tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I've kept KB Financial Group Inc. ( KB ) (105560.KS) as a Buy-rated name. The stock is attractively-valued based on the comparison of its "Return On Equity/ROE" and P/B multiple. The 1Q2026 results were also a favorable surprise. The firm's generous stockholder returns and street-beating 1Q25 numbers were highlighted in my earlier April 30, 2025 write-up...
tupungato/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I've kept KB Financial Group Inc. ( KB ) (105560.KS) as a Buy-rated name. The stock is attractively-valued based on the comparison of its "Return On Equity/ROE" and P/B multiple. The 1Q2026 results were also a favorable surprise. The firm's generous stockholder returns and street-beating 1Q25 numbers were highlighted in my earlier April 30, 2025 write-up . 1Q2026 Earnings Surpassed Expectations The group issued a 6-K disclosing its latest financials this Thursday. KB's Jan-Mar '26 bottom-line went up 12% to ₩1.89T on a year-on-year basis. As per S&P Capital IQ, that was 8% above the analysts' ₩1,753B forecast. In my opinion, outperformance in non-banking businesses, leaner operations, and stable asset quality provided major tailwinds. Its non-interest income was 28% higher YoY at ₩1,651B for 1Q26. Also, the non-bank entities' bottom-line contribution grew 1ppt to 43% over the same period. Both figures represented new historic three-month peaks. I think that the brokerage & wealth management arm "KB Securities" was a stand-out. This unit's "Assets Under Management" or "AUM" grew 56% YoY to ₩240T in the recent quarter. Separately, KB reported a 1Q2026 "Cost-to-Income Ratio/CIR" of 35.4%. That's 400bps below what it achieved for full-year 2025. Management attributed this to "ongoing efforts to enhance workforce efficiency" at the results meeting . Its first quarter net profit was also boosted by a 25% YoY reduction in credit impairment charges to ₩493B. KB's "Non-Performing Assets/NPA" ratio remained comfortable at 0.73% for 1Q26. That's even better than 1Q25's 0.76%. My take is that its healthy loan book allowed for lower provisioning. Anticipating Financial Return Improvement In FY2026 The company's ROE went from FY24's 9.7% to FY25's 10.9%. My bet is on another 50bps increase to 11.4% this year. I've identified several levers which are outlined below. A key driver is "Net Interest Margin" or "NIM" accretion in my view. At ...
Shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ: CAR) have collapsed 53.7% this week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence . The care rental company experienced a massive short squeeze in the past few weeks, with retail traders piling in against large institutional short positions before the party ended. As of this writing at 11:00 AM EST on Friday, April 24th, Avis Budget Group is in a 67% d...
Shares of Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ: CAR) have collapsed 53.7% this week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence . The care rental company experienced a massive short squeeze in the past few weeks, with retail traders piling in against large institutional short positions before the party ended. As of this writing at 11:00 AM EST on Friday, April 24th, Avis Budget Group is in a 67% drawdown after rising over 500% at one point over the last month. Here's why the stock finally fell this week, and what investors should do going forward. A short squeeze can occur in a small-cap stock when a high % of its outstanding shares are sold short. Short sales occur when a stock is borrowed from an investor, who then sells it into the open market, aiming to profit by repurchasing it at a lower price. A short squeeze can happen when a bunch of investors try to buy back their shares at once, creating upward momentum in the share price that can get out of control. Continue reading
Intel stock (INTC) skyrocketed by over 20% since reporting first quarter earnings and second quarter guidance on Thursday that topped Wall Street's estimates. Benchmark Company senior semiconductor research analyst Cody Acree and Wedbush Securities managing director of equity research Matt Bryson speak more about what this could all signal for Intel's foundry business and its plans for 18A chips.
Intel stock (INTC) skyrocketed by over 20% since reporting first quarter earnings and second quarter guidance on Thursday that topped Wall Street's estimates. Benchmark Company senior semiconductor research analyst Cody Acree and Wedbush Securities managing director of equity research Matt Bryson speak more about what this could all signal for Intel's foundry business and its plans for 18A chips.
Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is a behemoth in the home improvement industry, reporting fiscal 2025 (ended Feb. 1) net sales of $165 billion. And its shares have produced massive wealth for early investors. In the past 30 years, this retail stock has generated a total return of 5,840% (as of April 21), growing $17,000 into $1 million today. It's time to look at the future. Could Home Depot quietly turn a ...
Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is a behemoth in the home improvement industry, reporting fiscal 2025 (ended Feb. 1) net sales of $165 billion. And its shares have produced massive wealth for early investors. In the past 30 years, this retail stock has generated a total return of 5,840% (as of April 21), growing $17,000 into $1 million today. It's time to look at the future. Could Home Depot quietly turn a $25,000 investment into a millionaire retirement? Image source: The Motley Fool. Continue reading
The value of the US government stake in Intel Corp. has increased fourfold to hit a value of about $36 billion after the chipmaker’s financial outlook showed a resurgence in sales. That’s the equivalent of an almost $27 billion return on paper since Intel and the government announced the investment in August. Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan secured the unconventional investment following a char...
