Shareholders of Williams Sonoma Inc (Symbol: WSM) looking to boost their income beyond the stock's 1.3% annualized dividend yield can sell the January 2028 covered call at the $300 strike and collect the premium based on the $20.00 bid, which annualizes to an additional 4.9% rate of return against the current stock price (at Stock Options Channel we call this the), for a total of 6.2% annualized r...
Shareholders of Williams Sonoma Inc (Symbol: WSM) looking to boost their income beyond the stock's 1.3% annualized dividend yield can sell the January 2028 covered call at the $300 strike and collect the premium based on the $20.00 bid, which annualizes to an additional 4.9% rate of return against the current stock price (at Stock Options Channel we call this the), for a total of 6.2% annualized rate in the scenario where the stock is not called away. Any upside above $300 would be lost if the stock rises there and is called away, but WSM shares would have to climb 45.6% from current levels for that to occur, meaning that in the scenario where the stock is called, the shareholder has earned a 55.3% return from this trading level, in addition to any dividends collected before the stock was called. In general, dividend amounts are not always predictable and tend to follow the ups and downs of profitability at each company. In the case of Williams Sonoma Inc, looking at the dividend history chart for WSM below can help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue, and in turn whether it is a reasonable expectation to expect a 1.3% annualized dividend yield. Below is a chart showing WSM's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $300 strike highlighted in red: The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the January 2028 covered call at the $300 strike gives good reward for the risk of having given away the upside beyond $300. (Do most options expire worthless? This and six other common options myths debunked). We calculate the trailing twelve month volatility for Williams Sonoma Inc (considering the last 250 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $206.51) to be 42%. For other call options contract ideas at the various different available expirations, visit the WSM Stock Options page of StockOptionsChannel.com. Top YieldBoost Ca...
Kira-Yan/iStock Editorial via Getty Images On Jan. 28, 2026, Meta Platforms, Inc. ( META ) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings - and the numbers were impressive. For the quarter , revenue came in at $59.89 billion, which outpaced estimates by 2.43%. Diluted EPS, meanwhile, reached $8.88, surpassing estimates by 8.60%. The full-year figures are also impressive. Annual revenue and di...
Kira-Yan/iStock Editorial via Getty Images On Jan. 28, 2026, Meta Platforms, Inc. ( META ) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings - and the numbers were impressive. For the quarter , revenue came in at $59.89 billion, which outpaced estimates by 2.43%. Diluted EPS, meanwhile, reached $8.88, surpassing estimates by 8.60%. The full-year figures are also impressive. Annual revenue and diluted EPS were $200.97 billion and $29.68, respectively, each outpacing consensus by 0.71% and 2.63%. As a result, Meta stock jumped from ~$669 per share to around $716- a roughly 7% increase. This is black and white. It's reality, all while (some) investors are still sitting on the sidelines, wondering what to do. Why do I say that? If we look at META's one-year returns, it's basically flat - weighed down by macroeconomic fears around AI spending, not by any erosion to the fundamentals. To me, this relatively rare discount seems like an ideal entry point for investors with a long-term horizon. That, and the potential growth drivers down the line, my Strong Buy rating for Meta remains in place. What Was in Meta’s Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financials? When sorting out a buy-or-not decision for any company, I like to look at what’s under the hood. For Meta, the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 revenue rose 24% to around $59.9 billion. Top-line figures were primarily driven by ad revenue, growing 24% year-over-year to $58.14 billion. Here’s a glance at Meta’s revenue breakdown for the quarter: Segment Q4 2025 Q4 2024 % Change Family of Apps - Total $58,938 $47,302 24.6% Advertising Revenue $58,137 $46,783 24.3% Other Revenue $801 $519 54.3% Reality Labs $955 $1,083 (11.8%) TOTAL REVENUE $59,893 $48,385 23.8% Click to enlarge Note: USD in Millions So far, the Reality Labs division has reported over $950 million in revenue, but that is still a decline compared to the same period last year. To me, this is a glaring sign that the consumer AR/VR market is still struggling to g...
