This has been disseminated on behalf of Healthy Choice Wellness Corp.

From Consumer Wellness to AI Infrastructure, HCWC is Flipping the Script!

Healthy Choice Wellness Corp. (NYSE American: HCWC) could soon look like a completely different company. Its pending merger with Host Digital Infrastructure would bring a vertically integrated AI/HPC data-center platform into the public markets, with a strategy focused on securing power-ready sites, building right-sized facilities and locking in long-term customer commitments.

The early numbers are turning heads: Host Digital's new Oklahoma agreement covers 43 MW of critical IT load, delivers approximately $1.25 BILLION in contracted base-term revenue and could reach approximately $3.2 BILLION over a potential 30-year term.

And the backdrop couldn't be hotter for HCWC. AI infrastructure is becoming a massive investment cycle as data-center demand surges, power availability tightens and institutional money floods into the sector.

Host Digital's strategy is aimed squarely at that opportunity, while experienced leadership and recent Zacks coverage add another layer to the story. If you're looking for an emerging AI infrastructure play before the HCWC-to-HOST transition potentially takes center stage, now is the time to put HCWC on your radar!

AI needs power, and HCWC may be positioning itself right where that demand is exploding. See why you should take a look now before the story may get even bigger

Petco Is Still Being Priced Like the Old Petco

By Chris Markoch. Article Posted: 9/7/2026.

At a surface level, Petco Health and Wellness (NASDAQ: WOOF) looks like a company that should be a solid defensive stock in times like these.

Data from the American Pet Products Association forecasts that Americans will spend $165 billion on their pets in 2026, an increase of 4.4% from 2025.

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That low-single-digit growth didn't show up in WOOF's latest revenue numbers, which were flat year over year (YOY). But does that justify a 4% drop in the company's stock price?

The report had some positives. More importantly, the market has been pricing the stock for failure for so long that it may be setting up an opportunity for risk-tolerant investors.

The Good and the Bad From Petco's Earnings

In the second quarter of Petco's 2027 fiscal year, the company booked net sales of $1.49 billion, essentially flat compared with the year-ago period, while comparable sales rose 0.6%. That marked the second consecutive quarter of positive comps.

Management attributed some of the top-line softness to a rockier-than-expected rollout of a relaunched membership program. Specifically, point redemptions came in heavier than anticipated right out of the gate, pulling sales forward and creating a short-term drag.

That could signal a stressed consumer. However, Petco said sales were tracking ahead of its internal targets before the relaunch took effect.

On the bottom line, the story looks better. Gross profit rose to $591.1 million, representing a 39.7% margin, up 37 basis points from a year ago. But that improvement came with a caveat: About $6.8 million was attributable to a net benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds. Excluding that benefit, normalized gross margin was roughly flat YOY.

Operating income still climbed 11.1% to $47.8 million, while net income more than doubled to $38.7 million from $14 million in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $122.2 million, compared with $113.9 million a year ago, or $115.4 million on a normalized basis excluding the tariff-related benefit.

Petco also made real progress on its balance sheet. First-half free cash flow improved to $60.8 million, up from just $9.9 million over the same period in 2025, while total debt fell to $1.48 billion from $1.59 billion a year earlier.

After the quarter closed, the company voluntarily prepaid another $75 million of debt, bringing total prepayments to $170 million over the past nine months as it works toward a leverage target of 2x net debt to adjusted EBITDA.

Petco's Turnaround Strategy Is Gaining Traction

CEO Joel Anderson framed the results as evidence that the company's "Reach for the Sky" turnaround strategy is gaining traction, particularly in consumables. CFO Sabrina Simmons pointed to the debt prepayment as a sign that the company is balancing growth investments with deleveraging.

Petco left its full-year guidance unchanged, calling for net sales to be flat to up 1.5% and adjusted EBITDA of $415 million to $430 million. The company also guided for Q3 sales growth of 0.4% to 1.0% and adjusted EBITDA of $100 million to $103 million. Management flagged several initiatives for the back half of the year—including a rollout of Hill's Pet Nutrition fresh dog food and continued growth in cat products—as potential levers to reaccelerate the top line.

WOOF May Be Forming a Bottom

It's always tough to call a bottom for a stock. That said, the WOOF chart suggests the worst may already be priced in. Since May 2026, the stock has found support near $2.50, close to its closing price on Sept. 4.

But concerns remain. WOOF has been trading near its descending 200-day moving average, which has also acted as resistance.

Complicating matters further is the lack of institutional ownership. Only about 6% of the WOOF float is sold short, but with few institutional buyers, traders can have an outsized influence on price action. That was the case the day after the earnings report, when the stock fell more than 4% on nearly five times its normal trading volume.

How to Approach Petco After Earnings

Analyst coverage of WOOF is light, and ratings from the group tracked by MarketBeat are mixed. Of the nine analysts, two have a Sell rating, and the consensus rating is Reduce.

However, the consensus price target of $3.42 implies 32% upside. For that upside to materialize, the company will need to show strong improvement not only in margins but also in the performance of its growth investments.

The bottom line is that, as much as WOOF may seem like the right stock for the right time, there are better options for investors with a speculative itch to scratch.