The sticker price on a phone stopped being the price anyone actually pays a long time ago.

What you pay is a blend of a trade-in credit, a monthly installment, a plan tier you may not have chosen on your own, and a commitment that outlasts most car leases.

That structure is why two people can buy the identical phone in the same week and pay very different amounts for it. One trades in a three-year-old handset on a premium unlimited plan and pays almost nothing each month. The other buys outright and pays full retail on the spot.

Apple (AAPL) raised the price of its Pro iPhones by $100 this year. The Pro starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299, and for a lot of households that jump is the difference between upgrading now and waiting another year.

Then the three major U.S. carriers made their counteroffer, and Bank of America (BAC) spent this week working out what it is really worth to you.

How carrier trade-in credits actually reach your bill

Carrier promotions work as credits rather than discounts, and that distinction decides how much cash leaves your account on day one.

When a carrier advertises $1,200 off, the full retail price of the phone goes onto a 36-month installment plan, and the credit comes back to your bill in monthly slices across those same 36 months.

Related: Bank of America flags surprising iPhone 18 pre-order trend

Leave early and the remaining credits stop. That structure is the point, because it keeps you on the account and on a plan tier that bills more each month than an entry-level one.

Apple sells the same phones outright with no strings. The trade-off is that you pay for all of it at once.

What the $1,200 iPhone 18 trade-in credit actually covers

Maximum trade-in credits for the iPhone 18 Pro Max have climbed to $1,200 at Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T) and T-Mobile (TMUS), Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a Sept. 17 research note.

More Apple News:

That is $100 more than the top credit on the iPhone 17 Pro Max last year and $200 more than the iPhone 16 Pro Max the year before. The richer promotions largely cancel out Apple’s price increase, according to Mohan.

Here is the part that matters at the register. Even at the maximum credit, you are not walking out for nothing.

Carriers charge an activation or upgrade fee of $35 to $40, and sales tax is calculated on the full retail price of the phone rather than the discounted amount. On BofA’s figures, using New York City sales tax, that lands at $142 to $147 for the Pro and $250 to $255 for the Pro Max.

What you actually pay upfront for an iPhone 18

• iPhone 18 Pro: $142 to $147 in fees and tax, or $291 to $296 with AppleCare+, according to Bank of America.

• iPhone 18 Pro Max: $250 to $255 in fees and tax, or $400 to $405 with AppleCare+, according to Bank of America.

• Activation or upgrade fee: $35 at AT&T and T-Mobile, $40 at Verizon unless waived, per the carriers’ published terms cited by Android Authority. 

• Sales tax: charged on full retail, roughly $107 on the Pro and $115 on the Pro Max, on BofA’s New York City math.

• Credit delivery: monthly bill credits across 36 months, per carrier promotion terms, highlighted by Tom’s Guide.

Add AppleCare+ at $150 a year and the upfront total runs $291 to $296 for the iPhone 18 Pro and $400 to $405 for the Pro Max, according to the note. Verizon waives the fee for loyalty and new customers, which is the only line item you can negotiate away.

Which older iPhones qualify for the $1,200 credit

The offers target frequent upgraders. Someone holding a five-year-old handset will not see anything close to the top number.

Verizon and AT&T generally require an iPhone 14 or newer to hit the top credit, while T-Mobile sets the bar at an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, per BofA’s survey of carrier terms. AT&T excludes the 16e.

Condition requirements are loose. AT&T and T-Mobile accept qualifying devices in any condition, and Verizon does the same with the exception of battery damage, which matches the carrier deal roundups at Tom’s Guide.

The catch sits in the plan. Credits at every carrier are tiered by plan, number of lines and customer status, so the advertised number is a ceiling rather than an offer. T-Mobile reserves its full credit for its Experience Beyond and Go5G Next tiers, according to Android Authority.

What the iPhone 18 upgrade cycle means for Apple stock

In my analysis, the interesting thing about this note is that it is an argument about affordability rather than about Apple itself. The carriers absorbed the price increase on Apple’s behalf, in Mohan’s framing.

