Key Points IAU comes with a lower expense ratio than GLD, making it more cost-effective for long-term gold exposure. GLD has larger assets under management (AUM) and slightly lower price volatility than IAU. Both ETFs closely track gold prices, but GLD has experienced a smaller maximum drawdown over the past five years. 10 stocks we like better than SPDR Gold Shares › iShares Gold Trust (NYSEMKT:I...
Key Points IAU comes with a lower expense ratio than GLD, making it more cost-effective for long-term gold exposure. GLD has larger assets under management (AUM) and slightly lower price volatility than IAU. Both ETFs closely track gold prices, but GLD has experienced a smaller maximum drawdown over the past five years. 10 stocks we like better than SPDR Gold Shares › iShares Gold Trust (NYSEMKT:IAU) and SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT:GLD) both offer simple access to gold prices, but IAU charges a lower expense ratio, while GLD manages more assets under management (AUM) and has seen less severe historical drawdowns. Both IAU and GLD are physically backed gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) designed to mirror the price movement of gold bullion, appealing to investors seeking a straightforward way to gain gold exposure without owning the metal itself. This comparison looks at how they stack up on cost, performance, risk, and structure. Snapshot (cost & size) Metric IAU GLD Issuer IShares SPDR Expense ratio 0.25% 0.40% 1-yr return (as of 2026-02-04) 73.1% 72.9% Beta 0.26 0.26 AUM $80.2 billion $173.3 billion Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year weekly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. IAU looks more affordable for long-term holders due to its lower expense ratio, while GLD charges a higher fee but commands the largest assets under management (AUM) among gold ETFs. Performance & risk comparison Metric IAU GLD Max drawdown (five years) (20.93%) (21.03%) Growth of $1,000 over five years $2,719 $2,700 What's inside GLD is invested entirely in physical gold, classified under basic materials, and has existed for over 21 years. While holdings data are not detailed, it operates as a pure play on gold bullion, with no sector or company-level tilts, and does not introduce unique quirks or hedges. IAU also tracks the price of gold through physical holdings and is classified under real estate...
The US Treasury yield curve is near the steepest level in more than four years due to a combination of interest-rate cuts and concern over persistent inflation and the fiscal deficit. The extra yield on 10-year notes over their two-year counterparts expanded to as much as 73.7 basis points Thursday, just shy of the peak of 73.8 basis points touched in April that was the most since January 2022. Th...
The US Treasury yield curve is near the steepest level in more than four years due to a combination of interest-rate cuts and concern over persistent inflation and the fiscal deficit. The extra yield on 10-year notes over their two-year counterparts expanded to as much as 73.7 basis points Thursday, just shy of the peak of 73.8 basis points touched in April that was the most since January 2022. The spread widened Thursday as signs of weakness in the US job market spurred traders to increase bets on Federal Reserve easing this year. The Fed will lower its benchmark rate by June, just a month after Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends, and make a total of two to three quarter-point cuts this year, according to overnight-indexed swaps . Investors are speculating that Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s Fed chair nominee, will favor lower rates despite his hawkish reputation. “The weaker jobs information put more downside risk into front-end yields, despite a fairly parallel shift on the curve,” said Martin Whetton , head of financial markets strategy at Westpac Banking Corp. “But with the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee comments early this week suggesting potential for more supply sooner than the expected November period, the curve has steepened.”
Earnings Call Insights: Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) Q1 2026 Management View CEO Robert Kyncl opened by highlighting "a third consecutive quarter of strong profitable growth," noting that total revenue increased 7%, driven by 9% growth in recorded music subscription streaming on an adjusted basis. He stated, "Total adjusted OIBDA increased 22% and margin increased 310 basis points. It's clear th...
Earnings Call Insights: Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) Q1 2026 Management View CEO Robert Kyncl opened by highlighting "a third consecutive quarter of strong profitable growth," noting that total revenue increased 7%, driven by 9% growth in recorded music subscription streaming on an adjusted basis. He stated, "Total adjusted OIBDA increased 22% and margin increased 310 basis points. It's clear that our strategy is working as we continue to deliver on the three key components of our plan: growing our share, growing the value of music and driving efficiency." Kyncl emphasized market share gains, with approximately 1 percentage point of U.S. streaming market share growth over the prior year quarter, and noted the company's Spotify top 200 chart share is up 3 percentage points fiscal year-to-date. He discussed new releases from Zach Bryan and Bruno Mars and highlighted international chart-topping successes. The CEO described a new strategic approach in global catalog, including "an always-on marketing philosophy" and cited high-impact sync placements driving significant catalog streaming increases, as seen with Prince and David Bowie songs featured in Stranger Things. Kyncl reported progress in Publishing, with Warner Chappell songwriters contributing to half of the top 10 most streamed songs in the U.S. for 2025 and Amy Allen winning Songwriter of the Year at the Grammys. The CEO announced the renewal of the TikTok deal with "improved deal economics" and outlined the company's AI strategy, stating, "We are harnessing AI as fuel for music industry growth guided by several nonnegotiable principles," and previewed a recently signed deal with Suno for AI music. CFO Armin Zerza stated, "This is now our third consecutive quarter of profitable growth, underpinned by healthy margin expansion and cash flow generation." He described the quarter as "broad-based, demonstrating strength across divisions and market share gains in key regions," and confirmed ongoing focus on "high s...
