Key Points

• It's becoming increasingly apparent that the current crop of obesity drugs can treat other conditions, too.

• A team of French medical researchers has been somewhat successful in treating a particular skin condition.

• 10 stocks we like better than Viking Therapeutics ›

Numerous companies in the healthcare sector are feverishly busy developing obesity drugs, as these products have taken the medical world by storm. One of the more prominent developers, clinical-stage biotech Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX), saw its share price rise by almost 4% on Thursday on the back of encouraging research about a certain property of such treatments.

The stock's rise was more than good enough to convincingly beat the 0.3% bump higher of the benchmark S&P 500 index on the day.

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Unexpected benefits

Not only are obesity drugs effective in reducing body weight, it seems they have knock-on effects on certain health conditions, too -- which is one of the major reasons investors have been hot on companies selling or developing them.

Thursday morning, a report published on Fox News's website detailed a new study indicating that GLP-1 agonists (substances that mimic a hormone that produces a feeling of satiety after eating) can have a positive effect on a particularly bothersome skin condition. This is hidradenitis suppurativa, which is characterized by small lumps that develop under the skin.

Citing research conducted by a group of French doctors and published in the JAMA Dermatology medical journal, the media outlet wrote that GLP-1 agonists appear to have general anti-inflammatory properties. At the very least it seems they might help in the treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa; the researchers found that administration of GLP-1s were "beneficial" to the condition.

Double barreled

Viking's VK2735 is actually a dual agonist, as it targets not only the GLP-1 receptor but also a receptor known as glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP).

Regardless, since it's partially a GLP-1 agonist, it's likely, if this research is accurate, to benefit those with hidradenitis suppurativa. That would add significantly to its value if Viking manages to fully develop and ultimately commercialize the very promising drug.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of August 25, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Viking Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The company ended its 2025 in style with an outstanding fourth-quarter earnings report.

• This despite a slight decline in adjusted profitability.

• 10 stocks we like better than Bill Holdings ›

Next-generation fintech Bill Holdings (NYSE: BILL), which specializes in cloud-based software solutions that assist with complex financial operations, was a hot stock on Thursday. It's little wonder, as the company delivered fiscal fourth-quarter results that obliterated analyst estimates.

Investors rewarded this by pushing the stock's price up by 18% on the day, far more than the S&P 500 index's 0.3% gain.

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High billings

For the quarter, its final frame of fiscal 2025, Bill Holdings earned total revenue of $383 million for a sturdy year-over-year increase of 12%. The company's "core" revenue, consisting of its bread-and-butter subscription and transaction fees, advanced 15% to almost $346 million. Of the two components, transaction fees saw the higher growth, at 18% versus subscription's 5%.

As for profitability, Bill Holdings landed comfortably in the black, although profitability eroded a bit. Its non-GAAP (adjusted) net income was $61.6 million ($0.53 per share), against $63.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Both of those headline figures were more than good enough to top the consensus analyst projections. The prognosticators following Bill Holdings's stock were modeling revenue slightly above $376.5 million and adjusted net income of only $0.41 per share.

Management attributed the considerable improvements to several factors, including the rollout of new software and payment products, plus market expansion. The company now counts roughly 500,000 small and midsize businesses as its users, as well as 9,000 accounting firms.

1.6 billion reasons for optimism

Those factors should keep fueling growth, if Bill Holdings's guidance is accurate. For full-year fiscal 2026, the company is expecting revenue of just under $1.59 billion to almost $1.63 billion. This would represent an increase of at least 9% on the fiscal 2025 result.

Bill Holdings also forecast adjusted net income of $236 million to $260 million, which would translate to between $2 and $2.20 per share.

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Key Points

• This bear looked awfully mighty following its latest earnings release.

• It had a beat-and-raise second quarter, after all.

• 10 stocks we like better than Build-A-Bear Workshop ›

Investors sure were bullish on Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE: BBW) on Thursday, as they bid the custom plushie retailer's stock up in excess of 14% that trading session. In retrospect, that wasn't a stunning development, as the company posted convincing beats in its second quarter and raised certain guidance items in the process. That performance crushed the 0.3% rise of the S&P 500 index.

An ever-growing bear

Build-A-Bear Workshop, which, as its name implies, allows customers to design and create their own stuffed toys, published that period's figures Thursday morning. They revealed the company's revenue notched a new all-time record for the second quarter at over $124 million. That number was 11% higher year over year.

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Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income enjoyed a far more sprightly double-digit bounce, increasing nearly 41% to almost $12.4 million, or $0.94 per share.

Both headline figures easily beat the consensus analyst estimates of $116 million for revenue and $0.74 per share for net profit.

Build-A-Bear Workshop had success on several fronts, which contributed to the surprisingly high revenue and profitability growth. The company said its consolidated e-commerce demand (online orders fulfilled by either its stores or warehouses) surged 15% higher, as did its revenue from franchising.

