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Why Textron Stock Slumped Today

Key Points

  • Textron beat on sales and earnings this morning -- then sold off.

  • The company's sales didn't grow much, and its earnings grew almost none at all.

  • Free cash flow at Textron backs up only 69% of reported net income.

Textron (NYSE: TXT) stock tumbled to close down 7.1% Thursday, despite beating analyst forecasts this morning.

Heading into the quarter, Wall Street had Textron pegged for a $1.45 per-share profit on $3.65 billion in quarterly sales. In fact, Textron earned $1.55 per share on sales of $3.7 billion.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Textron Q2 earnings

That sounds pretty good, except for a couple of things. For one, earnings as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) were only $1.35 per share, with $1.55 being only a non-GAAP result. For another, even the non-GAAP number was up only $0.01 over what Textron reported a year ago -- and this despite Textron growing sales 5.4% year over year.

In other words, sales were up modestly, boosted by commercial aircraft and helicopter sales, as well as new revenue from the company's MV-75 tiltrotor aircraft. But profit margins on those sales were down.

Free cash flow for the quarter was $317 million, up from $309 million earned one year ago.

Is Textron stock a sell?

With $816 million in trailing-12-month net income and a $14.6 billion market capitalization, Textron stock sells for a P/E ratio of just under 18. That wouldn't be a bad price for a company growing earnings double-digits, and paying a nice dividend yield. Unfortunately, Textron's earnings are struggling to grow even low single digits, and its dividend yield is a measly 0.1%.

Even worse, based on the latest data, Textron is generating only about $0.69 in real free cash flow for every $1 in net profit it reports. Thus, Textron's price-to-free cash flow ratio works out to closer to 26 -- far too expensive for the slow growth rate.

I fear that makes Textron stock a sell.

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Textron. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Oklo Stock Popped on Thursday

Key Points

  • Oklo announced it has completed a "pre-application readiness assessment" for its first NRC reactor license.

  • The company plans to file its application for a license for Phase 1 of its construction plan later this year.

  • Oklo anticipates getting the reactor on line and generating revenue in 2027.

Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) stock jumped 4% through 1:20 p.m. ET Thursday after the small nuclear reactor-builder announced it has completed its Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) "pre-application readiness assessment" for the first part of a combined license application (COLA) to build its "Aurora powerhouse" at Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

People hold hands in a field of flowers outside a nuclear power station.

Image source: Getty Images.

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What does this mean?

Translated into English, this means Oklo is one step closer to building a small modular reactor at INL. More precisely, it's one step closer to being able to apply for permission to build said reactor. (Whether NRC deems the application worthy of approval remains to be seen.)

Put this way, it's less of a needle-mover for the stock, but as Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte explained, it does indicate that NRC thinks Oklo is on track to file an application with a decent chance of getting it approved.

The next step for Oklo along this journey to approval (now underway for nearly a decade) will be to submit its COLA application, and that should happen later this year.

Is Oklo stock a buy?

Oklo's still a long way away from becoming a viable business, although it's 10 years closer than when it started. Long term, the company intends to build reactors in-house, place them on sites near its customers, then operate the reactors and supply power, charging for electricity much in the same way an ordinary electric utility does.

If all goes as planned, the company's first reactor will go online in 2027, and the company will begin generating revenue that year. Oklo won't turn profitable until 2030, however, according to analysts. Whether the stock is a "buy" at its current $10 billion market cap depends very much on how much profit it will generate that year, and in all the years to come.

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Micron Stock Dropped Today

Key Points

  • Edgewater Research warned Monday that prices and demand for computer memory chips will fall in the second half of 2025.

  • On Thursday, TSMC seconded the emotion, warning of a sales slowdown coming in Q3.

  • Micron's free cash flow already looks weak relative to reported earnings. A slowdown could make things worse.

Micron (NASDAQ: MU) stock is getting hammered again Thursday afternoon, down 3.1% through 12:20 p.m. ET.

Earlier in the week, if you recall, shares of the computer semiconductor memory maker tumbled after Edgewater Research warned that prices and demand for computer memory chips would fall in the second half of 2025.

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Today, we're hearing echoes of the same forecast from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), the biggest player in contract chip manufacturing.

Glowing red arrow is falling.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why TSMC's news should worry Micron investors

Early this morning, TSMC reported strong Q2 sales and earnings. By one measure, sales climbed 44.4%, and profits were up 60.7%.

That's great news for now. But turning to guidance, TSMC warned investors that Q3 sales will slow a bit, rising 38% at best, while gross and operating profit margins will both decline sequentially.

Unfortunately, this news tallies with what Edgewater told us earlier in the week: That chip demand and chip prices will both be "subseasonal" in the second half of this year (meaning Q3, and Q4 as well), and that there's a "bias lower" -- meaning things could get worse, not better.

Is Micron stock a sell?

Micron's own numbers don't give any more cause for optimism.

As I pointed out on Monday, the stock reports good earnings -- $6.2 billion in net profit over the last 12 months. However, free cash flow is less than one-third as good as its earnings according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP): Just $1.9 billion generated over the past year.

