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<video src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HZI2nC2fNlI" poster="https://cdn.ainvest.com/articles/focusnews/coverimage/content/pictures/CandPEpisode22Rule_719252ab1771353465595.jpeg" data="{&quot;videoUrl&quot;:&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/HZI2nC2fNlI&quot;,&quot;coverUrl&quot;:&quot;https://cdn.ainvest.com/articles/focusnews/coverimage/content/pictures/CandPEpisode22Rule_719252ab1771353465595.jpeg&quot;}"></video>Palo Alto Networks heads into fiscal <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/2026021738/palo-alto-networks-earnings-are-on-deck-heres-what-could-get-the-stock-going-again" target='__blank'>Q2 earnings</a> tonight with something to prove — not about demand, but about narrative.Shares have fallen from roughly $220 in early November to about $164, a nearly 25% decline that has pushed the stock into bear-market territory. The selloff hasn’t been driven by a sudden collapse in growth. Instead, Palo Alto has been caught in the crossfire of a broader software unwind as investors grapple with fears that artificial intelligence could disrupt traditional software vendors. In many cases, the selling has been indiscriminate. The question now is whether PANW is a casualty of sentiment — or an opportunity created by it.Expectations: Solid Growth, But No Room for Slippage <a href="https://www.investors.com/news/technology/palo-alto-stock-palo-alto-earnings-acquisitions-guidance-q22026/" target='__blank'>Wall Street is looking for</a> fiscal Q2 revenue of roughly $2.58–$2.60 billion, representing year-over-year growth of about 14%–16%, along with adjusted EPS of $0.93–$0.95. On the surface, that’s steady expansion for a company of Palo Alto’s scale.More important than headline revenue will be recurring software metrics. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is expected to land around $6.1 billion, while Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) — the contracted backlog yet to be recognized — is projected near $15.8 billion. For fiscal 2026, management previously guided to 14% revenue growth, 26.5% ARR growth at the midpoint, and operating margins of roughly 29.5%–30%, alongside free cash flow margins approaching 38%–39%.After the recent acquisitions of Chronosphere and CyberArk, investors will be watching closely for updated pro-forma guidance and clarity on how those deals affect ARR, RPO, and margin trajectory.A Strong Q1 Raised the BarThe backdrop to this quarter is a strong fiscal Q1. Revenue rose 16% year over year to $2.47 billion, product revenue jumped 23%, and RPO increased 24% to $15.5 billion. Next-Generation Security ARR surged 29% to $5.85 billion. Operating margins expanded to 30.2%, and adjusted free cash flow reached $1.7 billion.Management also raised its long-term ARR target to $20 billion by fiscal 2030, up from $15 billion previously — a signal of confidence in the platform strategy.The AI Debate: Threat or Tailwind?The software sector’s weakness stems from a growing belief that AI could compress margins, reduce seat counts, and disrupt legacy vendors. Some frontier AI firms have even suggested ambitions in cybersecurity, puncturing what had been viewed as one of the safer corners of enterprise software.But cybersecurity is not just another SaaS category. AI is expanding the threat surface dramatically. Automated vulnerability discovery, AI-driven phishing, prompt injection attacks, and agent-based exploitation are compressing the attack lifecycle from weeks to hours. As enterprises adopt AI tools at scale, they must secure APIs, models, data pipelines, and endpoints that didn’t exist a few years ago.Analysts at Wedbush and Morgan Stanley argue this dynamic ultimately reinforces cybersecurity budgets. If AI is accelerating innovation, it is also accelerating risk — and that tends to protect spending.Acquisitions: Catalyst or Complication?Palo Alto has been active. Chronosphere, which closed in late January, brings observability capabilities critical for AI-heavy workloads. CyberArk, closed earlier this month, strengthens privileged access management — an increasingly important control point in an era of AI agents operating with elevated permissions. The company also announced its intent to acquire Koi Security to secure agentic endpoints.The integration risk is real. Investors worry about financial “noise” and potential margin dilution. However, management has reiterated its confidence in maintaining high-30% free cash flow margins and ultimately exceeding 40% by fiscal 2028.If Palo Alto can demonstrate that ARR and RPO accelerate without sacrificing operating discipline, the acquisition narrative shifts from risk to catalyst.What Would Change the Stock’s Trajectory?With shares down sharply and valuation multiples compressing across software, the bar isn’t perfection — it’s stability and credibility.To draw sidelined investors back in, Palo Alto likely needs to sustain ARR growth comfortably north of 25%, show continued RPO strength, reaffirm or modestly raise full-year guidance, and demonstrate that margins remain resilient despite integration costs. Clear messaging that AI is a structural growth driver — not a threat — would also help.Bottom LineSoftware investors are questioning everything, and Palo Alto has not been spared. But cybersecurity remains mission-critical infrastructure in a world where AI both empowers enterprises and supercharges attackers. Palo Alto’s platformization strategy, recurring revenue base, and strong free cash flow profile differentiate it from weaker software peers.Tonight’s earnings won’t settle the broader AI disruption debate. But they will clarify whether Palo Alto Networks deserves to be lumped in with the software selloff — or whether it’s one of the names that looks oversold in hindsight.

