Home Depot’s Glowing HALO

Plus: Meta embraces a new 'Yes, AMD…?' strategy. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

February 25, 2026

Good morning. Time for a tariff reset. Again. Last week, the Supreme Court struck down most of the import taxes the Trump administration tried to impose under an emergency powers law. But President Donald Trump has sworn to use other methods, including some that have never been used before, to impose tariffs on foreign goods. On Tuesday, he became the first commander in chief to use Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 by placing 10% across-the-board levies on a wide swath of global imports. Trump plans to crank the tariffs up an additional five points to 15%, the maximum allowable under the law, but would need congressional authorization to keep them in place after 150 days. At which point, we might be dusting off old law books once again to understand what happens next. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AMD Pops on Meta Deal that Squares with AI Sector's Transaction Loop With apologies to Joni Mitchell, this is the circle game. Shares in AMD climbed 8.8% Tuesday as markets reacted favorably to a chip deal worth up to $100 billion that the semiconductor-maker struck with Meta. Nearly identical to a pact the company hatched with OpenAI late last year, it took the same "circular" shape as deals that triggered some initial AI anxiety last fall. Circularity for the Singularity It goes like this. Meta agreed to purchase 6 gigawatts of computing power from AMD to meet its growing data center needs. In exchange, AMD agreed to give Mark Zuckerberg's social media giant warrants to buy up to 10% of its shares for a mere penny each. There are conditions of course: Most notably, the warrants will be paid in full only if AMD's stock reaches $600. That's almost triple the $213 it sold for on Tuesday. Meta has an extraordinary incentive to keep buying AMD chips. The more business it throws to its partner, the greater the chance of converting those warrants. Since AMD has basically the same deal with OpenAI, 20% of the company is potentially working under warrant to two of its biggest customers. "Circular" transactions like these, where the interests and commitments of suppliers, customers and investors all seemingly become one big loop, raise plenty of eyebrows. Microsoft has invested nearly $14 billion in OpenAI and holds a 27% stake in its for-profit subsidiary, while the AI developer agreed to purchase up to $250 billion in Microsoft Azure Cloud services. Amazon, Microsoft and Nvidia have all invested billions in Anthropic, which has in turn pledged to buy from them. Intel struck a circular deal of its own on Tuesday, becoming an investor in and manufacturer for startup AI chipmaker Sambanova. Comparisons to the 1990s dotcom bubble have been made in some cases, though that could be overblown: After the AMD-OpenAI pact was announced in October, JPMorgan Asset Management said it's worth scrutinizing the "enormous" scale and "unprecedented" pace of AI investments, as well as the return-on-investment assumptions in the sector. However, JPMorgan also noted that only 7% of the fiber-optic network during the dotcom era was utilized, meaning there was a massive capacity surplus. Today is a different day: "Data center vacancy rates are at record lows and utilization levels hover around 80%. Demand for compute continues to far outpace supply: More data has been created in the last three years than in all history." Zuck's Edge: Notably, some of these deals could be seen as a pragmatic hedge. Meta agreed last week to buy millions of chips from Nvidia, and the AMD deal gives Meta leverage in a year where its capital spending could reach $135 billion. Now it has two major suppliers to bargain with. You don't even need an analyst to read between the lines, because Zuckerberg all but said so himself, calling the deal "an important step for Meta as we diversify our compute." Written by Sean Craig   PRESENTED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL CEO Bets $2.6 Billion on One Stock That's called conviction. A rare type of conviction, one that Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner has had a few times in his career. One such time was when he doubled down on Nvidia in 2009 when tech stocks were in the gutter. You know what happened next. At the Motley Fool, when Tom gets this type of confidence, they call it a "Total Conviction Buy Alert." And it just happened again. This time, it's for a little-known space company that's still 1/100th the size of Nvidia. They've positioned themselves as a one-stop shop for the space economy: design, manufacture, launch and monitoring. The company's own CEO just plunked $2.6 billion into the stock. See which company has The Motley Fool's Total Conviction. MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT What's the Point of Buying Warner Bros., Anyway? Photo by Julie May via Unsplash Hollywood's longest-running soap opera may be nearing its final episode. After reopening negotiations last week, Warner Bros Discovery said on Tuesday that it had received Paramount's latest and greatest acquisition offer, which came in at $31 per share and now may be the most appealing bid, according to reports. Now begins another review process, and if the board prefers the deal, Netflix will be given a four-day window to present a (presumably) final counterbid. But what are these media giants bidding for exactly? Up, Down, Left, Right Paramount and Netflix look at WBD and see different things. For Paramount, the acquisition would amount to pure horizontal integration, pairing two of Hollywood's remaining legacy studios to achieve the scale needed to truly compete in the streaming age. According to the most recent tallies, Paramount+ has 79 million subscribers, while WBD's HBO Max has about 128 million. Netflix, with its 325 million subscribers, swears its potential (if not likely) acquisition of WBD's streaming and studios unit amounts to vertical integration, not consolidation en route to apex predator status. After years of saying otherwise, Netflix is suddenly interested in the theatrical box office. WBD, on the other hand, recently scored its ninth-straight debut at the top of the US box office with the recent release of its Wuthering Heights adaptation. