What do you do when even with earnings the stocks won’t go higher?
Sentiment, Poor Global perceptions, I just think some stocks are out of favor with market makers,
The market (S&P 500) Market Valuations NEED TO BE ADJUSTED HIGHER = 17.2-17.5 EPS for SPX
The Problem is old data and trying to reference it to today
NOBODY cares what you think so just show them the numbers
Let’s have a look at stock valuations and see if all the work over Christmas was somewhat accurate.
PLTR 0.33 vs est 0.28 Rev 1632 vs est 1542
And now the stock is down? Why?
When do you give up?= When Fundamentals no longer seem to matter
Earnings –
BABA 5/13 BMO
BIDU 5/18 BMO
CVS 5/06 BMO
DIS 5/06 BMO
MU 6/23 est
NVDA 5/20 AMC
O 5/06 AMC
PLTR 5/04 AMC
UAA 5/12 BMO
WMT 5/21 AMC
https://www.briefing.com/the-big-picture
The Big Picture
Last Updated: 01-May-26 13:13 ET | Archive
All hail the impressive earnings growth
Briefing.com Summary:
*S&P 500 Q1 earnings growth has surged to 27.2%, with broader sector contributions beyond technology.
*Earnings and sales growth have broadened, supporting continued market momentum despite macro concerns.
*Elevated valuations look justified given robust EPS growth, keeping the CY26 PEG near 1.0 and limiting overvaluation concerns.
We would like to take this moment to reflect on something very important to the stock market: earnings growth.
We would not normally do so at this point in a reporting period, which is only 63% complete in terms of S&P 500 companies that have reported their first quarter results, but we cannot stay silent when there has been such a dramatic change in the earnings reporting.
This period has not been good. We repeat: it has not been good.
It has been great!
More Than a One-Hit Wonder
Briefing.com penned a preview on April 10. At that time, the first quarter blended growth rate, which incorporates actual growth rates for companies that have reported and estimates for companies that have yet to report, stood at 12.5%.
The information technology sector was projected to account for 10.2 percentage points, or 82%, of the overall growth rate. The financial sector effectively accounted for the balance of the projected growth rate.
The rest of the lot didn’t have much to contribute, if anything at all. The health care, communication services, and energy sectors were expected to detract 1.17 percentage points, 0.49 percentage points, and 0.17 percentage points, respectively.
So, here we are three weeks later, and the blended first quarter growth rate is up to 27.2%, according to FactSet. What is more is that the information technology sector is accounting for less than half that growth rate.
That doesn’t mean the information technology sector has been a disappointment. Its results have been better than expected, with a blended growth rate of 49.9% versus 44.4% on April 10. Its contribution has increased to 11.5 percentage points.
The salient point is that the earnings growth in other sectors has been much better than expected. The biggest change belongs to the communication services sector. Thanks primarily to Alphabet (GOOG/GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META), and Netflix (NFLX), the sector is contributing 6.63 percentage points to the overall growth rate. Other key contributors include the financial (3.93 percentage points), consumer discretionary (2.98 percentage points), and industrials (1.44 percentage points) sectors.
The health care (-0.60 percentage points) and energy (-0.15 percentage points) sectors are still detractors, but less so than previously expected.
Importantly, the first-quarter reporting period has demonstrated that the earnings growth is not a one-hit wonder, nor is the sales growth. The blended sales growth rate sits at 11.1% versus 9.7% on April 10. All 11 sectors are delivering sales growth. The information technology sector is the biggest contributor at 3.39 percentage points, but that is only 30% of the total growth rate.
PEGging a Valuation
The terrific earnings news does not stop at the first quarter. That, too, is a key consideration for a market trading at a valuation that is considered lofty at 21.1x forward twelve-month earnings, which is a 12% premium to the 10-year average, according to FactSet.
There shouldn’t be a revolt at that valuation, though, so long as the guidance is delivering and interest rates are behaving.
The latter have been creeping higher, but relative to the 76% year-to-date increase in oil prices, a 3.5% inflation rate for the PCE Price Index, concerns about the size of the national debt, and the pricing out of any rate cuts this year, the 10-yr note yield at 4.37% can be deemed remarkably well-behaved.
Leaving that aside, one can’t cast too many aspersions on the P/E multiple, not when the projected EPS growth rate is as strong as it is and has yet to be called into real question by a battery of key earnings warnings.
With the robust first-quarter results and a projected growth rate of 21.5% for the second quarter, the calendar year 2026 EPS estimate has increased from $308.61 at the end of 2025 to $328.07 today, up 21% from CY25.
That computes to a CY26 P/E multiple of 22.1x, but when factoring for the EPS growth rate, you get a current PEG ratio of just 1.05. The market, then, is not as overvalued as one might think, although it is overbought on a short-term basis and due for a pullback.
Briefing.com Analyst Insight
It is the earnings news and the earnings trend that has enabled the stock market to rally the way that it has in the face of rising oil prices and the uncertainty of the Iran War.
Granted, there is a potential earnings headwind looming the longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, yet the market hasn’t found reason to fear that condition because it hasn’t been rattled at all by the earnings guidance narrative to this point.
The earnings story so far in 2026 is a great one, and the market is running with it, as it should be. When that narrative changes, the trend will shift. For now, though, all hail the impressive and broadening earnings growth—the key to the stock market’s continuing good fortune.
