Diego Cano Cabanes/iStock Editorial via Getty Images It’s been three months since my previous coverage of Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM ). Despite my cautious stance, the stock remained bullish and delivered 10% returns. Somehow, I agree with the positive market sentiments considering its robust performance and decent liquidity. However, its high valuation should be considered on top of the current head...
Diego Cano Cabanes/iStock Editorial via Getty Images It’s been three months since my previous coverage of Yum! Brands, Inc. ( YUM ). Despite my cautious stance, the stock remained bullish and delivered 10% returns. Somehow, I agree with the positive market sentiments considering its robust performance and decent liquidity. However, its high valuation should be considered on top of the current headwinds. Technicals are still bullish, but the recent overselling poses some downside risks. Q4 2025: Stability Amid Market Volatility Quick-service restaurants remain highly vulnerable to stubborn inflation across the globe. Capitalization on cheaper pricing to foot traffic faces challenges amid the rising cost pressures. Despite this, some companies like Yum! Brands, Inc. continue to demonstrate resilience as it stabilizes its topline performance. Nonetheless, the impact of these challenges is evident, especially in Pizza Hut. We can see this in its most recent performance. During Q4 2025, its total revenues amounted to $2.51B , up by 6.44% YoY from $2.36B. All its revenue components rose, which suggests that both company-owned and franchised restaurants had stronger sales last quarter. As you can see, company sales rose by 10% YoY. If you look at it per brand, Taco Bell remained its crown jewel and primary growth driver. KFC showed the same thing. However, Pizza Hut remained weak as demand continued to shrink. This was more pronounced in franchised stores. In fact, system sales dropped by 4% YoY to $3.47B. Its store count decreased by 251 units. I will discuss this more later. Income Statement (YUM Q4 2025 Release ) But if we look at it on an average basis, KFC remains the backbone of the company with its global popularity and huge market coverage. Its continued expansion remained decent as the average sales per restaurant rose $294,831 to $295,983 ($10.033B / 33,897). The problem is that growth is not that overwhelming. In fact, it no longer shows economies of scale. Why?...
The prime minister is hosting a meeting of his cabinet as he attempts to push forward following a bruising week for his leadership The Telegraph is running a story today saying that “Wes Streeting has been accused of orchestrating a leadership coup against Sir Keir Starmer”. The report says that Wes Streeting, the health secretary with ambitions to be the next PM, spoke to Anas Sarwar, the Scottis...
The prime minister is hosting a meeting of his cabinet as he attempts to push forward following a bruising week for his leadership The Telegraph is running a story today saying that “Wes Streeting has been accused of orchestrating a leadership coup against Sir Keir Starmer”. The report says that Wes Streeting, the health secretary with ambitions to be the next PM, spoke to Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, on Saturday, two days before Sarwar said that he wanted Keir Starmer to stand down. One leftwing Labour source told The Telegraph: “Everyone from the PM down to the most junior bag carrier knows who was behind the McChicken Coup. And his name rhymes with Les Weeting.” The McChicken Coup refers to apparent efforts to use the ousting of Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s chief of staff, to force the Prime Minister to step aside. Wes did not ask Anas to do this; he did not coordinate with Anas on this. Anas is the leader of the Scottish Labour party; he is his own man, and Wes has the highest respect for him. Move on dot org. I mean, let’s just get on. Let’s just move past all this. Come on. I’m saying to our colleagues – don’t focus on yourselves. Focus on the country. That’s what Keir’s message was last night and he’s dead right. Ed Miliband suggests Starmer will now wage a new class war: ‘What angers Keir most is class, the class divide - he exists to change that. ‘I dispute the idea this is not someone driven by burning passion. ‘He knows we need more of that and we are going to see more of that Come off it … It’s not class war, Nick. Continue reading...
The Indian Coast Guard seized three tankers that it said were involved in oil smuggling, the first sign of the country getting tough on the so-called dark fleet. The three ships were taken in the waters off Mumbai on Friday by the coast guard, which said in a post on X that it had “busted an international oil-smuggling racket” and that the vessels had been known to “frequently change identity.” It...
