quantic69/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis IonQ ( IONQ ) has been on a tear since I last wrote about the quantum computing giant, with shares up 5.3% YTD (beating the market) and shares up almost 291% over the last 5 years. Since I last wrote on them, shares are up 76.77%. I believe the market is starting to figure out how powerful IonQ’s technology is with the company making a set of key...
quantic69/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis IonQ ( IONQ ) has been on a tear since I last wrote about the quantum computing giant, with shares up 5.3% YTD (beating the market) and shares up almost 291% over the last 5 years. Since I last wrote on them, shares are up 76.77%. I believe the market is starting to figure out how powerful IonQ’s technology is with the company making a set of key hires, and launching their division in Italy, IonQ Italia. In the US the company is hitting its stride. But one memo from the Department of War could pose a huge risk to their defense business. Late last year, the Department of War signed a memo banning the purchase of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) encryption devices. This is a huge setback for all quantum companies (including IonQ). There are arguments that Quantum Key Distribution based encryption methods are mathematically unhackable. The Department of War has banned the purchase of encryption systems that use their technology, effective immediately. On the surface this sounds like a huge risk to a quantum computing company whose largest customer is the US government. However, I actually think this memo will clear the way for IonQ to do well. Quantum Key Distribution is a key part of other quantum defense offerings. For IonQ? It's a small part of the story. The company has multiple other business lines that will allow them to excel in their government contracting business while laying the groundwork for them to later revoke/remove this memo with key hires. In essence, this memo will likely be damaging for other quantum companies that aim to work with the Department of War. For IonQ? It’s a case of the last man standing. With this, shares actually remain a strong buy despite the short term headwinds. Why I’m Doing Follow Up Coverage IonQ has been on a tear operationally since I last wrote on the quantum computing giant last year. Just this week, the firm announced that they would be acquiring semiconductor firm SkyWater...
South Korea's ex-first lady jailed 20 months for bribery 24 minutes ago Share Save Kelly Ng and Hosu Lee , Seoul Share Save AFP Kim Keon Hee was also ordered to return a diamond necklace and pay back 12.85 million won The wife of South Korea's ousted former president has been sentenced to 20 months in jail for accepting bribes from the controversial Unification Church. However, the court cleared 5...
South Korea's ex-first lady jailed 20 months for bribery 24 minutes ago Share Save Kelly Ng and Hosu Lee , Seoul Share Save AFP Kim Keon Hee was also ordered to return a diamond necklace and pay back 12.85 million won The wife of South Korea's ousted former president has been sentenced to 20 months in jail for accepting bribes from the controversial Unification Church. However, the court cleared 52-year-old Kim Keon Hee on charges of stock price manipulation and receiving free opinion polls from a political broker before the 2022 presidential election, which was won by her husband Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon has already been sentenced to five years' in jail for abusing power and obstructing justice in relation to his failed martial law bid in 2024. This marks the first time in South Korea's history that a former presidential couple are convicted at the same time.
China has reportedly given the green light for the first batch of Nvidia Corporation‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) H200 artificial intelligence chips to be imported into the country. Initial approvals were mainly granted to three major Chinese internet firms, while other companies await later clearances; the recipients were not named, Reuters reported on Wednesday. It is unclear how many more companies will be ...
China has reportedly given the green light for the first batch of Nvidia Corporation‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) H200 artificial intelligence chips to be imported into the country. Initial approvals were mainly granted to three major Chinese internet firms, while other companies await later clearances; the recipients were not named, Reuters reported on Wednesday. It is unclear how many more companies will be approved in later rounds or what criteria Beijing is using to decide eligibility, according to the report. Nvidia did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment. The approval, covering several hundred thousand H200 chips, was granted during Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's recent trip to China. Huang is in China to kick off the company’s annual celebrations, ahead of the mid-February Lunar New Year. Previous reports suggested that he was expected to meet prospective buyers in the country and top officials in Beijing to reopen the market for the company’s chips. Nvidia H200 Chips Remain US–China Flashpoint Nvidia's H200 AI chip has been a key point of tension between the U.S. and China. Despite the U.S. approval to ship Nvidia's H200 chips, Beijing had not cleared imports, pushing black-market servers with eight H200 GPUs to sell at a 50% premium, around 2.3 million yuan ($330,403). Other reports suggested that China has plans to limit approvals for local purchases of Nvidia's H200 AI chips to research-only uses. However, Huang said last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that demand for H200 chips in China remains strong despite regulatory and supply challenges, with approvals reflecting China's focus on supporting major internet firms expanding data centers for AI competition with U.S. players. According to a previous Reuters report, Chinese tech firms ordered over 2 million H200 chips last month, far more than Nvidia's available supply. Benzinga’s Edge Rankings place Nvidia in the 97th percentile for quality and the 94th percentile for growth,...
French luxury giant LVMH recorded an uptick in sales in China during the last three months of 2025, in a further sign that the vast Chinese luxury market is starting to stabilise after a sharp slowdown the previous year. The group reported on Tuesday that its total annual sales last year reached €80.8 billion (US$97 billion), down 5 per cent year on year on a reported basis. But performance improv...