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos has also touted how roughly 80% of HBO Max subscribers also subscribe to Netflix as proof that the two services are complementary. Either way, a new era in media and entertainment appears imminent: After a period of massive expansion, subscriber growth across the entire industry is beginning to slow. According to market data firm Antenna, premium services added only 18 million subscribers in the final quarter of 2025, resulting in year-over-year growth of just 7%, compared with 27 million new subscribers and 12% growth a year earlier. YouTube, meanwhile, continues to dominate TV time in the US. According to Nielsen, the Google-owned platform regularly accounts for 12% to 13% of all monthly TV viewing, more than any rival. Sarandos has argued that a combined Netflix-WBD venture would create a Hollywood-centric entity capable of competing in a new tech-dominated landscape (Note: Instagram launched a Reels TV app in December). HALOw Blow: To put it in the parlance of the buzzy HALO framework (that'd be: Heavy Asset, Low Obsolescence), WBD isn't exactly checking the second box. On the other hand, its rich library of intellectual property, running the gamut from Batman to Harry Potter and Tony Soprano, certainly qualifies as asset-heavy. Does partial credit count in an $80 billion bidding war for the media world's most passed-around company? Written by Brian Boyle   PRESENTED BY FISHER INVESTMENTS Significant Wealth Comes with Tax Complexities Photo via Fisher Investments Managing them requires a sophisticated approach. Fisher Investments' Tax-Efficient Wealth Management for Affluent Investors offers essential financial planning insights for high-net-worth investors. Inside, you'll learn ways to: Implement a tax-aware portfolio strategy. Structure your accounts for maximum tax efficiency. Leverage trusts in an effective estate plan. Get ready to maintain and grow more of what you've built — download your free guide today. CONSUMER Home Depot Powers Past Housing Market Struggles to Notch Earnings Win Photo by Oxana Melis via Unsplash Home Depot has remodeled Wall Street's outlook on its stock. Shares of the home improvement giant climbed 2% on Tuesday after the company's performance beat analysts' expectations during the last three months of its fiscal 2025 despite a lackluster housing market and drooping consumer confidence. Home Depot's adjusted earnings per share of $2.72 topped the $2.53 average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet. While sales fell nearly 4% to $38.2 billion, they were still higher than the $38.09 billion analysts expected. The Atlanta-based retailer also raised its quarterly dividend by 1.3% and said it would open about 15 new stores. Housing vs. HALO The home improvement company's fortunes may get an additional boost from Wall Street's latest obsession with asset-heavy stocks. Strategists at Goldman Sachs recently wrote that investors are increasingly turning to stocks with the "HALO effect" (heavy assets and low obsolescence) amid fears of AI disruption across industries such as financial services and software. Home Depot's business relies on a vast real estate footprint, inventory of everything from tools to paint to patio furniture, and a physical supply chain. In other words, it can't turn much of its business over to bots in the way capital-light companies can, which investors find soothing: "Interest in Home Depot may be increasing as investors seek safety from AI-related volatility," CFRA senior equity analyst Ana Garcia told The Daily Upside. "We have seen volume activity trending above its five-year average, which has seen share value increase since the beginning of 2026." When asked whether AI-related fears are prompting investors to turn to Home Depot, Morningstar analyst Jaime Katz said, "I'd guess that has already happened." The stock traded between $330 and $340 at the end of 2025 and has since moved up "without the home improvement environment changing much," she added. Housing Headache: Home price growth continued to cool at the end of last year, according to the latest S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index data released on Tuesday. The numbers show a 1.3% annual gain for December 2025, down from 1.4% the previous month. "Inflation outpaced home price appreciation from June 2025 onward, eroding real home values through year-end and reversing a decade-long trend of positive real returns," S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a statement. Written by Mallika Mitra   Extra Upside Reincarnated Spirit: Budget airline Spirit struck a deal with creditors to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer, with plans to slash flights and reduce its fleet in the offing. Robbed of a Job: Louvre director Laurence de Cars resigned Tuesday, months after the October heist of $102 million worth of jewels from the world's most visited museum. Mindstream Is Your Daily AI Advantage in a Rapidly Evolving Landscape. Join 200,000+ industry leaders, innovators and professionals who rely on their concise newsletter for the AI insights that matter. Subscribe today.* * Partner   Just for Fun Canine sous chefs. Empire State of … snow.