The Indian Coast Guard seized three tankers that it said were involved in oil smuggling, the first sign of the country getting tough on the so-called dark fleet. The three ships were taken in the waters off Mumbai on Friday by the coast guard, which said in a post on X that it had “busted an international oil-smuggling racket” and that the vessels had been known to “frequently change identity.” It’s the first time New Delhi has taken such action, according to people familiar with the Indian shipping industry, and comes as the US and Europe lead an effort to get tougher on vessels moving sanctioned oil. Many dark fleet tankers have sub-standard documentation, improper or fake flag registrations and poor maintenance, posing security and maritime safety risks. The seizures are also happening as Washington pressures New Delhi to stop taking Russian crude, as part of a deal to cut import tariffs on the South Asian nation. India said early last year that it wouldn’t allow sanctioned tankers to discharge at its ports. The coast guard didn’t name the vessels it had seized, but shared photos of them in its post. The pictures matched past images of the Chiltern , Asphalt Star and Stellar Ruby that can be found on MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking intelligence platform. Ship-intelligence platform TankerTracker.com identified the same vessels through their unique seven-digit IMO numbers. All three ships were sanctioned by Washington last year for links to the Iranian oil trade. Nobody responded to emails seeking comment at offices of the registered owners of the tankers as listed on the Equasis database. Calls made to the owners and manager of Chiltern and Asphalt Star were directed to voice mail. Calls made to the owner and manager of Stellar Ruby were not answered. The three vessels seized by the Indian Coast Guard were being escorted to Mumbai for further investigation, a spokesperson said on Monday. The so-called shadow, or dark, fleet is a group of around 1,500 tankers that c...
Broadcom Company Overview Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock Broadcom (AVGO) is a tech giant that is dominant in the semiconductor and software industries. Broadcom’s two main businesses provide the hardware (semiconductors) and the virtual software that allows modern data centers to run smoothly. Below is a breakdown of Broadcom’s two main business segments: 1. Semiconductors (~60% of revenues): AV...
Broadcom Company Overview Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock Broadcom (AVGO) is a tech giant that is dominant in the semiconductor and software industries. Broadcom’s two main businesses provide the hardware (semiconductors) and the virtual software that allows modern data centers to run smoothly. Below is a breakdown of Broadcom’s two main business segments: 1. Semiconductors (~60% of revenues): AVGO’s “Tomahawk” and “Jericho” chips are the industry standard for directing traffic within massive data centers. The company’s custom AI accelerators (ASICs) are designed specifically for hyperscalers. Meta Platforms (META) and Alphabet (GOOGL) use AVGO technology to power their data centers. Additionally, AVGO chips power smartphones like Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. 2. Infrastructure Software: Through Broadcom’s $69 billion VMware acquisition, AVGO is a leader in the private cloud business. Banks, government agencies, and other large entities rely on AVGO for software and cybersecurity. The Data Center Buildout Super Trend The race for AI supremacy among big tech companies has led to the largest industrial buildout in history. While the AI data center buildout has been unprecedented thus far, guidance from big tech companies suggests that CAPEX spending will only increase over the next few years. As an AI “pick and shovel” play, AVGO is perfectly positioned to capitalize on this spending. Image Source: APP Economy Insights Broadcom Provides an Alternative to Nvidia Nvidia (NVDA) remains the undisputed leader in semiconductor chips. However, Nvidia’s chips are expensive and are often sold out. Although Nvidia is likely to continue to dominate, companies like Google are decoupling and de-risking their AI spending by leveraging Broadcom’s cheaper and more efficient ASIC technology. Broadcom has High-Margin, Recurring Revenue High-margin recurring revenue is the holy grail for growth stocks. Broadcom’s subscription-based software segment provides predictable cash flow and juicy mar...
Key Points Palantir continues to fire on all cylinders. However, the stock's valuation remains a key concern. Whether or not to buy Palantir depends on what you believe about the company's growth prospects. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Charles Dickens opened his novel A Tale of Two Cities with a classic line, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." Last week...
Key Points Palantir continues to fire on all cylinders. However, the stock's valuation remains a key concern. Whether or not to buy Palantir depends on what you believe about the company's growth prospects. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Charles Dickens opened his novel A Tale of Two Cities with a classic line, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." Last week was downright Dickensian for Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR). The artificial intelligence (AI) software company reported mind-boggling four-quarter results following the market close on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. By the end of the week, though, Palantir's stock was down roughly 8%. A whopping $28 billion in market cap evaporated. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Investors now have a key question to answer: Should you buy Palantir stock hand over fist after its steep sell-off? The bull case: Palantir continues to fire on all cylinders I think the bull case for Palantir is obvious. The company continues to fire on all cylinders. Its Q4 update seemed to indisputably confirm this premise. Palantir reported total year-over-year revenue growth of 70% in Q4. Revenue jumped 19% sequentially. While growth was across the board, the U.S. commercial segment stood out, with revenue soaring 137% year over year. The company closed 61 deals of at least $10 million in its recent quarter. It closed 180 deals of at least $1 million. Palantir's customer count increased 34% year over year. What about the bottom line? Palantir's earnings skyrocketed 7.7x year over year to $608.7 million. The AI software leader's Q4 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.25 easily beat the Wall Street consensus EPS estimate of $0.23. Palantir's future also looks bright. The company's guidance for 2026 projects year-over-year re...
