Fast-casual restaurant stocks were hit hard over the past year, but many have snapped back over the past month. In this episode of Motley Fool Money, analyst Emily Flippen is joined by analyst Sanmeet Deo and contributor Jason Hall to break down what has caused the rebound in fast-casual restaurant stocks, how consumer tastes have changed, and if fast-casual stocks are set up for continued strong ...
Fast-casual restaurant stocks were hit hard over the past year, but many have snapped back over the past month. In this episode of Motley Fool Money, analyst Emily Flippen is joined by analyst Sanmeet Deo and contributor Jason Hall to break down what has caused the rebound in fast-casual restaurant stocks, how consumer tastes have changed, and if fast-casual stocks are set up for continued strong performance in the year ahead. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy. A full transcript is below. This podcast was recorded on Jan. 19, 2026. Emily Flippen: Fast casual stocks were smoked in 2025, but things have started to look up in the new year. We're digging into whether or not this is a real turnaround for food today on Motley Fool Money. Today is Tuesday, January 20th. Welcome to Motley Fool Money. I'm your host in Life Flipping, and today I'm joined by Fool analysts Sanmeet Deo and Jason Hall to discuss the rebound in fast casual stocks, what's been driving it, and what consumer trade down behavior means for the category in the year ahead. Now, it's no surprise, but 2025 was a rough year for fast casual stocks Wingstop, Chipotle, Cava, and Sweetgreen, all lost double digit amounts of value in the year 15, 37, 47, and 78% of their value, respectively. Obviously, that's a combination of concerns around valuation, trade downs for budget conscious shoppers, inflation, changing consumer behaviors, just name it. It's probably result. But it does seem like something fundamentally did shift over the course of the past year. Sanmeet I want to start with you and what's been driving the weakness in fast casual. What do you think investors have gotten wrong over the past years that caused such a contraction valuation? Sanmeet Deo: Fast casual valuations have become almost SAS like, they were stretched beyond belief. I think what investors underestimate ...
AstraZeneca Plc agreed an obesity drug deal with Chinese company CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. worth up to $18.5 billion, as the British drugmaker tries to push into the growing weight-loss market. The agreement will see AstraZeneca pay $1.2 billion for eight drug candidates, including four injectable therapies with potential to treat obesity and other weight-related conditions, according to a st...
AstraZeneca Plc agreed an obesity drug deal with Chinese company CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. worth up to $18.5 billion, as the British drugmaker tries to push into the growing weight-loss market. The agreement will see AstraZeneca pay $1.2 billion for eight drug candidates, including four injectable therapies with potential to treat obesity and other weight-related conditions, according to a statement Friday. The deal was announced while Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot accompanied UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on a trip to China. Read More: Astra Touts $15 Billion China Investment During Starmer Trip The firms will also collaborate on new medicines using CSPC’s long-acting peptide technology, designed for once-monthly dosing. AstraZeneca will receive rights outside of China to a CSPC weight-loss drug targeting GLP-1 and GIP that is poised to enter human trials, along with three other weight-management therapies employing different mechanisms. CSPC will be eligible for development and regulatory milestones of up to $3.5 billion, and potential sales milestone payments of up to $13.8 billion.
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images Highlights US gold demand rose 140% y/y to 679t in 2025. This marked the highest level of demand since 2020 and driven almost entirely by ETF investment. US gold-backed ETFs attracted 437t of demand. This pushed total holdings to a record 2,019t (US$280bn in AUM), and accounted for more than two-thirds of total US demand. The LBMA (PM) gold price set 53 new...
J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images Highlights US gold demand rose 140% y/y to 679t in 2025. This marked the highest level of demand since 2020 and driven almost entirely by ETF investment. US gold-backed ETFs attracted 437t of demand. This pushed total holdings to a record 2,019t (US$280bn in AUM), and accounted for more than two-thirds of total US demand. The LBMA (PM) gold price set 53 new all-time highs during 2025. The average Q4 price was a record US$4,135/oz (+55% y/y), resulting in the highest annual average of US$3,431/oz (+44% y/y). Outlook - Continued geopolitical uncertainty, expectations of lower interest rates, and pressure on the US dollar are likely to support another year of strong US gold ETF inflows, while consumer demand may remain constrained in a high‑price environment. A defining year for US gold investment Explosive ETF demand offset widespread consumer softness Total gold demand in the US surged to 679t in 2025, but its composition told a more nuanced story than the headline total. Investment – specifically gold ETFs – was the clear driver of demand growth, dominating the US market as investors responded to a year of heightened geopolitical risk, shifting rate expectations, and a relentless rise in the gold price. US listed physically backed gold ETFs were the only segment to expand, driving the bulk of total US demand and pushing collective holdings (2,019t) to new highs. Strong momentum, safe-haven buying, and portfolio diversification needs kept investor appetite elevated throughout the year. In contrast, bar and coin investment weakened, while the value of demand remained resilient, supported by momentum buying and an active secondary market. Additionally, historical patterns suggest that this type of demand tends to soften under Republican administrations. Jewellery demand cooled as higher gold prices limited purchases of heavier pieces. Even so, value‑based spending rose, supported by strong appetite for premium, high‑carat jewell...