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Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto in a Bear Market — Is Tonight the Turning Point for Cyber’s Comeback?

<h2>The Sting</h2>The most important story in markets last week wasn&#39;t a company doing something right. It was a company not dying and a market that rewarded it with the kind of euphoria usually reserved for earnings beats at trillion-dollar companies. Meanwhile, those trillion-dollar companies? They&#39;re down $1.3 trillion since New Year&#39;s. Something is shifting, and it&#39;s not subtle.<h2>Rivian&#39;s Best Day Ever Wasn&#39;t About Rivian</h2>On Friday, Rivian posted its best single-day gain ever up 26.6% to close at $17.73 on 126.7 million shares (224% above average). The stock has fallen 82% since its 2021 IPO. The company is still, by most measures, a disaster.But here&#39;s what the market bought: narrower losses than expected (54 cents vs. 68 cents), delivery guidance of 62,000-67,000 units for 2026 (up 47-59% YoY), and its first full year of positive gross profit $144 million, mostly from the Volkswagen software joint venture.The real story is what&#39;s happening around Rivian. In December, Ford took a $19.5 billion writedown and killed the F-150 Lightning. Ram canceled its rival. The EV truck market that was supposed to be a bloodbath is now just Rivian and the Cybertruck. Everyone else quit.Deutsche Bank upgraded Rivian to Buy with a $23 target. Translation: survival is now a strategy.The R2 SUV, priced around $45,000 (less than half the R1S&#39;s $78,000 starting price), is scheduled for Q2 deliveries. It&#39;s Rivian&#39;s Model 3 moment the mass-market play that either makes the company or breaks it. Pre-production builds are getting &quot;early strong reviews.&quot; If Rivian executes, they&#39;ll have the affordable EV truck market nearly to themselves. If they don&#39;t, the $7 billion in cash they&#39;re sitting on won&#39;t last forever.The question nobody&#39;s asking: Is Rivian winning, or is everyone else just losing faster?<h2>The Magnificent 7 Lost Their Halo</h2>Here&#39;s a number that should make you uncomfortable: the Magnificent Seven: Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla are down 8.4% year-to-date as a group. The S&amp;P 493? Up 2.7%.This is the inversion everyone said couldn&#39;t happen. For three years, the Mag 7 carried the entire market on their backs. Between 2023 and 2024, these seven stocks returned 156%. The other 493 returned 25%. The gap was so wide that owning the S&amp;P 500 was basically just a leveraged bet on AI infrastructure.Now the roles have reversed. The equal-weight S&amp;P 500 (RSP) is up over 5% this year. The cap-weighted index is flat. Every single Magnificent Seven name is negative year-to-date. Amazon has shed $343 billion in market cap. Apple is down $256 billion. The combined damage since January: over $1.3 trillion.What changed? The market is demanding receipts. When Amazon announced $200 billion in AI-related capex, investors didn&#39;t cheer they asked when it would show up in earnings. When Microsoft&#39;s Azure growth decelerated, the stock got hammered. The theme isn&#39;t &quot;AI is over.&quot; The theme is &quot;prove it.&quot;Ed Yardeni is telling clients to underweight the Mag 7 and overweight the &quot;Impressive 493.&quot; His reasoning: &quot;Growth rates are apt to decline for the Magnificent Seven while those of the 493 improve. Stock-buyback activity among the tech giants is falling as operating cash flow increasingly goes to AI-related capex.&quot;That last point matters. For years, mega-cap tech returned billions through buybacks. Now that cash is going into data centers. Probably the right long-term decision. But the near-term bid that supported these stocks is weakening just as growth expectations moderate.The Mag 7 still represent 34-35% of the S&amp;P 500. What&#39;s changed is whether that concentration is a feature or a bug.