Source: Bloomberg, 0:00

Earnings Call Insights: Landmark Bancorp (LARK) Q4 2025 Management View Abigail Wendel, President and CEO, stated that "Landmark's strong fourth quarter results capped off a year of outstanding revenue growth, increased profitability, pricing discipline and per share increases in earnings and tangible book value." She reported net income of $4.7 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.77 for the fourth quarter, and tangible book value increased to $20.79 per share, an increase of $0.83 versus the prior quarter. Wendel highlighted that revenue growth was driven by "continued expansion in net interest income, which increased each quarter throughout 2025." She noted that the net interest margin increased 58 basis points to 3.86% for the full year, with a fourth-quarter total cost of deposits at 1.50%. She added, "Our efficiency ratio improved to 62.7% in 2025 from 69.1% in 2024 as we controlled expense growth while enhancing our capabilities." Wendel announced the board declared a cash dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid February 26, 2026, representing the 98th consecutive quarterly cash dividend. Mark Herpich, CFO, stated, "Net income in the fourth quarter of 2025 totaled $4.7 million compared to $3.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, mainly due to continued growth in net interest income." He added, "Net interest income totaled $14.8 million, an increase of $695,000 compared to the third quarter of 2025, driven by increased asset yields and lower funding costs." Herpich highlighted deposit growth, with deposits totaling $1.4 billion at year-end and increasing by $63.4 million in the quarter. Raymond McLanahan, Chief Credit Officer, reported that the commercial real estate portfolio grew by $4.7 million and the agricultural portfolio by $2.9 million in the quarter. He also noted, "Nonperforming loans, primarily nonaccrual loans decreased slightly from the prior quarter, totaled just under $10 million or 0.90% of gross loans. Compared to year-end 2024, we re...

Shares of leading equipment rental company United Rentals (NYSE: URI) are down 14% as of noon ET on Thursday after the company reported underwhelming fourth-quarter earnings. United Rentals missed Wall Street's expectations for both sales and earnings per share, while offering guidance slightly below analysts' estimates, sparking today's sell-off. However, with the company inching sales and free cash flow (FCF) higher by 5% and 6%, respectively, in 2026, United Rentals' actual operations are doing perfectly fine, so investors shouldn't panic about today's drop. On any quarterly earnings call, it is essential to remain focused on the stock's outlook over the next three to five years (and beyond), rather than worrying too much about 90 days' worth of data. This notion rings true when looking at United Rental's slightly disappointing earnings today. While the company missed earnings, its burgeoning specialty unit continued to deliver outsize growth, with sales up 9% in Q4. Adjacent to the company's core equipment rental business, the specialty unit includes fluid, matting, and tool solutions, as well as modular spaces, trench safety, worksite services, and power and HVAC. This segment has grown by 20% annually since 2015, so it represents United Rental's growth engine. Despite the company facing broader macroeconomic challenges as it tries to rebound from a post-pandemic drop, this specialty segment shows its growth potential remains. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading

格隆汇1月30日｜美国总统特朗普：（谈及发电站）我们不需要电网。

文章提及标的 苹果 -- 苹果 -- 苹果（AAPL）据悉以接近20亿美元的估值收购以色列初创公司Q.AI。(财联社)

Earnings Call Insights: Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Joseph Creed highlighted that "our Centennial year marked a significant milestone, and we achieved full year sales and revenues of $67.6 billion, the highest in Caterpillar's history." Creed emphasized robust MP&E free cash flow of $9.5 billion, deployment of $7.9 billion to shareholders, and a record backlog of $51 billion, up 71% year-over-year. He stated that "sales and revenues were $19.1 billion, an all-time record for a single quarter," with an 18% increase versus the previous year, driven by higher volumes across all segments. Volume growth was especially notable in Power and Energy, where sales to users rose 37% and power generation grew 44%. Creed reported that full-year adjusted operating profit margin was 17.2% and adjusted profit per share was $19.06. He noted that the company ended 2025 with 827 autonomous haul trucks, up from 690 in 2024, and that power generation sales exceeded $10 billion, growing over 30% year-over-year. He introduced the 2026 outlook: "we anticipate full year sales and revenues to grow around the top of the 5% to 7% long-term compound annual growth rate target," backed by the record backlog. Approximately 62% of the backlog is expected to deliver in the next 12 months. The company showcased new technology at CES 2026, including the Cat AI Assistant, and pledged $25 million to workforce development. CFO Andrew R. Bonfield stated: "Sales and revenues of $19.1 billion reflected an 18% increase versus the prior year. As Joe noted, this was an all-time quarterly record. Adjusted operating profit was $3.0 billion, and our adjusted operating profit margin was 15.6%. We generated strong MP&E free cash flow of $3.7 billion in the quarter and $9.5 billion for the full year." Outlook Creed projected that full-year 2026 sales and revenues will grow "around the top of the 5% to 7% CAGR target on higher volume and favorable price realization." All three segments are expec...

