JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Lilly: Market Share Gains Hit A Roadblock I think it’s suffice for me to say that investors in Eli Lilly ( LLY ) really needed this strong earnings slate that it delivered for Q1. That semblance of normalcy, the calm and assurances from management demonstrating that they know exactly what they are doing. Because there’s so much flux right now going on in...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Lilly: Market Share Gains Hit A Roadblock I think it’s suffice for me to say that investors in Eli Lilly ( LLY ) really needed this strong earnings slate that it delivered for Q1. That semblance of normalcy, the calm and assurances from management demonstrating that they know exactly what they are doing. Because there’s so much flux right now going on in the weight loss space, especially when we discuss pricing volatility, as well as possible Medicare coverage, the road ahead is getting a lot murkier than what we saw back in 2023/24. Lilly first quarter earnings highlights (Lilly) Yet, it’s still encouraging to see Lilly posting revenue growth of 56% , while also producing an EPS of 8.55 that was also well above Street estimates. It was a solid, well-rounded performance that I think deserved the plaudits and the market’s recognition as the stock rose 10% on Thursday’s session. It’s also the right moment to silence the naysayers and the critics at an opportune time. US incretin analogs market share (Lilly) Because even the market share gains for Lilly also appear to have plateaued somewhat, right? Remember that was precisely what I cautioned back in my last write-up on LLY? I mentioned that unless the market is thinking that archrival Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) could see its market share getting completely decimated, I was confident that there will be a ceiling that will hit LLY in the near term. The key question now is, whether that moment has arrived. If you can infer from the above chart, Lilly SOM appears to have reached the peak at the 60.1% mark, while Novo SOM seems to be bottoming out. Of course, it is anyone’s guess how this trajectory will play out moving ahead. After all, nobody has a crystal ball in trying to ascertain it. Lilly's Oral Weight Loss Drug Faces A Tougher Battle With Novo NVO commentary on market share (Novo Nordisk A/S (NOVO:CA) Shareholder/Analyst Call ) But I think what really matters is whether you th...
Oil prices moved lower, paring weekly gains in London and New York, after Axios reported that Iran replied to US amendments on a potential peace agreement, without providing details. Brent crude futures for July settlement were down about 0.2% at about $110 a barrel in London after an Axios reporter said that Tehran delivered its response to the US via Pakistani mediators. West Texas Intermediate,...
Oil prices moved lower, paring weekly gains in London and New York, after Axios reported that Iran replied to US amendments on a potential peace agreement, without providing details. Brent crude futures for July settlement were down about 0.2% at about $110 a barrel in London after an Axios reporter said that Tehran delivered its response to the US via Pakistani mediators. West Texas Intermediate, with significantly lower volumes, was 2.1% lower at about $103. Read More: Iran Gave Pakistan Its Latest Proposal for US Talks, IRNA Says
Alight ( NYSE: ALIT ) on Friday said it has appointed Dinesh Tulsiani as president of its Employer Solutions business, effective May 1, and named Susan Davies as interim Chief Financial Officer from May 8, following the previously announced departure of Greg Giometti. Tulsiani, who will report to CEO Rohit Verma, will lead the Employer Solutions unit alongside the company’s health, leave, strategy...
Alight ( NYSE: ALIT ) on Friday said it has appointed Dinesh Tulsiani as president of its Employer Solutions business, effective May 1, and named Susan Davies as interim Chief Financial Officer from May 8, following the previously announced departure of Greg Giometti. Tulsiani, who will report to CEO Rohit Verma, will lead the Employer Solutions unit alongside the company’s health, leave, strategy, and user experience teams. He previously served as Alight’s chief strategy officer from 2017 to 2025 and rejoined the company in an advisory capacity earlier this year. Davies, currently chief accounting officer and global controller, will oversee the finance function on an interim basis while the company searches for a permanent CFO. Giometti will remain until May 8 to support the transition. The appointments are part of Alight’s efforts to strengthen its leadership team and support its focus on operational execution, innovation, and long-term growth. ALIT +0.48% premarket to $0.83 . Source: Press Release More on Alight Alight, Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Alight, Inc. (ALIT) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Alight receives NYSE noncompliance notice Industrial names with highest dividend yield as investors navigate geopolitical uncertainty Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Alight
Opay Digital Services Ltd. is working with Citigroup Inc. , Deutsche Bank AG , and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the Nigeria-focused payments platform prepares for an initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The SoftBank Group Corp. -backed company is planning to list in the US and is seeking a valuation of about $4 billion, said the people, who asked to not to be ident...