Puffed-up guidance

With those kinds of improvements, Build-A-Bear Workshop clearly felt confident enough to raise certain full-year guidance items. For the entirety of 2025, it now anticipates that revenue will rise in the mid- to high-single-digit percentage rates, with pre-tax income landing at $62 million to $70 million. The company also expects to add 50 to 60 new "experience locations; these total over 600 at present. Build-A-Bear Workshop did not proffer net income guidance.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of August 25, 2025

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Key Points

• The medical device specialist unveiled its fiscal third-quarter results.

• Some analysts and investors had been hoping for better performance from the company's leading division.

• 10 stocks we like better than Cooper Companies ›

The stock of medical device specialist Cooper Companies (NASDAQ: COO) was hurting on the second-to-last trading day of the week. It sank to a 13% loss on the day, following the publication of the company's latest quarterly earnings release. In contrast, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) successfully treaded water, with a 0.3% increase.

Cloudy vision?

Cooper's third quarter of fiscal 2025 saw the company book slightly over $1.06 billion in revenue, representing a year-over-year improvement of 6%. Of its two divisions, the larger one, CooperVision (CVI), matched that percentage increase by contributing more than $718 million to the top line. CooperSurgical's (CSI) sales, meanwhile, rose 4% to almost $342 million.

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That $1.06 billion was broadly in line with the consensus analyst estimate, but the company admitted that it didn't meet its own expectations.

On the bottom line, non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted net income also headed higher. It came in at a bit over $220 million ($1.10 per share), bettering the year-ago result by 15%. That per-share number was also a shade higher than the $1.06 average estimate of pundits tracking Cooper stock.

It was clear that the market was expecting better. In a post-earnings research update, Piper Sandler analyst Jason Bednar wrote that Cooper's leading division didn't live up to many hopes. According to reports, its organic growth figure was the lowest since the Great Recession.

Annual growth on the way, company says

Cooper proffered guidance for both its current (fourth) quarter and the entirety of fiscal 2025. For the latter period, it's modeling just under $4.08 billion to nearly $4.1 billion in revenue, and adjusted net income of $4.08 to $4.12 per share. The company earned slightly below $3.9 billion on the top line in fiscal 2024, and $3.69 per share for adjusted net income.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of August 25, 2025

Eric Volkman 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.

Key Points

• An analyst cranked his price target higher on the shares.

• He also maintained his equivalent of a buy recommendation.

• 10 stocks we like better than Broadcom ›

Hardly for the first time in this "year of the chip stock" on the back of eager artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) was the subject of an analyst's price target raise on Thursday. This was compounded by the disappointment about a peer company's recent performance, resulting in some investors fleeing to Broadcom.

Ultimately, Broadcom stock closed Thursday's trading session nearly 3% higher, easily trouncing the S&P 500 index's 0.3% increase.

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A $20 change

Thursday's Broadcom booster was Oppenheimer's Rick Schafer, who upped his fair value assessment on the company to $325 per share. That was a bit of distance up from his preceding $305. In making that change he maintained his outperform (buy, in other words) recommendation on the shares.

It's no coincidence that Schafer's updated take came one week before the company is scheduled to post its third-quarter results. His new analysis addressed both that quarter and the following frame, according to reports, with Schafer predicting that both will be impressive given the monster appetite for artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.

One of Broadcom's major appeals these days is its expertise in application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), essentially custom chips for advanced functionalities like AI. Schafer pointed out that the company is a leader in this product category.

Looking good next to the big peer

On Thursday, Broadcom also benefited from the fact that it is not Nvidia. The chip giant stumbled that day, tripped up by a second quarter of fiscal 2026 earnings report that left many investors disappointed. It's likely more than a few of these folks defected to Broadcom as a better play on AI processing hardware.

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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 $659,823!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,113,120!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of August 25, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• A double beat on analyst estimates didn't compensate for tariff uncertainty.

• On a brighter note, the retailer managed to grow its revenue and post the highest "comps" in years.

• 10 stocks we like better than Best Buy ›

It's safe to say many investors felt that Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) stock wasn't an especially good buy on Thursday. Although the company posted second quarter of fiscal 2026 results that topped analyst estimates, it signaled that it remains vulnerable to the tariffs being imposed by the Trump administration.

As a result, its shares lost nearly 4% of their value that trading session, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) inched up by 0.3%.

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Thinking about tariffs

Best Buy's revenue for the period was slightly under $9.44 billion, which was up from the nearly $9.29 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2025. That improvement was on the back of a 1.6% year-over-year rise in comparable sales -- the company's highest growth rate in three years. This, in turn, was fueled by a relatively sharp (5%) increase in online commerce.

