Listen on the go! A daily podcast of Wall Street Breakfast will be available by 8:00 a.m. on Seeking Alpha , iTunes , Spotify . Getty Images Survey Monday Who has the most influence over your 2026 portfolio right now? • The White House (policy) • Supreme Court (the law) • Congress (the purse strings) • The Federal Reserve (interest rates) Click here to take the poll and don't forget to share your ...
Listen on the go! A daily podcast of Wall Street Breakfast will be available by 8:00 a.m. on Seeking Alpha , iTunes , Spotify . Getty Images Survey Monday Who has the most influence over your 2026 portfolio right now? • The White House (policy) • Supreme Court (the law) • Congress (the purse strings) • The Federal Reserve (interest rates) Click here to take the poll and don't forget to share your thoughts in the WSB comments section . Good morning! Here's the latest in trending: Blizzard warning: Key Northeast airline operations have been disrupted amid widespread flight cancellations . Weight loss: Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) slumps 14% as its next-gen obesity shot underperforms Lilly’s ( LLY ) tirzepatide. Spending questions: Michael Burry ignites a fresh debat e over the sustainability of the artificial-intelligence boom. Stopgap measure Do equities like tariffs? Not like tariffs? Somewhere in between? Stock futures slid in the premarket session on Monday, but already pared much of those losses , following the seismic Supreme Court ruling that deemed President Trump's emergency tariffs under IEEPA as illegal. In response, Trump has announced a "10% Worldwide Tariff," which he later raised to 15% due to "countries 'ripping' the U.S. off for decades without retribution." Here's what could be next for stocks Snapshot: It's not that tariffs themselves are good or bad news, but rather the unpredictability of what might come next and the impacts on America's trade relationships. The European Commission has already demanded that the U.S. stick to the trade terms reached last year, while the U.K. said it expects its "privileged trading position with the U.S. to continue." There are also some fears in the bond market of an increasing debt load and a messy refunding process as companies sue the government to get their money back. U.S. to end collection of IEEPA tariffs on Tuesday The new global 15% duty under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act is not without complications. It woul...
aydinmutlu/E+ via Getty Images This article was written by Kody Kester (Kody's Dividends). Like one of my mentors, Brad Thomas, my investing strategy is to buy qualitative dividend payers while they're on sale. What do I like to see from the stocks that I own and/or cover? I prefer businesses with clear growth drivers. This is because operating in growing industries makes it much easier to steadil...
aydinmutlu/E+ via Getty Images This article was written by Kody Kester (Kody's Dividends). Like one of my mentors, Brad Thomas, my investing strategy is to buy qualitative dividend payers while they're on sale. What do I like to see from the stocks that I own and/or cover? I prefer businesses with clear growth drivers. This is because operating in growing industries makes it much easier to steadily grow sales and earnings. I also insist upon businesses with investment-grade credit ratings. This provides them with the ability to invest in growth at spreads that are conducive to business growth. Another preference is that I seek companies with well-covered dividends. That can be measured by payout ratios relative to what credit rating agencies like to see for a particular industry. This brings me to my subject of today, which is the regulated electric utility IDACORP ( IDA ). When I last covered it with a Buy rating in June , we were encouraged by IDA's five-year capital spending plan to meet underlying demand growth. The investment-grade balance sheet was another plus. Finally, shares were also trading a bit below my fair value estimate. Eight months later, I'm downgrading shares to a Hold rating. IDA's five-year capital spending plan for 2026 through 2030 reinforces my optimism about its future. The electric utility maintains a BBB S&P credit rating with a stable outlook as well. However, an outsized rally in recent months has pushed it a bit beyond fair value. Unprecedented Load Growth Supports a Huge Capex Plan IDACORP Q4 2025 Earnings Presentation On February 19th, IDA released its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31st, 2025. The company's total operating revenue edged 1.8% higher over the year-ago period to $405.2 million during the quarter. What contributed to IDA's modest topline growth in the fourth quarter? There were two primary tailwinds and one primary headwind behind these results. The most significant contributor to the electric u...
FG Trade Latin/E+ via Getty Images Introduction Since last year, I have increasingly discussed the “5% Rule.” I would make the case that I coined that term. However, it truly isn’t anything special, at least not compared to other academic findings in the field of finance. It’s as straightforward as it gets, as my opinion is that 5% income is the sweet spot where income and safety meet. On January ...