That's not a lot of cash to support Micron's $126 billion market cap. It actually gives the stock a price-to-free cash flow ratio of 66.5, which is probably too much to pay. It's almost certainly too much if pricing and demand are getting worse, not better.

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Why Taiwan Semiconductor Stock Popped Today

Key Points

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), that powerhouse of contract semiconductor manufacturing located just off the coast of mainland China, reported powerful Q2 earnings this morning, which sent its shares up 3.3% through 11:40 a.m. ET.

Expected to be $2.28 per American depositary receipt for the quarter, TSMC reported instead $2.47 per ADR, beating the forecast soundly. Sales for the quarter were reported as NT$933.8 billion, which worked out to $30.1 billion.

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Blue semiconductor computer chip.

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TSMC Q2 earnings

Q2 sales climbed 38.6% year over year (but 44.4% in USD terms), and net profits grew significantly faster, up 60.7%. The company noted that its gross profit margin for the quarter was 58.6%, operating margin was 49.6%, and net margin was 42.7%.

Company CFO Wendell Huang credited "continued robust AI and [high-performance computing]-related demand" for the sales growth, and noted that 74% of the company's revenue came from the sales of advanced semiconductor wafers -- chips at 7 nanometers or less.

Is TSMC stock a buy?

Turning to guidance, TSMC forecast that in Q3, it will book between $31.8 billion and $33 billion in revenue, with gross margins ranging from 55.5% to 57.5% and operating margins between 45.5% and 47.5%.

While investors seem fine with those numbers (they're buying, not selling, after all), that's not necessarily great news. TSMC did $23.9 billion in Q3 revenue last year, so even $33 billion in sales would work out to "only" 38% year-over-year growth -- somewhat slower than in Q2 even at the top of guidance. Meanwhile, the forecast for both gross and operating margins foreshadows a sequential decline in profitability.

Still, at a P/E ratio of only 22.5 and with sales still growing briskly, it's hard to call TSMC stock anything but a "buy."

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Is Intuitive Machines Stock Still Going Up?

Key Points

  • Bank of America cut its price target on Intuitive Machines stock yesterday -- and the stock rose anyway.

  • Intuitive is gaining again today, but BofA's warnings yesterday still merit attention.

  • Free cash flow at the space company will be lumpy, and could remain so for years.

Something curious is happening with Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) stock, the tiny lunar exploration company that last year landed a U.S. spacecraft on the moon for the first time in over 50 years.

Yesterday, Bank of America analyst Ronald Epstein lowered his price target on Intuitive stock from $16 to $10.50, below where the stock was trading, triggering an "underperform" rating. And yet, Intuitive Machines stock went up, not down, on the news (rising 1.2%).

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And today, it's going up even more.

1 green arrow going up.

Image source: Getty Images.

What BofA says about Intuitive Machines stock

Intuitive Machines stock gained a healthy 5.1% through 10:40 a.m. ET. But while investors are surely happy to see Intuitive continue to defy gravity, maybe they shouldn't get used to it.

As Epstein explains, in a note covered by The Fly, Intuitive stock has done well this year after surprising investors with a report of positive free cash flow achieved in Q1 -- $13.3 million generated in the quarter. At the same time, however, management warned that cash receipt lumpiness could return in Q2.

And I suspect "cash receipt lumpiness" translates as "negative free cash flow."

Is Intuitive Machines stock a buy?

This shouldn't be a surprise.

Analysts have long forecast it would take Intuitive until at least 2027 to reach sustained profitability as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and 2028 to begin generating consistently positive FCF. Q2 2025 was almost certainly an aberration, albeit a happy one, and investors will still need patience with this stock.

That said, I believe patience will be rewarded. Between the company's series of NASA contracts to land spacecraft on the moon, its Near Space Network communications contract, and now a new business building Earth reentry vehicles for semiconductor and space pharmaceutical customers, Intuitive's future could be out of this world.

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Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Rich Smith has positions in Intuitive Machines. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why AngioDynamics Stock Popped, Then Dropped Today

Key Points

  • AngioDynamics beat on sales and beat on earnings this morning -- sort of.

  • The company reported a smaller-than-expected adjusted loss, but its GAAP loss was much bigger.

  • AngioDynamics lost money in fiscal 2025 and will probably do that again in 2026.

Tuesday started off well for AngioDynamics (NASDAQ: ANGO), maker of such medical devices as the NanoKnife tool for "electrocuting" cancer, as well as multiple devices for treating peripheral vascular disease. In the morning, AngioDynamics reported stronger-than-expected Q4 2025 sales and earnings, with sales of $80.2 million and an adjusted loss of $0.03 per share (instead of the $0.12-per-share forecast).

By the end of the day, however, the rally fell completely apart. AngioDynamics ended up closing down almost 10% for the day. So what went wrong?

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Red arrow going down.

Image source: Getty Images.