However, net income on both a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and non-GAAP (adjusted) basis went south during the quarter. Under the former standard, it was $186 million, well down from the $291 million of fiscal 2025's second frame. On an adjusted, per-share basis, it slid to $1.28 from $1.34.

At least Best Buy topped the consensus analyst estimates. On average, pundits tracking the retailer's stock were estimating it would book $9.23 billion in revenue, and a $1.22 per share figure for adjusted net income.

In the conference call discussing the quarter, company CEO Corie Barry intimated that the tariffs, which have affected pricing, are expected to remain an issue.

"Given the uncertainty of potential tariff impacts in the back half, both on consumers overall as well as our business, we feel it is prudent to maintain the annual guidance we provided last quarter," she said.

In-line guidance

That guidance calls for revenue of $41.1 billion to $41.9 billion this fiscal year, and adjusted net income of $6.15 to $6.30. The consensus analyst top-line estimate is a touch over $41.4 billion, while that for adjusted profitability stands at $6.19.

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The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Best Buy 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 $659,823!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,113,120!*

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See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 25, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Best Buy. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The company trumpeted a fresh investment into an artificial intelligence developer.

• This is Latent AI, which specializes in what Voyager calls "mission-critical intelligence."

• 10 stocks we like better than Voyager Technologies ›

Space and defense stock Voyager Technologies (NYSE: VOYG) took off like a rocket packed with fuel on Monday. The company's shares gained more than 13% in value after it divulged an investment into an artificial intelligence (AI) business. That trajectory was far more impressive than that of the bellwether S&P 500 index, which only cruised flat that trading session.

Time for an AI investment

Monday morning, Voyager announced that investment, which is being channeled into privately held company Latent AI. Voyager described Latent AI as a developer that "optimizes AI for contested and constrained environments, bringing faster, smarter and more resilient decision-making to the edge."

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Although it's obviously proud of this move, Voyager did not provide any specifics about the deal. It did not provide the amount it's plowing into Latent AI nor what stake in the company it might now hold.

It did say that with the new funds coming in, Latent AI will have scope to accelerate development of its AI and to "broaden their hardware reach." The goal is to put AI-ready processors in Voyager-built craft.

Nevertheless, Latent AI feels like it'll be a good fit for Voyager, which aims to develop and build space stations. As the former company concentrates on AI that quickly produces output in high-pressure situations, its solutions might serve space missions very well.

Voyage into the unknown

Without details of the deal, it's hard to make a fully educated guess as to how it'll affect the fundamentals of Voyager, which has consistently posted net losses of late. I don't feel it'll be a make-or-break event for the company. However, if the partnership between the two businesses is fruitful, it could give Voyager quite the technological edge.

Should you invest $1,000 in Voyager Technologies right now?

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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 $668,155!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,106,071!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Eric Volkman 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.

Key Points

• Positive news from a rival sparked a sympathy rally.

• This was aided by a positive research note published by an analyst.

• 10 stocks we like better than Viking Therapeutics ›

Good news from a peer and a positive analyst update were the elements driving Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) stock higher on the first trading day of the week.

The clinical-stage biotech, closely watched by some because of its investigational weight-loss drug VK2735, saw its share price improve by more than 5% as a result. By contrast, the S&P 500 index basically traded flat across the trading session.

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What's good for the goose...

The news driving Viking and other obesity drug developers came from a leading company in that space, Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk.

Late Friday, the Denmark-based pharmaceutical announced that Wegovy earned approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat a new indication, noncirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a liver disorder.

Companies like Viking and Novo Nordisk have been on the radar of many of an investor because of the obvious side benefits to obesity drugs. The latter company earning a fresh approval to treat a medical issue besides obesity provides a significant morale boost to shareholders of weight loss drug developers.

Bullish stance reiterated

Also improving sentiment on Viking stock was that new analyst note. Monday morning before market open, Piper Sandler's Biren Amin reiterated his overweight (buy, in other words) recommendation and $71-per-share price target on the biotech.

Amin's focus, according to reports, wasn't Novo Nordisk's recent news; rather, he was cheered by the prospects for VK2735. Viking is putting an oral version of the medication through clinical trials, and the readout of a phase 3 study is expected within this calendar quarter. In his estimation, if oral VK2735 continues to do well in testing and is brought to market, it could garner sales of $2.1 billion.

Should you invest $1,000 in Viking Therapeutics right now?

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The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Viking Therapeutics 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 $668,155!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,106,071!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,070% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% 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 August 18, 2025

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk and Viking Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The right-leaning media company has settled a large defamation lawsuit filed against it.

• It will pay $67 million per the terms of the arrangement.

• 10 stocks we like better than Newsmax ›

On a rather forgettable Monday for the stock exchange, the performance of media company Newsmax (NYSE: NMAX) was exceptional. On news that it had settled a high-profile lawsuit, relieved investors piled into the stock to lift it to a 15% gain on the day. This made it quite the outlier, as the S&P 500 index essentially closed flat that trading session.