—Patrick J. O’Hare, Briefing.com
Where will our markets end this week?
Lower
DJIA – Bullish
SPX – Bullish
COMP – Bullish
Where Will the SPX end May 2026?
05-04-2026 -2.5%
Earnings:
Mon: RIG, PENS, PLTR
Tues: CMI, DUK, HOG, VAC, PYPL, SHOP, DVN, SWKS, ET,
Wed: KHC, MAR, OC, UBER, CF, DASH, GT, JCI, DIS
Thur: HTZ, MCD, PZZA, SHAK, TPR, DKNG, XYZ, HUBS
Fri: FLR, WEN
Econ Reports:
Mon: Factory Orders,
Tue: Trade Balance, ISM Services, New Home Sales,
Wed: MBA, ADP Employment
Thur: Initial Claims, Continuing Claims, Unit Labor Costs, Productivity, Construction Spending, Consumer Credit,
Fri: Average Workweek, Non-Farm Payroll, Private Payroll, Hourly Earnings, Unemployment Rate, Michigan Sentiment, WholeSale Inventories,
How am I looking to trade?
Rolled up OTM puts to closer to ATM or slightly OTM
www.myhurleyinvestment.com = Blogsite
info@hurleyinvestments.com = Email
Questions???
UAE’s shock OPEC exit: What it means for the oil cartel’s future and for crude prices
Published Tue, Apr 28 20263:17 PM EDT
Key Points
- The UAE’s exit from OPEC will undermine the cartel’s ability to influence the oil market.
- This is because the UAE is second only to Saudi Arabia when it comes to spare production capacity, a crucial tool used to influence the market.
- It also deals a blow to Saudi Arabia’s ability to manage OPEC.
UAE Energy Minister explains decision to leave OPEC as Hormuz crisis deepens
The United Arab Emirates’ exit from OPEC this week will weaken the influence of the cartel and its leader Saudi Arabia on the oil market, a development that could prove bearish for prices over the long term.
The UAE was the most influential member of OPEC behind Saudi Arabia. It was one of the few members, along with Saudi Arabia, that had meaningful spare production capacity to influence prices and respond to supply shocks, said Jorge León, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy.
Spare capacity is the idle production that can be brought online quickly to address major crises. Saudi Arabia and the UAE together control a majority of the world’s total spare capacity of more than 4 million barrels per day, making them particularly influential during periods of distress.
The UAE’s “departure therefore removes one of the core pillars underpinning OPEC’s ability to manage the market,” León said in a note Tuesday. OPEC will become “structurally weaker” as a consequence, he said.
It is also a blow to the Saudis because it undermines their ability to manage OPEC as an organization, said David Goldwyn, who served as the State Department’s special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs from 2009 to 2011.
Riyadh will still have a significant ability to discipline the market with its own spare capacity but it will have a weaker hand now that the UAE is no longer a member, Goldwyn told CNBC.
UAE leaving OPEC does not change energy market fundamentals, says RBC’s Helima Croft
The UAE’s decision to exit OPEC this Friday comes after weeks of missile and drone barrages by fellow member Iran. Tehran’s attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has constrained the UAE’s oil exports, threatening the foundation of its economy.
The UAE has not attributed its departure to the war. Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei told CNBC in an interview Tuesday that the UAE’s exit was timed to limit the disruption to fellow producers in the group.
Indeed, the UAE’s exit is unlikely to affect the market in the next year with the strait closed, Goldwyn said. Oil futures prices did not really react to the announcement Tuesday.
But the UAE’s departure could prove bearish later, said John Kilduff, founder of Again Capital. It undermines the cohesion needed among producers to keep prices from falling too much during supply gluts, he said.
The UAE wants more freedom of action to make production decisions without the constraints of OPEC and to reach its goal of 5 million bpd of capacity by 2027, Al Mazrouei said.
The UAE has chafed under years of oil production cuts led by the Saudis to support prices, said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. It has watched as Iraq and OPEC+ member Russia have routinely exceeded their quotas, Lipow said.
“When the conflict between the USA and Iran ends and the Strait of Hormuz reopens, I expect that the UAE will produce as much oil as they can, utilizing any spare capacity that they have held in reserve,” Lipow told CNBC.
The market might miss Saudi’s ability to put a floor under prices if oil demand is weak and there’s a big surplus in the future, Goldwyn said.
“There’s significant risk of higher oil price volatility as a result of this decision,” Goldwyn said. “But in the end when market conditions require cooperation, the UAE leaving OPEC doesn’t prevent it from cooperating with OPEC.”
Pentagon AI chief confirms DOD’s expanded use of Google, says reliance on one model ‘never a good thing’
Published Tue, Apr 28 20265:34 PM EDT
Updated Tue, Apr 28 202611:17 PM EDT
Key Points
- The Pentagon is expanding the list of AI labs it’s working with after blacklisting Anthropic.
- “Overreliance on one vendor is never a good thing,” Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, told CNBC
- The DOD has tapped Google’s Gemini for classified work, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In this article
Pentagon AI chief Cameron Stanley confirmed to CNBC that the Department of Defense is expanding its use of Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence model, about two months after the DOD dropped Anthropic, designating it as a supply chain risk.
The DOD is using Google’s latest model for classified projects, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named because the specifics of the arrangement aren’t public. The Information earlier reported that Google had signed a deal with the DOD for classified work, citing a person familiar with the matter.