The DividendRank formula at Dividend Channel ranks a coverage universe of thousands of dividend stocks, according to a proprietary formula designed to identify those stocks that combine two important characteristics — strong fundamentals and a valuation that looks inexpensive. Houlihan Lokey Inc (Symbol: HLI) presently has an excellent rank, in the top 25% of the coverage universe, which suggests ...
The DividendRank formula at Dividend Channel ranks a coverage universe of thousands of dividend stocks, according to a proprietary formula designed to identify those stocks that combine two important characteristics — strong fundamentals and a valuation that looks inexpensive. Houlihan Lokey Inc (Symbol: HLI) presently has an excellent rank, in the top 25% of the coverage universe, which suggests it is among the top most "interesting" ideas that merit further research by investors. But making Houlihan Lokey Inc an even more interesting and timely stock to look at, is the fact that in trading on Friday, shares of HLI entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $75.22 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on a scale of zero to 100. A stock is considered to be oversold if the RSI reading falls below 30. In the case of Houlihan Lokey Inc, the RSI reading has hit 29.4 — by comparison, the universe of dividend stocks covered by Dividend Channel currently has an average RSI of 41.2. A falling stock price — all else being equal — creates a better opportunity for dividend investors to capture a higher yield. Indeed, HLI's recent annualized dividend of 2.12/share (currently paid in quarterly installments) works out to an annual yield of 2.73% based upon the recent $77.75 share price. A bullish investor could look at HLI's 29.4 RSI reading today as a sign that the recent heavy selling is in the process of exhausting itself, and begin to look for entry point opportunities on the buy side. Among the fundamental datapoints dividend investors should investigate to decide if they are bullish on HLI is its dividend history. In general, dividends are not always predictable; but, looking at the history chart below can help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue. Click here to find out what 9 other oversold dividend stocks you need to kn...
Investors considering a purchase of Perpetua Resources Corp (Symbol: PPTA) stock, but tentative about paying the going market price of $26.99/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. One interesting put contract in particular, is the January 2027 put at the $20 strike, which has a bid at the time of this writing of $3.10. Collecting tha...
Investors considering a purchase of Perpetua Resources Corp (Symbol: PPTA) stock, but tentative about paying the going market price of $26.99/share, might benefit from considering selling puts among the alternative strategies at their disposal. One interesting put contract in particular, is the January 2027 put at the $20 strike, which has a bid at the time of this writing of $3.10. Collecting that bid as the premium represents a 15.5% return against the $20 commitment, or a 16.3% annualized rate of return (at Stock Options Channel we call this the). Selling a put does not give an investor access to PPTA's upside potential the way owning shares would, because the put seller only ends up owning shares in the scenario where the contract is exercised. And the person on the other side of the contract would only benefit from exercising at the $20 strike if doing so produced a better outcome than selling at the going market price. (Do options carry counterparty risk? This and six other common options myths debunked). So unless Perpetua Resources Corp sees its shares decline 25.8% and the contract is exercised (resulting in a cost basis of $16.90 per share before broker commissions, subtracting the $3.10 from $20), the only upside to the put seller is from collecting that premium for the 16.3% annualized rate of return. Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for Perpetua Resources Corp, and highlighting in green where the $20 strike is located relative to that history: The chart above, and the stock's historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the January 2027 put at the $20 strike for the 16.3% annualized rate of return represents good reward for the risks. We calculate the trailing twelve month volatility for Perpetua Resources Corp (considering the last 250 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $26.99) to be 84%. For other put options contract ideas at the v...
A weak U.S. dollar that's expected to soften further could mean it's time for investors to look abroad for opportunities, according to Oppenheimer. The U.S. greenback has declined considerably over the last year, and posted wild moves just in the last month following an escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Europe over Greenland and President Donald Trump's indifferent remarks to the falling...
