductor equipment business to grow more than 30% in calendar 2026 as customers expand cleanroom capacity and accelerate equipment pull-ins.
Applied Materials’ semiconductor business continues to be on a growth trajectory with significant design wins. Moreover, the company's AI Design Forum bodes well for its strong focus on the development of new computing materials and designs. The industry's transition to 3D NAND is also helping the company to further expand the served available market. Applied Materials is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Texas Instruments has a strong position in the foundational analog and embedded processing semiconductor markets, which are critical for long-term growth in key industries like industrial, automotive, personal electronics and data center. It serves diverse end markets that balance individual ups and downs in multiple ways. For instance, the seasonality in the personal electronics business is balanced out by the industrial, communications, automotive and data center segments.
The company serves individuals and corporations, industrial customers and infrastructure providers. The emergence of 5G technology is aiding the performance of the company's analog products in the communication equipment market. All these are making its revenue stream relatively steady despite the dynamism in each of the markets served. This is very important for a company like Texas Instruments because it has huge facilities of its own that come along with high fixed costs.
Texas Instruments is focusing more on making chips under its internal manufacturing facilities instead of relying on outside foundries. The company aims to manufacture more than 95% of its wafers internally by 2030, with a significant portion of those on 300-millimeter wafers. By building its internal manufacturing, the company will gain better control over production, quality and costs. This will also reduce risks from supply-chain issues and global trade tensions. It also makes Texas Instruments more flexible in responding to customer needs. Over time, this approach can improve profit margins and strengthen the company’s position in the market as demand for reliable chip supply grows.
Texas Instruments, a Zacks Rank #2 stock, is one of the largest suppliers of analog and digital signal processing integrated circuits. The company’s compelling product lineup and efficient manufacturing strategies are anticipated to drive long-term earnings. Also, Texas Instruments is nearing the completion of a six-year elevated capital expenditure cycle, investing in 300-millimeter wafer fabs to secure low-cost manufacturing capacity at scale. This initiative positions the company to meet customer demand while enhancing margins and free cash flow. Further, its focus on innovation of the product portfolio across both the Analog and Embedded Processing segments remains a major positive.
Moody’s is a leader in credit ratings and analytics. Its position is fortified by regulatory reliance on its ratings and a reputation built over decades, creating high barriers for new entrants. Its dominant position in the credit rating industry, along with opportunistic acquisitions and restructuring efforts to diversify revenues and footprint, supports top-line expansion. A strong balance sheet position and earnings strength also keep the company’s capital distributions sustainable.
Moody’s has been meaningfully growing through strategic acquisitions, increasing scale and cross-selling opportunities across products and vertical markets. In August 2025, it announced its plans to secure a majority equity ownership in Middle East Rating & Investors Service. In June 2025, it fully acquired ICR Chile, strengthening its presence in Latin America’s domestic credit markets. In 2024, it announced the acquisition of Numerated Growth Technologies and a 100% stake in Global Credit Rating Company Limited (GCR) to deepen its presence in Africa’s credit market. These deals, along with several other strategic buyouts, will continue helping the company diversify revenues and be accretive to earnings. Moody's will continue to pursue opportunistic deals that are strategic fits and complement its existing operations.
Moody’s continues to pursue growth in areas outside the core credit ratings service. This Zacks Rank #2 company has increased its exposure to the banking and insurance industries and is diversifying into fast-growing professional services and enterprise risk solutions businesses. The rising share of the analytics business, which is not correlated with the volatility of interest rates, has added stability to top-line growth.
Visa, the global leader in digital payments, benefits from an extensive payment network that connects millions of merchants, banks and consumers worldwide. Its economic moat stems from the network effect, where the value of its services increases as more users and businesses participate. With a near-monopoly in card transactions, Visa generates significant revenues through transaction fees while facing minimal competition due to high regulatory and technological barriers in the payment processing industry.
Visa consistently achieves growth in payments volume and processed transactions. The company's robust market position, strategic acquisitions and digital payment trends contribute to revenue expansion. Visa's strategic emphasis on inorganic growth through mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships has solidified its dominance. The company's partnerships and investments underscore its ongoing efforts to extend its network and maintain a leading position in the payment industry. These strategic moves have expanded its global network, resulting in continuous growth in cross-border volumes.
Visa continues to drive product and platform innovation through solutions like Visa Token Service, Visa Checkout, and In-App Provisioning, reinforcing its leadership in secure digital payments. The company keeps pushing emerging form factors such as contactless, tap-to-pay, and secure remote commerce, while expanding partnerships across fintech and crypto-linked use cases. Visa has also moved quickly into agentic commerce. In April 2026, it unveiled Intelligent Commerce Connect, an ‘on ramp’ that lets businesses connect AI agents to payments and acceptance through a single integration. It is also expanding its Agentic Ready testing program from Europe into Asia Pacific and Latin America to validate enrollment, tokenization, authentication and authorization flows before broader rollout. Visa currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, operates more than 10,900 stores in 19 countries, serving roughly 270 million customers weekly through its vast network of supercenters, discount stores and e-commerce platforms. It thrives on everyday low prices and digital accessibility.
Walmart’s diverse business model is a major advantage. The company generates growth not only from stores but also through digital advertising, memberships and marketplace operations. These areas provide new profit streams that are less dependent on traditional retail sales. Advertising through Walmart Connect and international platforms like Flipkart Ads is growing quickly, while membership income from Walmart+ and Sam’s Club is also rising at a rapid pace.
Walmart’s progress in digital and logistics capabilities has also been impressive. The company uses its massive store network as fulfillment hubs, allowing it to deliver faster and more efficiently. Marketplace growth and greater use of Walmart Fulfillment Services are strengthening both customer convenience and profitability.
This Zacks Rank #2 company is also investing heavily in automation and AI to improve productivity and simplify shopping experiences. Its international operations add another source of growth. Markets like China, Mexico and India (Flipkart) continue to post strong gains, driven by strong e-commerce demand and expansion in quick delivery services.
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
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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.

