Mid-Morning Look: August 12, 2026

Mid-Morning Look

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

U.S. stocks holding the gains from overnight as better earnings/guidance results in the AI/semi/neocloud sector boost the whole complex with CRWV, NBIS (neoclouds), SMCI, Hon Tai (semis) and LITE (opticals) all rising post results and guidance and giving a boost to data center and hyperscalers. A monthly July inflation report for consumer prices (CPI) came in higher than the previous month, m/m and y/y…but was exactly in-line with economist estimates easing inflation/rate hike fears ahead of the PPI tomorrow. The headline monthly CPI reading came in at 0.1%, while core CPI, which excludes food and energy, registered 0.2%, which gave a boost to Treasury prices as yields fell with the 2-Year Treasury yield, closely watched for its sensitivity to near-term policy expectations, dropped 4 bps to 4.17% and the benchmark U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield also declined 4 basis points, settling at 4.65%. The lower yields lifted precious metals as gold futures surge above $4,500/oz for the first time since June 5^th, now up roughly +14% in over three weeks. Following the data, U.S. rate futures priced in a 44% chance of a rate hike at the September Fed meeting, from 48% late Tuesday. Oil remains choppy as markets wait for tangible developments on US-Iran diplomacy and the Strait of Hormuz. Crude saw modest gains, extending its run to a sixth session as both the US and Iran appeared to harden positions on the strait despite Pakistan’s Defense Minister Asif saying the two are close to some arrangement. The IEA now forecasts a 1.8M bpd oil-market deficit in Q3, more than double its previous 800K bpd estimate.

• Restaurant sector: EAT posted Q4 sales $1.54B vs. est. $1.53B as net income rose 22.5% y/y to $131.1M (but below est. $135.5M) and forecasts annual profit above estimates, as Sees adjusted EPS in the range of $12.60 to $13.40 above estimates of $12.52. CAVA posted stronger Q2 comp sales (+9.0% vs consensus +7.6%) and adj EBITDA (~$55M vs. consensus ~$53M) including guest traffic growth of 5.3% and opened 17 net new restaurants while guides same-restaurant sales growth of 4.5%-6.5%, adjusted EBITDA of $181M-$191M for the year.
• Power sector: BE shares rise on back of NBIS results after the company commented on the Vineland, NJ site and the switch to Bloom: “The amendment to the site layout plan was a result of the decision to switch the project’s power source to Bloom.” Form Energy, a startup that makes giant iron-air batteries that store enough power to last several days has raised a new round of funding valued at $750M. The Co has now raised more than $2B in total, plans to use the money to boost manufacturing at its Weirton, W.Va., plant and for its first Wave of commercial projects, including a project for the utility Xcel Energy in partnership with GOOGL. SMR said may offer up to $750M of common stock under at-the-market sales agreement. TE Q2 cont ops EPS loss (-$0.14) vs. est. loss (-$0.10) on revs $250.13M above est. $198.84M and expects G1_Dallas 2026 production at the higher end of 3.1-4.2 GW range and expects first solar cells from G2_Austin in Q1 2027

• CAVA +14%; posted stronger Q2 comp sales (+9.0% vs consensus +7.6%) and adj EBITDA (~$55M vs. consensus ~$53M) including guest traffic growth of 5.3% and opened 17 net new restaurants while guides same-restaurant sales growth of 4.5%-6.5%, adjusted EBITDA of $181M-$191M for the year.
• CRWV +18%; after Q2 EPS, revs, Ebitda and operating income all topped consensus while lifted its annual capital spending forecast (to $35B-$39B from prior $31B-$35B view) and raised guidance for 2026 revs and adj operating; ended Q226 with revenue backlog of $104.2B, up from $99.4B in Q126.
• DFTX +6%; study met primary and all key secondary efficacy endpoints; announces positive topline results from phase 3 Voyage study of DT120 ODT in generalized anxiety disorder; participants receiving DT120 ODT achieved a statistically significant reduction in Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) score.
• LITE +5%; results topped consensus as posted Q4 revenue of $1.01B vs. estimate of $987.9M and adj EPS $3.23, beating the estimate of $2.97 while guiding guides Q1 EPS $4.05-$4.35 vs. est. $3.61 and Q1 revs $1.225B-$1.275B above consensus $1.16B.
• NBIS +20%; Q2 revenue $582.3M, tops consensus $557M and adj EBITDA $236.2M vs. est. $157.9M; ARR of $3B at end of June, up from the $1.9B reported at end of March; raises capacity guidance for year end 2026 to 5 GW, from guidance of over 4 GW in May.
• SMCI +15%; as Q4 results were in line with pre-announced levels and, positively, FY27 revenue outlook was far above consensus (expects annual revenue between $65B-$72B, ahead of estimates of $52.50B) as SMCI noted diversity of the backlog in terms of customers as well as products.
• VELO +11%; shares rise on results as Q2 EPS loss (-$0.30) vs. est. loss (-$0.27); Q2 revs rose 52.3% y/y to $20.7M vs. est. $13.52M; raises FY26 revenue view to $65M-$75M from $60M-$70M (est. $64.16M); sees greater than 30% gross margin in 2H’26.

• NBIX -2%; after experts in Prader-Willi Syndrome raised safety concerns over its Vykat XR drug (which they acquired from Soleno in a $2.9B deal in May) , citing serious adverse events reported in patients with the rare genetic disorder. The FDA Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS) showed seven reports of death linked to patients taking the drug as of July 31, 2026
• NCMI -31%; shares fall as Q2 EPS loss (-$0.10) vs. est. loss (-$0.09); Q2 revenue $58.4M miss est. $59.52M; entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Captivate Holdings, LLC, an operator of digital video elevator and lobby advertising in N.A at an enterprise value of $275M.
• PFGC -5%; on results as Q4 adj EPS $1.59 just below est. $160 while revs rose 6.4% y/y to $18B vs. est. $18.09B, while guides Q1 revs $17.9B-$18.1B, below consensus $18.13B and sees FY27 revenue $72.5B-$73B, consensus $72.68B.
• SAP -2%; along with pullbacks in recently strong software stocks CRM, HUBS, MNDY, NOW, TEAM, TWLO, WDAY, etc. as investors rotate back into semis (SOX) and AI related plays on heels of good earnings in the sector.