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TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealThere are tons of storage solutions for the bigger items in your life, but what about the small ones? How do you neatly organize the miscellaneous writing utensils that always seem scattered in your desk drawer? Or the compacts for your foundations, powders, and brushes in your vanity area? What about the plastic bags for snacks and leftovers that always seem to overflow out of your kitchen drawers? It’s often the smaller items, knick-knacks, and trinkets that we struggle to find an organized place to store which leads to us feeling overwhelmed with clutter and mess in our homes — but it doesn’t have to be that way. With the Sindcom Stackable Organizer Bins, every item has a proper storage place. Right now, Walmart is selling the 26-pack of organizers on sale for just $15 — which means that each organizer is just 57 cents.Sindcom Stackable Organizer Bins 26-Pack, $15 at Walmart

Shop at WalmartWhy do shoppers love it?Designed to fit in the small crevices and crannies of your drawers, these bins are perfect for storing all kinds of items. Made of plastic, these organizers are perfect for kitchen utensils, office supplies, cosmetics and makeup brushes, toiletries, and other miscellaneous items that often fall victim to the classic junk drawer. The clear plastic material makes it easy to find what you’re looking for by simply opening the drawer, and the durability allows it to withstand your heavier products without cracking or breaking.The set includes 26 different bins in four sizes, so you can create a unique layout in each drawer that works best for your needs. For $13, it includes three trays each measuring 9 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 2 inches high, along with five trays, each measuring 9 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 2 inches high. You also get nine trays, each measuring 6 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 2 inches high, and an additional nine trays, each measuring 3 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 2 inches high.Thanks to the included silicone pads, the organizers stay secure and in place, even when there’s movement from opening and closing drawers. The organizers are also designed to be stackable, which saves space in areas where space is more limited. Related: Walmart’s $73 heavy-duty garage organizer that clears clutter is 55% offThis simple addition does wonders for cleaning up your drawers and cabinets that can succumb to mess quickly. And when they get dirty, a damp wash rag quickly cleans them and makes them look good as new.Details to knowIncludes: The set includes 26 trays of varying sizes. In the set, you get 9 inch x 6 inch x 2 inch trays (3), 9 inch x 3 inch x 2 inch trays (5), 6 inch x 3 inch x 2 inch trays (9), and 3 inch x 3 inch x 2 inch trays (9). Non-slip: Included silicone pads keep the trays in place and secure. Material: Plastic. Easy to clean: Simply use a damp wash rag to wipe down dirty organizers.Shoppers love the variety of sizes the pack of organizers comes with. The silicone bumpers keep the trays from slipping and sliding when the drawer moves, but they aren’t so secure that you can adjust the layout or move them around. Shoppers say they feel very sturdy, and are perfect for drawers, closet shelves, and countertops. One shopper shared that they “make so many things around my home feel less cluttered.”Shop more deals Scidweet Under Bed Shoe Storage Organizer, $19 (was $36) at WalmartPhancir Under Sink Organizer Storage, $29 (was $45) at WalmartBaodeli Plastic Pantry Organization and Storage Bins, $27 (was $40) at Walmart It might seem like a small purchase, but these storage trays make a big difference when it comes to home organization. Get your very own pack of the Sindcom Stackable Organizer Bins for just $15 before this great deal is gone!

S&P 500 index valuations pushing past 7,400 points on July 24 — nearing the all-time high of 7,609 on June 2 — highlight a widening disconnect with depressed consumer economic confidence, creating a challenging climate for workers managing long-term retirement accounts.The gap between strong corporate equity returns and strained household budgets leaves middle-aged workers struggling to reconcile everyday expenses with portfolio growth.This macroeconomic divergence presents emotional barriers alongside high-yield wealth-building opportunities for retirement account holders attempting to secure their financial futures.”In forty years as a financial advisor, I have never seen a market this confusing to investors,” wrote Kahler Financial Group founder Rick Kahler, CFP, MS, ChFC, CCIMer.University of Michigan index tracks market splitMeasuring household economic sentiment reveals persistent underlying anxiety across broad income groups despite strong broad market returns.The University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment recorded a reading of 54.4 in July. While reflecting a modest monthly rebound, the index remains down nearly 12% compared to 2025 and sits near historical recessionary levels.In contrast, broad market equities maintain strong momentum, with the S&P 500 trading near historic record levels on the S&P Dow Jones Indices database.A leading expert addressed the ongoing inflation pressure on household budgets, despite minor month-over-month sentiment gains.”With prices remaining frustratingly high, consumers are hardly ebullient about the economy; sentiment is down 12% from a year ago,” explained the University of Michigan surveys of consumers director Joanne Hsu.Fidelity 401(k) savings rates hit new recordsRetirement account balances reflect the underlying resilience of broad equity market expansion despite widespread public pessimism regarding economic conditions.Data from Vanguard’s institutional research database indicates that the median 401(k) balance for Americans aged 45 to 54 sits at approximately $60,000, while the average account balance reaches $142,000.Average total worker retirement contribution rates reached a record high of 14.4%, according to workplace investor data from Fidelity Investments.More on personal finance:Charles Schwab, Fidelity alert workers to forced 401(k) ruleDave Ramsey warns Americans on 401(k)s, IRAs (he’s not wrong)Congress research arm warns Americans on 401(k), IRA penaltyOne expert noted that individual investors are successfully looking past short-term economic anxieties to preserve long-term wealth building.”While it can be tempting to make changes to retirement savings during market volatility, it is positive to see participants stay the course with their contributions,” emphasized Fidelity Investments VP Sharon Brovelli.Fidelity explains its approach for essential benchmark savings that target necessary requirements for middle-aged workers to maintain financial stability into retirement.”Aim to save at least 1x your income by age 30, 3x by 40, 6x by 50, 8x by 60, and 10x by 67,” urged analysts at Fidelity.

