Vulcan Value Partners Large Cap Portfolio returned -14.1% for the quarter, underperforming the Russell 1000 Value Index and the S&P 500 Index. The fund, in its quarterly letter, said that there were no material contributors to performance. On the other hand, there were six material detractors to performance, including Salesforce ( CRM ), Ryan Specialty ( RYAN ), Ares Management ( ARES ), TPG ( TPG...
Vulcan Value Partners Large Cap Portfolio returned -14.1% for the quarter, underperforming the Russell 1000 Value Index and the S&P 500 Index. The fund, in its quarterly letter, said that there were no material contributors to performance. On the other hand, there were six material detractors to performance, including Salesforce ( CRM ), Ryan Specialty ( RYAN ), Ares Management ( ARES ), TPG ( TPG ), SAP SE ( SAP ), and Microsoft ( MSFT ). In the first quarter, the fund initiated two new positions: SAP SE ( SAP ) and ServiceNow ( NOW ). On the other hand, the fund exited six positions during the quarter, including CoStar Group ( CSGP ), Diageo ( DEO ), Bureau Veritas SA ( BVRDF ), Stanley Black & Decker ( SWK ), Crown Holdings ( CCK ), and Qorvo ( QRVO ). Source: Q1 fund letter More on SAP SE, ServiceNow, etc. ServiceNow's Rapid Growth Is Enough To Avoid A Bearish Rating CoStar: Even After The Fall, This Stock Remains Vulnerable In The AI Age ServiceNow Q1 Preview: The Earnings Growth It Needs Is Too High To Justify A Buy ServiceNow Q1 2026 Earnings Preview ServiceNow inches up after it closes Armis acquisition
Local officials and witnesses say attackers shot at students first then those who arrived at the scene Two Palestinians, including a 14-year-old schoolboy, have been killed in the occupied West Bank after Israeli settlers opened fire near a school amid mounting assaults on education in the territory, witnesses and local officials have said. The Palestinian health ministry said Aws al-Naasan, 14, a...
Local officials and witnesses say attackers shot at students first then those who arrived at the scene Two Palestinians, including a 14-year-old schoolboy, have been killed in the occupied West Bank after Israeli settlers opened fire near a school amid mounting assaults on education in the territory, witnesses and local officials have said. The Palestinian health ministry said Aws al-Naasan, 14, and Jihad Abu Naim, 32, were killed in the attack on the village of al-Mughayyir, which also left three others wounded. The head of the local council told Reuters that Israeli settlers had entered the village and opened fire near a school – first at students, and later at others who arrived at the scene. Witnesses said settlers were eventually followed by Israeli soldiers. Continue reading...
very good/E+ via Getty Images I previously upgraded Canadian Solar ( CSIQ ) as a cautious Buy in January 2026, thanks to the new data center-related monetization opportunities as they leveraged their solar/battery storage capabilities during the ongoing AI boom. In this article, I shall discuss why I am reiterating my Buy rating here, thanks to the great insights from their growing backlog/manufac...
very good/E+ via Getty Images I previously upgraded Canadian Solar ( CSIQ ) as a cautious Buy in January 2026, thanks to the new data center-related monetization opportunities as they leveraged their solar/battery storage capabilities during the ongoing AI boom. In this article, I shall discuss why I am reiterating my Buy rating here, thanks to the great insights from their growing backlog/manufacturing capacity and the discounted valuations. CSIQ Faces Numerous Headwinds & Tailwinds Entering FY2026 CSIQ 1Y Stock Price (Trading View) Since my last Buy rating, the bears have proven my Buy rating wrong, with CSIQ breaching the prior trading floor of $20s to return nearly all of their October/November 2025 gains to the $13s by the time of writing. 1. FQ1'26 Preview With CSIQ set to report their FQ1'26 earnings call on May 14, 2026, I urge readers to monitor their performance against the previously offered guidance across: revenues of $1B at the midpoint (-16.6% QoQ/ -16.6% YoY ), gross margins of 14% (-3.8 points QoQ/+2.3 YoY), solar module shipment of 2.3 GW (-46.5% QoQ/-66.6% YoY), and battery shipment of 1.8 GWh (-10% QoQ/+125% YoY). Given the mixed prospects on a QoQ/YoY basis, it is unsurprising that CSIQ has already lost much of their October/November 2025 gains by the time of writing. These reasons are also why I have warned about its potentially lumpy performance metrics at a time of changing US regulatory landscape, as observed in the " prolonged solar downturn ." 2. Solar Even then, I am of the opinion that CSIQ is likely to remain a long-term winner in the solar sector, attributed to the robust insight offered by their Solar Development Project Pipeline of 24.41 GWp in FY2025 ( -2.1% YoY ). This is on top of the management's guidance for the US solar shipment at 6.75 GW in FY2026 (+11.2% YoY, based on 25% of its FY2025 global shipments at 24.3 GW) and the US battery shipment at 5 GWh. These numbers underscore the robust demand for their domestically made sol...
Max Zolotukhin/iStock via Getty Images Thesis The last time I talked about Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz ( KSPI ) , which is a Kazakhstan-based “super app” that combines payments, an online marketplace, and consumer lending all in one platform, I gave it a Hold rating. At the time, my thinking was that fintech margins were getting squeezed and the Hepsiburada integration was a question mark. Seekin...
Max Zolotukhin/iStock via Getty Images Thesis The last time I talked about Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz ( KSPI ) , which is a Kazakhstan-based “super app” that combines payments, an online marketplace, and consumer lending all in one platform, I gave it a Hold rating. At the time, my thinking was that fintech margins were getting squeezed and the Hepsiburada integration was a question mark. Seeking Alpha Since then, that rating has worked in my favor. I didn’t miss much on performance, as it trailed significantly behind the broader market ( SP500 ). But recently, I noticed that the stock seemed to be in a kind of breakout mode, maybe boosted by the news that Chinese IT giant Tencent ( TCEHY ) became one of the largest shareholders. Today, considering that and since it’s been around a year since I last covered KSPI, I got up to speed on the latest data and fundamentals, and I’ve turned bullish. The core business still looks strong, the main headwinds now seem more cyclical than structural, and it looks like the current valuation finally offers enough upside to justify buying the shares. Kaspi’s Headwinds Mask A Strong Core Tencent, the Chinese tech giant behind WeChat, just bought a 3.2% stake in Kaspi.kz, the Kazakh super-app. The price tag, about $518 million. Specifically, they bought 6 million ADSs from Baring Fintech Venture Funds, one of Kaspi’s early investors that was selling its stake. That’s a normal move for a venture fund at this stage. Alongside Tencent, Kaspi's own co-founder and CEO, Mikhail Lomtadze, also bought in, adding to the big chunk of the company he already owns. Why does Tencent have an interest in Kaspi? For the same reason that Tencent created its WeChat app ; Kaspi also has an all-in-one app allowing you to pay, shop, get loans, book travel, and even access government services. In fact, over 25 million people in Kazakhstan utilize the app, with active users opening it an average of 77 times per month . It has become a utility. Because peop...