In addition to Gemini, the Pentagon is also working with OpenAI and other vendors to modernize wartime capabilities, Stanley told CNBC in a video interview.
“Overreliance on one vendor is never a good thing,” he said. “We’re seeing that, especially in software.”
The DOD’s embrace of Google comes amid a heated legal dispute with Anthropic. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., denied Anthropic’s request to temporarily block the department’s blacklisting of the AI company as a lawsuit challenging the sanction plays out.
That ruling came after a judge in San Francisco, in a separate but related case, granted Anthropic a preliminary injunction that bars the Trump administration from enforcing a ban on the use of its Claude model. With the split decisions by the two courts, Anthropic is excluded from DOD contracts but is able to continue working with other government agencies during the litigation.
A spokesperson for the DOD confirmed over email that the agency is not working with Anthropic at this time. President Donald Trump told CNBC last week that “it’s possible” there will be a deal allowing Anthropic’s models to be used within the DOD.
Stanley said that by using Gemini, the Pentagon and U.S. warfighters are saving time and money.
“There’s a lot of different things that are saving thousands of man hours, literally thousands of man hours on a weekly basis,” he said.
A Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company is part of a “broad consortium” of companies provider services and infrastructure “in support of national security.”
“We support government agencies across both classified and non-classified projects, applying our expertise to areas like logistics, cybersecurity, diplomatic translation, fleet maintenance, and the defense of critical infrastructure,” the spokesperson said.
OpenAI and Anthropic are on a competitive collision course, says Big Technology’s Alex Kantrowitz
The arrangement is facing some opposition internally at Google, where more than 700 employees signed a letter that was sent to Google CEO Sundar Pichai this week, calling for the company to reject classified workloads. They said in the letter they don’t want the technology to be “used in inhumane or extremely harmful ways.”
The overarching goal, according to Stanley, is to achieve the best outcome for America’s warfighters. To get there, the Pentagon has to make sure it’s properly using AI models.
“I have a personal quote that I usually say in these moments, you don’t cook a Thanksgiving turkey in the microwave,” he said. “You need to have the right technology for the right use case to achieve the right outcome.”
Stanley said Anthropic’s Mythos rollout earlier this month was a wakeup call. The powerful model was made available to a limited number of companies, due in part to its advanced cyber capabilities and the potential risks they posed.
Stanley said the DOD is “taking this very seriously” so that it can “make sure we are not only matching the moment but are prepared for what comes next, which is a whole raft of AI-enabled capabilities” in areas that pose a challenge.
—CNBC’s Jennifer Elias contributed to this report.
Micron Technology may double as AI boom stokes demand for memory hardware, D.A. Davidson says
Published Tue, Apr 28 20268:53 AM EDTUpdated Tue, Apr 28 20269:21 AM EDT
Micron Technology may see its shares nearly double as the artificial intelligence boom boosts demand for the company’s memory scaling offerings, according to D.A. Davidson.
The investment bank began research coverage of Boise, Idaho-based Micron with a buy rating, and a $1,000 12-month price target, suggesting 91% upside from Monday’s close.
“Artificial intelligence is creating a longer-than-usual memory cycle as compute deployment and demand generation exist in a positive feedback loop, creating a structurally higher ceiling for memory pricing and demand,” Davidson analyst Gil Luria wrote Tuesday in a 27-page report. “Combined with Micron’s node leadership and what we see as a long duration earnings power story, we see meaningful upside to shares.”
Micron is focused on developing memory scaling technologies, using four consecutive Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) nodes and three NAND nodes, according to D.A. Davidson.
Nodes are devices that manage data transmission in a network. They enable many electronics, including smartphones and computers, to operate quickly and efficiently, while also supporting data center operations.
Micron’s nodes are likely to become more popular as AI booms, lifting sales and the stock, Davidson said. “We see node leadership as a compounding advantage that improves Micron’s cost position with each generation and positions Micron to gain share in higher-margin products across the data center,” Luria wrote.
Memory demand has increased as the emergence of next-generation AI has fueled plans to build multi-billion-dollar data centers across the U.S. More than $61 billion flowed into the data center market in 2025 as of late last December, according to S&P Global data.
Amid the buildout, increased demand for the hardware that underpins data facilities will help Micron win more customer contracts, Luria wrote.
“The signing of five-year [Strategic Customer Agreements] … [will] effectively lock in demand and offer visibility in a manner unlike past cycles while negotiating pricing on what we believe to be a quarterly or more frequent basis,” Luria wrote.
Micron shares are more than 3% lower in early trading Tuesday, after soaring 47% over the past month.
“We are not arguing that there isn’t a cycle, just that the duration and extent of the cycle may not be priced in properly,” Luria said in his note.
Of the 44 analysts covering Micron on Wall Street, 41 give the stock a buy or strong buy rating, LSEG data shows.
Micron Technology Inc
ANALYST CONSENSUS
45
Ratings
Buy
14 Strong Buy
28 Buy
2 Hold
1 Underperform
0 Sell
Current PriceLast updated | 4:00 PM EDT
576.45
+34.24 (+6.31%)
Highest Price Target
1000.00
Average Price Target
535.54
Upside (-7.1%)
Lowest Price Target
125.00
Meta stock drops on quarterly results as ‘internet disruptions’ in Iran drag down user numbers
Published Wed, Apr 29 202612:00 PM EDT
Updated Wed, Apr 29 20269:37 PM EDT
Jonathan Vanian@in/jonathan-vanian-b704432/
Key Points
- Meta beat on revenue, but showed disappointing user numbers and its capital expenditures were below estimates.