Earnings Call Insights: Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) Q4 2025 Management View President and CEO Mark George opened by emphasizing, "2025 was a demanding year in every sense, and our people have met it with resilience, focus and commitment... Costs landed exactly in line with the guidance we provided last quarter, reflecting disciplined execution across the company." He highlighted maintaining service and cost control despite soft volume and heavy attention around the merger, noting, "We had 0 reportable mainline derailments in the fourth quarter. Let me repeat that, 0 reportable mainline derailments in the quarter." George described the year as one of "steady efficiency gains with improved fluidity, asset utilization and day-to-day execution that our customers can feel." COO John Orr stated, "2025 was a defining year for operations. We strengthened the core of the franchise, delivered measurable improvements in safety and service and advanced the structural changes required under PSR 2.0 to build a more resilient and efficient railroad." Orr reported a 15% improvement in FRA reportable injury ratio and a 31% improvement in reportable accidents, adding, "For the quarter, our mainline accident rate dropped to 0.13, a 71% improvement year-over-year." Executive VP & Chief Commercial Officer Ed Elkins explained that "Overall volume for the fourth quarter was down 4%, driving a 2% reduction in total revenue." He noted, "Merchandise revenue less fuel grew 2% year-over-year," and described record annual revenue and record revenue excluding fuel for each merchandise business group in 2025. CFO Jason Zampi stated, "Total costs attributable to the Eastern Ohio incident were $29 million... we recorded $65 million in merger-related costs." He added, "Adjusting for these items, the operating ratio for the quarter was 65.3%. And from an EPS perspective, we earned $3.22 per share." Zampi highlighted, "Expenses were favorable by 1% in both periods, primarily due to one large la...

AMD CES 2026 gaming trends press Q&A roundtable transcript — 'we see a little bit of an uptick in the percentage of AM4 versus AM5 platforms' Tom's Hardware

Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about, along with the memory shortage. Cramer highlighted the company’s $6 billion deal with Meta, as he stated: If you use your powers of observation, if you exercise some curiosity, you can find some very, very good investments. And that’s what happened to the Charitable Trust today when we struck gold with Corning, which rallied more than 15% on news of a gigantic contract from Meta for $6 billion in fiber optic cables… Now, today in our morning meeting… Jeff Marks and I told club members, please do not sell, even though Corning reports tomorrow morning. Now, I suspect I have to tell you that after this run, a more than 15% gain in one day, almost anything they report could be a letdown. It wouldn’t shock me if the stock could go down. But why not take profits? Two reasons. One, if Meta wants $6 billion in fiber optic cables, what will Microsoft want, or Tesla, or Google, or Amazon? Stock market data showing an upward trajectory. Photo by Burak The Weekender on Pexels Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) develops optical fiber, cables, and related hardware for telecommunications, and produces glass substrates for displays used in TVs, computers, and mobile devices. Moreover, it supplies specialty materials, emission control products, and laboratory equipment. While we acknowledge the potential of GLW as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about, along with the memory shortage. Cramer highlighted the reason for the stock’s tremendous rally in 2025 and to date in 2026, as he remarked: Again, as with Taiwan Semi, this isn’t about memory chips. In this case, it’s CPUs that Intel can’t make enough of. That means more business for the capital equipment makers, especially Lam Research. CPUs are their bread and butter. Lam’s also one of the leading providers of the type of equipment used to make memory chips. So they’ll be one of the first companies to benefit as the memory and data storage companies look to boost their productions, which I know they want to. That’s why this stock rallied 137% last year before tackling on another 39% gain in January. Now, some of these semiconductor capital equipment companies will be reporting earnings in the next few days… While I expect all these companies to report great numbers, the bar is now incredibly high, given how much their stocks have run. So I can’t say for sure how their stocks will react as they are what I say coming in hot. A laptop and a computer monitor display a detailed stock market technical analysis chart. Photo by Jakub Zerdzicki on Pexels Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) develops equipment for depositing, etching, and cleaning semiconductor materials. It includes systems for tungsten and copper metallization, plasma and atomic-layer deposition, dielectric and conductor etch, and wafer cleaning. While we acknowledge the potential of LRCX as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