FG Trade Latin/E+ via Getty Images Introduction Since last year, I have increasingly discussed the “5% Rule.” I would make the case that I coined that term. However, it truly isn’t anything special, at least not compared to other academic findings in the field of finance. It’s as straightforward as it gets, as my opinion is that 5% income is the sweet spot where income and safety meet. On January 13, I elaborated on that in an article titled “How The 5% Rule Quietly Changed My Dividend Growth Strategy.” Essentially, because 5% is less than 100 basis points above the risk-free rate on 10-year government debt, it should give us decent companies with a very low risk of falling for so-called “sucker yields.” Essentially, it helps people to build wealth without focusing too much on income. One of my best friends uses this strategy, as he started buying way too many REITs, midstream companies, and BDCs when he got his first high-paying job. Now, he focuses on dividend growth stocks instead and uses the 5% rule to figure out how much capital he needs as a first retirement target. You can guess what this decision has done for its total return… Anyway, I still believe in that “rule,” which may be more of a target than a rule. However, I’m making adjustments to my own strategy for at least two reasons: As I believe in yield suppression, I think the decline in the 10-year yield will continue. This means we will likely see higher stock prices of high-quality dividend stocks. This makes it harder for the 5% Rule to come to its full fruition. Again, that’s because this rule relies on the risk-free rate. The lower the risk-free rate, the harder it may become to buy quality income above 5% to 6% Just look at what has happened to ETFs like the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD ): StockCharts.com (SCHD) On a side note, this perfectly captures my rotation thesis. Reason two is the strong performance of my portfolio and the realization that I won’t retire anyway. Although I will o...
With his gangster image, Colón ruffled the feathers of the musical establishment, but thrilled millions of fans as he displayed the raw rhythmic possibility of salsa Willie Colón, who has died in New York at the age of 75, was many things: master blaster of Nuyorican salsa; Puerto Rican superstar; actor in Mexican soap operas; an activist and, later, a reactionary in New York politics. These are j...
With his gangster image, Colón ruffled the feathers of the musical establishment, but thrilled millions of fans as he displayed the raw rhythmic possibility of salsa Willie Colón, who has died in New York at the age of 75, was many things: master blaster of Nuyorican salsa; Puerto Rican superstar; actor in Mexican soap operas; an activist and, later, a reactionary in New York politics. These are just a few of the myriad accomplishments of a musician who always seemed to be in a hurry to move on, make new music and get into a spat with a fellow salsero or political opponent. Colón was an energy source, a musician as loud and vibrant – and sometimes infuriating – as the city he lived and died in. While to Nuyoricans – Puerto Ricans living in New York – Colón was a legend, to many Anglo New Yorkers he barely registered, perhaps noted by a few for playing with David Byrne during the singer’s adventures in Latin American music. He was nominated for 10 Grammys but never troubled the US Top 40, yet across much of Latin America he was arguably the most celebrated brass player of the past six decades, winning the Latin Grammys’ musical excellence award in 2004. Colón was to salsa what Elvis Presley was to rock’n’roll – the fearless teenager whose loose, fast, rough interpretation of the music he heard on the streets helped create a genre that grew into the dominant Latin dance music. Continue reading...
(RTTNews) - Despite renewed worries on the global trade tariff front, market sentiment remains firm, pushing the CAC 40 index higher from the record high touched on Friday. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's order on Friday, the Trump regime had announced temporary tariffs r
(RTTNews) - Despite renewed worries on the global trade tariff front, market sentiment remains firm, pushing the CAC 40 index higher from the record high touched on Friday. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's order on Friday, the Trump regime had announced temporary tariffs r
Russia’s flagship crude is selling at the deepest discount in the international marketplace in almost three years as western sanctions deter trade with Moscow. The average discount of Urals oil from the country’s western ports ballooned to $30.62 below the global benchmark Dated Brent on Friday, according to data from Argus Media. That’s the widest discount since April 2023. The grade is now tradi...