- The company said that “internet disruptions in Iran” weighed on user growth.
- Meta said capex for the year will be between $125 billion and $145 billion, up from a prior range of $115 billion to $135 billion.
Meta shares fell about 7% in extended trading on Wednesday after the company reported lower-than-expected capital expenditures, or capex, and missed on user growth.
Meta attributed its quarter-over-quarter drop in users in part to “internet disruptions in Iran.”
Here’s how the company did, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $7.31 adjusted vs. $6.79 estimated
- Revenue: $56.31 billion vs. $55.45 billion estimated
Revenue climbed 33% from $42.3 billion a year earlier, marking the fastest quarter for growth since 2021. The jump reflects Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s focus on artificial intelligence investments, which have yet to produce new revenue streams but have strengthened the company’s core advertising business.
Zuckerberg has spent the past three months continuing his company’s deeper push into AI following a strategy shift and talent overhaul that he initiated in June with the $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI and the hiring of CEO Alexandr Wang.
The company reported first-quarter daily active people, or DAP, of 3.56 billion, a 4% increase from the same period the previous year but a more than 5% drop from the fourth quarter. Wall Street was projecting that DAP would come in at 3.62 billion.
Meta said the Iran war and “a restriction on access to WhatsApp in Russia” were to blame. Meta and three other hyperscalers — Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft — all reported results on Wednesday, updating investors for the first time since the U.S. began combat operations in Iran in late February.
Capital expenditures came in at $19.84 billion, below the $27.57 billion average estimate, according to StreetAccount. However, Meta said capex for the year will be between $125 billion and $145 billion, up from a prior range of $115 billion to $135 billion.
“This reflects our expectations for higher component pricing this year and, to a lesser extent, additional data center costs to support future year capacity,” Meta said in an earnings announcement.
Wall Street has been piling into the tech sector despite concerns that surging oil prices and supply chain disruptions from the war in Iran will lead to rising costs for AI infrastructure and related data center buildouts. Tech stocks are poised to finish their best month since April 2020, the early days of the Covid pandemic, with the Nasdaq up 14% for the month as of Wednesday’s close.
First-quarter average revenue per person came in at $15.66, beating the $15.26 average analyst estimate, according to StreetAccount. The average revenue figure was $16.56 during the fourth quarter.
Meta’s revenue forecast for the second quarter was roughly in line with expectations. The company projected sales of between $58 billion and $61 billion, while analysts are looking for revenue of $59.5 billion. The middle of the range would equal growth of about 25%.
Net income in the first quarter climbed to $26.8 billion, or $10.44 a share, from $16.6 billion, or $6.43 a share, a year earlier. The jump in profit included an income tax benefit of $8.03 billion, which was an adjustment tied to the Trump administration’s tax and spending bill. Diluted EPS would have been $3.13 lower without the tax benefit, Meta said.
Meta said its multiple youth safety-related legal cases “may ultimately result in a material loss.” The company suffered two trial losses in March, both involving allegations that the company misled consumers about its products’ harms.
Head count rose 1% year-over-year to 77,986 as of March 31. As it ramps up capex spending, Meta is trying to reduce its overall workforce. The company said last week that it’s laying off about 10% of its workforce, or 8,000 employees, while no longer hiring people for 6,000 open roles. Those cuts follow January’s layoffs affecting about 1,000 people in the company’s Reality Labs unit, and another round in March targeting hundreds of staffers in areas like Facebook, global operations and sales.
Earlier this month, Meta debuted Muse Spark as its first proprietary foundation model. Investors will now be looking for Zuckerberg to start laying out a clearer strategy towards monetization.
“We had a milestone quarter with strong momentum across our apps and the release of our first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs,” Zuckerberg said in a statement. “We’re on track to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people.”
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
Apple revenue guidance tops estimates on booming iPhone, Mac demand
Published Thu, Apr 30 202612:00 PM EDTUpdated Thu, Apr 30 20267:06 PM EDT
Jennifer Elias@in/jennifer-elias-845b1130/
Key Points
- Apple reported 17% revenue growth, topping estimates, even as iPhone sales came up short.
- It’s the first time the company is facing Wall Street since the announcement that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO.
- Revenue in the company’s services business topped estimates, helping drive its margin higher.
Apple issued a better-than-expected revenue forecast for the current period after beating on sales and earnings in the fiscal second quarter. The stock rose about 3% in extended trading.
Sales for iPhones missed estimates for the second time in three quarters, the only significant number that came up short of expectations in Thursday’s report.
Here’s how the company did compared to analyst estimates, according to LSEG consensus.
- EPS: $2.01 vs. $1.95
- Revenue: $111.18 billion vs. $109.66 billion
Wall Street is also looking at these key areas:
- iPhone revenue: $56.99 billion vs $57.21 billion expected
- Mac revenue: $8.4 billion vs. $8.02 billion expected
- iPad revenue: $6.91 billion vs. $6.66 billion expected
- Wearables, Home and Accessories revenue: $7.9 billion vs. $7.7 billion expected
- Services revenue: $30.98 billion vs. $30.39 billion expected
- Gross margin: 49.3% vs. 48.4% expected
Revenue climbed 17% from $95.4 billion a year earlier, Apple said. It was the first time the company faced Wall Street since the announcement last week that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO after 15 years on the job.