The current S&P 500 surge runs counter to consumer sentiment, causing retirement savers to re-evaluate their 401(k) planning strategies.Shutterstock

401(k) retirement growth scenariosAs a reporter covering retirement security and consumer economics, I decided to calculate the following wealth projection models to provide real-world context for readers seeking to evaluate the impact of market growth on a late-stage portfolio. These calculations assume a starting capital base of $20,000 at age 50, a target retirement age of 67, and tax-deferred growth within a traditional 401(k) or IRA framework across 204 monthly compounding periods — representing the 17 years spanning ages 50 to 67.Option A (conservative cash allocation): Holding $20,000 in a traditional savings account yielding a 2.0% annual return, accompanied by $500 monthly contributions, yields a total account balance of roughly $151,000 by age 67.Option B (moderate fixed-income allocation): Allocating funds into a conservative bond-heavy portfolio generating a 4.5% net annual return with $500 monthly contributions yields approximately $196,000 at retirement.Option C (aggressive equity index allocation): Investing in broad stock index mutual funds with an average historic net yield of 8.5% alongside $500 monthly contributions generates a final portfolio value of approximately $311,000 by age 67.Option D (maximum catch-up contribution strategy): Utilizing growth stock index funds averaging an 8.5% net return while maximizing monthly contributions at $1,000 per month pushes the total accumulated nest egg to roughly $537,000 over the same 17-year timeline.
(Source: Jeffrey Quiggle, TheStreet)
Long-term equity exposure overcomes sentiment dragThe mathematical modeling I have outlined here confirms that retreating from equity allocations due to depressed consumer confidence runs the risk of severe long-term wealth loss for late-stage retirement planning. Maintaining consistent monthly contributions into broad equity growth funds ensures that investors capture essential compound market growth, successfully insulating household retirement security from temporary economic anxiety.This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute individual financial, investment, or legal advice..Related: Dave Ramsey has these blunt words about your 401(k) and IRA

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealAs good as the sun can feel, those strong rays can cause you to overheat quite quickly, and long-term exposure to sun isn’t always great for your skin. While a little Vitamin D can help calcium absorption, regulate your immune system, and boost your mood, it’s best to take sun exposure in moderation, and ensuring that you have the proper shade to get out of the sun once you soak up a solid 30 minutes is an easy way to make sure you can still enjoy the outdoors even when the sun is at its strongest. Umbrellas are always a good go-to option, but tents, gazebos, and canopies, like the Gojooasis Outdoor Canopy Tent, provide more coverage compared to the standard umbrella and can even be sturdier long term especially with how unpredictable the weather can be.Although that extra shade coverage can come at a cost, right now, Walmart is selling the $160 Gojooasis Outdoor Canopy Tent on sale for 47% off. The bestselling gazebo is only $85 with a limited-time sale, and with tons of the summer season left as well as an impending autumn where the weather is perfect for relaxing outside, there’s no better time to add one to your outdoor area. Gojooasis Outdoor Canopy Tent, $85 (was $160) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

Shop at WalmartWhy do shoppers love it?Although umbrellas are more ideal when you’re working with a limited yard or deck, canopies are the ideal option when you don’t have to worry about space. This tent measures 10 feet by 10 feet and provides 100 square feet of shade coverage. The four-legged frame evenly distributed the weight of the canopy, so no one area is receiving too much strain, and it is that design that provides an evenly shaded area for the folks sitting underneath it.The metal framework is made with powder-coated steel, which not only ensures sturdiness and strength during windy or rainy conditions, but it provides long-lasting durability that will last you multiple seasons and years. The powder-coating protects the metal from the elements, and makes sure that moisture and humidity don’t deteriorate the framework over time. It prevents chipping, scratching, and fading, and it resists rust and corrosion. The canopy overhead itself is made with 160g polyester fabric with a polyacrylate (PA) coating that, although super light and air, is waterproof and UV-blocking, and it’s built to withstand wind. It has a special ventilation design that allows wind to flow smoothly in and around the canopy, maintain air circulation so that you stay cool when you’re sitting underneath but also providing stability when conditions pick up. It can withstand winds up to 10.8 miles per hour. You won’t have to worry about shaking or wobbling thanks to the special ventilation design, and thanks to the extra drainage holes, you don’t have to worry about water weighing down the top. Rain quickly drains, preventing an extra pressure or strain on the canopy in wet conditions. Related: Amazon’s ‘easy to set up’ 10-foot pop-up canopy tent is on sale for $94Perfect for patios, pool decks, and large grassy areas, another nice extra feature is the removable sidewalls which provide protection against bugs and insects and also offer more privacy. You can attach them or remove them with easy-to-use zippers. What to expect from a $85 outdoor canopy Pros and consProsWind-resistant: The special ventilation design ensures proper air circulation and allows the canopy to remain sturdy and upright in winds up to 10.8 mph. Waterproof and UV-resistent: The fabric canopy top protects against water and UV rays without deteriorating the quality of said fabric. Protects against bugs: The removable side panels provide privacy and protection against gnats, flies, mosquitos, and other insects. ConsAssembly can be difficult: Some shoppers say that the tent can take hours to put together. Many shoppers have found that the canopy exceeds their expectations, and it provides a really relaxing space even when the sun has set and shade is not an issue. The side panels are helpful at keeping flies and mosquitos away, especially when there is food around, and it holds up tremendously well in stormy conditions. Shop more deals Clouddwell Wall-Mounted Gazebo, $160 (was $250) at WalmartAinfox Outdoor Patio Pop Up Canopy Gazebo, $90 (was $190) at WalmartLausaint Home Outdoor Patio Gazebo, $200 (was $226) at WalmartEnjoy the warmth of the sun as well as the cooling shade thanks to the Gojooasis Outdoor Canopy Tent. Whatever the weather, it can stand up strong and protect you no matter what.

In many ways, Alphabet (GOOGL) stock investors entered the earnings season looking for proof that AI was strengthening its Search business without forcing another major bump in spending. Though the quarter delivered evidence of robust demand, it wasn’t the confirmation Wall Street was hoping for. For perspective, Alphabet reported its Q2 2026 earnings on July 22, 2026, and Google stock fell 7.1% to $317.69 on Thursday, July 23, wiping nearly $294 billion from its market value, according to MarketWatch reporting. Google Cloud sales jumped 82%, margins expanded sharply, and backlog climbed to $514 billion. However, Alphabet raised 2026 capex guidance to as much as $205 billion, stoking fears that AI returns may arrive more slowly than the bills, as free cash flow turned negative.Nevertheless, Bank of America kept its Buy rating after the quarter, arguing that the market may be overlooking what Alphabet’s spending is already producing. Though Search revenue was roughly in line with expectations, Alphabet’s consolidated operating margin expanded to 34% from 32%, while operating income rose 30%.BofA analysts therefore believed the company had been punished too harshly, as investors overlooked accelerating Cloud growth and other signs that its AI investments are beginning to generate returns.

Bank of America kept its Buy rating on Alphabet after Q2 earningsJustin Sullivan/Getty Images

Alphabet Q2 earnings at a glanceQ2 revenue reached $119.8 billion, while net revenue excluding TAC came in at $103.6 billion, above the $101.1 billion consensus.GAAP EPS was $9.11, compared with Wall Street’s $2.90 estimate.Google Search revenue rose 17% to $63.3 billion, while YouTube advertising revenue increased 13% to $11.1 billion.Google Cloud revenue surged 82% to $24.8 billion, with operating income of $8.8 billion and a 35.6% margin.Alphabet raised 2026 capex guidance to $195 billion–$205 billion, while Q2 free cash flow was negative $5.9 billion.BofA maintained its Buy rating and $430 price target, forecasting $553 billion in 2027 revenue and $15.01 in EPS.
Source: Bank of America post-earnings note on Alphabet stock.
BofA thinks Alphabet’s AI spending is already paying off BofA analysts reiterated their Buy rating and $430 price target on Alphabet stock post-earnings, arguing that there’s a clear mismatch between what investors are viewing and what the quarter actually showed.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 market was clearly looking at Alphabet bumping its 2026 CapEx guidance to $195 billion to $205 billion, along with negative free cash flows and a greater likelihood of elevated spending in 2027.Those concerns are legitimate, as it’s now forecasting a negative $16 billion of free cash flow in 2026 and another negative $18.5 billion in 2027.However, the bank believes that’s far from a speculative AI investment, where Alphabet is already seeing measurable revenue, margin, and backlog benefits.At the same time, BofA analysts believe Google Cloud is effectively becoming Alphabet’s incremental growth and valuation engine.Cloud sales accelerated 82% year over year to $24.8 billion, compared to the Street’s 65% forecast, while operating margin surged to 35.6%, comfortably above the 31.3% consensus. Typically, with rapid growth, we usually see margin pressure, but Alphabet instead produced faster growth and better profitability, which suggests that AI infrastructure is perhaps generating attractive utilization with stronger pricing.Moreover, the demand indicators are still healthy and point to a capacity-driven CapEx increase. Cloud backlog surged to $514 billion, up $50 billion sequentially; customers are consuming more than 50% above contractual commitments, and Alphabet is winning new Cloud customers at over 2 times last year’s pace.At the same time, Search remains an important supporting pillar. Search revenue grew 17%, which shows that AI products haven’t materially impacted Google’s core advertising engine. However, sales were mostly in line with expectations. which doesn’t exactly validate the thesis that AI Overviews and AI Mode are producing a major Search acceleration. How does BofA arrive at its $430 price target?BofA values Alphabet stock at 27 times the adjusted 2027 core Google GAAP EPS of $15.55. That produces an operating-business value of approximately $419 per share. It then adds $11 per share of estimated year-end 2026 cash, resulting in the $430 target.Interestingly, the bank, in acknowledging the heightened CapEx, weaker cash flow, and AI spending concerns, lowered its target multiple from 28 times to 27 times.However, at the same time, the bank’s analysts raised their 2027 revenue estimate by 3% to $553 billion and consolidated EPS estimate by 2% to $15.01. So in effect, the higher earnings forecast offset the lower multiple, leaving the target unchanged.When the report was released, Google’s stock was trading at anafter-hours price of $332, trading at 22 times BofA’s 2027 GAAP EPS, aligning with its 10-year historical average.BofA considers the stock to be attractively priced, especially with sales expected to ramp up to 27% in 2027, compared to an average of nearly 14% from 2023 through 2025.Additionally, as we saw with SpaceX, BofA’s sum-of-the-parts analysis added a complicated new layer.BofA says that once Alphabet’s faster-growing businesses are valued separately, its core Search advertising and Google Play operations trade at just 13 times earnings, versus 20 times for the S&P 500. That opens up the question for investors, who need to know how much value belongs to mature advertising versus newer AI, cloud, and Waymo assets. What are the weaknesses in BofA’s argument?Perhaps the biggest issue with Alphabet’s predicament is that its profit and loss statement is improving more quickly than the cash flow. Case in point is its negative $5.9 billion in Q2 free cash flow, which constrained its ability to repurchase shares, and its statement that buybacks are unlikely to resume for the rest of 2026. Alphabet also plans a $40 billion at-the-market equity program, which could create dilution precisely when investors are questioning capital discipline.Furthermore, BofA expects capex to rise to $200 billion in 2026 and to roughly $300 billion in 2027. That essentially means the Cloud businesses must continue converting backlog into sales at very high rates while maintaining margins near the mid-30% range.If Cloud growth slows down before depreciation and infrastructure costs peak, Alphabet risks facing simultaneous top-line deceleration, margin compression, and ongoing negative free cash flow.At the same time, there is also an earnings-quality issue. Alphabet’s reported $9.11 EPS, which was heavily influenced by $98 billion of other income, linked to the Anthropic revaluation. That gain doesn’t reflect recurring operational performance, so the headline EPS beat cannot be treated as evidence that the underlying business sped past estimates by a comparable amount.What Alphabet’s AI spending bet means for investors Google CEO Sundar Pichai had a lot to say during the company’s Q2 earnings call, with major implications for investors. Pichai’s comments suggested that Alphabet is deliberately accepting near-term cash flow and margin pressure to secure longer-duration customer economics.He said that he was “more bullish on the opportunities ahead” over the past year, describing AI as a secular shift in which enterprises are still “barely scratching the early stages of what’s possible.” He elaborated on that long-term theme in a discussion on renting third-party capacity. Pichai acknowledged that serving major Cloud customers could carry a “very high” short-term cost, but framed it as accepting a six-month expense to capture a multiyear contract with “very, very attractive” returns. That means Alphabet is looking to optimize for customer lifetime value rather than just quarterly Cloud margins, although investors must trust that internal capacity will eventually replace those expensive leases.Additionally, Pichai also offered a more nuanced view of Google’s AI moat.He said, “The model is just an ingredient” inside larger cybersecurity, data, infrastructure, and agentic workflow solutions. However, Google’s real moat rests on Gemini, TPUs, proprietary infrastructure, enterprise data controls, and distribution into one integrated system.Put simply, investors should expect a lot more quarter-to-quarter shocks in CapEx, free cash flow, and cloud margins as Google races to secure AI capacity. Related: Bank of America targets Nvidia’s next $170 billion growth engine