Early signals have been mixed. Bank of America also found shipping times on the new Pro models running shorter than last year, which usually reads as softer initial demand.

BofA kept a buy rating and a $370 price objective, about 11% above Apple’s $332.41 close on Sept. 16. The firm cut that target from $380 a week earlier, after the iPhone Duo came in cheaper than expected.

What I would watch is whether subsidies this rich show up later as a margin problem for the carriers, or as a churn problem when 36 months of credits run out. For now the benefit sits with Apple, which collects full retail either way.

If you are upgrading, the question that decides your real cost is whether you plan to stay with the same carrier until 2029.

Related: T-Mobile adds monthly fee to a new iPhone feature for customers

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Sep 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the Markets section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Nobody knows when the next stock market crash will happen. It could be next week. It could be years from now. But I know what I’d want to buy if it happened.

The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEMKT: VIG) is a portfolio of high-quality companies that generate big cash flow and demonstrate a history of paying and growing dividends over time.

Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »

But that’s not the biggest selling point in a down market. It provides the combination of growth and income that helps cushion against downside risk when weaker companies are getting hit hard, yet maintains a more growth-oriented profile that should capitalize on an eventual recovery.

In a sense, it potentially allows you to take advantage of both the crash and the rebound.

In this case, VIG isn’t really a dividend story

The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF tracks an index that requires companies to have grown their annual dividend for at least 10 consecutive years. It eliminates the highest-yielding stocks right off the bat, helping to avoid companies that could be signaling financial trouble.

That last piece effectively serves as a quality screen for the fund, which is incredibly important during crashes. In volatile markets, investors often turn to safer, more durable stocks that can withstand tough environments. The dividend growth requirement and high yield elimination essentially help create a portfolio of those very stocks.

The fund’s portfolio is a bit unique for a dividend ETF. Technology accounts for around 25% of the portfolio, which is one of the highest allocations in this category. While that could increase volatility, I’d point out that half of that allocation goes to Broadcom, Microsoft, and Apple. Those are three heavyweight tech companies with huge revenue streams that should be able to hold up. These aren’t speculative growth names.

The additional sector weightings to financials (22%) and healthcare (18%) provide an attractive combination for an eventual recovery, quality companies with meaningful exposure to economically sensitive areas of the market.

The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF will almost certainly fall in the next market crash. Investing in this fund isn’t meant to be a way to avoid it altogether. But it’s got durability, balance sheet strength, cash flows, and an improving income stream. These are the kinds of companies that are built for down markets.

It gives investors a quality tilt that plays well in down markets while positioning them well when stocks eventually begin turning higher again.

Should you buy stock in Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF right now?

Before you buy stock in Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $387,158!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,365,749!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 932% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 19, 2026.

David Dierking has positions in Apple and Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Broadcom, Microsoft, and Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

If a Stock Market Crash Is Coming, I’m Buying This 1 Vanguard ETF Without Hesitation was originally published by The Motley Fool

When most investors think about what companies are cashing in on the AI data center boom, they typically picture chipmakers or utilities. Many investors don’t initially consider pipeline companies that supply gas to data centers or utilities. That’s a missed opportunity for generating income. For example, you could generate $600 a month in dividend income by investing around $141,000 into some of the pipeline companies cashing in on AI power demand.

Here’s a look at some of the top pipeline stocks to buy to generate income from the AI data center boom.

Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a “Double Down” signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same “Total Conviction” signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »

Pipeline AI profits into your portfolio

Pipeline giants Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) and Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) are leaders in capitalizing on surging gas demand to support AI data centers. Here’s the math for generating $600 a month from these energy stocks:

Data source: Google Finance and the author’s calculation.

I chose these pipeline stocks for their strong financial profiles and meaningful exposure to the AI power trend.