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More about → Home Depot’s Glowing HALO

Paramount’s Latest Final Offer

Plus: Alibaba's success in the AI wars is not a matter of if, but Qwen. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

February 18, 2026

PRESENTED BY ORACLE NETSUITE

Good morning. Warren Buffett called it the "newspaper test": He advised managers to judge an action by how it might appear on the front page of the local newspaper. Of course, if you're Buffett, you can just go out and buy a chunk of the newspaper of record. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Berkshire Hathaway revealed it had built up a roughly $352 million stake in The New York Times in the fourth quarter of 2025, which marked Buffett's final year at the helm of the storied conglomerate. It's a notable bet on media for Berkshire, which previously owned a portfolio of local newspapers, including the Omaha World-Herald and Tulsa World, before selling the flagging publications at a substantial discount to Lee Enterprises in 2020. The filing also revealed that Berkshire had slashed its stake in Amazon by more than 75% in the final quarter, just before the e-commerce giant's roughly 12% skid to start the New Year. Would you look at that? We buried the lede. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Can Alibaba's Qwen3.5 Help Chinese AI Catch Up? Alibaba's answer to ChatGPT, Qwen, got an upgrade this week that could put it ahead in the AI race. The Chinese company said Qwen3.5 is cheaper and more powerful than its predecessor and performs on par with US rivals including Claude and Gemini. It can understand text, images and videos, and it's compatible with trendy AI agents like OpenClaw. Qwen isn't a standalone offering for Alibaba. Instead, it's integrated into its main e-commerce biz. On the Qwen app, nearly 100 million users can, for instance, ask Qwen to make a Lunar New Year travel itinerary and then book it through Alibaba's travel agency. The new version of Qwen came out just in time to ring in the Year of the Fire Horse, alongside many competitors. Not Horsing Around Google DeepMind head Demis Hassabis told CNBC last month that Chinese AI was months away from catching up to US models. Now, Chinese tech companies are blazing ahead with AI updates: TikTok-owner ByteDance rolled out Doubao 2.0 over the weekend, the latest version of China's biggest AI chatbot with nearly 200 million users. Like Qwen, Doubao prioritizes agentic AI capabilities, such as performing complicated, ongoing tasks like coding and customer support. Also this month, ByteDance launched a new video-generation model, while Chinese startups including Zhipu AI and MiniMax debuted new AI models. DeepSeek is expected to release a new model soon. DeepSeek kicked off the Chinese AI race last year when its offering, which it claimed cost significantly less to run than rivals like ChatGPT, sparked an AI stock rout. Tech leaders have since been racing to deliver the most performance for the lowest price, as investors question when AI will be worth the billions of dollars that companies spend building and running it. Still, China's industry faces bumps in the road. ByteDance's new video-generation model, Seedance 2.0, drew attention for producing deepfake videos, including one featuring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting. Hollywood's Motion Picture Association called the tech "unauthorized use of US copyrighted works on a massive scale." Costly Race: Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent are competing to win users during the Lunar New Year, historically a time when apps like WeChat rapidly gained users looking for promos. The three companies are spending nearly $650 million altogether on incentives, handing out digital red envelopes worth up to $1,450 each, along with other freebies. But the race is increasingly expensive, because as these companies attract more users, their models cost more to