The U.S. Commerce Department finalized $100 million CHIPS Act deals with D-Wave Quantum (QBTS +6.57%), Rigetti Computing (RGTI +4.01%), and Quantinuum (QNT +1.65%), and walked away with a stake in each.

IBM (IBM -1.19%) went bigger, matching $1 billion from the government with $1 billion of its own to launch Anderon, a foundry aimed at doing for qubits what TSMC (TSM +2.35%) did for transistors. GlobalFoundries (GFS -0.27%) took $375 million and handed over a 1% government stake in return. Quantum stocks jumped on the updates. IonQ (IONQ +2.40%) rallied too after it raised guidance and unveiled its sixth-generation quantum system.

• Government backing matters: Washington ran the same playbook on Intel (INTC +9.05%) last year, and the stock gained over 300% afterward. For companies still years from profitability, a federal stake acts as a credibility stamp, signaling that quantum is too important for even Washington to sit out.
• A split camp isn't a knock on quantum: At Alphabet (GOOG +0.02%), Google Quantum AI passed on the same CHIPS funding, arguing the strings attached would slow its own roadmap. If anything, walking away says Google thinks quantum is valuable enough to keep in-house. If this decade is quantum's proving ground, the next should see the bets pay out.

2. Marvell CEO Reveals Secret Sauce

Recommended by both Team Hidden Gems and Team Rule Breakers, Marvell Technology (MRVL +0.83%) shares have jumped roughly 241% over the past year, dwarfing rival Broadcom's (AVGO +2.98%) 6.6% gain. CEO Matt Murphy says the real driver isn't just silicon – it's trust. Speaking on CNBC's "Mad Money," Murphy said a decade of proving Marvell can deliver complex chips on time has won it deepening ties across the AI ecosystem. They include partnerships with Nvidia (NVDA -2.01%) and, in a coup that dented Broadcom's grip, Google. That trust, he argues, lets Marvell sell custom silicon to all four major U.S. hyperscalers rather than leaning on one customer or chip design.

• Diversification is the real hedge here: Longtime partner Amazon (AMZN -0.60%) struck a new infrastructure deal with Qualcomm (QCOM +3.17%). Murphy, however, waved off the threat, pointing to Marvell's footprint across the entire hyperscaler landscape.
• Reputation is doing double duty as a moat: In a market where chip complexity keeps rising, being the supplier everyone trusts to execute may prove harder for rivals to replicate than any single product win.

ServiceTitan (TTAN -7.21%), recommended in Stock Advisor by Team Rule Breakers, sank as much as 19% in pre-market trading Wednesday. Second-quarter revenue rose 20.9% year over year, while free cash flow jumped 47.1% to $50.5 million. The trades-software company blew past its own goal of doubling "Max" location enrollments, surpassing 700 in the quarter. Although full-year guidance was in line with estimates, the stock dipped on news that the chief revenue officer Ross Biestman is being replaced by Rikus Pretorius.

• ServiceTitan's drop isn't about the numbers: Nothing in the earnings report points to a deteriorating business. Transaction volume across the platform grew 17% to $26.8 billion, and losses narrowed sharply.
• Leadership shakeups test conviction, not fundamentals: When a stock falls on an executive departure rather than a miss, the useful question isn't "sell or hold" but whether the original reason you owned it still applies.

4. Casey's and Braze: Guidance Mattered More Than Results

Two recommendations from Team Rule Breakers both reported Tuesday afternoon. In both cases, forward guidance outweighed past results, like it should.

• Casey's General Stores (CASY -2.99%), down 8%. The Stock Advisor rec from Team RB beat earnings on wider fuel margins and stronger inside-store food and beverage sales that drove margins higher. Management didn't raise guidance, but we don't see a problem with that. It held guidance steady to stay focused on long-term growth. Investors should focus on multi-quarter store growth and margin stability anyway over single-quarter beats and misses.
• Braze (BRZE -5.16%), down 10%. The Rule Breakers rec posted strong quarterly growth and raised its full-year outlook. The stock still fell in pre-market trading, because the customer engagement platform business couldn't impress analysts with its near-term profit guidance. Here's what matters: Retention improved, the large customer base grew, and free cash flow rose. Can core metrics outpace short-term guidance noise? That's the question investors should seek answers to next.

5. Shopify: Where To!

Team Hidden Gems

Shopify (SHOP -7.58%) is a misunderstood company. That's exactly what has drawn Team Hidden Gems to it, leading to our over 80 recommendations in the last decade. Our earliest investments landed around $3 per share in 2016. Today's price of $134 per share makes that more than a 40-bagger (turning $25,000 into $1 million).

Many institutional investors saw Shopify as a ho-hum e-commerce toolkit with a limit on growth. But all the way through, the company has been building the operating system for online shopping, which is now being powered by AI.

• AI changes the equation: Shopify's platform now drives AI-powered shopping experiences. Traffic and orders have roughly tripled since the company rolled out its agentic tools. Merchants get a smarter storefront, and Shopify's moat deepens with every release. The brand is strengthening. But let's remember, Shopify must be the technical leader in an AGI-native world.
• Customers say wow: Second-quarter 2026 revenue climbed 34%, and Shopify now holds roughly 14% of US e-commerce market share. Merchants deepen their use of the platform every time Shopify ships a new tool, and that kind of loyalty is exactly what Hidden Gems hunts for in a category leader.

Tom Gardner's five-year price target for Shopify is $256.88, nearly 100% above today's price. Were you to buy shares today, we think you'd have a good shot at 13% yearly returns through 2031. No guarantees!

6. Today's Question!

Some investors listen closely to what CEOs say in the press; others tune it out and trust the filings. Where do you land – and has a CEO's words ever changed your mind?

Discuss with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying!