International Business Machines (IBM 1.10%), which is usually referred to by its ticker IBM, is a global icon in the technology sector. The company has a surprising ability to change with the times, and it’s been doing so for more than 100 years now. Indeed, when IBM was founded back in 1911, it made things like scales and clocks. Today, it makes all sorts of equipment, including quantum computers, and it supports the cloud computing industry, which is the backbone of artificial intelligence (AI).

Wall Street loves IBM again

Even after a fairly sizable drawdown since July, shares of IBM still trade up around 20% or so over the past year. Over the trailing three years, the stock has nearly doubled in price. That’s a pretty sizable return and highlights the fact that Wall Street is obsessed with IBM shares again. As noted, the company has shifted into key areas like quantum, cloud computing, and AI.

But what’s special about IBM is that it hasn’t always been focused on these areas. Just a few years ago, investors pretty much hated the stock because it was out of step with the technology sector. The concern about IBM was so bad that between 2012 and 2020, the stock actually lost roughly half of its value. Contrarian investors with a long-term view, however, realized that IBM had updated its business many times before.

IBM is worth loving most of the time

The business revamp was difficult and took many years. It involved a large corporate spin-off, asset sales, and acquisitions, the largest of which was Red Hat. But IBM did what needed to be done to remain relevant. So while IBM is popular again because of its current business focus, the real reason to be obsessed with IBM for long-term investors is its proven ability to change with the world around it.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in International Business Machines. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends International Business Machines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 

If you’re looking for a broad stock market investment that will also deliver dividend income to you, you might want to consider the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI -0.09%). It’s an exchange-traded fund (ETF), which means it’s a fund that trades like a stock. It’s also an index fund, encompassing not just the 500 big American companies in the S&P 500 index but just about all of the U.S. stock market — more than 3,600 stocks.

The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF pays dividends, too, and recently sported a dividend yield of 1.2% — but whereas most healthy and growing companies pay a fixed dividend amount until they increase it, this ETF’s payout fluctuates a fair amount, as the companies in it change what they pay.

But let’s assume a 1.2% yield. If you invest, say, $1,000, you’ll receive around $12. So to collect $500 in dividend income, you’d need about 42 times that — meaning a stake worth roughly $42,000. That would mean some 130 shares.

To be clear, you can collect much more in dividend income from various high-yield stocks and even some good dividend-focused ETFs. But the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF can still serve a useful role in your long-term portfolio, having you invested in pretty much the entire U.S. market — and, therefore, most of the U.S. economy — including stocks from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE: ZIM). So if you’re bullish on the future of e-commerce and international trade, not to mention scores of other businesses, this ETF has you covered. (Note that there are reports that ZIM may be taken private. And Amazon investors are expecting its investments in artificial intelligence to make it even more efficient.)

It has more to recommend it, too, such as a low expense ratio (annual fee) of just 0.03%, costing you $3 per $10,000 invested per year.

Selena Maranjian has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. The Motley Fool recommends Zim Integrated Shipping Services. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 

Update Sept. 15, 7:58 a.m. UTC: This article has been updated to include another section on LSEG and Microsoft’s collaboration.

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) launched a blockchain-based infrastructure platform for private funds, making it the first major global stock exchange to use such a system.

The platform, called Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI), supports the full lifecycle of digital assets, from issuance and tokenization to post-trade settlement. It was developed with Microsoft and runs on Microsoft Azure, the exchange said on Monday.

LSEG said the system was designed to provide interoperability between distributed ledger technology and traditional financial systems as part of its goal to become the first global exchange group to support clients across the “full funding continuum.”

Related: Trump-linked WLFI’s 40% decline causes millions in losses for crypto whales: Finance Redefined

Private funds are the first asset class to go live on the DMI, with plans for additional asset classes.

As part of the initial offering, private funds on the DMI will be discoverable by Workspace’s users, enabling general partners to interact with professional investors on these platforms.

Capital management firm MembersCap and London-based Archax, a Financial Conduct Authority-regulated crypto exchange, were the first clients onboarded. MembersCap conducted the platform’s debut transaction with Archax acting as a nominee for the Cardano Foundation.

Related: RWAs: new institutional ‘trust’ layer to boost tokenized ESG investment

Microsoft, LSEG aim to unlock new opportunities for customers

Microsoft’s collaboration with LSEG on the new blockchain-based platform is a “powerful example of the innovation driving our strategic partnership,” according to Bill Borden, corporate vice president of worldwide financial services at Microsoft. He wrote:

“Together, we’re reshaping the future of global finance to empower our customers to unlock new opportunities and drive meaningful change.”