Jim Cramer on Intel: “It Didn’t Predict the Strength of Its Own Markets Correctly” Yahoo Finance UK

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about, along with the memory shortage. Cramer noted the company’s “dismal guidance,” as he commented: Finally, when Intel reported last Thursday, the stock got clobbered. Remember… it was down 17% on Friday, another 5% on Monday, before stabilizing today. That’s not because the numbers were bad. The quarterly results were actually quite good. Instead, Intel gave dismal guidance because they just don’t have the ability to meet the demand for their chips. From my own reporting, I’ve found out that Intel simply doesn’t have enough manufacturing equipment. It didn’t predict the strength of its own markets correctly. Photo by Slejven Djurakovic on Unsplash Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) designs and manufactures processors, chips, memory, and related hardware. Additionally, it provides software, optimization solutions, and AI-enabled platforms. Cramer mentioned the stock during the January 3 episode and said: Last night, Intel reported a decent enough quarter but offered distinctly suboptimal guidance for the current quarter, which it said was totally because of the CPU shortage. Remember, anything that goes into a PC or server is in short supply, thanks to the data center boom. So Intel can’t make enough CPUs to truly profit from the shortage. They planned wrong. They were caught unawares. It happens, but that’s why the stock got obliterated today, down 17%. While we acknowledge the potential of INTC as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about, along with the memory shortage. Cramer noted the company’s “dismal guidance,” as he commented: Finally, when Intel reported last Thursday, the stock got clobbered. Remember… it was down 17% on Friday, another 5% on Monday, before stabilizing today. That’s not because the numbers were bad. The quarterly results were actually quite good. Instead, Intel gave dismal guidance because they just don’t have the ability to meet the demand for their chips. From my own reporting, I’ve found out that Intel simply doesn’t have enough manufacturing equipment. It didn’t predict the strength of its own markets correctly. Photo by Slejven Djurakovic on Unsplash Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) designs and manufactures processors, chips, memory, and related hardware. Additionally, it provides software, optimization solutions, and AI-enabled platforms. Cramer mentioned the stock during the January 3 episode and said: Last night, Intel reported a decent enough quarter but offered distinctly suboptimal guidance for the current quarter, which it said was totally because of the CPU shortage. Remember, anything that goes into a PC or server is in short supply, thanks to the data center boom. So Intel can’t make enough CPUs to truly profit from the shortage. They planned wrong. They were caught unawares. It happens, but that’s why the stock got obliterated today, down 17%. While we acknowledge the potential of INTC as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

美国总统特朗普谈及发电站，称：我们不需要电网。

Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about, along with the memory shortage. Cramer highlighted his interview with the company’s CEO, as he said: We got another big clue the very next day when I got a chance to interview Sanjay Mehrotra, the CEO of Micron, what a stock, what a company, on Squawk on the Street. That’s when Micron broke ground on a hundred billion dollar semiconductor foundry in our state, New York. While that facility won’t be up and running until 2030, you better believe it needs equipment. On top of that, Micron’s working on a new fab in Boise, Idaho, which will begin adding output by the second half of 2027. Micron also broke ground on a new fab in Singapore yesterday. That should start producing in the second half of 2028. Dizzying, right? Photo by Yiorgos Ntrahas on Unsplash Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) develops memory and storage solutions, including DRAM, NAND, and SSD products, under the Micron and Crucial brands. Cramer highlighted the stock’s gains for the current year during the January 22 episode, as he remarked: This is something I haven’t talked about to you. It’s a huge part of the story. There’s a new group of tech stocks in town, and they are sucking up money from the rest of the sector, from the Seven, and these are prosaic, boring companies. They’re storage plays. I have been talking about the storage plays as a warning sign because they’ve rallied so far, so fast. But there are tons of investors who love to chase hot stocks, and if they want to buy a Sandisk or a Seagate or a Western Digital or a Micron, wow, the best plays in storage, they gotta sell something… Consider Micron, a very good semiconductor company. You know, we talk about them all the time, makes storage components. Stock’s up 39% since the beginning of January… What you’re seeing right now is the great transference. For the first time since the creation of Magnificent Seven back in March of 2023, these stocks have become ...

