Anthropic, the company behind the Claude artificial intelligence (AI) models, plans to publish its initial public offering (IPO) prospectus after Monday's Labor Day holiday, The Information reported late last month. A listing may follow as soon as late September or in October. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shareholders have a more specific reason than most to open the document when it lands.

On April 20, Anthropic committed to spend "more than $100 billion over the next ten years" with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's cloud computing segment. That promise is equal to about a fifth of AWS's backlog of contracted work, which reached about $496 billion in June.

In other words, Amazon has already told investors how much one of its biggest cloud customers intends to spend. What no Amazon filing can show is whether the customer's own finances support it. That's what the prospectus is for.

The contract is already in Amazon's filings

April's agreement covers up to 5 gigawatts of capacity on Amazon's own silicon -- Graviton processors and Trainium2 through Trainium4 AI chips, with an option on future generations.

Amazon's filings show what a deal that size does to the backlog. AWS's backlog (commitments in customer contracts with original terms longer than one year that haven't yet been recognized as revenue) had grown to about $496 billion by June 30. That was up from about $364 billion in March, and from $195 billion in the middle of 2025 -- growth of 154% year over year, including a $132 billion jump in a single quarter. And the Anthropic deal wasn't alone. The filing also discloses a $100 billion, eight-year expansion of AWS's existing $38 billion commitment from OpenAI, announced a quarter earlier.

Not only is AWS's contracted future far bigger than it was a year ago, but more of it also sits years away from becoming revenue. The weighted-average remaining life of the segment's long-term contracts stretched from 4.0 years to 6.4 years over those 12 months.

One half of the deal is easy to check

Of course, a backlog is signed work, not guaranteed revenue. Amazon says the amount and timing of what it recognizes "will be driven by customer usage and our performance in accordance with contractual obligations."

Amazon's half of that sentence looks strong. In the second quarter of 2026, AWS's revenue rose 37% year over year, to $42.2 billion -- the segment's fastest growth in 18 quarters and a $169 billion annualized pace. Segment operating income rose about 63% year over year to $16.6 billion. And the AI business inside AWS passed a $25 billion annualized revenue pace of its own, growing triple-digit percentages.

The customer's half is the part I can't verify yet. Anthropic is private, and its reported growth is extraordinary. In April, the company said its annualized revenue pace had passed $30 billion, more than triple its level entering the year. And by mid-August, CNBC reported, Anthropic was telling investors the pace had reached $65 billion by the end of July.

Spread evenly, the commitment works out to more than $10 billion a year, or about 6% of AWS's current annual revenue pace. That's arguably affordable if Anthropic's growth holds, and heavy if it doesn't.

And Amazon isn't just supplying the capacity. Its latest quarterly filing shows the company has put another $10 billion into Anthropic this year, with up to $15 billion more available under a financing arrangement tied to compute-delivery milestones. That means Amazon's interest in Anthropic's financial health goes beyond the contract itself.

What does a prospectus settle?

Nearly everything the market knows about Anthropic's finances today is reported, not filed. The company's only filing on record is the confidential draft it submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission in June.

Its expected market value is a projection. People familiar with the matter told CNBC last month that the company could go public at a valuation of about $2 trillion, about double its private-market value. Its revenue pace is self-reported, and no audited numbers are public.

A prospectus replaces the estimates with audited financial statements: actual revenue, actual profit or losses, and actual cash. Even more useful for Amazon shareholders, it should carry Anthropic's own accounting of its purchase commitments, the other side of the agreements that swelled AWS's backlog.

At about $259 as of this writing, Amazon's stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 24. For a company whose cloud segment just accelerated to 37% growth, I think that's a reasonable price.

But AWS has now disclosed more than $200 billion of multi-year commitments from just two private AI companies, and until those companies file, investors can only judge them by reported figures.

Ultimately, Anthropic's prospectus is the first chance to check one of them. I'll be reading it closely.

Daniel Sparks and his clients do not have positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Bij een ontploffing van vuurwerk in een kerk tijdens een dorpsfeest in Mexico zijn minstens tien mensen omgekomen en meer dan zestig mensen gewond geraakt. Dat meldt de regering van de centraal gelegen Mexicaanse staat Mexico.

Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS) is offering investors a nearly 3.5% yield. The average bank's yield is around 2.2%, and the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has a tiny 1% yield. If you are looking for a high-yield bank stock, Scotiabank, as it is more commonly known, is probably worth a close look. But the real dividend story is about consistency. Here's what you need to know.

Bank of Nova Scotia has shifted gears, but not changed its dividend policy

Recently, Scotiabank made a major change in its business. For a long time, the Canadian bank had skipped the U.S. market, focusing instead on Central and South America. That differentiated it from its large Canadian peers, which had focused on growth in the U.S. Scotiabank's plans didn't work out as well as hoped, so it shifted gears. Now, like its peers, it is increasing its focus on the U.S., with a goal of offering its services from Mexico to Canada. Those three countries are contiguous and important trading partners.

