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Super Micro Computer (SMCI) just offered investors a reason to overlook its stalling revenue growth.Shares of the artificial-intelligence server maker jumped more than 20% after it gave a preliminary update on its fiscal fourth quarter. The sharp uptick came after surprise upward revisions to projected profitability, but sales are seen coming in at the low end of the company’s previous estimate.Super Micro Computer expects revenue to be at the low end of its forecast of $11 billion to $12.5 billion. Analysts were looking for roughly $11.7 billion.The bigger number was gross margin.Super Micro Computer now forecasts fourth-quarter gross margin to be between 15% and 17%, almost double the previous forecast of 8.2% to 8.4%. Management said the rise was helped by a better mix of customers and products.That changes the basic question about the stock.Super Micro Computer has already demonstrated its ability to secure large AI-infrastructure orders. Investors now want to see proof that these orders can translate into sustainable earnings and cash flow.Super Micro Computer finally addressed its margin problemSuper Micro Computer doesn’t seem to be hampered by an imminent shortage of demand.The company booked more than $60 billion in new orders in the quarter, resulting in a record backlog at the end of fiscal 2026. Those orders will be recognized as revenue over future periods rather than immediately.That helps explain why investors were ready to overlook the low-end revenue guidance.And the challenge has been the expense of collecting that demand.AI servers require costly graphics processors, networking hardware, memory, and cooling. Super Micro Computer often has to make sure it has those parts before it can collect money from customers, putting pressure on inventory and working capital.Super Micro Computer announced $7 billion in stock and equity-linked funding in June to help fund about $39 billion in AI-related orders from more than 20 clients. The financing was in the form of common stock and convertible securities, which could be dilutive to existing shareholders.Related: Super Micro earnings put cash burn in focusThe latest order update showed the financing backed a far larger pipeline than investors had known before.But a backlog by itself doesn’t provide shareholder returns.Systems come with delayed orders, changed hardware configurations, and fluctuating component pricing. Super Micro Computer still needs to turn the backlog into revenue, operating profit, and free cash flow.Super Micro Computer’s rally depends on 1 number lastingSuper Micro Computer is competing for big AI data center installations with Dell Technologies (DELL), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and others.Many of those systems use similar chips from Nvidia (NVDA) and other chip makers. This gives big customers a lot of leverage and makes server assembly a lower-margin industry.If gross margins are in the 15% to 17% range, that would signal Super Micro Computer has achieved higher pricing, a more profitable mix of full systems, or especially strong supply conditions.Shares of Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise also rose on the announcement, as investors took the update as a broader sign of strong demand and possibly better pricing in the AI server market.More AI:Workers just sent AI companies an ultimatumPalantir CEO has a blunt verdict on OpenAI and AnthropicElon Musk pulls no punches with AI rivals as Grok 4.5 debutsThe other question is whether this margin expansion is sustainable.The right mix of customers or products can vary from quarter to quarter. Manufacturers can use shortages of supplies to negotiate higher prices for a short time. But that advantage might fade when parts become more available or rivals boost capacity.Super Micro Computer’s previous volatility in its profit margins gives investors still more reason to be cautious. The company reported third quarter sales of $10.2 billion, down from $12.7 billion the prior quarter.It’s an important first update, but not yet a durable trend.What Super Micro Computer investors should watch nextSuper Micro Computer is scheduled to report its full fourth quarter and fiscal year results on Aug. 11.The first test will be whether gross margin at the end comes in at the targeted 15% to 17%.Investors also should look at inventory, accounts receivable, and operating cash flow. If sales growth requires new inventory or excess external capital, margin recovery is of less value.Management’s fiscal 2027 outlook will show how quickly the record backlog can become recognized sales.And the last point is: Can the superior combination at Super Micro Computer be copied? A quarter of improved pricing can make a company rise. Continued execution across customers, components, and whole rack-scale systems is needed for sustained profitability.

Super Micro’s next test is bigger than its record backlog.Bloomberg / Getty Images

Key takeaways for Super Micro Computer investorsRevenue in the fourth quarter is projected to be at the low end of the range.Gross margin is now projected at 15% to 17%.Quarterly orders were over $60 billion.Super Micro Computer ended the fiscal year with record backlog.The company raised cash to pay for AI server orders.The report due Aug. 11 must show the margin rebound is sustainable.Super Micro Computer’s surge had nothing to do with sales growth.It seemed the corporation could be enhancing the economics of that growth.Demand for the AI server maker has never been in short supply. The market has been skeptical about its ability to turn substantial orders into sustainable margins, cash flow, and shareholder value.Its first update gives a hopeful answer but only for a quarter.The next Super Micro Computer earnings report must show the margin improvement is a lasting operational transformation, not a one-off benefit from customer mix or limited supply.That’s a lot of backlog, $60 billion worth of orders.The question isn’t whether Super Micro Computer will get bigger, but whether it will be more profitable in delivering all those orders.Related: Super Micro risks massive dilution for uncommitted AI orders