Private equity firm Permira agreed to buy a significant minority stake in asset management platform Carne Group in a deal that values the Dublin-based firm at €1.4 billion ($1.7 billion). UK investment firm Vitruvian Partners will exit its minority holding, which it acquired 2021, alongside other investors, according to a statement Friday. Carne’s founder and Chief Executive Officer John Donohoe w...
Private equity firm Permira agreed to buy a significant minority stake in asset management platform Carne Group in a deal that values the Dublin-based firm at €1.4 billion ($1.7 billion). UK investment firm Vitruvian Partners will exit its minority holding, which it acquired 2021, alongside other investors, according to a statement Friday. Carne’s founder and Chief Executive Officer John Donohoe will retain a majority stake in the group, alongside management and employees. Carne, founded in 2004, helps investment managers overseeing more than $1 trillion in assets distribute funds and monitor risk, compliance and governance. The company employs over 650 employees across eight locations globally. The transaction comes at a busy dealmaking period for Permira. In November, it agreed to acquire JTC Plc , a London-listed provider of fund solutions and corporate services. Last month, Permira struck a deal to buy Clearwater Analytics Holdings Inc. in a transaction valuing the software maker at $8.4 billion, including debt. Permira’s investments in the services sector also include Alter Domus , a Luxembourg-based fund administration provider to the alternative investment industry, which it helped grow into one of the industry’s biggest players. London-based Permira distributed €12.6 billion to investors last year, an annual record for the firm. Read More: Permira, Warburg to Buy Clearwater Analytics for $8.4 Billion Raymond James advised Carne on the transaction, while Rothschild & Co . were advisers to Permira.
Plunge was so significant it dragged the whole market lower with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closing in the red. 💥 AI Bill Shockwaves Hit Redmond Microsoft stock MSFT cratered 10% after earnings, vaporizing about $360 billion in market value in a single session. That makes it the company’s worst one-day drop on record and the market’s second-biggest value wipeout ( Nvidia says hi ). The selloff spi...
Plunge was so significant it dragged the whole market lower with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closing in the red. 💥 AI Bill Shockwaves Hit Redmond Microsoft stock MSFT cratered 10% after earnings, vaporizing about $360 billion in market value in a single session. That makes it the company’s worst one-day drop on record and the market’s second-biggest value wipeout ( Nvidia says hi ). The selloff spilled into the broader tape. The Nasdaq slid as much as 2.6% intraday before trimming losses, while the S&P 500 closed slightly lower.
aniszewski/iStock via Getty Images Anavex’s ( AVXL ) blarcamesine is one of those few Alzheimer’s drug candidates that has not failed, but has not succeeded either. It is thus stuck in perpetual limbo. My hold recommendation is based not on the anticipation that blarcamesine will escape this situation soon, but that it will eventually do so. I will start with a brief history of Anavex 2-73/blarcam...
aniszewski/iStock via Getty Images Anavex’s ( AVXL ) blarcamesine is one of those few Alzheimer’s drug candidates that has not failed, but has not succeeded either. It is thus stuck in perpetual limbo. My hold recommendation is based not on the anticipation that blarcamesine will escape this situation soon, but that it will eventually do so. I will start with a brief history of Anavex 2-73/blarcamesine. At first, Anavex 2-73 appeared to be quite successful: it reportedly led to short-term improvements in those with mild cognitive impairment to mild Alzheimer’s disease and to long-term stabilization in these early-stage patients in a very small trial. However, these results were for subgroups, most notably for those with functioning sigma-1 receptors ( table 3 and figure 2 ). In a much larger trial that lasted 48 weeks, blarcamesine significantly slowed down cognitive decline but did not significantly affect activities of daily living. Perhaps this is because the latter usually only subtly declines during the very early stages of the disease. In the phase 2b/3 trial Anavex combined the 30 and 50mg groups, which led some critics to speculate that the company did this in order to cover up poor results in the 50mg group. When Anavex finally separated out the dose results, the 50mg group did do a little better . Anavex probably combined the groups because the statistical significance of the results had been diluted due to the high number of dropouts caused in part by dizziness and confusion. In a 144 week open label extension trial, blarcamesine appeared to perform better than Aricept/donepezil and at least as well as the anti-amyloid drugs Leqembi and Kisunla, but without the risks of brain swelling and brain bleeds found in these later drugs ( previous article ). Blarcamesine also showed efficacy in regards to activities of daily living ( results ). Anavex felt confident enough in these results to seek approval from European Medicines Agency (EMA), but was rebuffed. Th...
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said he blocked Eutelsat from selling a strategic asset, deploying the state’s powers to screen and intervene in investment from foreign entities. Eutelsat said on Thursday that it wouldn’t proceed with the disposal of its passive ground segment infrastructure assets to private equity investor EQT Infrastructure VI, forfeiting proceeds from the planned transa...
