Mercedes-Benz: Strong Margins Despite Headwinds from China
We start with the Swabian luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz. Operationally, the group performed quite well in the second quarter and exceeded analysts’ expectations—which stood at 3.5%—with an adjusted return on sales of 4.0% in the passenger vehicle business. The Vans division also delivered strong results with a margin of 10.2%. Although consolidated revenue declined slightly to EUR 32.06 billion from EUR 33.15 billion in the prior year, net income climbed to EUR 1.09 billion. Nevertheless, the company’s success is being hampered primarily by the important Chinese market. The ongoing price war and weak demand forced management to take impairment charges of EUR 704 million on its Chinese joint ventures and to slightly lower its annual revenue forecast.
In addition, a rather extensive recall campaign in the US is causing problems, as more than 310,000 vehicles must be inspected due to potential issues with corroded switches. On the stock market, this news is reflected in a typical consolidation pattern. The stock is hovering around the EUR 45.85 mark and struggling to hold above the key 50-day moving average. While major banks such as Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank continue to recommend buying, firms like RBC are advising a neutral stance. Although the overall chart pattern still shows weakness, the company’s operational fundamentals are strong. According to the chart, the share price could also gain momentum and move upward toward EUR 60. One for the watchlist!
Nebius Group: Highly Volatile AI Dreams in the Crosshairs of Short Sellers
While the Stuttgart-based automaker is struggling with declining revenue in China, the technology sector is navigating even more speculative waters. Nebius Group’s share currently represents a certain degree of momentum, but also the extreme risks associated with the current hype surrounding artificial intelligence and data infrastructure.
Following an impressive rally and a significant price increase, the share has recently come back into the crosshairs of prominent speculators. According to market reports, hedge fund manager Michael Burry, who rose to prominence during the financial crisis, is among those betting against a continuation of the steep price surge. For investors, this reflects a tug-of-war between euphoric growth expectations in the AI sector and doubts about the sustainability of such price jumps—not to mention concerns about the fundamentally high valuation. Compared with established industrial dividend stocks, Nebius thus remains primarily a playground for risk-tolerant traders and those willing to bet against Michael Burry. A high-risk stock that can, however, fluctuate sharply in either direction!
Lahontan Gold: Major News, Further Operational Steps and a Promising Chart Setup
Moving away from the tech and AI stock markets and the auto industry, we head straight to resource-rich Nevada to Lahontan Gold. The Canadian exploration and development company is working to bring the historic Santa Fe gold mine, located in the high-yield Walker Lane Trend, back into production. The initial outlook appears promising, as the project already has a mineral resource of 1.54 million ounces of gold equivalent in the Indicated category, plus an additional 0.41 million ounces in the Inferred category. With cash and cash equivalents of CAD 19.3 million and a PEA in hand, management is on track to achieve a targeted production start in 2027.
Drilling results from the current year 2026 impressively demonstrate that these plans are not just theoretical. On July 22, 2026, Lahontan reported excellent results from the Calvada Central area. Drill hole CAL26-03C, which was originally intended to provide geotechnical data for the mining permit, intersected 30.8 m averaging 0.93 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) near the base of the current resource, including a high-grade interval of 10.7 m at 2.18 g/t.
Just one day later, on July 23, 2026, significant evidence of low-cost additional resources was confirmed. During a Sonic drilling campaign on old tailings piles, the team encountered 9.9 m in a supposedly low-grade tailings pile with a solid 2.40 g/t gold and 50.7 g/t silver. This discovery demonstrates that historically discarded material could be profitably processed without costly new mining operations.
On August 5, 2026, Lahontan finally followed up with drill results that revealed new exploration potential. In the Calvada East area, hole CAL26-12R returned 12.2 m of fine-grained ore with 1.26 g/t gold equivalent in oxidized material. Even more exciting, however, was drill hole CAL26-11R, which intersected 13.7 m grading 1.10 g/t gold equivalent within volcanic rocks along the Summit Fault. This is the first significant gold mineralization in this rock type across the entire project area, thereby opening up entirely new drilling targets for the future. At the same time, additional results in the Slab West area, such as 35.1 m grading 0.21 g/t gold equivalent, confirmed the continued expansion of the near-surface oxide zone.
Milestone News on August 17, 2026: Resource Update Exceeds Expectations
The preliminary highlight of these continuous drilling successes is the updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in accordance with NI 43-101, presented on August 17, 2026. Lahontan Gold was able to increase the total pit-constrained resources at the Santa Fe Project by an impressive 22%, or 435,000 ounces, compared to the 2024 estimate:
- Indicated resources: 1,195,000 ounces of gold equivalent (AuEq) in 47.53 million metric tons with an average grade of 0.78 g/t AuEq.
- Inferred resources: 1,190,000 ounces of AuEq in 60.61 million metric tons with an average grade of 0.61 g/t AuEq.
The main drivers of growth were the near-surface oxide deposits Slab and York, whose resources expanded by over 37%, as well as the main Santa Fe deposit, which grew by over 26%. This updated data set now serves as the direct foundation for the upcoming preliminary economic assessment (PEA). Management, led by CEO Kimberly Ann, is thereby underscoring the company’s goal of transitioning as quickly as possible from a developer to a prospective mine operator.
From a technical analysis perspective, Lahontan Gold’s stock is becoming increasingly attractive. The share price is currently trading within a sideways trend channel and is also forming a classic wedge pattern. If the stock manages to break out upward above the CAD 0.40 to 0.41 level in the near future—perhaps even soon, buoyed by the latest news—it would break out of this wedge to the upside. In this scenario, the stock could quickly gain momentum and head toward targets in the range of CAD 0.50 to 0.55. If momentum continues, the first impulse wave from CAD 0.12 to 0.50 could even suggest a medium-term price target of up to CAD 0.75.
Mercedes-Benz is delivering a strong margin despite operational headwinds in China and US recalls. Nebius Group offers extreme excitement in the AI segment but carries significant risks given the presence of prominent short sellers.
Lahontan Gold impresses with outstanding drilling results in Nevada and clear milestones on the path to production. With this positive news behind it, the stock could break out of the technical wedge pattern to the upside.
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