Category: Technology

Release – Virginia Awards Conduent Contract to Manage and Modernize Medicaid Program Delivery Systems

Posted on by [email protected]

Research News and Market Data on CNDT

Award extends Conduent’s 25-year relationship with Virginia Medicaid and accelerates modernization efforts

August 06, 2026

Government Healthcare Services

Conduent Incorporated (Nasdaq: CNDT), a global technology-driven business solutions and services company, today announced that the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) has awarded the company a contract to continue operating, and modernize, the Commonwealth’s systems that support Virginia Medicaid. The contract, which spans up to 14 years, extends Conduent’s relationship with Virginia’s Medicaid program that began in 2001.

Under the new agreement, Conduent will use its modular Conduent Medicaid Suite (CMdS) to modernize Virginia’s Medicaid Enterprise Systems and Fiscal Agent Services Solution. These entail claims processing, finance, call center services, reporting, and other core functions. This transition to an integrated, dynamic solution will help DMAS improve access to information, reduce fraud risks, and strengthen program performance. Members, providers, and staff will benefit from enhanced user experiences, supporting better health outcomes for the approximately 1.6 million Virginians enrolled in Medicaid.

Conduent will also deploy Conduent CXNow , its cloud-based Customer Experience-as-a-Service platform used by government agencies and commercial clients. Powered by AI, automation, and analytics, CXNow will streamline customer interactions across phone and chat, expand self-service options, and improve overall service quality. For the Commonwealth, these enhancements will drive additional cost savings and operational efficiency.

“We are honored to continue our long-standing collaboration with Virginia to enhance Medicaid outcomes through modernization, advanced technologies, and improved business processes,” said Anna Sever, President, Government Solutions at Conduent. “Through strong collaboration and teamwork, we are committed to delivering exceptional value to the Commonwealth and improving the lives of Virginians.”

The new contract includes a two-year design and implementation phase, followed by a six-year base term and six one-year options. It also includes continued management of incoming and outgoing mail services supporting the Medicaid program.

Conduent’s Government Solutions supports government healthcare programs across the country, delivering a range of innovative solutions such as Medicaid management and provider services, pharmacy benefits management, eligibility and enrollment support, and case management solutions. The business also provides agencies with government payments and child support services. In 2025 alone, Conduent processed over 454 million Medicaid claims and disbursed approximately $80 billion in government benefit payments.

About Conduent

Conduent delivers digital business solutions and services spanning the commercial, government and transportation spectrum – creating valuable outcomes for its clients and the millions of people who count on them. The Company leverages cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation and advanced analytics to deliver mission-critical solutions. Through a dedicated global team of approximately 48,000 associates, process expertise and advanced technologies, Conduent’s solutions and services digitally transform its clients’ operations to enhance customer experiences, improve performance, increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Conduent adds momentum to its clients’ missions in many ways including disbursing approximately $80 billion in government payments annually, enabling approximately 2.0 billion customer service interactions annually, empowering millions of employees through HR services every year and processing over 14 million tolling transactions every day. Learn more at www.conduent.com .

Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit www.news.conduent.com . For open commentary, industry perspectives and views, visit https://x.com/Conduent , http://www.linkedin.com/company/Conduent or http://www.facebook.com/Conduent .

Trademarks

Conduent is a trademark of Conduent Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260806411810/en/

Media:
Neil Franz, Conduent, [email protected] , +1-240-687-0127

Investor Relations:
Conduent, [email protected]

Media Contacts

Neil Franz

Conduent

[email protected]

+1-240-687-0127

Information Services Group (III) – First Look 2Q26 Operating Results

Posted on by [email protected]


Thursday, August 06, 2026

Joe Gomes, CFA, Managing Director, Equity Research Analyst, Generalist , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Overview. Information Services Group had a very strong second quarter, generating the highest quarterly revenue since 2023. Growth in the quarter was led by Europe, up 10%, and the Americas, up 7%, while recurring revenues reached a new quarterly high of $30 million, driven by the Company’s AI-centered research and governance services.

2Q26 Results. Reported revenues for the second quarter were $65.5 million, up 6.4% from $61.6 million in the prior year, and above our $63 million projection. Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $9.4 million, up 13% y-o-y.  Adjusted EBITDA margin was 14.3%, compared with 13.5% in the prior year’s second quarter. We were at $8.45 million and 13.4%, respectively. ISG reported adjusted net income for 2Q26 of $5.0 million, or $0.10 per share, compared with adjusted net income of $4.1 million, or $0.08 per share, in 2Q25. We had projected $4.4 million and $0.09/sh.


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How Anthropic’s $10 Billion Compute Deal Turned a Bitcoin Miner Into an AI Landlord

Posted on by [email protected]

On Tuesday, the maker of the Claude AI models locked in a roughly $10 billion, six-year deal for computing capacity from Volta Infra Holdings, a months-old, Nvidia-backed cloud startup. Anthropic wasn’t named in the official releases — Bloomberg tied it to the contract, and the company declined to comment — but the physical site behind it is very public, and it belongs to Bitdeer Technologies (NASDAQ: BTDR).

Here’s how the layers stack. Anthropic contracts with Volta for the compute. Volta, in turn, signed a 16-year lease for the actual data center — a campus in Tydal, Norway that Bitdeer owns and operates. That lease alone is worth about $4.7 billion in contracted revenue, with an optional extension that could push it near $8 billion over 24 years. The site will run 121 megawatts of IT load on Nvidia’s newest Vera Rubin chips, with Dell supplying hardware and delivery split into two phases targeted for the end of 2026 and March 2027.