Making peace for $67 million

That morning, Newsmax announced that it had reached a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, which in 2021 brought a defamation lawsuit against the company. Dominion accused Newsmax of making defamatory statements about its business, particularly in connection with its involvement in the 2020 presidential election. The settlement amount is $67 million.

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Newsmax said that this figure would be paid out in installments over the course of three of the company's fiscal years. It added that the payments would be funded through its revenue.

While $67 million is a considerable amount, it's far less than the $1.6 billion in damages Dominion was originally seeking. It's little wonder that investors were so cheered by the news.

Settlements are the way

In its press release on the settlement, Newsmax continued to insist that it was not in the wrong. It wrote that "it was critically important for the American people to hear both sides of the election disputes that arose in 2020. We stand by our coverage as fair, balanced, and conducted within professional standards of journalism."

This lawsuit isn't the only significant one Newsmax has seen fit to settle with opponents recently. Earlier this year it agreed to pay around $40 million in cash and grant a five-year warrant for 2,000 shares of preferred stock to Smartmatic, another voting systems company that brought a similar lawsuit against the media company.

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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 $668,155!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,106,071!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Eric Volkman 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.

Key Points

• An analyst raised his price target on the stock by 12%.

• He's not recommending it as a buy, however.

• 10 stocks we like better than UnitedHealth Group ›

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), by far the health insurance stock that's gotten most of the market's attention over the past few trading sessions, had a good Monday on the exchange. Its shares added nearly 2% in value that trading session on news of an analyst's price target raise. That bump was high enough to top the S&P 500's (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) flatline performance.

The Berkshire bump

UnitedHealth was a star stock late last week, when it was revealed that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway had taken a $1.6 billion stake in the company's equity. On Monday, lingering positive sentiment on UnitedHealth was boosted by that price target bump.

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It came from Bank of America Securities' Kevin Fischbeck, who made a fairly generous lift in his fair value assessment to $325 from his preceding level of $290. This didn't make him a bull on the stock, however, as he held fast to his existing neutral recommendation.

Interestingly, according to reports, Fischbeck's move wasn't necessarily based on the Buffett team's entrance into the stock. The Berkshire buy, according to the analyst, is merely confirmation that the company is undervalued. In his view, UnitedHealth and other big companies that run managed care organizations (MCOs) have seen only temporary slumps in profitability lately.

Not a great pick for the short term

Given that, wrote Fischbeck, investors patient enough to hold UnitedHealth for five years or so could see meaningful share price gains. The pundit feels that the company doesn't have good prospects for achieving this within a shorter time frame -- a key reason for maintaining his neutral stance.

Should you invest $1,000 in UnitedHealth Group right now?

Before you buy stock in UnitedHealth Group, 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 UnitedHealth Group 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 $668,155!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,106,071!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,070% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% 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 August 18, 2025

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The so-called "baby Berkshire" isn't nearly as popular as its far larger namesake.

• Its business model is similar, although it's suffered some dings lately.

• 10 stocks we like better than Markel Group ›

While we can't categorize conglomerate Markel Group (NYSE: MKL) as a beaten-down stock, it certainly hasn't been an outperformer of late. While some peers in the finance and insurance sectors soared well higher over the past few years, it's risen modestly by comparison.

Yet management is working to streamline it back into the high performer that once earned it the tag of a "baby Berkshire" (referring to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway). I think that regeneration project is already yielding results.

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Buffett junior?

Like Berkshire, Markel is anchored by insurance operations while holding stakes in fixed-income securities and publicly traded companies. It also, through Markel Ventures, manages a portfolio of privately held businesses.

When the company's business model works, it works beautifully -- the insurance side of it is large, relatively steady, and potentially quite profitable. At times when the more up-and-down investments and Ventures are doing well, Markel's overall fundamentals can really jump. In leaner periods, the relatively steady insurance operations may serve to compensate.

The problem is, compared to its typical performance in years past, the insurance business has been relatively sluggish recently, and those investments weren't all that hot either.

Yet the transformation project seems to be having an impact. In the company's most recently reported quarter, the operating income from investments leaped more than eight times higher on a year-over-year basis to more than $822 million.

This, combined with a 17% improvement in that metric for Markel Ventures (to nearly $208 million), more than compensated for the 27% dive in the insurance segment to $128 million. All told, Markel's overall operating income for the quarter nearly tripled, to $1.1 billion from the year-ago tally of under $410 million.

That's one big ship

A sprawling insurance business can be tough to turn around, which is why it might take a bit of time to right the foundational Markel operating unit. Still, the company's reorganization and restructuring seems to be sprucing up operations, and I think insurance will soon follow. To me, that's plenty of reason to buy Markel stock now.

Should you invest $1,000 in Markel Group right now?

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Key Points

• You wouldn't be richer, that's for sure.

