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Why These Three Big Buybacks Are Sending Very Different Signals to Investors

Written by Leo Miller

Share buybacks are one of the key ways that companies express confidence in their outlook. This is particularly true when shares take a large hit, as management teams look to retire shares at what they may believe is a depressed price.

Three giants in their respective industries just made notable buyback announcements, even as their stocks move in very different directions. The updates include a new repurchase authorization, an inaugural buyback program, and an accelerated share repurchase (ASR), each sending a different kind of signal to investors.

Quanta Adds $1 Billion in Buyback Capacity With Shares on Fire

Quanta Services (NYSE: PWR), a leading provider of specialty contractor services for the electric power, energy, and communications industries, has seen its stock age on a tear, up by well over 100% since the start of 2025.

This comes as the firm has been a prime beneficiary of the artificial intelligence buildout, which is putting significant strain on the power grid. As the industry looks to add power capacity, products like Quanta’s power transformers are seeing a surge in demand.

In its first-quarter earnings report, Quanta posted revenue growth of 26% year-over-year (YOY), its fastest growth rate in over two years. The company smashed estimates on both sales and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) and announced a record $48.5 billion backlog. Free cash flow rose 55% YOY to $172 million, and shares gained 16% after the report.

In a clear sign of confidence, Quanta also announced a $1 billion share buyback program. Compared with Quanta’s market capitalization of nearly $105 billion, the program is relatively small, accounting for a bit less than 1% of that figure.

Notably, Quanta greatly increased its buyback spending in Q1 2026. Repurchases came in at $143 million, nearly 10x the amount it spent in Q4 2025.

Roblox Initiates First Buyback Program in History

On the other side of the equation, Roblox (NYSE: RBLX) shares have experienced a huge decline; The stock is down more than 40% over the past year.

Even after this fall, Roblox remains one of the largest video game companies in the world, with a market capitalization near $31 billion. This is only moderately lower than legacy giants like Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO), with its $42 billion market capitalization.

Notably, Roblox shares cratered 18% after the company’s last first-quarter earnings report, which included a substantial revenue miss. To improve the safety of its platform, Roblox has implemented age-check requirements. This is impacting growth, and management cited it as a key reason for lowering Roblox’s full-year guidance.

As shares tanked, Roblox announced its first-ever buyback authorization. At $3 billion, the program is large, equal to around 9% of Roblox’s market capitalization. Given the massive drop in RBLX, it’s unlikely that the timing of this inaugural program is a coincidence. It shows confidence in the company’s long-term outlook despite current headwinds.

Additionally, the buyback gives Roblox another tool to more effectively offset dilution from stock-based compensation (SBC). Roblox uses SBC heavily among its employees, with SBC equal to around 19% of revenue last quarter.

Boston Scientific Announces $2 Billion Accelerated Buyback

With a market capitalization of around $71 billion, medical device giant Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) is one of the world’s top 10 most valuable stocks in the health care equipment and supplies industry. It’s hard to imagine the stock having a worse start to 2026, with shares down nearly 50% year-to-date (YTD).

The stock recently experienced a 12% single-day drop after Boston Scientific’s appearance at the Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference. CEO Mike Mahoney discussed flat growth for its Watchman stroke prevention device from Q1 to Q2, and possibly into Q3. However, the company maintained its total full-year organic growth guidance of 6.5% to 8%.

Prior to this event, Boston Scientific announced a $2 billion ASR program, indicating it saw significant value in its shares and thus saw a need to repurchase them as quickly as possible.

The company expects that the final settlement of its ASR will take place by the end of June. After this ASR, Boston Scientific will have approximately $3 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization. This is a substantial amount, roughly 4% of the company’s market capitalization, leaving it with ample firepower to continue buying back stock.

Buybacks Tell Different Stories in Good Times and Bad

Overall, Quanta, Roblox, and Boston Scientific are using buybacks against very different backdrops.

Quanta is adding repurchase capacity while its business is performing extremely well, and cash flow is rising. Meanwhile, Roblox and Boston Scientific are doing so while their shares get crushed, suggesting that management teams see long-term value despite near-term pressure.

For investors, the key takeaway is that buybacks are not automatically bullish. They matter most when the company has the cash flow, balance sheet strength and operating momentum to support them. Quanta’s authorization looks like a continuation of strength, while Roblox and Boston Scientific are more clearly trying to reinforce confidence during periods of investor doubt. READ THIS STORY ONLINE

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Drone Stocks Soar As Pentagon Considers Funding, Including a Trump-Linked Name

Written by Leo Miller

Drone stocks just caught a bid after investors reacted to a Wall Street Journal report that the Trump administration is in talks to fund multiple U.S. drone companies tied to the Pentagon’s “Drone Dominance” initiative.