A weak U.S. dollar that's expected to soften further could mean it's time for investors to look abroad for opportunities, according to Oppenheimer. The U.S. greenback has declined considerably over the last year, and posted wild moves just in the last month following an escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Europe over Greenland and President Donald Trump's indifferent remarks to the falling dollar. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index was last at 97.47, having slumped 10% over the last year. Ari H. Wald, chief market technician at Oppenheimer, expects that means it's time to "buy global," as emerging markets could benefit from a softer dollar that could lower debt loads — and have the added benefit of offering investors diversification in their portfolios. "A global portfolio provides diversification benefits because currency fluctuations lower correlations between US and non-US assets; diversification benefits diminish when currency exposure is hedged, because correlations rise," Wald wrote on Friday. "When USD is weak, dollar-denominated global ETFs benefit US investors because stronger-currency constituents are translated back into weaker dollars, and emerging markets gain from lower debts costs and capital inflows," he added. He pointed out that two opportunities in the Europe ETF (VGK) and the Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) have broken through their 2007 peaks, a bullish signal. The Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK) : The $31 billion ETF in the Europe equity space has gained 5% already this year, and is up more than 30% over the last 12 months. It's attracted just $243 million in fund flows year to date. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) : The cap-weighted ETF with $27 billion in assets in emerging markets companies has already rallied 7% this year, and is up more than 38% over the past 12 moths. Year to date, it's already attracted $4 billion in fund flows. EEM YTD mountain EEM, ytd performance To be sure, Wald stressed that buying global does not equate to the...
Earnings Call Insights: IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) Q4 2025 Management View Jay Mazelsky, President and CEO, emphasized "exceptional execution across the organization and meaningful strategic progress towards our long-term potential," highlighting 2025 as a defining year for IDEXX. Mazelsky pointed to the successful scaling of innovations such as inVue Dx and Cancer Dx, expansion in key internationa...
Earnings Call Insights: IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) Q4 2025 Management View Jay Mazelsky, President and CEO, emphasized "exceptional execution across the organization and meaningful strategic progress towards our long-term potential," highlighting 2025 as a defining year for IDEXX. Mazelsky pointed to the successful scaling of innovations such as inVue Dx and Cancer Dx, expansion in key international regions, and resilience of the business model despite economic uncertainty. He noted that "our solutions provided valuable insights and the productivity lift sought by our customers," particularly with the aging pet population driving increased demand for early detection and monitoring. Mazelsky described record instrument placements, high customer retention, and expanding premium instrument installed base as driving double-digit revenue and earnings growth. He shared that IDEXX completed targeted commercial expansion in Germany, the UK, Australia, and the US, reducing accounts per representative and deepening engagement with clinics. On product innovation, Mazelsky announced the expanded Cancer Dx panel for mast cell tumor detection in North America by mid-2026 and the international rollout of Cancer Dx in Q1 2026. He described inVue Dx as "one of the most successful product launches in IDEXX history," with nearly 6,400 placements in 2025 and a controlled FNA launch underway. Andrew Emerson, Executive VP, CFO & Treasurer, stated: "Revenue increased 14% as reported and 12% organically, supported by 10% organic growth in CAG Diagnostics recurring revenues. We achieved record premium instrument placements in Q4...supporting a 69% organic year-over-year expansion of our CAG Diagnostic instrument revenues." Emerson highlighted that "full year operating margins reached 31.6%, an increase of 90 basis points on a comparable basis," and "full year EPS of $13.08 per share was up 14% year-over-year on a comparable basis." Outlook IDEXX provided initial 2026 revenue guidance of $4.6...
The Russian captain of a container ship that crashed into a US tanker off the east coast of Britain in March last year was found guilty in a London court on Monday of causing the death of a crew member through gross negligence. Vladimir Motin, 59, was captain of the Solong when it hit the Stena Immaculate tanker, which was anchored and carrying just over 220,000 barrels of high-grade aviation fu...
