These 3 Most-Upgraded Stocks Have Almost Nothing to Do With AI

Submitted by Leo Miller. Publication Date: 8/10/2026.

In today’s stock market environment, investors’ attention often turns to one specific theme when considering the stocks most upgraded by analysts: data centers and artificial intelligence. This certainly makes sense, given the theme’s overwhelming presence, which seems to leave little room for other industries.

However, in July, three stocks investors may not expect were among MarketBeat’s most upgraded names. These companies have no or limited direct exposure to the AI theme.

PayPal: Acquisition Offer Sends Shares Soaring

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Since 2020, U.S. banks have been required to keep zero percent of deposits on hand, lending out nearly every dollar while paying savers just 0.04 percent interest.

A new law, the GENIUS Act signed last summer, has cleared the way for a different kind of money to emerge this spring, one that could offer savings rates up to 6 percent.

See what Ian King, Chief Strategist at Strategic Fortunes, has uncovered about this shift before it goes live.

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First up is a name that has experienced significant ups and downs in 2026: PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL). Earlier in 2026, PayPal shares were down as much as 35%. The stock’s rough start was largely due to its February earnings report, in which the firm guided for slightly negative to slightly positive earnings-per-share (EPS) growth in 2026. Meanwhile, the market expected substantially positive EPS growth.

This news, along with PayPal’s announcement of a new CEO, sent shares tumbling more than 20% in a single day. PayPal shares remained depressed until July, when the stock rocketed more than 32% in one month.

The surge came after a group of investors offered to pay a premium for the payments giant. Payments company Stripe, along with private equity firm Advent International, offered to acquire PayPal for approximately $53 billion, or $60.50 per share.

With that price well above PayPal’s share price at the time, the stock soared on the news. The development not only means PayPal investors could eventually be bought out, but also provides evidence that the company may be undervalued. Overall, MarketBeat tracked more than 10 price target increases in July following the news, along with multiple rating increases.

PayPal says the current offer for the company is too low, creating the possibility that Stripe and Advent could return with a stronger proposal.

Texas Instruments Posts Strong Industrial Growth; Data Centers Add a Tailwind

Next up is Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN). While it is a semiconductor company generating data center-driven growth, Texas Instruments is far from the first chip stock investors think of when it comes to AI.

The stock has posted impressive gains in 2026, generating a total return of more than 60%. Its approximately 2% dividend yield isn’t too shabby either. It is among the highest of any chip stock and provides a meaningful return stream.

The company’s latest earnings report was filled with positives. Texas Instruments beat sales estimates by more than $200 million and grew revenue by nearly 23% year-over-year (YOY), while its large industrial end market grew by 30% YOY. The firm also substantially exceeded EPS estimates, and data center revenue doubled YOY.

However, data centers are a relatively small business for Texas Instruments, accounting for just 9% of total sales in 2025. TI also experienced significant gross margin expansion of 340 basis points, bringing the figure to 61%. The report clearly impressed analysts, with MarketBeat tracking more than 10 price target increases afterward.

J.B. Hunt Catches a Bid on Intermodal Strength and Cost-Cutting

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ: JBHT) also won significant favor among analysts in July. The stock posted its largest single-day gain of the year midway through the month, rising more than 8%. This added to the stock’s already strong run, with shares now up more than 35% in 2026. The gain came after J.B. Hunt released a much better-than-expected Q2 earnings report. The company’s revenue rose 19% YOY, its highest growth rate in nearly four years. J.B. Hunt also displayed significant operating leverage, with operating income rising 32% YOY.

J.B. Hunt combined higher shipping volumes with cost-cutting to achieve these results. Its intermodal business line was particularly impressive. In this segment, the company ships containers using a combination of trains and trucks. It reported that intermodal volumes rose 10% YOY to 578,000 loads, setting a quarterly record.

Meanwhile, J.B. Hunt cut its structural costs by $135 million over the past year. These factors helped J.B. Hunt secure more than 10 analyst price target increases, as well as multiple rating boosts, the majority of which came after its strong report.

Notably, J.B. Hunt sees further opportunities to reduce costs and expand its intermodal business amid rising trucking rates and fuel costs. The company’s ability to execute on these opportunities and increase intermodal pricing are key factors to watch in 2027.

Texas Instruments: Can Automotive Chip Recovery Continue Picking Up Steam?

Analysts continue to show confidence in Texas Instruments’ outlook, with the MarketBeat consensus price target near $312, implying approximately 10% upside for the shares. One factor that could lead to even more optimism is a continued recovery in its automotive segment.

The automotive market was in a downturn for some time before beginning to rebound last year. The company noted that growth accelerated in Q2 2026, with sales rising by a mid-teens percentage. Because automotive sales accounted for 33% of total revenue in 2025, further growth could have a significant impact on the firm’s bottom line. This makes acceleration in automotive sales a key factor to watch, potentially leaving TI with three business lines growing by more than 20%.

