The Australian arm of Octopus Energy Group Ltd. will acquire two local battery projects worth more than A$3 billion ($2.1 billion), expanding the UK company’s footprint in a country that’s seeking to rapidly replace its aging coal fleet with clean energy sources. Octopus Australia bought the A$2.4 billion Hanworth Battery Energy Storage System in New South Wales as well as the Dunmore Solar Farm a...
The Australian arm of Octopus Energy Group Ltd. will acquire two local battery projects worth more than A$3 billion ($2.1 billion), expanding the UK company’s footprint in a country that’s seeking to rapidly replace its aging coal fleet with clean energy sources. Octopus Australia bought the A$2.4 billion Hanworth Battery Energy Storage System in New South Wales as well as the Dunmore Solar Farm and Battery project in Queensland, which is worth about $900 million, the company said in a statement. Australia has become a bellwether for the energy transition, as it seeks to replace its rapidly aging coal power stations and meet an ambitious target to more than double renewable energy generation to 82% by 2030. This has helped to drive a boom in batteries, which can soak up surplus electricity generated by the country’s world-leading solar panel fleet through the day and release it in the evening, when demand is highest and output wanes. “Australia still needs new power stations to replace ageing coal plants,” Octopus Australia Chief Executive Officer Sam Reynolds said in the statement. “The difference is that today we can build them using a mix of solar, wind and batteries instead of smokestacks.” Australia’s World-Leading Solar Drives Residential Battery Boom Australia Risks 2035 Climate Goal Without Bigger Emissions Cuts Wild Power Swings Are Driving Australia’s Battery Boom Octopus is seeking new avenues for growth overseas after reporting a full-year loss, which was driven by lower gas consumption and one-time costs. The company, in which Australian utility Origin Energy Ltd. is an investor, took an initial step in spinning off its software unit at an $8.7 billion valuation late last year. The UK firm bought the 1.2-gigawatt Hanworth Battery, which can run for four hours and supply more than half a million homes, from Australian energy developer Enervest, it said. It acquired the 300-megawatt solar farm, linked with a 150 megawatt, two-hour battery, from Samsung C&...
RHJ Rare earth stocks fell across the board Wednesday after the Trump administration proposed the creation of a critical minerals trading bloc with allies that would use tariffs to maintain price floors. Tariffs and price floors would be necessary to prevent China from flooding the market with cheap minerals, Vice President Vance said at an event held at the U.S. State Department. "These reference...
RHJ Rare earth stocks fell across the board Wednesday after the Trump administration proposed the creation of a critical minerals trading bloc with allies that would use tariffs to maintain price floors. Tariffs and price floors would be necessary to prevent China from flooding the market with cheap minerals, Vice President Vance said at an event held at the U.S. State Department. "These reference prices will operate as a floor maintained through adjustable tariffs to uphold pricing integrity," Vance told the meeting of more than 50 foreign ministers that also featured a discussion led by Secretary of State Rubio and an effort to recruit countries to the proposed new protected trade zone. In Wednesday's trading: United States Antimony ( UAMY ) -16.3%, Lightbridge ( LTBR ) -15%, Critical Metals ( CRML ) -13.9%, Energy Fuels ( UUUU ) -12.7%, Oklo ( OKLO ) -12.5%, NioCorp Developments ( NB ) -11.1%, Centrus Energy ( LEU ) -10.4%, Trilogy Metals ( TMQ ) -10.1%, Denison Mines ( DNN ) -10%, Uranium Energy ( UEC ) -9.5%, USA Rare Earth ( USAR ) -9.4%, Nuscale Power ( SMR ) -9.4%, Cameco ( CCJ ) -9%, Northern Dynasty Minerals ( NAK ) -8.8%, TMC the metals company ( TMC ) -8.3%, Ur-Energy ( URG ) -7.8%, NexGen Energy ( NXE ) -7.3%, Nano Nuclear Energy ( NNE ) -6.9%, Lithium Americas ( LAC ) -6.6%, MP Materials ( MP ) -6.3%, Ramaco Resources ( METC ) -5.2%, Westwater Resources ( WWR ) -2.1%. Earlier this week , President Trump unveiled Project Vault, a plan for a strategic U.S. stockpile of rare earth elements to be funded with a $10B loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank and nearly $1.67B in private capital. The government recently made its fourth direct investment in a U.S. critical minerals producer, extending $1.6B to USA Rare Earth in exchange for stock and a repayment deal. ETFs: ( REMX ), ( XME ), ( LIT ), ( BATT ), ( URA ), ( NLR ), ( URNM ) More on rare earth and strategic metals The Mining And Metals Supercycle- Driven By AI And The Deterioration Of Fiat Currency Va...
