laddawan punna/iStock via Getty Images The views expressed reflect the opinions of BlackRock as of 12/31/2025 and are subject to change based on changes in market, economic or other conditions. These views are not intended to be a forecast of future events and are no guarantee of future results. Quarterly Highlights All information is as of 12/31/2025 unless otherwise noted Investment Strategy Upd...
laddawan punna/iStock via Getty Images The views expressed reflect the opinions of BlackRock as of 12/31/2025 and are subject to change based on changes in market, economic or other conditions. These views are not intended to be a forecast of future events and are no guarantee of future results. Quarterly Highlights All information is as of 12/31/2025 unless otherwise noted Investment Strategy Update: Effective 11/10/2025, the Trust removed its options writing strategy. See BlackRock.com for more details. Performance: BMEZ returned +6.7% on market price and +8.6% on net asset value (NAV) during Q4 2025. The STOXX Global Breakthrough Healthcare Index returned +9.9%.* Distributions: On 9/10/2025, BMEZ announced a change to its monthly distribution, as part of its managed distribution plan, to $0.11 per share, which is 8.8% of the market price as of 12/31/2025. NAV of $17.10 per share plus the $9.50 cumulative distributions paid since inception equals $26.60 per share. See BlackRock.com for more details.** Portfolio: During the quarter, the Trust increased exposure to the pharmaceuticals sub-sector. Elsewhere, the Trust decreased exposure to the health care providers & services subsector. Private Investments: BMEZ held 21 private companies that accounted for 13.4% ($143 million) of the portfolio's NAV. Discount Management Program (DMP): The Trust announced the renewal of the DMP for 2026. See BlackRock.com for more details. The performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed or sold, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Refer to BlackRock.com for current month-end performance. *See page 5 for performance table. Source: Morningstar & BlackRock as of 12/31/25. Returns are shown net of advisory fees paid by the Trust and net of the Trust's...
These Consumer Goods Could Be First To Vanish As "Supply Shock" Disrupts Asian Factories Goldman analysts warned that the petrochemical supply shock sweeping across Asia is now morphing into a full-blown COGS shock, hitting a range of industries with factories across the region. The immediate consequence is that manufacturers - from sofa makers to apparel producers - are being forced to dial back ...
These Consumer Goods Could Be First To Vanish As "Supply Shock" Disrupts Asian Factories Goldman analysts warned that the petrochemical supply shock sweeping across Asia is now morphing into a full-blown COGS shock, hitting a range of industries with factories across the region. The immediate consequence is that manufacturers - from sofa makers to apparel producers - are being forced to dial back production and, in some cases, idle plants altogether as soaring petrochemical-linked input costs drive up the price of plastics and other key materials. In the note " Petrochemical Supply Shock Begins Idling Asian Factories " , we laid out earlier on Tuesday how the shock is unfolding. Now, we focus on industries where the COGS shock is already forcing " surging input costs ," which are reducing manufacturing lines or idling plants and leading to possible shortages. " With key raw materials and inputs such as PTA, Caprolactam, polyester, and polyamide up on average 29%, the implied COGS increase amounts to c. +17%, " Goldman analyst Georgina Fraser wrote in a note. Fraser warned, " For a textile manufacturer operating with margins of ~5–15%, it is reasonable to assume that a cost shock of this magnitude could render operations uneconomic, leading to production standstills ." Fraser outlined that the industries most affected by the COGS shock are: Furniture & bedding → costs up ~21% Consumer goods → 20% Healthcare equipment → ~19% Textiles/apparel → ~17% "Even an imminent end to the conflict would not fully unwind the supply chain disruption already in motion," she warned. The note cited new indications that India's textile production has "collectively moved to restrict operations to a single 12-hour shift per day." Taken together, the message is clear: supply-chain snarls may soon erupt across Asia ( first outlined here ). Reducing production lines and idling plants increases the risk of shortages across a broad range of Asian-produced consumer goods, from T-shirts to furn...
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) is one of the Unstoppable Technology Stocks to Buy Now. According to a March 26 report by CNBC, memory stocks saw a sell-off after Google unveiled its TurboQuant on Tuesday, March 24. Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) has fallen around 17% since Tuesday. The report noted that TurboQuant is a new compression […]
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) is one of the Unstoppable Technology Stocks to Buy Now. According to a March 26 report by CNBC, memory stocks saw a sell-off after Google unveiled its TurboQuant on Tuesday, March 24. Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) has fallen around 17% since Tuesday. The report noted that TurboQuant is a new compression […]
fcafotodigital/iStock via Getty Images Overview When I previously covered the Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF ( KBWY ), I issued a sell rating due to the vulnerability to interest rates and limited upside growth. However, the market has shifted since then, and capital rotated out of high-growth industries like technology and into more value-oriented sectors like real estate. This shift p...