Today’s private market processes are ripe for innovation. LSEG aims to improve investor access to capital markets and enhance liquidity, according to Dr. Darko Hajdukovic, head of digital markets infrastructure at LSEG.

“We intend to do this by continually working with all stakeholders to enhance efficiencies and connectivity for both digitally-native and traditional assets,” wrote Hajdukovic in the announcement, adding that there is significant “appetite for an end-to-end, interoperable, regulated financial markets DLT infrastructure.”

Ultimately, the platform aims to provide more investor access to private market investment opportunities that were previously difficult to discover and participate in.

Similar blockchain-based incentives from traditional finance giants may accelerate the convergence of traditional and decentralized finance (DeFi), which may come sooner than most expect, according to Nelli Zaltsman, head of blockchain payments innovation at JPMorgan’s Kinexys.

“Our goal has always been to find the best way to work with the public blockchain, regulatory environment permitting,” said Zaltsman, speaking alongside Chainlink Labs co-founder Sergey Nazarov at the RWA Summit Cannes 2025.

In June 2025, the banking giant piloted synchronized settlement technology with Chainlink, allowing JPMorgan’s blockchain-based deposits to orchestrate transactions across different blockchains.

Magazine: The one thing these 6 global crypto hubs all have in common…

A star stock during the pandemic era wasn’t shining so brightly on Friday. On a media report that the current presidential administration is preparing to link a set of fatalities to Covid vaccines, BioNTech‘s (BNTX -7.26%) share price declined by 7% across that day’s trading session. The biotech company’s decline was particularly notable given the essentially flat-line performance of the S&P 500 index.

Negative accounts

That morning, The Washington Post published an article stating that healthcare officials in the Trump administration were aiming to link the deaths of 25 children to coronavirus vaccines. BioNTech is a co-developer of a top vaccine, Comirnaty, aimed at preventing the disease’s spread (its partner in the effort was U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer).

Citing four unnamed people “familiar with the situation,” this effort will be based on findings that were apparently filed with the federal government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. The platform contains unverified accounts of experiences and events following the administration of jabs.

The newspaper added that the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stresses that the system isn’t intended to determine if any vaccine injections result in fatalities. According to the CDC, such a judgement requires significant investigation by scientific and medical professionals.

Danger of reputational damage

The Post wrote that administration officials aim to present their findings next week to a CDC advisory panel. That panel is considering recommendations for new Covid vaccines.

BioNTech might be particularly exposed in such a move, as it is a much smaller company than its big U.S. partner Pfizer. If it becomes seen as a developer of a supposedly harmful product, its reputation could suffer irreparably.

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

Shares of Gemini (GEMI) opened at $41 a share on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Friday, rising 45% from last night’s IPO price.

The crypto exchange, which is run by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, priced its IPO at $28 a share, valuing the company at around $3.3 billion. It had sold 15.2 million shares, raising $425 million.

Gemini posted a net loss of $283 million in the first half of the year. That follows a $159 million loss for all of 2024, according to the company’s latest financials.

Despite the deepening red ink, Gemini priced its IPO nicely above the initially hoped-for level and secured a $50 million strategic investment from Nasdaq earlier this week. The stock exchange operator said the deal is intended to expand access to Gemini’s crypto custody services for institutional clients. It also positions Gemini as a distribution partner for Nasdaq’s trade management software, Calypso.

Gemini’s IPO follows that of other crypto-native platforms, including stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL), Bullish (BLSH), eToro (ETOR) and Figure Technologies (FIGR), that also went public this year in what appears to be a booming capital market for crypto firms amidst a wave friendly U.S. regulatory action. Bullish Global is CoinDesk’s parent company.

On news that an entertainment sector giant might be making an attempt to buy a large peer, investors took an interest in several industry stocks on Thursday. One of these was Lionsgate Studios (LION 15.88%), whose share price surged by almost 16%, surely on hopes that it too might be approached by suitors. The stock’s advance was much more impressive than the S&P 500 index’s 0.9% increase.

Hollywood heat

The talk of Hollywood that day was the apparent bid being crafted by Paramount Skydance in a try at acquiring the aforementioned peer, Warner Bros Discovery.