Apple said on the earnings call that revenue in the June quarter will increase between 14% and 17% from a year earlier. Analysts were expecting growth of 9.5% to $103 billion, according to LSEG.
The company’s board authorized an additional $100 billion in stock repurchases and declared a cash dividend of 27 cents per share, up 4%.
Sales of iPhones rose 22% in the quarter from a year earlier. Like other consumer electronics companies and device makers, Apple faces supply chain constraints, largely due to the global memory shortage that’s being driven by soaring artificial intelligence demand. Meta and Microsoft said Wednesday that higher memory prices contributed to their increased capital expenditures forecasts for the year.
Cook said on the earnings call that the iPhone 17 is now the “most popular lineup in our history” and noted that overall revenue beat guidance “despite supply constraints.” CFO Kevan Parekh said the company faced supply constraints on iPhones and Macs.
Apple could have great growth years ahead with personalized AI, says Deepwater’s Gene Munster
Along with strong revenue guidance, Cook made clear to investors that the memory crunch isn’t going away. He said the impact in the December quarter was “minimal” and that there was a bit more of a hit in the March period.
In the current quarter, “we expect significantly higher memory costs,” Cook said. Going beyond that, “we believe memory costs will drive an increasing impact on our business,” which will lead the company to “look at a range of options,” he said.
In March, Apple announced a number of new products, including its iPhone 17e, a refreshed iPad Air laptop with an M4 chip in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. it also unveiled the MacBook Neo, a low-cost laptop priced at $599 and aimed at students and budget-conscious consumers.
While device sales are always key to Apple’s results, top of mind for Wall Street is what to expect from incoming CEO John Ternus. Apple announced on April 20, that Ternus is succeeding Cook, who will become executive chairman on Sept. 1.
Ternus, a longtime Apple exec who’s been running hardware, joined the call and was introduced by Cook.
“We have the right leader ready to step into the role,” Cook said in his opening remarks, adding that Apple has the team to realize the “promise of this company.”
Ternus thanked Cook and Apple’s shareholders and said, the company has an “incredible roadmap ahead.”
“And while you’re not going to get me to talk about the details of that roadmap, suffice it to say, this is the most exciting time in my 25-year career at Apple to be building products and services,” Ternus said.
Google partnership
One of the first things Ternus has to figure out is where Apple is going to go with AI. Early in the quarter, Apple announced it would partner with Google to use its Gemini AI model to power its Siri product.
During the Q&A part of the earnings call, Cook said, “the collaboration with Google is going well,” and that the company is “happy with where things are and we’re happy with the work that we’re doing independently as well.”
Services revenue in the quarter rose about 16% from $26.65 billion a year ago. Apple uses its massive customer base — and a total of over 2.5 billion active devices on the market — to sell subscriptions to entertainment services, as well as to services for Apple Pay, iCloud and AppleCare.
With the growth in services, Apple generates higher profit margins. Long stuck in the high 30s, Apple’s gross margin has been steadily moving up in recent years, reaching 49.3% in the latest quarter up from 48.2% in the previous period.
Greater China sales increased during the quarter to $20.5 billion, up 28% from $16 billion a year ago. The China region is Apple’s third biggest, behind Americas and Europe.
Research and development costs increased at a much faster pace than revenue, growing 33% in the quarter to $11.42 billion from $8.55 billion a year earlier.
Cook said, about the R&D figures, that the company is “clearly investing more,” in part due to the AI growth potential it sees.
“We’re investing in products and services, and we see opportunities in both of those,” he said.
Parekh followed by saying that the company believes “AI is a really important investment area for Apple and we’re going to be doing that incrementally on top of what we normally invest in our product roadmap.”
Test Drive: The Ford F-150 is still one of the best do-it-all vehicles you can buy
By Jason Bell | Posted – May 2, 2026 at 8:00 a.m.
This story is sponsored by Wasatch Front Ford Dealers.
The first vehicle I ever drove was an old, beaten-down truck. It was a 1974 single-cab with a three-speed manual transmission, no power steering, no air conditioning and only a lap belt to keep me from bashing my head against the exposed metal roof. Driving it was a visceral, harrowing experience, especially on the freeway, but boy, if you could drive that, you could drive anything.
Fast forward to 2026 and my time with a new Ford F-150. My, how things have changed.
What was once a bare-bones, purpose-built tool has evolved into one of the most versatile vehicles on the road. After a week behind the wheel, the F-150’s evolution is clear: It’s a daily driver, family hauler, road-trip machine and legitimate workhorse all rolled into one.
It might just be one of the best do-it-all vehicles you can buy today. Here are just a few reasons.
A truck for just about everyone
Part of what makes the Ford F-150 so compelling is just how many compelling versions of it exist.
From the no-nonsense XL work truck to the approachable XLT and Lariat trims, all the way up to the ultra-luxury Limited, King Ranch and Platinum trims, there’s truly something for every buyer and lifestyle. And that’s before you get into the very cool — and very capable — off-road focused trims like the Tremor or the high-performance desert bomber, the Raptor.
