Walter Cicchetti/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I think this year could be a good one for U.S. banks. Between cheaper funding and fixed-asset repricing, the outlook for interest margins and pre-provision income growth looks decent. Couple that with resilient credit trends and improving capital ratios (unlocking more buybacks), and you have all the ingredients for a good year in terms of the ind...
Walter Cicchetti/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I think this year could be a good one for U.S. banks. Between cheaper funding and fixed-asset repricing, the outlook for interest margins and pre-provision income growth looks decent. Couple that with resilient credit trends and improving capital ratios (unlocking more buybacks), and you have all the ingredients for a good year in terms of the industry's bottom line. With the above in mind, it makes sense to look for banks with above-average leverage to these trends. That's why I continue to favor Los Angeles-based Cathay General Bancorp ( CATY ), which just reported a strong rise in its quarterly and annual earnings. Rating it a "Buy" in my last update, I felt that Cathay's above-average deposit costs and skew to fixed-rate lending left it well-placed to capture margin-driven growth. And with the shares trading for just 11.5 times trailing earnings, I didn't think that was reflected in its valuation. With another quarter of results to analyze, now is an appropriate time to review that rating. I remain bullish, with Cathay well-placed to deliver another strong year of growth in 2026. Margin Expansion Still Playing Out… Picking up from last time, Cathay continues to benefit from a wider net interest margin ("NIM"), which has now expanded for six straight quarters. That run includes another 5bps of expansion since my last piece, taking Cathay to 3.36% as of Q4 2025. Alongside a growing balance sheet, this has been a boon for the bank's net interest revenue, which rose 14% year-on-year last quarter to $195 million. Source: Cathay General Bancorp Q4 2025 Results Presentation The first thing to consider about margin-driven growth is that it is highly accretive to earnings. A bank doesn't need to hire more employees or open new branches just to service a higher net interest margin, whereas it may have to do these things if revenue growth was being led by volume (i.e. higher balances of interest-earning assets). As a resul...
Fans flocked to catch the final leg of Blackpink’s world tour in Hong Kong, with shops reporting around a 30 per cent boost in business from concertgoers. Kai Tak Sports Park turned into a pink-dotted sea of fans on Saturday, as attendees in matching outfits or waving the band’s signature lightsticks filled the venue and nearby malls. “It feels more familiar watching [Blackpink] at home. The atmos...
Fans flocked to catch the final leg of Blackpink’s world tour in Hong Kong, with shops reporting around a 30 per cent boost in business from concertgoers. Kai Tak Sports Park turned into a pink-dotted sea of fans on Saturday, as attendees in matching outfits or waving the band’s signature lightsticks filled the venue and nearby malls. “It feels more familiar watching [Blackpink] at home. The atmosphere here is great,” said Matt Chan, 29. Saturday’s show marked the first of three concerts by the...
Ford (NYSE: F) investors are cheering for the company's 2025 performance. Shares produced a monster total return of 42% last year. That was well ahead of the return of the S&P 500 index. There is some momentum working to the benefit of investors. Is this auto stock a buy now? Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Ford (NYSE: F) investors are cheering for the company's 2025 performance. Shares produced a monster total return of 42% last year. That was well ahead of the return of the S&P 500 index. There is some momentum working to the benefit of investors. Is this auto stock a buy now? Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images Overview Unfortunately, I believe that the golden era of floating rate investments was in the past. As interest rates trend lower, the overall appeal of these floating rate funds continues to decline. When I previously covered Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund ( JFR ), I issued a hold rating due to the inconsistent dividend coverage. Although there hasn't be...
