The Cricut Explore 5 will be available in taupe and teal color options. | Image: Cricut Cricut has announced new versions of two of its cutting machines that could appeal to crafters struggling with limited space for their hobby. The new Cricut Explore 5 is 30 percent "more compact" than the Explore 4 that launched a year ago , without reducing the size or types of materials the machine can handle...
The Cricut Explore 5 will be available in taupe and teal color options. | Image: Cricut Cricut has announced new versions of two of its cutting machines that could appeal to crafters struggling with limited space for their hobby. The new Cricut Explore 5 is 30 percent "more compact" than the Explore 4 that launched a year ago , without reducing the size or types of materials the machine can handle. The new Cricut Joy 2 is an even smaller alternative to the Explore 5 and adds the ability to precisely slice pre-printed materials so you can finally open that Etsy sticker shop. The Cricut Explore 5 is available starting today for $199 and comes with enough materials to make up to 30 projects. It can also be purchased as part of mor … Read the full story at The Verge.
It's no secret that you need a lot of money to retire comfortably. For many, retirement expenses can exceed $1 million. With regular contributions, it's possible to save that much, but many aren't sure where to start. Where you put your savings is almost as important as how much you save. It'll determine what you can invest in, and consequently, how fast your savings grow. It'll also affect when y...
It's no secret that you need a lot of money to retire comfortably. For many, retirement expenses can exceed $1 million. With regular contributions, it's possible to save that much, but many aren't sure where to start. Where you put your savings is almost as important as how much you save. It'll determine what you can invest in, and consequently, how fast your savings grow. It'll also affect when you'll pay taxes on that money. There's no wrong answer, but some accounts make more sense than others. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
For the last six months, enterprises wanting to deploy high quality AI image generation at scale have faced an uncomfortable trade-off: pay premium prices for Google's Nano Banana Pro model, or settle for cheaper (sometimes free), faster, but noticeably inferior alternatives — especially in terms of enterprise requirements like embedded accurate text, slides, diagrams, and other non aesthetic info...
For the last six months, enterprises wanting to deploy high quality AI image generation at scale have faced an uncomfortable trade-off: pay premium prices for Google's Nano Banana Pro model, or settle for cheaper (sometimes free), faster, but noticeably inferior alternatives — especially in terms of enterprise requirements like embedded accurate text, slides, diagrams, and other non aesthetic information. Today, Google DeepMind is attempting to collapse that gap with the launch of Nano Banana 2 (formally Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) — a model that brings the reasoning, text rendering, and creative control of the Pro tier down to Flash-level speed and pricing. The release comes just sixteen days after Alibaba's Qwen team dropped Qwen-Image-2.0 , a 7-billion parameter open-weight challenger that many developers argued had already matched Nano Banana Pro's quality at a fraction of the inference cost. For IT leaders evaluating image generation pipelines, Nano Banana 2 reframes the decision matrix. The question is no longer whether AI image models are good enough for production — it's which vendor's cost curve best fits the workflow. The production cost problem: why Nano Banana Pro stayed in the sandbox When Google released Nano Banana Pro in November 2025, built on the Gemini 3 Pro backbone, the developer community was impressed by its visual fidelity and reasoning capabilities. The model could render accurate text in images, maintain character consistency across multi-turn conversations, and follow complex compositional instructions — all capabilities that previous image generators struggled with. But Pro-tier pricing created a barrier to deployment at scale. According to Google's API pricing page, Nano Banana Pro's image output is priced at $120 per million tokens, working out to roughly $0.134 per generated image at 1K pixel resolution. For applications generating thousands of images daily — think e-commerce product visualization, marketing asset pipelines, or localized c...
Meta Platforms deepens its AI push with AMD GPU deal, nuclear power pacts, and up to $135B in 2026 capex as it races to scale infrastructure and ad growth.
Meta Platforms deepens its AI push with AMD GPU deal, nuclear power pacts, and up to $135B in 2026 capex as it races to scale infrastructure and ad growth.
Earnings Call Insights: Frontdoor, Inc. (FTDR) Q4 2025 Management View Chairman and CEO William Cobb began by emphasizing three priorities: "we expect ending member count to grow in 2026," "we are raising our long-term adjusted EBITDA margin target," and "we are on track to complete our current share repurchase authorization by this time next year, well ahead of schedule." Cobb highlighted that re...