The report tied those talks to the Pentagon’s $1.1 billion Drone Dominance program, which is designed to accelerate the fielding of low-cost, one-way attack drones. Official program materials describe a goal of fielding hundreds of thousands of weaponized drones by 2027, while the Journal reported a 300,000-drone target.

The news sent many drone stocks flying higher as the government signaled demand for drones and a potential willingness to help finance the projects. Unusual Machines (NYSE AMERICAN: UMAC) was the only publicly traded company directly named in the report, but the rally quickly spread to other drone-adjacent stocks. Companies with exposure to drone components, autonomous defense systems, and counter-drone technology also moved higher, like Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) and Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON).

Unusual Machines: Trump-Linked Component Maker Pops More Than 50%

Unusual Machines stock surged by a whopping 57% in one day after being identified as one of the companies under consideration for the potential funding.

Notably, President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., is a member of Unusual Machine’s board of advisors and a shareholder in the small drone component manufacturer. In 2024, shares soared more than 80% the two days following the company’s announcement of Donald Trump Jr.’s involvement.

Overall, Unusual Machines shares are now up more than 900% since going public in 2024 and up more than 100% year-to-date (YTD).

Unusual Machines’ Q1 2026 earnings report was mixed. Sales of $8.1 million were drastically higher than the $5.5 million analysts expected, resulting in revenue growth of 296% year-over-year (YOY) and the firm’s eighth quarter in a row of record sales. However, the company missed on adjusted earnings per share (EPS) by a wide margin. Its EPS of 21 cents was 15 cents below the analyst estimate.

The company had over $220 million in cash on hand at the end of the first quarter, giving it ample financing runway considering its cash burn of $38 million over the last 12 months. However, an injection of government capital could allow the firm to scale its operations significantly faster.

The analyst consensus price target of $22.33 implies a drop of more than 20%. However, analysts may raise their targets following the company’s inclusion in the report. At the same time, it’s possible analysts will wait for more information on potential government funding before altering their targets.

Kratos: Autonomous Fighter Jet’s Stock Spikes

Kratos was not named in the report, but it saw a clear sympathy move, gaining 13.8% as investors looked for broader exposure to the unmanned aerial systems market.

Kratos is not known for traditional “small” drones. bit for developing autonomous fighter jets, including its Valkyrie and Mako systems. Target drones are also a significant part of their business, which customers use to learn how to fight against autonomous targets.

Kratos took the stock market by storm in 2025, rising by 187%. This made Kratos one of the best-performing defense stocks of the year, eclipsing the 174% return of Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB).

However, Kratos shares have come way down in 2026, dropping approximately 50% from its all-time high.

Much of the drop appears tied to the stock getting ahead of itself rather than a clear deterioration in the business. Kratos has handily beaten estimates in its last three earnings reports, but the stock still dropped substantially after each report. Valuation was a major part of the pressure. In mid-January, shares traded at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio near 183x—a level that is difficult for most stocks to maintain.

While Kratos’s main focus is not on the small units the Drone Dominance initiative emphasizes, the report signals strong government interest in the overall UAS industry. In 2025, 68% of Kratos’s revenue came from contracts for which the U.S. government was the final customer.

Axon: Gains 10% as Counter-Drone Demand Gets a Fresh Catalyst

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON)—best known for its TASER devices, police body cameras, and key software products used by law enforcement—is consistently expanding its offerings, including drones. But it operates on the other side of the equation: providing counter-drones.

Axon was also not named in the report, but the stock rose 12.3% as investors looked beyond drone manufacturers to companies that could benefit from rising demand for drone detection and defense systems.

Axon acquired its Dedrone business in 2024 and saw massive growth from the product in its latest quarter. Counter-drone sales increased by approximately 300% YOY, while bookings rose even faster at 500% YOY. Notably, the Pentagon recently awarded a three-year contract with a $500 million ceiling to counter-drone company Perennial Autonomy, demonstrating interest in counter-drone systems.

Despite this surge, Axon Enterprise shares have faced significant pressure over the past 52 weeks, down over 45% from their high. Like Kratos, valuation was a concern, with Axon trading at a forward P/E ratio as high as 131x in 2025. The large sell-offs seen across the software industry due to fears of artificial intelligence disruption have also affected the stock.