AngioDynamics' Q4 earnings

Q4 sales grew 13% year over year, although gross profit margins on those sales declined by 160 basis points, to 52.7%. Adjusted earnings still ended up better than expected, and AngioDynamics cut its loss as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) by more than half, from $0.33 per share a year ago to just $0.15 per share this time around.

Still, a loss is a loss. That's part of the reason investors probably weren't 100% thrilled with this report. For the full-year fiscal 2025, moreover, AngioDynamics lost $0.83 per share according to GAAP, and its sales grew only 8.1%.

Is AngioDynamics stock a sell?

A second reason is guidance. AngioDynamics told investors it expects fiscal 2026 sales to range from $305 million to $310 million, which is ahead of Wall Street forecasts -- so far, so good. Problem is, management then proceeded to warn its losses for the year will range from $0.25 to $0.35 per share, adjusted for one-time items.

That's more than the $0.23 per-share loss Wall Street was forecasting -- and AngioDynamics still hasn't told us how much it will really end up losing under GAAP. Until we know that, the stock probably remains a sell.

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Why Did Oklo Stock Drop Today?

Key Points

  • Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Oklo stock with an overweight rating today.

  • Oklo also announced it will hire Kiewit Nuclear Solutions Co. to help build its first commercial reactor.

  • Things are progressing at Oklo, but the stock costs quite a lot and has no revenue.

Shares of small nuclear reactor-builder Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) tumbled 3.1% through 12:10 p.m. ET Tuesday. Curiously, the news on Oklo today is good, not bad.

Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Oklo stock with an overweight rating and a $73 price target. No sooner had it done so than Oklo announced it has picked Kiewit Nuclear Solutions Co. to help build its first commercial Aurora powerhouse in Idaho, at Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

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Glowing green nuclear radiation icon.

Image source: Getty Images.

What Cantor says about Oklo

Let's start with the initiation. As The Fly relates, Cantor is calling Oklo key to a global transition to safe nuclear energy. The company's small module reactor technology relies on "proven" fast fission reactors, which should help with Nuclear Regulatory Commission approvals. Cantor expects Oklo to become a "big winner" in the transition to nuclear energy.

Moving next to the INL announcement, Oklo says "pre-construction" work on its new reactor will begin later this year, and "commercial operations [are] targeted for late 2027 to early 2028." Importantly, Oklo also confirmed that it has secured access to the uranium fuel it will need to operate the reactor, and is making "regulatory progress" toward getting it design approved.

Is Oklo stock a buy?

And yet, investors don't seem to be buying the argument -- or the stock, at least not today. Why not?

Valuation's probably one concern. Oklo stock costs $9.2 billion, yet the company has neither profit not even revenue on which to hang a valuation. While analysts do expect revenue to begin in 2027, in line with the "commercial operations" forecast, profits won't arrive until 2030 at the earliest.

It's hard to value a stock with so many unknowns, lasting so many years into the future. And it's hard to call Oklo stock a buy because of this.

Should you invest $1,000 in Oklo right now?

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Tripadvisor Stock Is on the Map Today

Key Points

  • Starboard Value just disclosed a 9% stake in Tripadvisor.

  • The stock costs 38 times earnings, but profits are growing quickly, and so is free cash flow.

  • Starboard scored a quick gain on Tripadvisor -- but the stock has even more room to rise.

Tripadvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP) stock galloped ahead 18% through 11:05 a.m. ET Thursday after activist investor Starboard Value disclosed that it has taken a 9% stake in the travel advisor.

Calling the company "undervalued" (at the time it bought the shares -- we'll have to see if it remains undervalued now that it's up 17%), and "an attractive investment opportunity," Starboard plans to meet with management to discuss ways to improve the stock's price even further.

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Although I have to say, a 17% one-day prop is already quite an improvement!

Simple green arrow going up.

Image source: Getty Images.

Momentum investing

Tripadvisor's an excellent prospect for the kind of stock that can be moved suddenly by a surprise headline. It was valued at less than $1.8 billion before today's announcement, so it only cost Starboard $160 million to build its 9% stake.

After the announcement, the stock has already gained more value than Starboard put into it.

Is Tripadvisor a buy?

Priced north of $2 billion today, Tripadvisor represents a potentially compelling value proposition. The company's debt load is modest -- only about $105 million. And while the stock costs nearly 38 times trailing earnings, analysts forecast Tripadvisor will also earn nearly $105 million next year, with even stronger free cash flow. Even valued just on the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) profit, the stock's forward P/E ratio is only about 20. And next year's earnings are expected to grow 40% compared to this year's.

Paying 20 times earnings for a 40% grower? Yeah, that sounds like a pretty "attractive investment opportunity" to me, too.

Should you invest $1,000 in Tripadvisor right now?

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1 No-Brainer Space Stock to Buy Right Now

Sometimes, bad news for a stock investor can be good news for a stock buyer. Take the case of Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR).