With any efforts to reach a ceasefire failing to hold, the volatile security situation set off by the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran has left airlines flying into the Middle East struggling to plan any service.Delta Air Lines recently extended the suspension of its flight between Atlanta and Tel Aviv until November 2026, while American Airlines confirmed that it will not restart its routes to Doha and Tel Aviv until 2027 at the earliest.Dutch flag carrier KLM’s last update states that it will “not operate flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam until and including August 23.” Air France, which is under the same Air France-KLM parent company, just released a new extension of its routes to Dubai, Riyadh, and Beirut.”Security situation on the ground is highly fluid”: Air France on Middle East flightsIn an update issued on July 20, the suspension of Air France’s route between Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris and Dubai International (DXB) has been extended until July 27, EuroNews indicated. The flight to Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY) will not restart until Aug. 2.The flight to King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh is currently set to restart on July 24.Related: Alaska Airlines exits one entire international market”The resumption of operations will remain subject to an assessment of the security situation on the ground, which is highly fluid,” the airline said in a statement on its flight restart timeline. “[…] The airline continuously monitors the geopolitical situation in the territories served and overflown by its aircraft in order to ensure the highest level of flight safety and security.”The flights to Dubai and Beirut have been suspended since the strike on the last day of February. Meanwhile, Air France resumed the service to Riyadh several times during periods of relative quiet before suspending it again.

Air service to Dubai has been severely restricted since the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran in February 2026.Ciel Tower Dubai

“Affected customers are being notified individually,” Air France says of flight refund optionsAccording to the airline’s update, anyone with booked travel for dates before the new restart dates or those who kept pushing back an unused ticket will be contacted with options to rebook or refund it. Travelers can also initiate this process on their own through their booking on the Air France website.More Travel News:Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.There is a very cool Irish version of swimming pigs in the BahamasUnexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026Low-cost airline launches easier way to get to Sri Lanka”Affected customers are being notified individually,” Air France states further. “Commercial measures available on airfrance.com are in place, allowing customers to cancel or postpone their travel at no extra cost, even if their flight is not canceled.”The guidance from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to European airlines is currently to avoid the airspace of Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan until Aug. 31, Reuters confirmed.This comes amid a fresh round of strikes between Iran and the U.S., as NPR reported. The risk of new hostilities in response to the three U.S. troops killed by Iranian ballistics and drone attacks on military bases remains high. Air France’s restart dates, which in some cases are just a few days from when the update was published, are significantly more optimistic than those of many of its European and North American competitors.Related: Another airline cancels 3 flights to U.S., offers refunds

Qualcomm and Samsung expanded their chip partnership this week, putting Snapdragon silicon inside nearly every new device in the Galaxy lineup.For over a decade, Samsung ran a split system, selling some flagship phones with its own Exynos processor and others with a Snapdragon chip depending on the region, according to Android Authority.That regional divide is largely gone now, and the new deal shows how far the consolidation has traveled, reaching into watches and smart glasses for the first time.Samsung’s chip history goes back further than most buyers realize. The original 2010 Galaxy S ran on a Samsung designed chip called Hummingbird, and the Exynos name itself did not appear until the Galaxy S2 a year later, according to Android Authority.Exynos then spent years as the weaker half of that dual sourcing strategy, falling behind Snapdragon most visibly in 2020, when the Exynos 990 trailed on battery life and speed.By the Galaxy S23 launch, Samsung had quietly shifted to a single global Snapdragon chip for its top phones.Qualcomm (QCOM) supplies the processors inside most non-Apple flagship phones sold worldwide, and Samsung is its largest customer by volume.Related: Qualcomm’s datacenter ambitions win over Goldman SachsSnapdragon becomes the default across the whole Galaxy lineupThe new agreement covers the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Z Fold8 Ultra, the Snapdragon Wear Elite platform for the Galaxy Watch9 and Watch Ultra2, and the Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 for Samsung’s new smart glasses, according to a press release distributed through Qualcomm.The Wear Elite chip stands out on its own. It marks the first time Samsung has used a Snapdragon platform to power a smartwatch.Samsung MX Business president Won-joon Choi framed the goal as giving users a “consistent, premium Galaxy experience” across every device they own.Samsung is betting that owning the full hardware stack, phone, watch, and glasses, running on one chip family will keep customers inside its ecosystem the way Apple keeps buyers tied to iPhone, Watch, and AirPods.

Qualcomm expands its Snapdragon partnership with Samsung across phones, watches and smart eyewear.SimpleImages / Getty Images