Russia’s flagship crude is selling at the deepest discount in the international marketplace in almost three years as western sanctions deter trade with Moscow. The average discount of Urals oil from the country’s western ports ballooned to $30.62 below the global benchmark Dated Brent on Friday, according to data from Argus Media. That’s the widest discount since April 2023. The grade is now trading at just above $40 a barrel at the point of export. The cut-priced barrels show the impact that western sanctions — particularly ones imposed by the US late last year — have had on Moscow. It’s unclear how US President Donald Trump’s proposed 15% global tariffs, announced Saturday after a court blocked his earlier duties, might affect India’s buying going forward. Still, the lower price means less income, reducing how much amount of tax the nation’s oil companies pay into the Kremlin’s coffers. Urals at the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk traded at $42.09 on Friday, while the grade at Novorossiysk in the Black Sea slumped to $40.44, the Argus data show. That’s much lower than the government assumed when planned nation’s budget for this year and anticipated it would average of $59 a barrel in 2026. By the time Urals reaches India, the discount to Brent shrinks to over $12 a barrel, according to Argus Media. That’s still the widest gap since April 2023 but it’s not clear whether the so-called delivery spread — the big gap between export and delivered prices — ends up in Russian hands. Last year, the US doubled tariffs to 50% on India for purchasing Urals and then blacklisted Russia’s two biggest oil producers Rosneft PJSC and Lukoil PJSC. The US leader had already eliminated an extra 25% tariff he had imposed on Indian goods over the country’s purchases of Russian oil, the first step to cement the terms of a trade deal the two nations announced. READ: China, India Among Winners After US Court Blocked Trump Tariffs A US court ruled on Friday that Donald Trump’s use of the Intern...
CenterPoint Energy ( CNP ) said it plans to offer $550M in convertible senior notes due 2029 through a private placement to qualified institutional buyers. The company also expects to give initial purchasers the option to buy up to an additional $50M of the notes within 13 days after the initial issuance, subject to market conditions. The convertible notes will mature on May 15, 2029, unless earli...
CenterPoint Energy ( CNP ) said it plans to offer $550M in convertible senior notes due 2029 through a private placement to qualified institutional buyers. The company also expects to give initial purchasers the option to buy up to an additional $50M of the notes within 13 days after the initial issuance, subject to market conditions. The convertible notes will mature on May 15, 2029, unless earlier converted or repurchased. CenterPoint intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including the repayment of a portion of its outstanding commercial paper and other debt. CNP shares fell -2.7% premarket. More on CenterPoint Houston, We Have A Winner In CenterPoint Energy CenterPoint Energy, Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript CenterPoint sees 8% EPS growth in 2026 and accelerates $500M capital plan amid Houston load surge CenterPoint Non-GAAP EPS of $0.45 in-line; reaffirms FY26 outlook
So much has happened this year and yet the market is implying that not much has changed. War warnings, policy reversals, the hunt for AI victims, more than one putative $1 trillion private company looming over the public markets – there's plenty going on. But in aggregate, portfolios and the economic backdrop are largely unmoved. The S & P 500 is piling up the superlatives to describe its extreme ...
So much has happened this year and yet the market is implying that not much has changed. War warnings, policy reversals, the hunt for AI victims, more than one putative $1 trillion private company looming over the public markets – there's plenty going on. But in aggregate, portfolios and the economic backdrop are largely unmoved. The S & P 500 is piling up the superlatives to describe its extreme stasis. On more than 40% of all trading sessions the past two months, the index has crossed the 6,900 level – which it first touched way back on Oct. 28. The benchmark's traded in the narrowest range by this point in February in 60 years, according to Bespoke Investment Group. The Bollinger Bands that define the index's prevailing trend are closer together than they've been for five years, a picture of a market coiling tightly. .SPX 6M mountain S & P 500, 6 months The economy remains in a familiar mode, too. It grew last year at about a 5% nominal rate, with a bit more from inflation than real-output gains, which also pretty closely describes the economy of 2024. The corporate capex chase for "superintelligence" is having a blunt-force impact on economic activity again. Consumer spending is being supported, still, by upper-income asset owners and an aging population operating in a service-centric economy. Don Rissmiller, chief economist at Strategas Research, frames the market's layered dependencies like this: "This chain is likely to be a recurring theme in 2026: the U.S. economy is dependent on the stock market, the stock market is dependent on the bond market, and the bond market is dependent on the tug of war between the commodity market (pushing inflation higher) vs. productivity (holding inflation & unit labor costs down)." Corporate earnings are on pace to close out a fifth straight quarter of double-digit percentage gains, a positive but unchanging pace that clearly is now being fully anticipated by investors before the reports hit. The Supreme Court's invalidation ...