What's notable is that Scotiabank has made this shift without resorting to a dividend cut. In fact, the biggest impact that dividend investors felt was a one-year pause in dividend increases. When you look at the company's history, however, that makes total sense. Scotiabank has paid dividends every year since 1833, over 190 years ago. And, unlike many of the largest U.S. banks, it also didn't cut its dividend during the Great Recession.

Scotiabank's efforts to grow in the U.S. market will likely be a net positive, but the real story here isn't about growth. This is a slow-and-steady business that will help you build wealth over time. Dividend reinvestment would allow for powerful compounding, given the above-average yield and incredible dividend history. The real story, then, is consistency, which is powered by the bank's Canadian operations.

Canada's banking system is highly regulated. That has left Scotiabank with a fairly conservative corporate culture and provides it, along with a small number of other large banks, with a protected market position. So its efforts outside of Canada are building atop a strong foundation. That foundation is so strong that Scotiabank was able to materially change its corporate direction without a major impact on the dividend.

When it comes to dividends, slow and steady can be very exciting

Will Bank of Nova Scotia make you rich? Perhaps, but certainly not quickly. This is the type of company you buy and hold for the long term because it has a fundamentally strong business. If you give it long enough, it can be a powerful wealth builder when included in a diversified income portfolio.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Bank Of Nova Scotia. The Motley Fool recommends Bank Of Nova Scotia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Hoe vergaat het onze Belgische tennismannen en -vrouwen op de US Open? En wat met de absolute wereldtoppers? Hieronder blijft u op de hoogte van alle belangrijke uitslagen!

Crypto holders relied more on loans backed by digital assets as market conditions weakened in 2026, according to research from CryptoQuant.

The report analyzed data from crypto lender CoinRabbit. It found higher borrowing activity among both retail and high-net-worth users.

Borrowing Activity Rises

Crypto-backed loans allow holders to access cash without immediately selling their digital assets. Borrowers usually pledge more collateral than they receive, but falling prices can trigger liquidation or require more collateral.

According to the report, retail users recorded the biggest change in borrowing activity during the period. Their average number of loans rose 74%, from 30.8 per user in 2025 to 53.5 in 2026, while high-net-worth users rose 18%, from 16.5 to 19.4.

Repeat borrowing also became more common across the platform. The share of users taking multiple loans increased from 61.9% to 65.1%. Retail borrowers waited an average of 21 days between loans, compared with 11 days previously.

Beyond borrowing activity, collateral preferences also shifted, particularly among wealthier users.  Bitcoin’s share of pledged assets among high-net-worth users fell from 57.8% to 30.5%, while Zcash reached 24.2% after not appearing among the previous top 10.

CryptoQuant linked part of Zcash’s rise in collateral use to its sharp price rally. Zcash climbed from about $50 in late 2025 toward $800, while Monero, Chainlink and Cardano also gained larger shares among high-net-worth collateral.

Shifting Asset Preferences

Retail users continued to rely heavily on XRP as collateral during the period. However, its share fell from 41.7% to 35.2%, while Bitcoin remained close behind. TRON, Stellar, BNB, Kaspa, and Velo also entered the mix.

Meanwhile, the assets users traded most frequently changed during the period as market conditions shifted. Tether and Bitcoin remained the two largest assets by volume, while USD Coin moved into third place. Flare, Ether, and Ondo also entered the top 10.

Solana, Stellar, and Shiba Inu dropped out of the top 10 by trading volume. Together, these changes show that users adjusted both their borrowing and asset preferences during the weaker market period.

The post Crypto Holders Turn to Loans as Markets Cool in 2026: CQ appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The increasing difficulty in aligning AI models underscores the urgent need for global regulatory frameworks to ensure safety and control.

The post OpenAI’s chief scientist warns that advanced AI models are becoming harder to align and control appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

De monsterscore van Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in de deelstaat Saksen-Anhalt toont aan dat de extreemrechtse partij voor veel kiezers het enige alternatief lijkt te zijn voor het falende beleid van de traditionele middenpartijen.

Een Boeing 767-vrachtvliegtuig is zondag na de landing op de luchthaven van Miami, in de Amerikaanse staat Florida, van de landingsbaan gereden, tegen meerdere voertuigen gebotst en in brand gevlogen. Dat meldt de brandweer van Miami. Er zijn minstens vijf doden gevallen.

Key takeaways De Amerikaanse luchtmacht heeft haar aankoop van de Boeing F-15EX Eagle II aanzienlijk uitgebreid, waardoor de totale bestelling is gestegen van 129 naar 267 vliegtuigen. Deze aanzienlijke toename vindt plaats ondanks een bredere verschuiving naar stealth-technologie van de vijfde generatie en de verwachting van toekomstige gevechtsvliegtuigen van de zesde generatie. Deze gemoderniseerde vierde-generatie […]

In de gevangenissen is zondagavond een vijfdaagse staking van start gegaan. De vakbonden hadden daartoe opgeroepen door de aanhoudende overbevolking, de personeelstekorten en de problemen op het vlak van infrastructuur en veiligheid.