In essence, you can configure the F-150 to be exactly what you need — or want. Basic, durable and affordable? Done. Comfortable and tech-laden? It’s yours. Loaded to the gills and more luxurious than your grandpa’s new hot tub? Easy, peasy.
That kind of flexibility and versatility is rare among vehicle models, and it’s a big reason the F-150 is so right for such a wide range of buyers. As Joe Lorio of Car and Driver said, “The F-150 excels in both daily usability and in towing and hauling … anyone shopping full-size pickups won’t go wrong with an F-150.”
Powertrain choices for the people
The engine lineup is another area where the F-150 shines above the crowd. My tester XLT trim came equipped with the optional 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, and it’s easy to see why it’s such a popular choice. In short, it’s got plenty of grunt — 382 horsepower — and relatively decent fuel efficiency. It delivers strong, confident power in every circumstance and never feels out of breath.
Aside from the popular 3.5-liter motor, there are several other attractive engine options from which to choose. There’s the 2.7-liter EcoBoost, which still makes good power but is more efficient than the 3.5, the beloved, naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8, a PowerBoost hybrid for those who want a blend of power and fuel economy and of course, the high-output version of the 3.5-liter motor available in the Raptor. Heck, you can even get a supercharged V8 from the factory. Not many drivers need 700 horsepower, but Ford gives it to you. And, like Gollum said, “We wants it.”
Comfortable enough to replace your daily driver — and family car
One of the biggest surprises for anyone who hasn’t spent time in a modern truck is just how comfortable and spacious they’ve become. The F-150, with my tester’s FX4 Offroad package, rode well and felt well composed over rough pavement and freeway stretches — a far cry from my boatlike experience piloting a 1974 pickup across five lanes of traffic.
The same goes for the seats and overall cabin design — it’s comfortable, and endlessly usable. It looks thoughtfully put together, cohesive and supremely functional. My XLT tester, while decidedly more utilitarian than other trims, was still durable and comfortable enough to make it an easy vehicle to live with every day.
Then there’s the space, which, in the F-150, is larger than most SUVs. You can easily fit three kids or adults across the back row, and because it’s a truck, there’s more than enough storage in and outside the cabin for all your stuff.
Is the F-150 secretly one of the best family vehicles on the market? I think so.
Excellent, easy-to-use technology
Cars are all about tech these days, and honestly, it can feel a little fatiguing. However, Ford has done a great job integrating useful technology into the F-150 without making it feel complex or overwhelming.
For example, the infotainment screen. It’s large, clear, responsive and well integrated into the dash.
In addition, Ford offers its hands-free driving system, BlueCruise, on several of their trims. It’s awesome, convenient and a game changer for longer drives, road trips and heading home after a long day at work.
Heck, there’s also the Pro Power Onboard system, which effectively turns your truck into a mobile generator. Whether it’s powering appliances while camping or power tools on a job site, it’s one of those cool features you don’t really think you need until you have it.
It’s great at doing truck stuff
Of course, none of these qualities would matter if the F-150 weren’t actually good at being a truck. And, to the surprise of no one, it is.
Towing and hauling are among the best in the segment, and features like the tow/haul package, trailer backup assist and the 360-degree camera system make handling a trailer — and other large loads — much more manageable.
The bed is just as useful as you’d expect, complete with a dampened tailgate and optional spray-in bedliner.
And for those who like a little fun off the pavement, packages like the FX4 off-road package and the Tremor trim add genuine off-road capability without sacrificing everyday usability.
Versatile and practical usability
Overall, one of the most underrated aspects of the F-150 is how easy it is to live with. I used it as my daily driver for over a week, and it never felt like too much to handle.
My tester had the optional 36-gallon fuel tank, which means if you’re able to achieve the estimated highway fuel economy of 23 miles per gallon, you would have well over 800 miles of range. In my week of combined driving, I experienced just shy of 18 miles per gallon. The smaller 2.7-liter engine should net you even higher.
It’s big, yes, but also manageable, very comfortable and is easily adaptable in ways that make it hard to ignore as a legitimate daily driver.
The F-150, especially when loaded with options, isn’t cheap. But when you consider what you’re getting, it starts to make more sense. This is a vehicle that can replace multiple others. It’s a commuter, a road trip vehicle, dump hauler, boat tower and off-roader all rolled into one. Few vehicles offer that kind of versatility.
The F-150 still dominates
There’s a reason the F-150 has remained America’s best-selling vehicle for decades: it’s a classic, winning formula that’s only gotten better. Ford has consistently evolved this truck to meet modern needs while maintaining the core capability that made it popular in the first place.
After spending a week with it, the appeal of the F-150 is undeniable. It’s comfortable, capable and packed with features and capabilities that will appeal to just about any buyer.
“The 2026 Ford F-150 will almost assuredly carry on its model’s long streak of being the best-selling vehicle in the United States. That popularity hasn’t always meant it was the best full-size pickup, but in 2026, the two do in fact align. On our leaderboard of best large trucks, you’ll find the 2026 F-150 right at the top with a score of 7.5 out of 10,” said James Riswick of Edmunds.com.
In a market full of vehicles that excel at a few things, the F-150 stands out by being great at almost everything — and that’s worth considering.
Be sure to check out the final days of Ford’s Truck Month sales event for the best deals of the year on your next F-150.
