Bet_Noire/iStock via Getty Images Introduction It’s been over two years since the first time I covered Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. ( AIT ), so I thought I’d go through its performance over the last year because the company recently released its full-year 2025 numbers, too. The company has been chugging along as expected, but unfortunately, the growth and margin expansion are not good eno...
Bet_Noire/iStock via Getty Images Introduction It’s been over two years since the first time I covered Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. ( AIT ), so I thought I’d go through its performance over the last year because the company recently released its full-year 2025 numbers, too. The company has been chugging along as expected, but unfortunately, the growth and margin expansion are not good enough to warrant a buy right now. Performance Starting from the top, AIT’s revenues showed a decent uptrend over the last year. It may not have been particularly rapid growth, but it is better than a downtrend. Looking at the segments in more detail, AIT’s Service Center-Based distribution segment was slightly pressured due to softer industrial activity, with organic growth coming in around 3% in the latest quarter. It is a growth, but it is quite weak indeed. Regarding its other revenue segment, the Engineered Solutions, this segment saw growth of around 19%, but most of that was due to the acquisition impact. Orders were up around 10% in the segment, which tells me there is demand. So, most of the total growth did come from the acquisitions, which kept AIT’s top-line performance intact, but I would prefer to see some decent organic growth. Seeking Alpha On to the company’s profitability and efficiency, we can see a mixed bag of results over 2025. Gross margins remained steady, but the EBIT and the bottom line are down slightly in the second half of 2025. The company saw higher LIFO expenses during the period, which brought down its profitability slightly, as well as softer December sales. Q2 ’26 GAAP EPS came in at $2.51, which was a beat of 2 cents. Seeking Alpha Looking at other important metrics in efficiency and profitability, the management is doing a good job of utilizing the company’s assets and shareholder equity quite efficiently, thus creating value. Additionally, it appears that the company also has a decent moat and pricing power since its return on total cost i...
Shares Of Infrastructure Developer Erupt On Gulf Energy Reconstruction Prospects The two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire looks more like a pause in the six-week conflict than a long-lasting agreement, with language so broad and vague that it remains unclear who conceded what. The one clear point is that Iran's reported willingness to allow vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz was enough to send c...
Shares Of Infrastructure Developer Erupt On Gulf Energy Reconstruction Prospects The two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire looks more like a pause in the six-week conflict than a long-lasting agreement, with language so broad and vague that it remains unclear who conceded what. The one clear point is that Iran's reported willingness to allow vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz was enough to send crude prices tumbling from triple-digit territory and spark a global relief rally across equities and bonds. Everyone is breathing a sigh of relief on Wednesday morning, and traders are already identifying the companies best positioned to reap massive rewards from rebuilding damaged oil and gas infrastructure across the Gulf. Shares of Chiyoda Corporation in Tokyo jumped 15.5% as traders assessed that the developer and builder of large-scale industrial infrastructure might be one of the major players in rebuilding damaged Gulf energy assets. Chiyoda is a project developer and builder of industrial infrastructure, including: LNG and natural gas processing plants, one of its flagship niches Oil refining and petrochemical facilities Energy infrastructure and environmental systems "Fundamentally, if the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, the next step is reconstruction demand for petrochemical plants, desalination plants, and other facilities," Kazuhiro Sasaki, head of research at Phillip Securities, wrote in a note. On Tuesday, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol told French newspaper Le Figaro that more than 75 energy sites across the Gulf region have been attacked, with about a third severely damaged, suggesting tens of billions of dollars in repairs. Neil Newman, head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan, wrote in a note, "It is relatively straightforward to identify the countries where reconstruction will be needed, determine the types of projects required, and match these directly to relevant Japanese companies." A Chiyoda spokesperson was quoted by Bloom...
Is the AI Gold Rush Over? Costco and Walmart Just Delivered a Sobering $163 Billion Warning to Shareholders of Nvidia, Palantir, and Other Red-Hot AI Stocks. fool.com
Is the AI Gold Rush Over? Costco and Walmart Just Delivered a Sobering $163 Billion Warning to Shareholders of Nvidia, Palantir, and Other Red-Hot AI Stocks. fool.com
Standard Chartered Plc is seeking to fully merge parts of majority-owned Zodia Custody Ltd. with one of its digital-asset operations, people with knowledge of the matter said. The lender plans to integrate Zodia’s crypto custody business into the division inside its corporate and investment bank that provides similar services, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private negotiati...
