M. Suhail/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Brinker International ( EAT ) operates in the U.S. casual dining industry, generating revenue through company-owned restaurant sales and franchise royalties. Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy are their staple restaurants that drive the business. The stock was up about 5x between 2023 and 2024. It has been volatile but flat overall since the beginning o...
M. Suhail/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Brinker International ( EAT ) operates in the U.S. casual dining industry, generating revenue through company-owned restaurant sales and franchise royalties. Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy are their staple restaurants that drive the business. The stock was up about 5x between 2023 and 2024. It has been volatile but flat overall since the beginning of 2025. I gave the stock a hold in January, and it has seen a 4% decline (at the time of writing) since that time. Seeking Alpha Within the broader restaurant industry, trends are increasingly shaped by price sensitivity, demand for value, and shifting consumer preferences toward convenience and affordability, while cost pressures from labor and commodities remain persistent headwinds. I am switching my view on EAT and now have the stock as a sell ahead of its upcoming FY Q3 2026 earnings. Growth has been slow, and even the growth they have had may be misleading. Their gross margin lags peers, and their balance sheet continues to deteriorate. Where is the Growth? Growth by adding locations is certainly not part of the game plan for EAT. Operating locations have not grown in recent years and currently sit at 1,627 total locations, lower than a few years ago. The growth plan has been geared more toward operational efficiencies from already operating locations. Foot traffic and organic same-store growth were positive trends for EAT, but both metrics sank largely last quarter. Same- store sales growth moved from 21.4% higher to just 8.6% last quarter. Foot traffic moved from 13.1% to 2.7% in terms of growth QoQ. That’s a bad sign, as one of their positive indicators dropped big, and I will be curiously checking how these play out in next week’s earnings. Adjusted EPS has been ticking higher at a decent pace, but revenue growth has really slowed in the last 5 quarters or so. I think that the earnings growth is misleading, and the lack of location expansion, and now possible lowe...
The European Union on Thursday approved a $106-billion loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for two years, ending months of political deadlock. (Image credit: Petros Karadjias)
The European Union on Thursday approved a $106-billion loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for two years, ending months of political deadlock. (Image credit: Petros Karadjias)
ArtistGNDphotography/E+ via Getty Images In my search for interesting companies, one firm that I eventually came across but have not analyzed in depth until now is Outdoor Holding Company ( POWW ). It is an intriguing company that has undergone some changes as of late. Unfortunately, however, financial performance for the business has been worsening. We have seen some improvement throughout the 20...
ArtistGNDphotography/E+ via Getty Images In my search for interesting companies, one firm that I eventually came across but have not analyzed in depth until now is Outdoor Holding Company ( POWW ). It is an intriguing company that has undergone some changes as of late. Unfortunately, however, financial performance for the business has been worsening. We have seen some improvement throughout the 2026 fiscal year as management looks to cut expenses while simultaneously pushing for some revenue expansion. That is great in and of itself. On the other hand, the financial picture of the business is not attractive enough to justify a bullish outlook right now. In fact, given where things are currently, I would say that rating it a "Hold" is the most generous thing I can do at this time. A tough time and a turnaround Author - SEC EDGAR Data At its core, Outdoor Holding Company is a rather interesting business. In the past, the company had two different operating segments. The first of these was its Ammunition segment, which produced small arms ammunition and their components for the commercial, military, and law enforcement communities. However, back in 2025, the firm ended up selling off this business, leaving only the GunBroker Marketplace segment. Through this unit, the company operates an online marketplace dedicated to firearms, hunting, shooting, and related products. At the end of the company's 2025 fiscal year, this marketplace had 8.4 million registered users. But that number has since increased to 8.7 million. It also works with a network of around 31,000 federally licensed firearms dealers that operate as transfer agents when it comes to the purchase and sale of guns. This was actually down from the 32,000 that it had at the end of the 2025 fiscal year. Author - SEC EDGAR Data At its core, it appears as though Outdoor Holding Company is a rather innovative company. Management mentioned, in their latest quarterly report, that they are working on certain strategic ...
Volkswagen is accelerating its China strategy by deepening partnerships with local technology and electric vehicle makers, including Xpeng, as it faces intensifying competition and a prolonged price war. The company is pushing greater localisation across manufacturing, R&D and product development to shorten vehicle cycles and cut costs. The strategy comes as China's auto market shifts toward repla...
Volkswagen is accelerating its China strategy by deepening partnerships with local technology and electric vehicle makers, including Xpeng, as it faces intensifying competition and a prolonged price war. The company is pushing greater localisation across manufacturing, R&D and product development to shorten vehicle cycles and cut costs. The strategy comes as China's auto market shifts toward replacement buyers and faster innovation, putting pressure on foreign carmakers to adapt quickly. Robert Cisek, Passenger Cars Brand China CEO at Volkswagen, spoke with Stephen Engle on Insight with Haslinda Amin from the Beijing Auto Show.
Goalkeeper James Trafford says this season has been a "big learning experience" and his move to Manchester City "hasn't been the best possible outcome".
Goalkeeper James Trafford says this season has been a "big learning experience" and his move to Manchester City "hasn't been the best possible outcome".
DNY59/E+ via Getty Images Rising tensions in the Middle East have renewed investor interest in volatility ETFs, which are designed to increase in value as expected market volatility rises. While VIX-linked ETFs are well known, they focus on equities and overlook fixed-income and interest-rate volatility, a meaningful component of most portfolios. The Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflatio...
DNY59/E+ via Getty Images Rising tensions in the Middle East have renewed investor interest in volatility ETFs, which are designed to increase in value as expected market volatility rises. While VIX-linked ETFs are well known, they focus on equities and overlook fixed-income and interest-rate volatility, a meaningful component of most portfolios. The Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF ( IVOL ) is designed to address this gap. How Does the IVOL ETF Work? IVOL is managed by Quadratic Capital Management, an asset management firm founded in 2013 by Nancy Davis, which focuses on options and volatility markets. IVOL was listed on the NYSE in 2019 as a fixed-income completion ETF, designed to address two structural gaps in the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index ("the Agg"), the benchmark tracked by most U.S. bond investors. The Agg contains no inflation protection since there are no TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) within the index. This leaves bond investors with a gap in their core fixed income. Another issue for investors arises from the fact that roughly one-third of the Agg is short interest rate options. This short position is due to the Agg’s allocations to mortgage-backed securities and callable corporate bonds. (In the case of mortgages, US homeowners are long the option to prepay their debt. And corporates can call their bonds, often just when bondholders would prefer that they didn’t.) IVOL was designed to complement core bond holdings by seeking to address both of these issues. The fund combines two core exposures: TIPS and/or cash (at least 80% of the portfolio): U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities provide income that adjusts with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), seeking to help preserve purchasing power in inflationary environments, while serving as the fund's defensive core. Long OTC interest rate options (the remainder): Fully funded, long-only options on the U.S. interest rate swap curve, specifically the spre...