Recently, I wrote about Redfin data showing that pending home sales were down for the first time in a month.Well, the situation has gotten worse. (Or better, depending on your perspective.)The previous week, weekly pending home sales had decreased by 2.2%. A new Redfin report revealed that week-over-week pending home sales fell again, this time by 1.3% for the four-week period ending July 19.Not only is this the second straight week of declining pending sales, but it’s also the lowest level in three months.The term “pending home sale” means the seller has accepted the buyer’s offer and the listing is no longer active. However, the deal is “pending” because the parties haven’t closed yet.Redfin pointed to several reasons fewer Americans are making offers: rising mortgage rates, economic uncertainty due to the war in Iran, and higher oil prices.Lower pending sales can be tough for the housing market overall. However, this trend can benefit those who still want to buy a house.”Falling pending home sales could be a good sign for buyers, as they may be able to gain more favorable terms on a purchase from sellers with fewer options,” Michael C. Weiner, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker Warburg, told TheStreet.Fewer pending home sales give homebuyers more powerHow does a dip in pending home sales translate to better deals for homebuyers?”That could take the form of a lower price, more flexibility on closing timing, or increased seller funding of repairs,” said Weiner.When there are fewer buyers in the housing market, there is less competition. This means homebuyers have more power than sellers — it’s a buyer’s market.You may be able to negotiate any of the terms Weiner listed with the seller when making an offer or counteroffer. And when it comes to how much you’ll pay for the home, you might not even need to wait until the negotiation process to see a lower price.If a home stays on the market for too long and the seller wants to appeal to more buyers, they may cut the listing price. The share of property listings with a price cut was 18.8% in June, according to Realtor.com data.Related: Why homebuyers win despite latest mortgage rate newsAlthough mortgage rates are relatively high, homebuyers can snag savings in other areas in this sort of real estate market. That can help lessen the blow of mortgage rates over 6.5%.Don’t get too confident, though. You and your real estate agent still need to be strategic about which home you buy and how to craft a strategic offer.”Buyers should remember that desirable, move-in ready homes can still be competitive because many people don’t want to take on renovation costs while mortgage payments are high,” said Redfin Premier agent Vanessa Leimback. “That’s why the biggest bargains are often on fixer-uppers.”

Fewer pending home sales leads to lower inventory, so a fixer-upper might be your best bet.Westend61 / Getty Images

Redfin and experts note that you might not find your dream homeThe decrease in pending home sales brings plenty of advantages for buyers. But it also introduces unique challenges.”On the flip side, it also might mean that there are simply not a lot of good choices on the market, and that they may not be able to find what they’re looking for,” Weiner told TheStreet.The Redfin study revealed that week-over-week new listings have increased by just 0.4%. This puts new listings at their second-lowest level of 2026.More Housing Market:Is the American starter home officially dead?Boomers have unfair edge over younger homebuyersFannie Mae predicts shift in mortgage rates, housing market”The catch is that new listings are also hovering near their yearly low, so buyers may have more leverage without much more choice,” John Walkup, co-founder at UrbanDigs, told TheStreet. “In practical terms, buyers may be able to secure modest discounts or concessions, while sellers need to stay closely aligned with their direct competition,” he continued.With less inventory, you may struggle to find your dream home. As Leimback mentioned, a fixer-upper could be your key to becoming a homeowner sooner rather than later. Then, you could put any savings from the home purchase toward maintenance projects.What’s next for pending home sales?Now that we’ve covered the pros and cons of declining pending home sales for buyers, you might be wondering where this specific housing market trend is headed.Of course, none of us have a crystal ball to tell us what mortgage rates, pending home sales, or any aspect of the market will do. But after years of reporting on the real estate market, I’ve picked up on a few clues that provide insight.I suspect that next week’s Redfin data will show that pending sales are down again.Why? Because the company cited the Freddie Mac mortgage rate of 6.55%, which was an 11-month high, as one reason behind the lower pending sales numbers. But that was the average 30-year mortgage rate the week ending July 19. Freddie Mac released its updated average rate on July 23 — it increased by 0.03% to 6.58%. This is its highest point in 2026.Higher rates may mean even more would-be homebuyers decide to take a step back.There also aren’t any signs of the U.S.-Iran conflict dying down anytime soon. This political and economic uncertainty could keep Americans from feeling confident about making such a huge purchase.It’s possible that mortgage rates will inch down the following week. But the war in Iran has a potentially longer-lasting impact on the housing market.Related: Homeowners face selling decision after housing market shift

