Getty Images Celanese Corporation ( CE ) is a specialty chemical company in the materials sector of the economy. It recently came to my attention that it has changed from a stock that has been trending lower for the past 20 months to a stock that now has started to trend higher. In this article I will discuss the recent earnings release and outline the bullish case for CE using my technical analys...
Getty Images Celanese Corporation ( CE ) is a specialty chemical company in the materials sector of the economy. It recently came to my attention that it has changed from a stock that has been trending lower for the past 20 months to a stock that now has started to trend higher. In this article I will discuss the recent earnings release and outline the bullish case for CE using my technical analysis methodology. As mentioned, CE announced its earnings last Tuesday after the market closed. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.91 per share and revenues of $2.25B. The actual results were $0.67 per share and revenues of $2.21B. You would think that such a miss on EPS would have caused the stock to sell off considerably, but that is not what happened. More on the price action of CE later in this article. A couple of takeaways from the recent earnings call that I found interesting were as follows. Free cash flow generation was prioritized on the most recent earnings call. Celanese is looking at $650-$750 million in free cash flow for the next fiscal year. They produced $773 million in free cash flow for 2025. Such free cash flow allows them to pay down debt, reinvest in the business, pay the dividend, etc. Another takeaway from the call is that CE is looking to divest some of its business lines in 2026 and 2027. Celanese is looking to divest $1 billion of business lines by the end of 2027. The company plans to use that money to strengthen its balance sheet. They divested their Micromax business line in 2025 and are looking at other options such as their numerous joint ventures. Looking forward, the company expects it to be favorably positioned when demand increases. They feel that their focus on deleveraging their balance sheet and improving their Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain business lines puts them in a positive position as demand increases. Another item that intrigues me, which has nothing to do with earnings, is that the CFO recently bought some shares on t...
North Korea aired a new propaganda film on TV about a failed assassination attempt on the country’s supreme leader, with South Korean media describing it as an “unprecedented work addressing a taboo”. The film Days and Nights of Confrontation, which had been screened at cinemas in Pyongyang since last year, was released for the first time on state-run Korean Central Television in January. The late...
North Korea aired a new propaganda film on TV about a failed assassination attempt on the country’s supreme leader, with South Korean media describing it as an “unprecedented work addressing a taboo”. The film Days and Nights of Confrontation, which had been screened at cinemas in Pyongyang since last year, was released for the first time on state-run Korean Central Television in January. The latest piece depicting a plot to kill Kim Jong-il, the late father of incumbent leader Kim Jong-un, by...
The US Department of Homeland Security will temporarily pause two programs that speed up some travelers’ progress through airport security starting Sunday at 6 am Eastern, due to the funding shutdown, a DHS spokesperson told the Washington Post. The agency said it will suspend its TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs as an emergency measure to redirect staffing, over a week after Congress failed...
The US Department of Homeland Security will temporarily pause two programs that speed up some travelers’ progress through airport security starting Sunday at 6 am Eastern, due to the funding shutdown, a DHS spokesperson told the Washington Post. The agency said it will suspend its TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs as an emergency measure to redirect staffing, over a week after Congress failed to send more money to the agency, according to the Washington Post. Part of the US government entered a funding lapse after lawmakers did not approve support for the DHS before a Feb. 13 deadline. Democrats have continued to withhold their support after the White House rejected their calls to impose new limits on immigration enforcement. Starting Sunday, the agency will pause airport police escorts for members of Congress and other expedited services, the Washington Post reported. It will also suspend all “non-disaster related response to prioritize disasters,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to the Washington Post.
Former coach says player was ‘complete joy’ Teammates pay tribute after Moore’s death Former NFL wide receiver Rondale Moore died on Saturday at the age of 25, his former college coach, Jeff Brohm, has confirmed. “Rondale Moore was a complete joy to coach,” Brohm, who coached Moore at Purdue, said in a statement . “The ultimate competitor that wouldn’t back down from any challenge. Rondale had a w...
Former coach says player was ‘complete joy’ Teammates pay tribute after Moore’s death Former NFL wide receiver Rondale Moore died on Saturday at the age of 25, his former college coach, Jeff Brohm, has confirmed. “Rondale Moore was a complete joy to coach,” Brohm, who coached Moore at Purdue, said in a statement . “The ultimate competitor that wouldn’t back down from any challenge. Rondale had a work ethic unmatched by anyone. A great teammate that would come through in any situation. We all loved Rondale, we loved his smile and competitive edge that always wanted to please everyone he came in contact with. We offer all of our thoughts and prayers to Rondale and his family, we love him very much.” In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org , or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie . In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
Investing.com – The artificial intelligence trade faces its most significant test of the year this week as three pillars of the AI infrastructure world prepare to release their quarterly results. With the tech sector showing signs of exhaustion, investors are looking for more than just "beats". They are looking for evidence that sustained capital expenditure (capex) is leading to the successful ro...