Opay Digital Services Ltd. is working with Citigroup Inc. , Deutsche Bank AG , and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the Nigeria-focused payments platform prepares for an initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The SoftBank Group Corp. -backed company is planning to list in the US and is seeking a valuation of about $4 billion, said the people, who asked to not to be identified as the information is still private. The company may sell the shares later this year, they said. Representatives for Opay, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan declined to comment. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has become a source of fintech unicorns — including Flutterwave , Moniepoint and Interswitch — that help users navigate failed banking transactions, network outages and fraud. Rising demand for mobile financial services is also prompting Airtel Africa Plc to plan to sell its mobile money business’s shares. Read More: Airtel Is Said to Eye $2 Billion London IPO of Mobile Money Unit Drone Startup Builds Factory in Ghana as Insurgents Drive Demand 25 African Startups to Watch This Year Nigerian Startups Shun Local IPOs as Weak Naira Deters Firms (1) McKinsey & Co. estimates African fintech companies could generate combined revenue of about $47 billion by 2028. OPay, founded by Chinese tycoon Yahui Zhou , raised $400 million in 2021 at a valuation of $2 billion. The company, which has more than 40 million users, was backed by SoftBank Vision Fund and Sequoia Capital , as well as Long-Z Capital, the venture arm of Chinese food-delivery giant Meituan . Zhou is the billionaire founder of Chinese technology company Kunlun Tech Co. , which owns the Opera web browser company and had sold dating app Grindr under US regulatory pressure. The Next Africa newsletter runs every weekday. Sign up here for the newsletter, and subscribe to the Next Africa podcast on Apple , Spotify or anywhere you listen .
Judge tells 70-year-old Nancy Pexton she showed no remorse for the ferocious attack on Jennifer Abbott A woman who murdered her sister in her London flat and stole her Rolex watch has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years. Nancy Pexton stabbed Jennifer Abbott 10 times and left her body for three days in the property in Camden, a court heard. Continue reading...
Judge tells 70-year-old Nancy Pexton she showed no remorse for the ferocious attack on Jennifer Abbott A woman who murdered her sister in her London flat and stole her Rolex watch has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years. Nancy Pexton stabbed Jennifer Abbott 10 times and left her body for three days in the property in Camden, a court heard. Continue reading...
For the modern U.S. household, the line between stability and a tailspin is now roughly the price of a transmission repair or an emergency room co-pay. Only 48.5% of U.S. consumers are "very or extremely confident" that they could cover...
For the modern U.S. household, the line between stability and a tailspin is now roughly the price of a transmission repair or an emergency room co-pay. Only 48.5% of U.S. consumers are "very or extremely confident" that they could cover...
A rendering of Smoothie King's new store design Source: Smoothie King From the rise of GLP-1 drugs to backlash against artificial ingredients, current wellness trends are fueling growth for Smoothie King. "There are significant industry tailwinds behind what we're doing," said Gavin Felder, the chain's president and CFO. "What we've learned is people are a lot more conscious about what choices the...
A rendering of Smoothie King's new store design Source: Smoothie King From the rise of GLP-1 drugs to backlash against artificial ingredients, current wellness trends are fueling growth for Smoothie King. "There are significant industry tailwinds behind what we're doing," said Gavin Felder, the chain's president and CFO. "What we've learned is people are a lot more conscious about what choices they're making. A lot of people are focusing on protein now and on fiber and all those good things." Founded more than 50 years ago, the privately held chain takes credit for inventing the word "smoothie" and popularizing the health drinks. CEO Wan Kim, previously a franchisee for the brand in South Korea, has owned Smoothie King since 2012. Last year, the company sold a minority stake to private equity firm Main Post Partners and said the deal would help Smoothie King accelerate growth and innovation. "If you start the clock [in 2012], we've been growing system sales at a compound rate of double digits since then," said Felder, who joined the company two years ago after spending 16 years with KFC owner Yum Brands. Over the past five years, Smoothie King has grown its number of locations by about 23%, the company told CNBC. The chain's system-wide sales have increased roughly 64% over that period. In 2025, the company recorded revenue of $66.16 million, up 4% from the prior year, according to franchise disclosure documents. Its net income, however, fell about 6% to $14.84 million. At the end of the year, Smoothie King had more than 1,200 locations. Franchisees operate more than 96% of the chain's stores. Now, as consumer tastes shift more toward maximizing nutrients, protein and fiber, the chain sees an opportunity to both improve its existing locations and build new ones. In April, Smoothie King announced a new store design with what the company called more "warmth" and "approachability" — a shift away from its current "stark, functional aesthetic" — and plans to gradually in...