French luxury giant LVMH recorded an uptick in sales in China during the last three months of 2025, in a further sign that the vast Chinese luxury market is starting to stabilise after a sharp slowdown the previous year. The group reported on Tuesday that its total annual sales last year reached €80.8 billion (US$97 billion), down 5 per cent year on year on a reported basis. But performance improved in the second half of the year as sales returned to organic growth, rising 1 per cent. This was partly driven by positive growth in most of Asia. While Japan saw sales decline, the rest of the region recorded a 1 per cent increase in sales during the fourth quarter. Advertisement “Performance among Chinese customers is broadly comparable to the third quarter, with the local market remaining positive,” said Cecile Cabanis, LVMH’s chief financial officer. Analysts had been eagerly waiting for LVMH’s latest results in China to get a better sense of the luxury market’s trajectory. Sales figures released by other groups earlier this month had presented a mixed picture. Advertisement British brand Burberry reported 6 per cent year on year growth in China during the final quarter of 2025, up from 3 per cent the previous quarter. But Swiss group Richemont saw its sales growth in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau slow to 2 per cent, down from 7 per cent in the third quarter.
(RTTNews) - Nomura Real Estate Holdings, Inc. (3231.T), on Wednesday, reported lower nine-month profit while revenue increased and the company raised its full-year dividend forecast. For the 9 months ended December 31, profit attributable to owners of parent declined to 42.94 billion yen from 62.41 million yen in the previous year. Earnings per share were 50.03 yen versus 72.20 yen last year. Oper...
(RTTNews) - Nomura Real Estate Holdings, Inc. (3231.T), on Wednesday, reported lower nine-month profit while revenue increased and the company raised its full-year dividend forecast. For the 9 months ended December 31, profit attributable to owners of parent declined to 42.94 billion yen from 62.41 million yen in the previous year. Earnings per share were 50.03 yen versus 72.20 yen last year. Operating profit decreased to 80.32 million yen from 98.85 million in the previous year. Operating revenue increased to 581.56 million yen from 571.85 million yen in the prior year. The company revised its fiscal year-end dividend forecast to 22 yen per share, up from 18 yen per share previously. As a result, the total dividend forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31 was raised to 40 yen per share, compared with the earlier forecast of 36 yen per share. On a post-stock split basis, the annual dividend per share for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025 would be equivalent to 34 yen, indicating an expected year-on-year increase of 6 yen. Nomura Real Estate closed trading 0.73% higher at JPY 1,035 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
With U.S. stock futures trading higher this morning on Wednesday, some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are as follows: Wall Street expects Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) to report quarterly earnings at $3.97 per share on revenue of $80.27 billion after the closing bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Microsoft shares rose 0.4% to $482.50 in after-hours trading. (NASDAQ:MSFT) ...
With U.S. stock futures trading higher this morning on Wednesday, some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are as follows: Wall Street expects Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) to report quarterly earnings at $3.97 per share on revenue of $80.27 billion after the closing bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Microsoft shares rose 0.4% to $482.50 in after-hours trading. (NASDAQ:MSFT) to report quarterly earnings at $3.97 per share on revenue of $80.27 billion after the closing bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Microsoft shares rose 0.4% to $482.50 in after-hours trading. Packaging Corp Of America (NYSE:PKG) posted weaker-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, after the closing bell on Tuesday. The company also said it sees first-quarter GAAP EPS of $2.20, versus market estimates of $2.26. Packaging Corp Of America shares fell 2.1% to $218.99 in the after-hours trading session. (NYSE:PKG) posted weaker-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, after the closing bell on Tuesday. The company also said it sees first-quarter GAAP EPS of $2.20, versus market estimates of $2.26. Packaging Corp Of America shares fell 2.1% to $218.99 in the after-hours trading session. Analysts are expecting Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) to post quarterly earnings at 45 cents per share on revenue of $24.78 billion. The company will release earnings after the markets close. Tesla shares rose 0.4% to $432.49 in after-hours trading. Check out our premarket coverage here Before the markets open, Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at 59 cents per share on revenue of $9.73 billion. Starbucks shares slipped 0.1% to $95.70 in the after-hours trading session. (NASDAQ:SBUX) is projected to report quarterly earnings at 59 cents per share on revenue of $9.73 billion. Starbucks shares slipped 0.1% to $95.70 in the after-hours trading session. Analysts expect AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) to post quarterly earnings at 46 cents per share on revenue of $...
A small cluster of Nipah virus infections reported in eastern India has sparked regional anxiety because of the disease’s high fatality rate, prompting countries across Asia to tighten health screening ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush, even as experts say the outbreak is likely to remain contained. That assessment follows confirmation by Indian authorities of two Nipah cases in West Bengal,...
A small cluster of Nipah virus infections reported in eastern India has sparked regional anxiety because of the disease’s high fatality rate, prompting countries across Asia to tighten health screening ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush, even as experts say the outbreak is likely to remain contained. That assessment follows confirmation by Indian authorities of two Nipah cases in West Bengal, but analysts have said the limited numbers, combined with the time that has passed since the infections were detected, point to a contained outbreak rather than an escalating public health threat. The cases have nevertheless prompted precautionary measures elsewhere in the region, with Thailand stepping up screening, including temperature checks and health declaration forms, at major airports for passengers arriving from West Bengal, and Nepal increasing monitoring at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport and along land borders with India, officials said. Advertisement Other countries have also moved to heighten vigilance. Cambodia has begun screening travellers arriving from India, while Indonesia has tightened health checks for incoming international passengers at Jakarta’s main airport, according to official statements and regional media reports. India’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that “speculative and incorrect figures regarding Nipah Virus Disease cases are being circulated in certain sections of the media”, a reference to reports citing higher case numbers at a hospital in Kolkata, and stressed that only two cases had been centrally confirmed in West Bengal since December. Advertisement It said 196 people who had come into contact with the infected individuals were asymptomatic and had all tested negative.