Top Wide-Moat Stocks to Invest in for Sustainable Growth

For the second day in a row, we have no economic reports to parse. All market activity is based on current geopolitical conditions and, of course, Q2 earnings season. Pre-market futures are in the red and sinking at this hour, following a nice Tuesday in the green, on higher spot oil prices due to hostilities at the Strait of Hormuz and new tariffs being slapped on Canada this week.
It’s been a rough month of trading, particularly for the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which is down around -6% over that time period. Year to date, the index only lags the small-cap Russell 2000 in gains, though we haven’t seen a new high on the index since mid-June. Currently, the Dow is -93 points, the S&P 500 -28, the Nasdaq has fallen another -284 points and the Russell 2000 -12.
Q2 Earnings Updates at a Glance: GEV, TSLA, GOOGL
GE Vernova GEV, the power and grid solutions component of the old General Electric conglomerate, posted mixed results in its Q2 earnings report this morning. The company outperformed on revenues of $11.1 billion by +3.12%, which earnings of $2.47 per share fell -22% from the $3.17 Zacks consensus estimate, partly on $200 million in new tariffs slapped on import equipment. Shares are down -3% in early trading, but the stock had been performing great: +65% year to date.
Two finance companies outperformed estimates by more than +10% on earnings results ahead of today’s open: Northern Trust NTRS and Moody’s MCO are up +1.25% and +4.5% in early trading. Northern Trust saw clear gains in fees, markets and net interest income during the quarter. Moody’s saw rising demand for analytics and pointed to a better environment for stock repurchases.
After today’s close, Tesla TSLA, Alphabet GOOGL and IBM IBM will be among a slew of fresh earnings reports awaiting investors. These three companies are the most closely aligned with the AI trade which has been propelling markets for much of the past year but has met some resistance on capex spending questions. Today’s reports ought to color-in plenty of lines in this regard.
Tesla, a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock currently, is expected to bring in a +25% gain on quarterly earnings, +14.7% on revenues. Alphabet, the Google and YouTube parent, as well as a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock, is anticipated to post +24.24% on earnings and +23.93% on revenues and has beaten earnings estimates by an average +34% over the past four quarters. IBM carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) into its earnings report, expected +4.64% on earnings and +1.1% on revenues.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.
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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.

Moody's Corporation

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