About the author: Jason Bell is a lifelong car enthusiast who loves sharing his passions as a teacher, podcaster and automotive journalist. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. You can contact him at jasonbellcars@gmail.com or on his YouTube channel.
Spirit Airlines shuts down as company says it can’t keep up with higher oil prices
By Aamer Madhani, Rio Yamat, Jeff Amy and Mike Catalini, Associated Press |
Updated – May 2, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. | Posted – May 2, 2026 at 8:01 a.m.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Spirit Airlines ceased operations on Saturday after 34 years in business.
- The airline cited the rising cost of jet fuel, exacerbated by the Iran war, as its main reason for shutting down.
- The company advised customers that they could expect refunds, but there would be no help in booking travel on other airlines.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business after 34 years.
The ultra-low-cost airline that once operated hundreds of daily flights on its bright yellow planes and employed about 17,000 people said it had “started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately.”
Although Spirit had gone bankrupt twice before, the company said high oil prices, which have been rising because of the war with Iran, made it impossible to stay aloft.
The airline said on its website that all flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available. Some passengers arrived Saturday for flights and were stunned to find them canceled, while workers learned overnight they were out of jobs.
“We are proud of the impact of our ultra-low-cost model on the industry over the last 34 years and had hoped to serve our guests for many years to come,” Spirit’s announcement said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday that Spirit had a reserve fund set up for customers who bought directly from the airline to get refunds. People who bought from third-party vendors like travel agents would have to seek refunds from them.
Duffy said United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest were offering $200 one-way flights for people who had Spirit confirmation numbers and proof of purchase for a limited time. Other airlines would also help Spirit employees who might be stranded, as well as offering them a preferential application process as they look for work.
Spirit said in a statement it was working to get more than 1,300 crew to their home bases and that the final Spirit flight landed at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
The company advised customers that they could expect refunds, but there would be no help in booking travel on other airlines.
The Trump administration had considered a government bailout for the cash-strapped business to keep it from going under, but a deal was not reached. Of the potential bailout, Duffy said Saturday, “We often times don’t have half a billion dollars lying around.”
President Donald Trump had floated the idea of a bailout last week after the airline found itself in bankruptcy proceedings for the second time in less than two years, with jet fuel prices soaring because of the Iran war.
‘They got you there’
Five Spirit flights were still showing as “on time” on Saturday morning on the departure board in Atlanta. A trickle of passengers who hadn’t heard the news were still showing up.
“What?” exclaimed Taylor Nantang as she, her husband and four children arrived for a Saturday afternoon Spirit flight from Atlanta to Miami for a spur-of-the-moment vacation. The family had driven down from Tennessee to the Atlanta airport.
“So the whole airline at every airport is out of business?” asked Nantang. “Oh my, that’s crazy.”
Other passengers wondered whether the airline would still answer its customer service phone, or when the refunds for canceled flights might arrive on their credit cards.
Joshua Sigler, who had bought a ticket Friday for a flight Saturday to Miami, said he would just return home after learning of the cancellation, rather than try to take advantage of deals other airlines were offering to stranded Spirit passengers.
He said he had gotten no communication from Spirit, which he had flown multiple times in the past. “They get you there,” he said of past flights. “It was cheap.”
‘Boo-hoo crying’
Former Spirit flight attendant Freddie Peterson was on a Spirit flight from Detroit that arrived in Newark around 11 p.m. Friday. He said that despite rumors flying on social media Friday, things seemed kind of normal, with more than 200 passengers on the plane.
“All our aircraft were packed,” he said.
Peterson, 60, said he set his alarm clock for 3 a.m. Saturday to check the company website at the hour of the rumored shutdown and learned all Spirit flights were canceled. He said Delta Air Lines brought him and another flight attendant back to Atlanta on Saturday morning, with Peterson leaving from there to drive to his home in Shellman in southwest Georgia.
“I’ll probably do the boo-hoo crying and all that other stuff once I get in my car.”
Peterson said he had been a flight attendant with Spirit for 10 years and the company has “done wonders for me.” He said the airline’s reputation for bargain basement chaos was largely undeserved, but he did fault management for not communicating with the employees in the closing days, saying a promised employee town hall was canceled.
Bailout fizzles
As late as Friday afternoon, Trump had said his administration was looking at a bailout for Spirit and had given the budget carrier a “final proposal” for a taxpayer-funded takeover.
Spirit proudly disrupted the penny-pinching portion of the airlines industry with its no-frills, low-cost flights and provocative ads like its “Check Out the Oil on Our Beaches” campaign after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, referencing suntan oil, but alluding to the crude spilled on the Gulf Coast.
However, Spirit has struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic, weighed down by rising operating costs and growing debt. By the time it filed for Chapter 11 protection in November 2024, Spirit had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.
The budget carrier sought bankruptcy protection again in August 2025, when it reported having $8.1 billion in debts and $8.6 billion in assets, according to court filings.
White House blames Biden
The White House had blamed President Joe Biden’s administration for Spirit’s tenuous financial situation. Biden, a Democrat, opposed a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue in 2023. On Saturday, Trump administration officials took to social media to amplify the voices of conservative critics who faulted Biden for Spirit’s demise.
On Saturday, Duffy blamed Biden as well as his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg.
“Many at the time said that this was a disaster. This merger should have been allowed,” he said.