The Russian captain of a container ship that crashed into a US tanker off the east coast of Britain in March last year was found guilty in a London court on Monday of causing the death of a crew member through gross negligence. Vladimir Motin, 59, was captain of the Solong when it hit the Stena Immaculate tanker, which was anchored and carrying just over 220,000 barrels of high-grade aviation fuel. The March 10 crash started a blaze on both ships and caused the death of Solong crew member Mark Pernia, a Philippines national whose body has never been found and is presumed dead. Advertisement Prosecutor Tom Little told jurors at the start of Motin’s trial last month that the captain did “absolutely nothing” to prevent the collision, having been on course to hit the Stena Immaculate for more than 30 minutes before the crash. Motin’s lawyer James Leonard said Motin unsuccessfully tried to take the Solong off autopilot and change course, arguing that while Motin was at fault he was not grossly negligent. Advertisement Motin, who had pleaded not guilty, was convicted of the gross negligence manslaughter of Pernia after a trial at London’s Old Bailey court. He will be sentenced on Thursday. Little said in court that Pernia’s wife, who lives in the Philippines, was seven months pregnant at the time of his death and their child has since been born.
With inventories low and production cuts in place, OPEC looks for oil prices to rise. Oil prices dipped in Monday trading, with Brent crude falling 4.7% to about $66 a barrel and WTI crude down nearly 5% to just under $62. ConocoPhillips (COP 1.32%) stock slipped 2.5% through 10:30 a.m. ET Monday, following the price of oil lower. Why is oil getting cheaper? The OPEC+ group of oil-exporting countr...
With inventories low and production cuts in place, OPEC looks for oil prices to rise. Oil prices dipped in Monday trading, with Brent crude falling 4.7% to about $66 a barrel and WTI crude down nearly 5% to just under $62. ConocoPhillips (COP 1.32%) stock slipped 2.5% through 10:30 a.m. ET Monday, following the price of oil lower. Why is oil getting cheaper? The OPEC+ group of oil-exporting countries ("plus" Russia and a few others) announced last night that, despite "healthy oil market fundamentals as reflected in low inventories," it will extend its pause on production increases into March (i.e., not increase production in February). You'd think that would be a double-whammy of good news for oil prices -- low inventories should mean high prices, and no increase in production should mean those prices will remain high. Instead, oil prices are falling today. Why? OilPrice.com notes that oil prices recently surged past $70 a barrel amid concerns that a looming U.S. military conflict with Iran could disrupt oil supplies from the Persian Gulf. Over the weekend, however, tempers cooled a bit, and there's talk of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over the latter's nuclear program -- and so long as people are talking, they're presumably not shooting and interrupting supplies. Result: The immediate catalyst for rising prices has been removed, leading to a price decline. Expand NYSE : COP ConocoPhillips Today's Change ( -1.32 %) $ -1.38 Current Price $ 102.85 Key Data Points Market Cap $129B Day's Range $ 100.55 - $ 102.96 52wk Range $ 79.88 - $ 106.20 Volume 95K Avg Vol 7.7M Gross Margin 26.79 % Dividend Yield 3.05 % What this means for ConocoPhillips stock It's logically also causing the stock price of ConocoPhillips to fall, because the primary product it sells is now worth a bit less. (There's also talk of an oil glut on the market, despite OPEC's protestations to the contrary, and that's also a negative for oil prices and oil stocks.) The good news is that at less ...
Pep Guardiola’s side would be on top of the league had they not consistently struggled to hold leads Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here The focus had been on Arsenal. They had not won in three Premier League games before this weekend and it was reasonable to ask how secure their position at the top of the table was. But the impact of their wobble was not that their lead was eaten into, b...
Pep Guardiola’s side would be on top of the league had they not consistently struggled to hold leads Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here The focus had been on Arsenal. They had not won in three Premier League games before this weekend and it was reasonable to ask how secure their position at the top of the table was. But the impact of their wobble was not that their lead was eaten into, but that they missed opportunities to extend it, because those in the chasing pack were also dropping points. In their six league games since the New Year fixtures, Arsenal have dropped seven points. But City in the same period have dropped 11, as have Aston Villa and Liverpool. Fulham have dropped 10, Everton have dropped nine, Manchester United, Brentford and Newcastle have dropped eight and Chelsea seven; nobody currently in the top half of the table has closed the gap on Arsenal at all, which is why, after Saturday’s comfortable win at Leeds, their lead remains at six points. Continue reading...