<h2>Chart of the Week: The Great Rotation</h2>Market-cap weighted vs. equal-weighted S&amp;P 500 divergence in 2026<rich-table border='1' data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;532f9a09-7ce9-477a-9cea-73214859f299&quot;,&quot;columns&quot;:[{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;51bb81eb-0923-45db-a49e-5fe9e075c496&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:167},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;34f3dafe-e21d-402e-9abe-cd162e4f48cb&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:268},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;afce5324-d792-4c23-aab8-eb826b9e60b7&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:261},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;aa4ca5d9-b511-42b2-b83e-2ee1f4c72057&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:91}],&quot;tableWidth&quot;:787}" ><thead data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;2528a578-ce47-4e98-bdac-ed4baa66987d&quot;}" ><tr data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;facc1b4f-19ac-4984-9176-ff024aa5eb6d&quot;}"><th data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;d258fd65-58e9-4804-a5b0-dd4485010245&quot;}">Metric</th><th data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;4db17f8c-d834-4573-ac11-b593262d607b&quot;}">S&amp;P 500 (Cap-Weighted)</th><th data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;1841f710-9225-461f-a742-0126398ef294&quot;}">S&amp;P 500 (Equal-Weight)</th><th data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;d5ee7836-97b3-4191-9599-2e5922a5c717&quot;}">Mag 7</th></tr></thead><tbody data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;17343fde-2f7b-40a6-8844-59cdab0d0d17&quot;}" ><tr data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;f7454a52-b5ed-4d0b-8917-bb9f3fce7212&quot;}"><td data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;c36c773c-1abd-4ec4-83ef-68afff59240c&quot;}">YTD Return</td><td data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;7cb1c39f-2ece-4662-baa3-ecfff887943f&quot;}">~0%</td><td data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;b88624a5-9d35-4b6c-893c-6fd406a6fada&quot;}">+5.2%</td><td data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;f909e7e5-e992-4ba2-8646-c440507d6700&quot;}">-8.4%</td></tr><tr data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;d12d4ea2-a5f6-4544-b84c-0ac237816808&quot;}"><td data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;5a399f9f-e8d1-47fe-8226-5dcd6ff08f29&quot;}">2023-24 Return</td><td data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;f66b6f24-598c-437b-b882-f52ee64a5607&quot;}">+53%</td><td data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;ca1553df-eddd-43ee-ae33-0f16008aefd3&quot;}">+26%</td><td data="{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;a4ebc67c-b3a8-4a12-8ac4-f25192d7805e&quot;}">+130%</td></tr></tbody></rich-table>For the first time since 2022, the equal-weight S&amp;P 500 is meaningfully outperforming cap-weighted. This isn&#39;t a one-week anomaly it&#39;s been building since November. The market is telling you that breadth matters more than leadership.Historically, this kind of broadening is healthy. Bull markets that depend on fewer stocks are fragile. Markets where the middle participates are durable. The question: Is this a rotation within a bull market, or a warning that the mega-caps are starting to crack?<h2>The Hive Mind</h2>
FinTwit is having its &quot;I told you so&quot; moment on the Mag 7 trade. The equal-weight vs. cap-weight spread has become the new favorite chart. Reddit&#39;s take on Rivian is more nuanced than you&#39;d expect lots of &quot;this is their last chance&quot; sentiment, but genuine interest in the R2 as a competitive product. The most telling signal: put/call ratios on Nvidia are actually pretty balanced despite the doom posting. Retail is loud; positioning is calmer.Two stories, one theme: The market is repricing what it means to be real. Rivian makes trucks in factories. It employs humans. It ships physical objects. That used to be boring. Now it&#39;s a competitive advantage in a world where the most valuable companies are spending hundreds of billions on something they can&#39;t yet monetize. The question for 2026 isn&#39;t whether AI matters it&#39;s whether the market is willing to keep paying for promises while the &quot;real economy&quot; starts showing up.