Jim Cramer Breaks Down the Massive Increase in Capital Expenditures from Taiwan Semi Yahoo Finance UK

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about, along with the memory shortage. Cramer explained how the company’s earnings and management commentary were “great news” for the semiconductor capital equipment makers. He said: I think this industry has a lot more going for it. Two weeks ago, Taiwan Semi, the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, reported a total blowout quarter. More important, management said that the demand’s on fire. They plan to invest heavily in building out the production capacity. For this year, Taiwan Semi guided for 52 to $56 billion in capital expenditures. That’d be up 27 to 37% from last year. Wall Street was expecting less than 45 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) produces and sells integrated circuits and semiconductor devices. The company provides fabrication and other related services. While we acknowledge the potential of TSM as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about, along with the memory shortage. Cramer mentioned the stock while discussing the performance of the big players in the memory market, as he remarked: How do you play the memory boom without chasing these data storage stocks? The four big players in the space, Micron, Western Digital, Seagate, just reported, and Sandisk. Each one tripled last year, and they keep running in 2026. Just since the beginning of the year, Sandisk has more than doubled. The other three are up anywhere from 35 to 50%. I don’t want to chase those. I don’t chase the storage memory plays because even though there’s a severe shortage of this stuff, thanks to the data center build-out. A stock market graph. Photo by energepic.com Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) designs and supplies data storage solutions, including internal and external hard drives, portable drives, data center platforms, NAS systems, and related accessories. Night Watch Investment Management stated the following regarding Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter: Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC), a manufacturer of hard-disk drives, benefited from a large memory shortage driven by investments in AI data centers. The shares are up >200% since our purchase and we have been scaling down our position, given that memory cycles have historically been very short and very violent. While we acknowledge the potential of WDC as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about, along with the memory shortage. Cramer highlighted his discussion of China business with the company CEO, as he commented: Hardly a day goes by when we don’t see some government intervention in the economy. Yesterday, I spoke to Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA. He was in China… He seemed confident that he could win some meaningful Chinese business, but he said he preferred to keep the potential contracts out of any earnings estimate for the time being. Photo by Javier Esteban on Unsplash NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) develops accelerated computing and AI platforms, GPUs for gaming and professional use, cloud services, robotics and embedded systems, and automotive technologies. While we acknowledge the potential of NVDA as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Jim Cramer on NVIDIA: “I think it should catch up with the rest of some of these big Mag Seven names” MSN

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer talked about, along with the memory shortage. Cramer highlighted his discussion of China business with the company CEO, as he commented: Hardly a day goes by when we don’t see some government intervention in the economy. Yesterday, I spoke to Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA. He was in China… He seemed confident that he could win some meaningful Chinese business, but he said he preferred to keep the potential contracts out of any earnings estimate for the time being. Photo by Javier Esteban on Unsplash NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) develops accelerated computing and AI platforms, GPUs for gaming and professional use, cloud services, robotics and embedded systems, and automotive technologies. While we acknowledge the potential of NVDA as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Key Points Ledgewood Wealth Advisors, LLC increased its BSCR stake by 204,172 shares; estimated trade size is $4.03 million based on quarterly average price. The quarter-end position value rose $4.04 million, reflecting both share purchases and bond ETF price moves during the period. Transaction value equaled 2.3% of the fund’s $173.6 million 13F reportable assets under management (AUM) as of December 31, 2025. Post-trade, the fund held 509,794 shares valued at $10 million, representing 5.8% of reportable AUM, which places it outside the fund's top five holdings. The move increases the fund’s exposure to investment grade corporate bonds maturing in 2027, amid normal trading activity for the quarter. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › On Jan. 15, 2026, Ledgewood Wealth Advisors, LLC disclosed an increased position of 204,172 shares of the Invesco BulletShares 2027 Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:BSCR), an estimated $4.03 million purchase based on quarterly average pricing. What happened According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission dated Jan. 15, 2026, Ledgewood Wealth Advisors, LLC bought 204,172 additional shares of the Invesco BulletShares 2027 Corporate Bond ETF, with an estimated transaction value of $4.03 million based on the average closing price for the fourth quarter. The stake’s quarter-end value increased by $4 million, reflecting both the purchase and bond ETF price movements. What else to know This was a buy, bringing the BSCR stake to 5.8% of Ledgewood Wealth Advisors, LLC's 13F AUM as of Dec. 31, 2025. Top holdings after the filing: NYSEMKT: DFAU: $15.2 million (8.7% of AUM) NYSE: PFS: $13.4 million (7.7% of AUM) NASDAQ: MSEX: $12.8 million (7.4% of AUM) NYSEMKT: DFAI: $10.9 million (6.3% of AUM) NYSEMKT: DFCF: $10.6 million (6.1% of AUM) As of Jan. 15, 2026, BSCR shares were priced at $19.75, delivering a total return of 5.7% over the past year but trailing the S&P 500 by 12.5 percentage points. The fund’s a...