Nog geen vierentwintig uur na de moeizame zege tegen Puerto Rico moeten de Belgian Cats alweer aan de bak op het WK basketbal. Ditmaal tegen Australië met als inzet de felbegeerde groepswinst. Stoten Emma Meesseman en co rechtstreeks door naar de kwartfinales?

Applied Digital: Accelerating and Sustained Revenue Curve

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) primarily generates its revenue by operating centralized digital infrastructure campuses and providing dedicated computing services designed for high-performance workloads across the North American region.

It recently signed an additional facility lease for a new campus and secured supplemental credit financing for ongoing construction, while reporting an operating margin of -45% for the quarter ended May 31, 2026.

IREN: Navigating a Period of Sequential Contractions in Top-Line Revenue

IREN (NASDAQ:IREN) earns the majority of its ongoing revenue by managing vertically integrated data center facilities and actively mining digital assets across its international infrastructure footprint.

While integrating a newly acquired European data center developer and closing the purchase of cloud software provider Mirantis, it recorded an operating margin of -452% for the quarter ended June 30, 2026.

Why Examining Core Revenue Generation Matters for Investors

Revenue serves as a primary starting point for investors to evaluate a corporation's ability to attract paying clients and generate gross business volume before standard operational expenses, local taxes, or daily administrative costs are finally subtracted. For neocloud operations such as Applied Digital and IREN, revenue growth is essential to understanding if their costly artificial intelligence infrastructure buildouts are paying off.

Analyzing the Comparative Quarterly Revenue Trajectories for Applied Digital and IREN

Calendar quarter	Applied Digital Revenue	IREN Revenue
Q3 2024	$60.7 million (quarter ended Aug. 31, 2024)	$52.8 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024)
Q4 2024	$63.9 million (quarter ended Nov. 30, 2024)	$116.1 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024)
Q1 2025	$52.9 million (quarter ended Feb. 28, 2025)	$144.8 million (quarter ended March 31, 2025)
Q2 2025	$38.0 million (quarter ended May 31, 2025)	$187.3 million (quarter ended June 30, 2025)
Q3 2025	$64.2 million (quarter ended Aug. 31, 2025)	$240.3 million (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025)
Q4 2025	$126.6 million (quarter ended Nov. 30, 2025)	$184.7 million (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025)
Q1 2026	$126.6 million (quarter ended Feb. 28, 2026)	$144.8 million (quarter ended March 31, 2026)
Q2 2026	$258.7 million (quarter ended May 31, 2026)	$137.2 million (quarter ended June 30, 2026)

Data source: Company filings. Data as of Sept. 4, 2026.

Foolish Take

When it comes to neocloud providers such as Applied Digital and IREN, understanding revenue trends is essential to investing in these companies. A neocloud's massive, debt-fueled costs to build AI data centers means they must achieve top-line sales growth, or their business could collapse.

That's why it's important to unpack IREN's recent trend of declining quarterly revenue. The company decided to shift away from mining cryptocurrency and focus on the high-growth AI infrastructure market. This caused its crypto sales to fall.

In IREN's 2026 fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30, its crypto mining revenue dropped to $66.7 million compared to $111.2 million in the previous year. That said, its fiscal Q4 AI cloud sales took off, hitting $70.5 million, up from $33.6 million in the year prior. So while overall revenue dropped from fiscal Q3, it's experiencing strong growth in AI. That's the trend investors want to see.

Applied Digital's situation is more straightforward. As a landlord to AI companies, it just needs to sign lease agreements that grant it long-term revenue predictability, while tenants bear the brunt of outfitting data centers with the AI hardware. The skyrocketing sales in its fiscal fourth quarter, ended May 31, demonstrates it is gaining traction in this arena.

Robert Izquierdo has positions in Iren. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Zcash price climbed 20% within 24 hours, reaching $1,210.67 while the broader cryptocurrency market remained largely unchanged. The privacy-focused coin briefly touched $1,225 after buyers accelerated their shift toward alternative cryptocurrencies. Rising volume, institutional demand, and short liquidations supported the advance. ZEC price has gained about 550% from its yearly low and nearly 4,000% from

The post How High Can Zcash Price Go? appeared first on CoinGape.

The shutdown highlights the critical need for stringent regulatory oversight and transparency in cryptocurrency exchanges to protect investors.

The post Orionx halts withdrawals ahead of permanent shutdown after $7M custody shortfall appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Speeldag 5 in de Jupiler Pro League zit in de boeken. Sporting Charleroi keek zijn eerste echte scherprechter in de ogen, terwijl 2 late doelpunten beslisten over de Vlasico. Westerlo vond intussen zijn tweede adem en rechtte knap de rug. Herbeleef de actie en bekijk hier alle doelpunten op een rij.

Op deze pagina blijft u op de hoogte van al het nieuws in het wielrennen.

BlackRock's strategy could reshape crypto asset management, making Bitcoin more accessible to high-net-worth individuals and smaller funds.

The post BlackRock quietly turns Bitcoin whales into Wall Street clients appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Een Boeing 767-vrachtvliegtuig is zondag na de landing op de luchthaven van Miami, in de Amerikaanse staat Florida, van de landingsbaan gereden, tegen meerdere voertuigen gebotst en in brand gevlogen. Dat meldt de brandweer van Miami. Er zijn meerdere gewonden.

