The UK’s top civil servant resigned on Thursday, the third senior aide to Prime Minister Keir Starmer to quit in a matter of days in fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. “Chris Wormald will stand down as the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service by mutual agreement from today,” a joint statement released by the government said. His departure comes after two top aides quit earlier th...
The UK’s top civil servant resigned on Thursday, the third senior aide to Prime Minister Keir Starmer to quit in a matter of days in fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. “Chris Wormald will stand down as the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service by mutual agreement from today,” a joint statement released by the government said. His departure comes after two top aides quit earlier this week over the row triggered by the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington...
Villarreal player charged in July with five counts of rape Former Arsenal midfielder denies all the charges The footballer Thomas Partey has been charged with two new counts of rape relating to an additional woman who came forward to police with the allegations in August last year. Partey will appear at Westminster magistrates court on 13 March in relation to the additional charges issued by the C...
Villarreal player charged in July with five counts of rape Former Arsenal midfielder denies all the charges The footballer Thomas Partey has been charged with two new counts of rape relating to an additional woman who came forward to police with the allegations in August last year. Partey will appear at Westminster magistrates court on 13 March in relation to the additional charges issued by the Crown Prosecution Service over allegations that date from 2020. Continue reading...
Wow. What's the opposite of a "vote of confidence?" A vote of no confidence, perhaps? Because that seems to be the way investors are voting on CarMax 's (NYSE: KMX) decision to appoint a new CEO this morning: Interim CEO David McCreight is out, former InterContinental Hotels Group (NYSE: IHG) head Keith Barr is in as CarMax CEO -- and the stock's down 12% as of 1:05 p.m. ET. Image source: Getty Im...
Wow. What's the opposite of a "vote of confidence?" A vote of no confidence, perhaps? Because that seems to be the way investors are voting on CarMax 's (NYSE: KMX) decision to appoint a new CEO this morning: Interim CEO David McCreight is out, former InterContinental Hotels Group (NYSE: IHG) head Keith Barr is in as CarMax CEO -- and the stock's down 12% as of 1:05 p.m. ET. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) today is down -0.52%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI ) (DIA ) is down -0.07%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) is down -1.08%. March E-mini S&P futures (ESH26 ) are down -0.58%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures...
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) today is down -0.52%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI ) (DIA ) is down -0.07%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) is down -1.08%. March E-mini S&P futures (ESH26 ) are down -0.58%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures...
Prediction market startup Polymarket opened a temporary grocery store in Manhattan’s West Village on Thursday, giving away free food and household staples in a promotional campaign that was delayed by logistical issues. The event drew a mocking response from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and comes as the company faces regulatory scrutiny. The pop-up store — dubbed “The Polymarket” — was set to deb...
Prediction market startup Polymarket opened a temporary grocery store in Manhattan’s West Village on Thursday, giving away free food and household staples in a promotional campaign that was delayed by logistical issues. The event drew a mocking response from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and comes as the company faces regulatory scrutiny. The pop-up store — dubbed “The Polymarket” — was set to debut on Thursday afternoon, and make a brief run before closing next Monday, opening for a few hours each day (“or while supplies last,” a sign outside said). The company delayed the opening by two hours as employees raced to fill shelves and paint walls. Outside, crowds of people were lined up around the block. The promotional material inside the store made no visible reference to the company’s day-to-day business, creating financial contracts that allow people around the world to bet on everything from the Super Bowl to geopolitical crises. Instead the company said the event was a “love letter to New York City.” Polymarket’s billionaire founder grew up in New York, and the offices are in the city. Four years ago, it was forced to shut down to American customers after a clash with regulators. It is now in the process of re-opening in the US in the more friendly legal environment created by the Trump administration. The store is one part of a much bigger promotional push as the company vies for attention with its biggest rival, Kalshi Inc. , which last week ran its own one-day grocery promotion, giving away $50 of free food at a supermarket slightly further uptown. Polymarket’s choice of the West Village, one of the most social media friendly part of the city, and far from the areas where hunger is more of an issue, underscored the promotional nature of the event. Both startups are playing directly to the concerns voiced by Mamdani, who has called for city-run grocery stores and inveighed against the cost of food in the city. Mamdani, though, made it clear that he was not a f...
laddawan punna/iStock via Getty Images Overview Small cap value stocks delivered a solid gain in the fourth quarter and finished the year with a double-digit total return. Investors appeared encouraged by falling interest rates and an improving economic outlook for 2026, propelling the Russell 2000 Value® Index—the Fund’s benchmark—to a series of all-time highs through mid-December. Despite the po...