One month ago, I asked myself if Intuitive Machines -- a stock I already own -- might be worth buying even more of, after its share price nearly doubled from the price at which I first bought it. Paying twice the price for the very same stock ordinarily wouldn't sound like much of a bargain. In fact, after running the valuation on the stock in May, I ended up hedging my bet and arguing it might be worth buying. Yet it also seemed to cost more than I usually consider an acceptable valuation for an unprofitable space stock.

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But that was then, and this is now. Over the past month, shares of Intuitive Machines have slumped 14%, closing Friday below $11 a share. For existing shareholders, that's disappointing. For investors looking to buy into Intuitive Machines for the first time, however, it may be an opportunity.

Digital art of astronauts standing near a factory on the moon, looking at planet Earth.

Image source: Getty Images.

Introducing Intuitive Machines

In case you're unfamiliar with the company, Intuitive Machines is the very definition of a space stock. The company is best known for being the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon, and for landing an American spacecraft on the moon for the first time since the Apollo era 50 years ago.

It has in fact landed spacecraft on the moon twice now. Granted, neither landing was 100% successful -- both vehicles toppled over on their sides after landing -- but they did touch down safe and intact before keeling over. The company has secured NASA contracts for two more landing attempts, scheduled to take place in 2026 and 2027. And Intuitive Machines has promised to "incorporate ... lessons learned" from the first two partially successful landings to try and improve its performance on the next two.

According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company was paid $132 million for its first landing and $122 million for the second (with both NASA and various commercial customers contributing to the revenue). Intuitive Machines' third mission, IM-3, is said to be priced at $87 million, but that number may be increased, and doesn't yet include payments from commercial customers.

As valuable as these moon landing contracts are, however, they're arguably dwarfed by a completely different kind of contract Intuitive Machines secured from NASA last year. For $4.8 billion, spread across 10 years (so $480 million per year -- quadruple the value of a lander contract), the company has been hired to build a Near Space Network of satellites that will relay communications from low earth orbit to the moon and back.

How to value Intuitive Machines stock

Over the past few years, both stock markets and corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have been valuing (mostly unprofitable) space stocks in a range of 2 to 4 times annual revenue.

Intuitive Machines did $217 million in revenue last year, implying the stock should cost less than $880 million today. And yet it currently costs closer to $1.3 billion; factoring in "shares held by non-controlling interest holders," S&P Global Market Intelligence data suggests the company's implied market capitalization might be as high as $2 billion. So is that too much to pay?

I think not.

Why not? Well, just consider a future in which Intuitive Machines keeps launching one moon lander per year for NASA and its private customers (say, $120 million in revenue), operates its Near Space Network (for another $480 million), and does nothing else at all. Imagine it doesn't provide communications services to private customers with payloads on the moon, launch more often than once per year, or explore any new business opportunities in space.

That's still $600 million a year in revenue, and at a revenue valuation (price-to-sales ratio) of 4, it implies that Intuitive Machines stock should be worth $2.4 billion -- and that's assuming the company does all of this unprofitably. (The price-to-sales ratio of 2 to 4 only applies to unprofitable space companies, remember.) Yet analysts polled by S&P Global anticipate that Intuitive Machines actually will begin reporting profits based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) just two years from now, in 2027.

Even taking the most extreme estimate of the stock's current valuation today, $2 billion, that means the stock is probably already undervalued -- and a buy.

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Rich Smith has positions in Intuitive Machines. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends S&P Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Lockheed Martin Stock Stumbled Today

Stock markets rallied Tuesday as a ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding, just a couple of days after conflict seemed set to expand after a U.S. attack on an Iranian uranium enrichment site. In a social media post Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump said that "ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly 'Plane Wave' to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect!"

However, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) stock was falling as the rest of the market soared. At 3 p.m. ET, Lockheed stock was down 3%.

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A Lockheed Martin F-16 sits on a runway.

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Investors predict falling demand

Lockheed Martin makes weapons systems, both offensive and defensive. Demand rises in times of conflict and falls in more peaceful times. Two weeks ago, when the Israel-Iran conflict spiked with an attack on Iranian nuclear sites, Lockheed stock took off as investors bet on heightened demand for fighter jets and missile systems.

Two weeks later, as future demand for such military products comes into question, Lockheed Martin stock is giving back most of its gains, and, indeed, trading right about back where it was before recent events.

Is Lockheed Martin stock no longer a buy?

All this is logical, but also probably a wrong reaction to the ceasefire news. Granted, active conflict increases demand for weapons systems, in particular consumable weapons systems such as missiles, which, once fired, must be replaced. The theory is that the longer the conflict lasts, the greater the demand.

But, the current ceasefire notwithstanding, there will always be a need for the products Lockheed sells.

Should you invest $1,000 in Lockheed Martin right now?

Before you buy stock in Lockheed Martin, consider this:

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Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $676,023!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $883,692!*

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Lockheed Martin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Plug Power Popped Today

The stock of Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG), maker of hydrogen fuel cells and the hydrogen to fuel them, jumped 5.5% through 12:45 p.m. ET Tuesday after announcing what was -- honestly -- some pretty ho-hum news.