Energy Transfer has signed several deals to support AI data center power demand, including those to directly supply gas to data centers and to power producers. The master limited partnership (which sends a Schedule K-1 Federal tax form) is also investing in several large-scale gas pipeline projects to support rising gas demand. These investments should give it the fuel to grow its distribution by 3%-5% each year.

Meanwhile, Kinder Morgan currently has $8.2 billion of natural gas pipeline projects under construction to support rising gas demand. Additionally, it’s pursuing over $10 billion in other opportunities beyond its backlog to support growth in gas demand. These projects should give Kinder Morgan the fuel to continue increasing its dividend, which it has done for nine straight years.

You can collect real income today by investing in the pipeline stocks cashing in on the AI data center boom. While $141,250 is a lot to begin with, you can also start small and steadily build your income, as a $12,000 investment would produce over $600 in dividends each year.

Should you buy stock in Energy Transfer right now?

Before you buy stock in Energy Transfer, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Energy Transfer wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $387,158!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,365,749!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 932% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 19, 2026.

Matt DiLallo has positions in Energy Transfer and Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

How to Earn $600 a Month From the Pipeline Stocks Powering AI Data Centers was originally published by The Motley Fool

Kalshi has filed with U.S. regulators to launch perpetual futures contracts linked to individual U.S. stocks, a move that would extend a crypto-style derivatives structure into traditional equity markets. The company’s proposal was submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission as a rule change and simultaneously sent to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for review, according to the filing.

The development arrives as Coinbase has also put forward a separate plan to offer single-stock perpetual futures. Both efforts point to growing competition among regulated crypto derivatives venues to adapt perpetual contract mechanics—particularly the use of ongoing funding payments—to equity instruments.

Key takeaways

• Kalshi filed a proposed rule change with the SEC and submitted the related materials to the CFTC to enable perpetual futures tied to specific U.S. equities.
• The contracts would have no fixed expiration date and would use periodic funding payments between long and short positions to keep pricing aligned with the underlying stocks.
• Kalshi said the products would be treated as security futures and cleared through its CFTC-registered clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear.
• Coinbase filed a parallel proposal the same day, and Kraken’s parent company Payward also moved forward with filings through Bitnomial.
• These proposals come amid renewed uncertainty in U.S. crypto-related regulatory pathways following the Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act earlier this month.

Kalshi’s SEC and CFTC filing targets stock-linked perpetuals

According to Kalshi’s rule change submission to the SEC, the company is seeking approval to list perpetual futures tied to individual U.S. stocks. The filing was made on Friday and the CFTC has not yet approved the proposal.

The key feature of Kalshi’s design is that the futures would be structured without a preset expiration date. Instead of settling at a particular maturity, the price relationship to the underlying stock would be maintained through “periodic funding payments” exchanged between long and short positions, a mechanism widely used in crypto perpetual futures.

Kalshi also indicated that the proposed contracts would be treated as security futures products and cleared using Kalshi’s CFTC-registered clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear—an element that matters for market participants because it points to an operating model built around regulated clearing rather than bespoke settlement arrangements.

The filing is available through the SEC’s website as part of Kalshi’s proposed rule change: https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/kalshiex/2026/34-106422.pdf.

Coinbase moves in parallel as the “equity perp” race expands

Kalshi’s submission followed the same day as a separate announcement from Coinbase. Cointelegraph previously reported that Coinbase has also filed a proposal to bring perpetual futures tied to individual U.S. stocks to the market, using the same broad idea: perpetual exposure without a traditional expiration, balanced through periodic funding payments. The earlier Coinbase coverage is linked here: https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-files-to-bring-single-stock-perpetual-futures-to-us-market.

These filings are significant not only because they replicate a familiar crypto derivatives template, but because they attempt to translate it into the equity derivatives framework—where product categorization, clearing arrangements, and regulator oversight can differ materially from crypto-native contracts.

Payward and Bitnomial also seek approval for stock perpetuals

Kalshi and Coinbase were not the only players advancing this concept. Payward—the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken—also filed to offer single-stock perpetual futures. The proposal was submitted through Payward’s Bitnomial Exchange, and Payward said it expects the products to be available to U.S. traders on Kraken.