Key Points Qualcomm reported first quarter fiscal 2026 financial results after the market closed this afternoon. Management is less optimistic than analysts are about the company's growth in fiscal 2026. The sell-off in Qualcomm stock provides a buying opportunity for patient investors. 10 stocks we like better than Qualcomm › Despite delivering better recent financial results than analysts had ex...
Key Points Qualcomm reported first quarter fiscal 2026 financial results after the market closed this afternoon. Management is less optimistic than analysts are about the company's growth in fiscal 2026. The sell-off in Qualcomm stock provides a buying opportunity for patient investors. 10 stocks we like better than Qualcomm › Despite delivering better recent financial results than analysts had expected, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) failed to excite investors with the near-term outlook it shared along with its Q1 2026 earnings report after the bell this afternoon. Shares are consequently tumbling in after-hours trading. As of 5:22 p.m., Qualcomm stock is down 11.7% from its closing price of $148.89 during today's regular market session. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » Management sees a rocky 2026 due to the growth of artificial intelligence Qualcomm recognized in its Q1 2026 presentation that data center operators are contending with high demand for memory solutions due to the growth of artificial intelligence. Consequently, it stated that it sees "near-term uncertainty in memory supply and pricing for handset OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]." In addition, Qualcomm asserted, "We have seen several OEMs, especially in China, take actions to reduce their handset build plans and channel inventory." As a result of the market dynamics stemming from the memory shortage, Qualcomm provided a more measured forecast second quarter 2026: revenue of $10.2 billion to $11 billion and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.45 to $2.65. This guidance reflects a more bearish outlook than the consensus among analysts that Qualcomm will report Q2 2026 revenue of $11.02 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.87. In the first quarter 2026, Qualcomm reported revenue of $12.3 billion, a company record. At the bottom of the income statement, Qualcomm posted a...
Despite delivering better recent financial results than analysts had expected, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) failed to excite investors with the near-term outlook it shared along with its Q1 2026 earnings report after the bell this afternoon. Shares are consequently tumbling in after-hours trading. As of 5:22 p.m., Qualcomm stock is down 11.7% from its closing price of $148.89 during today's regular mar...
Despite delivering better recent financial results than analysts had expected, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) failed to excite investors with the near-term outlook it shared along with its Q1 2026 earnings report after the bell this afternoon. Shares are consequently tumbling in after-hours trading. As of 5:22 p.m., Qualcomm stock is down 11.7% from its closing price of $148.89 during today's regular market session. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » Image source: Getty Images. Management sees a rocky 2026 due to the growth of artificial intelligence Qualcomm recognized in its Q1 2026 presentation that data center operators are contending with high demand for memory solutions due to the growth of artificial intelligence. Consequently, it stated that it sees "near-term uncertainty in memory supply and pricing for handset OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]." In addition, Qualcomm asserted, "We have seen several OEMs, especially in China, take actions to reduce their handset build plans and channel inventory." As a result of the market dynamics stemming from the memory shortage, Qualcomm provided a more measured forecast second quarter 2026: revenue of $10.2 billion to $11 billion and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.45 to $2.65. This guidance reflects a more bearish outlook than the consensus among analysts that Qualcomm will report Q2 2026 revenue of $11.02 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.87. In the first quarter 2026, Qualcomm reported revenue of $12.3 billion, a company record. At the bottom of the income statement, Qualcomm posted adjusted diluted EPS of $3.50, representing a 3% year-over-year increase. Should investors consider buying Qualcomm stock on the dip? For patient investors, the stock's pullback provides a great buying opportunity. The shortage of memory solutions will not last forever, and it won't irrevocably compro...
Key Points Demand for AMD's chips is rising. But apparently not fast enough. 10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro Devices › Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) sank on Wednesday after the semiconductor designer's growth forecast didn't measure up to investors' sky-high expectations. By the close of trading, AMD's stock price was down more than 17%. Where to invest $1,000 right n...