Earnings Call Insights: Frontdoor, Inc. (FTDR) Q4 2025 Management View Chairman and CEO William Cobb began by emphasizing three priorities: "we expect ending member count to grow in 2026," "we are raising our long-term adjusted EBITDA margin target," and "we are on track to complete our current share repurchase authorization by this time next year, well ahead of schedule." Cobb highlighted that revenue increased 14% year over year to nearly $2.1 billion, gross profit margin reached a record 55%, net income grew 9% to $255 million, and adjusted EBITDA grew 25% to $553 million. Achieving stabilized member count was noted as a key milestone, with growth in direct-to-consumer and real estate channels, and improved renewal rates. Cobb stated, "Our new HVAC program grew an impressive 48% to $128 million, and we still have a massive opportunity ahead." Cobb reported realizing more than $20 million of cost synergies from the 2-10 acquisition, noting, "execution has exceeded our expectation." CFO Jason Bailey stated, "Revenue grew 13% versus the prior year period to $433 million...Gross margin grew 70 basis points to 49%...Adjusted EBITDA grew 21% to $59 million." Bailey indicated, "We generated record free cash flow of $390 million," and, "we remain in a strong financial position with ample liquidity of about $660 million and a strong net leverage ratio of only 1.4x." Outlook Management expects 2026 revenue in the range of $2.155 billion to $2.195 billion, gross margin between 54% and 55%, SG&A between $660 million to $680 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $565 million to $580 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin is targeted at approximately 26%. Bailey added, "conversion of adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow is expected to remain at a very high rate in the low 60% range." Non-warranty and other revenue projected at $220 million to $240 million for 2026, with the HVAC upgrade program expected to generate about $165 million. For Q1 2026, revenue is expected in the range of $440 mill...
Earnings Call Insights: Churchill Downs Incorporated (CHDN) Q4 2025 Management View William C. Carstanjen, CEO, reported that "2025 was another very strong year for Churchill Downs. We delivered record net revenue and record adjusted EBITDA, exceeding our prior record set in 2024. We also delivered record adjusted EBITDA in both our live and historical racing segment and our Wagering Services and ...
Earnings Call Insights: Churchill Downs Incorporated (CHDN) Q4 2025 Management View William C. Carstanjen, CEO, reported that "2025 was another very strong year for Churchill Downs. We delivered record net revenue and record adjusted EBITDA, exceeding our prior record set in 2024. We also delivered record adjusted EBITDA in both our live and historical racing segment and our Wagering Services and Solutions segment." He highlighted the successful hosting of the Kentucky Derby, which achieved "record handle for the Kentucky Derby race, the Derby Day program and Derby Week overall, along with the highest television ratings in nearly 40 years." The CEO announced the grand opening of Marshall Yards Racing and Gaming in Calvert City, Kentucky, and the expansion of the HRM footprint with new venues in Kentucky and Virginia, as well as progress at the Rose in Northern Virginia. He said, "We announced plans to invest $180 million to $200 million to develop Rockingham Casino in Salem, New Hampshire." Carstanjen emphasized the introduction of electronic table games (ETGs) based on historical horse racing in Kentucky HRM facilities, stating, "In early February of this year, we introduced our first roulette electronic table games in our Kentucky HRM facilities." The company is set to unveil the newly renovated Mansion and Finish Line Suites for the 2026 Kentucky Derby and is expanding Derby Week with the first Sunday racing in over 15 years. Carstanjen reported, "This year, the Kentucky Oaks will move to prime time on NBC and Peacock between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time." Marcia Dall, CFO, stated, "Our team delivered record fourth quarter net revenue and adjusted EBITDA from our diversified portfolio, continued organic growth and returns from our recent property investments." She added, "We generated a record $700 million of free cash flow or $9.75 per share, following a record year in 2024." Dall also highlighted, "In 2025, we repurchased more than 4.2 million share...
Earnings Call Insights: ACI Worldwide (ACIW) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Thomas Warsop highlighted "2025 was a very strong year for ACI. We delivered another year of double-digit revenue growth, improving margins and solid free cash flow, all of which are consistent with or better than the long-term financial framework we outlined at our Investor Day 2 years ago." Warsop reported $1.76 billion in ...