格隆汇1月30日｜美国总统特朗普召开其第二任期第十次内阁会议后的不到一个小时内，谈及争取避免政府停摆、普京同意停火一周、关税本应更高、利率应该降低2到3个百分点等重要问题，现货黄金从其讲话前的5270美元左右反弹至5360美元上方，反弹幅度接近100美元。

First Brands Group founder Patrick James and his brother Edward, a former executive at the company, were indicted by federal prosecutors in New York on Thursday with both men being charged on nine counts. Eliza Ronalds-Hannon reports on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)

Key end users are predominantly large-scale retailers, quick commerce startups, and healthcare providers, each seeking to decrease last mile delivery time from the industry average of 90 minutes to under 30 minutes for urban orders. The most common vehicle types are sidewalk robots with a payload capacity of 20 to 40 pounds, and VTOL drones capable of carrying up to 10 pounds within a 10-mile radius. Deployment is now routine in over 60 cities worldwide, with more than 500 public-private pilot projects currently active. Applications are expanding beyond traditional parcel and grocery delivery in the autonomous last mile delivery market to include pharmaceuticals, quick service restaurants, and high-value retail. For instance, Walgreens, in collaboration with Wing, serves more than 100 autonomous drone routes for prescription delivery, while Domino’s has rolled out more than 400 Nuro R2 robots for contactless pizza delivery in the US Sun Belt. Demand in North America is particularly strong, where regulatory pilot programs have enabled more than 2,500 commercial drone delivery flights daily, led by companies such as Amazon Prime Air, Wing, and Zipline. On the hardware front, manufacturers have delivered more than 30,000 high-precision LIDAR units to OEMs this year, reflecting a clear migration toward sensor fusion platforms that blend cameras, radar, and advanced edge computing for real-time navigation. Additionally, battery manufacturers report unit shipments for delivery robots have doubled year-over-year, supporting extended range and payload improvements. The autonomous last mile delivery market in 2024 is encountering unparalleled momentum, propelled by surging urban e-commerce volume and acute labor shortages in logistics. Statistically, more than 15,000 autonomous delivery robots and drones are actively deployed across the US, Western Europe, and East Asia as of Q2 2024, with a majority concentrated in metropolitan zones like Los Angeles, London, and Shanghai. ...

Ethos Technologies ( LIFE ) stock opened at $19.00 in its trading debut on Thursday, the same as its initial offering price. Within minutes it fell as much as 15%. To be sure, the public debut occurred as overall markets were in the red on investors' concerns about how long it will take for tech companies to see AI pay off. The Nasdaq dropped 1.4% in midday trading. Ethos CEO Peter Colis said the company based its decision to go public more on its progress than on external factors, such as the equity markets. The company has logged more than 50% growth in each of the last three years and is profitable, he pointed out. Ethos ( LIFE ) is at a scale and on a growth trajectory that "public markets were very excited," he told Seeking Alpha in an interview. Ethos's business is based on compressing the amount of time it takes to buy life insurance — from a five- to 10-week purchase process to 10 minutes online. And it compresses insurance agents' selling process and frees them up from shepherding clients through a complicated process. Furthermore, there's much more room for expansion in both the direct-to-consumer and the third-party, or agent, market, Colis said. "We're still in the early innings of both of those distribution models." Some 90% of life insurance is sold through agents, and Ethos only has a single-digit penetration, he added. On the agent side of the business, Ethos ( LIFE ) had 10,000 agents that sold on its platform in 2024, "and that business has continued to grow." "T his is the same kind of trajectory that the auto insurance industry went through, where GEICO and Progressive were able to make it a simple online process, and that led to a lot of net new growth," he said. Colis also highlighted the advantages of building its own digital native platform. Its competitors are either using legacy platforms or third-party vendor-managed technology, Colis said. He's also confident in the company's ability to harness artificial intelligence to propel its busine...