Four of the largest corporations in the United States just signaled that a particular shortage is about to intensify. BlackRock, Ford Motor Company, Google, and Carhartt announced a new coalition on July 21 called the Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades.  Three of the four founding companies have independently committed a combined $450 million to expand workforce training and fund apprenticeship pipelines across 30 states.Carhartt, the fourth member, contributes through its For the Love of Labor program, which has supported more than 60 nonprofit and community organizations focused on trades training since 2022.The announcement lands as the construction sector alone posted 298,000 open positions in May, up 32,000 from the prior month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The alliance’s founders say skilled trades represent some of the fastest-growing and highest-paying career pathways in the U.S. economy.Ford commits $300 million to skilled trades as the auto industry faces a technician droughtFord is the largest single contributor, with $300 million earmarked for skilled trades workforce development and what the automaker calls its Essential Economy initiative in 2026. The reason for that outsized commitment is visible in Ford’s own dealer network.The U.S. auto industry will need more than 350,000 new technicians by 2029, according to Ford, and CEO Jim Farley has said the automaker alone has roughly 5,000 unfilled dealership service positions with annual wages reaching $120,000 for experienced candidates.”At Ford, we recognize the skilled trades workforce shortage is a national crisis but also a generational opportunity,” Jim Farley said in the alliance announcement.The automaker separately co-invested $5 million with Bloomberg Philanthropies in June to modernize auto technician programs at two Detroit public schools, targeting 300 new technicians over three years.BlackRock and Google target infrastructure and data-center build-outsBlackRock’s contribution comes through its $100 million Future Builders program, launched in March 2026, which aims to connect 50,000 workers with training over five years. Google committed $50 million to prepare more than 300,000 workers across over 20 states for careers tied to energy and technology infrastructure. Both companies are pouring capital into physical infrastructure that requires enormous pools of trained electricians and HVAC technicians. More Google:Alphabet stock rally exposes Google’s unusual AI problemGoogle just took crown Verizon held for 22 yearsGoogle CEO says AI has changed revenue picture completelyElectrician employment alone is projected to expand 9% from 2024 to 2034, triple the national average for all occupations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.”Building the physical infrastructure for America’s future requires significantly increasing the pipeline of skilled tradespeople across the country,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, said in the announcement.

BlackRock, Google, and Carhartt are investing millions to train skilled workers as demand for electricians and HVAC technicians accelerates nationwide.Bloomberg/Getty Images

The $1 trillion cost of 2.1 million unfilled trade jobs by 2030The labor shortage driving these investments carries a price tag far beyond the companies involved. An estimated 2.1 million skilled trades positions could go unfilled by 2030, according to a JLL research report published in April 2026, with the U.S. Department of Education projecting annual economic losses of up to $1 trillion.Courtney Brown, chief data and research officer at the Lumina Foundation, said bachelor’s programs remain prestigious but two-year schools are winning on cost.A four-year degree is still the gold standard…community colleges are doing really well with affordability and value…more people gravitate towards thatNearly 600,000 skilled trades jobs were posted last year, but only about 150,000 new workers entered through apprenticeship programs, the JLL report noted.Skilled trades wages sit above the median for all occupationsThe financial case for entering the trades has shifted over the past decade, with skilled-trades job postings growing three times faster than professional roles between 2022 and 2026, according to a Randstad USA analysis of more than 150 million U.S. job postings. Workers in infrastructure-related skilled trades earn above-average wages and frequently have access to employer-provided retirement savings and health care, the alliance’s press release noted.”It is encouraging that more project owners are recognizing the need for greater private as well as public investment in training prospective construction workers,” Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, told Engineering News-Record. The median annual wage for construction and extraction occupations sits at approximately $58,360, compared with about $49,500 across all occupations, BLS occupational data showed. The top 10% of electricians earned more than $106,030 in May 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and industry salary surveys show specialized welders in pipeline, nuclear and aerospace work regularly exceed $100,000.The alliance plans a national report to track what training programs workThe coalition’s first initiative will be a Skilled Trades Report developed with Jobs for the Future and nonprofit research organization Burning Glass Institute, designed to measure workforce gaps and identify effective apprenticeship models as new partners join. The alliance follows a broader pattern of corporate workforce bets in 2026. Meta Platforms announced a $115 million craft-training partnership with Associated Builders and Contractors in June.Meta President Dina Powell McCormick said at an Axios event in March that artificial intelligence infrastructure growth could require about 500,000 electricians nationwide, Engineering News-Record reported.”Investment in America’s infrastructure will help shape the country’s long-term economic trajectory, but its success ultimately depends on the skilled workforce that brings these projects to life,” Bayo Ogunlesi, chairman and CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners, a unit of BlackRock, said in the announcement.The coalition did not disclose a unified enrollment target or detail how the founding members’ programs would be coordinated beyond the initial 30 states.Related: Bank of America doubles down on Google stock ahead of earnings

ServiceNow reported second-quarter results the evening of Wednesday, July 22, beating Wall Street’s expectations on revenue, margin, and bookings.The backdrop made that harder than it sounds. Investors had spent the prior week watching IBM and Pegasystems blame artificial intelligence spending shifts for wrecking their own software businesses, and the market was primed to punish any sign of the same weakness.IBM shares fell 25% on July 14, after warning that clients were shifting technology budgets toward AI infrastructure instead of software.Pegasystems followed on July 22, dropping more than 16% after missing revenue estimates and citing what it called unprecedented disruption from AI competition, according to Yahoo Finance.Traders had started calling it the “SaaSpocalypse,” Forbes noted, a bet that enterprise software growth was about to slow across the board.ServiceNow (NOW) avoided that fate. Subscription revenue reached $3.9 billion in the quarter, up 24.5% from a year earlier, a ServiceNow press release confirmed.Shares climbed 5.5% in premarket trading Thursday, July 23, to $100.67, according to Benzinga, as the same release disclosed that artificial intelligence contract value had crossed $1 billion, the number that dominated most of the day’s coverage.A different billion-dollar number tells ServiceNow’s real storyThat AI milestone was not the most consequential number on the call. ServiceNow’s security and risk business sells cybersecurity and compliance tools bolted onto its main workflow platform.It had already crossed $1 billion in annual contract value organically back in the third quarter of 2025, according to a ServiceNow press release, before two acquisitions extended the lead.CEO Bill McDermott put it bluntly on the July 22 earnings call, describing “a 10-figure cybersecurity business that’s growing faster than all the other top cybersecurity companies.”That is a different kind of claim than the artificial intelligence milestone, since it points to an already profitable, already scaled unit rather than a nascent product line.