Why Dutch Bros Plunged Despite a Q2 Earnings Beat and Record Revenue

Submitted by Jessica Mitacek. Publication Date: 8/9/2026.

On Aug. 5, 2026, quick-service coffee retailer Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS) reported second-quarter results after the close, announcing record revenue and an earnings-per-share (EPS) beat.

However, the stock dropped sharply on Thursday, falling nearly 19% from Wednesday’s close.

If you keep cash in a U.S. bank account… read this NOW (Ad)

Since 2020, U.S. banks have been required to keep zero percent of deposits on hand, lending out nearly every dollar while paying savers just 0.04 percent interest.

A new law, the GENIUS Act signed last summer, has cleared the way for a different kind of money to emerge this spring, one that could offer savings rates up to 6 percent.

See what Ian King, Chief Strategist at Strategic Fortunes, has uncovered about this shift before it goes live.

Click here to see what Ian King found about this new savings shift

Following the sell-off, shares are now down around 35% from their all-time high in February 2025. Despite the company’s improving financials, a tempered outlook and Dutch Bros’ aggressive expansion plan soured the market’s reaction. Here’s why.

Dutch Bros Delivered the Beat Investors Wanted

On paper, the headline numbers were strong. In Q2, record revenue of $550.85 million surpassed analyst expectations of $525.39 million and marked a 32.5% year-over-year (YOY) increase. EPS of 33 cents also beat the forecast of 29 cents, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased to $114 million, representing YOY EBITDA growth of 32.49%.

Dutch Bros continues to expand aggressively. In Q2, the company opened 48 new shops while acquiring the rights to 31 Phoenix-area locations and pursuing additional drive-thru locations tied to Salad and Go leases. The company’s focus on mobile app orders and rewards is also paying dividends, with those orders accounting for more than 73% of transactions during the quarter.

In her earnings call comments, CEO Christine Barone said Q2 marked Dutch Bros’ eighth consecutive quarter of transaction growth and its 13th straight quarter of positive comparable sales. She added that the company’s “development momentum remained exceptionally strong during the quarter…reinforcing our confidence in our pipeline and the path ahead to reaching 2,029 shops in 2029.”

As a result, the company raised its 2026 outlook. Dutch Bros now expects full-year revenue in the range of $2.1 billion to $2.13 billion—representing 28% to 30% YOY growth—as well as $385 million to $390 million in adjusted EBITDA. The company also expects to open at least 185 new shops despite anticipated coffee-cost and occupancy pressures.

Why Investors Looked Past the Beat

In part, Thursday, Aug. 6’s plunge was a “sell the news” market reaction following a strong Q2 report and a nearly 41% run-up in the share price from BROS’ year-to-date low on March 27 through the Aug. 5 close.

But profit-taking alone was not responsible for the correction. BROS remains a high-valuation growth stock, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 63.47. That is a marginal improvement over its trailing 12-month P/E ratio of nearly 75, but the stock can still be considered comparatively expensive.

As the company continues to pursue its goal of 2,029 Dutch Bros locations by 2029, free cash flow growth remains under pressure as the company invests heavily in expansion. That matters because investors want to see store growth translate into stronger cash generation over time.

While record quarterly revenue is always welcome, investors were discouraged by management’s expectation of Q3 systemwide same-shop sales growth between 5% and 6%, with the company trending toward the midpoint of that range. That would represent a slowdown from Q2’s 5.8% systemwide comparable sales growth and 8.3% growth at company-operated locations.

The slowdown in sales growth comes as Dutch Bros continues to roll out last year’s food menu—which reached 750 shops ahead of schedule—and acquire additional locations. Both initiatives have contributed to 2026 capital expenditure projections of $350 million to $370 million.

The company’s shift toward build-to-suit leases is expected to create approximately 60 basis points of cost-of-goods-sold pressure and contribute to roughly 20 basis points of adjusted EBITDA margin pressure by the end of 2026.

Wall Street Maintains Its Robust Outlook

In July, Dutch Bros expanded into Mississippi, the 26th state in which the company now operates. That long-term expansion plan—more than any near-term same-shop sales slowdown—is still being well received by Wall Street.

Despite its high-volatility beta of 2.32, BROS carries a Moderate Buy rating, with 21 of the 24 analysts currently covering the stock assigning it a Buy rating. Meanwhile, the average 12-month price target implies nearly 45% upside from current levels.

Institutional ownership remains higher than average at 85.54%. A total of 336 buyers generated inflows of $2.07 billion over the past 12 months, nearly double the $1.06 billion in outflows from 163 sellers during the same period.

Current short interest of 13.16% of the float is worth monitoring, but that figure has steadily decreased over the past three reporting periods, from $1.07 billion worth of shares on June 15 to $897 million as of July 15.