In a press release out this morning, Plug confirmed plans to participate in a pair of imminent investor conferences.

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Hand holds out a fuel cell car putting out H2 bubbles as exhaust.

Image source: Getty Images.

What's on Plug Power's to-do list?

First, Plug said its president and VP of investor relations would present at today's J.P. Morgan Energy, Power, Renewables & Mining Conference in New York City. One day later, the company will send CEO Andy Marsh across the pond to speak at the Roth 15th Annual London Conference.

Plug provided no further details on the contents of either planned presentation, although an investor might surmise the company will continue to hype its recently announced expanded partnership with Australia's Allied Green Ammonia. The two companies are working to set up a 2-gigawatt (GW) hydrogen fuel electrolyzer plant in Uzbekistan, additional to a separate 3-GW plant they want to build in Australia.

Is Plug Power stock a buy?

Neither of the Allied Green projects are really off the ground just yet. The Australian plant is closest to moving from idea to fact, with a final investment decision expected before the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Plug's still losing more than $2 billion per year, and burning nearly $950 million in cash annually. The company is still seeking shareholder approval of a plan to sell more shares to raise cash, and in May had to take out a new $525 million secured term loan facility to roll over old debt and provide cash needed to build out its existing projects.

Therefore, Plug stock remains speculative, and I cannot recommend buying it.

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Before you buy stock in Plug Power, consider this:

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why APA Stock Just Popped

Independent oil and gas producer APA (NASDAQ: APA) gained 3.8% through 1:30 p.m. ET as news continues to pour in concerning Israel's attacks on Iran, and Iran's response to same.

Israeli warplanes struck multiple targets in Iran last night, prompting drone strike reprisals from Iran, and threats of more of the same. Investors worry oil supplies from Middle East producers could be at risk, and oil prices are on the rise in anticipation of this.

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Oil drill.

Image source: Getty Images.

What this means for oil prices

So far this afternoon, OilPrice.com is clocking a 6.5% rise in the price of WTI crude oil to $72.50 per barrel. International benchmark Brent Crude oil is up 6.4% and selling for just under $74 a barrel.

It's a knee-jerk reaction to the Israel-Iran news, to be sure, but don't expect these price rises to disappear anytime soon. To the contrary, as the conflict continues and potentially widens to include neighboring countries, worries could rise even further -- and oil prices along with them.

Is APA stock a buy?

That's not necessarily bad news if you're invested in oil stocks, however. Logically, if the price of oil rises, then the profits of companies that sell oil, and their stock prices, will also rise. In the case of APA, we're looking at a mid-cap energy stock that earned $804 million in profit last year even before prices began rising, and that trades for only about 7.2 times trailing earnings today.

APA also pays a generous 5% dividend yield. Arguably best of all, APA generates superior free cash flow of $1.2 billion, or about 20% more than reported trailing-12-month earnings. This is unusual for an energy stock. It's a strong argument in favor of buying APA stock, whatever happens in the Middle East.

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Before you buy stock in Apa, consider this:

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Sherwin-Williams Stock Just Dropped

Ask Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) why its stock price is going down today, and your reply will probably be to ask Citigroup instead.

This morning, the investment bank downgraded shares of the paint maker from buy to neutral, and Sherwin-Williams stock is down 3.3% through 12:20 p.m. ET in response.

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Smiling couple painting the walls of their house.

Image source: Getty Images.

What Citi thinks about Sherwin-Williams stock

"Housing dynamics" look "suppressed," warns Citi analyst Pat Cunningham in a note covered on StreetInsider.com today. Interest rates are high, and the likelihood of Federal Reserve cuts that would lower those rates looks slim. (Earlier today, J.P. Morgan's chief economist predicted the next Fed meeting will vote "unanimously" to leave rates unchanged.)

In the current economic environment, therefore, Citi says it has little "confidence in a material 2H25 US housing market recovery," nor a "favorable risk/reward" for buying Sherwin-Williams stock at its present price.

Is Sherwin-Williams stock a buy?

With its fortunes tied largely to the health of the residential housing market, Sherwin-Williams stock looks pricey at 34 times earnings, a projected growth rate of only 10%, and a meager dividend yield of just 0.9%. A better bet in the housing sector, thinks Citi, might be construction products company RPM International (NYSE: RPM), whose business is less tied to residential.

Despite its slower (8%) growth rate, RPM pays a dividend twice as big as Sherwin-Williams' (1.8%). And with its price-to-earnings ratio only 23, RPM stock costs half as much.

I'm personally not thrilled with these numbers either (paying 23x earnings for 10% growth doesn't seem much of a bargain). But Citi is right: As expensive as RPM stock looks, at least it's cheaper than Sherwin-Williams.

Should you invest $1,000 in Sherwin-Williams right now?

Before you buy stock in Sherwin-Williams, consider this:

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Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends RPM International and Sherwin-Williams. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why ConocoPhillips Stock Just Popped

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) stock is on the rise Friday morning, up 2.5% through 10:55 a.m. ET, on worrisome news from the Middle East.