Earnings Call Insights: ACI Worldwide (ACIW) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Thomas Warsop highlighted "2025 was a very strong year for ACI. We delivered another year of double-digit revenue growth, improving margins and solid free cash flow, all of which are consistent with or better than the long-term financial framework we outlined at our Investor Day 2 years ago." Warsop reported $1.76 billion in total revenue for 2025, a 10% increase over the prior year, with adjusted EBITDA of $506 million and a margin expansion to 42%. The company unified its Bank and Merchant businesses into the new Payment Software segment, leading to 9% revenue growth and 10% adjusted EBITDA growth for that division. The Biller segment delivered 13% revenue growth, driven by transaction growth and adoption of the Speedpay platform. Warsop described the signing of a large European bank to Connetic, ACI's cloud-native payments hub, as a key strategic win, along with an expansion deal with PayNet in Malaysia and a go-live with the Central Bank of Colombia. Generative AI was positioned as an opportunity rather than a threat, with Warsop stating, “We at ACI are applying AI in 3 primary ways: first, engineering productivity... Second, operational efficiency... Third, and I think most importantly, enhanced customer value." The appointment of Kim deBeers to the Board was announced, joining recent additions Didier Lamouche and Todd Ford. CFO Robert Leibrock stated, “Total revenue in the quarter was $482 million, up 6% year-over-year, and recurring revenue was $304 million, up 13%, reflecting continued strength across both segments and growing demand for our recurring software-led offerings.” Outlook For 2026, ACI projects revenue growth of 7% to 9% on a constant currency basis, or $1.88 billion to $1.91 billion. First quarter revenue is expected to be between $405 million and $415 million. Adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2026 is $530 million to $550 million for the full year and $88 million to $93 million...
Earnings Call Insights: Carlyle Credit Income Fund (CCIF) Q1 2026 Management View Nishil Mehta, MD & Portfolio Manager, outlined ongoing market challenges, stating "The CLO equity class faced challenges in 2025, including continued loan repricings and bear sentiment, which weighed on returns for both CLO equity market and CCIF. However, credit fundamentals remained strong and default rates continu...
Earnings Call Insights: Carlyle Credit Income Fund (CCIF) Q1 2026 Management View Nishil Mehta, MD & Portfolio Manager, outlined ongoing market challenges, stating "The CLO equity class faced challenges in 2025, including continued loan repricings and bear sentiment, which weighed on returns for both CLO equity market and CCIF. However, credit fundamentals remained strong and default rates continue to decline." He highlighted a focus on portfolio optimization, mentioning "CCIF's underlying CLO investments generated an annualized cash-on-cash yield of 22.67% for the quarter... New CLO investments during the quarter totaled $13.1 million with a weighted average GAAP yield of 13.6%." Mehta also addressed strategic refinancing, noting a reduction in funding costs through refinancing $52 million of preferred shares. Mehta announced a dividend revision, stating "Following discussion with our Board of Directors, we have revised our monthly dividend to $0.06 per share... The revised dividend level of $0.06 per share results in an annualized dividend of 20% based on the closing share price as of February 23, 2026." CEO & Trustee Lauren Basmadjian reported "CLO issuance totaled $53 billion for the quarter, bringing 2025 issuance to a record $211 billion... total gross CLO activity reached an all-time high of $538 billion." She described robust refinancing and reset activity as well as resilient loan market performance, acknowledging some sector-specific weaknesses. CFO Nelson Joseph stated, "Total investment income for the first quarter was $7.1 million or $0.34 per share. Total expenses for the quarter were $5.2 million. Total net investment income for the first quarter was $2 million or $0.09 per share, compared to $0.15 in the prior quarter... Adjusted net investment income for the first quarter was $3.7 million or $0.17 per share in line with the prior quarter. Core net investment income for the first quarter was $0.32 per share, also in line with the prior quarter." Outl...
Earnings Call Insights: Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (IART) Q4 2025 Management View President and CEO Mojdeh Poul highlighted that Integra advanced its transformation agenda and delivered revenue of $435 million and adjusted EPS of $0.83 in Q4 2025, both above the midpoint of guidance. Poul stated, "We advanced our transformation, continued to deliver for our customers and patients an...