De Amerikaanse basketbalvrouwen hebben vanavond door het kleinste gaatje geglipt op het WK. Ze waren lang op weg naar hun eerste nederlaag op een groot toernooi sinds 2006(!), maar in de slotminuten ging de VS toch nog op en over Italië naar de overwinning: 52-55. Daardoor zijn ze nu al 68 topwedstrijden op rij ongeslagen.

Nvidia's AGI claim could reshape AI industry standards, emphasizing economic productivity over traditional benchmarks, impacting AI development.

The post Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang declares AGI has arrived for many practical tasks appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The platform integrated with Raydium's LaunchLab on Saturday as RAY also saw gains of more than 40%. 

The shutdown comes after attempts to commercialize, license or find a buyer for its technology failed to produce a sustainable business. 

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest was on the case to jump in and buy the dip on Sept. 4, Inc. has added shares of Robinhood Markets and the 3iQ Solana Staking ETF. The purchases came as stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report that resulted in a selloff across Wall Street and fueled rising expectations that the Federal Reserve

The post Cathie Wood Buys The Dip In Robinhood Stock, Solana ETF As Jobs Data Sparks Market Crash appeared first on CoinGape.

Sporting Anderlecht. Bij de ene actie denk je: ‘Hmmm veelbelovend!’ Bij de daaropvolgende kans, pass of voorzet sla je zuchtend met een hand tegen je gezicht. Bij Genk is het eigenlijk niet anders. Zelfs bij een getalenteerde jongen van 35 miljoen euro. Bij wie is het glas dan halfvol en bij wie halfleeg?

Businesses change over time. Sometimes that change can turn a once-risky company into an attractive investment, but only if you can overlook the prior history. Here's why Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) could be a buy now and why some investors may still prefer to own a lower-yielding peer like Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD).

Energy Transfer has made "mistakes"

Let's get the bad news out of the way first. Energy Transfer agreed to buy pipeline peer Williams (NYSE: WMB) in 2006. It got cold feet when the energy sector hit a weak patch and worked to scuttle the deal. That was probably the right move for the business, which would have likely needed to load up on debt to get the deal done and/or cut the dividend. However, as part of its effort to get out of the acquisition it had agreed to, the company issued convertible securities that appeared to protect insiders from a dividend cut if the deal had gone through.

The deal was called off, so the converts turned out to be a non-issue for dividend investors. However, it was a move that would justifiably leave investors with trust issues. Then, during the 2020 oil downturn that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic, the partnership cut its distribution in half. The goal was to strengthen the balance sheet and reposition the business.

This was, again, likely a good move for the business. However, the problem is that the recession during that period was probably a point when dividend investors were hoping for consistency, not dividend cuts. The distribution is growing again and is above its level prior to the cut. And, perhaps more importantly, the business is on a different trajectory today than it has been historically, with what appears to be a focus on slow and steady growth.

Energy Transfer wants to be a tortoise like Enterprise

At this point, Energy Transfer is looking to grow its distribution by 3% to 5% per year. That's the slow-and-steady pace that investors have come to expect from peer Enterprise Products Partners. The difference is that Enterprise doesn't have the same negative events in its past. In fact, Enterprise has increased its distribution annually for 28 years. Conservative investors will probably be better off with Enterprise.

There's just one niggle here. While Enterprise offers an attractive 5.6% yield, Energy Transfer's yield is an even higher 6.3%. To be fair, Enterprise is a simpler business, noting that Energy Transfer also controls two other publicly traded master limited partnerships. The higher yield isn't just about the history; it requires more time and effort to track Energy Transfer. And Energy Transfer does appear to be a riskier investment than Enterprise.

That said, for investors willing to take on the risk, the reward is roughly 12.5% higher income due to the 0.7 percentage-point difference in yields offered by Enterprise and Energy Transfer. Given the repositioning of Energy Transfer's business, including reduced leverage, that could be enough to entice more aggressive and active income investors.

Energy Transfer is not a slam dunk

The real takeaway here is that Energy Transfer is a far more attractive income investment today than it was in the past. But that past is important to understand because it could leave more conservative investors with trust issues. And, if that's the case, Energy Transfer, despite an attractive yield, may not be the right choice for you. But, if you can forgive those transgressions and believe the MLP has turned into a slow and steady income tortoise, you might want to give it a shot. Just go in with your eyes open and track the business fairly carefully.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

If you are old enough, you remember a time before the internet. And you also remember Yahoo! and America Online being two of the most dominant internet companies early in the internet's development. The stocks were hot way back then, but today, both have basically flamed out and been swallowed up by other companies. Other internet companies became more dominant.

This isn't unusual in the tech sector, and investors piling into artificial intelligence (AI) stocks should keep that in mind. Sure, you could make a big bet on an AI stock that you think has winning tech, like a high-powered chip or a specialized application, or you could go with a picks-and-shovels play like Brookfield Renewable (NYSE: BEP)(NYSE: BEPC). Here's why this clean energy company could be the better bet.