On Thursday evening, Israeli warplanes struck multiple targets in Iran, resulting in drone strikes from Iran on Israel. Investors are nervous that conflict in the Middle East will threaten the supply of oil from Mideast suppliers, raising oil prices.

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Oil rig at dawn.

Image source: Getty Images.

What this means for oil prices

So far, investors seem to be right about that. According to the latest data from OilPrice.com, WTI crude oil shot up nearly $5 today, the biggest one-day gain since 2022, to $72.70 per barrel. International benchmark Brent Crude is up a similar amount, selling for just under $74 a barrel.

While this might be a blip, it's a big one. And my hunch is it's not a temporary adjustment, as the conflict between Israel and Iran is likely to get worse before it gets better, and could even draw in neighboring countries, affecting oil supplies from the broader region.

Is ConocoPhillips stock a buy?

From an investors' perspective, of course, these kinds of worries do encourage a focus on oil stocks, which may benefit as oil prices rise, and oil profits increase. In the case of Conoco, we're looking at a global giant that earned $9.2 billion in profit last year even before prices began rising, and that trades for only about 12.6 times trailing earnings today

With a 3.3% dividend yield, the stock should perform well so long as Conoco can maintain a 10% or better earnings growth rate. Mideast tensions should help make that more likely, and lift the stock past analyst forecasts for 7% long-term earnings growth.

All things considered, I think Conoco stock looks like a reasonable way to play the situation.

Should you invest $1,000 in ConocoPhillips right now?

Before you buy stock in ConocoPhillips, consider this:

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Space Stock Redwire Soared Today

Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW) stock jumped a lucky 7.7% Monday morning after the company gave an update on its plan to acquire privately held Edge Autonomy, "a leader in providing innovative autonomous systems, advanced optics, and resilient energy solutions" (i.e., drones).

As you may recall, Redwire announced in January that it will buy the maker of Penguin unmanned aerial vehicles for $925 million, payable in $150 million cash plus $775 million in Redwire stock.

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Soldier operating quadcopter drone against a sunset.

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The more things change, the more they stay the same

That's still the basic plan, but this morning Redwire announced that the purchase will actually be made with $160 million in cash (so $10 million more) and $765 million in shares of Redwire common stock (so $10 million less). Furthermore, $100 million of the "cash" portion of the price will be "paid" in the form of an unsecured promissory note from a Redwire subsidiary.

Is this good news or bad news for Redwire?

Why would Redwire make this change, and is it good news or bad news for the stock?

Well, consider that Redwire stock cost less than $15 before the Edge acquisition was announced but is worth nearly $20 today. Consider too that the Redwire stock being paid to Edge is still valued back near its January price -- $15.07 per share. So Edge is already making out like a bandit, receiving shares worth almost $20 when it expected to get shares worth less than $15. Owners of the private company have already made a tidy profit.

It makes sense that Redwire now wants to pay less in shares and more in cash. The adjustment is modestly good news for the stock -- probably not worth a 7% share price bump, but still good news.

Should you invest $1,000 in Redwire right now?

Before you buy stock in Redwire, consider this:

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Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

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Why Planet Labs Stock Shot to the Moon Today

Planet Labs (NYSE: PL), a small space stock that owns one of the world's biggest constellations of Earth observation satellites, exploded higher after beating on earnings last night.

Heading into the fiscal Q1 2026 earnings report, analysts expected Planet to report a $0.03-per-share adjusted loss on sales of $62.3 million. Instead, it reported $66.3 million in sales and break-even profits. Investors applauded, sending the stock up 52.1% through 1:50 p.m. ET.

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Lots of satellites orbiting Earth.

Image source: Getty Images.

Planet Labs' Q1 earnings

The $66.3 million set a new quarterly sales record for Planet Labs, and was up 10% year over year, with 97% of the revenue recurring. Gross profit margins expanded from 52% a year ago to 55% this time around.

The company still lost money when earnings are calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) -- $0.04 per share -- but Planet's non-GAAP result was a wash at $0.00 earned. Best of all, Planet Labs for the first time ever reported positive free cash flow for a quarter: $8 million.

Is Planet Labs stock a buy?

Now the question is: Can Planet Labs keep up the good work?

CFO Ashley Johnson thinks so, advising that "We continue to have good visibility to meaningful revenue growth rate acceleration." Fiscal Q2 sales are projected to be about $66 million, roughly flat sequentially, but up about 8% year over year. Earnings are likely to be negative, though, and free cash flow as well.

For the full fiscal year, Planet sees sales growing between 9% and 15%, to $265 million or even $280 million. I suspect earnings and free cash flow will still end up negative for the year, but Planet's getting closer to sustainable free cash flow -- and more and more deserving of a buy rating.

Should you invest $1,000 in Planet Labs Pbc right now?

Before you buy stock in Planet Labs Pbc, consider this:

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Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why MongoDB Stock Popped Today

MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB) stock, provider of cloud-based database services, soared 15.8% through 11:15 a.m. ET Thursday after announcing tremendous earnings last night.

