quantic69/iStock via Getty Images Elevator Thesis The Permian is fascinating, and Texas Pacific Land Corporation ( TPL ) is at the center of it, to say the least. The company has a huge land base in the Permian and gets royalties on oil and gas production as well as stable revenue on water sales and produced-water handling. On paper, TPL looks like a cash machine without the inconvenience of runni...
quantic69/iStock via Getty Images Elevator Thesis The Permian is fascinating, and Texas Pacific Land Corporation ( TPL ) is at the center of it, to say the least. The company has a huge land base in the Permian and gets royalties on oil and gas production as well as stable revenue on water sales and produced-water handling. On paper, TPL looks like a cash machine without the inconvenience of running wells. The production reached 34.6 thousand BOE per day in FY 25, and it pushed land and water revenues to $490 million and $308 million, respectively. Even TPL’s new projects might ultimately generate upside. Additionally, it is marketed as a stable compounder, and its stock has surged. That said, TPL cannot control output and is fully reliant on operators. The drilling lag brings a drop in royalties, which is what the 14% YTD pullback in the stock showed. Moreover, peak earnings are not a novel benchmark. Even an increase in oil prices or short-term geopolitical spikes is not likely to stimulate growth unless the drilling activity is boosted. Furthermore, it has a lofty valuation, as forward multiples are notably higher than the industry averages. The potential upside is outweighed by the downside; therefore, I am assigning TPL a Sell rating at the current levels. Peak Activity Conditions Are Normalizing TPL was performing well in the shale boom. The operators were drilling aggressively, and the increase in production was directly translated to cash per share. Oil and gas production rose 29% annually in FY 25, and this led to record water revenues and royalties. TPL Q4 Revenues (TPL Results) The snapshot above shows an upward trend in revenues. Well, these numbers were not fueled by the drilling operations under the control of TPL itself. The operators moved more on TPL's land, and it gained momentum from that push. The production saw an annual growth from 26.8 to 34.6 thousand BOE per day due to more activity in its acreage. That momentum, however, started deceleratin...
As we have been reporting on Ars , NASA's Artemis II lunar mission has been going rather well so far. Of course, Orion's big test is yet to come with the fiery reentry through Earth's atmosphere on Friday. But so far, it's looking like the rocket and spaceship needed for a lunar landing are getting there for NASA. The biggest remaining piece of the architecture, therefore, is a lunar lander. Known...
As we have been reporting on Ars , NASA's Artemis II lunar mission has been going rather well so far. Of course, Orion's big test is yet to come with the fiery reentry through Earth's atmosphere on Friday. But so far, it's looking like the rocket and spaceship needed for a lunar landing are getting there for NASA. The biggest remaining piece of the architecture, therefore, is a lunar lander. Known in NASA parlance as the Human Landing System, or HLS, the space agency has contracted with SpaceX for its Starship vehicle and Blue Origin and its Blue Moon lander. Last year NASA asked both companies for options to accelerate their lunar landers, and both replied that not having to dock with the Lunar Gateway in a highly elliptical orbit, known as near-rectilinear halo orbit, would help a lot. So the space agency has removed that requirement. Read full article Comments
Thawatchai Chawong Market volatility sparked by geopolitical tensions has shifted investor focus away from exotic ETF products back to tried-and-true sector-based strategies, according to Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi. While the turbulence hasn’t dampened overall demand for ETFs, it has created renewed interest in fundamental industry allocations, particularly in energy ( XLE ), ( A...