AI Investors are being driven by emotion

Right now, artificial intelligence is a hot sector. Too many investors see it as a way to get rich quickly. And that has had pretty predictable consequences. For example, SoundHound (NASDAQ: SOUN) provides AI voice services. That's exciting, but probably not unique enough to build a business around. Still, its stock skyrocketed as investors jumped on the next hot thing. The shares have since plunged back to earth, down 70% from their 2024 peak.

The same could be happening now with Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC), a maker of data storage devices. Huge demand from the AI build got investors excited about the stock, but that excitement has begun to fade. The stock has fallen roughly 40% from its recent highs. That's actually the second huge drawdown over the last three years. Even AI poster-child Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has proven to be a highly volatile stock.

NVDA data by YCharts

If you can't stand the AI volatility, go with a picks-and-shovels play

But, there's one thing that AI can't live without: electricity. After all, AI is really just a fancy computer program. Electricity demand is so high right now that there's been a step change. Between 2005 and 2025, U.S. electricity demand increased by 10%. Between 2025 and 2045, U.S. demand is projected to increase 60%. AI is playing a major role in the changing dynamics of electricity. Globally, however, there's also a shift toward cleaner power sources and increasing demand from developing nations. A great way to benefit from AI, clean energy, and broader economic growth is Brookfield Renewable.

Brookfield Renewable owns a globally diversified portfolio of clean energy assets, with exposure to North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Its power portfolio includes solar, wind, hydroelectric, and storage. It also owns a stake in Westinghouse, a key global supplier to the nuclear power industry. It is a one-stop shop for clean energy exposure, and it is already working with AI-focused companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) to help them build out their AI businesses.

The best part of the story, however, is likely to be Brookfield Renewable's dividend. The yield is currently around 5% for the partnership share class and 4.9% for the corporate share class. The quarterly disbursement has been increased at a roughly 5% annualzed pace over the past decade. Add a 5% dividend to a 5% dividend growth rate, and you get roughly 10%, which is about the return most investors expect from the broader market.

The future is bright for Brookfield Renewable

AI is just part of the electricity story that supports Brookfield Renewable's long-term growth opportunity. Which is actually more exciting than if AI were the only thing this clean energy company had going for it. If you are a dividend investor looking to benefit from AI, forget trying to pick a winner in the volatile AI sector and dig into high-yield Brookfield Renewable. It is already benefiting from AI's intense demand for power, but there's much more opportunity than that.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia, SoundHound AI, and Western Digital. The Motley Fool recommends Brookfield Renewable and Brookfield Renewable Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Anthropic's IPO could redefine AI market valuations, but rapid revenue growth raises concerns about sustainability and financial transparency.

The post Potential Anthropic IPO investors seek detailed revenue metrics ahead of blockbuster listing appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Ethereum's DeFi resurgence, fueled by meme coin interest, highlights shifting retail capital flows and potential volatility in crypto markets.

The post Ethereum sees resurgence as DeFi activity boosts meme coin interest appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

This innovation could democratize access to advanced AI by reducing resource demands, enabling broader deployment without infrastructure changes.

The post Microsoft, Cornell University unveil Free Pause Tokens method for efficient language model training appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Key takeaways De Argentijnse regering heeft juridische stappen ondernomen tegen 45 organisaties en personen die worden beschuldigd van illegale olie- en gasactiviteiten in de wateren rond de Falklandeilanden. Volgens een verklaring van de regering van president Javier Milei zijn deze sancties gericht tegen oliemaatschappijen, hun investeerders en de diverse dienstverleners die deze activiteiten ondersteunen. De […]

Since the start of 2026, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has generated total returns, aka price appreciation with dividends reinvested, of around 14% well above historical averages.

However, plenty of stocks have beaten the S&P 500 this year, and not just the hottest names in tech. In fact, there's one stock in particular, one that may not exactly scream "cutting edge," that has crushed it thus far in 2026, with total returns of more than 24%.

The stock? Altria Group (NYSE: MO), America's largest tobacco company and purveyor of popular brands such as Marlboro and Skoal, as well as the nicotine pouch brand On! The question now is whether Altria Group's shares will remain one of the top-performing high yield dividend stocks.

Altria Group has smoked the S&P 500 in 2026

At the start of 2026, investors were mixed on this Big Tobacco stock. At the time, concerns ran high about Altria's ability to adapt to changing nicotine and tobacco consumption habits. Namely, investors were concerned about the company's falling market share in smokeless tobacco and oral nicotine products.

As these products continue to gain or sustain usage rates, while cigarette smoking rates in the United States keep declining, Altria's future hinges heavily on the company making a successful smokeless transformation, much like its former subsidiary, Philip Morris International, has successfully accomplished.

However, during much of early to mid 2026, these concerns took a back seat. For one, due to better-than-feared quarterly results. Tobacco stocks in general also performed well during this time, on growing confidence in the industry's smokefree pivot, which inspired some institutional investors who had shunned the sector to reenter major stocks in the space.

Trading for as much as $77.06 per share in 2026, Altria tumbled back to the mid-$60s per share in August, on the heels of the company's Q2 2026 earnings release on July 30.