Investors did the math fast. Bitdeer shares spiked as much as 14% and held gains of roughly 8% intraday.

Now the part that matters if you hunt small and micro caps. Bitdeer is a Bitcoin miner, and like a growing cluster of its peers, it’s been quietly converting crypto-mining infrastructure into AI compute as Bitcoin prices sag and mining margins tighten. Cheap power, existing sites, cooling built for dense hardware — turns out that’s exactly what AI labs are desperate for. The result is a re-rating story: a volatile miner swaps unpredictable block rewards for long-duration, contracted, almost REIT-like cash flow. A multi-year backlog changes how the market values a name like this. Crypto bet becomes infrastructure landlord.

That’s the thesis, and it’s worth watching the whole cohort of miners making the same pivot. The tell is the same everywhere — contracted AI revenue showing up on the books.

Don’t skip the risk, though, because it’s real. Bitdeer still has to spend roughly $500 million more to build the site out, and it plans to fund that with debt it hasn’t priced yet. Volta is a startup that didn’t exist eight months ago — counterparty risk that’s only partly backstopped by about $1.3 billion in letters of credit arranged through J.P. Morgan and another large institution. And zoom out, and the whole thing looks a little… circular. Nvidia backs Volta, Volta buys Nvidia chips, and Anthropic — itself burning through billions and reportedly weighing an IPO — sits on top. Critics have been flagging this web of AI-infrastructure dependencies as the kind of thing that magnifies losses across the board if demand ever cools.

For now, demand isn’t cooling, and Bitdeer just booked one of the more consequential contracts a company its size can land. The signal for small-cap investors: the picks-and-shovels of the AI boom aren’t all mega-caps. Some of them used to mine Bitcoin.

Release – Conduent Appoints Anna Novoseletsky as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Posted on by [email protected]

Research News and Market Data on CNDT

August 03, 2026

Corporate

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.—Conduent Incorporated (Nasdaq: CNDT), a global technology-driven business solutions and services company, today announced the appointment of Anna Novoseletsky as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.

Anna Novoseletsky

In this role, Novoseletsky will lead Conduent’s global legal, compliance, risk and HR functions and serve as a member of the company’s executive leadership team.

“Anna is an accomplished legal executive with deep expertise in public company governance, global payments, regulatory affairs and strategic transactions,” said Harsha Agadi, Chief Executive Officer of Conduent. “She has built and led high-performing legal organizations, partnered closely with executive teams and boards, and successfully guided companies through periods of growth and transformation. Her strategic perspective and commitment to strong governance make her an outstanding addition to our leadership team as we continue executing our strategy and positioning Conduent for long-term success.”

Prior to joining Conduent, Novoseletsky served as Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary of Cantaloupe, Inc., where she led the company’s legal, governance and compliance functions and supported strategic growth initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions. Previously, she spent more than a decade at Discover Financial Services, serving as General Counsel for its global payments business across more than 20 countries, advising on strategic transactions, product innovation and complex regulatory matters.

“Conduent serves governments, health plans and commercial clients in highly regulated industries while reshaping its portfolio,” said Novoseletsky. “That requires legal to move at the speed of the business. I’m excited to join Conduent at a pivotal moment and help advance its transformation.”

Before Discover, Novoseletsky practiced mergers and acquisitions, securitization and capital markets law at Latham & Watkins. She earned a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and Bachelor and Master of Laws degrees, magna cum laude, from the National Law Academy of Ukraine. She is admitted to practice law in Illinois.

About Conduent

Conduent delivers digital business solutions and services spanning the commercial, government and transportation spectrum – creating valuable outcomes for its clients and the millions of people who count on them. The Company leverages cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation and advanced analytics to deliver mission-critical solutions. Through a dedicated global team of approximately 48,000 associates, process expertise and advanced technologies, Conduent’s solutions and services digitally transform its clients’ operations to enhance customer experiences, improve performance, increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Conduent adds momentum to its clients’ missions in many ways including disbursing approximately $80 billion in government payments annually, enabling approximately 2.0 billion customer service interactions annually, empowering millions of employees through HR services every year and processing over 14 million tolling transactions every day. Learn more at www.conduent.com.

Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit www.news.conduent.com. For open commentary, industry perspectives and views, visit https://x.com/Conduent, http://www.linkedin.com/company/Conduent or http://www.facebook.com/Conduent.

Trademarks

Conduent is a trademark of Conduent Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts

Remy Kaul

Conduent

[email protected]

Release – Conduent to Report Second-Quarter 2026 Financial Results on August 10, 2026

Posted on by [email protected]

Research News and Market Data on CNDT

July 28, 2026

Earnings/Financial

Conduent Incorporated (Nasdaq: CNDT), a global technology-driven business solutions and services company, plans to report its second-quarter 2026 financial results on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026 before market open. Management will present the results during a conference call and webcast at 9:00 a.m. ET.

The call will be available by live audiocast along with the news release and online presentation slides at https://investor.conduent.com .

The conference call will also be available by calling 877-407-4019 toll free. If requested, the conference ID is 13761624.

The international dial-in is +1 201-689-8337. The international conference ID is also 13761624.

A recording of the conference call will be available by calling 877-660-6853 after the conference call concludes. The access ID for the recording is 13761624.

The call recording will be available until Aug. 24, 2026.

We look forward to your participation.