Heading into its fiscal Q1 2026 report, analysts forecast MongoDB would earn $0.66 per share on sales of $527.5 million. Instead, MongoDB reported sales of $549 million -- and EPS $1 on the nose.

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Green arrow going up.

Image source: Getty Images.

MongoDB's Q1 earnings

Not all the news was good. Sales surged 22% year over year at MongoDB, but the gross profit margin the company earned on those sales contracted, from 73% to just 71%. Moreover, the $1 "profit" MongoDB reported was only an adjusted, non-GAAP number. Actual earnings as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) remained negative, with MongoDB reporting a $0.46 GAAP loss for the quarter.

Still, that was less than half last year's Q1 GAAP loss of $1.10 per share. Even better, MongoDB grew its free cash flow 74% year over year, to $105.9 million in the quarter.

Is MongoDB stock a buy?

Thus, while still GAAP-unprofitable (MongoDB has never reported a GAAP profit) and lacking a P/E ratio, MongoDB has now generated nearly $166 million in free cash flow over the last 12 reported months, a new record. Granted, this still gives MongoDB stock a very expensive-looking price-to-free cash flow ratio of 114 -- but at least it's a positive number.

And MongoDB is still growing. Management says sales will probably exceed analyst estimates at $548 million to $553 million next quarter, and more than $2.25 billion for the year. Non-GAAP earnings forecasts also came in ahead of expectations.

Now, if only someone could convince MongoDB to give guidance in the form of free cash flow, maybe we could figure out if this stock is a buy!

Should you invest $1,000 in MongoDB right now?

Before you buy stock in MongoDB, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and MongoDB wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends MongoDB. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Micron Stock Popped Today

The stock of semiconductor memory chipmaker -- including for artificial intelligence (AI) server farms -- Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) is hopping Thursday morning, up a solid 4.4% through 10:55 a.m. ET.

And you can thank the friendly analysts at Mizuho for that.

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Green arrow going up.

Image source: Getty Images.

What Mizuho says about Micron

Mizuho raised its price target on Micron stock yesterday after close of trading, reports The Fly, to $130 per share, with an outperform rating. Looking ahead to Micron's fiscal Q2 2025 earnings report, which is expected June 25, Mizuho expects to see strong guidance based on a couple of big numbers.

Global sales of high bandwidth memory (HBM) are expected to grow 55% industrywide through 2027, while Micron's sales of HBM are expected to grow 90% annually.

That means not only is Micron growing much faster than other memory makers, but it's also probably stealing a lot of market share from its rivals -- both things being great news for Micron stock, if they're correct. The analyst expects this to translate into both sales growth and "margin upside."

Is Micron stock a buy?

One hopes that Mizuho's right about that, because as things stand right now, Micron stock doesn't look terribly attractive. Earnings for the past 12 months are only $4.7 billion, giving the stock about a 25x P/E ratio -- not obscenely expensive, but certainly not "cheap."

Free cash flow at the memory maker is even worse, just $606 million for the past year, resulting in a price-to-free cash flow ratio of... 190! (Which does seem kind of obscene.) Still, Micron's a cyclical stock in the famously cyclical semiconductor industry, where "cheap" stocks can become "expensive," and vice versa, in the blink of an eye.

The best time to buy such stocks can be when their valuations look the worst -- like today.

Should you invest $1,000 in Micron Technology right now?

Before you buy stock in Micron Technology, consider this:

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Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

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See the 10 stocks »

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why ChargePoint Stock Plunged Today

Shares of electric vehicle charging company ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE: CHPT) short-circuited Thursday morning, plunging 19.8% through 10:05 a.m. ET after the company reported twice as big a loss as anticipated for its fiscal 2026 first quarter.

Heading into the company's earnings report, analysts had been forecasting that ChargePoint would report losses of $0.06 per share on more than $100 million in sales in the period, which ended April 30. In fact, ChargePoint's losses were $0.12 per share, and sales fell by 8.8% year over year to $97.6 million.

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1 dotted red arrow glowing and going down.

Image source: Getty Images.

ChargePoint's big Q1 loss

The news wasn't all bad. ChargePoint did improve its gross profit margin from 22% a year ago to 29%. Operating costs also declined, which improved operating margins.

On the bottom line, quarterly losses were the aforementioned $0.12 per share -- not great, but at least better than the $0.17 per share that ChargePoint lost a year ago. However, part of the improvement was due to ChargePoint issuing a lot of new shares, spreading its losses among 8.4% more shares outstanding. Its GAAP net loss was $57.1 million, down 20% from $71.8 million a year prior.

Is ChargePoint stock a sell?

Still and all, investors seem unhappy with the report, and at least part of the reason for that is management's guidance. ChargePoint predicts its fiscal Q2 2026 sales will land in the $90 million to $100 million range. About three-quarters of that range is less than it earned in fiscal Q1, suggesting the strong possibility that revenue will shrink sequentially. That contrasts poorly with the predictions of Wall Street analysts, whose consensus view was that ChargePoint's top line would grow respectably to more than $108 million in fiscal Q2.