Standard Chartered Plc is seeking to fully merge parts of majority-owned Zodia Custody Ltd. with one of its digital-asset operations, people with knowledge of the matter said. The lender plans to integrate Zodia’s crypto custody business into the division inside its corporate and investment bank that provides similar services, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private negotiations. Under the plan Standard Chartered is considering, Zodia Custody would continue to operate as a standalone software-as-a-service business for cryptoasset custody, the people said. It wasn’t clear whether Standard Chartered has held talks with Zodia Custody’s minority investors which include Northern Trust Corp. , Emirates NBD Bank PJSC , National Australia Bank Ltd. and SBI Holdings Inc. An announcement on the planned restructuring could come as soon as this month, the people said. Standard Chartered and Zodia Custody declined to comment. Emirates NBD and Northern Trust declined to comment. SBI Holdings and NAB didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Standard Chartered launched its own digital asset custodial services out of Luxembourg in January last year. It also debuted crypto trading for institutional clients last summer, similarly overlapping with some services provided by another majority-owned crypto subsidiary Zodia Markets Holdings Ltd. Banks have grown their digital-asset activities rapidly in recent years as key regions like the US and Europe passed legislation to govern the sector, allowing for greater clarity among institutional participants. Custody is one of the hottest areas of competition, with Wall Street firms including State Street Corp. , Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Morgan Stanley all expanding their footprint in the space. Read More: Morgan Stanley Applies for Bank Charter to Custody Crypto Assets Standard Chartered was one of the earliest major financial institutions to dive into digital assets, establishing Zodia Custody in late...
Good morning . Markets exhale after the US and Iran agree to a ceasefire, but core issues remain unresolved. And we look at Elon Musk’s push toward a SpaceX IPO as he races AI rivals to market. Listen to the day’s top stories . — Hellmuth Tromm Market Snapshot S&P 500 Futures 6,830.25 +2.6% Nasdaq 100 Futures 25,187.00 +3.3% WTI crude oil futures $94.99 -16% Market data as of 07:17 AM ET. Data is ...
Good morning . Markets exhale after the US and Iran agree to a ceasefire, but core issues remain unresolved. And we look at Elon Musk’s push toward a SpaceX IPO as he races AI rivals to market. Listen to the day’s top stories . — Hellmuth Tromm Market Snapshot S&P 500 Futures 6,830.25 +2.6% Nasdaq 100 Futures 25,187.00 +3.3% WTI crude oil futures $94.99 -16% Market data as of 07:17 AM ET. Data is subject to provider delays. The US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in exchange for Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said the US will help ease traffic through the waterway, with more than 800 vessels still trapped in the Persian Gulf. Pakistan’s pivotal role as mediator was hailed as a diplomatic coup , but the conflict risks leaving the US looking weakened in the eyes of its adversaries and more attacks in the region were reported. Markets greeted the truce with jubilation: Oil posted its biggest drop in almost six years and gas prices plunged, while global equities surged as big funds piled into Treasuries and AI stocks, and gold rallied . Back home, Republicans got some relief in Georgia—with a warning sign. Clay Fuller is projected to win a US House race in a deeply conservative district, keeping the seat vacated by conservative firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene in GOP hands. With 83% of votes counted, Fuller led Democrat Shawn Harris 57% to 43%—a narrower margin than in recent elections. Trump seems in no rush to name a permanent attorney general to replace Pam Bondi, allowing acting chief Todd Blanche time to settle in . The White House has yet to decide whether Blanche, a trusted ally , is a viable long-term pick or could survive a Senate confirmation. The Big Take Trump’s ceasefire with Iran has brought relief to global markets, but it leaves core disputes unresolved . Questions over shipping through the Hormuz waterway and Iran’s nuclear and missile programs continue to cloud the path to a lasting deal. Deep Dive: Musk’s SpaceX IPO Elon Musk is r...
tiero/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis Cloud infrastructure, necessary for the functioning of hyperscalers' AI applications, continues to grow in critical importance. Companies engaged in building and scaling this infrastructure are becoming attractive investment targets, especially in light of the fact that the annual rental cost for Nvidia ( NVDA ) GPUs rose by 40% in March 2026. Meanwh...
tiero/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis Cloud infrastructure, necessary for the functioning of hyperscalers' AI applications, continues to grow in critical importance. Companies engaged in building and scaling this infrastructure are becoming attractive investment targets, especially in light of the fact that the annual rental cost for Nvidia ( NVDA ) GPUs rose by 40% in March 2026. Meanwhile, most contracts for older GPU models are being extended for up to four years, while most providers report a lack of available capacity for new contracts. Furthermore, next-generation Blackwell GPUs are so scarce that new units are not expected to ship until at least mid-2026. Market participants had previously assumed that chips such as the H100 and H200 would see a significant drop in price as Blackwell is rolled out. Despite the significant cost advantage of the new chips, it is the opposite that is happening: the demand for even older GPUs is so high that prices are only rising. Hyperscalers' product portfolios are expanding, only increasing the need for new computing power for cloud services. Combined with reduced supply, higher prices, and new contracts with non-cloud solution providers, these factors are contributing to the rise in shares of one of the industry leaders, Nebius ( NBIS ). My investment thesis in this article is that the inevitable supply shortage of a product critical to the AI industry will drive revenue growth. Proof of this is the large-scale $27 billion contract with Meta ( META ), possibly made possible in part by NBIS's priority access to NVDA's technologies. In spite of the external environment, which has deteriorated due to geopolitical risks and the likelihood of rising inflation, computer resources will remain in such high demand that the shares of a company like Nebius will retain their potential for market value growth, even during periods of volatility. Previous Theses The thesis I presented in my previous article on NBIS was that, even...