About Conduent

Conduent delivers digital business solutions and services spanning the commercial, government and transportation spectrum – creating valuable outcomes for its clients and the millions of people who count on them. The Company leverages cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation and advanced analytics to deliver mission-critical solutions. Through a dedicated global team of approximately 48,000 associates, process expertise and advanced technologies, Conduent’s solutions and services digitally transform its clients’ operations to enhance customer experiences, improve performance, increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Conduent adds momentum to its clients’ missions in many ways including disbursing approximately $80 billion in government payments annually, enabling approximately 2.0 billion customer service interactions annually, empowering millions of employees through HR services every year and processing over 14 million tolling transactions every day. Learn more at www.conduent.com .

Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit www.news.conduent.com . For open commentary, industry perspectives and views, visit https://x.com/Conduent , http://www.linkedin.com/company/Conduent or http://www.facebook.com/Conduent .

Trademarks

Conduent is a trademark of Conduent Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts

Remy Kaul

Conduent

[email protected]

Apple Passed Nvidia as the World’s Most Valuable Company. Spending Less on AI Just Became a Winning Strategy

Posted on by [email protected]

Apple reclaimed the title of the world’s most valuable public company Monday, overtaking Nvidia as its stock pushed toward a record high close. Apple’s market capitalization reached approximately $4.94 trillion, edging past Nvidia’s $4.83 trillion. The shift caps a remarkable turnaround for a company that spent much of the past two years being criticized for lagging behind its peers on artificial intelligence investment.

Apple shares have climbed more than 22% year to date, outperforming every other member of the so-called Magnificent Seven. The reason is almost the inverse of what drove the group’s dominance over the past two years. Investors are increasingly rewarding Apple precisely because it has not spent aggressively on AI infrastructure, treating capital discipline as a genuine strength rather than a competitive weakness.

The Capex Divide Reshaping Big Tech

Data tracked through Yahoo Finance’s AlphaSpace shows Apple’s capital expenditures have actually declined over the past three quarters, a striking contrast to nearly every other major technology company racing to build AI infrastructure. That restraint stands in sharp relief against Alphabet, which raised its capital spending outlook last week to fund its AI infrastructure buildout, and Tesla, which increased spending to support its robotaxi and robotics ambitions. Shares of both companies fell following their respective earnings reports. Alphabet is up only about 3% year to date, and Tesla has tumbled roughly 30% over the same period.

The market’s message has become increasingly clear this earnings season. Companies spending aggressively on AI capacity are being asked hard questions about return on that investment, while companies demonstrating they can capture AI-driven demand without ballooning capital expenditures are being rewarded with premium valuations.

A Pivotal Week Ahead

Apple reports earnings Thursday after the closing bell, and the report carries added significance beyond the usual quarterly scrutiny. Investors will be watching closely for signs the company can scale its Apple Intelligence features across its device lineup without a meaningful increase in capital expenditures or pressure on operating margins. If Apple can demonstrate that its AI strategy works within its existing capital-light framework, it would validate the market’s current thesis in dramatic fashion.

The timing carries additional weight. Thursday will mark Tim Cook’s final earnings call as CEO before he steps down September 1 to become executive chairman, with John Ternus, a longtime hardware engineering veteran at Apple, taking over as chief executive. Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta all report later this week as well, and all three are expected to announce further increases in AI-related spending, setting up a direct contrast with Apple’s approach in real time.

What This Means for the Broader Market

For investors tracking the AI infrastructure ecosystem, the leadership change at the top of the market matters beyond Apple and Nvidia individually. It reinforces a theme that has run through this entire earnings season: the market is no longer rewarding AI spending simply because it is AI spending. It is scrutinizing whether that capital is translating into visible product outcomes and sustainable margins.

That distinction has real implications down the market cap spectrum. Smaller companies supplying components, software, and infrastructure into the AI buildout are increasingly being evaluated on the same terms, whether their growth is funded responsibly or whether it depends on the kind of unchecked capital expenditure that has weighed on stocks like Alphabet and Tesla this earnings season. Apple’s ascent back to the top is, in part, the market rewarding exactly the kind of capital discipline that investors are now demanding across the board.

Release – Perfect Corp. Reports Unaudited Financial Results for the Three Months and Six Months Ended June 30, 2026

Posted on by [email protected]
Perfect Corp

Research News and Market Data on PERF

July 27, 2026

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Perfect Corp. (NYSE: PERF) (“Perfect” or the “Company”), a leading artificial intelligence (“AI”) company offering AI and augmented reality (“AR”) powered solutions to beauty and fashion industries, today announced its unaudited financial results for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2026.

Highlights for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2026

  • Total revenue was $16.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, remaining stable compared to the same period of 2025.
  • Gross profit was $13.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $12.3 million in the same period of 2025, an increase of 7.4%.
  • Operating loss was $0.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to an operating loss of $1.5 million in the same period of 2025, representing an improvement of $1.4 million.
  • Netincome was $1.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $0.2 million during the same period of 2025, an increase of 518.4%.

Ms. Alice H. Chang, Founder, Chairwoman, and Chief Executive Officer of Perfect Corp., commented, “Perfect Corp. continues to prioritize the advancement of our consumer (B2C) and enterprise (B2B) businesses through AI-driven innovation. While the rapid evolution of AI is creating both opportunities and challenges across the sector, ongoing demand for Generative AI and Agentic AI solutions reinforces our commitment to developing products and services that address these evolving needs. We also remain focused on strengthening our technology capabilities and expanding our solutions to pursue opportunities across both business segments.”

Financial Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2026

Revenue

Total revenue remained stable at $16.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the same period of 2025, as continued growth in YouCam mobile app and web services subscriptions was offset by a decrease in licensing revenue.