Earnings Call Insights: Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (IART) Q4 2025 Management View President and CEO Mojdeh Poul highlighted that Integra advanced its transformation agenda and delivered revenue of $435 million and adjusted EPS of $0.83 in Q4 2025, both above the midpoint of guidance. Poul stated, "We advanced our transformation, continued to deliver for our customers and patients and met our financial commitments with revenue of $435 million and adjusted earnings per share of $0.83, both above the midpoint of our guidance range." Poul emphasized operational and strategic progress, citing improvements in quality management, compliance, supply reliability, and the completion of initial regulatory submissions for the China market. She noted, "We welcomed 6 new leaders to our executive leadership team, adding depth and capabilities that collectively represent decades of global med tech experience." The CEO described the implementation of a new operating model to reduce complexity and improve efficiency, which included launching a supply chain control tower and creating a transformation and program management office. "We also launched a supply chain control tower, providing daily visibility into key operational metrics and performance across our global network," Poul said. On product returns, Poul confirmed the early relaunch of PriMatrix and Durepair via a dual sourcing strategy and the ongoing build-out of the Braintree facility, which is expected to support the return of SurgiMend to the market in Q4 2026. CFO Lea Knight reported, "Full year 2025 revenue was $1.635 billion, representing 1.5% growth on a reported basis and a 0.7% organic decline." Knight added, "Full year gross margin was 61.9%, down 260 basis points year-over-year... adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.4%, down 60 basis points and adjusted EPS of $2.23 compared to $2.56 in 2024." Outlook Knight provided 2026 guidance, projecting full year revenues of $1.66 billion to $1.7 billion, with reporte...
Nvidia stock (NVDA) is coming under some pressure in Thursday's session as the AI chipmaker posted fourth quarter earnings results that outpaced estimates, but ultimately were not enough to excite Wall Street investors. D.A. Davidson head of technology research Gil Luria — alongside Stifel applied technology analyst Ruben Roy — elaborates more on the rotation into semiconductor stocks from the sof...
Nvidia stock (NVDA) is coming under some pressure in Thursday's session as the AI chipmaker posted fourth quarter earnings results that outpaced estimates, but ultimately were not enough to excite Wall Street investors. D.A. Davidson head of technology research Gil Luria — alongside Stifel applied technology analyst Ruben Roy — elaborates more on the rotation into semiconductor stocks from the software sector. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts.
Hi, it’s Aaron Kirchfeld in London, where I’ve just spotted an unusual name at the top of the UK M&A tables. Also today, a bidding war begins for asset manager Janus Henderson and Cristiano Ronaldo expands his business empire. Today’s top stories Engie jumps after £10.5 billion deal to buy UK Power Networks. Janus bidding war begins as Victory Capital tops Trian offer. Equinix and CPPIB near $4 bi...
Hi, it’s Aaron Kirchfeld in London, where I’ve just spotted an unusual name at the top of the UK M&A tables. Also today, a bidding war begins for asset manager Janus Henderson and Cristiano Ronaldo expands his business empire. Today’s top stories Engie jumps after £10.5 billion deal to buy UK Power Networks. Janus bidding war begins as Victory Capital tops Trian offer. Equinix and CPPIB near $4 billion deal for atNorth. LSEG unveils £3 billion buyback as Elliott pushes for change. Shell in talks with Adnoc, others over LNG plant stake sale. French revolution Anyone checking the UK M&A advisory rankings this morning could have been forgiven for rubbing their eyes, refreshing their screens or reaching for the history books. Maybe even all three. Because sitting on top of the heap is, not perennial leader Goldman Sachs, but a stealthy French foe: BNP Paribas. The Paris-based bank is riding high in Old Blighty, having now landed roles on both of the biggest deals targeting UK companies this year. The second of these arrived last night when France’s Engie announced its £10.5 billion purchase of the UK’s largest power-distribution network, UKPN. BNP is advising Engie alongside BofA and Rothschild. The win comes roughly a fortnight after the bank emerged as an adviser—along with the likes of JPMorgan, Barclays and the up-and-coming Wells Fargo—to Nuveen on its £10 billion acquisition of the storied UK asset manager Schroders. “There isn’t magic here, it is mostly about intensity,” said Kirshlen Moodley, head of advisory at BNP Paribas UK in London. “Behind the scenes, we’ve been growing every product including broking, then the C-suite access from our investment banking coverage and industry bankers and the advisory team with boots on the ground.” The deals have allowed BNP to leapfrog, for now at least, those investment banks far more used to ruling the roost in the City of London, such as Goldman and JPMorgan. Goldman, in particular, has been conspicuous by its absence f...
Cascades Inc. ( CAS:CA ) declares CAD 0.12/share quarterly dividend . Payable March 26; for shareholders of record March 12; ex-div March 12. More on Cascades Inc. Cascades Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Price increases by Cascades are positive sign for packaging industry: Truist Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Cascades Inc. Historical earnings data for Cascades Inc. Dividend ...
Cascades Inc. ( CAS:CA ) declares CAD 0.12/share quarterly dividend . Payable March 26; for shareholders of record March 12; ex-div March 12. More on Cascades Inc. Cascades Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Price increases by Cascades are positive sign for packaging industry: Truist Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Cascades Inc. Historical earnings data for Cascades Inc. Dividend scorecard for Cascades Inc.