laddawan punna/iStock via Getty Images Overview Small cap value stocks delivered a solid gain in the fourth quarter and finished the year with a double-digit total return. Investors appeared encouraged by falling interest rates and an improving economic outlook for 2026, propelling the Russell 2000 Value® Index—the Fund’s benchmark—to a series of all-time highs through mid-December. Despite the positive showing for the broader asset class, the Wasatch Small Cap Value Fund—Investor Class ( WMCVX ) declined -3.88% and underperformed the benchmark, which gained 3.26%. The primary reason for the shortfall was our tilt toward higher-quality companies, together with our avoidance of the types of momentum stocks that led the rally. Our emphasis on quality was the most notable driver of the Fund’s underperformance over the full year, as well. The investment backdrop was characterized by persistent strength in stocks on the lower end of the quality spectrum, as gauged by metrics such as profitability, return on equity and free cash flow, among others. Companies without current earnings performed particularly well during the year. In this sense, our underperformance for the quarter and for all of 2025 was largely a function of the stocks the Fund didn’t own rather than those it held. The phenomenon was perhaps most pronounced in the health-care sector, where highly speculative biotechnology stocks—stocks to which the Fund had no exposure—led the way at the expense of the quality companies held by the Fund. Although our emphasis on quality has weighed on relative performance for several quarters, it has been a key factor in the Fund’s long-term outperformance. We therefore remain true to our patient and long-term approach, rather than attempting to chase transitory market trends. Details of the quarter Weakness among holdings in the consumer-discretionary sector weighed on Fund performance in the fourth quarter. For-profit education provider Grand Canyon Education, Inc. ( LOPE...
Valued at a market cap of over $14 billion, Best Buy competes head-to-head with Amazon in the consumer electronics and appliances segment. Given a quarterly dividend payout of $0.95 per share, Best Buy (BBY) offers shareholders a tasty dividend yield of 5.6% in 2026. That's notable given that ...
Valued at a market cap of over $14 billion, Best Buy competes head-to-head with Amazon in the consumer electronics and appliances segment. Given a quarterly dividend payout of $0.95 per share, Best Buy (BBY) offers shareholders a tasty dividend yield of 5.6% in 2026. That's notable given that ...
erlucho/iStock via Getty Images South32 ( SOUHY ) does not expect to supply critical minerals from its Arizona mine to the Trump administration’s proposed $12B stockpile, CEO Graham Kerr told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. The CEO said he anticipates the government-led Project Vault stockpile unveiled earlier this month will prioritize metals that have opaque markets and need price support t...
erlucho/iStock via Getty Images South32 ( SOUHY ) does not expect to supply critical minerals from its Arizona mine to the Trump administration’s proposed $12B stockpile, CEO Graham Kerr told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. The CEO said he anticipates the government-led Project Vault stockpile unveiled earlier this month will prioritize metals that have opaque markets and need price support to underpin new projects. "What we're producing - zinc, silver and copper - they're less inclined to be subject to price manipulation or price protection. So we haven't actually had too much involvement in that," Kerr said of Project Vault. South32's ( SOUHY ) Hermosa project in Arizona includes a zinc, lead and silver mine that is currently under construction, and the company is also working on manganese and copper projects at the site; all the commodities are listed as critical minerals by the U.S. Geological Survey. The CEO said he expects strong demand for the company's zinc from North American smelters facing shortages of raw material, seeing "plenty of opportunities to place our zinc without being worried about stockpiles." Kerr's comments came after South32 ( SOUHY ) reported a 29% rise in H1 net profit , sparked by higher prices for silver, copper and aluminum, and raised its interim dividend by 15% from a year ago. South32 ( SOUHY ) delivered a clean result with a dividend beat, which "underscores strong price leverage and improved operational execution," RBC Capital analyst Kaan Peker said. "Guidance remains intact and capex ranges are unchanged, supporting confidence in FY26 delivery." More on South32 South32 Q2 2026 Earnings Call Presentation South32: Focus On JV Partner Stake Sale And New CEO (Rating Upgrade) Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on South32
laughingmango/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Shares of Weyerhaeuser ( WY ) have been a poor performer over the past year, losing about 10% of their value. The timberlands owner has struggled with weak demand for lumber products given falling construction levels. That said, shares have rebounded sharply from their lows given hopes of a housing recovery as mortgage rates have come down. I last co...