  • AI- and AR- cloud solutions and subscription revenue remained relatively stable at $14.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the same period of 2025. AI- and AR- cloud solutions and subscription revenue was primarily driven by the revenue growth from YouCam mobile app and web subscriptions, supported by growing popularity among consumers for Generative AI technologies and AI editing features for photos and videos.
  • Licensing revenue was $0.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $1.0 million in the same period of 2025, a decrease of 25.3%. The Company anticipates that this legacy non-recurring revenue will become increasingly immaterial as it continues to prioritize enhancing its market leadership in the consumer beauty and AI mobile apps and web subscriptions as well as AI- and AR-based SaaS subscription solutions for brands and customers.

Gross Profit

Gross profit was $13.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared with $12.3 million in the same period of 2025, an increase of 7.4%. Gross margin was 80.9% for the three months ended June 30, 2026, an increase from 75.3% in the same period of 2025. The increase in gross margin during the quarter was primarily due to the increase in operational efficiency resulting from the ongoing realignment of engineering professionals as we continue to transition from customization of software toward more standardized AI/API solutions for our customer base.

Total Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses were $13.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared with $13.8 million in the same period of 2025, a decrease of 3.2%. The decrease was primarily due to decreases in research and development and general and administrative expenses in the second quarter of 2026.

  • Sales and marketing expenses remained stable at $7.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to the same period of 2025.
  • Research and development expenses were $3.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $4.0 million during the same period of 2025, a decrease of 11.0%. This decrease was primarily due to reduction of engineering resources by creating better synergies among different product development teams.
  • General and administrative expenses were at $1.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, and compared to $2.0 million for the same period of 2025, a decrease of 6.9%, demonstrating our effective cost control.

Total Operating Loss

Total operating loss narrowed to $0.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $1.5 million during the same period of 2025. The improvement in operating results was primarily driven by higher gross profit, while operating expenses remained steady.

Net Income

Net income was $1.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $0.2 million during the same period of 2025. The significant increase in net income was primarily due to improved gross margin, increase in gains on financial liabilities and lower operating expenses resulting from effective cost control.

Operating Cash Flow

Operating cash flow was $1.0 million in the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $3.7 million in the same period of 2025, a decrease of 73.6%. This decrease was primarily due to fewer current contract liabilities and higher income tax paid, partially offset by higher profit before tax.

Financial Results for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2026

Revenue

Total revenue was $34.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $32.4 million in the same period of 2025, an increase of 5.9%.

  • AI- and AR- cloud solutions and subscription revenue was $30.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $29.0 million in the same period of 2025, an increase of 5.0%. The increase was primarily driven by the continued revenue growth from YouCam mobile app and web subscriptions, supported by growing popularity among consumers for Generative AI technologies and AI editing features for photos and videos.
  • Licensing revenue was $2.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $2.6 million in the same period of 2025, a decrease of 13.2%.

Gross Profit

Gross profit was $27.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared with $24.8 million in the same period of 2025, an increase of 12.7%. Gross margin was 81.5% for the six months ended June 30, 2026, an increase from 76.6% in the same period of 2025. The increase in gross margin during the first half of 2026 was primarily due to the increase in operational efficiency by supplying standardized SaaS solutions with fewer brand-specific customization efforts.

Total Operating Expenses

Total operating expenses were $26.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared with $26.4 million in the same period of 2025, an increase of 0.6%.

  • Sales and marketing expenses remained relatively stable at $15.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $15.2 million during the same period of 2025.
  • Research and development expenses was $7.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $7.6 million during the same period of 2025, a slight decrease of 6.3%.
  • General and administrative expenses were at $3.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, and compared to $3.7 million for the same period of 2025, a slight decrease of 3.1%, demonstrating our effective cost control.

Total Operating Income/Loss

Total operating income was $1.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to an operating loss of $1.6 million during the same period of 2025. The swing to profitability was primarily driven by higher gross profit, while operating expenses grew only modestly.

Net Income

Net income was $3.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $2.5 million during the same period of 2025, an increase of 45.3%. The positive net income was supported by our steady revenue growth and effective cost control.

Operating Cash Flow

Operating cash inflow was $5.2 million in the six months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $8.0 million in the same period of 2025, a decrease of 34.8%. The decrease was primarily driven by lower current contract liabilities and higher income tax paid. The Company continues to invest in growth while maintaining a positive operating cash flow to support business operations.

Liquidity and Capital Resource

As of June 30, 2026, the Company’s cash and cash equivalents remained stable at $125.6 million (or $177.1 million when including 6-month time deposits of $36.4 million and US Treasuries of $15.1 million, which are classified as current and non-current financial assets at amortized cost under IFRS, respectively), compared to $120.6 million (or $176.4 million when including time deposits, US Treasuries and money market funds) as of March 31, 2026.

Key Business Metrics

  • The number of active subscribers for the Company’s YouCam mobile beauty apps and web services was 820,000 as of June 30, 2026, compared to over 960,000 as of June 30, 2025, a decrease of 14.6%. The decline was attributable to the increased competition through the rapidly shifting landscape of AI driven apps.
  • The number of Key Customers 1 of the Company as of June 30, 2026 was 113 compared to 139 as of June 30, 2025. The net decline in the number of Key Customers was primarily due to customer downgrades in service subscription spending.

Recent Development

On March 18, 2026, Perfect announced receipt of preliminary non-binding “Going Private” proposal.

On March 23, 2026, Perfect’s Board announced the formation of special committee to evaluate on the preliminary non-binding “Going Private” proposal received on March 18, 2026.

On April 20, 2026, Perfect announced appointment of financial advisor and legal counsel to the special committee.

On July 10, 2026, Perfect announced that it has entered into a Definitive Agreement for a Going-Private Transaction.