ServiceNow’s security and risk business has grown into a billion dollar unit and is now the fastest growing among the top 10 enterprise cybersecurity companies.Bloomberg / Getty Images

ServiceNow’s 2 acquisitions built the business in 8 monthsServiceNow paid $7.75 billion in cash for cyber exposure firm Armis in December, its largest acquisition ever, and closed the deal in April.Three weeks earlier, it had agreed to buy identity security company Veza for roughly $1 billion. Together, the deals were expected to more than triple ServiceNow’s addressable market in security and risk.Related: ServiceNow gets bearish call before major earnings testThe spending mirrors a broader pattern among software companies. Google parent Alphabet paid $32 billion for cloud security startup Wiz, and Palo Alto Networks spent $25 billion on identity security firm CyberArk, both within the past year, according to CNBC.Enterprise software companies increasingly treat cybersecurity as the growth engine that core subscription seats can no longer guarantee alone.The same week, a critical flaw exposed the platform’s own riskHowever, buying top-tier security firms does not automatically secure a company’s underlying foundation. The timing carries an uncomfortable irony. Nine days before the earnings call, ServiceNow disclosed a critical vulnerability in its AI Platform, tracked as CVE-2026-6875, that let unauthenticated attackers execute code without a username or password, according to SecurityWeek.Researchers confirmed active exploitation beginning July 17, according to BleepingComputer, and ServiceNow said it had found no evidence the attacks reached instances it hosts, according to Help Net Security.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 debutsThat does not undercut the security business as a growth story, but it complicates the pitch. ServiceNow is asking enterprise customers to trust it as their cybersecurity vendor in the same week its own platform needed an emergency patch.Neither McDermott nor the analysts covering the stock addressed the vulnerability on the call.Software companies are betting security can outrun AI disruptionServiceNow’s quarter offers a preview of how mature software companies plan to survive the reallocation of corporate budgets toward AI infrastructure. Rather than compete directly for that spending, they are acquiring their way into categories like cybersecurity, where demand keeps climbing, regardless of the macro environment.Global spending on information security is projected to grow more than 12% in 2026, to roughly $240 billion, according to a ServiceNow press release.That strategy worked for ServiceNow this quarter. It depends on integration going smoothly and on the acquired businesses outrunning the disruption that just hit IBM and Pegasystems.Investors weighing enterprise software stocks may need to ask less about how fast a company is adopting AI and more about how fast it can buy its way into markets AI cannot replace.Related: Jim Cramer gives his two cents about Netflix stock

Amazon created Prime Day to reward its most loyal shoppers.More than a decade later, the event has grown far beyond Amazon.Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Kohl’s, and other major retailers now routinely launch competing promotions around Prime Day, turning a once Amazon-centric sale into one of the biggest shopping periods of the summer.U.S. shoppers spent a record $26.4 billion online during Amazon’s four-day Prime Day period from June 23 through June 26, according to Adobe Analytics.That was up 9.3% from a year earlier.But beneath the record spending, new data reveals a more complicated picture for Amazon.Amazon shoppers spent less per order and per household than they did a year earlier, while competing retailers experienced significant increases in store traffic during the same promotional period.The shift suggests consumers remain willing to spend when discounts are strong, but are increasingly spreading those dollars across retailers rather than concentrating their shopping on Amazon.That trend is emerging just as Amazon prepares to report second-quarter earnings on July 30.Amazon shares fell about 4.6% on July 23 to $233.66 as technology stocks came under pressure following Alphabet’s latest earnings report and renewed concerns about the cost of artificial intelligence infrastructure.The stock has declined 6.35% over the past five days and 8.26% over the past three months, while remaining up about 1.4% over the year.Amazon Prime Day spending hits record, but growth slowsPrime Day continues to generate enormous consumer spending.Adobe Analytics said U.S. retailers generated $26.4 billion in online sales during the four-day 2026 Prime Day period, up 9.3% year over year.That set another record for the summer promotional period. However, the pace of growth was substantially slower than a year ago.More Amazon:Bank of America doubles down on Amazon shares after Prime DayAmazon’s $8.3 billion Prime Day sends Wall Street a warningAmazon Prime Day gives Wall Street a $22B reason to take noticeDuring the comparable four-day Prime Day period in 2025, U.S. consumers spent $24.1 billion online, according to Adobe, representing 30.3% growth from the comparable four-day period a year earlier.Although the 2024 comparison should be used within context.Amazon’s official Prime Day event lasted only two days in 2024, compared with four days in both 2025 and 2026.Adobe reported $14.2 billion in U.S. online spending during the two official Prime Day days in 2024, up 11% year over year.The more recent figures nevertheless show that industrywide spending continued to reach records in 2026, even as growth slowed sharply from the previous year.

