ii view monthly round-up: an AI August
Prospects for AI outweighed ongoing concerns about inflation and interest rates during August. Analyst Keith Bowman looks at corporate events last month.
1st September 2026 13:01
by Keith Bowman from interactive investor
ii view monthly round-up: an AI August
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rose 4% in August. The broad S&P 500 rose 3% and the FTSE 250 4%. A 3% drop in the price of oil in August plus declines for BP and Shell meant the FTSE 100 index lost 0.4%.
As for companies themselves, UK tech group Kainos Group (LSE:KNOS) proved a shining light during August, soaring 42%. The FTSE 250 company offers digitisation services as well as installing the productivity enhancing software of US tech company Workday for clients.
Last month the Belfast company increased annual profit expectations comfortably beyond City forecasts. Kainos reported both double-digit percentage revenue growth during its financial year to March 2026 as well as achieving record backlog customer orders.
Elsewhere, American AI darling NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) more than reassured investers about prospects, offering a year ahead sales forecast easily surpassing Wall Street estimates. Shares in the Dow Jones company were up 8% for the month.
Former Microsoft executive Cindy Rose hasn't been running advertising giant WPP (LSE:WPP) for that long, but she played her part in boosting its shares by 28% in August.
First-half profits beat City hopes, aided by the ongoing pursuit of the new CEO’s ‘Elevate28’ recovery plan. It aims to stabilise the business in 2026, build momentum in 2027, and deliver accelerating, high-quality growth from 2028 onwards.
WPP’s services include core communication such as media buying and planning, public relations services, as well as specialist agencies focused on industries such as healthcare.
Shares in recruitment agency Hays (LSE:HAS) soared 36%. Under relatively new head Mark Dearnley, Hays has been pursuing a refreshed strategy as it looks to battle both tough economic backdrops for key markets as well as the uncertainty raised by AI on the jobs market.
Adjusted profit for the year to late June, stripped of exceptional charges, rose 7% from the previous year to £48.6 million.
Also under a relatively new head, entertainment’s giant The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) climbed 12% for the month. Growth in Experience sales such as visits to its theme parks, led the way during its latest quarterly results to late June, gaining 10% to $9.97 billion.
Disney continues to forecast growth of 12% in adjusted earnings for the full year. Former CEO Bob Igor headed Disney on and off for close to 20 years. Focuses under new head Josh D’Amaro include investing in intellectual property, reaching more consumers, and using advanced technologies to power storytelling.
On the downside, North American retail giant Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) fell 7%. Sales at the core US Walmart business rose 3.5% to $125.2 billion during the latest quarter, although that was hindered by reduced drug prices under initiatives introduced by President Trump.
A 2.6% increase in second-quarter US comparable sales to late June missed analysts’ hopes for a gain of 3.5%. Walmart operates more than 10,700 stores and numerous websites in 19 countries. Former US divisional head John Furner took over from Doug McMillon, CEO for 10 years, in February.
Shares in demographics play Smith & Nephew (LSE:SN.) also fell 8% in August. The maker of hip and knee replacements lowered full-year sales expectations while maintaining profit hopes given an ongoing focus on increased efficiency.
Second-quarter Orthopaedic sales fell to $614 million from $615 million in Q2 2025. Analysts had expected $646 million. Management highlighted temporary headwinds in US hip implants and ongoing challenges in US knee implants ahead of new product introductions.
Finally, Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares retreated 5%. The maker of IT networking equipment reported first-quarter sales that beat Wall Street estimates. Management outlook comments, however, flagged slight profit margin pressure given a near-term focus on lower margin equipment away from higher margin software.
Cisco makes what it describes as the critical infrastructure for the AI era. Demand from hyperscalers such as Amazon and Microsoft rose 4.5 times during its latest financial year to late June compared to the previous year. Cisco shares remain up by more than 40% year-to-date.
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