Derrick Johnson buried his mother’s ashes beneath a golden dewdrop tree with purple blossoms at his home on Maui’s Haleakalā volcano, fulfilling her wish of a final resting place looking over her grandchildren. Then the FBI called. It was 4 February 2024, and Johnson was teaching an eighth-grade gym class. “Are you the son of Ellen Lopes?” a woman asked, Johnson recalled in an interview with the A...
Derrick Johnson buried his mother’s ashes beneath a golden dewdrop tree with purple blossoms at his home on Maui’s Haleakalā volcano, fulfilling her wish of a final resting place looking over her grandchildren. Then the FBI called. It was 4 February 2024, and Johnson was teaching an eighth-grade gym class. “Are you the son of Ellen Lopes?” a woman asked, Johnson recalled in an interview with the Associated Press. There had been an incident, and an FBI agent would fly out to explain, the caller said. Then she asked: “Did you use Return to Nature for a funeral home?” “You should probably Google them,” she added. In the clatter of the weight room, Johnson typed “Return to Nature” into his cellphone. Dozens of news reports appeared, details popping out in a blur. Hundreds of bodies stacked on top of each other. Inches of body-decomposition fluid. Swarms of bugs. Investigators traumatized. Governor declares state of emergency. Johnson felt nauseated and his chest constricted, forcing the breath from his lungs. He pushed himself out of the building as another teacher heard his cries and came running. Two FBI agents visited Johnson the following week, confirming his mother’s body was among 189 that Return to Nature’s owners, Jon and Carie Hallford, had stashed in a Colorado building between 2019 and 4 October 2023, when the bodies were found. It was one of the largest discoveries of decaying bodies at a funeral home in the US. Lawmakers overhauled the state’s lax funeral home regulations. And besides handing over fake ashes to grieving families, the Hallfords also admitted to defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in pandemic-era aid for small businesses. Even as the Hallfords’ bills went unpaid, authorities said they bought Tiffany jewelry, luxury cars and laser-body sculpting, pocketing about $130,000 clients paid for cremations. They were arrested in Oklahoma in November 2023 and charged with abusing nearly 200 corpses. Hundreds of families learned fro...
Shares of China’s biggest pig breeder Muyuan Foods opened flat in their Hong Kong debut on Friday, reflecting a cooling in the city’s red-hot initial public offering (IPO) market as retail investors turn more cautious. The world’s largest hog firm’s shares first changed hands at the offer price of HK$39. Muyuan raised HK$10.7 billion (US$1.4 billion) after pricing the shares at the top of the mark...
Shares of China’s biggest pig breeder Muyuan Foods opened flat in their Hong Kong debut on Friday, reflecting a cooling in the city’s red-hot initial public offering (IPO) market as retail investors turn more cautious. The world’s largest hog firm’s shares first changed hands at the offer price of HK$39. Muyuan raised HK$10.7 billion (US$1.4 billion) after pricing the shares at the top of the marketed range, which marked a discount of more than 25 per cent versus its Shenzhen-traded shares based on Thursday’s close. Hong Kong shares, or H shares, typically trade at a discount compared with their counterparts in mainland China (A shares) to attract investors. Advertisement “Given the AH price gap, it’s very unlikely to trade near A-share levels,” said Dickie Wong, executive director of research at uSmart Securities. The discount “gives decent downside protection and attracts some AH arbitrage and institutional interest”, while retail investors showed light commitment, he added. Advertisement The retail portion of the offering was oversubscribed by around five times, while the institutional tranche was oversubscribed about nine times, according to the company’s late filing on Thursday. That contrasted with retail oversubscription levels in the thousands seen in other blockbuster deals. Muyan’s performance followed the modest debut of another billion-dollar deal, Eastroc Beverage, earlier this week, highlighting a cooling in Hong Kong’s IPO sentiment as the market undergoes a period of correction.