Key Points Demand for AMD's chips is rising. But apparently not fast enough. 10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro Devices › Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) sank on Wednesday after the semiconductor designer's growth forecast didn't measure up to investors' sky-high expectations. By the close of trading, AMD's stock price was down more than 17%. 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 » AMD's chips are selling well AMD's fourth-quarter revenue climbed 34% year over year to $10.3 billion. The chipmaker's data center sales jumped 39% to $5.4 billion, fueled by rising demand for its EPYC processors and Instinct graphics processing units (GPUs). "Hyperscalers are expanding their infrastructure to meet growing demand for cloud services and AI, while enterprises are modernizing their data centers to ensure they have the right compute to enable new AI workflows," CEO Lisa Su said during a conference call with analysts. AMD also saw solid growth in its client and gaming segment, with revenue rising 37% to $3.9 billion. The company's highly regarded Ryzen processors helped AMD take share from rival Intel in the personal computer (PC) market. AMD's Radeon GPUs were also well received by gaming customers. All told, AMD's adjusted net income increased 42% to $2.5 billion, or $1.53 per share. That was above Wall Street's estimates, which had called for adjusted per-share profits of $1.32. Taking their gains and running Looking ahead to the first quarter, AMD guided for revenue of $9.5 billion to $10.1 billion. The midpoint of that range would be year-over-year growth of over 30%. Investors, apparently, wanted more. Some analysts reportedly wanted AMD to offer an even more aggressive growth forecast, driven by booming AI-related demand. Ultimately, AMD might be a victim of its own success. Prior to today's losses, its stock price had roughly doubled over the past yea...
Key Points After soaring during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chewy stock is now down more than 80% from that peak. This persistent weakness, however, doesn’t reflect the actual sales and earnings growth this company has produced since then. Don’t be surprised if investors start pricing in this continued growth sooner rather than later this year. 10 stocks we like better than Chewy › It's been a tough pa...
Key Points After soaring during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chewy stock is now down more than 80% from that peak. This persistent weakness, however, doesn’t reflect the actual sales and earnings growth this company has produced since then. Don’t be surprised if investors start pricing in this continued growth sooner rather than later this year. 10 stocks we like better than Chewy › It's been a tough past five years for online pet supply store Chewy's (NYSE: CHWY) shareholders. While the stock soared during and because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it peaked in early 2021. The stock now trades down more than 80% from that high, in fact, after peeling back from a failed recovery effort in 2024. Investors are understandably losing hope. This may be the exact right time to take a fresh look at this scrappy small cap, though. Its growth rate still isn't heroic, but its long-term strategy is undeniably working now, and the company's fiscal results may be on the verge of reaching critical mass. 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 » A slow-growing but increasingly solidified business If you're not familiar with it, Chewy is an online seller of pet food, toys, treats, and even medicine. It's unique within the business, however, in that it's only an e-commerce company ... no brick-and-mortar retail presence. But it works. Although it also obviously competes with Amazon on this front, data from Bloomberg Intelligence indicates Chewy enjoys about the same one-third share of the online pet supply market that Amazon does. It's growing too, even if only modestly. Its fiscal third-quarter revenue of $3.1 billion was up 8.3% year over year, extending a trend and pace that's been in place for some time now. That's not the chief reason Chewy has become such a compelling prospect again, however. The much better bullish argument is that the company has recently worked its way out of the ...
Record Q1 revenue and EPS driven by flagship handsets, automotive, and IoT, but near-term handset growth is constrained by industry-wide memory shortages. Automotive and IoT segments continue to accelerate, while guidance reflects ongoing supply challenges. Based on QUALCOMM Incorporated [QCOM] Q1 2026 Audio Transcript — Feb. 4 2026 Disclaimer
Record Q1 revenue and EPS driven by flagship handsets, automotive, and IoT, but near-term handset growth is constrained by industry-wide memory shortages. Automotive and IoT segments continue to accelerate, while guidance reflects ongoing supply challenges. Based on QUALCOMM Incorporated [QCOM] Q1 2026 Audio Transcript — Feb. 4 2026 Disclaimer
Hardware giant Bunnings has been given the green light to use facial recognition technology on customers in order to prevent crime. The administrative review tribunal this week reversed a 2024 ruling by the Australian privacy commissioner that had found Bunnings breached the privacy of store visitors by scanning and checking their faces. However, the tribunal agreed that Bunnings had not properly ...