Payward stated it plans to start with perpetual futures tied to 10 U.S. equities, including Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, and that it is working toward 24/5 trading.

The underlying SEC filing for Payward is available here: https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/btnl/2026/34-106421.pdf. Payward’s public statement is referenced in a post on X: https://x.com/Payward/status/2101013602790490360.

Crypto-style funding meets a policy moment after the CLARITY Act setback

The push for single-stock perpetual futures comes after the U.S. Senate did not advance the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15, according to reporting referenced in the source. The bill failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to proceed.

In the immediate aftermath, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency would act “decisively” within its existing statutory authority “with or without legislation,” signaling that regulators may pursue frameworks through other channels even if broader legislation stalls. The source ties this statement to an Atkins post on X: https://x.com/SECPaulSAtkins/status/2100256253645668860.

For investors and traders, these details matter because regulatory clarity is often what determines whether and how new derivative structures can be launched at scale. Perpetual futures can be attractive to market participants seeking continuous exposure, but they also shift how risk is managed over time—especially given the role of funding payments in maintaining price relationships.

Kalshi has already been operating in the perpetual futures space for crypto assets in the U.S. The source notes that Kalshi received CFTC approval for its Bitcoin perpetual contract in May and offers perpetual contracts tied to assets including Ether, Solana, and XRP.

What to watch next

With multiple exchanges now seeking permission to list stock-linked perpetual futures, the immediate focus should be on regulatory review timelines at the SEC and CFTC and whether the proposed contract structures—no fixed expiration plus funding-based pricing alignment—survive scrutiny in practice. Market participants will also want to monitor how funding mechanics and clearing arrangements are handled as these proposals move from filing to approval.

All companies that have more than $100 million in investments are required to submit quarterly 13F filings that disclose their holdings. Additionally, individuals and funds have to submit filings when their ownership stakes cross 5% and 10%. When holdings reach the 10% threshold, each subsequent trade must be disclosed. Meanwhile, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest firm takes things to another level when it comes to transparency.

Ark Invest publishes regular updates disclosing all trades for the exchange traded funds (ETFs) that it manages, giving investors a clear look at all the moves made by Wood and her team of analysts and managers. Ark recently disclosed that it made some notable moves, selling shares of Palantir and Advanced Micro Devices and buying roughly $3.35 million worth of Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) for its flagship Ark Innovation ETF.

Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »

What do Ark’s moves mean for investors?

Ark Invest tends to take a very active approach to portfolio management, and Wood and her team will regularly trim holdings when they feel that stocks have posted big gains and present worthwhile profit-taking opportunities — or simply no longer offer sufficient upside potential to justify the associated risks. Palantir and AMD have generated significant wins for Ark, and recent sales of these stocks look like profit taking rather than a fundamental loss of confidence in the companies.

Coming in as the Ark Innovation ETF’s 11th- and 12th-largest holdings, respectively, Palantir and AMD are larger positions in the fund than Archer Aviation, which ranks as the fund’s 30th-largest holding and accounts for roughly 1.2% of the portfolio by weight. On the other hand, Ark’s move to increase its holdings in Archer Aviation, the maker of the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, clearly reflects growing confidence in the company.

Archer has been making some interesting moves lately, most notably entering into a deal with Boeing to acquire its Insitu, SkyGrid, and Wisk Aero subsidiaries. Integrating these companies could significantly improve Archer’s positioning in eVTOLs, drones, and autonomous aerial navigation. While the deal will result in Boeing receiving a 16.5% stake in Archer, it will also bring the aerospace and defense giant on board as a partner — a development that could prove a substantial boon to the eVTOL company in ways beyond the subsidiary purchase.

Archer Aviation stock saw a substantial pop following the announcement of the Boeing deal, but it has now given up much of those gains. With the company’s share price down roughly 31% year to date and 62% from its high, the stock could deliver big upside if the business continues to make progress with next-gen aviation technologies. Archer stock fits into the high-risk, high-reward category that Wood and Ark are known for, and big valuation pullbacks this year have shifted the risk-reward dynamic in more favorable directions.

