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Banzai International (NASDAQ: BNZI) is charging into its next phase of growth as the company continues transforming from a marketing technology player into a full-scale AI-powered revenue machine. With the recent completion of its transformational ConnectAndSell acquisition, BNZI has dramatically expanded its capabilities by adding AI-driven sales acceleration technology, a high-margin platform, and a powerful enterprise customer base. The move positions BNZI at the center of one of the biggest shifts happening in business today, companies racing to deploy AI solutions that improve customer acquisition, sales productivity, and revenue growth.
The opportunity goes far beyond a single acquisition.BNZI is building an integrated AI ecosystem designed to help businesses move faster, from generating demand and engaging customers to converting opportunities into sales. With strategic technology assets, expanding enterprise validation, more than 150,000 customers, and exposure to the massive AI and MarTech growth trends, BNZI is creating the type of disruptive small-cap story that can capture investor attention. As artificial intelligence continues reshaping how companies operate, Banzai is positioning itself as a key player in the next generation of revenue technology.
AST SpaceMobile’s Next Launches Could Decide Whether Its Rally Regains Orbit
Reported by Jessica Mitacek. Article Published: 7/13/2026.
Key Points
- AST SpaceMobile shares have swung sharply in 2026, rising 35% in late June before giving back nearly half those gains by early July.
- Strategic partnerships with Rakuten, AT&T, Verizon, and others, plus an accelerated BlueBird satellite launch schedule, support the company's bullish long-term case.
- Mounting net losses, a widening cash burn rate, repeated earnings misses, and a consensus Reduce rating highlight persistent risks facing the stock.
- Special Report: Forget SpaceX. Buy the company Musk can't replace.
Midland, Texas-based AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) has been a battleground for bulls and bears this year.
Among space stocks, it has been one of the most volatile, seeing its fair share of ups and downs throughout 2026. That included a 59% run-up to its all-time high on May 28, along with a series of double-digit peaks and troughs.
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Anthropic's valuation has doubled since the news, with estimates as high as 3 trillion by IPO day. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia and major banks all hold stakes.
Revenue grew 80 times in the first quarter alone, and the IPO could arrive as early as this October.
See how to get access to this AI IPO before it goes publicThat trend has continued over the past month. Shares pushed up more than 35% from their one-month low on June 25 through June 30. But since the calendar turned to July, the stock has given back nearly half of those gains, with ASTS now down more than 17% from that recent high.
With its beta now up to 2.69, the SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) rival and space-based direct-to-device (D2D) cellular broadband provider is likely positioned for more of the same. However, a combination of potential catalysts and inhibitors will ultimately determine whether AST SpaceMobile can break back into the green during the second half of the year.
Tailwinds: Strategic Partnerships, Bundled BlueBird Launches, and Increased Operating Efficiency
AST SpaceMobile’s bull case remains largely intact, in large part because the company continues to maintain its first-mover advantage in the space-based D2D market.
That advantage has resulted in a myriad of formal strategic agreements that have cemented the company’s position.
Most recently, ASTS received a bump from Japan's $912 million satellite communications push. That put AST SpaceMobile’s existing partnership with Tokyo-based Rakuten (OTCMKTS: RKUNY) back into the spotlight while raising hopes for a major D2D rollout. The two companies are forming a joint venture that is targeting regulatory approval for D2D operations in Japan, with initial commercial services expected to begin later in 2026.
The company also has agreements with nearly 60 global mobile network providers, representing more than three billion subscribers. It has strategic partnerships in place with AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD), Rakuten, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and real estate investment trust American Tower (NYSE: AMT), among others. Over the long term, those relationships should continue to drive AST SpaceMobile's top-line growth, translating into strong earnings for patient investors.
An accelerated launch schedule for the company’s low Earth orbit (LEO) BlueBird satellites—the largest commercial arrays currently in operation—serves as another catalyst. A simultaneous launch of the next three satellites, including BlueBirds 11, 12, and 13, is scheduled for early August from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
The bundled launches should go a long way toward helping AST SpaceMobile meet its 2026 launch target of having 45 BlueBirds in LEO. According to President Scott Wisniewski, the company is in the process of producing and assembling satellites through BlueBird 37.
Headwinds: Mounting Costs, Launch Targets, Earnings Misses
Scaling at the pace and size the company is targeting comes at a steep cost. AST SpaceMobile posted a net loss of $342 million in 2025, which was nearly 969% higher than its net loss in 2022, its first full year of operation as a publicly traded company. However, that loss accelerated significantly in the first quarter, reaching $191 million.
As the company ramps up satellite production and its launch schedule, analysts are forecasting a full-year cash burn rate of between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion.
Another potential headwind is AST SpaceMobile’s lofty BlueBird launch target. While that target also serves as a near-term catalyst, it could present longer-term challenges. Unforeseen launch complications and mishaps—like the Blue Origin deployment of BlueBird 7 at an insufficient orbit back in April—could adversely affect AST SpaceMobile’s ability to meet its year-end launch target. BlueBird 7 was subsequently deorbited, yet the company has maintained that it can reach its goal of having 45 LEO satellites deployed by the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, sentiment has been negatively impacted by a series of consecutive earnings per share (EPS) misses. AST SpaceMobile remains unprofitable, and its negative EPS has missed analyst expectations for five straight quarters, with only two beats in the past 11 quarters. This has played a major role in outflows driven by impatient investors who have been waiting for the stock—which had its IPO in April 2021—to finally turn a corner.
Where Wall Street Stands
The smart money appears to be erring on the side of caution when it comes to ASTS.