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Electric Vehicles

Rivian Automotive

Ford Motor

Killer Bees — Market Brief
February 17, 2026

2026 began on a volatile note, with January shaped by rising geopolitical complexities and renewed trade tensions. However, market volatility and investor nervousness intensified in February, driven largely by the so-called “AI scare” trade. Since the start of this month, the S&P 500 has fallen about 2%. The CBOE Volatility Index has risen around 34% since the start of February and has added about 23% over the past week, a clear sign that volatility and investor nervousness are intensifying. As uncertainty rises, a defensive tilt is becoming increasingly important. Even aggressive investors may benefit from allocating selectively to traditionally defensive sectors. This is where consumer staples funds stand out, offering resilience alongside steady returns. Reflecting this defensive appeal, the S&P 500 Consumer Staples Index has gained 9.97% over the past year and 15.58% this year so far. <h2>The Case for Increasing Consumer Staples ETF Exposure</h2> Increasing exposure to consumer staples funds can help add balance and stability to portfolios, an important consideration as market volatility looms. In the current economic environment, the sector offers a compelling mix of downside protection during market pullbacks and steady participation when markets move higher. Rising U.S. debt levels, persistent geopolitical tensions and growing fatigue around the AI trade have heightened investor nervousness, fueling a broader risk-off shift, which benefits consumer staples stocks, as these companies manufacture everyday necessities such as food, beverages and household items. Below, we outline several reasons why consumer staples funds present a compelling investment case. <h2>Mounting Debt Risks Keep Investors on Edge</h2> Increasing U.S. national debt could create an income problem for investors, benefiting consumer staples stocks. Concerns over U.S. debt levels can add pressure to investor and consumer confidence, making investors risk-averse and curtailing discretionary spending. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects federal debt held by the public to climb to $56 trillion or 120% of GDP by 2036, from about $31 trillion currently. The CBO also projects the budget deficit to widen from $1.9 trillion in fiscal 2026 to $3.1 trillion by 2036 (Read: <a href="https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2862750/etfs-worth-watching-as-debt-pressures-continue-to-build">ETFs Worth Watching as Debt Pressures Continue to Build</a>). <h2>AI Trade Goes From Euphoria to Exhaustion</h2> The “software-mageddon” sell-off earlier this month, followed by continued weakness across several sectors exposed to AI-related disruption, has intensified investor anxiety around artificial intelligence. Beneath the surface, the dominant market theme has become a “sell first, ask questions later” response to any segment linked to an AI-driven headline. <h2>Long-Term Slump in Consumer Confidence</h2> Per <a href="https://www.conference-board.org/topics/consumer-confidence/">the Conference Board</a>, the Consumer Confidence Index fell to 84.5 in January, marking a decline of 9.7 points from its December level. The Present Situation Index, which reflects consumers’ views on current business and labor market conditions, witnessed a similar trend, falling 9.9 points to 113.7 in January. The Conference Board’s Expectations Index, which reflects consumers’ short-term outlook on income, business and conditions of the labor market, dropped to 65.1, remaining below 80, which typically signals a recession ahead. However, preliminary results from the <a href="https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/">University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers</a> showed a modest improvement in sentiment in February. The Index of Consumer Sentiment rose 1.6% from January to 57.3 this month, while the Current Economic Conditions index climbed 5.2% to 58.3. Despite these gains, both measures remain well below the year-ago levels, each down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. <h2>ETFs to Consider</h2> Investors can consider Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund <a href="https://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/XLP">XLP</a>, Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF <a href="https://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/VDC">VDC</a>, iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF <a href="https://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/IYK">IYK</a>, Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF <a href="https://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/FSTA">FSTA</a> and Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF <a href="https://www.zacks.com/stock/quote/RSPS">RSPS</a>. With a one-month average trading volume of 24.24 million shares, XLP is the most liquid option, ideal for active trading strategies. However, implementing an active strategy in the current landscape may not be the most effective approach. XLP has also gathered an asset base of $17.26 billion, the largest among the other options. Regarding annual fees, FSTA and XLP are the cheapest options, charging 0.08%, making them more suitable for long-term investing. <h2>Boost Your Portfolio with Our Top ETF Insights</h2> Zacks' exclusive Fund Newsletter delivers actionable information, top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, straight to your inbox every week. Don’t miss out on this valuable resource. It’s free!