About Perfect Corp.

Founded in 2015, Perfect Corp. is a leading AI company offering self-developed AI- and AR- powered solutions dedicated to transforming the world with digital tech innovations that make your virtual world beautiful. On Perfect’s direct consumer business side, Perfect operates a family of YouCam consumer apps and web-editing services for photo, video and camera users, centered on unleashing creativity with AI-driven features for creation, beautification and enhancement. On Perfect’s enterprise business side, Perfect empowers major beauty, skincare, fashion, jewelry, and watch brands and retailers by supplying them with omnichannel shopping experiences through AR product try-ons and AI-powered skin diagnostics. With cutting-edge technologies such as Generative AI, real-time facial and hand 3D AR rendering and cloud solutions, Perfect enables personalized, enjoyable, and engaging shopping journey and helps brands elevate customer engagement, increase conversion rates, and propel sales growth. Throughout this journey, Perfect maintains its unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability and fulfilling social responsibilities. For more information, visit https://ir.perfectcorp.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to Perfect. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” “target,” “seek” or the negative or plural of these words, or other similar expressions that are predictions or indicate future events or prospects, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including strategies or plans, are also forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on Perfect’s reasonable expectations and beliefs concerning future events and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. These factors are difficult to predict accurately and may be beyond Perfect’s control. Forward-looking statements in this communication or elsewhere speak only as of the date made. New uncertainties and risks arise from time to time, and it is impossible for Perfect to predict these events or how they may affect Perfect. In addition, risks and uncertainties are described in Perfect’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings may identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Perfect cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this communication will prove to be accurate. There may be additional risks that Perfect presently does not know or that Perfect currently does not believe are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by Perfect, its directors, officers or employees or any other person that Perfect will achieve its objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. Except as required by applicable law, Perfect does not have any duty to, and does not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements in this communication or elsewhere after the date of this communication. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing the views of Perfect as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication.

BlackRock Is Selling $12.3 Billion in Bonds to Fund a Meta Data Center. Wall Street Is Watching to See Who Buys

Posted on by [email protected]

The debt-financed AI buildout just got its next major test. BlackRock began marketing $12.3 billion in high-grade bonds Friday to fund a massive data center campus in El Paso, Texas, built to power Meta Platforms’ artificial intelligence workloads. The offering is being sold through a single tranche of notes due in 2048, with price talk at approximately 2.875 percentage points over Treasuries. JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are running the offering.

The financing structure is worth understanding. The project is owned through a holding company tied to BlackRock, with BlackRock subsidiaries Global Infrastructure Management and HPS Investment Partners holding an 80% stake and Meta owning the remaining 20%. Once complete, the facility is expected to provide as much as 1 gigawatt of computing capacity dedicated to AI workloads, enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes if it were serving the grid instead of server racks.

Why This Deal Matters Beyond Its Size

At $12.3 billion, this is one of the largest single data center bond offerings to reach the market this year, and the timing makes it a genuine test of investor appetite. The offering arrives just days after Oracle’s stock fell more than 50% from its June high on concerns about debt-funded AI infrastructure spending and customer concentration risk tied to its own data center buildout. It also follows Alphabet shares falling after the company disclosed a $205 billion spending plan that fueled fresh investor anxiety about the pace and sustainability of AI capital expenditure across the industry.

Against that backdrop, BlackRock’s bond sale is effectively asking bond investors a direct question: is the market still willing to underwrite massive, long-duration AI infrastructure debt at reasonable spreads, or has sentiment shifted enough that these deals now require a real risk premium to get done. A note due in 2048 is a 22-year commitment, and how tightly or loosely it prices will say a great deal about whether fixed income investors share the equity market’s growing skepticism about AI capex, or whether they view infrastructure-backed debt with a hyperscaler tenant as a fundamentally different risk than a company’s own balance sheet leverage.

The Structural Shift Toward Off-Balance-Sheet AI Financing

This deal also reflects a broader trend worth watching. Rather than funding data centers directly on their own balance sheets the way Oracle largely has, companies like Meta are increasingly structuring these projects through joint ventures with infrastructure investors like BlackRock, keeping the debt at arm’s length while still securing the compute capacity they need. That structure spreads the financial risk of the AI buildout across a wider pool of infrastructure capital rather than concentrating it entirely on the tech company’s own credit.

What It Means for Smaller Companies

For investors tracking the broader AI infrastructure ecosystem, this offering is a useful barometer independent of Meta or BlackRock specifically. If a $12.3 billion, investment-grade-rated data center bond prices well, it signals that credit markets still have confidence in the underlying demand for AI compute, which supports continued capital flowing to the smaller companies supplying power infrastructure, cooling systems, and specialized components into projects exactly like this one. If it prices poorly or gets downsized, it would be an early signal that the capital markets are beginning to price AI infrastructure risk more conservatively across the board, a dynamic that would eventually reach every tier of the supply chain, including the smallest companies in it.

A $60 Million Microsoft Investment Just Opened a New Door for AI Research

Posted on by [email protected]

The federal government’s push to embed artificial intelligence into the core of American scientific research just gained a major private sector partner. Microsoft announced Wednesday it is investing $60 million to advance the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, a program designed to unite 17 national laboratories, industry partners, and academic institutions around AI-enabled research and development. The stated goal is to harness AI for breakthroughs in energy dominance, discovery science, and national security.