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said he blocked Eutelsat from selling a strategic asset, deploying the state’s powers to screen and intervene in investment from foreign entities. Eutelsat said on Thursday that it wouldn’t proceed with the disposal of its passive ground segment infrastructure assets to private equity investor EQT Infrastructure VI, forfeiting proceeds from the planned transaction of around €550 million ($656 million). “I decided to not allow Eutelsat, a big French satellite company, to sell its ground-based antenna that communicate with satellites,” Lescure said Friday on TF1 television. “These antenna are used for civil communication and military communication. Eutelsat is the only European competitor to Starlink, it’s obviously a strategic asset, so I said no.” France’s screening of foreign investments rose last year as companies seeking opportunities in sectors deemed strategic jumped to a record high. But it is rare for the state to block takeovers outright. In a report last year, the Finance Ministry said it refused only six investments over a period of three years. France’s Foreign Investment Screening Activity Jumped in 2024 Eutelsat Won’t Proceed With Infrastructure Assets Sale to EQT Eutelsat Raises €1.35 Billion to Build Europe’s Starlink Rival
The stocks for both companies skyrocketed in the past year. If you're comparing two compelling AI infrastructure companies, you may already have Iren (IREN 4.92%) and Applied Digital (APLD 5.35%) on your radar. Both stocks experienced meteoric gains recently, but which company is going to be better in the long term for investors? Let's take a closer look at each business. Expand NASDAQ : IREN Iren...
The stocks for both companies skyrocketed in the past year. If you're comparing two compelling AI infrastructure companies, you may already have Iren (IREN 4.92%) and Applied Digital (APLD 5.35%) on your radar. Both stocks experienced meteoric gains recently, but which company is going to be better in the long term for investors? Let's take a closer look at each business. Expand NASDAQ : IREN Iren Today's Change ( -4.92 %) $ -3.10 Current Price $ 59.84 Key Data Points Market Cap $20B Day's Range $ 56.72 - $ 62.09 52wk Range $ 5.13 - $ 76.87 Volume 49M Avg Vol 39M Gross Margin 31.17 % Similar beginnings with diverging paths forward Both Iren and Applied Digital began in the crypto industry but are pivoting to AI and high-performance computing. While their paths and reasons for the reposition are similar, each is taking a different strategy to capture AI-related business. Originally, Iren owned and operated large-scale data centers specifically for Bitcoin mining purposes. The company understood the fluctuating economics within crypto mining and decided to move into AI data center services. Because Iren can operate in both crypto and high-performance computing, the company retains the unique flexibility to go back and forth depending on demand. Iren's stock is up over 400% in the past 12 months. It does have a high forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 50, and its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is also on the incline, reaching 20 as of Jan. 27. Iren recently secured a $9.7 billion AI cloud contract with Microsoft. It looks as though the company's pivot is paying off, as net income improved from a loss of $51.7 million in the first quarter of last fiscal year to a gain of $384.6 million in Q1 of fiscal 2026. Applied Digital also began in crypto mining but now focuses on building high-performance data centers and offering long-term leases to customers with massive compute needs. This particular business model allows Applied Digital to capitalize on predictable and...
Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifty-two analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-mon...
Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifty-two analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $847.9792. META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Pivotal Research reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Get Meta Platforms alerts: Sign Up View Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total value of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO S...
TOKYO, JAPAN - JANUARY 27: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (C), Japan Innovation Party Representative Hirofumi Yoshimura (L) and Japan Innovation Party Co-Representative Fumitake Fujita (R) hold up their hands during an election campaign rally on January 27, 2026 in the Akihabara area of Tokyo, Japan. Official campaigning for the general election for the House of Representatives, scheduled ...
TOKYO, JAPAN - JANUARY 27: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (C), Japan Innovation Party Representative Hirofumi Yoshimura (L) and Japan Innovation Party Co-Representative Fumitake Fujita (R) hold up their hands during an election campaign rally on January 27, 2026 in the Akihabara area of Tokyo, Japan. Official campaigning for the general election for the House of Representatives, scheduled for February 8, began today. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images) Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images News | Getty Images As Japan heads to the polls on Feb. 8, voters are weighing familiar concerns such as the cost of living, wages and the weak yen as they cast ballots in the Lower House election. Beyond the economy, however, the vote is also shaping up as a test of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi herself, with analysts saying the fiercely conservative leader has effectively turned the election into a referendum on her leadership. "She's trying to make it as a referendum on whether the people accept [her] as a prime minister or not," said Kazuto Suzuki, director at the Institute of Geoeconomics, a Tokyo-based think tank. Takaichi has made little effort to downplay the personal stakes. On Jan. 19, she said she was "putting my future as prime minister on this election" and asked voters to decide whether they could entrust the management of the country to her. If the LDP manages to gain a clear majority in this election, it will be entirely attributable to Takaichi's personal popularity — little else has changed since July when the LDP was drubbed at the polls." Kristi Govella Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies The strategy reflects Takaichi's high approval ratings , which until recently had stood above 70%. The prime minister is seeking to translate that personal popularity into votes for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, whose own approval remains far weaker. "[Takaichi is] betting on her high levels of public approval and fragmentation among the opp...