<a href="https://www.zacks.com/registration/newsletter/?type=FND&adid=SYND_AINVEST_ZU_FUNDSNEWSLETTERMONEYSENSEEDCETF_ETFNEWSANDCOMMENTARY_IND_02172026_2870665&cid=CS-AINVEST-FT-etf_news_and_commentary-2870665">Get it now >></a> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. <a href="https://www.zacks.com/registration/pfp/?ALERT=RPT_7BST_LP194&ADID=SYND_AINVEST_7BEST_ETFNEWSANDCOMMENTARY_2870665&cid=CS-AINVEST-FT-etf_news_and_commentary-2870665">Click to get this free report</a> <a href="https://www.zacks.com/registration/pfp/?ALERT=ETF225&adid=SYND_AINVEST_TCK_ETFNEWSANDCOMMENTARY_2870665_XLP&d_alert=rd_final_rank&t=XLP&split=1&cid=CS-AINVEST-FT-etf_news_and_commentary-2870665">State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP): ETF Research Reports</a> <a href="https://www.zacks.com/registration/pfp/?ALERT=ETF225&adid=SYND_AINVEST_TCK_ETFNEWSANDCOMMENTARY_2870665_VDC&d_alert=rd_final_rank&t=VDC&split=1&cid=CS-AINVEST-FT-etf_news_and_commentary-2870665">Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC): ETF Research Reports</a> <a href="https://www.zacks.com/registration/pfp/?ALERT=ETF225&adid=SYND_AINVEST_TCK_ETFNEWSANDCOMMENTARY_2870665_IYK&d_alert=rd_final_rank&t=IYK&split=1&cid=CS-AINVEST-FT-etf_news_and_commentary-2870665">iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF (IYK): ETF Research Reports</a> <a href="https://www.zacks.com/registration/pfp/?ALERT=ETF225&adid=SYND_AINVEST_TCK_ETFNEWSANDCOMMENTARY_2870665_FSTA&d_alert=rd_final_rank&t=FSTA&split=1&cid=CS-AINVEST-FT-etf_news_and_commentary-2870665">Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA): ETF Research Reports</a> <a href="https://www.zacks.com/registration/pfp/?ALERT=ETF225&adid=SYND_AINVEST_TCK_ETFNEWSANDCOMMENTARY_2870665_RSPS&d_alert=rd_final_rank&t=RSPS&split=1&cid=CS-AINVEST-FT-etf_news_and_commentary-2870665">Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (RSPS): ETF Research Reports</a> <a href="https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2870665/time-to-load-up-on-consumer-staples-etfs?cid=CS-AINVEST-FT-etf_news_and_commentary-2870665">This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).</a> <a href="https://www.zacks.com/">Zacks Investment Research</a>

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Time to Load Up on Consumer Staples ETFs?

<video src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5hKfutXTTzI" poster="https://cdn.ainvest.com/articles/focusnews/coverimage/content/pictures/Episode 23_9ca2c8ac1771076177676.jpg" data="{&quot;videoUrl&quot;:&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/5hKfutXTTzI&quot;,&quot;coverUrl&quot;:&quot;https://cdn.ainvest.com/articles/focusnews/coverimage/content/pictures/Episode 23_9ca2c8ac1771076177676.jpg&quot;}"></video>A growing chorus of AI executives argues that the most disruptive changes from artificial intelligence won’t come from better chatbots, but from software that can recommend—and increasingly take—business actions. Bianca Anghelina, <a href="https://www.ailylabs.com/company/team" target='__blank'>Founder and Chief Executive</a> of Aily Labs, is making a boardroom-specific version of that case: that corporate leaders are moving past debates about how models work and toward whether AI can produce measurable profit-and-loss results. “Leaders don’t debate actually models anymore, but they talk indeed P&amp;L impact,” Anghelina said in an interview with AInvest. She added that executives are shifting from “siloed pilots or use cases” to “enterprise AI.”In a widely shared essay published Feb. 9, AI entrepreneur, Matt Shumer cast the current moment as <a href="https://shumer.dev/something-big-is-happening" target='__blank'>an inflection point</a> that many outside the tech industry still underestimate. “Think back to February 2020,” he wrote, comparing today’s AI trajectory to the early days before the pandemic reshaped daily life. <img data-json="{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image&quot;,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://cdn.ainvest.com/articles/focusnews/coverimage/content/pictures/Bianca_4c0d0e0d1771107127005.jpg&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;children&quot;:[{&quot;text&quot;:&quot;&quot;}]}" src="https://cdn.ainvest.com/articles/focusnews/coverimage/content/pictures/Bianca_4c0d0e0d1771107127005.jpg" contentEditable="false" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto; maxWidth: 100%" /><a href="https://shumer.dev/something-big-is-happening" target='__blank'></a>Aily Labs, which describes itself as a “Decision Intelligence” platform provider, recently raised $80 million to scale its approach to enterprise deployments. The company said in a Nov. 6, 2025 announcement that its “Super Agent orchestrates autonomous AI agents that both recommend and execute decisions.” <h3>From insights to decisions</h3><h3></h3><h3></h3>Anghelina said Aily has pushed beyond tools that deliver dashboards and recommendations. “Since we talked, I think we deployed around a thousand more agents,” she told AInvest, describing a shift “from insights and recommendation to decision recommendation, which agents can autonomously take action on.”Read: <a href="https://www.ainvest.com/news/insight-action-minutes-aily-labs-bet-ai-driven-leadership-2601/" target='__blank'>From Insight to Action in Minutes: Inside Aily Labs&#39; Bet on AI-Driven Leadership</a> Aily has also expanded the scope of its