Hardware giant Bunnings has been given the green light to use facial recognition technology on customers in order to prevent crime. The administrative review tribunal this week reversed a 2024 ruling by the Australian privacy commissioner that had found Bunnings breached the privacy of store visitors by scanning and checking their faces. However, the tribunal agreed that Bunnings had not properly notified customers that their faces were being scanned. Bunnings deployed facial recognition in 62 stores in New South Wales and Victoria between January 2019 and November 2021, after a two-month trial in one store in 2018. Hundreds of thousands of people who entered the stores in this time had their faces scanned and checked against facial images of hundreds of people who had been banned from Bunnings stores. If there was no match, the image was deleted. Sign up: AU Breaking News email Bunnings appealed the privacy commissioner’s decision to the administrative review tribunal. In a ruling on Wednesday, the ART found Bunnings was entitled to use facial recognition “for the limited purpose of combatting very significant retail crime and protecting their staff and customers from violence, abuse and intimidation within its stores”. “The [technology used by Bunnings] limited the impact on privacy so as not to be disproportionate when considered against the benefits of providing a safer environment for staff and customers in Bunnings stores,” the tribunal said in its decision. The ART heard from two store managers from Box Hill and Broadmeadows about the extent of violence in their stores. “This kind of threatening or abusive behaviour occurred every two to three days on average and caused team members to be visibly shaken and upset,” the ART said of Box Hill manager Shawn Adam’s evidence. “He was, on a daily basis, extremely concerned for his team members and customers.” Bunnings’ national security manager, Alexander MacDonald, told the ART that in the hundreds of investigation...
Alphabet could achieve that even if it grows at a far slower pace than its historic average. Since its August 2004 initial public offering, Alphabet's (GOOG 2.08%)(GOOGL 1.96%) stock has increased in value by more than 133 times. Its compound annual growth rate has been over 25% during those 21 years, which is as impressive as it gets. I don't foresee Alphabet maintaining that average over the nex...
Alphabet could achieve that even if it grows at a far slower pace than its historic average. Since its August 2004 initial public offering, Alphabet's (GOOG 2.08%)(GOOGL 1.96%) stock has increased in value by more than 133 times. Its compound annual growth rate has been over 25% during those 21 years, which is as impressive as it gets. I don't foresee Alphabet maintaining that average over the next couple of decades, but even if we knock over 10% off its growth rate and assume that it averages 15% annual returns over the next 21 years, a single $1,000 investment made today could grow to be worth over $18,000 in that time. Here's how much a one-time $1,000 investment would grow into, assuming it maintains a 15% compound annual growth rate. Years Invested Investment Value 10 $4,045 15 $8,137 20 $16,366 21 $18,821 25 $32,918 Past results don't guarantee future performance, so I don't want to give the impression that this is a given for Alphabet. Averaging 15% annual returns for two-plus decades will be hard for any company, especially one that is already valued at over $4 trillion. But I believe that Alphabet has all the tools to be a long-term portfolio staple. If it keeps innovation at its core, it'll be in good shape.
Getty Images Uber Technologies, Inc. ( UBER ) released its Q4 results , and the market didn't like it very much, with the stock falling about 4%. Since I didn't think it was such a weak earnings report, I added a little more to my position (focused on the long term). It seems to me that the market is still weighing heavily on the potential disruption from Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) and financials t...
Getty Images Uber Technologies, Inc. ( UBER ) released its Q4 results , and the market didn't like it very much, with the stock falling about 4%. Since I didn't think it was such a weak earnings report, I added a little more to my position (focused on the long term). It seems to me that the market is still weighing heavily on the potential disruption from Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) and financials that were only slightly below expectations, so the margin of safety remains quite high, and therefore I maintain my Strong Buy rating. Uber’s Q4: Solid Enough I don't think Uber's quarter was that bad, although the highlights may make it seem like there was a big discrepancy. Revenue, for example, beat estimates by $50 million. But EPS missed by $0.09 , which means it was ~10% lower than the market expected. Meanwhile, the outlook for Q1 was EPS between $0.65 and $0.72, and since the market estimated something closer to $0.75, this was also seen as quite negative. In summary, the top line is doing well, but something on the bottom line did not happen as the market expected. Since it is not possible to access the models of the big banks that estimated Uber's financials, it is difficult to know exactly where the “disappointment” lies. But my guess is that they were overestimating the margin. With operational leverage, I, and I believe most analysts, believe that Uber will be able to increase its margin, but particularly, I expect this to happen in a few years and not in quarters. And in this Q4, Uber managed to deliver a consolidated EBITDA margin of 4.6%, which is not exceptional, but it is better than the other margins of ~4.4% - 4.5% that it delivered throughout 2025. But breaking down the segments, it becomes clear why the margin did not advance further. Incredibly, freight finally achieved an adjusted margin of 0%, so it is no longer contributing negatively to the result (although it is also not growing). Delivery is also doing well, maintaining an EBITDA margin of 4%, wh...