Should you buy stock in Archer Aviation right now?

Before you buy stock in Archer Aviation, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Archer Aviation wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $387,158!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,365,749!*

That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 19, 2026.

Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Boeing, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Cathie Wood Sold Palantir and AMD, Then Poured $3.35 Million Into Archer Aviation. Is ARK Betting Big on Flying Taxis? was originally published by The Motley Fool

On August 19, Ferrovial (NASDAQ:FER) announced it had been selected to deliver the I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes, a 26-mile project running between Nashville and Murfreesboro. It is the largest single capital investment in Tennessee’s history and the state’s first public-private partnership. The price tag is $9.2 billion, though Ferrovial isn’t carrying it alone, since its DriveTN consortium also counts Transurban and Tikehau Star Infra as partners.

The Model Travels Well

Choice lanes are familiar ground for Ferrovial, which has replicated the model in Washington, D.C., Charlotte and Dallas-Fort Worth. On Virginia’s 66 Express corridor, similar lanes shaved up to 50% off peak-hour travel times. That is the pitch for I-24, a stretch of highway that already ranks among the region’s most jammed: drivers who opt in get steadier speeds, and those in the free lanes should see less traffic too.

The business behind the bid looks healthy, too. Ferrovial’s July 28 results showed adjusted EBITDA up 21.6% on a like-for-like basis to €746 million over the first six months of the year, with U.S. highways doing most of the lifting. Those roads are sending cash home as well, since Ferrovial received €357 million in dividends from North America. And the construction order book reached an all-time high of €18 billion, so plenty of work is already in hand. The pipeline keeps filling: Ferrovial bid on I-285 East in Georgia in July, and its D35 Highway bid in the Czech Republic was the most cost-effective submitted, with technical evaluation still underway.

Beyond the roads, the balance sheet looks sturdy. Ferrovial ended the first half with €1.3 billion in net cash, excluding infrastructure projects, meaning cash outweighs debt outside those projects. The airport arm is progressing too: Ferrovial has finished funding the $1.1 billion in equity it pledged for New Terminal One at JFK, and construction there is 92% complete.

Fine Print Worth Reading

Start with the line that looks worst on the page. Net profit for the first half of 2026 came in at €258 million, versus €540 million for the same period of 2025. That earlier figure included capital gains from asset rotation, which makes the comparison harsh, but the mismatch is still there: EBITDA climbed while reported profit fell.

Then there is the work itself. Construction turned 3.5% of revenue into adjusted EBIT, right on target, so there isn’t much room for a costly overrun on a big job. North America also accounts for 47.9% of the order book, so plenty rides on one region. The $24.8 billion in concession value cited for the project is a figure for Tennessee, not a profit forecast for Ferrovial. And a winning bid is not a finished road: I-24 still has to be financed, built and operated, and the CEO talks in terms of decades.

Quiet Money, Loud Multiple

Twenty-six hedge funds held Ferrovial in the latest quarter, up from 25 the quarter before. A small vote of continued interest, not a stampede. Just 0.97% of the float is sold short. That signals very little organized skepticism. But at 42.55 times forward earnings, as of September 18, the stock already assumes plenty of growth, so a stumble could hurt.

Lanes, Not Guarantees

The I-24 win hands Ferrovial another big road built on a model it already knows. Bulls need Tennessee’s lanes to deliver time savings like Virginia’s while the US highway engine keeps humming, and bears need the profit line to keep trailing EBITDA. For you, the real question is whether a proven playbook can justify a demanding price.

While we acknowledge the potential of FER as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 10 Best Future Stocks to Buy Under $10 and 12 Best Performing Semiconductor Stocks to Invest In.

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.

