Growth is a hallmark of all great companies, but the laws of gravity eventually take hold. Those who rode the COVID boom and ensuing tech selloff in 2022 will surely remember that the market’s punishment can be swift and severe when trajectories fall.

Pawn store operator FirstCash Holdings (NASDAQ:FCFS) announced better-than-expected revenue in Q2 CY2026, with sales up 29.4% year on year to $1.07 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.50 per share was 4.8% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

Heartland Advisors, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for the “Heartland Value Plus Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Small-cap stocks rose in the second quarter, with the Russell 2000® Index increasing 21.49%, outpacing the 15.20% gain for the S&P 500 Index. The artificial intelligence trade continues […]