In a story that was broken by The Wall Street Journal, apparently the former company is assembling an offer to purchase the entirety of the latter in a mostly cash deal. That would be quite a swallow in both financial terms, as Warner’s market cap is currently just north of $40 billion, and operationally. After all, Warner is a long-standing pillar of the entertainment business that holds numerous assets in different types of media (film, TV, streaming video, etc.).

On that news, which was widely disseminated in both the entertainment press and general-interest media outlets, Warner’s stock zoomed nearly 29% higher on Thursday.

Entertainment assets arms race?

Why couldn’t the smaller, more focused Lionsgate attract similar attention from potential buyers? It’s easy to imagine many investors thinking in this direction, as big-ticket acquisitions can have the knock-on effect of inspiring other deals. Lionsgate is not only smaller, but it would surely be cheaper to purchase, as its market cap currently stands at a shade over $2.2 billion.

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

An apparent takeover attempt being concocted by a peer was the main factor behind Warner Bros Discovery (WBD 28.91%) stock’s precipitous rise on Thursday. On a media report that the storied entertainment company is in play, investors piled into the stock in anticipation of a generous buyout offer. Warner soared almost 29% higher in price that trading session.

Hollywood megadeal in the works?

That afternoon, The Wall Street Journal published a story stating that Paramount Skydance is making preparations to submit a majority cash bid for Warner. This effort is apparently backed by the family of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, which includes Oracle co-founder and executive chairman Larry Ellison and film producer Megan Ellison. It wasn’t immediately clear which family members might be involved in the bid.

The Journal, citing unnamed “people familiar with the situation,” wrote that Paramount Skydance’s play will be for the entirety of the sprawling Warner.

The business newspaper added that in preparing a bid, Paramount Skydance hopes to get the jump on big tech and entertainment conglomerates that might want to lay their hands on Warner assets.

If successful, a combination of Paramount Skydance and Warner would be earth-shaking for the entertainment industry. Combined, the two own a dizzying number of familiar entertainment properties, including cable/streaming channel HBO, superhero franchise base DC Studios, and Nickelodeon Movies.

The Journal did not speculate as to how much Paramount Skydance plans to offer for Warner; however, the amount must be substantial. The latter company’s market cap stood at over $40 billion after the run-up in the stock following the article’s publication.

Neither Paramount Skydance nor Warner has yet officially commented on the report.

Stay tuned for more!

Given David Ellison’s successful entry into Paramount Skydance last month, plus the considerable financial firepower he and his team can marshal, I’d say the Journal‘s report has a lot of credibility. I’d be cautious in approaching Warner’s stock now, however, as we have no indication of what the price tag might be.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Oracle and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

When investors think about artificial intelligence (AI) and the chips powering this technology, one company tends to dominate the conversation: Nvidia (NVDA 3.91%). It has become an undisputed barometer for AI adoption, riding the wave with its industry-leading GPUs and the sticky ecosystem of its CUDA software that keep developers in its orbit. Since the launch of ChatGPT about three years ago, Nvidia stock has surged nearly tenfold.

Here’s the twist: While Nvidia commands the spotlight today, it may be Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 3.77%) that holds the real keys to growth as we look toward the next decade. Below, I’ll unpack why Taiwan Semi — or TSMC, as it’s often called — isn’t just riding the AI wave, but rather is building the foundation that brings the industry to life.

Taiwan Semi is the most influential foundry business on the planet

What makes Taiwan Semi so critical is its role as the backbone of the semiconductor ecosystem. Its foundry operations serve as the lifeblood of the industry, transforming complex chip designs into the physical processors that power myriad generative AI applications.

TSMC manufactures GPUs designed by Nvidia, CPUs for Advanced Micro Devices, and a widening range of custom silicon that cloud hyperscalers are using to optimize AI workloads more efficiently. Today, Taiwan Semi dominates the global foundry market with roughly 68% share of industry revenue — leaving rivals like Samsung Electronics in a distant second place with just 8%.

Why might TSMC stock outperform Nvidia or AMD?

One of the louder bear cases against Nvidia and AMD is the growing adoption of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Hyperscalers are becoming highly motivated to design their own silicon — not only to fine-tune training performance for AI models, but also to reduce reliance on incumbents and push back against their pricing power.

The trend is already visible: Alphabet‘s Google is rolling out its tensor processing units (TPU), Amazon is deploying its Trainium and Inferentia chips, while Microsoft is experimenting with its own AI accelerators.