ECARX Zenith delivers integrated services on a single SoC, supporting Android 16, Google Automotive Services (GAS) and S-Core open-source middleware, supporting advanced software-defined vehicle architectures LONDON, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ECARX Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ECX) ("ECARX" or the "Company"), a global mobility tech provider, debuted a pre-production sample of its Zenith computing pla...
ECARX Zenith delivers integrated services on a single SoC, supporting Android 16, Google Automotive Services (GAS) and S-Core open-source middleware, supporting advanced software-defined vehicle architectures LONDON, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ECARX Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ECX) ("ECARX" or the "Company"), a global mobility tech provider, debuted a pre-production sample of its Zenith computing platform at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. This innovative and ground-breaking system offers a unified high-performance intelligent cockpit and ADAS architecture, powered by the Snapdragon® Elite (SA8797) platform for automotive from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. This platform reflects the latest progress in the ECARX R&D roadmap, developing a diverse portfolio of solutions to allow seamless customization for automakers for global deployment. Developed in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and leveraging the powerful Qualcomm Oryon™ CPU, Qualcomm® Adreno™ GPU and Qualcomm® Hexagon™ NPU combination, ECARX Zenith showcases the capabilities of the Snapdragon Elite platform for automotive to run mixed-criticality intelligent cockpit and ADAS functionalities simultaneously on a single, high-performance system on chip (SoC). The platform demonstration features an immersive, premium-feeling 3D launcher, 5K ultra-high-resolution display, and Google Automotive Services (GAS) ecosystem integration. The Zenith platform shown at CES also offers a safety-critical 3D instrument cluster display built on QNX 8.0, showcasing mixed-criticality platform support, as well as advanced Level 2++ ADAS, built on S-Core open-source middleware in collaboration with Qorix. Beyond its current configuration, Zenith's modular design will allow automakers to scale performance based on their tailored capability requirements. The architecture supports additional hardware modules for Level 3+ autonomy and advanced telematics, providing a long-term, upgradeable solution. ECARX plans to use the Snapdragon Elite platf...
Hi, welcome to the Bloomberg Deals newsletter and the first big Merger Monday of 2026 thanks to one of the largest oil and gas deals in years. Also today, Elon Musk works to consolidate his empire and there’s more mining M&A to digest. Today’s top stories Devon and rival shale driller Coterra to merge in all-stock deal. Elon Musk in advanced talks to combine SpaceX and xAI. GIC, Mubadala are poise...
Hi, welcome to the Bloomberg Deals newsletter and the first big Merger Monday of 2026 thanks to one of the largest oil and gas deals in years. Also today, Elon Musk works to consolidate his empire and there’s more mining M&A to digest. Today’s top stories Devon and rival shale driller Coterra to merge in all-stock deal. Elon Musk in advanced talks to combine SpaceX and xAI. GIC, Mubadala are poised to join KKR’s $10 billion STT deal. OnlyFans in talks to sell stake valuing firm at $3.5 billion. Temasek and LIC plan share sales in NSE’s India IPO. Driller thriller It’s taken more than a month but the first real Merger Monday of the year is here—and it’s arrived largely courtesy of a sector that missed out on the 2025 deals boom. Coterra Energy and Devon Energy have announced their combination to create a US shale producer with an enterprise value of about $58 billion. The deal, which we first reported was in the works last month , is one of the biggest in the oil and natural gas sector in years. The tie-up will strengthen the companies’ positions in the Permian Basin—the largest and most productive oil field in the US—and give them the scale to take on rivals like Exxon Mobil and Diamondback. It’s a clear sign of how eager big drillers are to consolidate after a difficult 2025, in which an unsteady oil price hampered dealmaking ambitions. It means we have the first Monday of the year with more than $20 billion of announced deals, data compiled by Bloomberg show. And we can safely assume this will be the first of many in 2026, with lots of headline-making M&A in the works. For one such transaction, we have to move from explorations underground to those in the skies high above. We report Monday that Elon Musk is in advanced talks to merge his rocket and satellite maker SpaceX with his cash-burning artificial intelligence startup xAI, as the billionaire moves to consolidate his empire. The catalyst here is the huge capital requirements of AI—something that’s forcing Mus...