Amazon stock is up 1.4% year to date.Peter Dazeley / Getty Images

Amazon shoppers spend less per orderNumerator, a consumer data firm, found that the average Amazon Prime Day order in 2026 was $47.66, down from $53.34 in its comparable year-earlier analysis.Average household spending also declined to about $143.45 from $156.37 a year earlier.Nearly two-thirds of households that shopped during Prime Day placed at least two separate orders, suggesting consumers remained engaged with the event.But they spent less each time they checked out.In May, Bank of America Consumer Spend Collective data showed U.S. e-commerce spending increased 13% year over year, while online shopping penetration rose 1.8 percentage points to 29.8%.The latest BofA data suggests that momentum continued into the second quarter.In a July 22 research note shared with TheStreet, Bank of America analyst Justin Post said aggregated credit- and debit-card data showed online spending growth accelerated by 2 percentage points from the first quarter.At the same time, the bank said the Prime Day sales-growth bump appeared more modest than in previous years.The figures point to a consumer who remains willing to spend online but is becoming less loyal to any single promotional event.Walmart, Target, Best Buy gain from Prime WeekWhen Amazon held Prime Day from June 23 through June 26, several of its biggest retail rivals launched overlapping promotions.Placer.ai found that all four major chains it analyzed experienced increased store traffic during the promotional period compared with their typical day-of-week traffic.On June 23, the opening day of Prime Day:Visits to Kohl’s were 18.4% above the retailer’s year-to-date day-of-week baselineBest Buy traffic increased 18.1%Target visits rose 16.3%.Walmart recorded a more modest but still positive increase of 4.7%All four retailers continued to experience elevated traffic through the promotional period, according to Placer.ai.Amazon’s competitors are increasingly using the event to capture consumers already in a deal-seeking mindset.Placer.ai characterized the behavior as evidence of a pressured but engaged consumer who is increasingly willing to wait for promotional events before making purchases.For Amazon, that creates both an opportunity and a challenge.Prime Day can stimulate enormous consumer demand, but Amazon no longer has that demand all to itself.Amazon earnings preview points to stronger retail growthDespite more modest Prime Day growth, Bank of America expects Amazon’s broader retail business to accelerate when the company reports second-quarter earnings.BofA maintains a Buy rating on Amazon, with a price objective of $310, ahead of the earnings.Additionally, the firm forecasts Amazon will report total second-quarter revenue of about $198.8 billion, above the roughly $196.8 billion Wall Street estimate the bank cited.The firm expects operating income of approximately $24.1 billion, also slightly above Wall Street’s $23.6 billion estimate.North America could be a strong contributor: BofA expects North American revenue of about $116.3 billion, representing roughly 16% year-over-year growth.Wall Street is expecting about $113.9 billion, according to estimates cited by the bank.The stronger outlook reflects continued strength in online consumer spending and Amazon’s decision to move Prime Day from July to June.This timing gave Amazon an additional sales boost in the second quarter, but the benefit will reverse when the company reports third-quarter results.BofA expects North American retail revenue to decline by roughly $1 billion sequentially in the third quarter because Prime Day sales were pulled forward into June.The timing could create an approximately 4-percentage-point headwind to year-over-year North American growth comparisons.AWS expectations remain highInvestors will also be closely watching Amazon Web Services.AWS revenue increased 28% year over year to $37.6 billion during the first quarter, its fastest growth rate in 15 quarters.Bank of America raised its second-quarter AWS growth estimate to 33% from 31%, which would put revenue at roughly $41 billion.Wall Street is expecting about $40.5 billion and approximately 31% growth, but investor expectations may be higher.BofA said its conversations suggest investors could be expecting AWS growth of around 34%, meaning Amazon may need to outperform published consensus estimates to impress Wall Street.The bank expects AWS growth to accelerate further to approximately 36% in the third quarter.Amazon faces increased retail rivalry and AI costsAmazon’s growth outlook raises another question: how much the company will need to spend to sustain it.Amazon has said it expects approximately $200 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, much of it tied to cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure.Bank of America believes the figure could increase to around $210 billion, partly because of higher memory costs and continued demand for computing capacity.For the second quarter alone, BofA expects capital expenditures of roughly $49 billion.That level of spending has increased investor scrutiny across Big Tech, particularly as companies race to expand AI infrastructure before the investments generate clear returns.For Amazon, however, the upcoming earnings report will also reveal something more fundamental about its original business.Prime Day still generates record levels of online spending, but shoppers now have more places than ever to chase the same deals.Amazon’s challenge is no longer simply getting consumers to spend during Prime Day, it’s making sure enough of that spending still happens on Amazon.Related: Mark Zuckerberg backs Elon Musk Silicon Valley decision

Alphabet just reported the strongest quarter in Google Cloud’s history. Revenue came in at $119.8 billion, up 24% year over year. Cloud grew 82% to $24.8 billion and blew past analyst estimates. The Cloud backlog hit $514 billion. Nearly 90% of the Fortune 100 is using Gemini Enterprise. By most definitions, that is a blowout quarter.The stock fell 6.5% the next morning. Capital expenditures came in at $44.9 billion for a single quarter. Free cash flow turned negative. Most of the net income surge came from a one-time gain on the Anthropic stake. Strip that out and investors were left looking at a company spending at a rate that makes even strong revenue growth feel like it may not be enough. Microsoft (MSFT) reports July 29 and Meta reports July 30. The next week is effectively a live test of whether the AI trade’s math actually works.What Alphabet’s Q2 results reveal about the AI trade’s biggest riskThe Alphabet (GOOGL) reaction captures the problem in one quarter. Cloud revenue grew faster than at any point in the company’s history. Investors sold the stock anyway, CNBC reported. The issue isn’t whether AI is generating revenue. It’s whether the capital required to generate that revenue is sustainable, and whether the returns will ever justify the scale of investment.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 boomForty-four billion dollars in quarterly capex is not a small number. Annualized, that’s close to $180 billion from Alphabet alone. When you add Microsoft, Meta (META), and Amazon (AMZN), the combined spending for 2026 is running toward $725 billion, with analysts projecting it could cross $1 trillion in 2027, CNBC reported. The question the market is now pricing into every print is how long before the revenue catches up, as TheStreet reported ahead of Alphabet’s earnings.The gap between AI spending and AI revenue that investors are watchingThe capex-to-revenue gap is the central tension in the AI trade right now. Sequoia analyst David Cahn has calculated that there is roughly a $600 billion annual gap between what hyperscalers are spending on AI infrastructure and what the AI ecosystem generates in actual sales, Forbes reported. Goldman Sachs has noted that to justify the scale of investment, hyperscalers would collectively need to generate more than $1 trillion in annual profits, more than double current consensus estimates, as TheStreet reported. According to Allianz Research, the divergence between AI capital spending and revenue growth is running at 46%, already wider than the 32% divergence seen during the 2001 telecom cycle that preceded years of pain in tech stocks.Michael Heinrich, co-founder and CEO of 0G Labs, which builds decentralized AI infrastructure, described the dynamic plainly in an interview with TheStreet: “When the capital going into a technology outruns the revenue coming out of it by that margin, valuations are pricing perfection.”Alphabet’s results were exceptional. And still, free cash flow went negative. That’s what “pricing perfection” looks like in practice: a quarter that would have been a strong earnings beat in any other sector, and a stock that still dropped because the bar for AI spending to produce proportional returns keeps moving higher.