Labcorp ( LH ) on Monday said it will expand its collaboration with PathAI to deploy the FDA-cleared AISight Dx digital pathology platform across its national network of anatomic pathology labs and hospital collaborations. Labcorp said the cloud-based platform will support fully digital workflows for slide review, case management and collaboration, and integrate AI-powered image analysis to assist...
Labcorp ( LH ) on Monday said it will expand its collaboration with PathAI to deploy the FDA-cleared AISight Dx digital pathology platform across its national network of anatomic pathology labs and hospital collaborations. Labcorp said the cloud-based platform will support fully digital workflows for slide review, case management and collaboration, and integrate AI-powered image analysis to assist in diagnostics. The company said it will also incorporate digital pathology workflows to support its precision medicine products. The expansion builds on Labcorp’s 2019 strategic investment in PathAI and follows ongoing collaboration in AI-driven clinical trial support and validation of AI-pathology solutions. LH +1.59% premarket to $287.17. Source: Press Release More on Labcorp Holdings Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Labcorp Holdings Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Labcorp Holdings Inc. (LH) Presents at 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Transcript Labcorp outlines 5.4% midpoint revenue growth and 9% EPS target for 2026 while advancing specialty and AI initiatives Labcorp slips after Q4 revenue miss
Foghorn Therapeutics ( FHTX ) said on Monday that Ryan Maynard will join the clinical-stage biotech as CFO effective Feb. 23, 2026. Maynard brings over 25 years of executive experience in biopharma and healthcare technology, has raised more than $1 billion in public and private financings, and most recently served as CFO of Cara Therapeutics. He currently serves on the board of Iovance Biotherapeu...
Foghorn Therapeutics ( FHTX ) said on Monday that Ryan Maynard will join the clinical-stage biotech as CFO effective Feb. 23, 2026. Maynard brings over 25 years of executive experience in biopharma and healthcare technology, has raised more than $1 billion in public and private financings, and most recently served as CFO of Cara Therapeutics. He currently serves on the board of Iovance Biotherapeutics. Shares -1.72%. More on Foghorn Therapeutics Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Foghorn Therapeutics Historical earnings data for Foghorn Therapeutics Financial information for Foghorn Therapeutics
Md Babul Hosen/iStock via Getty Images PTC Therapeutics ( PTCT ) is entering a new phase of growth as newer products begin to replace older revenue sources. I believe the recent launch of Sephience, an oral therapy approved for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare genetic disorder that prevents patients from properly metabolizing the amino acid phenylalanine, could become the company's p...
Md Babul Hosen/iStock via Getty Images PTC Therapeutics ( PTCT ) is entering a new phase of growth as newer products begin to replace older revenue sources. I believe the recent launch of Sephience, an oral therapy approved for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare genetic disorder that prevents patients from properly metabolizing the amino acid phenylalanine, could become the company's primary driver of revenue expansion over the next several years. Although recent financial comparisons are affected by the sale of Evrysdi royalties, the underlying business appears to be strengthening, which may not yet be fully reflected in the company's valuation. PTC Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company operating in both commercial and clinical stages that is focused on developing drugs for rare genetic diseases, where there is a large unmet need for treatment. Their initial focus was in the area of small molecule drug discovery targeting post-transcriptional control and splicing and has now expanded to include many other types of drugs, including gene therapies. It still uses its current development model by using primarily oral small molecules and collaborating with other organizations to reduce development costs and excel at distribution. Traditionally, PTC's revenue base was driven largely by older drugs such as Translarna and Emflaza for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Evrysdi , a splicing modifier invented and sold with Roche for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Although those drugs are continuing to generate revenues for PTC, much of PTC's revenue growth is now due to newer drugs such as Sephience for phenylketonuria (PKU) and Kebilidi /Upstaza, a gene therapy for aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency. Sephience Drives Financial Momentum PTC's most significant recent growth has been due to the commercial launch of Sephience, which was approved by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of PKU in July 2025, making it one of the first oral therapie...
