We’d like to speak to people in the UK who are cutting back on fuel use after the increase in petrol and diesel prices linked to the war in Iran We’d like to speak to people in the UK who are cutting back on fuel use after the increase in petrol and diesel prices linked to the war in Iran . Are you taking fewer journeys or using alternative modes of transport? Are you still travelling to work the ...
We’d like to speak to people in the UK who are cutting back on fuel use after the increase in petrol and diesel prices linked to the war in Iran We’d like to speak to people in the UK who are cutting back on fuel use after the increase in petrol and diesel prices linked to the war in Iran . Are you taking fewer journeys or using alternative modes of transport? Are you still travelling to work the same number of days a week? Have you cited fuel costs as a reason to work from home? Continue reading...
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images Summary After covering REITs like Realty Income ( O ) and VICI Properties ( VICI ), I want to set my sights on W.P. Carey ( WPC ), which has potentially one of the most intriguing stories in the REIT sector, following its office portfolio divestiture and its dividend cut that has pushed the market to highly punish the stock. With that in mind, let’s dive...
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images Summary After covering REITs like Realty Income ( O ) and VICI Properties ( VICI ), I want to set my sights on W.P. Carey ( WPC ), which has potentially one of the most intriguing stories in the REIT sector, following its office portfolio divestiture and its dividend cut that has pushed the market to highly punish the stock. With that in mind, let’s dive into one of the best opportunities in the space. Current Dynamics I’ll first go through the latest earnings so as to grasp the current financial story behind the REIT. WPC posted a double beat with revenue coming in at $444.55MM, a beat of $11.27MM, and a 10.1% Y/Y increase. On the bottom line, Q4 FFO came out to $1.27, a beat of 3 cents. This was largely linked to the increase in investment volume through the year, and the momentum is set to continue into 2026, as highlighted by the relatively strong guidance. For the full year, the REIT is expecting AFFO to come in between $5.13 & $5.23, with a total investment volume set to reach a maximum of $1.75B. This highlights that WPC is set to actually outpace peers like Realty Income. On the broader side, WPC’s recent history was marked by the exit of its office assets, which historically represented 15% of the company’s annualized base rent but increasingly acted as a valuation drag due to the work-from-home trend and the rising cost of office tenant improvements. Though it was relatively welcomed, the spin-off of these assets resulted in a 20% reduction in the dividend , a move to keep the payout ratio at a healthy level. Income investors drastically punished the stock, which has been on a recovering trend ever since. And in my opinion, this was overall a good move by the company based on the continued secular decline in the office space. This dynamic has freed up capital that WPC is currently using toward industrial and warehouse properties, which now constitutes 68% of the overall volume, plus it allows WPC to surf on the o...
areeya_ann/iStock via Getty Images Investment Overview - Alumis' Stock Surges On Positive Pivotal Psoriasis Data The last time I covered Alumis Inc. ( ALMS ) for Seeking Alpha was in April 2025 . A couple of months earlier, the San Francisco-based biotech had completed its merger with Acelyrin - as I noted in that post: ACELYRIN completed a ~$540m IPO in May 2023, the largest in a couple of years ...