International Bancshares ( IBOC ) declares $0.73/share semi-annual dividend , 4.3% increase from prior dividend of $0.70. Forward yield 2.04% Payable Feb. 27; for shareholders of record Feb. 13; ex-div Feb. 13. See IBOC Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on International Bancshares Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on International Bancshares Financial information for Internationa...
International Bancshares ( IBOC ) declares $0.73/share semi-annual dividend , 4.3% increase from prior dividend of $0.70. Forward yield 2.04% Payable Feb. 27; for shareholders of record Feb. 13; ex-div Feb. 13. See IBOC Dividend Scorecard, Yield Chart, & Dividend Growth. More on International Bancshares Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on International Bancshares Financial information for International Bancshares
V2images/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Baidu, Inc. ( BIDU ) stock is nowhere near the highs of $330+ seen in early 2021. However, BIDU stock has made a strong comeback in the past 12 months (up 61%). Last November, ahead of Baidu’s Q3 earnings, I thought the company was significantly undervalued , as its AI strength seemed to be ignored by the market. BIDU has gained 22% since then, so the ma...
V2images/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Baidu, Inc. ( BIDU ) stock is nowhere near the highs of $330+ seen in early 2021. However, BIDU stock has made a strong comeback in the past 12 months (up 61%). Last November, ahead of Baidu’s Q3 earnings, I thought the company was significantly undervalued , as its AI strength seemed to be ignored by the market. BIDU has gained 22% since then, so the market seems to have caught up a little. With less than a month to go for Q4 2025 earnings, I thought of revisiting Baidu’s valuation and prospects to see if the company is still as attractive as it was a few months ago. At a forward P/E of 20.5x, Baidu does not seem expensively valued at first sight. A closer look at Baidu’s financials, investments, and the management’s recent remarks suggests the company has what it takes to start distributing a dividend in the foreseeable future. This will mark the beginning of a new phase for Baidu, potentially leading to a re-rating in the market. Baidu’s Business Transition Will Take Time It is no longer a secret that Baidu’s legacy ad business is facing massive challenges. In Q3, Baidu’s core online marketing revenue declined 18% YoY to RMB 15.3 billion, highlighting these challenges. AI-native marketing revenue, on the other hand, increased 262% YoY in Q3 to RMB 2.8 billion . As of Q3, AI-native marketing revenue accounted for 18% of Baidu’s core online marketing revenue. As illustrated below, this is a notable improvement from just 4% a year ago. Baidu’s AI-native marketing revenue growth Q3 presentation 18% certainly marks an improvement, but AI-native revenue growth and core non-online marketing revenue growth (which includes the AI cloud business) will not be sufficient to cover the dent created by the declining legacy ad business. To understand the revenue replacement risk faced by Baidu, we need to look at the raw numbers from Q3 2024 and Q3 2025. Compared to Q3 2024, Baidu’s reported core online marketing revenue represented a ...
curraheeshutter/iStock via Getty Images Europe's biggest oil companies - Shell ( SHEL ), BP ( BP ), TotalEnergies ( TTE ), Eni ( E ) and Equinor ( EQNR ) - are expected by analysts to collectively reduce their shareholder distributions by 10%-25% when they report full-year results this month, signaling a turn to austerity as they brace for lower oil prices, the Financial Times reported Monday. The...