The need for the United States to start offloading some of its global responsibilities did not begin with Donald Trump. More than a decade ago, when working as a journalist and graduate student, I heard from political scientists and other observers of US foreign relations that allies would, at some point, need to rely less on Washington and start boosting their own defence budgets; this was partic...
The need for the United States to start offloading some of its global responsibilities did not begin with Donald Trump. More than a decade ago, when working as a journalist and graduate student, I heard from political scientists and other observers of US foreign relations that allies would, at some point, need to rely less on Washington and start boosting their own defence budgets; this was particularly true of America’s European and East Asian allies, facing US adversaries in Russia and...
Funtap/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Since first discovering Agree Realty ( ADC ), the stock has continued to impress me and defy odds despite growing economic uncertainty. ADC was actually the first stock I wrote about here on Seeking Alpha back in 2023. Since ADC has performed exceptionally, especially considering we've experienced rate hikes and see inflation remain higher for longer. Hi...
Funtap/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Since first discovering Agree Realty ( ADC ), the stock has continued to impress me and defy odds despite growing economic uncertainty. ADC was actually the first stock I wrote about here on Seeking Alpha back in 2023. Since ADC has performed exceptionally, especially considering we've experienced rate hikes and see inflation remain higher for longer. Higher interest rates, a headwind for many REITs, have not seemed to slow down ADC one bit. And their most recent earnings report reflects that. Still, the stock trades at a reasonable valuation if you're a long-term investor. Currently, ADC's forward P/AFFO multiple sits at 16.66x. Going forward, I believe they can trade anywhere between 18x and 20x once we see rates come down and more economic clarity, likely over the next year or two. In this article, I discuss Agree Realty's latest earnings, fundamentals, and why I remain bullish on this REIT long-term. Previous Buy Rating I last covered ADC after they reported their Q4 earnings in this article . Trading around $77 a share, I foresaw solid upside above $80 for ADC due to their strong growth, A-rated balance sheet, and growing dividend, which made them attractive for investors rotating back into the market seeking higher yields. Since then, the stock has been essentially flat, down a little over 1% compared to the S&P ( SP500 ), up closer to 5%. Seeking Alpha During Q4, ADC grew core FFO by 7.8% year-over-year and 5% for 2025. AFFO and revenue both grew 4.6% and 18.1%, respectively, driven by strong investment activity. With a price target of $81.64, a well-covered monthly dividend, and robust liquidity, I believed ADC was poised for strong upside amid lower interest rates. Growth Amid Uncertainty Positions Them Above Peers Agree Realty reported Q1 earnings last week and delivered another strong report, not to my surprise though. Although the macro environment has been tough for some REITs, ADC has positioned themselves we...
RichVintage/E+ via Getty Images Co-authored with Hidden Opportunities Popular Doesn’t Mean Suitable When you see a product on Amazon with a 4.7-star rating from thousands of customers, you get an immediate sense of confidence. It must be good. How can so many people be wrong? And to be fair, it probably is a good product. The ratings tell you the product is good quality, reliable, widely liked, an...
RichVintage/E+ via Getty Images Co-authored with Hidden Opportunities Popular Doesn’t Mean Suitable When you see a product on Amazon with a 4.7-star rating from thousands of customers, you get an immediate sense of confidence. It must be good. How can so many people be wrong? And to be fair, it probably is a good product. The ratings tell you the product is good quality, reliable, widely liked, and unlikely to disappoint the average buyer. But there’s a more important question most people forget to ask: Is it good for you? Does it solve your specific problem or meet your exact requirements? Because a highly rated product is often optimized for the average user, which may not match your needs. Take open-ear earbuds from Bose or Shokz. They’re among the best in their category, with consistently excellent reviews. However, these are no good if your use case is to use them in an aircraft. Without active noise cancellation, they struggle against the constant cabin noise. What works perfectly for outdoor runs or office use becomes almost unusable in flight. The 2-in-1 Problem Income and growth are often treated as two powerful but contrasting objectives in the investor community. Naturally, there is a quest to search for something that offers both. After all, a single investment that delivers both a growing income stream and strong capital appreciation would be the silver bullet, right? It sounds great. But in practice, “two-in-one” products tend to follow a familiar pattern: they promise everything… and rarely excel at anything. Think of 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. On paper, this is very convenient, but these products are often bad for hair health over the long term. The shampoo acts to strip oils and cleanse, while the conditioner adds moisture. Doing both simultaneously involves one counteracting the other. They can create residue buildup over time, weigh down hair, or fail to cleanse oiliness and moisturize hair sufficiently. Think of those hybrid Windows laptop-t...