The value of the US government stake in Intel Corp. has increased fourfold to hit a value of about $36 billion after the chipmaker’s financial outlook showed a resurgence in sales. That’s the equivalent of an almost $27 billion return on paper since Intel and the government announced the investment in August. Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan secured the unconventional investment following a charm offensive to win over the White House and repair relations with President Donald Trump , who’d called for Tan’s ouster. Read More: Intel Shares Set to Eclipse Dot-Com Peak on Sales Forecast The White House announced a deal that will likely see the US taxpayer owning 433.3 million shares of the company once certain conditions are met. The agreement priced the shares at $20.47 apiece, valuing the stake at $8.9 billion. Taxpayers own more than 270 million shares directly, with some shares held in an escrow account. The paper valuation assumes that the US exercises all of its acquisition rights under the deal. Besides its investment in Intel, the Trump administration has announced more than a dozen other deals to bolster critical industries including rare earths, steelmaking and nuclear power. Trump is now considering a possible financial rescue of struggling Spirit Airlines that could give the US government the option to own as much as 90% of the carrier once it emerges from bankruptcy. “We were the chip capital of the world,” Trump told reporters in Washington on Thursday. And now Intel is “coming back. All the chip companies are coming back.” Intel shares rose 24% to $82.74 at 11:13 a.m. in New York, hitting an all-time high. The shares had earlier touched $85.22, which would value the US government holding at almost $37 billion.
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Marvell Fights Back Against The Skeptics The AI boom is spreading wildly. While software folks have been under the weather, the ones building the infrastructure have nothing much to complain about. And this time, AI networking plays are now on fire! We already know that memory and storage players continue to be significant beneficiaries, but the focal po...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Marvell Fights Back Against The Skeptics The AI boom is spreading wildly. While software folks have been under the weather, the ones building the infrastructure have nothing much to complain about. And this time, AI networking plays are now on fire! We already know that memory and storage players continue to be significant beneficiaries, but the focal point has quickly shifted to the networking guys. The result from this fervor has also seen the stock of Marvell Technology, Inc. ( MRVL ) break the ceiling of its previous highs with such force that I’m still trying to catch my breath from the surge this week. In just two months, MRVL has arguably eviscerated the negative sentiments that saw the stock failing to gain traction, as semiconductor stocks continue to print new peaks. Of course, I’m also concerned with that hockey stick vertical spike in its print, because I don’t think the price action is sustainable without a meaningful retracement. That said, the fundamental underpinnings for Marvell’s growth thesis through at least 2027 look to be highly secure, following a spate of deals and recent developments. And for the second fiddle in the networking and the custom XPUs space, the “revenge” has never felt so sweet, especially when panned against Broadcom’s ( AVGO ) recent performance, outperforming its larger peer since late 2025. Marvell Brings Nvidia On Board So, has Marvell finally arrived on the grand stage with the recent victories? Let’s see. Nvidia's ( NVDA ) $2B investment opens up a much deeper collaboration than ever before. I don’t expect anything significant to come out of that in the short term, but the optics of it are good. Bringing aboard Nvidia’s money, albeit a relatively small sum compared to investments in Intel ( INTC ), OpenAI ( OPENAI ), Anthropic ( ANTHRO ), etc., consolidates Marvell's prowess when contending against Broadcom. NVLink Fusion commentary (Seeking Alpha) Sure, it’s not as if I think ...
In early trading on Friday, shares of Intel topped the list of the day's best performing components of the Nasdaq 100 index, trading up 25.1%. Year to date, Intel registers a 126.3% gain. And the worst performing Nasdaq 100 component thus far on the day is Charter Communicatio
In early trading on Friday, shares of Intel topped the list of the day's best performing components of the Nasdaq 100 index, trading up 25.1%. Year to date, Intel registers a 126.3% gain. And the worst performing Nasdaq 100 component thus far on the day is Charter Communicatio
After backing out of public sight, the versatile and enduringly bankable actor has turned up on Instagram trading quips with Nicole Kidman as hype begins for Practical Magic 2 this autumn She had long refused to join social media, preferring to eschew the machinery of celebrity. So if Sandra Bullock’s arrival on Instagram last week says anything, it’s that the Oscar-winning actor – once routinely ...
After backing out of public sight, the versatile and enduringly bankable actor has turned up on Instagram trading quips with Nicole Kidman as hype begins for Practical Magic 2 this autumn She had long refused to join social media, preferring to eschew the machinery of celebrity. So if Sandra Bullock’s arrival on Instagram last week says anything, it’s that the Oscar-winning actor – once routinely dubbed “America’s sweetheart” – is ready to embrace the spotlight again. After years of near-total retreat from public life, Bullock is suddenly everywhere: making her first major convention appearance in years at CinemaCon, teasing Practical Magic 2 alongside Nicole Kidman, and using her first Instagram post to revive one of the most beloved moments of her career – the “midnight margaritas” scene from the original 1998 film. Kidman quickly welcomed her to the platform in the comments, turning Bullock’s debut into a miniature Practical Magic reunion before the sequel’s press campaign had properly begun. Continue reading...
Hong Kong authorities are planning to launch a public consultation over a raft of new fire safety-related requirements and offences with tough penalties following the city’s deadliest blaze in decades. Confirming an earlier report by the South China Morning Post, the Security Bureau on Friday laid out its planned amendments to the Fire Services Ordinance, including a requirement that fire alarms b...
Hong Kong authorities are planning to launch a public consultation over a raft of new fire safety-related requirements and offences with tough penalties following the city’s deadliest blaze in decades. Confirming an earlier report by the South China Morning Post, the Security Bureau on Friday laid out its planned amendments to the Fire Services Ordinance, including a requirement that fire alarms be checked every six months. The bureau said its public consultation would follow its meeting with...
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) are up 13% in Friday morning trading, changing hands near $346 after closing Thursday at $305.33. The move pushes AMD stock to a fresh record high and caps a blistering stretch that has lifted the stock 63% in the past month. Is AMD stock outperforming its peers in the ... AMD Stock Is Up 13% Today – Is It Outperforming Other CPU Companies Like ARM?
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) are up 13% in Friday morning trading, changing hands near $346 after closing Thursday at $305.33. The move pushes AMD stock to a fresh record high and caps a blistering stretch that has lifted the stock 63% in the past month. Is AMD stock outperforming its peers in the ... AMD Stock Is Up 13% Today – Is It Outperforming Other CPU Companies Like ARM?