laughingmango/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Shares of Weyerhaeuser ( WY ) have been a poor performer over the past year, losing about 10% of their value. The timberlands owner has struggled with weak demand for lumber products given falling construction levels. That said, shares have rebounded sharply from their lows given hopes of a housing recovery as mortgage rates have come down. I last covered Weyerhaeuser in October , rating the stock a “ S ell.” While shares initially fell 7% towards my $20 target, they have since reversed and are now 20% higher. With updated financials, now is a good time to see if the bottom is in or if this rally will fade. Seeking Alpha In the company’s fourth quarter , Weyerhaeuser lost $0.09 per share, which was $0.04 less than feared , as revenue declined by 20% to $1.5 billion. While a bit better than consensus, this was a weak quarter in absolute terms. EBITDA was down by more than half from last year at $140 million, also down about a third sequentially. As you can see below, results have been weakening as the prolonged nature of the housing downturn limits earnings power and lumber demand. I do not expect a sharp near-term recovery. During the quarter, it divested two properties for $406 million and has an agreement to sell 108,000 acres for $193 million. Weyerhaeuser Timberlands EBITDA declined by $34 million sequentially to $114 million, and results in the West region were particularly weak, down $30 million to just $45 million. Weaker throughput pressured margins as revenue fell $49 million while expenses fell just $19 million, causing EBITDA margins to compress 5% to 23%. We saw a new low in export revenue, though China did resume some purchases as trade tensions have eased. Still, given elevated trade tensions compared to a year ago, I expect export revenue to remain structurally lower and likely to remain in the ~$70 million range. Weyerhaeuser Wood products swung to a $20 million EBITDA loss in the quarter. Lumber lost $...
kynny/iStock via Getty Images Cognex Corporation ( CGNX ) reported fourth-quarter results that sent shares up by over 36% at the time of writing this earnings recap. The company provides advanced machine vision software and hardware. At $58.50, CGNX stock is still below the $60–$80 trading range from six years ago, when I last provided coverage . After six years, what might investors like about it...
kynny/iStock via Getty Images Cognex Corporation ( CGNX ) reported fourth-quarter results that sent shares up by over 36% at the time of writing this earnings recap. The company provides advanced machine vision software and hardware. At $58.50, CGNX stock is still below the $60–$80 trading range from six years ago, when I last provided coverage . After six years, what might investors like about its latest results? Growth in Cognex's Fourth Quarter Cognex grew its revenue by 10% Y/Y to $252 million . Adjusted EBITDA rose by 22.7% to $57 million. Earnings per share (non-GAAP) of $0.27 beat expectations by $0.05 . Readers should note that analysts lowered their revisions in the last three months. That shows up as a CGNX Revisions grade of D+. Seeking Alpha On the reconciliation of selected items from GAAP to non-GAAP, line items like acquisition and integration costs or reorganization costs did not raise concerns. However, excess and obsolete inventory charges accounted for $13.07 million. The total stock-based compensation expense of $13.87 million is similar to last year's levels in the quarter. Research, development, and engineering, a cost of revenue that shareholders should welcome, rose slightly to $3.4 million, compared to $2.99 million last year. Chief Executive Officer Matt Moschner said that the company advanced its technology leadership in AI-enabled industrial machine vision. By raising the bar on the customer’s end-to-end experience, expect Cognex to meet its growth objective. The firm strengthened its focus on the core business by exiting units that Moschner characterized as no-growth, low-margin, or non-core. That cut revenue by $22 million. However, it expects annualized cost reductions in the range of $35 million to $40 million by the end of this year. The CEO said that the ongoing sales force transformation, ongoing investments in new AI technologies, and adding to customer experience capabilities will deepen Cognex’s competitive advantage. Opportunit...
Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, sued Hegseth after the Defense Secretary moved to formally censure him for participating in a video where he told service members they can refuse illegal orders. (Image credit: Tom Brenner)
Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, sued Hegseth after the Defense Secretary moved to formally censure him for participating in a video where he told service members they can refuse illegal orders. (Image credit: Tom Brenner)
Earnings Call Insights: Commerce.com, Inc. (CMRC) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Christopher Hess stated that 2025 was a pivotal year for Commerce.com with operational improvements and a foundation for sustainable growth. "We delivered revenue of $342 million, up approximately 3% year-over-year, and non-GAAP operating income finished at $28 million with strong improvements to cash generation." Hess h...
Earnings Call Insights: Commerce.com, Inc. (CMRC) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Christopher Hess stated that 2025 was a pivotal year for Commerce.com with operational improvements and a foundation for sustainable growth. "We delivered revenue of $342 million, up approximately 3% year-over-year, and non-GAAP operating income finished at $28 million with strong improvements to cash generation." Hess highlighted the company's highest sequential improvement in subscription ARR in over 1.5 years in Q4 and noted momentum in B2B, with subscription ARR from BigCommerce B2B Edition customers growing nearly 20% during 2025. The CEO emphasized, "These wins, together with the continued performance of our existing customer base, underscore both the durability of B2B demand and the stickiness of our differentiated B2B capabilities." Hess also pointed to significant product innovation, including the late Q3 launch of Surface, a self-service version of Feedonomics, which showed that "merchants using Surface saw an average 24 points higher GMV growth compared to nonusers." He announced expanded partnerships with OpenAI, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Perplexity, and the upcoming launch of BigCommerce payments in partnership with PayPal around the end of Q1 2026. "We are increasing R&D investment by nearly 30%, focusing on 4 clear priorities that will drive growth." COO & CFO Daniel Lentz reported, "Q4 revenue was $89.5 million, up 3% year-over-year." He stated, "We closed the year with $359 million in ARR and continued strengthening our underlying business fundamentals." Lentz added that operating cash flow was $3 million in Q4 and $27 million for the full year, with a reduction in net debt from $33 million to $11 million year-over-year. He further explained the company will now disclose total GMV and company-wide Net Revenue Retention (NRR), with GMV at nearly $32 billion in 2025 and NRR at 95.2% in Q4. Outlook Lentz provided guidance for Q1 2026 revenue between $82.5 million and ...