• The price nose-dived by nearly 40%, and it was hardly the worst performer among its peer group.

• 10 stocks we like better than Trulieve Cannabis ›

It hasn't been easy to make a buck investing in the marijuana sector, no matter its ultimate potential when and if de facto legalization occurs in the U.S. Even one of its brighter lights, Trulieve Cannabis (OTC: TCNNF), has seen its share price wither. Yet I wouldn't abandon hope for the legitimate pot business generally, and particularly this smart operator.

Up in smoke

Yes, it's tough to believe in the future of publicly traded weed companies. Like many of its peers, Trulieve hasn't been a stock market favorite for a while. A $1,000 investment into its equity made just three years ago would have melted to slightly under $610 as I write this.

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That latter figure would have been notably lower, though, if it wasn't for a recent price spike following the glimmer of hope that was Trulieve's latest earnings release.

No, it wasn't profitable in its second quarter, but for a weed business it wasn't far underwater either -- non-GAAP (adjusted) net loss was $8 million, against breakeven the previous year. And it's at least maintaining the revenue line, which was essentially unchanged at $302 million.

Meanwhile it's still in expansion mode, having opened three dispensaries during the quarter (two in its home state of Florida, and the other in Ohio). Better, it's got plenty of the green -- no, not marijuana, rather cold, hard cash. Thanks to the fact that it's cash flow-positive and its cash, equivalents and restricted cash grew by almost 13% year over year to $401 million.

Trudging toward reform

The big play in the pot business is to find a company that has enough scratch to survive the lean times we're currently in. Both the (admittedly slow) potential decriminalization of marijuana by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and a financial services reform bill are making their way through the corridors of Federal power, on plenty of public support for change to our pot laws.

I think this will happen eventually, and patient investors in the better marijuana purveyors will do well. Hanging on to an investment in Truelieve should reap rewards.

Should you invest $1,000 in Trulieve Cannabis right now?

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Key Points

• The ever-rising social media star posted gangbusters results in its second quarter.

• That wasn't only because of its cutting-edge ad technology, although that certainly helped.

• 10 stocks we like better than Reddit ›

One of the hottest tech companies on the stock market is also, in a way, one of its more old-fashioned. Reddit's (NYSE: RDDT) website doesn't feature flashy graphics or funky designs; rather, it's a set of online discussions about almost any topic imaginable.

This outwardly mundane presentation hides a high-potential operation that has more than proved it can deliver the goods for investors. Given that, I think the stock price growth of the dowdy-looking Reddit can trounce that of social media peers Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) and Snap (NYSE: SNAP) over the coming year.

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The social media rock star of the moment

The excitement over Reddit across the past few days stems from its second-quarter earnings report, published Friday morning to a thunderously positive reception by the market (which sent the share price more than 21% skyward in morning trading alone).

Revenue surged 78% higher on a year-over-year basis to $500 million, powered by all-important ad sales that rose 84% to $465 million. The bottom line according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) flipped to a well-in-the-black profit of $89 million, against a $10 million deficit in the same quarter of 2024. Free cash flow (FCF) ballooned by $84 million across that stretch to $111 million. Both headline figures blew past analyst estimates.

As for operational metrics, the company's count for daily active uniques (DAUq) -- users that it defines as those "whom we can identify with a unique identifier who has visited a page on the Reddit website ... or opened a Reddit application at least once during a 24-hour period" -- leaped by 21% year over year to over 21 million souls. How's that for engagement?

Reddit's guidance for its current (third) quarter was similarly impressive. It's projecting $535 million to $545 million for revenue, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $185 million to $195 million. Analysts were anticipating a top line of barely over $473 million.

The right site at the right time

So, what's the secret sauce for Reddit?

Sure, management has launched several clever, growth-fueling initiatives, including dynamic product ads (DPA), rolled out in May. These spots match topics of the site's "subreddits," and embed within them to serve users who are obviously or apparently looking to buy such products/services. In the ideal case, the ads are doubly beneficial, as a shopper in need of guidance gets a tailored recommendation, and a theoretically ideal consumer is targeted by an advertiser.

Also in the realm of ads, Reddit is future-forward with its embrace of artificial intelligence (AI) tools for ad creation. With these, an advertiser can garner real-time information on trends in the discussion threads, plus integrate positive user comments into the ads themselves.

But I don't believe Reddit's big leaps are mostly due to these (admittedly impressive) technologies. Rather, I think it's more a function of what the company offers as a service. With the ability to generate meaningful discussion about almost anything and provide answers for a near-limitless variety of questions or concerns, Reddit is growing in both authority and utility.

As successful as Meta's Facebook and Instagram and Snap's offerings have been, they're not really venues for information swapping or edification. They're fun places to share things with friends and acquaintances. However, you would be hard-pressed to quickly access an effective informational discussion on the history of the Habsburg Empire.