curraheeshutter/iStock via Getty Images Europe's biggest oil companies - Shell ( SHEL ), BP ( BP ), TotalEnergies ( TTE ), Eni ( E ) and Equinor ( EQNR ) - are expected by analysts to collectively reduce their shareholder distributions by 10%-25% when they report full-year results this month, signaling a turn to austerity as they brace for lower oil prices, the Financial Times reported Monday. The European oil majors have devoted more than half their cash flow into stock buybacks in recent years, shrinking the number in circulation and supporting their prices, but the strategy is coming under heavy strain as oil prices fell by ~20% last year and are projected to weaken further in H1 2026, as rising supplies of crude create a surplus. Shell ( SHEL ), which once called spending 40%-50% of cash flow on dividends and buybacks as "sacrosanct," is widely expected to trim its quarterly repurchases to $3B from $3.5B when it reports results this week. "There was a very strong argument to prioritize buybacks when valuations were cheap, balance sheets healthy and the perceived risks around peak oil were growing," UBS analyst Josh Stone told FT , adding that he expects the sector to reduce its shareholder distributions by 21%. "That is not the case today." While some European majors had highlighted consistent shareholder returns as a way to narrow their valuation gap with U.S. peers, Stone said they faced structural disadvantages given the deeper reserves and stronger growth prospects of their U.S. rivals. Exxon Mobil and Chevron on Friday reported their lowest annual profits in four years, but neither company signaled a pullback from their shareholder payouts this year and both emphasized the strength of their balance sheets to ride out the oil price downturn ( I , II ). More on BP and Shell BP: Castrol Sale And Implications BP Selling A 65% Stake In Castrol Could Be A Great Move Shell: When The "European Discount' Becomes A Reality
The House of Mouse saw its shadow, but it doesn't mean more winter is coming. In a rare move, Walt Disney (DIS 5.48%) announced its fiscal first-quarter results ahead of the market's first trades of February. The media giant announced its latest performance on Monday morning. The numbers and Disney's own guidance are respectable, but the shares didn't initially react favorably to the news. Let's g...
The House of Mouse saw its shadow, but it doesn't mean more winter is coming. In a rare move, Walt Disney (DIS 5.48%) announced its fiscal first-quarter results ahead of the market's first trades of February. The media giant announced its latest performance on Monday morning. The numbers and Disney's own guidance are respectable, but the shares didn't initially react favorably to the news. Let's go over a few of the lessons investors can learn about the House of Mouse in its new report. 1. The quarter itself was just north of OK The bar of expectations was set low heading into this week's update. Revenue rose just 5% to $26 billion for the holiday quarter, but that was narrowly ahead of the 4% step up to $25.6 billion that analysts were targeting. Adjusted earnings per share declined 7% to $1.63, but that's better than the $1.58 mark where Wall Street pros were perched. Disney's business is a potluck feast of consumer-facing leisure dishes. As usual, the performances were all over the map on the way down to the bottom line. The top-line growth was somewhat consistent. Revenue for its flagship entertainment business, which includes its media networks, studios, and streaming operations, rose 7%. This was the strongest top-line growth of Disney's three segments, but the 35% year-over-year drop in operating income was also the worst performance of the three. Despite a 72% surge in operating profit for its now-thriving streaming business, the overall profitability of the segment was pulled back by higher production cost amortization for its movie studio and the Fubo (FUBO +2.53%) transaction that closed during the quarter. Disney now has a majority stake in Fubo after handing over its Hulu + Live TV streaming platform to the streaming TV operator in October. Experiences -- consisting of its theme parks, cruise line, and consumer products -- was once again the star pupil. The segment's revenue rose a modest 6%, but it was the only business to deliver growth in operating p...
Vista Energy explores and produces oil and gas across Argentina and Mexico, with a focus on the Vaca Muerta shale formation. On February 2, PING Capital Management disclosed a buy of 101,000 additional shares of Vista Energy (VIST +0.56%), an estimated $4.57 million trade based on quarterly average pricing. What happened According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated Feb...