In late January 2026, Apple reported first-quarter revenue of US$143.76 billion and net income of US$42.10 billion, underpinned by exceptional iPhone 17 demand and strong momentum in China and services. An interesting angle is how design-led appeal in China, such as the viral “Cosmic Orange” iPhone 17, combined with new AI features across devices is reinforcing Apple’s ecosystem pull for both cons...
In late January 2026, Apple reported first-quarter revenue of US$143.76 billion and net income of US$42.10 billion, underpinned by exceptional iPhone 17 demand and strong momentum in China and services. An interesting angle is how design-led appeal in China, such as the viral “Cosmic Orange” iPhone 17, combined with new AI features across devices is reinforcing Apple’s ecosystem pull for both consumers and developers. We’ll now explore how this combination of iPhone 17 strength and expanding AI features is shaping Apple’s broader investment narrative. Uncover the next big thing with 26 elite penny stocks that balance risk and reward. What Is Apple's Investment Narrative? To own Apple today, you need to believe its ecosystem can keep deepening even as growth expectations are already high and the stock trades on a premium multiple. The latest quarter’s US$143.76 billion in revenue and US$42.10 billion in net income, powered by iPhone 17 demand and a rebound in China, reinforce that story, while expanding AI features and services aim to make each device more valuable over time. The upcoming low cost MacBook fits neatly into this, extending macOS and Apple Intelligence to more price sensitive users without changing the core near term catalysts, which still sit around iPhone 17 uptake, AI rollouts and services momentum. Key risks feel more about execution and sentiment: memory cost pressures, high expectations baked into the price and any cooling of AI enthusiasm. However, there is a less comfortable risk here that shareholders should not ignore. Apple's shares are on the way up, but they could be overextended by 13%. Uncover the fair value now. Exploring Other Perspectives AAPL 1-Year Stock Price Chart Across 106 fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community, views span roughly US$177 to just over US$303 per share. When you set that wide band against Apple’s premium valuation, recent AI enthusiasm and new low cost hardware push, it is a reminder that expectatio...
In late January 2026, Apple reported first-quarter revenue of US$143.76 billion and net income of US$42.10 billion, underpinned by exceptional iPhone 17 demand and strong momentum in China and services. An interesting angle is how design-led appeal in China, such as the viral “Cosmic Orange” iPhone 17, combined with new AI features across devices is reinforcing Apple’s ecosystem pull for both cons...
In late January 2026, Apple reported first-quarter revenue of US$143.76 billion and net income of US$42.10 billion, underpinned by exceptional iPhone 17 demand and strong momentum in China and services. An interesting angle is how design-led appeal in China, such as the viral “Cosmic Orange” iPhone 17, combined with new AI features across devices is reinforcing Apple’s ecosystem pull for both consumers and developers. We’ll now explore how this combination of iPhone 17 strength and expanding AI features is shaping Apple’s broader investment narrative. Uncover the next big thing with 26 elite penny stocks that balance risk and reward. What Is Apple's Investment Narrative? To own Apple today, you need to believe its ecosystem can keep deepening even as growth expectations are already high and the stock trades on a premium multiple. The latest quarter’s US$143.76 billion in revenue and US$42.10 billion in net income, powered by iPhone 17 demand and a rebound in China, reinforce that story, while expanding AI features and services aim to make each device more valuable over time. The upcoming low cost MacBook fits neatly into this, extending macOS and Apple Intelligence to more price sensitive users without changing the core near term catalysts, which still sit around iPhone 17 uptake, AI rollouts and services momentum. Key risks feel more about execution and sentiment: memory cost pressures, high expectations baked into the price and any cooling of AI enthusiasm. However, there is a less comfortable risk here that shareholders should not ignore. Apple's shares are on the way up, but they could be overextended by 13%. Uncover the fair value now. Exploring Other Perspectives AAPL 1-Year Stock Price Chart Across 106 fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community, views span roughly US$177 to just over US$303 per share. When you set that wide band against Apple’s premium valuation, recent AI enthusiasm and new low cost hardware push, it is a reminder that expectatio...