areeya_ann/iStock via Getty Images Investment Overview - Alumis' Stock Surges On Positive Pivotal Psoriasis Data The last time I covered Alumis Inc. ( ALMS ) for Seeking Alpha was in April 2025 . A couple of months earlier, the San Francisco-based biotech had completed its merger with Acelyrin - as I noted in that post: ACELYRIN completed a ~$540m IPO in May 2023, the largest in a couple of years for a biotech. Its pipeline assets were izokibep, an IL-17A inhibitor in phase 2b/3 trials for hidradenitis suppurativa [HS], psoriatic arthritis [PSA] and uveitis, and Lonigutamab, a subcutaneously delivered humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody against IGF-1R for the treatment of thyroid eye disease ("TED"). Izokibep was shelved last year after failing a late-stage study, while Lonigutamab remains in development at Alumis. Alumis' lead candidate is the TYK2 inhibitor ESK-001 which is in a Phase 3 clinical study in plaque psoriasis, with data expected in Q1 2026, and a Phase 2 in systemic lupus erythematosus ("SLE"), with data expected sometime in '26. The next-generation TYK2 inhibitor A-005 is expected to enter a Phase 2 study in Multiple Sclerosis ("MS") this year, with data due in 2026 as well. I gave ALMS stock a Sell rating, noting how intensely competitive target markets are, e.g., in PSA, ~$18bn per annum selling Skyrizi, marketed and sold by AbbVie ( ABBV ), or >$10bn per annum selling Stelara, marketed and sold by Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ). I also noted that: The only TYK2 inhibiting therapy on the market today is Bristol Myers Squibb's ( BMY ) Sotyktu, approved to treat plaque psoriasis; however, the drug has been a disappointment commercially, generating <$250m in revenues in 2024. Stock did indeed sink from ~$10 at the time my note was published, to >$3 a by June 2025, but then it began to climb again, reaching ~$8 per share in January this year, before tripling in value, reaching a high of $28 at the end of that month. The catalyst for gains was the readout of d...
Elon Musk's SpaceX is considering a fundraising target in its IPO of about $75 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. It would be the biggest IPO of all time. The company is looking at a market debut in June. Kiel Porter reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
Elon Musk's SpaceX is considering a fundraising target in its IPO of about $75 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. It would be the biggest IPO of all time. The company is looking at a market debut in June. Kiel Porter reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
Victor Golmer VinFast Auto ( VFS ) was called an underappreciated AI story by Wedbush Securities on Wednesday. Analyst Dan Ives noted that beyond the Vietnam-based company’s EV portfolio, VinFast's ( VFS ) autonomous efforts are incrementally coming into scope through various partnerships across the globe. "We believe that investors are overlooking key pieces of the VFS story as the company opts t...
Victor Golmer VinFast Auto ( VFS ) was called an underappreciated AI story by Wedbush Securities on Wednesday. Analyst Dan Ives noted that beyond the Vietnam-based company’s EV portfolio, VinFast's ( VFS ) autonomous efforts are incrementally coming into scope through various partnerships across the globe. "We believe that investors are overlooking key pieces of the VFS story as the company opts to prioritize growth over profitability near-term to drive long-term profitable growth, with VFS expecting to hit gross profit positive in late FY27 and EBITDA positive in FY28," he wrote. Another positive factor in play is that VinFast ( VFS ) is seen as more neutral in the geopolitical backdrop as the world's only prominent non-Chinese and non-American electric vehicle OEM at scale with highly vertically integrated manufacturing that allows the company to have control over its supply chain while expanding its global footprint Of note, VinFast ( VFS ) is expecting its market share to be up to 50% of the total Vietnam auto market of ~1M units a year by 2030 and plans to increase deliveries to India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Wedbush Securities has an Outperform rating on VinFast ( VFS ) and a 12-month price target of $6.00. Shares of VinFast ( VFS ) were up 3.0% to $3.07 in early afternoon action. More on VinFast Auto VinFast Auto Ltd. (VFS) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript VinFast Auto Ltd. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation VinFast Auto: Cash Burn Concerns Outweigh Robust Deliveries Growth VinFast Auto GAAP EPS of -$0.60 misses by $0.24, revenue of $1.57B beats by $440M VinFast Auto charts a new path with a brand restructuring and new models
Here are some of the names making headlines in midday trading. Generac Holdings – Shares of the generator manufacturer tumbled 7% after its forecast for EBITDA margin failed to impress Wall Street. Generac is looking for EBITDA of $1.25 billion to $1.45 billion in 2028, while the FactSet consensus sought $1.29 billion. EBITDA margin is expected to be in the low-20% range, versus the consensus call...