Earnings Call Insights: Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Matthew Desch stated that Iridium “achieved our 2025 guidance,” with service revenue on target and operational EBITDA growing 5% for the full year. He emphasized the company’s strong free cash flow position, reporting “pro forma free cash flow was almost $300 million.” Desch highlighted ongoing investments to “t...
Earnings Call Insights: Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Matthew Desch stated that Iridium “achieved our 2025 guidance,” with service revenue on target and operational EBITDA growing 5% for the full year. He emphasized the company’s strong free cash flow position, reporting “pro forma free cash flow was almost $300 million.” Desch highlighted ongoing investments to “transform our business and add new services,” while continuing to return capital to shareholders through a growing dividend. Desch outlined four key growth areas: narrowband IoT expansion, building on Iridium’s PNT leadership, increasing national security work with the U.S. government, and disrupting aviation industry standards. He said, “In 2026, we will add more partners, new services and additional ways of connecting them,” and expects “more than $200 million worth of revenue opportunity by the end of the decade” from new products and services. Desch detailed upcoming product launches, including “Iridium Certus GMDSS companion terminals in maritime,” a new ASIC for Iridium PNT, Iridium NTN Direct for global narrowband IoT, and a new IoT device. He stressed, “Our brand remains the gold standard for delivering these.” On spectrum strategy, Desch stated, “We will continuously consider our spectrum assets with the view of maximizing shareholder value. Therefore, we will not rule out future business alliances that leverage our unique spectrum real estate.” CFO Vincent O'Neill reported, “Service revenue growth was in line with our recent guide, finishing up 3% in 2025. Full year operational EBITDA came in within our guidance range at $495.3 million, up 5% year-over-year.” O’Neill noted a $3 million inventory charge in Q4 and strong OEBITDA-to-cash flow conversion at 60%, resulting in pro forma free cash flow of $296 million for 2025. Outlook O'Neill stated, “For our 2026 outlook, we are guiding service revenue growth to be flat to up 2% for the year… we expect 2026 OEBITDA in a...
Earnings Call Insights: Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (GPMT) Q4 2025 Management View Jack Taylor, President and CEO, stated that "2025 was a constructive year for the commercial real estate industry," highlighting increased capital availability in the market, including for certain office properties, and "improving fundamentals across many markets and most property types." He noted that 2025 in...
Earnings Call Insights: Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (GPMT) Q4 2025 Management View Jack Taylor, President and CEO, stated that "2025 was a constructive year for the commercial real estate industry," highlighting increased capital availability in the market, including for certain office properties, and "improving fundamentals across many markets and most property types." He noted that 2025 included 5 loan resolutions, 7 full loan repayments, 1 REO property sale, and a reduction in cost of debt. Taylor explained, "This month, we repaid a substantial amount of additional higher cost debt, resulting in a reduction in the cost of our repurchase facilities by roughly 60 basis points and an estimated annual savings of $0.10 per share." Taylor announced that post quarter end, the company received 2 full loan repayments totaling $174 million and is focusing on reallocating capital to new originations in the latter half of 2026, with timing dependent on loan repayments, asset resolutions, and market conditions. Stephen Alpart, Chief Investment Officer & Co-Head of Originations, reported the loan portfolio at year-end stood at $1.8 billion in total commitments, with $1.7 billion outstanding and $77 million of future fundings. Alpart stated, "The realized loan portfolio yield for the fourth quarter was 6.7%, which excluding nonaccrual loans would have been 8%." Blake Johnson, CFO & Treasurer, said, "For the fourth quarter, we reported a GAAP net loss attributable to common stockholders of $27.4 million or negative $0.58 per basic common share, which includes a provision for credit losses of $14.4 million or negative $0.30 per basic common share and an impairment loss in the Miami Beach REO asset of $6.8 million or negative $0.14 per basic common share." Outlook Management reiterated the expectation to begin regrowing the portfolio in the latter half of 2026, with new origination activity prioritized once capital is released through loan repayments and asset resolutions. T...