A separate, larger Samsung story broke the same daySamsung is also in advanced talks to invest about €1 billion in French AI startup Mistral, a deal that would value Mistral near €20 billion, or roughly $22.8 billion, according to Financial Times.That would nearly double the roughly €11.7 billion valuation Mistral secured less than a year ago. Two Samsung headlines landing on the same day, one about chips and one about equity, are not really separate stories.Both point to the same shift. Samsung wants deeper, stickier relationships with the companies building AI, whether that means supplying memory chips to an AI lab or letting Qualcomm’s silicon carry Samsung’s own AI features.Related: Samsung cuts jobs as it shifts U.S. headquartersA Mistral stake would also hand Samsung a customer relationship in high bandwidth memory, a segment where rival SK Hynix has moved faster in recent quarters.Samsung currently leans on Google’s Gemini for Galaxy AI, so a stake in a foundation model lab would make it an investor, not just a customer.The market’s reaction says more than the announcements didQualcomm (QCOM) shares rose about 1.3% to $175.70 on the news. Samsung’s Seoul listed shares gained a modest 0.6% to 260,500 won.That muted reaction is worth noting. Investors appear to be treating the Mistral talks as unconfirmed and the chip deal as an expected renewal rather than new information.More Qualcomm:Qualcomm’s datacenter ambitions win over Goldman SachsQualcomm eyes $10 billion AI shortcut as smartphone growth slowsQualcomm CEO plans to kill app store with AIThe bigger pattern is fewer chip platforms, not moreQualcomm’s expanded Samsung deal fits a wider trend across consumer hardware. Companies with the resources to design their own silicon, Apple among them, increasingly do, leaving Qualcomm to compete by making itself indispensable to everyone else.Samsung choosing one chip family across phones, watches, and glasses is that same logic playing out from the buyer’s side instead of the seller’s.The regional Exynos versus Snapdragon split that once defined the Galaxy S series is fading into a footnote.What is replacing it is a smartphone industry where the real competition sits between entire hardware and AI ecosystems, not between chip variants inside one phone line.That shift also raises the stakes for Samsung’s own Exynos chip, since every device shipping with Snapdragon is one less proof point for it.Samsung’s next earnings report, due July 30, will be the first real test of whether either bet shows up in the numbers.Related: Qualcomm’s massive AI expansion already has 2 Mag 7 giants on board

With some of the city’s most iconic foods being pizza and the various dishes invented in the original red-sauce joints, Italian food in New York City dates back to the late nineteenth century when waves of immigrants from southern Italy started arriving in Lower Manhattan.Since then, New York’s Italian food scene has gone through endless iterations that reflect everything from trends to the availability of ingredients at specific historical periods.Over the last decade, new Italian restaurants have increasingly looked to move away from certain stereotypes around Italian-American cuisine and bring all the diversity of regional Italy to diners (although fusion restaurants that offer new takes on classics that are native to the city have also found their place in a food scene that is constantly reinventing itself).Roman-style pizzeria Forno D’Oro comes to ChelseaOne of the most recent openings highlighting the power of fusion is Pizza Studio Tamaki: famed Japanese pizzaiolo Tsubasa Tamaki brought his distinct Tokyo-style Neapolitan pies that exploded in popularity in Japan over the last decade to a new home in St. Marks Place.In the Chelsea neighborhood, Forno D’Oro (“golden oven” in Italian) opened on Eighth Avenue at the start of the summer with a family thread running through it: master pizzaiolo Salvatore Olivella built it as a Roman-style pizzeria with three nephews from their home city of Verona in northern Italy.Related: These hotels just got the equivalent of three Michelin starsAlong with an extensive menu of red and white pizza as well as dishes like Lamb Chops Milanese and Octopus Carpaccio, the restaurant will launch Italian culinary classes teaching individuals and groups to make mozzarella and pizza from scratch by the fall.Olivera’s entry into the NYC dining scene occurred in 2022 with the opening of the Little Charli intimate pizzeria in West Village. At Forno D’Oro, the traditional wood-fired brick oven is the centerpiece of the restaurant through which pies with both classic (Margherita, mozzarella and San Daniele ham) and creative (“The Frank Sinatra” with burrata, arugula and breasola and the “Inferno” with ‘Nduja sausage, Soppresatta and hot honey) are churned out before the eyes of diners.

Forno D’Oro hosts classes on making pizza and mozzarella for the public.Forno D’Oro

Elevated Italian-American favorites and other Italian openings for the summer of 2026At the start of the spring, Rocco DiSpirito also opened the new Bar Rocco at the Kimpton Era Midtown New York hotel. The Queens-born chef designed a menu full of Italian-American classics he grew up with through a more upscale twist: Mama’s Meatballs, Sunday Gravy Lasagna and a Big Italian Burger with an aged wagyu beef blend paired with provolone cheese and a dijon-based vinaigrette.More Travel News:Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.There is a very cool Irish version of swimming pigs in the BahamasUnexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026Low-cost airline launches easier way to get to Sri LankaAnd in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, the Ferdinando’s Focacceria Sicilian restaurant that operated continuously between 1904 and 2025 was reenvisioned as Bar Ferdinando by chef of the nearby Cafe Spaghetti restaurant, Sal Lamboglia.Long-time patrons of the Brooklyn Italian neighborhood mainstay come for an all-day menu of coffee and Italian pastries like bomboloni and maritozzi as well as negronis served alongside small plates that start at $5 for pizza-spiced chickpeas and do not go over $21 for a plate of clams in white sauce served over fries.Related: An American town best known for wine is becoming a foodie destination

You’d expect Nvidia’s (NVDA) next big catalyst to come from familiar places: quicker  GPUs, larger clusters, and more cloud spending. Google parent Alphabet’s earnings strengthened that assumption.Google bumped its 2026 CapEx forecast to $195 billion to $205 billion, according to Reuters, underscoring that demand for AI infrastructure remains intense. Consequently, according to Yahoo Finance, Nvidia (NVDA) closed on Wednesday, July 22, at $212.06, up 2.3%. Moreover, despite turbulence in tech stocks, Nvidia has delivered a 14.7% gain over the past six months, compared with the S&P 500’s 8.5% gain, according to Seeking Alpha.However, in a note shared with me, Bank of America argues that Nvidia’s next major opportunity extends beyond the hardware category that has solidified its dominanceNvidia is pushing into the CPU market, long dominated by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel (INTC), where agentic AI could reshape what customers value most. 