PM Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images Overview Unfortunately, I believe that the golden era of floating rate investments was in the past. As interest rates trend lower, the overall appeal of these floating rate funds continues to decline. When I previously covered Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund ( JFR ), I issued a hold rating due to the inconsistent dividend coverage. Although there hasn't been any new reporting released, I wanted to revisit the fund to discuss the potential outlook now that interest rates have declined. I believe that there can be several outcomes, but it ultimately depends on management's ability to navigate these shifts. Looking at the performance over the last twelve months, we can see that JFR's share price has declined by nearly 6.8%. The fund has struggled to regain positive momentum in recent months. When including all distributions that were paid out to shareholders, the total return jumps up to about 5.5% over the same time frame. JFR now offers investors a starting dividend yield of about 12.8% and issues payouts on a monthly basis. However, I remain cautious about the overall sustainability of distributions going forward. Data by YCharts While JFR continues to trade at a discount to NAV, I believe that the discount isn't quite appealing in the current market environment. In fact, I believe that the discount should be a bit larger considering the pressure the higher interest rates are putting on debt securities. While the market anticipates that interest rates will likely decline over the course of 2026, we don't know the size of these rate adjustments. If the Fed continues to initiate smaller 25 basis point cuts, this may not be enough to relieve some pressure within the portfolio. Fund Strategy According to the latest portfolio overview , JFR has total managed assets of $2.19B that is spread across 431 different holdings. JFR has a listed gross expense ratio of 2.83%, but this is a bit misleading because it includes fees related to...
Sally Anscombe/DigitalVision via Getty Images Introduction Last time I covered Chewy ( CHWY ), I highlighted their high level of customer loyalty and significant expansion potential, although I rated them a Hold since they had more to prove while trading above what I considered a fair value. The company is advancing well towards their plans, while the stock fell as a result of the market ignoring ...
Sally Anscombe/DigitalVision via Getty Images Introduction Last time I covered Chewy ( CHWY ), I highlighted their high level of customer loyalty and significant expansion potential, although I rated them a Hold since they had more to prove while trading above what I considered a fair value. The company is advancing well towards their plans, while the stock fell as a result of the market ignoring their earnings beat due to a softer Q4 guidance, but even though I believe the risk-reward has turned slightly in favor of the investment now, I don’t believe this is worth upgrading just yet. Internal Developments Chewy IR Despite beating the market’s estimates , Chewy didn’t do that well on the day of their Q3 release, with the stock falling by ~6% following a soft guidance. However, we see a solid improvement in free cash flow, which helped bring their LTM level above FY24, with potential for much more in Q4 as they expect to convert approximately 80% of adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow. Chewy IR Still, it’s important to note that their customer base kept growing, with a 5% increase in active customers during the quarter while their Autoship sales increased 90 basis points to 83.9%, while several other key metrics such as the adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA margin and net margin increased significantly. Chewy IR Regarding the guidance, the market was disappointed when it came to their Q4 expectations, with net sales of $3.24 billion to $3.26 billion and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.24 to $0.27, while the year’s adjusted EBITDA margin would reach between 5.6% and 5.7%, saying that they are still firmly on track towards reaching their long-term target of 10% adjusted EBITDA margin. Assuming roughly $12.6 billion in net sales in 2025 with a 5.7% adjusted EBITDA margin, that means they expect adjusted EBITDA of about $718.2 million, and for an 80% FCF conversion rate, that means about $574.56 million in 2025, which is certainly not bad compared to the $452 million ...
Match at Stamford Bridge kicks off at 12.30pm (GMT) Share your thoughts with Emillia via email These two sides last met in November, where they fought out a 1-1 draw in a game that was overshadowed by some controversial decisions. Arsenal had two disallowed goals - the first of which was deemed a handball by the referee, although replays showed that it did not touch the arm of Stina Blackstenius b...
Match at Stamford Bridge kicks off at 12.30pm (GMT) Share your thoughts with Emillia via email These two sides last met in November, where they fought out a 1-1 draw in a game that was overshadowed by some controversial decisions. Arsenal had two disallowed goals - the first of which was deemed a handball by the referee, although replays showed that it did not touch the arm of Stina Blackstenius before she put the ball in the net. The Gunners also had a goal ruled out for a very tight offside call on Frida Maanum in the last minute. On the other hand, they avoided going down to 10 players after Victoria Pelova’s high challenge on Keira Walsh was only deemed a yellow card offence. Alyssa Thompson broke the deadlock for Chelsea in the first half with a stunning strike from the edge of the box. Arsenal battled hard to draw level and Alessia Russo netted the equaliser in the late stages. Continue reading...