Tad DeHaven, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said the Trump administration also bears responsibility, arguing that the airline’s current crisis reflects a chain reaction of policy missteps rather than a single decision. He pointed specifically to Trump’s decision to strike Iran as “bad foreign policy,” saying the conflict drove up jet fuel prices and Spirit’s operating costs.
“They were already in trouble,” DeHaven said, describing the situation as “a compounding effect in terms of policy.”
Supporters of a rescue, including labor unions representing Spirit’s pilots, flight attendants and ramp workers, said a collapse would put thousands of Americans out of work and hurt consumers by reducing airline competition and increasing airfares. About 17,000 jobs could be impacted, according to Spirit lawyer Marshall Huebner.
Budget-conscious and leisure travelers would likely feel Spirit’s absence the most, especially in places where the airline has a big footprint, such as Las Vegas and the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
The carrier flew about 1.7 million domestic passengers in February, roughly half a million fewer than during the same month a year earlier, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Spirit also has sharply reduced its capacity, with about half as many seats available this month as in May 2024.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Palantir tops estimates on 85% revenue growth, fastest expansion since market debut in 2020
Published Mon, May 4 20264:07 PM EDTUpdated 2 Min Ago
Lola Murti@in/lolamurti/@lolavkm
Key Points
- Palantir’s results topped Wall Street expectations, and the company also issued better-than-expected guidance
- Revenue increased 85%, the company’s fastest growth since its public market debut in 2020.
- The company reported revenue growth to U.S. government customers of 84% in the first quarter.
Palantir reported first-quarter results on Monday that sailed past analysts’ expectations, and also issued guidance that topped estimates.
Here’s how the company did compared to analyst estimates as compiled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 33 cents adjusted vs. 28 cents expected
- Revenue: $1.63 billion vs. $1.54 billion expected
Palantir’s revenue grew about 85% in the quarter, according to a statement, marking the fastest increase in sales since at least 2020, the year the company went public through a direct listing.
Net income roughly quadrupled to $870.5 million, or 34 cents per share, from $214 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted net income excludes impact from stock-based compensation and income taxes.
Palantir, which has seen its market value soar in the past few years, also lifted its full-year guidance. The company now anticipates $4.2 billion to $4.4 billion in adjusted free cash flow, above StreetAccount’s $4.05 billion consensus. In February, the company said it was looking for adjusted free cash flow between $3.925 billion and $4.125 billion.
“Our financial results now demonstrate a level of strength that dwarfs the performance of essentially every software company in history at this scale,” Palantir CEO Alex Karp wrote in a letter to shareholders. Revenue per employee reached $1.5 million on an annual basis, Karp wrote.
Management called for $1.8 billion in second-quarter revenue, above the $1.68 billion consensus among analysts surveyed by LSEG.
The company sees $7.65 billion to $7.66 billion in 2026 revenue, an annual jump of 71% and higher than the $7.27 billion LSEG consensus. In February, the company guided to between $7.182 billion and $7.198 billion in full-year revenue.
Karp told CNBC’s Seema Mody he expects the U.S. business, across government and commercial, to double again in 2027.
Palantir is best known for providing software, services and artificial intelligence tools to the U.S. government for military operations and defense.
Revenue to domestic government agencies climbed 84% in the first quarter to $687 million, accelerating from 66% growth in the fourth quarter. Last year Palantir announced a U.S. Army contract worth up to $10 billion over 10 years.
In an interview with CNBC in March, Karp said his company’s AI is giving the U.S. and its allies an edge in the escalating conflict in Iran and across the Middle East.
Here’s how Alex Karp explains Palantir’s role in modern warfare
“What makes America special right now is our lethal capabilities, our ability to fight war,” Karp said at Palantir’s AIPCon 9 in Maryland. He added that another major advantage is that “the AI revolution is uniquely American.”
The company prioritizes U.S. warfighters above all else, Karp said on a Monday conference call with analysts.
“When we believe, or know because of our proximity, that the U.S. war fighter is in danger, we put the whole company against it,” Karp said. “And it is not always the way in which one should do this, but it is how we do it.”
Commercial revenue from U.S. clients totaled $595 million in the quarter, up 133% from a year ago but below StreetAccount’s consensus of $605 million. During the quarter, Palantir announced deals with Airbus, Bain, GE Aerospace and Stellantis.
Palantir said it had 1,007 commercial customers for the trailing 12 months ended March 31, up 31% from a year earlier. At the end of March, it counted $4.45 billion in remaining performance obligations, a measure of revenue that has yet to be recognized, up from $1.9 billion last year.
While Palantir’s stock is up about 23-fold since the end of 2022, it’s dropped 18% this year. The slide has come alongside a broader retreat in software stocks due to fears that AI models might hurt growth and that models like those from Anthropic and OpenAI would disrupt older businesses.
Karp sought to differentiate Palantir from the model developers.
“There seems to be a rotation amongst AI model companies who engage in an intensely competitive race in which we have seen token costs suffer a thousandfold decline over just a few years and where winners and losers swap places every six months,” Karp wrote in Palantir’s shareholder letter. “Our path has been different, building a juggernaut of a business that is delivering results to our partners in the world as it is today.”
Palantir uses models from a variety of providers, but is still unable to keep up with U.S. demand, Karp said on Monday.
— CNBC’s Seema Mody contributed to this report.