Bank of America sees Nvidia’s AI CPU strategy supporting substantial long-term upside Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Bank of America feels Nvidia’s next big AI catalyst comes from CPUsBank of America analysts, led by veteran analyst Vivek Arya, believe the server CPU market for agentic AI is Nvidia’s next major frontier. Moreover, that specific market could expand nearly fourfold to $170 billion by 2030. More Nvidia:Bank of America sees Nvidia’s next $20 billion businessMorgan Stanley says Nvidia stock remains top pick despite headwindCiti sends strong signal to Nvidia investors amid rumorsNvidia’s Vera CPUs specialize in single-threaded CPU performance, which basically means how quick a processor can complete a specific task at a time. CEO Jensen Huang directly linked Vera to agentic workloads, saying that, “AI agents will be the largest users of computing. Vera is the first CPU designed for that future.” Agentic AI workloads are sequential in nature.That means each action undertaken by an AI agent depends on the previous one being completed. If the latency in each CPU step can be shortened, the total time taken to complete an agent’s task improves substantially. Its Vera CPU includes the following:88 custom Olympus ARM-based cores1.2 TB/s of memory bandwidth3.4 TB/s of on-die fabric bandwidthA monolithic compute die designed to improve coherenceThese features are tailor-made for faster execution, preventing data-access bottlenecks while keeping communications on a single chip to substantially reduce delays. Nvidia is growing its “AI Factory” moatAnother big point to consider is that Nvidia is looking to control more of the AI data center architecture. Vera is being co-designed with multiple other Nvidia technologies, which include:Rubin GPUsGroq LPX processorsSpectrum networking switchesBlueField networking and storage productsThat’s at the heart of Nvidia’s competitive advantage, which comes from system-level integration, instead of just individual GPU performance.A customer purchasing an Nvidia stack receives CPUs, GPUs, networking, interconnects, software, and orchestration technologies designed to work together. That substantially improves performance while bumping switching costs. Moreover, that also helps build the case for Nvidia’s architecture becoming the default platform for developing large-scale AI factories, blowing past its competition in the process.How does BofA value Nvidia stock?Bank of America analysts maintain a Buy rating on Nvidia stock, with a $350 price target. At the report price of $207.29, the target implies roughly 68.8% upside.The price target equates to 26 times 2027 estimated earnings, adjusted for the tech giant’s ballooning net cash position. The multiple sits near the bottom of its historical forward PE range of 25 to 56 times.Hence, the valuation is near the low end of the company’s historical range, while relying on future earnings growth to drive upside.Moreover, according to Seeking Alpha, Nvidia stock is trading at 23.6 times forward non-GAAP earnings, 46% below its 5-year average.With Nvidia’s leadership in two major expanding markets in AI computing and data-center networking, BofA analysts believe it deserves a premium valuation.Nonetheless, the multiple is moderated by three primary concerns, though:AI project lumpiness: Large sovereign, hyperscale, and enterprise projects can be delayed, resized, or recognized unevenly between quarters.Gaming cyclicality: Nvidia is exposed to a consumer market that could experience inventory corrections and demand sluggishness.Power constraints: Customer demand may exceed the industry’s capacity to build, power, and cool new data centers.Could AMD’s throughput advantage challenge Nvidia’s CPU push? According to Bank of America, AMD’s claim could be that Nvidia is optimizing for the wrong constraint.Nvidia’s focus is on quicker task competition for each individual AI agent, but AMD believes that commercial AI actually resembles an enterprise software platform. Basically, there are multiple moving parts to that platform, including APIs, databases, middleware, caching layers, and a whole host of other things. Under that model, it’s important to understand how many agents can a rack potentially support within a fixed budget. AMD estimates its EPYC 9965 Turin processoris able to deliver nearly 2.4 times the rack-level throughput of Nvidia’s Vera baseline in a modeled 100-kilowatt deployment. Its next-generation Venice platform is expected to take things up a notch or two, increasing that advantage to 3.3 times.The disagreement also extends to the ARM versus x86 debate.Nvidia is arguing that the underlying chip standard matters a lot less if its processors and software work in tandem to deliver better overall AI performance. AMD and Intel, however, have one major advantage: most business software was built around their x86 architecture.For decades, companies have used x86 systems to run databases, security tools, operating systems, and internal applications. That means the software is already tested, familiar, and widely supported.That might matter more as AI agents work directly with corporate systems, and even though Nvidia offers a tightly integrated AI platform, AMD and Intel stand to benefit from compatibility. What should investors take away from the CPU battle?Bank of America doesn’t exactly declare a winner in the Nvidia vs AMD vs Intel debate.Clearly, we’re still in the early innings of the agentic AI market taking shape, making it too early to conclude which aspects customers will value most.For Nvidia, the bull case centers on Vera strengthening its full-system strategy, and if consumers prioritize lower latency, tighter CPU-GPU integration, and better utilization of expensive accelerators, Nvidia stands to widen its competitive moat substantially over time.AMD and Intel, however, have a practical advantage. Their x86 architecture is deeply embedded across enterprise software, lowering migration costs and making adoption a lot easier for traditional businesses.For investors, this means the market might not produce a single winner across every workload.Nvidia may dominate latency-sensitive AI factories, while AMD and Intel remain competitive in enterprise environments built around scale, compatibility, and parallel processing. Real-world customer deployments over time will provide greater clarity on where the market is heading, helping investors assess how much of that opportunity is already priced into Nvidia’s valuation. Related: Cathie Wood makes $20.5M bet on sliding tech stock