For Nvidia and AMD, this shift could translate into slower growth as spending that once flowed directly toward their GPUs is instead redirected to internally developed hardware. For these enterprises, vertical integration isn’t just a budgeting exercise; it’s a strategic hedge against dominating third-party suppliers.

For TSMC, however, these dynamics look quite different. Custom ASICs still need a manufacturer, and Taiwan Semi’s existing footprint in advanced fabrication services makes it a logical partner. In essence, TSMC is less vulnerable to which specific chip design gains momentum. Rather, the company is positioned as a neutral beneficiary riding the secular tailwinds fueling trillions of dollars being poured into AI infrastructure.

Is Taiwan Semi stock a good buy right now?

For investors, the central question boils down to durability in an increasingly competitive AI landscape. With its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple peaking near 50 during the height of the AI frenzy, Nvidia is perhaps the most defining symbol of AI euphoria. Even after cooling off, the stock still trades at 38 times its forward earnings — meaningfully elevated over its three-year average.

NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

While this premium underscores the market’s confidence, it also leaves little margin for error. Any slowdown in demand across compute and networking — or mounting competition from custom silicon — could put downward pressure on Nvidia’s lofty valuation multiple.

By contrast, TSMC’s valuation tells a different story. Despite being the underlying enabler of Nvidia, AMD, and hyperscalers alike, Taiwan Semi has not enjoyed the same degree of valuation expansion. To me, this suggests that the market has yet to fully price in TSMC’s critical role at the intersection of AI development, infrastructure, and manufacturing.

As AI infrastructure spending accelerates, Taiwan Semi is uniquely positioned as an agnostic winner, as the company stands to benefit regardless of which chip designer is featured most prominently in the spotlight. By 2030, TSMC won’t just be part of the AI story — it likely will be seen as a critical chapter supporting the entire ecosystem.

For long-term investors, this makes TSMC stock a no-brainer opportunity to buy and hold — one poised to outperform even today’s most hyped semiconductor names.

Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool 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.

SoundHound AI (SOUN -2.78%) stock recorded huge gains across August’s trading and has kept rallying. The company’s share price rose 26% last month.

SoundHound’s big gains in August stemmed from a blockbuster earnings report. While the company’s valuation saw some pullbacks in post-earnings trading in response to concerns about valuations for artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, bullish momentum resumed as the month progressed.

SoundHound AI soared on strong Q2 results

SoundHound AI published its second-quarter report after the market closed on Aug. 7, and the conversational AI specialist delivered results that crushed the market’s expectations. The company reported a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) adjusted loss of $0.03 per share on sales of $42.7 million in the period, beating the average Wall Street analyst estimate’s call for a per-share loss of $0.05 on sales of approximately $32.9 million.

SoundHound’s sales increased roughly 217% year over year in the second quarter. While the company’s adjusted gross margin fell to 58.4% from 66.5% in the prior-year period, the big sales beat in the quarter was more than enough to offset the margin decline when it came to shaping movement for the stock. Following the Q2 release, SoundHound AI received ratings upgrades and price-target increases from multiple analysts.

SoundHound AI did see some valuation pullbacks in post-earnings trading last month, but it reclaimed its big gains as the month progressed. Sell-offs in the period stemmed from a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) stating that 95% of the businesses it studied had yet to achieve profitability on their generative AI integrations. Reports showing that inflation was coming in hotter than expected and could accelerate in the consumer side of the economy also played a role in pullbacks.

What’s next for SoundHound AI?

SoundHound AI stock has kept surging in September’s trading, with the stock now up 14.3% in the month so far. Bullish momentum for tech stocks, in conjunction with expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month, has helped facilitate gains for the company’s share price.

On the heels of its strong Q2 results, SoundHound AI raised its full-year performance outlook. The company is now targeting annual revenue between $160 million and $178 million and said that it expects strong growth to continue following the second quarter. If the business were to hit the midpoint of management’s sales target, it would mean delivering annual growth of 99.5% compared to the $84.7 million in sales recorded last year. For comparison, the business recorded annual revenue growth of 85% in 2024.

SoundHound’s business is scaling rapidly, and the company has been managing to expand its sales footprint in a relatively cost-effective fashion. While the stock still looks like a high-risk play, trading at approximately 36.4 times this year’s expected sales, the company’s recent sales momentum suggests shares could still offer upside.

Keith Noonan 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.