Tesla has benefited from higher oil prices in the past, so it might seem odd that crude is down sharply and the electric-vehicle maker’s stock is up. Benchmark oil prices were down more than 13% in early trading, below $95 a barrel. Hopes of an end to fighting in Iran are responsible for the moves.
Tesla has benefited from higher oil prices in the past, so it might seem odd that crude is down sharply and the electric-vehicle maker’s stock is up. Benchmark oil prices were down more than 13% in early trading, below $95 a barrel. Hopes of an end to fighting in Iran are responsible for the moves.
The GoPro Max2 is the company’s most recent action camera, launched in September 2025. | Image: GoPro GoPro has announced plans to cut nearly a quarter of its workforce in an effort to return to profitability, after struggling with increased competition and declining revenue. The cuts, announced in a Form 8-K filing , are expected to amount to 145 jobs, roughly 23 percent of GoPro's 631 employees,...
The GoPro Max2 is the company’s most recent action camera, launched in September 2025. | Image: GoPro GoPro has announced plans to cut nearly a quarter of its workforce in an effort to return to profitability, after struggling with increased competition and declining revenue. The cuts, announced in a Form 8-K filing , are expected to amount to 145 jobs, roughly 23 percent of GoPro's 631 employees, and could cost GoPro as much as $15 million in severance payments and healthcare benefits. The company says the cuts will be implemented during the second quarter of 2026, and most of the layoffs will be completed by the end of the year. The company previously laid off workers in two separate rounds in 2024. GoPro had expected to return to profita … Read the full story at The Verge.
Is the AI Gold Rush Over? Costco and Walmart Just Delivered a Sobering $163 Billion Warning to Shareholders of Nvidia, Palantir, and Other Red-Hot AI Stocks. The Globe and Mail
Is the AI Gold Rush Over? Costco and Walmart Just Delivered a Sobering $163 Billion Warning to Shareholders of Nvidia, Palantir, and Other Red-Hot AI Stocks. The Globe and Mail
Robert Way Alibaba ( BABA ) and China Telecom are launching a data center in southern China using the e-commerce giant’s own chips, as the country steps up efforts to build domestic AI infrastructure. The facility, announced on Tuesday, will feature 10,000 of Alibaba’s Zhenwu semiconductors, which are designed for AI training and inferencing, along with the ability to support AI models the size of...
Robert Way Alibaba ( BABA ) and China Telecom are launching a data center in southern China using the e-commerce giant’s own chips, as the country steps up efforts to build domestic AI infrastructure. The facility, announced on Tuesday, will feature 10,000 of Alibaba’s Zhenwu semiconductors, which are designed for AI training and inferencing, along with the ability to support AI models the size of hundreds of billions of parameters, according to reports. The Zhenwu-powered cluster is the latest evidence that China is doubling down on home-grown infrastructure to supercharge rapidly evolving AI development and meet surging demand as the artificial intelligence race with U.S. rivals including Meta ( META ), Microsoft ( MSFT ), and Elon Musk’s xAI ( X.AI ) intensifies, t he South China Morning Post said. Alibaba, one of China’s largest tech firms, has been designing its own chips through its T-head unit . The Hangzhou-headquartered company is also one of China’s biggest cloud computing players. The development comes as the U.S. has looked to restrict China’s access to key semiconductor technology, including AI chips from Nvidia ( NVDA ) , which has accelerated the country’s efforts to develop domestic alternatives. More on Alibaba Alibaba Q3: AI Transition From An E-Commerce Giant Is Painful; Expecting Growth Inflection In FY2027 Alibaba: Shockingly Bad Q3, Yet Astoundingly Good Buy (Rating Upgrade) Alibaba: On Track To $100B In Cloud Revenue Alibaba unveils agentic AI-focused model Qwen3.6-Plus Nvidia's lead narrows as Chinese chipmakers claim 41% of local market: report
Israel renewed its strikes in southern Lebanon and urged residents in parts of Beirut to evacuate on Wednesday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the US-Iran truce does not extend to the war against Hezbollah. Hours earlier, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, potentially suspending a six-week-old war that has killed thousands, sp...
Israel renewed its strikes in southern Lebanon and urged residents in parts of Beirut to evacuate on Wednesday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the US-Iran truce does not extend to the war against Hezbollah. Hours earlier, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, potentially suspending a six-week-old war that has killed thousands, spread across the Middle East and caused unprecedented disruption to the world’s energy supplies. Both...