For about three years, the Magnificent Seven was Wall Street’s shortcut for everything that was working in markets. Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA). You owned them, you owned the AI boom. The trade was simple, and it paid off well for a long time.Citi just called time on it. Scott Chronert, the bank’s head of US equity strategy, said the Mag 7 is “dead as a construct for assessing large-cap growth dynamics, and it has been for some time.” He added: “It is time to refocus away from the term Mag 7,” Bloomberg reported. The bank’s replacement framework is already outperforming, Business Insider reported.Why Citi says the Magnificent Seven no longer maps the stock marketThe performance gap makes the case on its own. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF, which tracks the group, is up just 1% so far this year while the S&P 500 has gained 9%. Microsoft is the worst performer in the group, down 17% in 2026 as investors have grown increasingly nervous about heavy AI capital spending. The fragmentation that Citi is now formalizing has been visible for over a year, as TheStreet reported.More Wall Street:Wall Street sends strong 4-word verdict on the stock marketWall Street’s $200 billion IPO wave threatens sell-offWall Street flees software plays for triple-digit chipmaker boomCiti put a finer point on the dispersion. A weighted index of the top 25 stocks that have contributed most to S&P 500 returns is up 7% this year, compared to a 2% gain for the Mag 7 cohort. Earnings growth has been spreading across the index, and Citi says sticking to the original seven names is causing investors to miss it. “Even a Mag 10 breakout would miss significant earnings contributors,” strategists wrote, pointing to strong results from companies like Intel, Applied Materials, and Lam Research.What Citi’s growth cluster is and how it’s actually performingCiti’s replacement framework is what it calls a “growth cluster,” a basket of companies that have contributed the most to S&P 500 earnings in recent quarters and are directly influenced by AI. The cluster spans six different industries and makes up roughly half of the S&P 500’s total market cap.The numbers back the switch. The growth cluster gained 24.7% in the second quarter, compared to 14.9% for the S&P 500. For the year through the end of Q2, it’s up 11.8% against the index’s 10.1% gain. It also beat Citi’s cyclical and defensive clusters across those same periods.Valuations are part of what’s driving the case. The price-to-earnings-to-growth ratio for companies in Citi’s growth cluster is at a 15-year low. If investors can access AI-linked growth and strong earnings at better valuations than the most crowded mega-cap names, the argument for anchoring a portfolio to the original seven gets harder to make.

For about three years, the Magnificent Seven was Wall Street’s shortcut for everything that was working in marketsSantiago/Getty Images

Why AI is still central but the trade has shifted across the stock marketDropping the Mag 7 label doesn’t mean Citi is downgrading its view on AI. The bank says roughly 55% of the S&P 500 is directly influenced by AI tailwinds or headwinds, with the growth cluster accounting for nearly half of the index’s expected earnings over the next 12 months.The AI trade has just gotten messier. The iShares Semiconductor ETF is down 18%, and the Roundhill Memory ETF has fallen 32% over the past month. Some AI-linked hardware and memory plays have been badly hurt by rotation and valuation concerns. That’s partly what’s creating the opportunity Citi is pointing to: not all AI exposure is equal, and some of the better-positioned companies aren’t in the Mag 7 at all.”We don’t think there is any one right way to perfectly describe how much of the S&P 500 reflects the AI trade,” Citi said. “We believe our cluster approach to assessing the S&P 500 makes intuitive sense and gets us close.”What Citi’s framework change means for stock market investorsThe old playbook was simple: own the Mag 7 and you owned the market’s growth story. Citi’s numbers suggest that’s no longer true. The companies actually lifting S&P 500 earnings this year are scattered across sectors, and a lot of them aren’t in the original seven at all.Chasing the familiar mega-cap names has worked in past cycles, but the valuations and performance spreads Citi is showing suggest the next leg of growth investing may require a wider lens. The bank’s growth cluster is essentially an argument that AI-driven earnings are a theme, not a club, and the theme has more members than the original grouping ever captured. For investors still anchoring their AI exposure to a seven-stock basket, that shift matters.FAANG gave way to the Mag 7. Now Citi is saying the Mag 7 has run its course as a useful way to think about where growth is actually coming from. The bank’s data this year backs that view. The market has already moved, whether investors have updated their frameworks or not.Related: Jim Cramer says investors are getting the Mag 7 all wrong