agents across business domains. “Since then we added a couple of more agents…for example, a cashflow optimization agent,” she said. The aim, she added, is “orchestrating all these agents to optimize for the full P&amp;L impact of a company,” with investment going toward “making agents really autonomous from data to insight to taking the action.”The pitch is that companies need systems that can handle fast-moving trade-offs—especially when external conditions change. Anghelina described examples in which customers “start their board discussions with the agent at the table,” using it as “a decision advisor” that surfaces “risks and opportunities in the business,” and helps leaders make “trade-off decisions.”In one scenario she described, a company faced “a special market event where a new competitor entered the market,” forcing a portfolio reassessment. “It took them two to three days,” she said, referring to the time required for two full-time employees to evaluate the situation. “And the agent ran the scenarios and provided the recommendation in three minutes.”<h3>Investors want proof that AI spend can become results</h3><h3></h3><h3></h3>Aily’s strategy lands at a time when markets are increasingly separating “AI winners” from “AI hopefuls.” Reuters reported Feb. 6 that “the global AI trade is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ai-trade-splinters-investors-get-more-selective-2026-02-06/" target='__blank'>starting to fracture</a>” as “soaring capex… and doubts over who will profit” push investors to “draw sharper lines,” with the theme now splitting “across stocks, sectors and even regions.” <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ai-trade-splinters-investors-get-more-selective-2026-02-06/" target='__blank'></a>Another Reuters analysis underscored how capital intensity is shaping returns: “semiconductor stocks” have risen “roughly 65% since early 2025,” while “software and services stocks fell 8% during that period,” making them “one of the weakest-performing parts of the index.” The dynamic matters for enterprise AI vendors: while investors have rewarded “picks and shovels” suppliers, software companies are facing sharper scrutiny over whether AI will enhance their products—or commoditize them. Aily Labs’ strategy—selling “decision intelligence” agents meant to drive measurable operating outcomes—sits squarely inside that higher bar for software proof points.<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/spacex-nvidia-deals-showing-ai-runs-capital-2026-02-06/" target='__blank'></a>That scrutiny is also being fueled by the size of Big Tech’s infrastructure commitments. Yahoo Finance reported that Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are on track to <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-tech-set-to-spend-650-billion-in-2026-as-ai-investments-soar-163907630.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com&amp;guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93cml0b3JhaS5haW52ZXN0LmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADEfaJGJiDuHtB_eDNwJWkCLKL1mzmDn1arZ6tPLzqszT5g3HYMvSSNUXqwG48VQ2gDrtFW1TvmjpIVU3I7r8HWcEpYdv48HOoTm0I-kytrUj3FTWSZXAPT0mQtBvnzK3BYHXilvrOvFY3pbAakGtbiuVy9kxA4wKktBBKCO6rNc" target='__blank'>spend roughly $635</a> billion to $665 billion in their fiscal 2026 years, reflecting the scale of capital spending behind AI development. For companies like Aily, the implication is straightforward: as the industry pours capital into building AI capacity, enterprise buyers and investors are increasingly demanding evidence that those capabilities translate into faster decisions and concrete P&amp;L impact—exactly the case Anghelina is trying to make.Anghelina declined to offer a market view on how investors should value that spending. “That’s a very tricky question. I don’t want to speculate on the capital markets,” she said but added that she sees AI adoption as “a positive sign on people realizing the power of AI.”<h3>A global expansion plan—starting with the U.S.</h3><h3></h3><h3></h3>Aily is using the new funding to broaden its footprint among large enterprises. Anghelina said the company is already global, with “over 40 nationalities…across five hubs between Europe and US,” and that it plans to “continue our expansion and focus in US” to “double down on the impact which we can bring to Fortune 500 companies.”She also pointed to potential expansion in the Middle East, describing “a government-led ambition on adopting AI” by 2031. “The ambition on AI is very advanced,” she said, while noting that some industries there “might be a bit more traditional.”<h3>Turning “AI moment” into corporate operating change</h3><h3></h3><h3></h3>Shumer’s essay argues that the public is underestimating how quickly AI capabilities are advancing; in his telling, people in tech are “not making predictions” so much as describing what has already changed in their own work. Anghelina’s framing is less societal and more operational: the question for executives is whether AI can be embedded into the rhythms of planning, resource allocation and performance management in a way that shows up in financial outcomes.Her description of “agents at the table” is ultimately a corporate-strategy bet: that the next wave of enterprise AI adoption will be measured less by experimentation and more by whether decision-support systems can shorten cycles, surface risks faster, and standardize trade-offs across functions—especially when companies are pressured to justify technology spending with tangible results.