This comes even though hardware continues to make up the majority of the company’s sales. Last quarter, hardware accounted for 56% of sales, up from 44% for software and services, and both segments posted very strong YOY growth of over 30%. READ THIS STORY ONLINE

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Braze Blazes Ahead on Q1 2027 Earnings Beat, Raised Guidance

Written by Thomas Hughes

It’s been a long time coming, but Braze Incorporated’s (NASDAQ: BRZE)stock price decline is over, and the rebound appears underway.

The pullback has been partly tied to fears that artificial intelligence (AI) could disrupt customer engagement software providers. But Braze’s latest earnings release indicate a rebound underpinned by strength in clients, penetration, and cash flow, suggesting AI is becoming a demand driver rather than just a competitive threat. 

Takeaways from the company’s fiscal Q1 2027 earnings report include client wins such as Regal Cinemas, Salomon, and Subway—all globally recognized brands—and a Forrester Total Economic Impact report. That report found that Braze’s customer engagement platform delivers more than 450% return on investment (ROI) within the first three years, paying for itself within the first six months of use by energizing brand engagement while reducing marketing and back-end engineering costs.

Braze Accelerates in Fiscal Q1 2027, Raises Guidance

Braze, Inc. had a solid quarter, accelerating growth for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Revenue came in at $211 million, up more than 30% year-over-year (YOY) and 280 basis points better than expected. Strength was driven by customers, up 16% YOY, and penetration, with the net retention rate up 110% YOY.

Client growth was driven by large customers contributing more than $500,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR), which increased 33% YOY, underpinned by Subscriptions. Subscriptions are the core segment, accounting for nearly 93% of revenue, but Pro Services was also strong, up more than 100% YOY, driven by demand for Braze’s AI-enabled tools. That mix matters because Braze is not simply selling more seats; it is adding higher-value implementation, customer success, and AI-enabled capabilities around its core platform.

Margin news was mixed, but overall bullish for investors, as it aligns with the company’s cash flow and capital return outlook. Margin narrowed at all levels, more sharply than anticipated in some comparisons, but the impact is mitigated by the cause and the company’s financial position. While sales, marketing, research, and development expenses all increased, they underpin results and are controllable.

Other costs, including general and administrative, are also controllable and declined during the period. The net result was $28.1 million in operating cash flow, a 16.5% gain compared to last year, $26.8 million in free cash flow, and 10 cents in adjusted earnings.

The earnings per share (EPS) of 10 cents was only as expected, despite the top-line strength, but up more than 40% YOY, enabling a confident capital return.

Management followed through on its accelerated share repurchase authorization, buying $50 million in shares during the quarter. The company has $50 million left and expects to nearly offset the full impact of share-based compensation this year.

Guidance was also good. The company raised its outlook for revenue and earnings, putting the midpoint in alignment with the consensus. While not typically a strong catalyst, the news was not as bad as expected. The likely outcome is that Braze continues to perform well as the year progresses, leading analysts to adopt a more bullish posture.

Analyst Signal Floor for BRZE Stock

Analyst response was tepid, with a few price target reductions and numerous reaffirmed targets.

The consensus price forecast of $36 implies nearly 30% upside, signaling a deep-value opportunity for investors.

More importantly, the revisions suggest the sentiment downtrend is over, setting the stage for improvement as the year progresses and serving as a catalyst for higher stock prices.

Until then, MarketBeat data show that Braze coverage is increasing, and the 24 tracked analysts have a high conviction in the Moderate Buy rating.

The Buy-side bias is more than 90% and reflected in the institutional activity. Institutional groups own more than 90% of the stock and have accumulated it at an aggressive pace over the trailing 12-month period. The likely outcome is that they continue to buy and hold until higher prices are available.

How high can the BRZE share price get? The valuation metrics suggest about 100% upside is possible. The current-year P/E is high, but assuming the company meets its outlook, the stock will trade at only 13x the 2030 forecast. In this scenario, Braze shares can easily advance by 100% to the 26x level, as longer-term forecasts suggest an even deeper value is present.

Chart price action has been bullish following the release. Braze’s market confirmed support at a cluster of moving averages and then advanced above a critical support target. The setup in June suggests that a move toward the next critical resistance level near $32.50 is likely and may be reached by the end of the month.

A move above $32.50 would strengthen this market. Braze’s biggest risks are macroeconomic headwinds and their impact on IT spending, but it doesn’t appear to be a significant problem now. Other threats include the potential commoditization of AI services due to intense competition from larger players.

 READ THIS STORY ONLINE

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