It almost goes without saying that ChargePoint didn't guide investors to expect any profits in its fiscal Q2. The best the company was willing to offer on that point was that it "remains committed to its plans of achieving positive non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA during a quarter in fiscal year 2026." So, it's targeting sort of a profit in at least one quarter, but it wouldn't say which one.

That vague hope hardly seems a good reason to buy ChargePoint stock.

Should you invest $1,000 in ChargePoint right now?

Before you buy stock in ChargePoint, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and ChargePoint wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Space Station? Would You Believe Less Than $4 Billion?

It took 13 years, 15 nations, and roughly $100 billion to build the International Space Station (ISS). But one company thinks it can build a replacement for as little as $3 billion -- or less.

That company's name is Voyager Technologies ... and it's about to list an initial public offering (IPO).

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Astronaut looking at Earth out of a huge window on a space station.

Image source: Getty Images.

Details, details

I first wrote about the impending Voyager Technologies IPO back in February, but to be honest, there wasn't a whole lot to say about it then. Voyager made its first filing for initial public offering under a guarantee of confidentiality, you see. As a result, most of what we knew about Voyager's IPO at the time came directly from Voyager itself, via information published on its own website.

That just changed.

Last week, Voyager finally filed its IPO prospectus (termed an S-1) publicly. And while a lot of important data blocks in the document remain blank and yet to be filled in, Voyager did add a lot of background information on its business.

Voyager is best known today as one of four teams competing for NASA contracts to kick-start Voyager's efforts to create a replacement -- privately owned -- space station. But Voyager actually describes itself as an "innovation-driven defense technology and space solutions company," suggesting much more widely ranging interests, above and beyond just building a space station replacement. For this reason, structurally, the company has organized itself in three business divisions: Defense & National Security, Space Solutions, and Starlab Space Stations.

Details on Starlab in particular

The Starlab division will participate in an international joint venture to operate the proposed Starlab space station. "Equity" partners in this venture include Palantir Technologies, Airbus, Japan's Mitsubishi, and Canada's MDA Space. Voyager owns 67% of the JV, Airbus 30.5%, while Palantir, Mitsubishi, and MDA own less than 1% each. Hilton and Northrop Grumman are non-equity "strategic" partners performing various roles in the venture, and SpaceX is under contract to launch the space station aboard its Starship launch vehicle in 2029.

Voyager notes that its space station concept features a "proven metallic habitat design" that can "be deployed and achieve initial operational capability in a single launch on SpaceX's Starship." This single module, says Voyager, will replace "approximately 45% of the pressurized volume of the U.S. Segment (non-Russian) of the ISS." Two launches should therefore essentially replace the entire working volume of the U.S. portion of the space station.

And here's the best part: Whereas ISS cost $100 billion to build, Voyager said it expects to build and launch its Starlab for "approximately $2.8 billion to $3.3 billion."

How to value the Voyager IPO

That's a lot cheaper than the original recipe ISS cost. It's also a lot less cash than Voyager has on hand (just $175.5 million at last report), which explains why Voyager must IPO to raise the cash it needs to build Starlab.

The bigger question for investors is: Should you help them out with that, by handing over your cash to Voyager at the IPO? And that's a question of valuation.

Voyager generated $136.1 million in revenue in 2023, then grew its revenue 6% to $144.2 million in 2024. Much of this money has come from NASA, the company's largest customer, accounting for 25.6% of 2024 revenue.

NASA has awarded the company $217.5 million toward developing an ISS replacement. Of this, $147.2 million has already been paid out between 2022 and 2023. Including NASA, the company says it has won "approximately $800 million" in contracts and Space Act Agreements from the U.S. government, which gives you an idea of future revenue prospects. (Out of these contracts, $93.1 million is considered backlog -- work for which Voyager has "a written contract or purchase order" either in-hand or awaiting execution).

As for costs, well, those are large, significantly larger than revenue at present, resulting in a $65.6 million loss in 2024. Net losses per (still privately traded) share are about $9.88, up 88% year over year. And investors should expect losses to grow as the company spends to get Starlab completed and ready for launch. Revenue probably won't begin offsetting rising costs until 2029, when the space station launches and begins operations.

Should you buy the Voyager Technologies IPO?

Long story short, the prospectus just filed by Voyager paints the picture of a speculative investment, one with substantial revenue, but perhaps not enough to justify its projected $2 billion to $3 billion valuation at IPO.

Even at the low end of this valuation, $147 million in trailing-12-month sales implies a 13.6 price-to-sales ratio on the stock. As for P/E, well, Voyager has no earnings on which to hang a price-to-earnings valuation, and probably won't have any earnings for another four to five years.

Does all this mean you shouldn't invest in the Voyager IPO? Not necessarily. But it does mean you should make any "investment" by being fully conscious that what you're really doing is speculating on the venture not going bust. And you should probably examine your risk tolerance before doing that.

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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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