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Why Aily Labs Is Betting on “Agents at the Table” to Turn AI Into P&L Decisions

<ul><li>NFLX trades at $76.32, down 0.72% with volume surging to 21.9M shares.</li><li>Options data shows heavy call open interest at $80–$100 strikes and puts at $75, with a put/call ratio of 0.82.</li><li>Block trade of 1,330 April $75 puts hints at hedging or short positioning.</li></ul>Here’s the takeaway: options market sentiment leans bullish despite a bearish technical setup, creating a tug-of-war between short-term optimism and long-term caution. Let’s break it down.What the Options Chain Reveals About Market SentimentThe options data tells a story of cautious optimism. For this Friday’s expirations, calls at $100 (OI: 33,369) and $90 (OI: 26,670) dominate, suggesting traders are pricing in a potential rebound above $76.32. Meanwhile, puts at $75 (OI: 10,429) act as a floor—buyers are bracing for a drop below the 200D support range of $75.86–$101.13. The block trade of 1,330 April $75 puts (NFLX20260417P75) adds intrigue: it could signal institutional hedging against merger-related risks or a bearish bet on earnings revisions.But here’s the catch: the RSI at 24.79 and MACD (-12.79) scream oversold, yet the 30D moving average ($85.17) looms as a distant hurdle. The stock needs to close above $77.87 (intraday high) to flip the short-term narrative. Failing that, the Bollinger Band lower bound at $76.25 becomes critical.News Flow: Earnings Revisions and Merger DramaNetflix’s earnings estimates have dropped 5% in 30 days, dragging the Zacks Rank to a “Hold.” Yet Q4 results beat expectations, and Q1 guidance ($0.76 EPS) offers a glimmer of hope. The Warner Bros. merger drama adds noise: WBD’s renewed offer could push NFLX higher if a deal materializes, but PSKY’s $31/share counter (still below Netflix’s $30) keeps uncertainty alive. Institutional buyers like NEOS (now holding $212.6M in NFLX) are betting on resilience, but insider selling ($32.7M by Hastings) clouds the picture.Actionable Trade Ideas for TodayFor options traders, focus on next Friday’s expirations (Feb 27). If NFLX breaks above $77.87, buy the NFLX20260227C84 call (OI: 8,133) with a stop below $76.25. A $79.50 target could yield 15% in three days. Conversely, if the stock dips below $75.86 support, the NFLX20260227P75 put (OI: 8,132) offers downside protection, with a $73.50 stop-loss to avoid getting washed out.Stock traders should watch the $76.25 level. A close above $77.87 validates bullish momentum; enter near $76.30 with a target at $79.50 (RSI re-entry zone). If it fails, exit below $75.30 (intraday low) to cut losses.Volatility on the HorizonThe coming weeks will test NFLX’s resolve. Earnings revisions, merger updates, and institutional moves could amplify swings. For now, the options market is pricing in a 10–15% rebound by April, but technical indicators warn against complacency. Your edge? Use the $75–$80 range as a dynamic trading zone—let the stock dictate your direction, not the noise.Bottom line: This isn’t a “buy and hold” setup. It’s a high-probability, short-term trade for nimble players. Stay tight on stops, and keep an eye on that $76.25 level—it might just be the difference between profit and panic.<img src="https://cdn.ainvest.com/aigc/hxcmp/images/compress-qwen_generated_1771352080330.jpg.png" style="max-width:100%;">

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