klmax/iStock via Getty Images Wrap Technologies, Inc. ( WRAP ) is a safety technology company aiming to build an integrated non-lethal response platform. This includes their BolaWrap 150 restraint device, training and software offerings, and body-worn cameras for video and evidence workflows. Recently, the company raised an extra $5 million to restart its domestic manufacturing, expand training ca...
klmax/iStock via Getty Images Wrap Technologies, Inc. ( WRAP ) is a safety technology company aiming to build an integrated non-lethal response platform. This includes their BolaWrap 150 restraint device, training and software offerings, and body-worn cameras for video and evidence workflows. Recently, the company raised an extra $5 million to restart its domestic manufacturing, expand training capacity, and push next-generation programs toward commercialization. Unfortunately, despite some promising signs (revenue and subscription growth), I still don't think WRAP justifies a bullish rating at these levels. Struggling Safety Tech Wrap Technologies, Inc. is a technology company that develops less-lethal and non-lethal tools. Their applications are intended to help with training for law enforcement and other security users like corrections, military, and private protection around the globe. WRAP became a public company back in 2017 and is currently headquartered in Miami, Florida. I also previously covered WRAP last October. However, since then, the stock has declined by roughly 34.7%, so I thought it was worthwhile writing an update on this name. Source: Wrap Technologies, Inc. Website. Retrieved February, 2026. As a quick recap, WRAP focuses on researching and producing its restraint devices with training and supporting software and services. WRAP's main product is the BolaWrap 150 , which is a remote restraint device that's designed to avoid escalation and safer outcomes with reduced injuries. The BolaWrap is a handheld device that uses a tether-based entanglement mechanism. The latest iteration of this product now has operational improvements in size and weight, durability, water resistance, indicators, and illumination, among others. Portfolio Prospects Additionally, WRAP's product portfolio has complementary offerings like Wrap Reality and Intrensic. Wrap Reality is a virtual reality (VR) platform for training using scenarios to instruct in de-escalation, decis...
Veris Residential press release ( VRE ): Q4 FFO of $0.19 beats by $0.03 . Revenue of $71.31M (+4.7% Y/Y) beats by $0.39M . More on Veris Residential Top 10 small-cap stocks with highest dividend growth grade Veris Residential gains on report holder pushes for sale Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Veris Residential Historical earnings data for Veris Residential Dividend scorecard for Veris Residenti...
Veris Residential press release ( VRE ): Q4 FFO of $0.19 beats by $0.03 . Revenue of $71.31M (+4.7% Y/Y) beats by $0.39M . More on Veris Residential Top 10 small-cap stocks with highest dividend growth grade Veris Residential gains on report holder pushes for sale Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Veris Residential Historical earnings data for Veris Residential Dividend scorecard for Veris Residential
Sergei Dubrovskii/E+ via Getty Images Tidewater ( TDW ) +3.5% pre-market Monday after saying it agreed to acquire Wilson Sons Ultratug Participacoess and its affiliate Atlantic Offshore Services in a deal worth ~$500M including debt. Tidewater ( TDW ) said the acquisition will strengthen its position in offshore supply vessels, as WSUT's fleet consists of 22 platform supply vessels; following the ...
Sergei Dubrovskii/E+ via Getty Images Tidewater ( TDW ) +3.5% pre-market Monday after saying it agreed to acquire Wilson Sons Ultratug Participacoess and its affiliate Atlantic Offshore Services in a deal worth ~$500M including debt. Tidewater ( TDW ) said the acquisition will strengthen its position in offshore supply vessels, as WSUT's fleet consists of 22 platform supply vessels; following the transaction, Tidewater will own a fleet of 213 OSVs, bringing its total global fleet size to 231 vessels, including crew boats, tugboats, and maintenance vessels. The deal also will e xpand Tidewater's ( TDW ) current fleet of six vessels in Brazil to 28, providing meaningful scale and the operational capability required to support the continued growth of the Brazilian offshore energy market, the company said. " As we've surveyed the world and evaluated different regions, Brazil stands out as perhaps the most attractive to Tidewater," President and CEO Quintin Kneen said. "The scale of the offshore industry in Brazil , and in particular the offshore vessel industry, is one of the best in the world, and we believe the long-term fundamentals for this market are highly favorable." More on Tidewater Tidewater: M&A Or Buybacks In Sight Tidewater: Rational To Trade Short Term, Otherwise Sell Rating Maintained Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating on Tidewater