General Motors shares are on a heater this week after the automaker reported second-quarter results ahead of expectations and raised its full-year guidance. Despite formidable headwinds, including tariffs and rising gas prices, GM reported a 30% increase in profits year over year. GM’s second-quarter earnings before interest and tax rose to $3.94 billion from $3 billion last year. That translates to $3.57 per share, easily topping analyst estimates of $3.20.According to CEO Mary Barra, “Customer demand in North America remains strong, driven by our very attractive lineup of pickups and SUVs. Pricing is consistent, and we delivered the best quarter and first half ever for new Super Cruise-equipped vehicles.”In addition to increasing EBIT margins in North America, GM says it was able to lower warranty costs, reduce EV losses, and increase its operating efficiency in the second quarter. “We expect these trends will continue to strengthen our performance into 2027 and beyond because we have multiple engines of margin expansion and growth while maintaining our capital discipline,” Barra said. General Motors is so confident right now that it raised its full-year earnings guidance to between $12 and $14 per share, up from its previous expectations of between $11.50 and $13.50. It also raised its adjusted EBIT expectations to between $14 billion and $16 billion from its previous expectation between $13.5 billion and $15.5 billion. Deutsche Bank raises expectations for GM after earningsDeutsche Bank analysts were impressed by GM’s strong second quarter results, leading them to raise the company’s price target, expected EPS, and expected revenue in their most recent note. GM has a new $100 price target, up from $90 per share, that is 18% higher than the stock’s trading level on Wednesday, July 22. DB analysts expect General Motors to report earnings of $13.64 for the year, up from their previous expectation of $12.82 per share, on revenue of $168.9 billion, up from its previous revenue expectations of $165 billion. More Automotive:Uber changes key rule for drivers amid rider safety lawsuitsVolkswagen may cut 100,000 jobs in brutal resetHonda CEO withstands investor backlash after $9B EV misstep”GM’s 2Q performance and raised FY26 outlook continue to demonstrate strong execution amid macro headwinds and geopolitical uncertainties. With 1H in the books, we think the full year’s profitability will continue to land on the higher end of the lifted range, supported by better warranty and pricing,” Deutsche Bank analysts led by Edison Yu said. The firm seems particularly impressed with the performance considering a macroeconomic environment that seems to be working against General Motors and other original equipment manufacturers. The $3.94 billion EBIT topped the firm’s internal $3.83 billion expectations, and DB says much of that overperformance came from the $300 million in lower warranty costs. Additionally, the $5.03 billion in adjusted free cash flow GM reported reflects “significant contributions from working capital, profit flow through and timing of capex.”Morgan Stanley raises GM price target after Q2 earningsMorgan Stanley already had a $100 price target on GM from its increase weeks ago, but the firm felt compelled to raise that price target to $101 Wednesday after GM’s earnings beat. The firm cited GM’s strong performance in North America and its new and improved guidance for Morgan Stanley’s slightly improved outlook. The firm cited the same reasons GM and Deutsche Bank cited for the improved outlook, while also pointing to software and services as an underappreciated growth driver. “GM is positioning the digital services vector as an increasingly material and less-cyclical earnings engine, with 1mn new digital subscriptions expected in 2026 supporting more than $3bn of recognized revenue,” analysts led by Andrew S. Percoco said. “In 2Q, deferred revenue reached $6.3bn (+50% y/y) and is on track to reach $7.5bn by year-end, supporting double-digit realized revenue growth in 2027 at ~70% gross margins. We expect to see longer-term software and services growth driven by 1) increasing availability of Super Cruise across additional vehicle models/trims, 2) scaling high-margin subscription revenue following the included service period, and 3) increasing ARPU as functionality improves (i.e., eyes off).””We believe GM’s software and services business has the potential to drive a significant re-rating in the shares as the company accrues high-margin revenue through the P&L, and continues to add disclosure around the outlook for this business,” Percoco said. Related: General Motors analyst spots customer trend investors should watch