Here are some of the names making headlines in midday trading. Generac Holdings – Shares of the generator manufacturer tumbled 7% after its forecast for EBITDA margin failed to impress Wall Street. Generac is looking for EBITDA of $1.25 billion to $1.45 billion in 2028, while the FactSet consensus sought $1.29 billion. EBITDA margin is expected to be in the low-20% range, versus the consensus call for 21.4%. Meta Platforms – The Instagram and WhatsApp owner rose about 1%. Meta is letting go several hundred of its employees across different businesses, including Facebook and Reality Labs, a source familiar with the company's plans told CNBC. Intuitive Machines – The space tech and infrastructure company surged more than 15% after winning a $180.4 million contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to deliver seven science and technology payloads to the moon. Shares of Firefly Aerospace and Rocket Lab rose in sympathy, gaining more than 16% and 10%, respectively. PDD Holdings – U.S.-traded shares of the owner of Temu gained 7%. PDD total revenue in the fourth quarter totaled 123.9 billion yuan, a 12% year-over-year increase. But the result was just shy of the FactSet consensus call for 124.5 billion yuan. Arm Holdings — Shares popped nearly 20% after Arm unveiled its first in-house chip, saying it would generate $15 billion in revenue by 2031 . EchoStar — Shares gained nearly 11% after The Information reported that SpaceX could file for an IPO as soon as this week. EchoStar, a satellite communications provider, holds about a 3% stake in the Elon Musk-led company. Chewy — The pet product and service company jumped 11%. Guidance for net sales in the current quarter of $3.33 billion to $3.36 billion topped the FactSet consensus call for $3.27 billion. Expectations for 2026 sales also surpassed expectations. KB Home — The homebuilder fell almost 5% after reporting fiscal first-quarter earnings of 52 cents per share, below the 55 cents per share analyst...
Google is launching Lyria 3 Pro, an upgraded music model that generates longer, more customizable tracks, as it expands AI music tools across Gemini, enterprise products, and other services.
Google is launching Lyria 3 Pro, an upgraded music model that generates longer, more customizable tracks, as it expands AI music tools across Gemini, enterprise products, and other services.
Nearly two months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared, her daughter Savannah discusses the toll on her family in an emotional interview with her Today show colleague Hoda Kotb. (Image credit: Rebecca Noble)
Nearly two months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared, her daughter Savannah discusses the toll on her family in an emotional interview with her Today show colleague Hoda Kotb. (Image credit: Rebecca Noble)
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Rubrik: An exceptional quarter, a strong outlook and another set of solutions that could take the IT world by main force! If you live in NYC and take buses, then you are well aware of just how slow they can be. Cross-town buses in NYC are said to average about 6 mph. Rubrik stock- it is down by over 9% since its earnings release, and by 33% year-to-date. ...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Rubrik: An exceptional quarter, a strong outlook and another set of solutions that could take the IT world by main force! If you live in NYC and take buses, then you are well aware of just how slow they can be. Cross-town buses in NYC are said to average about 6 mph. Rubrik stock- it is down by over 9% since its earnings release, and by 33% year-to-date. That’s worse than slow, of course, it’s backwards. What is worse, is that Rubrik’s valuation regression comes against the backdrop of very strong operational performance . Both buses and Rubrik’s valuation are at unacceptable performance levels but at least NYC crosstown buses are moving forward. Although perhaps the worst of the software rotation has passed, that certainly doesn’t mean that software stocks have returned to historic patterns of valuation. While the IGV ETF has risen by 4.1% over the last month, its 6 month loss is still 27.4%. The idea that Anthropic’s Claude Code and Cowork are likely to disrupt enterprise software remains extant regardless of a lack of substantiation. The reaction to earnings reports often seems illogical, leaving valuation anomalies…or opportunities. I thought that Rubrik reported one of the strongest quarters in its brief history as a public company. While Rubrik’s guidance can be viewed as overly prudent, it is consistent/better than the kind of guidance the company provided at the start of last year with results that I will review below. In writing a recommendation to buy Rubrik shares at this point, it is hard to avoid at least a brief comment about the investing environment while the war in Iran has taken center stage. As the war and its consequences have raged, investors have dawn back from “risk-on” commitments . While demand for Rubrik’s services is likely to be far less impacted than many other businesses by the consequences of the war (indeed a case could be made that the conflict might accelerate demand for the back-up and rec...