I think analysts tracking social media and big-tech stocks have cottoned on to this. They're modeling nearly 60% (!) annual growth for Reddit on the top line for full-year 2025, with a 31% boost in 2026. The collective estimate for per-share profitability is $1.86, a night-and-day improvement over a $3.33 loss in 2024. That should balloon by 61% (!!) in 2026.

Neither revenue nor profitability are expected to surge anywhere near that high for Meta from 2025 to 2026. Analysts forecast Snap will improve its bottom line by 42% across that stretch, but with revenue growth of 11%.

High performance attracts investors, of course, so Reddit's valuations are comparatively much higher than its social media cousins (a dizzying 121 forward price-to-earnings ratio, for example, against Snap's under 37, and Meta's sub-29). Yet this company has clearly captured the zeitgeist and possesses the user stickiness, the resources, and the managerial acumen to keep up those massive growth rates.

Of that trio, then, I would unhesitatingly buy Reddit stock.

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

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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 $636,563!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,108,033!*

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Key Points

• The company must operate under strict regulations, as it is developing certain medicines based on psychedelic substances.

• Such compounds are currently illegal for sale or consumption throughout much of America.

• These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires ›

By their nature, clinical-stage biotech companies can be volatile investments. Even by that standard, MindMed (NASDAQ: MNMD) is quite a risky play; after all, a key element of its business strategy is to develop brain health medications based on compounds that are illegal on the federal level in the U.S.

Threading the needle with the law

For this reason, even a modest relaxation of current laws could really benefit MindMed. It isn't cheap or easy to operate within the many restrictions imposed due to the legal status of psychedelics (these can be used for medical research purposes, however the limits are strict).

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That's exacerbated by the fact that the company's pre-revenue just now. So all things being equal, the more it can put the brakes on cash burn, the longer it'll survive until it can (hopefully) get one of its investigational drugs approved and shipped to the market.

At the moment, MindMed has sufficient resources to endure for at least a few years. At the end of March it had nearly $238 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, which wasn't too much less than the previous quarter's $245 million. According to management, this plus monies for the expected achievement of certain milestones will be sufficient to fund operations into 2028 at least.

Thaw in progress

Happily, the decriminalization of psychedelics, for medical purposes anyway, enjoys plenty of support among the American public. A 2023 survey conducted by the University of California at Berkeley found that 61% of respondents approved of regulated therapeutic access to psychedelic-based medicines.

Meanwhile, in recent years certain jurisdictions relaxed their restrictions on psychedelics. Several cities, such as Denver and Washington D.C., have decriminalized psilocybin (the psychoactive compound in "magic" mushrooms).

I don't think full-blown decriminalization is around the corner in the United States. Rather, I think it'll be more an unhurried, stop-and-go process like that of marijuana law reform currently. As restrictions on its research ease, MindMed should be able to save some capital and extend its all-important runway.

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Key Points

• Management's raised guidance for the entirety of 2025 didn't hurt, either.

• It increased its forecasts for both sales and headline net income.

• 10 stocks we like better than Garrett Motion ›

The stop lights were green for automotive technology company Garrett Motion (NASDAQ: GTX) on Thursday at least as far as its stock was concerned. Investors bid Garrett up by more than 3% that day, due mainly to its encouraging set of quarterly earnings figures. That rise was notably higher than that of the S&P 500 index, which crawled less than 0.1% higher.

An accelerating bottom line

Garrett's second-quarter results, published Thursday morning, featured rises in key metrics. The company's net sales didn't exactly boom, but they did increase almost 3% year over year to $913 million. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income rose more strongly, advancing by nearly 36% to $87 million. On a non-GAAP (adjusted), per-share basis, the bottom line grew by 48% to $0.43.

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Although the consensus analyst estimate was $918 million, Garrett crushed the adjusted bottom-line pundit forecast of $0.42.

In the earnings release, Garrett attributed its improvements to broad gains in a number of cutting-edge product segments.

It quoted CEO Olivier Rabiller as saying the company "reinforced our leadership in turbocharging, by securing awards for more than $1 billion in light vehicle program extensions while continuing to advance our zero-emission technologies, achieving new milestones in our e-powertrain, e-cooling, and fuel cell programs."

Turbocharged guidance

Garrett clearly believes the positive momentum will continue, as it raised both its top-line and profitability guidance for the entirety of 2025. The company is now projecting that net sales will come in at $3.4 billion to $3.6 billion (previous guidance: $3.3 billion to $3.5 billion). GAAP net income should be $233 million to $278 million, up from the former estimate of $209 million to $254 million.

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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 $634,627!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,046,799!*

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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Garrett Motion. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The company has been formally admitted to a key industry grouping in Canada.