If you’re receiving Social Security benefits (or expect to someday), you’ve probably heard some people discuss the program’s cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs, with the same excitement as the first moon landing.But that’s also understandable.Social Security plays a big role in many people’s retirement finances. So a larger COLA versus a smaller one could spell the difference between being able to cover retirement expenses and struggling. If you’re wondering where Social Security’s COLAs come from and how they’re calculated, these are good questions to be asking. Getting the back story on COLAs could help you understand what to expect from benefit increases and why you probably need a backup plan for fighting inflation.Read: Analyst drastically lowers Social Security COLA estimateThe purpose of Social Security COLAsThe idea behind Social Security COLAs is pretty simple. Over time, prices tend to rise due to inflation. If Social Security benefits stayed frozen year after year, retirees would gradually lose purchasing power. COLAs are designed to prevent that from happening by raising benefits in line with inflation. To put it another way, the goal of COLAs isn’t to make you richer. It’s to simply ensure that Social Security checks don’t lose buying power from year to year.Congress doesn’t randomly choose a numberYou might assume that it’s up to lawmakers to determine what Social Security COLAs look like. But there’s a much simpler, automated system at play.The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses inflation data collected by the federal government to calculate COLAs. Specifically, it looks at a measure called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W (yup, it’s a mouthful). The CPI-W tracks price changes across a wide range of goods and services that consumers purchase, including food, transportation, housing, and other common expenses. Each year, officials compare the average CPI-W reading from the third quarter to the average from the same period a year prior. If there’s an increase, Social Security benefits get a boost.What if there’s no increase? In that case, Social Security benefits remain flat. And the same holds true even if there’s a decrease in the CPI-W from one year to another.Social Security benefits are not allowed to decrease from one year to the next. In fact, there’s a special “hold harmless” provision which ensures that recipients won’t see their monthly benefits whittled down when there’s no COLA plus an increase in the cost of Medicare Part B, whose premiums are deducted from Social Security benefits for dual enrollees.Larger COLAs aren’t always good newsSocial Security COLAs can vary substantially. During periods when prices remain relatively stable, COLAs tend to be smaller. When inflation accelerates, benefit increases often become larger as well. But one thing to remember is that larger Social Security COLA raises aren’t necessarily something to celebrate. A larger boost might seem great at first, but it comes at the cost of higher prices.On the flipside, smaller COLAs shouldn’t be regarded as a bad thing. If your Social Security checks barely go up one year, it means your costs have probably remained mostly stable, too.Why some advocates say Social Security COLAs aren’t enoughEven though the current Social Security COLA formula has been in place for decades, some advocates are pushing for a change on the basis that the CPI-W does not accurately reflect the costs seniors face. And that’s valid. After all, urban wage earners and clerical workers are apt to spend their money differently than retirees. While workers may throw more money at transportation, Social Security recipients might have higher healthcare bills.The latter is important, because healthcare costs tend to outpace broad inflation. So if Social Security COLAs are being calculated using an index that doesn’t account for that, it’s easy to see how retirees could lose out.What COLAs mean for your retirement planningAny good retirement plan should include strategies to keep up with and beat inflation. Social Security’s COLAs can be part of yours, but they should not be viewed as a complete inflation shield. Instead, it pays to load up on investments that can beat inflation over time. That could mean keeping a portion of your retirement portfolio in growth and dividend stocks.The bottom line on Social Security COLAsSocial Security COLAs exist to ensure that benefits don’t automatically lose buying power from year to year due to inflation. But they’re not meant to help retirees get ahead financially.It’s important to understand how COLAs are calculated and exactly what they’re meant to do so you can come up with your own plan to conquer inflation. And part of that plan could involve adjusting your spending strategically during periods when consumer prices are running rampant.One final thing you should know about Social Security COLAs? You’ll typically see monthly projections on them all year long. But since those COLAs are based on third quarter inflation readings, the SSA doesn’t make them official until October. Any estimate you see before that is really just a guess.So if you’re on Social Security or are about to sign up, you may not want to sink too much time into tracking COLA estimates month after month. And if you have plenty of savings and outside income streams, you really shouldn’t have to.This story written for TheStreet by Nifty 50+

Samsung is restructuring its U.S. operations as it prepares to move its North American headquarters from New Jersey to Texas, a transition that will result in job cuts and relocation offers for some employees.Samsung Electronics America filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice in New Jersey.The notice covers 739 employees at operations in Englewood Cliffs and Berkeley Heights, NJ.The filing lists “transfer of operations” as the reason for the workforce action and states that employment terminations are expected to begin on September 30 and continue through October 14.The notice also shows that the workforce changes are not limited to straightforward layoffs.Samsung said in the filing that operating units at its Englewood Cliffs facility will close in connection with the company’s U.S. headquarters relocation to Texas.Employees who are not offered relocation or who decline an offer will have their employment terminated.The company also said an organizational realignment will lead to additional employment terminations at its Berkeley Heights facility and among some remote workers.A number of employees are being offered the opportunity to relocate to the same position in Texas, according to the filing.Samsung restructures U.S. operations“As announced earlier this year, Samsung Electronics America Inc. is undergoing a business transformation designed to better support the company’s long-term growth strategy and future business needs,” a Samsung spokesperson told TheStreet.“As part of this transformation, certain employees have been offered the opportunity to relocate to our future North American headquarters in Plano, Texas. At the same time, we are optimizing parts of the organization across multiple locations to ensure our roles and functions align to key business priorities.”More Layoffs:Meta layoffs take disturbing turn in new lawsuitMajor snack brand closes plant, cuts 345 jobsJPMorgan Chase pushes fraud division layoffs, despite rising revenuesSamsung said the changes are part of a broader effort to reshape its U.S. operations to align with future business needs.The company is relocating its North American headquarters to Plano, where Samsung already has a significant corporate presence.The company also said the relocation is designed to create greater “One Samsung” alignment and operational synergies across the business.

