Strategy shares closed down 5.28% on Aug. 18 at $92.52 after hitting an intraday low of $92.45. The company holds a $4.8 billion USD reserve, but investors have focused on its pause in Bitcoin purchases. This week, Strategy raised $333.7 million through a stock issuance.

Zip Co reported record FY26 results, with cash EBTDA of $268.9 million up 57.9% year on year. Total revenue rose 24.7% to $1,336.1 million, while net profit after tax increased 45.7% to $116.4 million. Operating margin expanded to 20.0% from 15.8%, and total transaction volume grew 27.2% to $16.7 billion. In the US, transaction volume and revenue rose more than 42% in local currency, and the company expects US transaction volume to grow by more than 30% next year.

Telix Pharmaceuticals reported half-year revenue up 22% year on year to US$477 million, tracking to the upper end of its FY26 guidance. Adjusted EBITDA surged 146% to US$52 million, while gross margin improved to 55% and the Precision Medicine segment margin reached 65%. Profit after tax was US$38 million, including a US$40 million payment from Regeneron, and operating cash flow was positive at US$23 million. The company ended the period with a cash balance of US$252 million.

Ascentage Pharma reported unaudited results for the first half of 2026, with revenue up 29% year over year to US$44.5 million, driven mainly by higher Olverembatinib sales. As of June 30, 2026, Olverembatinib had been added to formularies at 879 DTP pharmacies and hospitals. Hospital coverage rose 34% year over year to 394 hospitals.

Casino operator Bally’s issued a going-concern warning in its second-quarter earnings report, citing a deepening liquidity crunch. As of end-June, the company owned and operated 20 casinos globally, spanning the United Kingdom and 11 U.S. states. Shares have fallen more than 35.9% over the five trading days following the disclosure, and are down more than 46.8% since the start of 2026.

Bridgewater Associates sharply increased its position in Shell in the second quarter, lifting its holdings from 312,200 shares to 1.53 million shares, a gain of about 390%. The move came after Brent crude slid nearly 40% from its year-to-date high following a U.S.-Iran peace deal, then rebounded more than 16% after the July 8 ceasefire breakdown. Over that stretch, energy was the best-performing sector in the S&P 500. Shell shares are up 29.84% over the past 52 weeks and 26.25% so far this year.

The US IPO market has raised $145.5bn in 2026, topping the full-year 2021 record of $142.4bn. SpaceX’s $75bn offering in June accounted for more than half of the total. SK hynix raised $26.5bn in the largest-ever US listing by a foreign company, while the Renaissance IPO Index is up 18.8% this year, beating the S&P 500. Anthropic and OpenAI have filed confidentially, keeping the pipeline active.

U.S. stocks closed modestly higher as easing Treasury yields lifted risk appetite and a sharp jump in Moderna powered the healthcare sector. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average all posted small gains. Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed “several” officials were prepared to raise rates, and “many” said a hike would be needed if inflation fails to fall to the central bank’s 2% target. Marvell Technology rose after saying it will help develop Google’s in-demand custom chips and has offered the company the right to buy a potential $12.2 billion stake.