The Alphabet reaction captures the problem in one quarterMichael/Getty Images

How the AI rally compares to the dot-com era and where it divergesThe comparison to the late 1990s is now coming from serious voices. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said earlier this month that AI spending may not “pay off the way you expect and the timetable you expect.” He drew a direct parallel to the internet boom, where the technology proved transformative but the timeline disappointed nearly everyone who priced it in early.Heinrich sees both the parallel and where it breaks.”The similarity is the reflexive bidding up of anything with the label attached, well ahead of proven business models. The difference is that the underlying technology this time is already generating real usage and real cash flows, so this is less a fiction problem and more a physics and economics problem,” he added.The dot-com era was full of companies with no path to revenue. AI has actual enterprise customers paying for actual products. Google Cloud at 82% growth is not a fiction. The risk isn’t that the technology doesn’t work. It’s that the cost of delivering it at scale may not produce returns proportional to the capital being committed, at the speed the market has priced in.What Microsoft and Meta need to show for the AI test to passMicrosoft’s July 29 report will be the next data point. Azure guided for 39% to 40% growth in constant currency. If it delivers at or above that, the market will read it as confirmation that cloud AI spending is translating into revenue acceleration. If it misses, questions about the return on $190 billion in annual capex get louder fast, as TheStreet reported.Meta reports July 30 against its own complicated backdrop. The company has already cut 8,000 jobs this year and moved thousands of employees into AI roles, then acknowledged at an internal meeting that AI-agent progress has not accelerated as expected.The question on Meta’s call is whether $125 billion to $145 billion in AI spending this year is producing the kind of product traction that justifies it.Three things will tell investors whether the AI trade is facing a healthy correction or something more serious: Whether the gap between AI infrastructure spending and AI revenue is narrowing;If AI is moving from assistant to agent, meaning systems that complete tasks and get paid for outcomes rather than just answering questions, and Whether the unit economics of running AI inference are falling fast enough to make applications viable at scale. The next two earnings reports will give investors more data on all three than any single quarter has provided yet.Related: Scott Bessent sends unprecedented warnings to China on AI models

At this stage of the year, parents all over the country are opening their wallets and hitting their local big-box stores to stock up on back-to-school items. And many are straining their budgets to do so.A good 45% of parents plan to take on debt to pay for back-to-school shopping this year, according to Credit Karma.And all told, parents expect to spend a collective $30.4 billion on back-to-school items for K-12 students, according to Deloitte. That amounts to an average of $557 per student.All of this is coming at a time when broad inflation is up 3.5% year over year, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index.Given that so many families are struggling financially due to general economic circumstances, a lot of parents will be seeking out deals in the coming weeks. That presents a huge opportunity for Costco. Yet it’s one the warehouse club giant isn’t really taking advantage of.Costco misses a key opportunityMembers who head to Costco expecting aisles full of notebooks, pencils, crayons, and folders may be surprised.While the warehouse club offers plenty of products aimed at students, it has never made traditional school supplies a major category. Related: Walmart quietly found a way to undercut Costco on gasA look at Costco’s online school supply assortment shows only a limited selection of writing supplies, with just a handful of products available compared to mass retailers that devote entire departments to back-to-school merchandise.Costco does have more to offer in non-school supply categories, like backpacks, apparel, and electronics. But it’s missing out on a big share of the $30.4 billion consumers anticipate spending this year. 

Costco has no plans to capitalize on the back-to-school shopping spree this year.Shutterstock

Costco’s back-to-school shopping strategy is deliberateCostco’s limited school supply assortment may seem like an oversight. But it’s actually a reflection of how the company operates.Costco’s merchandising strategy is built around offering a carefully curated selection of products that deliver exceptional value through larger package sizes and high sales volume. Rather than stocking dozens of brands and product variations, Costco typically limits shoppers to one or two options in a category.More Retail:Costco sees major shift in member behaviorRetail chain shuts all locations as legal changes hit industryCostco makes major investment in online shopping for membersThat model works well for products families buy in large quantities, such as paper towels, bottled water, snacks, and household essentials. School supply shopping, however, often looks very different.Many teachers provide highly specific lists that call for exact notebook sizes, folder colors, glue sticks, dry-erase markers, or other individual items. Parents frequently need small quantities of each product instead of warehouse-sized multipacks, which doesn’t fit Costco’s bulk-first approach.Costco can’t compete with discount chainsCostco also has another merchandising principle that shapes its assortment. The company generally avoids carrying products unless it believes it can offer members a compelling value. If Costco can’t negotiate pricing that allows it to sell an item at a better value than competitors while maintaining its quality standards, it often chooses not to carry the product at all.As Costco CEO Gary Millerchip said during the company’s most recent earnings call, “Our goal is to be the first to lower prices where we see opportunities to do so.”Related: Costco vs. Sam’s Club: Memberships, prices & perks comparedThat philosophy makes commodity school supplies especially challenging. Chains like Dollar Tree and Dollar General have built their businesses around low-priced everyday items, making school supplies a natural fit.Parents can often buy individual notebooks, folders, pencils, and other classroom essentials for around a dollar or less, allowing them to purchase exactly what appears on a teacher’s supply list without paying for larger quantities. Competing against deeply discounted promotions on individual items isn’t consistent with Costco’s business model. Instead, Costco focuses its back-to-school assortment on categories where its buying power and bulk purchasing model can create more meaningful savings, such as the electronics category.Ultimately, Costco’s approach to inventory and product curation makes it difficult for the company to compete on school supplies. That may leave some members disappointed, but it makes sense for the company’s business model.Maurie Backman owns shares of Costco.Related: Costco makes big investment to keep members coming back