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images I see a deteriorating narrative for precious metals after a massive run in Q4 last year (and part of January 2026) that ended abruptly following the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair and the start of the war in the Middle East, after a short recovery. My main discontent with precious metals (specifically, gold and silver) is the fact that i...
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images I see a deteriorating narrative for precious metals after a massive run in Q4 last year (and part of January 2026) that ended abruptly following the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair and the start of the war in the Middle East, after a short recovery. My main discontent with precious metals (specifically, gold and silver) is the fact that in the current macro backdrop, these metals are not acting as reliable insurance. In fact, they never did, as evidenced by the price action of gold after Russia invaded Ukraine back in early 2022. Interest rates weigh on precious metals more than their war risk premium. Since the Middle East shock began at the end of February, gold-backed ETFs have shed about $7.9 billion, or 54.8 metric tons, proving that investors are using bullion as a source of liquidity rather than a safe haven from the current volatility. Just like with Bitcoin, the safe haven narrative for Gold and Silver is mostly broken, in my view. In fact, the dollar has been a better hedge than precious metals as the Fed and the market's expectations have turned (slightly) more hawkish. Speaking of the Fed, in the last FOMC meeting, one policymaker saw a rate hike next year, seven of 19 saw no cut this year, and the median forecast for 2026 PCE inflation rose to 2.7% from 2.4%. In this article, I provide my outlook on the two precious metals for this year and my view on where I think interest rates will land in the back half of the year. Liquidity Needs Outweigh Gold's Safe Haven Narrative Let's do a quick recap. Since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, the GLD index has been down by about 16%. Guidance Terminal It's now trading at the same level as back in October last year, when the rotation out of tech names into precious metals really began. It's not just retail investors selling gold (or gold ETFs) to fill up their gas tanks. Funds have been deleveraging significantly in March, as noted in the net...
The Computer - Micro Computers industry participants like DELL and OSS are benefiting from the strong demand for enterprise devices amid stiff macroeconomic challenges globally.
The Computer - Micro Computers industry participants like DELL and OSS are benefiting from the strong demand for enterprise devices amid stiff macroeconomic challenges globally.
brizmaker/iStock via Getty Images Background The stock of A.O. Smith Corporation ( AOS ) a Milwaukee-based water technology specialist, with global leadership credentials in the manufacturing of commercial & residential water heaters/boilers, has experienced considerable volatility for a while now, without necessarily delivering the goods for its investors. To provide further context, note that in...
brizmaker/iStock via Getty Images Background The stock of A.O. Smith Corporation ( AOS ) a Milwaukee-based water technology specialist, with global leadership credentials in the manufacturing of commercial & residential water heaters/boilers, has experienced considerable volatility for a while now, without necessarily delivering the goods for its investors. To provide further context, note that in a year when the chief equity benchmark has managed returns of 15%, and AOS’s industrial peers from that benchmark have fared even better (returns of almost 24% on average), AOS has just about managed to eke out some marginal positive returns. YCharts It’s a good thing that AOS is a dividend aristocrat that has been paying dividends for over eight-and-a-half decades, and growing it dividends for over 3 decades (and at 7% CAGR over the past 5 years), because without accounting for dividends last year, you’ll see that AOS has actually seen a contraction in its price over the past year. Nonetheless, this isn’t my first stab at AOS, and I last gauged its prospects in October 2024 , a few weeks before the company announced its Q3-24 results. Back then, I didn’t feel that AOS was going to be a worthwhile investment and proceed to assign a hold rating. Given that it’s been over 17 months since I last gauged the temperature in the AOS counter, I felt an update was long overdue. Let’s re-examine some of the key sub-plots of the AOS story and see if an overall shift in rating is warranted. Fundamental Backdrop Across the last couple of fiscal years, we’ve seen an unremarkable scenario where AOS has failed to get its topline going (basically an implied two-year CAGR contraction of -0.3% between FY23 and FY25) . Investors will be interested to note that this situation is finally set to change this year, with AOS expected to deliver around 2-5% annual topline growth (consensus is budgeting for 3.6% topline growth, both in the current year, as well as next year). FY26 presentation Any up...