run. Technical difficulties plagued the launch of Qwen as too many users overloaded the chatbot, and Alibaba had to pause its promos to get Qwen back up and running. Written by Jamie Wilde   PRESENTED BY ORACLE NETSUITE Are Your KPIs Flying Blind? Photo via Oracle NetSuite Even the best teams crash when complexity goes unchecked. In 1935, Boeing's revolutionary "Flying Fortress" fell out of the sky because one simple step was missed. The fix wasn't more meetings. It was a checklist. That's the idea behind KPI Checklists, Oracle NetSuite's guide to building measurement systems that executives can trust. Bernie Smith shows how to move from vague goals to clear strategic objectives, indicators and dashboards that help you make sense of the past and feel confident about what is coming. With 50 practical checklists and templates, it's built for leaders who want clarity fast. Because the difference between turbulence and traction is knowing what matters. Don't wing it, download the guide. CONSUMER Cruising for Trouble: Activist Investor Elliott Chastises Norwegian Board for CEO Picks Photo via Sebastian Kahnert/dpa/picture-alliance/Newscom It's anything but smooth sailing for Norwegian Cruise Line and its new CEO. The company, which has struggled recently to keep up with rivals like Royal Caribbean and Carnival, announced last week that former Subway Restaurants chief executive John Chidsey was taking over as CEO, effective immediately. Stocks fell more than 7% on Friday after the news, and that wasn't the worst of it. On Tuesday, activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which says it now holds a stake of more than 10% in Norwegian Cruise Line, sent a letter to the company's board arguing that directors have failed to fulfill their duties — most notably, selecting the right leadership. CEO Woes "In 2015, the Board appointed a CEO whose tenure was defined by wasteful spending, misguided strategy and a share-price decline of more than 50%," Elliott said in the letter. "The board then saw fit to appoint this CEO's protégé, whose poorly executed strategic pivots and repeated guidance misses drove further underperformance of more than 140% relative to Norwegian's peers." Chidsey was certainly not spared: "Last week, shareholders abruptly received the troubling news that the same board that oversaw all of this value destruction had selected one of its own long-tenured members, who lacks any executive experience in the cruise industry, to be the company's next chief executive." In a statement to The Daily Upside, Norwegian said Elliott's letter was its first feedback to the board on strategy and progress. "We are committed to delivering durable, long-term value creation, which will be led by our recently appointed CEO, John Chidsey," the company added. Its next earnings call is March 2, and Reuters reports that the deadline for new board nominees is March 13. Elliott, which declined to comment beyond its press release and letter, seems to think it can turn this ship around: The company proposed a variety of changes at Norwegian, including adding board members with relevant experience, reviewing the executive leadership team and developing a new business plan. Elliott Partner John Pike and Portfolio Manager Bobby Xu, who signed the letter, said that they see a path for the stock to hit $56 per share, a roughly 159% increase from Friday's close. (The shares surged 12% on Tuesday.) Headed South: Norwegian isn't the only travel company facing criticism from an activist investor. Starboard Value released a letter Tuesday that it sent to Tripadvisor, calling for a board shakeup and criticizing the site operator's approach to generative AI. Starboard says it now has a 9% stake in Tripadvisor. Written by Mallika Mitra   PRESENTED BY FISHER INVESTMENTS Significant Wealth Comes with Tax Complexities — Managing Them Requires a Sophisticated Approach Photo via Fisher Investments Fisher Investments' Tax-Efficient Wealth Management for