Recent pullback highlights long-term risks

For the quarter, Altria reported just 1.2% net revenue growth, with sales net of exice taxes rising to $5.35 billion. GAAP earnings came in at $1.37 per share, down 2.8% from the prior year's quarter, and falling short of analyst estimates.

Despite declining domestic cigarette usage, Altria has continued to raise earnings and, in turn, its dividend, thanks to cigarette price hikes and growth from its smokeless products. However, price elasticity with cigarettes may only go so far. While demonstrating some success with products like On!, this still pales in comparison to the success of Philip Morris International's Zyn nicotine pouches.

Since August, shares have inched higher, thanks to an announced 4.7% dividend raise and news of a contract manufacturing agreement with Philip Morris International that could help utilize excess production capacity .

Trading for 12 times forward earnings, and with a 6.4% forward dividend yield,Altria still seems cheap. Coupled with its high dividend and strong 2026 performance, it may still seem like a winner. However, this stock could still prove risky for the long-term health of your portfolio. If the company's earnings gambit starts to fail, earnings could take a dive, threatening the stock's Dividend King status and turning this deep-value winner into a yield-and-value trap.

Thomas Niel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Philip Morris International. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Een Boeing 767-vrachtvliegtuig is zondag na de landing op de luchthaven van Miami, in de Amerikaanse staat Florida, van de landingsbaan gereden, tegen meerdere voertuigen gebotst en in brand gevlogen. Dat meldt de brandweer van Miami. Hoeveel gewonden er zijn, is niet duidelijk.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) raised prices on every one of its U.K. plans in the past few days. The ad-supported standard plan took the biggest jump, moving from £5.99 to £7.99 a month (a third more), while the ad-free standard plan went to £13.99 and premium to £20.99. New members pay the new prices right away, and existing members typically get 30 days' notice before the change reaches their bills.

Shares of the streaming giant fell 5.4% on Friday to $78.25, the same day the increase made headlines.

Price increases are nothing new for this company, though. Netflix has been raising prices for 15 years, in markets all over the world, and its annual revenue has grown every single year through all of them.

But that streak is a low bar. The better measure, I'd argue, is what each increase did to the company's revenue growth rate -- and that record is more interesting than the streak itself.

The increases are coming faster

Netflix last raised U.K. prices in February 2025, when the ad-supported plan went from £4.99 to £5.99 a month. That makes this the second U.K. increase in about 19 months, and it leaves the ad tier costing 60% more than it did at the start of last year.

Netflix raised U.S. prices in March too, its second increase there in about 14 months, taking the standard plan from $17.99 to $19.99 a month.

Notably, the ad-supported tier (the plan built to catch price-sensitive members) is climbing fastest in both markets.

Revenue has grown through every increase

The worst increase Netflix ever made came in July 2011, when the company split its $9.99 streaming-plus-DVD plan into two $7.99 plans. Management acknowledged in its second-quarter 2011 shareholder letter that the change could be "as much as a 60% increase" for members who wanted to keep both services.

Hundreds of thousands of members canceled. Netflix ended the third quarter of 2011 with about 23.8 million U.S. subscribers, down about 805,000 in three months. And still, revenue rose 48% that year, and it grew another 13% in 2012.

The closest the streak has come to breaking was 2022. Netflix had raised U.S. prices that January, taking the standard plan from $13.99 to $15.49, and revenue for the year grew just 6.5% -- the company's slowest year of growth in at least a decade. A subscriber slump and a strong dollar contributed too. Even then, the top line grew. Growth stayed slow in 2023, then reaccelerated: revenue rose about 16% in both 2024 and 2025, reaching $45.2 billion last year, and 2025 opened with another round of U.S. price increases.

In short, no Netflix price increase has ever been followed by a down year of revenue. Where an increase can show up is in the growth rate, and even the clearest case took more than pricing to get there.

Will the ad tier change the pattern?

What's different this time is where the increase lands. Netflix's advertising business is its fastest-growing revenue line (ad revenue topped $1.5 billion in 2025, up more than 150%, and management is aiming to roughly double it this year), and that business depends on the ad-supported plan attracting members. Raising the plan's price by a third may test how much that audience is willing to pay.

The early evidence from the U.S. increase looks fine. In the shareholder letter accompanying its second-quarter results, Netflix said U.S. and Canada revenue grew 10% year over year, with what it described as only a partial quarter of impact from the March increase. The change, in management's words, "has gone well and as expected."

The companywide trend deserves more caution. Second-quarter revenue growth was 13% year over year, and the forecast for the third quarter is 11.7% -- a decelerating path. Full-year revenue guidance sits at $51.0 billion to $51.4 billion, or 13% to 14% growth, down from nearly 16% in 2025.

Meanwhile, engagement is nearly flat, with members watching only 2% more hours in this year's first half than in last year's. In other words, more members, higher prices, and advertising are carrying the growth, not more hours watched.

Ultimately, I expect the streak to survive this increase too. That kind of pricing power, I think, is rare, and Netflix has proved it over and over.