• This positions the American company for future expansion in the neighboring country.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nano Nuclear Energy ›

Hardly for the first time in recent weeks and months, shares of next-generation power company Nano Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ: NNE) jumped skyward on Thursday. Investors pushed the shares almost 6% higher in value, on news that it is now part of an important industry association north of our border. That nearly 6% leap crushed the S&P 500 index, which was basically flat that trading session.

Energized by Canadian news

Before market open, Nano announced that it has become a member of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA). That makes the U.S.-based company part of an influential industry grouping in the country, one that has been advocating for the use of nuclear power since 1960.

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In the press release trumpeting the news, Nano wrote that according to CNA data, nuclear energy effectively avoids 80 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, serving as a clean alternative to traditional fossil fuel generation methods.

Although Canadian citizens have been as critical and wary of nuclear energy as their American counterparts, Nano clearly sees a solid chance for winning business in our neighboring nation, and advancing the technology as it does so.

It wrote, "With the introduction of next-generation technologies in the form of small or micro nuclear reactors, like those being developed by NANO Nuclear, there is a significant opportunity for Canada to solidify a leading position in the global nuclear industry."

Walking the walk

Nano did not provide any estimates for how an increased Canadian presence might affect its fundamentals. However, this feels like a low-impact way to strengthen its presence on the market. The proof will be in the doing, however, so investors should watch how -- and if -- the company's Canadian business develops following its CNA ascension.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nano Nuclear Energy right now?

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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 $634,627!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,046,799!*

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Eric Volkman 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.

Key Points

• TotalEnergies beat on revenue for the quarter, but fell short of the consensus analyst estimate for profitability.

• Not surprisingly, it was affected by the slump in global oil prices.

• 10 stocks we like better than TotalEnergies ›

The stock market wasn't particularly energetic when it came to fuel and chemicals conglomerate TotalEnergies (NYSE: TTE) on Thursday. The company's stock took a hit following its release of second-quarter earnings, and it closed the day down almost 3%. Other stocks did better, as the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) eked out a marginal gain.

Oil price slump

TotalEnergies, which is headquartered in France but reports in the energy industry's standard currency of U.S. dollars, published its latest set of financial figures that morning. The company's net revenue was slightly under $44.7 billion, comparing unfavorably to the nearly $49.2 billion it booked in the same period of 2024.

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That top-line result was more than high enough to trounce the average analyst estimate, which was a bit under $39.9 billion.

Yet the erosion in non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted net income was more drastic. That critical line item fell by 21% year over year to $3.6 billion ($1.57 per share). Worse, that per-share figure was notably below the consensus pundit projection of $1.67.

TotalEnergies suffered from a general decline in oil prices, which it said slid by 10% during the quarter. It put a positive spin on its recent struggles by quoting CEO Patrick Pouyanne as saying that the company "continued to successfully execute its balanced multi-energy strategy, supported by sustained growth in hydrocarbon and electricity production."

A gloomy outlook

In TotalEnergies's outlook for the current (third) quarter, the company waxed bearish about the prospects for its industry. It said that due to geopolitical and economic developments, oil prices are volatile at the moment, with the industry coping with an "abundant" supply (which, all things being equal, tends to dampen prices).

While it forecast that it would spend a net amount of $17 billion to $17.5 billion in investments over the course of this year, it did not provide any revenue or profitability guidance in its earnings release.

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Key Points

• Allegion beat on both the top and bottom lines for the period.

• Its also raised its full-year guidance for 2025.

• 10 stocks we like better than Allegion ›

Security products specialist Allegion (NYSE: ALLE) was popular with investors on Thursday, following its release of an encouraging quarterly earnings report. The document pleased investors, as they bid the company's stock up by more than 6% on the day. This compared rather favorably to the benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), which essentially flatlined across the trading session.

Encouraging growth in key fundamentals

Well before Thursday's market open, Ireland-based Allegion unveiled its second-quarter results. These showed that the company managed to boost revenue by nearly 6% year over year to slightly over $1.02 billion. On an organic basis -- i.e., excluding the impact of divestitures and acquisitions, plus foreign currency movements -- the top line also increased, by a little over 3%.

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Meanwhile, non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted net income also saw improvement, rising by 4% to nearly $177 million, or $2.04 per share.

That meant a double beat for Allegion, as analysts tracking the company were collectively estimating it would post $1 billion in revenue, and a per-share adjusted net earnings figure of $1.99.

In its earnings release, Allegion flagged the North American nonresidential market as a particular growth driver. It said this business rose at a high-single-digit percentage rate, while price adjustments were a crucial factor in a 50-basis-point improvement in adjusted operating margin (to a shade under 30%).

Guidance gets a boost

Compounding the good news about the rising fundamentals, Allegion raised its guidance for both revenue and profitability for full-year 2025. It now believes its top line will increase by 6.5% to 7.5% compared to 2024, while adjusted earnings per share should land at $8.00 to $8.15. The average analyst projection for the latter number is only $7.85.