The investment breaks down into two distinct components. Forty million dollars will fund Azure compute and AI credits distributed to the program over three years, giving national lab researchers direct access to Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure and AI models. The remaining $20 million will go toward what Microsoft calls solution engineering enablement services, covering the engineering, architecture, deployment, and adoption support needed to actually turn that cloud capacity into usable research outcomes rather than unused credits sitting on a balance sheet.

A New Management Layer for a Sprawling Initiative

Alongside the investment, Microsoft is launching a new program called SPARK, short for Scientific Partnership Advancing Research and Knowledge, which will function as a management office for the Genesis Mission. SPARK is designed to facilitate secure collaboration across the many institutions involved, addressing one of the most persistent challenges in large, multi-lab federal research initiatives: coordinating dozens of separate organizations with different systems, security requirements, and research priorities into a single functioning research enterprise.

Microsoft’s language around the announcement was notably direct about where it sees this heading. The company described entering an era where AI and quantum computing do not just support the scientific process but become essential to it, committing to provide hyperscale compute, advanced models, emerging quantum capabilities, and dedicated technical expertise running alongside the labs’ own world-leading systems.

Why This Matters Beyond Microsoft

For investors tracking the broader technology ecosystem, the Genesis Mission is a continuation of a theme that has defined 2026: the federal government treating AI and quantum computing infrastructure as a strategic national priority rather than a purely commercial pursuit. Earlier this year, the Trump administration committed $2 billion in direct equity investments across nine domestic quantum computing companies under the CHIPS and Science Act framework, a move that signaled Washington views these technologies with the same urgency it once reserved for semiconductor manufacturing and rare earth supply chains.

The Genesis Mission operates on a different mechanism, funding compute access and research infrastructure rather than taking direct equity stakes, but the underlying logic is the same. When 17 national laboratories gain hyperscale AI and quantum compute access, the research output that follows tends to generate downstream commercial opportunities. National lab research has historically been a significant source of spinout technology, licensing agreements, and early-stage partnerships that eventually flow into smaller, publicly traded companies operating in specialized AI, quantum computing, and scientific instrumentation niches.

The Small Cap Angle

For companies operating below the $2 billion market cap threshold in the AI infrastructure, quantum computing, and specialized scientific computing space, initiatives like the Genesis Mission represent a slower-moving but potentially significant catalyst. Government-funded research at this scale often creates procurement opportunities, licensing pathways, and collaborative research agreements that smaller, more nimble companies are frequently better positioned to capture than the largest technology platforms funding the core infrastructure.

As the Genesis Mission matures over its three-year funding window, the research coming out of these 17 laboratories is worth monitoring closely. History suggests that when the federal government makes this scale of commitment to a specific technology area, the commercial ecosystem around it tends to expand well beyond the initial corporate partners involved.

Release – SKYX Will Supply its Plug & Play Technologies During a Renovation of a Marriott City Center Hotel in Durham, NC

Posted on by [email protected]
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Research news and Market Data on SKYX

July 22, 2026 08:45 ET  | Source: SKYX Platforms Corp.

The Hotel is Part of the Shaner Hotel Group, a Prominent Hotel Developer with Over 80 Hotels in the U.S. and Globally

The Renovation is in Process and Will Include Rooms, Suites, Lobby, Ballroom, Gym, Bars, Restaurants, Meeting Rooms, Corridors, Among Other Hotel Areas

SKYX’s Technologies Expansion Provides Additional Opportunities for Future Recurring Revenues through Interchangeability, Upgrades, AI Services, Monitoring, Subscriptions, Among Others

MIAMI, July 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SKYX Platforms Corp. (NASDAQ: SKYX) (d/b/a SKYX Technologies) (the “Company” or “SKYX”), an award winning highly disruptive advanced smart home and AI platform technology company with over 100 U.S. and global pending and issued patents and a portfolio of 60 lighting and home décor websites, with a mission to make homes and buildings become advanced-safe-smart instantly as the new standard, today announced it will deploy its advanced lighting and smart technologies during a renovation of a Marriott city center hotel in downtown Durham, North Carolina. The hotel is part of the Shaner Hotel Group that owns over 80 hotels in the U.S. and globally.

The Marriott Durham City Center hotel has 190 rooms and suites. The hotel amenities and areas include bars, restaurants, club lounge, meeting rooms, fitness center, business center, among other hotel facilities.

During the renovation SKYX is expected to supply thousands of units of its advanced smart plug & play technologies comprising ceiling lighting, ceiling fans, recessed lights, down lights, EXIT signs, emergency lights, indoor and outdoor wall lights among other advanced smart products.

The Marriot Durham Citi Center Hotel

The Marriott Durham Citi Center Hotel

Lance Shaner, Founder and CEO of the Shaner Hotel Group, said; “We are excited to use SKYX’s advanced plug & play technologies during our planned renovation of our Durham, NC Marriott hotel. We expect to deploy SKYX’s technologies in additional hotels in our group as well. By integrating SKYX’s technologies into these properties, we will cut significant time and cost while advancing the lifestyle and safety standards of our hotels and buildings.”
  
Rani Kohen, Founder and Executive Chairman of SKYX Platforms, said; “We are very happy to deploy our technologies in the Durham, NC Marriott hotel for a U.S. leading hotel developer such as the Shaner Hotel Group. We look forward to continued growth in our hotel segment, driven by our advanced technologies and the significant time and cost savings they provide for hotel renovations and new construction.”

For more information about the Shaner Hotel Group click here: www.shanercorp.com

For more information about SKYX click here: www.skyx.com

About SKYX Platforms Corp.