On September 3, 2026, eGain Corporation (NASDAQ:EGAN) reported fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter and full-year results. Full-year revenue rose 3% to $91.1 million, AI customer revenue grew 20%, and adjusted EBITDA climbed to $13.6 million, a 15% margin, up from 10% a year earlier. Operating cash flow reached a record $21.2 million.

Fiscal 2027 guidance calls for total revenue of $84.5 million to $86 million, below fiscal 2026’s total, with adjusted EBITDA margin guided to just 1% to 2%.

Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock.com

A Gartner Nod and a Widening Pipeline Back the Long-Term AI Bet

Despite the weaker fiscal 2027 outlook, eGain still has several indicators that support management’s longer-term AI thesis. In July, Gartner released its inaugural Magic Quadrant covering customer service knowledge management systems, placing eGain Corporation (NASDAQ:EGAN) in the Leaders category and positioning it highest for ability to execute and furthest for completeness of vision. CEO Ashu Roy described the recognition as evidence that AI-focused knowledge management is emerging as a distinct layer of enterprise infrastructure. New customer wins rose 27% year-over-year, while the number of pipeline opportunities carrying at least $500,000 in annual recurring revenue doubled. Customers are also showing greater willingness to pay for pilot programs before moving to broader deployments, replacing the free-trial approach eGain had previously used. In one early testing and certification engagement, self-service resolution reached 95%. Cash increased to $73.3 million from $62.9 million, despite the company repurchasing 1.6 million shares for $11.5 million. Management is targeting $100 million to $120 million in AI customer ARR by fiscal 2030, compared with $54 million in fiscal 2026.

Analysts on Record Say the Legacy Runoff is Outrunning the AI Ramp

B. Riley’s Erik Suppiger cut his target to $6 from $10.50 on September 8, 2026, keeping a Neutral rating, saying eGain Corporation (NASDAQ:EGAN) beat fiscal Q4 estimates but issued fiscal 2027 guidance well below consensus, driven by accelerating churn in the legacy non-AI business that is significantly reducing next year’s revenue and profitability.

Roth Capital’s Richard Baldry went further the same day, downgrading eGain Corporation (NASDAQ:EGAN) to Neutral from Buy and cutting his target to $7 from $21, citing a meaningful revenue pullback and roughly breakeven adjusted EBITDA for much of the year as legacy attrition more than offsets what he called “modest” AI revenue growth.

The retention data supports the caution.

Trailing 12-month net retention for AI customers fell to 104% from 120% a year earlier, a decline tied to a large expansion deal with JPMorgan Chase that boosted the prior year’s figure, and net retention across all customers dropped more sharply, to 93% from 105%. Total SaaS ARR declined 1% year-over-year, and remaining performance obligations fell 5%.

What The Smart Money Sees

Against that mixed backdrop, hedge funds were hardly moving in one direction either. Renaissance Technologies trimmed its position 10% to 760,999 shares worth $4.79 million as of the second quarter of 2026. Arrowstreet Capital raised its stake 20% to 560,326 shares worth $3.53 million, while AQR Capital Management increased its position 29% to 124,845 shares worth $786,524.

Overall hedge fund ownership ticked up to 12 funds from 11 the prior quarter.

Short interest sits at 9.29% of float, a level that reflects the same skepticism now showing up in B. Riley’s and Roth Capital’s cuts, and shares trade at 76.92 times forward earnings as of September 18, 2026, a multiple that leaves little room for the AI transition to slip further behind the legacy decline.

Both analysts who cut their price targets on eGain Corporation (NASDAQ:EGAN) agree on the same problem: the legacy business is shrinking faster than the AI business can replace it, at least for fiscal 2027. Where they might eventually differ is whether Gartner’s endorsement and a pipeline that doubled in size are enough to make that transition worth waiting through.

For now, the target cuts from B. Riley and Roth Capital reflect a guide that trades a year of visible growth for a bet that pays off only once the legacy runoff is substantially complete by fiscal 2030.

While we acknowledge the potential of EGAN as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 15 Stocks That Will Make You Rich in 10 YearsDisclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.