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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 $634,627!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,046,799!*

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Eric Volkman 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.

Key Points

• This year's edition of the Federal Reserve's bank stress test saw all tested institutions pass.

• Although Citizens didn't have to participate, it benefited from the positive results.

• The company also substantially added to its existing share repurchase initiative.

A seriously bulked-up share repurchase plan and good results of the Federal Reserve's latest banking industry stress test improved the share price of regional lender Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG) in June. Over the course of the month, investors traded the bank's stock up by nearly 11% in reaction to this.

Not so stressed

The rally basically started in the middle of the month, when Citizens announced that stock buyback news. To the satisfaction of its shareholders, the company said it would bolster the existing program by a hefty $1.2 billion. As there was $300 million remaining from the previous authorization, granted in June 2024, the new total is $1.5 billion.

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For a stock with a sub-$21 billion market cap, that's substantial, and it should have a positive impact on the share price.

A more critical, industrywide development occurred at the end of the month with the stress tests. For those unfamiliar, these are an annual set of analyses in which major U.S. banks are tested to see how they would weather adverse economic conditions, some of which are quite drastic.

As has become the norm, the institutions under the microscope -- which include the "big four" American lenders, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup -- did quite well. All 22 passed their tests, albeit with the caveat that this year's edition was less rigorous than previous rounds.

Citizens Financial isn't sizable enough to go through this wringer annually, instead it's tested every two years, and in 2025 it got a break. Still, there were several regional banks not unlike itself among the 22 tested. All in all, the good results were taken to mean that mid- and large-sized banks in this country are generally doing well, and in the worst-case scenarios can probably cope with catastrophe.

A good Citizen?

I don't blame investors of Citizens Financial -- or any other bank of its size on this market -- for reacting positively to the stress test results. Despite some cuts and scrapes lately, our economy has been performing well, and the smart and disciplined approach of its better lenders is an ever-important factor in this.

Having said that, I'm not all that excited about Citizen Financial's performance recently. In its first quarter revenue was essentially stagnant, as was the company's end-quarter deposits figure. And average loans and leases slumped, even as a bump in non-interest income pushed headline net profit 12% higher to $374 million. To me, it's the larger banks that have better potential these days.

Should you invest $1,000 in Citizens Financial Group right now?

Before you buy stock in Citizens Financial Group, 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 Citizens Financial Group 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 $699,558!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $976,677!*

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Wells Fargo is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The One, Big, Beautiful Bill supported the nuclear industry, not least because it essentially curbed certain forms of renewable energy.

• The company also benefited from a large deal announced by a peer, and the performance of a portfolio business.

June was a fine month to be invested in uranium miner and nuclear energy services specialist Cameco (NYSE: CCJ). Nuclear received a significant boost from the Trump administration's One, Big, Beautiful Bill, which curbed subsidies and other advantages for producers harnessing rival energy sources. Developments elsewhere in the nuclear space also helped lift its stock.

Big and beautiful for the nuclear industry

The saga of Trump's bill didn't end until the president signed it into law in early July. Before that, however, it engendered controversy in several drafts by effectively bringing forward the expiration dates of federal subsidies that supported producers in the renewables segment, mainly solar and wind. Such measures survived, albeit in more limited form, in the final, passed legislation.

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Notably, nuclear energy emerged largely unscathed, as its subsidy regime was mostly unchanged.

While lawmakers were in the early argument (whoops, discussion) and debate stages of the bill, the nuclear energy got a little power surge from a deal engineered between the industry's Constellation Energy and social media giant Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Under the terms of the arrangement, Constellation will supply Meta's server farms with over 1.1 gigawatts of energy from its Clinton Clean Energy Center nuclear plant in Illinois. The term of the deal, which is to kick in next June, is 20 years.

This should sound familiar to nuclear energy watchers and Constellation investors, as it has some of the dimensions of the deal struck between Constellation and another tech titan, Microsoft. The pair signed a contract for the former to provide the latter with power from the once-notorious Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

Cameco was not directly involved in the Constellation/Meta agreement, but of course, as with that monster piece of legislation, any win for one nuclear company represents a victory for the sector as a whole -- at least as far as Mr. Market was concerned.

A good direct investment

One development that did directly affect Cameco was early June's news about a company it partially owns, privately held nuclear power company Westinghouse Electric. Cameco said it expects an increase of roughly $170 million in additional non-GAAP adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for both Westinghouse's second quarter and the full year 2025.

Cameco, which holds a 49% stake in Westinghouse, anticipates that the higher EBITDA will "be taken into consideration" when the latter determines the 2025 distribution it'll pay the former.

So in short, Cameco is benefiting from top-down legislative developments, the rising popularity of nuclear power, and the operations of an important investment. It's no wonder investors were so energized by its stock last month.

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Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Constellation Energy, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Cameco and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.