Affluent Investors offers essential financial planning insights for high-net-worth investors. Inside, you'll learn ways to: Implement a tax-aware portfolio strategy. Structure your accounts for maximum tax efficiency. Leverage trusts in an effective estate plan. Get ready to maintain and grow more of what you've built — download your free guide today. MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT Warner Bros. Discovery Gives Paramount (Yet) Another Chance Anderson Cooper is leaving 60 Minutes but could be back at CBS before long. On Tuesday, CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that it is reopening negotiations on a potential sale to Paramount, putting its tie-up with Netflix on hiatus for at least seven days ending February 23 as it awaits Paramount's "best and final offer." Paramount Plus What? In a statement Tuesday, WBD's board said it still unanimously recommends Netflix's offer over Paramount's. Inside the house, pressure is rising somewhat. Last week, activist investor Ancora announced it had acquired a $200 million stake in the roughly $69 billion company, while saying it would vote against the Netflix deal if WBD's board doesn't take another look at Paramount's latest offer. According to Ancora, Netflix's offer leaves WBD shareholders to grapple with two major unknowns: The first is the value of WBD's cable properties, such as TNT and CNN, which would not be included in the Netflix deal but would be part of a sale to Paramount; in the event of a Netflix deal, the cable properties would likely be bundled up and spun off. Last month, Comcast completed the spinoff of its own cable companies into Versant Media Group, whose shares have already tumbled approximately 35%. The second unknown is whether antitrust regulators will even allow Netflix to complete its acquisition. In the same week earlier this month that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos got grilled by a Senate panel, Paramount CEO David Ellison reportedly had a one-on-one meeting at the White House with President Trump. House of Cards: WBD's board apparently took Ancora's recommendation to heart. On Tuesday, the board said that Paramount had floated raising its $ 30-per-share all-cash bid to $31. That's after Paramount last week said it would cover the $2.8 billion termination fee WBD would owe Netflix if it walked away now, and that it would throw in a "ticking fee" worth roughly $650 million per quarter in which the deal goes unclosed — a sort of bet against significant regulatory roadblocks. Netflix, meanwhile, retains the ability to match any Paramount offer moving forward, while WBD may not have shareholders vote on either bid until April. Which means that Paramount's next "final" bid could be about as final as the file on your computer titled "Final_FINAL_submission_Part_2_withnotes_v4_USETHISONE(6).PDF". Written by Brian Boyle   Extra Upside One Claude After Another: Anthropic launched its second artificial intelligence model in under two weeks Tuesday, and says the cheaper and faster Claude Sonnet 4.6 is better at coding, data processing and performing tasks than previous releases. The Insider: ServiceNow's CEO disclosed plans to buy $3 million in shares in what analysts deemed "one of the first notable insider buying signals" in the beleaguered software sector. Get Deal-Ready for 2026. Dealmakers expect activity to pick up, making the right platform more critical than ever. This webinar shows how DFIN Venue helps you stay deal-ready and execute with speed and security in high-stakes transactions. Watch the webinar to prepare now.* * Partner   Just for Fun Trash bandits. On a roll.

Our Other Newsletters Advisor Upside  |   ETF Upside  |   Retirement Upside About Advertise With Us  |   Read in Browser No longer want to receive these newsletters? Unsubscribe here. 55 Union Place, #253 Summit, NJ 07901 Copyright © 2026 The Daily Upside, LLC All rights reserved.

More about → Paramount’s Latest Final Offer