Sentiment is tepid, with just one of the 10 analysts covering the stock assigning it a Buy rating.
Overall, it holds a consensus Reduce rating, despite a 12-month price target implying about 16% potential upside from current levels.
In the past year, insider selling has outweighed insider buying by a ratio of more than $451 million to just over $187,000.
But institutional investors are evidently taking a longer-term approach, with buyers injecting $2.34 billion over the past 12 months compared with outflows of just over $487 million.
Still, as previously mentioned, more volatility is likely ahead, as reflected by current short interest of 21% of the float, equivalent to $5.45 billion worth of shares.
Costco’s Cooling Comp Sales Keep Stock Stuck in Neutral for Now
Reported by Dan Schmidt. Article Published: 7/20/2026.
Key Points
- Costco's June comparable sales decelerated from May as fading gas price tailwinds and weakening international, especially Canadian, comps offset strong headline net sales growth.
- Costco trades at roughly 46 times forward earnings, more than double the retail sector average, making the stock vulnerable to any slowdown in comp sales growth.
- Costco shares have fallen about 15% from their all-time high and now show bearish technical signals, though long-term fundamentals like renewal rates remain strong.
- Special Report: Forget SpaceX. Buy the company Musk can't replace.
Costco Wholesale Club Inc. (NASDAQ: COST) recently reported its June sales numbers, and at first glance, it appears to have posted another strong month of growth for the country’s premier wholesale club.
However, the stock’s milquetoast reaction shows just how high the bar is for the company.
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Elon Musk just called Anthropic the clear leader in AI, admitting its Mythos model surpasses anything he's built.
Anthropic's valuation has doubled since the news, with estimates as high as 3 trillion by IPO day. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia and major banks all hold stakes.
Revenue grew 80 times in the first quarter alone, and the IPO could arrive as early as this October.
See how to get access to this AI IPO before it goes publicWhen your multiple looks more like that of a tech-sector growth darling than a big-box retailer, “good” simply isn’t good enough.
And when you dig beneath the surface, the latest sales numbers highlight an unnerving trend.
Strong Headline Numbers Obscure Underlying Weakness
Costco released its comparable sales figures for June, and it’s a print that many other retailers would view with envy. Net sales for the period totaled $29.24 billion, up 10.6% year-over-year (YOY) and 7.6% when excluding the effects of gas and currency. The board also declared a $1.47-per-share dividend, payable in August to shareholders of record as of July 24. But despite these strong headline numbers, weakness is brewing beneath the surface.
Gas price volatility was a major tailwind for Costco as weary consumers turned to wholesale clubs for relief at the pump. Costco typically prices its gas below retail to drive volume and bring more people into its stores, making fuel a loss leader. But now that gas prices are dropping again, that tailwind is evaporating, and the June sales print tells the story. Excluding gas and currency, the 7.6% U.S. comp figure represents a stark deceleration from May’s 8.7% comps. The decline in total comps was even steeper: 8.8% in June versus 12.5% in May, highlighting just how much fuel prices drove the advance.
U.S. stores might be in good shape, but the international market is becoming a growing concern. Canadian adjusted comps fell from 7.6% in April to 5.6% in May and 4.9% in June, while total international adjusted comps dropped from 8.0% in May to 7.0% in June. Soft international markets could limit upside if U.S. comp sales reaccelerate, particularly now that fighting has resumed in Iran and gas prices are once again on the upswing.
Stock Still Trades at an Extreme Valuation Compared With Other Retailers
Costco remains an excellent business with a loyal membership base, strong overall sales growth—with net sales up 11.6% YOY as of May’s fiscal Q3 2026 report—and a hot dog-and-soda combo that still costs just $1.50. But the stock has long been priced to imply perfect execution. When shares trade at 46 times forward earnings and carry a price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of nearly 4.5, investors take notice of even the smallest dent in the armor.
The retail sector trades at about 21 times earnings, less than half the current valuation assigned to COST shares. While a company with Costco’s sales and membership numbers deserves an elevated multiple, trading at more than twice the industry average while overall comps are declining is a blazing red flag that even a FIFA referee could see.
Prominent retailers like Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ: WMT) and Target Inc. (NYSE: TGT) trade at 40 and 18 times earnings, respectively—well below Costco’s valuation. Even a direct competitor like BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BJ) trades at 21 times earnings and 0.55 times sales.
Here’s one way to frame the new narrative shaping retail: The market is no longer looking for premium compounders like COST, which is up nearly 9% year-to-date, but cheap laggards like TGT, which is up more than 40% so far in 2026.
Technical Collapse Brings Shares Down With It
Costco’s fundamentals remain strong despite the sales slowdown, but its troublesome technical picture is becoming increasingly apparent. The stock briefly surged to a new all-time high in May following gasoline-price shocks induced by the Iran war, as new members flocked to stores after filling their tanks with cheap fuel. But once hostilities faded, so did the rally in COST shares. The stock has pulled back approximately 15% from its previous all-time high, and the technical signals beneath the surface aren’t pointing to a rebound anytime soon.
Shares now trade below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has remained firmly in bearish territory since the end of May. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator also shows that downward momentum continues to strengthen.
For long-term investors, this is likely not the time to sell, as the company still boasts a 92% renewal rate and digitally enabled comps are a bright spot at 21%. But new investors may be better served waiting for a more attractive entry point. A deceleration doesn’t mean deterioration, but a stock trading at 46 times earnings can’t afford even a brief slowdown if it wants to maintain bullish momentum.
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