fcafotodigital/iStock via Getty Images Overview When I previously covered the Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF ( KBWY ), I issued a sell rating due to the vulnerability to interest rates and limited upside growth. However, the market has shifted since then, and capital rotated out of high-growth industries like technology and into more value-oriented sectors like real estate. This shift provided a short-lived boost to the real estate sector, but I believe that KBWY's structural flaws still remain. Therefore, I believe that the fund is still unattractive for long-term investors that want a sustainable stream of income and attractive total returns from the real estate sector. Looking at the performance over the last twelve months, we can see that KBWY's share price has declined by about 0.7%. Although the fund has failed to provide any upside growth over the last year, this is just a weakness of the overall REIT market. When including all distributions that were paid out to shareholders, the total return jumps up to nearly 9.3% over the same time frame. KBWY now offers investors a starting dividend yield of 9.8%, but I am still concerned about the overall sustainability of the payouts going forward. Data by YCharts The high rate of distributions is negatively impacting the underlying NAV of the fund. The most up-to-date reporting indicates that earnings are not supporting the distributions, meaning that KBWY is actively paying out more than it earns. Furthermore, the fund's structure means that it is likely to include REITs that have a high yield due to a pullback in share price. So let's start by taking a look at the underlying strategy that KBWY implements to generate its earnings. Fund Strategy According to the latest fund overview , KBWY has total assets under management of $253M that are spread across 31 different positions. KBWY is unique because it aims to invest at least 90% of its assets into small- or mid-cap REITs that have competitive dividend yie...
China issues new supply chain security rules Chinese Premier Li Qiang signed a State Council decree to publish new regulations on the security of industrial and supply chains, which took effect immediately, according to a Tuesday government statement. The 18-article document outlines working principles, systemic measures, countermeasures, and extraterritorial applications aimed at mitigating secur...
China issues new supply chain security rules Chinese Premier Li Qiang signed a State Council decree to publish new regulations on the security of industrial and supply chains, which took effect immediately, according to a Tuesday government statement. The 18-article document outlines working principles, systemic measures, countermeasures, and extraterritorial applications aimed at mitigating security risks, enhancing supply chain resilience, and safeguarding national security and economic stability.
Getty Images Update since 2Q25 Li Auto ( LI ) has performed poorly since my last thesis in mid-2025 . At the time, auto sales in China have been facing headwinds amidst a broader curb of price competition. There were firms that suffered from this, most notably BYD, given its leadership on both the cost and tech fronts. CN Auto stocks have broadly been sluggish since 2H25. Peers Seeking Alpha At th...
Getty Images Update since 2Q25 Li Auto ( LI ) has performed poorly since my last thesis in mid-2025 . At the time, auto sales in China have been facing headwinds amidst a broader curb of price competition. There were firms that suffered from this, most notably BYD, given its leadership on both the cost and tech fronts. CN Auto stocks have broadly been sluggish since 2H25. Peers Seeking Alpha At the time of my writing, Li Auto was already faced with some slowdown ( see 2Q25 transcript ). But I've been more optimistic than the market has on the basis of its niche and higher-end marketing strategy, providing decent protections against sales headwinds as threats were made to lower subsidies in order to disincentivize further "rat race" among peers. That has been proven wrong, namely that competition between peers is much more fierce and dynamic. The logic of higher-end SUV segmentation is also more nuanced, with most of its revenues actually generated from the mid-tiered L6 models. Focusing on this segment was a great idea. SUVs are naturally great sellers, targeted at larger families with greater willingness to pay. In light of that, many manufacturers have been playing catch-up—players like BYD ( BYDDF ), Geely ( GELYF ), XPeng ( XPEV ), NIO ( NIO ), etc. Battery techs have also been improving, with BEVs imposing more pressure on EREVs. FY25 results Unit sales had dropped by 19% to 400k units for FY25, while revenue had dropped to CNY110 million, down by 23%. Margins were squeezed significantly, with the company operating at a loss in 2H25 amid some phase-outs of subsidies and elevated competition by peers. L6 models were gradually losing their sales momentum . Higher-end models, including L8 and L9, have been experiencing more volatile declines. During the same year, Li Auto's close competitor Aito has been much more resilient, with consumers buying into the AI ecosystem offered by Huawei, ranging from its level of intelligent driving to connectivity with mobile devi...
Pakorn Supajitsoontorn/iStock via Getty Images Greece will ban social media for children under the age of 15 from next year, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Wednesday, making it the latest country to follow Australia's landmark move. In a video message posted on TikTok, Mitsotakis said the ban was necessary to protect children's mental health. "The addictive design of some apps, th...
Pakorn Supajitsoontorn/iStock via Getty Images Greece will ban social media for children under the age of 15 from next year, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Wednesday, making it the latest country to follow Australia's landmark move. In a video message posted on TikTok, Mitsotakis said the ban was necessary to protect children's mental health. "The addictive design of some apps, the profit model that's based on how long you spend in front of your mobile phone screen and takes away some of your innocence and freedom, must end at some point," he said. "Science is clear: when a child is in front of screens for hours, their brain does not rest." The Parliament needs to clear the ban, after which it is expected to become effective on Jan. 1, 2027. "Our goal is to push the European Union in this direction as well," Mitsotakis added. The Greek government has already banned the use of mobile phones in schools. It also set up the "Kids Wallet" app to enable parents to manage and supervise their children's online presence. Australia was the first country to enact a social media ban for children, followed by Indonesia. Countries including the UK, Spain, France, Denmark and Austria are weighing similar bans/restrictions. According to the EU-funded Greek Safer Internet Center, 75% of children using social media in Greece are of primary‑school age. More on social media restrictions Australia mulls legal action against Meta, others over teen ban breaches Meta found guilty by N.M. jury in child safety trial; receives $375M penalty Indonesia to ban social media for children under 16 Czech prime minister backs social media ban for kids under 15 France’s National Assembly OKs social media ban for under-15s