But the stock's valuation arguably already gives the company credit for it. At about $78, the price-to-earnings ratio is about 20 measured against expected 2027 earnings, a level that arguably assumes the pricing power continues.

Daniel Sparks and his clients do not have positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

After years of little activity, the Ravn X rolled out of a hangar at Long Beach Airport for its very first autonomous taxi tests and caught the attention of local enthusiasts. Designed to launch small payloads into space, its planned first mission in 2021 has still yet to take place. 

At eighty feet long and with a wingspan of sixty feet, the Ravn X is a huge autonomous aircraft said to pack two afterburning turbofan engines that allow high subsonic flight up to an altitude of 60,000 feet.

At maximum velocity, the Ravn X is designed to release the rocket-powered second stage which then takes over boosting the 100 kilogram payload into orbit. This fills a niche in providing a responsive launch capability that can be readied at much shorter notice compared to traditional launch vehicles like the Falcon 9 or Vulcan Centaur. 

Aevum distinguishes Ravn X from air launch methods (such as Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus or Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne) as the vehicle is not dropping the rocket but rather accelerating it up through the atmosphere. pic.twitter.com/mVIT8pzmQi

— Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) December 3, 2020

The U.S. Air Force contracted Aevum in 2019 to provide the launch system for the ASLON-45 mission, featuring a number of cubesats. To this date, the Ravn X has still not flown and as time went on it became questionable whether any development was proceeding on the aircraft.

However quiet the company was about its operations, we can now see that work did continue, and the Ravn X has finally completed its first taxi tests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Matthew Dawson (@mattdawson.photography)

It is not immediately apparent whether this airframe – also marked and registered as N567RX – is the same as the one shown off by Aevum in 2020, which we reported on here. It may still be a mockup rather than a flight representative airframe, and certainly the landing gear appears to be fixed and for ground use only. 

No official announcement has yet been forthcoming from Aevum – which is headquartered in Long Beach – or any other stakeholder as to why the Ravn X made such a sudden appearance after years in the dark. 

If The Aviationist learns any more about this story, we will be sure to update you.

Many thanks to Long Beach local Matthew Dawson for sending us his images of the Ravn X’s roll out. You can find him on Instagram here. 

 

Iran's move may escalate regional instability, affecting global oil markets and complicating diplomatic efforts for U.S.-Iran agreements.

The post Iran to establish restricted zone near Strait of Hormuz amid US tensions appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Er zijn minstens 5 doden gevallen in Miami nadat een vrachtvliegtuig van de landingsbaan is geraakt en op een nabijgelegen weg terechtkwam. Daarbij zou het toestel van Amazon meerdere auto's hebben geraakt. Er zijn ook meerdere gewonden, onder wie 3 in kritieke toestand.

Voor de vierde keer in zes jaar is Tim Celen (T2) wereldkampioen op de weg in het G-wielrennen. In het Amerikaanse Huntsville klaarde hij de klus in de sprint, en daar is hij - twee dagen na zijn vierde plaats in de tijdrit - uiteraard zeer blij mee: "In de laatste drie kilometer verandert er iets en weet ik altijd wat ik moet doen."

Het bericht Chris vindt verloren Bitcoin uit 2011 terug: $4,5 miljoen waard verscheen eerst op Newsbit.

If you were fortunate enough to invest $1,000 in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) a decade ago on Sept. 3, 2016, you would have roughly $126,810 today -- an incredible return that absolutely crushed the market. Take a look at that incredible growth in the chart below:

Data by YCharts.

Note that the calculation excludes trading fees and taxes, and the exact total fluctuates daily with Bitcoin's price. Still, turning four figures into six figures in one decade is a remarkable result by any standard.

Bitcoin's 62% annualized return beat every mainstream asset since 2016

That's putting it lightly. Few things came remotely close to a 12,581% return -- a 62% annual rate -- in that time. Compare Bitcoin's annual rate of return with some other options you would have had in 2016.

Investment	Annualized Return (Sept. 2016-Sept. 2026)
Bitcoin	~ 62%
Nasdaq Composite	~ 18%
S&P 500	~ 14%
Gold	~ 13%

Source: YCharts.

Wall Street now holds Bitcoin despite a decade of major crashes

Bitcoin suffered some brutal drawdowns along the way, and most investors jumped ship. It wasn't easy to hold on after a 70% crash while the "smart money" said to stay far away from Bitcoin.

Things have changed. Major institutions across Wall Street now hold Bitcoin. Motley Fool Research tracks major Bitcoin holdings by governments, public companies, and exchange-traded funds.

Of course, the flip side of that adoption is that it's highly unlikely we'll see returns in the future that come close to what we saw in the past. Still, I think Bitcoin is a smart addition as a small portion of a well-balanced portfolio.

Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The incident raises critical concerns about the security and trustworthiness of federated sidechain models, necessitating urgent scrutiny.

The post Liquid halts network after white-hat hackers withdraw $320M in Bitcoin appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Tijdens het eerste weekend van september – ditmaal op 5 en 6 september 2026 – is het feest op Antwerpen Linkeroever: het Scheldefestival en Buurtfeest Linkeroever Antwerpen. De weergoden waren …

The post Scheldefestival Zeescouts Antwerpen first appeared on de gratis maritieme & yachting krant van Bootmagazine.