Thawatchai Chawong Market volatility sparked by geopolitical tensions has shifted investor focus away from exotic ETF products back to tried-and-true sector-based strategies, according to Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi. While the turbulence hasn’t dampened overall demand for ETFs, it has created renewed interest in fundamental industry allocations, particularly in energy ( XLE ), ( AMLP ), ( VDE ) and defense ( ITA ), ( PPA ), ( XAR ). “The volatility that we’ve seen in the marketplace, geopolitically tied to the war in Iran, has caused investor interest in energy ETFs,” Rosenbluth said in an interview with CNBC. He noted that the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLE ) has been particularly popular, as investors look to add exposure to a sector that represents only 3-4% of the S&P 500 ( SP500 ). Beyond traditional energy plays, investors are also turning to the Alerian MLP ETF ( AMLP ) as an alternative. Rosenbluth explained that the energy infrastructure space offers “a more stable cash flow generating space within energy,” adding that Master Limited Partnerships won’t be found within the S&P 500 ( SP500 ), making AMLP an attractive option for those seeking diversification. Aerospace and defense has emerged as another area of intense investor focus for understandable reasons given the current global climate. However, investors aren’t just gravitating toward standard defense funds—they’re seeking more specialized exposure through products like the Global X Defense Technology ETF ( SHLD ). The Rex Drones ETF ( DRNZ ), a relatively new index-based fund, is also gaining traction among investors looking for technologically advanced exposure to the aerospace and defense industry. “That’s also performing quite well,” Rosenbluth noted, highlighting how investors are finding opportunity in the more specialized parts of the defense trade. The shift reflects a broader investor sentiment that favors fundamental sectors during periods of uncertainty. While market v...
alvarez/iStock via Getty Images Kinder Morgan, Inc. ( KMI ) is entering into another major growth cycle for natural gas in the U.S. underpinned by electric utility demand and the potential for accelerated LNG export growth over the next decade resulting from geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East. With one of the largest domestic pipeline systems, I believe KMI will play a critical role in su...
alvarez/iStock via Getty Images Kinder Morgan, Inc. ( KMI ) is entering into another major growth cycle for natural gas in the U.S. underpinned by electric utility demand and the potential for accelerated LNG export growth over the next decade resulting from geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East. With one of the largest domestic pipeline systems, I believe KMI will play a critical role in supplying natural gas to facilitate U.S. reindustrialization and electrifying large-scale data centers. Despite the compelling growth story, I believe shares have priced in the growth opportunity ahead; I am recommending KMI shares with a Hold rating with a price target of 30.39/share at 11.67x eFY27 EV/aEBITDA. Kinder Morgan Operational Update Corporate Filings KMI may be driving into the next capital growth cycle as domestic demand for natural gas is set to expand over the coming years to power industrialization and large-scale data center developments. With natural gas taking precedence as a critical source for load capacity, I believe that KMI may play a critical role in matching supply and demand through take-or-pay and fee-based arrangements with 4% unhedged capacity to realize commodity pricing dispersions. Accordingly, KMI has a $10b backlog and an additional $10b in natural gas project opportunities with the expectation of investing $3b in capital to deliver cash flow growth over the coming years. Driving demand is domestic power consumption growth and LNG export capacity expansions. As part of this, roughly $1.2b of the gas opportunities are tied to LNG projects. Of the $10b in backlog, 60% is associated with power projects, which may in part be tied to data center capacity development. Taking into consideration the addressable market, utilities are expected to invest $1.1T through 2030 in grid modernization and new power generation infrastructure. Driving this matter, GE Vernova ( GEV ), a major manufacturer of industrial and aeroderivative gas turbines, has experi...
NHTSA closed its investigation into Tesla's "Actually Smart Summon" feature, saying that only a fraction of cases resulted in an incident, and that no incidents resulted in injury. Tesla has also issued a number of software updates.
NHTSA closed its investigation into Tesla's "Actually Smart Summon" feature, saying that only a fraction of cases resulted in an incident, and that no incidents resulted in injury. Tesla has also issued a number of software updates.
Autonomous vehicle companies are refusing to disclose key details about their use of remote assistance teams, including how often these workers are forced to intervene to help their self-driving cars. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) had asked robotaxi companies to disclose the information as part of an investigation by his office into the use of remote assistance operators (RAO). The senator's office sen...
Autonomous vehicle companies are refusing to disclose key details about their use of remote assistance teams, including how often these workers are forced to intervene to help their self-driving cars. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) had asked robotaxi companies to disclose the information as part of an investigation by his office into the use of remote assistance operators (RAO). The senator's office sent letters to seven robotaxi companies - Aurora, May Mobility, Motional, Nuro, Tesla, Waymo, and Amazon's Zoox - seeking information about the use of remote workers to monitor the driverless vehicles and occasionally intervene when the vehicles nee … Read the full story at The Verge.