Investing.com – The artificial intelligence trade faces its most significant test of the year this week as three pillars of the AI infrastructure world prepare to release their quarterly results. With the tech sector showing signs of exhaustion, investors are looking for more than just "beats". They are looking for evidence that sustained capital expenditure (capex) is leading to the successful rollout of next-generation hardware. All eyes are on the after-market close (AMC) on Wednesday and Thu
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Benjamin Graham put it best: "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine". Unfortunately, that maxim has gone spectacularly against software giant Adobe ( ADBE ) in recent times, as concerns surrounding artificial intelligence and slowing growth have led the market to brutally reappraise its valuation....
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Benjamin Graham put it best: "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine". Unfortunately, that maxim has gone spectacularly against software giant Adobe ( ADBE ) in recent times, as concerns surrounding artificial intelligence and slowing growth have led the market to brutally reappraise its valuation. The share price chart does not make for pleasant viewing. Despite doing its bit on the "weighing" part - Adobe's earnings are growing - shares have fallen over 50% these past two years, a meaningfully worse performance than funds that track the software space, not to mention broader market indices. Trading for over 45 times prior-year GAAP net income two years ago, Adobe's shares now change hands for less than 16 times trailing earnings. I'll concede that it may not be the safest way to play software's AI-driven sell-off, but I do think its valuation more than makes up for that. For readers able to ride out quarterly volatility, buying Adobe at these levels could pay off handsomely down the line. I rate shares "Strong Buy". Data by YCharts AI Concerns Adobe booked almost $24 billion in revenue last year, $17.7 billion of which came from its Digital Media segment. This houses iconic content creation apps like Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as PDF creator/viewer/editor Acrobat. Digital Media is a profit machine. Despite accounting for roughly 75% of Adobe's revenue last year, it kicked in just 33% of the company's cost of revenue - numbers that map to a whopping 95% gross margin. This is powering a phenomenal firm-wide gross margin of nearly 90%. Plus, as incremental sales don't attract much by way of extra costs, this figure has been growing over time. Data by YCharts Given its incredible levels of profitability, Adobe's valuation is highly sensitive to the market's view of its growth prospects. That being the case, investors seem to have taken a very dim view of things...
DWalker44/E+ via Getty Images The Environmental Protection Agency this week rescinded regulations limiting mercury and other hazardous toxins from power plants, citing the need to boost baseload energy at a time when demand for power is soaring. The move is President Trump's latest effort to lift the U.S. coal sector , including earmarking more than $500M to help upgrade existing plants , using em...
DWalker44/E+ via Getty Images The Environmental Protection Agency this week rescinded regulations limiting mercury and other hazardous toxins from power plants, citing the need to boost baseload energy at a time when demand for power is soaring. The move is President Trump's latest effort to lift the U.S. coal sector , including earmarking more than $500M to help upgrade existing plants , using emergency powers to keep older facilities from retiring, and allowing coal plants to access the Energy Department's loan program, which has hundreds of billions of dollars in financing authority. In 2024, the Biden administration finalized updates to the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards for coal-fired plants that would have cut allowable mercury pollution from coal plants by 70% and imposed a 67% reduction in emissions of nickel, arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals. On Friday, the EPA announced it has repealed Biden's updated MATs, reverting compliance back to 2012 standards, which it said would save Americans $670M through 2037 in the form of lower costs for transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing. Environmental groups have said that weakening standards for mercury and other air toxics will lead to higher long-term health-related costs. Coal- and oil-fired power plants also will no longer have to comply with a 2027 deadline set under Biden to install technology on smokestacks for continuous monitoring of soot, and a stricter mercury emissions standard for certain coal plants, finalized in 2024, also is being replaced with the original 2012 standard. "The Biden-Harris administration's anti-coal regulations sought to regulate out of existence this vital sector of our energy economy," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. "The Trump EPA knows that we can grow the economy, enhance baseload power, and protect human health and the environment all at the same time." ETFs: ( XLU ), ( ICLN ), ( QCLN ), ( PBW ), ( PBD ), ( ACES ), ( CNRG ), ( ERTH ), ( SMOG ) More...