As electricity is a standard in every home and building, our mission is to make homes and buildings become safe-advanced and smart as the new standard. SKYX has a series of highly disruptive advanced, safe, smart and AI platform technologies, with over 100 U.S. and global patents and patent pending applications. Additionally, the Company owns 60 lighting and home decor websites for both retail and commercial segments. Our technologies place an emphasis on high quality and ease of use, while significantly enhancing both safety and lifestyle in homes and buildings. We believe that our products are a necessity in every room in both homes and other buildings in the U.S. and globally. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.skyx.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release are not based on historical facts, but are forward-looking statements. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “could,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “evaluate,” “forecast,” “guidance,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “might,” “objective,” “ongoing,” “outlook,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “probable,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target” “view,” “will,” or “would,” or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements reflect the Company’s reasonable judgment with respect to future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which have outcomes difficult to predict and may be outside our control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include statements relating to the Company’s ability to successfully launch, commercialize, develop additional features and achieve market acceptance of its products and technologies and integrate its products and technologies with third-party platforms or technologies; the Company’s ability to achieve positive cash flows; the Company’s efforts and ability to drive the adoption of its products and technologies as a standard feature, including their use in homes, hotels, offices and cruise ships; the Company’s ability to capture market share; the Company’s estimates of its potential addressable market and demand for its products and technologies; the Company’s ability to raise additional capital to support its operations as needed, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; the Company’s ability to execute on any sales and licensing or other strategic opportunities; the possibility that any of the Company’s products will become National Electrical Code (NEC)-code or otherwise code mandatory in any jurisdiction, or that any of the Company’s current or future products or technologies will be adopted by any state, country, or municipality, within any specific timeframe or at all; risks arising from mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and other collaborations; the Company’s ability to attract and retain key executives and qualified personnel; guidance provided by management, which may differ from the Company’s actual operating results; the potential impact of unstable market and economic conditions on the Company’s business, financial condition, and stock price; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. There can be no assurance as to any of the foregoing matters. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by U.S. federal securities laws. 

Investor Relations Contacts:

Jeff Ramson
PCG Advisory
[email protected]

Ronald A. Both
Encore Investor Relations
[email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e3362463-f757-42d2-887c-f28eed96f3b0

Why Oracle Stock Has Lost Half Its Value in Six Weeks

Posted on by [email protected]

Nine months ago, Oracle was the hottest stock in enterprise technology. On September 10, 2025, shares surged 36% in a single session after reports surfaced that OpenAI had committed to a $300 billion, five-year cloud computing deal with the company. The stock hit a record high of $345.72. The narrative was irresistible: Oracle had reinvented itself as an AI infrastructure company, and the biggest name in artificial intelligence had just bet hundreds of billions on that transformation.

Today, Oracle trades below $140. The stock has fallen more than 50% from its June 2026 high and roughly 62% from last September’s peak. What happened in between is a story about what goes wrong when a company takes on enormous financial risk to chase AI demand that may not materialize as quickly, or as reliably, as the contracts suggest.

The Numbers That Spooked the Market

Oracle’s fiscal 2026 results, released in June, contained strong headline numbers. Revenue grew. Earnings beat estimates. Cloud infrastructure revenue surged 93% year over year in Q4. Under normal circumstances, those would be the kind of results that lift a stock. Instead, shares fell more than 12% in a single session after the report because of what the financial statements revealed underneath the growth.

Capital expenditures for the fiscal year surged to approximately $56 billion, a 162% increase from the prior year. That spending pushed Oracle into negative free cash flow of roughly $24 billion. Total debt swelled to approximately $130 billion. Management indicated that spending would remain elevated, with approximately $70 billion in capex planned for fiscal 2027, and floated the possibility of additional debt and equity raises to fund the buildout. The company’s CFO warned that gross margins would decline in fiscal 2027 as new data center projects ramp up.

The OpenAI Concentration Problem

The risk that has rattled investors most is customer concentration. Oracle ended fiscal 2026 with $638 billion in remaining performance obligations, a 363% increase from $138 billion a year earlier. That figure represents signed contracts for services not yet delivered, and on its face it looks like an extraordinary demand signal. The concern is who those contracts belong to.

Approximately $300 billion of Oracle’s RPO is reportedly attributable to OpenAI alone. OpenAI generates roughly $25 billion in annualized revenue and continues to operate at a significant loss, relying on outside investors to fund its operations. When OpenAI announced earlier this summer that it would delay its IPO from 2026 to 2027, Oracle shares dropped 9% in a single week because the delay raised questions about whether OpenAI would have the financial capacity to honor the scale of its commitments.

Oracle’s own annual report contained unusually thorough risk disclosures about the possibility that its largest AI infrastructure customers might not be able to fulfill their obligations. For a company carrying $130 billion in debt to build data centers designed to serve those exact customers, that warning landed with force.

What This Tells the Broader Market

For investors tracking the AI infrastructure buildout, Oracle’s decline is not an indictment of AI demand itself. It is a case study in concentration risk, leverage, and the gap between signed contracts and delivered revenue. The demand for AI compute capacity is real and growing. But the financial structures being built to serve that demand carry meaningful risk when they depend heavily on a small number of customers whose own economics remain unproven.

Smaller cloud infrastructure, data center, and AI services companies with more diversified customer bases and conservative balance sheets face a fundamentally different risk profile. The AI infrastructure buildout is not slowing down. But Oracle’s 50% decline is a reminder that how a company finances its participation in that buildout matters as much as the demand itself.