Samsung Electronics America set to relocate US headquarters.winhorse / Getty Images

Samsung shifts headquarters less than a year after opening New Jersey officeThe relocation comes less than a year after Samsung formally opened its new North American headquarters in Englewood Cliffs.Samsung celebrated the opening of the New Jersey office on Sept. 22, 2025, with roughly 1,200 employees based at the facility.The office replaced the company’s longtime headquarters in nearby Ridgefield Park, where Samsung had operated since 1992, and continued its presence in Bergen County, which dates back to 1985.The relocation follows Samsung’s recent opening of a new North American headquarters in Englewood Cliffs.Now, less than a year later, operating units at the Englewood Cliffs facility are set to close as Samsung shifts its North American headquarters to Plano, Texas.The company already has an established presence in Plano. In 2018, Samsung announced plans to consolidate its North Texas employees into a 216,000-square-foot campus at Legacy Central, bringing together teams that had previously worked across offices in Plano and Richardson.Samsung said its latest headquarters move is intended to increase collaboration across its businesses, support future innovation in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, and improve operational efficiency.“Samsung Electronics America is evolving its U.S. operations to better align with the future of technology, innovation, and business transformation,” a Samsung spokesperson told TheStreet.Samsung offers relocation to some workersSome workers are being offered the opportunity to relocate to Texas, while others will lose their jobs as Samsung closes operating units and reorganizes parts of the business.The WARN filing states that employees covered by the notice will be paid wages for the required notice period and will receive severance in accordance with New Jersey WARN requirements.Some employees may also be eligible for additional severance.Accrued but unused paid time off will be paid out under company policy, and some employees may be offered a COBRA health-insurance subsidy.“Samsung is committed to supporting affected employees throughout this transition,” a Samsung spokesperson told TheStreet.“Eligible employees are being provided opportunities to explore relocation options where available, and impacted employees will receive transition support consistent with company policies and applicable requirements.”Samsung said it remains committed to its U.S. business despite the restructuring.“Samsung remains deeply committed to the United States and will continue to make investments across the country that build a stronger foundation for innovation, operational excellence and sustainable growth.”Related: Another airline will be dissolved, all flights canceled

Over the last decade, stories about castles, villas and large swaths of land selling for what in some case is the equivalent of just a few dollars have consistently captured the attention of those who have dreams of switching up their life.The caveat, of course, is that these types of properties are usually in extremely remote areas and come with significant upkeep costs — the low price often comes with the understanding that the taker will take on maintenance and repairs that cannot be done by the local municipality.In the Andalusian city of Seville, an abandoned plane is going to be auctioned off under similar conditions of “whoever wants to deal with it can take it” after local airport authorities declared a Piper PA-23 151/160 Apache plane that has been there since 2018 officially abandoned.Piper PA-23 Apache plane abandoned at Seville Airport goes to auctionThe specific model is a classic 1950s-era American twin-propeller light plane with room for one pilot and three passengers. It is not immediately clear how it ended up at Seville Airport (SVQ) but, according to Spanish airport operator Aena, the airport operator exhausted efforts to locate its owner.”We have tried to contact the owner many times,” an Aena spokesperson said in a statement to Euronews. “Since we didn’t manage to reach anyone, the airport announced the situation of this aircraft three times in the Official State Gazette, in case the owner came forward to claim it.”Related: A hotel wants you to come so badly, it will pay for your gasWith several aviation enthusiasts repeatedly reaching out with questions about what would happen to the aircraft and whether they could buy it, Seville airport authorities finally opened up applications for participating in an auction that will take place at a future yet-to-be-announced date.The starting price will be €10 with an additional processing fee of €0.50. One of the conditions is signing one’s understanding that the plane cannot be used to fly as Aena describes it as being in “bad condition.” At the moment, the airport is accepting applications to register as a bidder (one will not be able to bid on it without doing this once the auction opens).

The Piper PA-23 plane has been abandoned at Seville Airport since 2018.Getty

Coffee shop and luxury hotel suite: Some other creative uses of abandonded planesThe person who ultimately ends up coming home with the Apache plane will as a result only be able to use it as décor for the home or otherwise have a nonfunctional plane that they can display somewhere.In Miami, Uruguay native Rosana Bentos used the fuselage of an old McDonnell Douglas MD-88 plane once used by Delta Air Lines to serve as a café she named Sky Coffee Buenos Aires.More Travel News:Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.There is a very cool Irish version of swimming pigs in the BahamasUnexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026Low-cost airline launches easier way to get to Sri LankaIn Costa Rica, a 1965 Boeing 727 serves as the centerpiece of a jungle hotel (aviation fans can book the two-bedroom room built into the fuselage).Meanwhile, the once-popular Jumbo Stay hotel and hostel built inside an old Boeing 747-200 in Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport (ARN) was closed down in March 2025 due to the overwhelming cost of upkeep for the owner.Related: Delta Air Lines is betting big on Philippines travel