In this article GOOGL Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Omer Taha Cetin | Anadolu | Getty Images Google on Thursday rolled out Nano Banana 2, an update to its wildly popular artificial intelligence image generator. The company launched the first Nano Banana in August, and the service quickly went viral. Nano Banana Pro hit the market in November, built on Gemini 3 Pro. Google said in...
In this article GOOGL Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Omer Taha Cetin | Anadolu | Getty Images Google on Thursday rolled out Nano Banana 2, an update to its wildly popular artificial intelligence image generator. The company launched the first Nano Banana in August, and the service quickly went viral. Nano Banana Pro hit the market in November, built on Gemini 3 Pro. Google said in a blog post that Nano Banana 2 has advanced world knowledge, pulling real-time information from Gemini for more accurate renderings. The company also highlighted the new model's increased speed, enhanced instruction following and more precise text renderings for "marketing mockups or greeting cards." Read more CNBC tech news First look at Nvidia's new AI system Vera Rubin is 10 times more efficient than its predecessor Samsung's S26 gives an advance look at what the Google-powered Apple Siri could do Thrive Capital invested about $1 billion in OpenAI at a $285 billion valuation, source says Head of Amazon's AGI lab is leaving the company The company said Nano Banana Pro will remain available for "high-fidelity tasks requiring maximum factual accuracy," while Nano Banana 2 will be focused on "rapid generation, precise instruction following and integrated image-search grounding." Nano Banana 2 is replacing its predecessor across Gemini's Fast, Thinking and Pro models. AI image and video generators are surging in popularity among consumers, who are able to create increasingly advanced and detailed graphics and videos with just a few text-based prompts. OpenAI launched its video-generation tool Sora in 2024, and CEO Sam Altman wrote last March that the high usage was "melting" its A I processors. Adobe has pushed to further integrate AI into its creative tool suite with its photo and video generator Firefly . Creative companies have raised concerns about copyright infringement from the proliferation of generative AI tools. ByteDance has faced backlash from major Hollywood stud...
Quebecor ( QBR.A:CA ) declares $0.40/share quarterly dividend . Payable April 7; for shareholders of record March 13; ex-div March 13. More on Quebecor Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Quebecor Historical earnings data for Quebecor Dividend scorecard for Quebecor Financial information for Quebecor
Quebecor ( QBR.A:CA ) declares $0.40/share quarterly dividend . Payable April 7; for shareholders of record March 13; ex-div March 13. More on Quebecor Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Quebecor Historical earnings data for Quebecor Dividend scorecard for Quebecor Financial information for Quebecor
Adam Bartosik/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Shares of LSI Industries ( LYTS ) hav e come into the spotlight after the company announced a large M&A transaction, the largest by far, with LSI willing to spend $325 million to acquire the privately held Royston Group. Such a mega event naturally triggers a need to update the investment thesis after I concluded in September that shares had the ligh...
Adam Bartosik/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Shares of LSI Industries ( LYTS ) hav e come into the spotlight after the company announced a large M&A transaction, the largest by far, with LSI willing to spend $325 million to acquire the privately held Royston Group. Such a mega event naturally triggers a need to update the investment thesis after I concluded in September that shares had the lights turned on after the company delivered on solid (organic) growth after a string of M&A deals lately. I like the deal for Royston, thanks to very reasonable multiples paid, real strengthening of the business offerings, and real potential for synergies, although that elevated leverage requires some attention. Acquiring Royston Royston is a leader in identity and equipment solutions used in retail environments. The deal will almost entirely be paid for in cash, except for a $5 million stock payment. Based in Atlanta, Royston has five manufacturing sites across the country that provide custom store fixtures, signage, and both refrigerated and heated case displays. The company is fully integrated, offering solutions that range from design to engineering, fabrication, distribution, and installation. Typical end market applications involve refueling/C-stores, grocery stores, and quick-service restaurants. On a trailing basis, that is, until September of last year, Royston generated $272 million in sales and $38 million in EBITDA. That works down to a 1.2 times sales multiple and an 8.5 times EBITDA multiple, respectively. That latter multiple drops to 8.1 times if and once tax synergies are considered. While the company sees strong potential for shared manufacturing and cross-selling, such benefits are not quantified. Based on the pro forma numbers (again for the period ending in September), pro forma sales are seen at $864 million, with EBITDA seen around $95 million. Leading Lighting & Display Solutions The paragraph header, in essence, describes the business activities of LSI...