Chip Stocks Are Selling Off on Record Earnings. The Problem Is Not the Business. It Is the Price

Posted on by [email protected]

Something unusual is happening in the semiconductor sector. Companies are posting some of the strongest quarterly results in the industry’s history, and investors are selling anyway. TSMC reported 77% annual earnings growth this week and fell 4%. Broadcom beat estimates in June and dropped 15%. SK Hynix debuted on Nasdaq, surged 13% on day one, then gave back 8% the next session while its Seoul-listed shares posted their worst day ever. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index hit two-month lows this week even though every major chip company reporting this earnings season has beaten expectations.

The business has never been better. The stocks are telling a completely different story.

Three Forces Colliding at Once

The first is an AI spending backlash. The largest technology companies in the world are projected to spend more than $700 billion on artificial intelligence infrastructure in 2026 alone, a 70% increase from the prior year. For most of the past two years, investors rewarded that spending as a sign of conviction and growth. That sentiment has shifted. The market is no longer asking whether AI is real. It is asking when the spending starts generating measurable returns, and until that answer becomes clear, the companies most associated with the AI capex cycle are being punished on earnings day regardless of what the numbers actually show.

The second is margin pressure. TSMC guided strong revenue this week but flagged elevated capital spending alongside pressure on both gross and operating margins. The market is drawing a distinction it had previously ignored: growth funded by margin compression is not the same as profitable growth, and investors are no longer willing to pay peak multiples for companies investing at this pace without near-term margin expansion.

The third is geopolitical risk that refuses to stay in the background. The Iran conflict has re-escalated sharply this week, with six consecutive nights of US-Iran military exchanges driving oil back above $80 and reigniting inflation concerns. US-China semiconductor export restrictions remain a persistent overhang. South Korea’s KOSPI triggered a circuit breaker earlier this month on a tech-driven selloff. Each of these individually would pressure the sector. Together they are repricing a group of stocks that had been valued as though the operating environment carried no friction at all.

Where the Selloff Is Not Happening

This is the distinction that matters most for investors tracking the semiconductor space below the $2 billion market cap threshold. The selloff is concentrated almost entirely at the large cap level, where valuations had stretched the furthest and expectations were the highest. Nvidia, Broadcom, TSMC, AMD, and Micron collectively added trillions in market value over the past two years on the AI trade. When expectations at that altitude go unmet even slightly, the correction is sharp and immediate.

Smaller semiconductor companies are experiencing a fundamentally different dynamic. Many never ran to the same extreme multiples. Their earnings expectations were never priced for perfection. Some are being dragged lower by broad sector sentiment despite having risk profiles that look nothing like the mega cap names driving the index. Others are holding up precisely because their valuations left room for imperfection from the start.

That divergence is not a footnote. It is the investment case. The demand environment driving chip sector growth has not changed. Hyperscaler capital expenditure commitments remain intact. AI infrastructure buildout timelines have not been revised downward. The companies supplying specialty materials, advanced packaging, power management components, and edge computing hardware into that same supply chain are operating in the same demand environment as Nvidia and TSMC, but at valuations that never assumed everything would go perfectly.

The semiconductor sector is not broken. It is repricing at the top. For investors willing to look past the headlines and into the supply chain beneath them, the relative value case for smaller names in the same ecosystem just became considerably more compelling.

DeepSeek Eyes $1.5 Billion Raise as It Lines Up a Possible IPO

Posted on by [email protected]

The Chinese AI developer behind one of the most talked-about large language models of the past two years is reportedly moving toward a public listing, with a fresh funding round in the works to help get there.

DeepSeek is said to be in talks to raise roughly $1.5 billion at a valuation near $71 billion, according to reports. The company is reportedly targeting an IPO as early as the end of this year, though a 2027 debut is also on the table depending on how markets and regulatory conditions shape up. Either timeline would mark a remarkably fast turn toward the public markets for a company that only closed its first-ever outside funding round a month earlier.

That prior round was massive on its own: roughly $7 billion raised at about a $50 billion valuation, using an unusual deal structure. If the new raise closes as described, it would represent a jump of roughly 40% in valuation in just a matter of weeks, underscoring how much investor appetite has built around the company in a short window.

DeepSeek, founded in 2023, first drew global attention early last year when it released an AI model that matched much of the performance of leading U.S. systems at a fraction of the reported training cost. That release rattled assumptions about how much capital was required to compete at the frontier of AI development, and the company has kept pace since then. A more recent model preview continues to show the gap with top-tier U.S. labs narrowing, even as the company operates under U.S. export controls on advanced chips.

Notably, DeepSeek’s cloud infrastructure reportedly runs on domestically produced chips rather than the restricted U.S. hardware, a detail that speaks to how Chinese AI developers are adapting around trade restrictions rather than being sidelined by them.

Usage numbers back up the attention. On one major enterprise AI gateway, DeepSeek accounted for close to a quarter of all tokens processed in June, trailing only Anthropic’s models in overall share. That kind of usage at enterprise scale, not just consumer chatbot traffic, is typically what draws serious institutional investor interest ahead of a listing.

The investor base backing DeepSeek reportedly includes a major Chinese technology conglomerate and a state-backed AI investment fund, suggesting both private capital and strategic government interest in seeing the company succeed on the global stage.

None of this is confirmed by DeepSeek itself, and details like exact valuation, timing, and structure could still shift before anything is finalized. But the direction of travel is clear: DeepSeek is positioning itself not just as a research lab that shocked the industry with a cheap, capable model, but as a company building toward a full-scale public listing.

For investors watching the AI sector, this is worth tracking closely. A DeepSeek IPO would be one of the largest Chinese tech listings in years and would test how much appetite Western capital markets have for a Chinese AI company operating under export restrictions but still competing near the frontier. It would also offer a rare, transparent look at the economics behind one of the most disruptive AI cost stories of the past two years.