Kalshi has filed with U.S. regulators to launch perpetual futures linked to individual US stocks, extending the “crypto-style” derivatives model into traditional equity trading. The prediction market operator submitted its proposed rule change to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and separately to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for approval on Friday, with the CFTC still pending a decision.

The proposal would create contracts without a preset expiration date and would rely on periodic funding payments between long and short positions to keep the futures price aligned with the underlying equities. Kalshi said the products would be treated as security futures and cleared through its CFTC-registered clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear.

Key takeaways

• Kalshi filed for single-stock perpetual futures with the SEC and CFTC; CFTC approval is still outstanding.
• No expiration date: contracts would remain open-ended, with periodic funding used to maintain price alignment.
• Security futures framework: Kalshi says the contracts would be cleared through its CFTC-registered clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear.
• Racing competitors: Coinbase submitted a related proposal the same day, and Payward (Kraken) also filed to expand the concept.

What Kalshi’s proposal would change in US equities

Perpetual futures are a derivatives format that has been widely used in crypto markets, where contracts do not settle on a predetermined maturity date. Instead, traders typically rely on a funding mechanism—payments exchanged between long and short positions—to encourage the perpetual contract to track the spot price of the underlying asset.

In Kalshi’s filing, the exchange described contracts tied to individual US stocks that would similarly avoid a fixed expiration date and use periodic funding payments to keep contract prices in step with the referenced equities. Kalshi also framed the offering as “security futures products,” which would place the proposal in a specific regulatory lane and allow for clearance via Kalshi Klear.

Coinbase and Payward join the single-stock perpetual push

Kalshi’s filing lands in the middle of a broader push by crypto firms and crypto-linked trading venues to bring perpetual-style derivatives to the US stock market.

According to a separate report, Coinbase submitted its own proposal to offer perpetual futures tied to individual US stocks on the same day. The timing suggests a coordinated wave rather than isolated experimentation.

Payward—the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken—also moved forward. Earlier coverage of the filings noted that Payward, through its Bitnomial Exchange, submitted a proposal to offer single-stock perpetual futures and said it intends to make them available to US traders on Kraken. Payward stated it plans to start with perpetual futures linked to 10 equities, naming Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon among them, and said it is working toward 24/5 trading.

Kalshi already has a precedent: crypto perps

This is not Kalshi’s first attempt at perpetual derivatives. The company already offers perpetual futures tied to cryptocurrencies in the US, including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and XRP. Kalshi received CFTC approval for its Bitcoin perpetual contract in May, demonstrating it has experience operating within the CFTC’s regulatory framework for these products.

That prior track record may be part of why Kalshi is now attempting to replicate the structure—perpetual contracts paired with funding payments—within a different underlying asset class. Still, investors should note that the regulatory posture for equities and security futures differs from crypto spot and crypto derivatives, even if the trading mechanics are familiar to perp users.

Regulatory momentum after the CLARITY Act setback

The filings come shortly after the CLARITY Act failed to advance in the US Senate on Sept. 15, falling short of the 60 votes required to proceed. The outcome has raised questions about whether comprehensive crypto legislation would move forward quickly.

In a statement reported following the vote, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency would “act decisively” within its existing statutory authority “with or without legislation.” That message aligns with what traders and market operators are now seeing: rather than waiting for new legislation, firms are moving ahead with product proposals that fit within existing regulatory pathways.

Kalshi’s SEC and CFTC submissions, along with parallel filings from Coinbase and Payward, effectively test how the current rulemaking and approval processes handle perpetual derivatives when the underlying assets are equities instead of crypto tokens.

What to watch next

For traders and market participants, the key next step is regulatory: the CFTC must decide on Kalshi’s proposal, and other filings—such as Coinbase’s and Payward’s—will also need to clear their respective review processes. The most important question is how quickly regulators will reconcile perpetual contract mechanics with security futures requirements, and whether the early product schedules described by applicants translate into approved, widely accessible trading.