Vista Energy explores and produces oil and gas across Argentina and Mexico, with a focus on the Vaca Muerta shale formation. On February 2, PING Capital Management disclosed a buy of 101,000 additional shares of Vista Energy (VIST +0.56%), an estimated $4.57 million trade based on quarterly average pricing. What happened According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated February 2, PING Capital Management, Inc. increased its position in Vista Energy by 101,000 shares during the fourth quarter. The estimated transaction value, based on the average closing price for the quarter, was approximately $4.57 million. The quarter-end value of the Vista Energy stake increased by $6.68 million, which includes both the additional shares purchased and stock price movement. What else to know The buy brought Vista Energy to 3.15% of PING Capital’s 13F assets under management as of December 31. Top holdings after the filing include: NYSE: YPF: $70.46 million (28.1% of AUM) NASDAQ: GGAL: $24.32 million (9.7% of AUM) NYSE: PAM: $18.86 million (7.5% of AUM) NYSEMKT: KWEB: $16.85 million (6.7% of AUM) NYSEMKT: FXI: $14.36 million (5.7% of AUM) As of February 2, Vista Energy shares were priced at $61.05, up 13% over the past year and only slightly underperforming the S&P 500’s roughly 15.5% gain in the same period. Company overview Metric Value Revenue (TTM) $2.23 billion Net income (TTM) $727.14 million Price (as of February 2) $61.05 Company snapshot Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. is an independent oil and gas producer in Latin America operating significant acreage in the Vaca Muerta shale formation. The company engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas, with principal assets in Vaca Muerta and producing fields in Argentina and Mexico. It generates revenue primarily through the sale of crude oil and natural gas produced from its operated acreage and reserves. What this transaction means for investors This move matters because it reflects confidence...
Gold and silver's record-breaking rally has come to an abrupt halt — for now. Skylar Montgomery Koning explains what's behind the slump in precious metals. (Source: Bloomberg)
Gold and silver's record-breaking rally has come to an abrupt halt — for now. Skylar Montgomery Koning explains what's behind the slump in precious metals. (Source: Bloomberg)
Key Points Robinhood Markets has been performing very well -- with revenue doubling over one year. Its stock isn't cheap, though. Only invest if you're risk-tolerant and have many years to hold the shares. 10 stocks we like better than Robinhood Markets › Here I am, presenting you with a bold prediction: shares of Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) will fall sharply in 2026. It might make you stop a...
Key Points Robinhood Markets has been performing very well -- with revenue doubling over one year. Its stock isn't cheap, though. Only invest if you're risk-tolerant and have many years to hold the shares. 10 stocks we like better than Robinhood Markets › Here I am, presenting you with a bold prediction: shares of Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) will fall sharply in 2026. It might make you stop and think, but don't let it lead you to take any action -- because I could be wrong. Every investor will make bad calls on occasion, after all. Even Warren Buffett has blundered, sometimes buying something he maybe shouldn't have bought, or selling when maybe he shouldn't have. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » But let's take a look at Robinhood Markets now -- because maybe it will drop in 2026. Meet Robinhood Markets Robinhood Markets is a "fintech" (financial technology) company that was early to offer free stock trading, offering investors the ability to buy fractions of shares and not requiring minimum sums to open accounts. It's not surprising, then, that it was successful in attracting younger and newer investors. It has been a great grower: Time period Average annual return Past 1 years 120.44% Past 3 years 116.37% And it's still growing. Its third quarter featured: Revenue up 100% year over year to $1.27 billion. Net income up 271% year over year to $556 million. Net interest revenue up 66% year over year (thanks mainly to interest-earning assets and activities such as margin loans). Total operating expenses up 31% year over year (which is a big jump, but far less than the jump in revenue, making it not an issue). Average revenue per user up 82% year over year (to $191). Robinhood's performance has been pretty amazing, and the company has achieved it in part by adding more services available to its customers -- including, recently, betting on predictions. Time to buy ...