The surge in foreign-held US assets underscores global financial reliance on American markets, posing risks if investment trends reverse.

The post Foreign investors hold record $39T in US assets, doubling since 2022 appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Een appartementsgebouw in de Groeningelaan in Kortrijk is zondagavond ontruimd nadat een bewoner rook en een indringende brandgeur had opgemerkt. De hulpdiensten rukten massaal uit, maar bij hun aankomst bleek het vuur al gedoofd.

Michaël van de Poppe zet flink in op één altcoin. De Nederlandse crypto-analist heeft ongeveer 25.000 dollar in NEAR zitten, waarmee het momenteel zijn grootste altcoinpositie is. Dat doet hij terwijl zijn bredere portefeuille nog tienduizenden dollars in de min staat. Toch verwacht Van de Poppe juist nu een omslag en denkt hij dat NEAR daar sterk van kan profiteren. Ontvang net als duizenden Nederlanders cryptonieuws direct op je telefoon door de gratis Crypto Insiders app.

In het kort

• Michaël van de Poppe heeft ongeveer 25.000 dollar in NEAR geïnvesteerd.
• Hij verwacht binnen één tot twee maanden een mogelijke stijging richting 4 tot 5 dollar.
• De analist heeft in totaal ongeveer 200.000 dollar in altcoins gestoken en staat daarop nog 80.000 tot 90.000 dollar in de min.

Waarom Van de Poppe juist NEAR koopt

Van de Poppe ziet een groot verschil tussen de koers van NEAR en de ontwikkeling van het netwerk. Zo liggen de opbrengsten van het netwerk volgens hem inmiddels hoger dan bij de vorige grote koerspiek, terwijl de prijs van NEAR daar nog ruim onder staat. Hij ziet daardoor ruimte voor de koers om verder te herstellen. Ook technisch ziet hij signalen die hem positief stemmen. NEAR laat volgens hem vergelijkbare patronen zien als Arbitrum, dat deze week in korte tijd hard is gestegen.

Analist mikt op 4 tot 5 dollar

Van de Poppe verwacht dat NEAR eerst de recente top rond 3 dollar kan bereiken. Voor de komende één tot twee maanden houdt hij vervolgens rekening met een stijging richting 4 tot 5 dollar. Hij wil daarbij niet simpelweg blijven vasthouden. Rond 3 dollar is hij van plan al een deel van zijn positie te verkopen. Stijgt NEAR verder, dan wil hij opnieuw winst nemen en geld vrijmaken voor andere kansen. Dat past bij zijn bredere strategie. Altcoinrally’s duren volgens Van de Poppe vaak maar drie tot zes maanden. Hij wil daarom tijdens sterke stijgingen winst nemen en later opnieuw instappen als de markt corrigeert.

Van de Poppe verwacht nieuwe altcoinrally

Achter zijn investering zit een bredere verwachting dat de cryptomarkt aan een nieuwe stijgende fase is begonnen. Kleine dalingen van bitcoin worden volgens hem snel opgekocht, terwijl steeds meer beleggers weer risico durven nemen. Een forse terugval sluit hij overigens niet volledig uit. Bitcoin zou volgens hem in een negatief scenario nog richting 60.000 dollar kunnen zakken. Toch verwacht hij dat eventuele kleinere correcties snel kopers aantrekken en dat ook altcoins daarvan kunnen profiteren. Van de Poppe heeft de afgelopen twee jaar naar eigen zeggen ongeveer 200.000 dollar in altcoins gestoken en staat daarmee nog zo'n 80.000 tot 90.000 dollar in de min. NEAR is momenteel zijn grootste positie en volgens hem ook de munt waarin hij het meeste vertrouwen heeft. Bekijk hieronder de volledige video-analyse van Michaël van de Poppe voor alle grafieken en zijn volledige onderbouwing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IDGi-O8SNg

Daar stond hij dan, onbewogen en breedlachend in de mixed zone. Lucca Brughmans (18) had zojuist de nul gehouden tegen Anderlecht. Alsof het allemaal niks voorstelt, in de week dat je voor 35 miljoen euro een transfer naar Liverpool hebt gemaakt. “Het voelde voor mij niet anders aan dan anders”, zei de Racing Genk-doelman.

Federal Government Backs Supreme Court Challenge To AR-15 Bans Tyler Durden Sun, 09/06/2026 - 16:00

Volg alle ontwikkelingen over het Midden-Oosten in onze liveblog.

Een opgemerkt debuut voor Anderlecht, en niet alleen om die knaloranje schoenen. Ilias Koutsoupias (25) toonde zich comfortabel aan de bal en legde veel diepgang in zijn spel. Voor het Lotto Park was het een aangename kennismaking die zeker naar meer smaakt.

Skenes' velocity drop may signal a shift in Cy Young dynamics, affecting market confidence and opening opportunities for other contenders.

The post Paul Skenes’ fastball velocity drop raises Cy Young concerns appeared first on Crypto Briefing.