Nippon Steel Corp. ’s record-breaking convertible bond offering is highlighting the quest of Japanese companies for cheaper funding than increasingly expensive traditional debt, which sets the stage for more such deals. Japan’s largest steelmaker on Tuesday raised 600 billion yen ($3.9 billion) from an offering of bonds that can be converted into stock, more than it initially planned on the back o...
Nippon Steel Corp. ’s record-breaking convertible bond offering is highlighting the quest of Japanese companies for cheaper funding than increasingly expensive traditional debt, which sets the stage for more such deals. Japan’s largest steelmaker on Tuesday raised 600 billion yen ($3.9 billion) from an offering of bonds that can be converted into stock, more than it initially planned on the back of strong demand. The proceeds will help repay loans taken out for its acquisition of United States Steel Corp. The prospects of a surge in fiscal spending and central bank rate hikes have raised the cost of traditional debt instruments in Japan. The yield on the 10-year government bond hit its highest in almost 30 years in January, and shares have rallied after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ’s historic election victory following a campaign in which she promised budget expansion. “It’s not a deal you see every day,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Takeshi Kitaura . More convertible bond deals could be on the way in Japan if more large buyouts were to occur, he said. Read More: Japan Bond Blowout Funnels Corporate Borrowers to Convertibles Investors bid for multiple times Nippon Steel’s deal size, with more than 130 entities expressing interest in each of the offering’s two tranches, according to people familiar with the matter. The top 10 entities took more than 50% of allocations in each tranche — one maturing in 2029 and the other in 2031, the people said, asking not to be named to discuss a private matter. With Nippon Steel’s deal, Japanese companies have raised more than $4 billion so far in 2026 from bonds that can be converted into stock, eclipsing all of last year’s proceeds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In 2025, Nissan Motor Co. raised 200 billion yen from the sale of convertible bonds, as part of a broader effort to revamp the carmaker and in the face of a huge loan repayment. The potential wave of issuance by Japanese companies would also raise the ...
Sarah Mason/DigitalVision via Getty Images It's time to update on Stepan Company ( SCL ), with my last article about a year old at this particular time. My rating has, unfortunately, and looking at the article, underperformed the broader market. I added to Stepan Company two times after that article, about 2-3 month intervals. That means that following the rise of the company's share price, my ret...
Sarah Mason/DigitalVision via Getty Images It's time to update on Stepan Company ( SCL ), with my last article about a year old at this particular time. My rating has, unfortunately, and looking at the article, underperformed the broader market. I added to Stepan Company two times after that article, about 2-3 month intervals. That means that following the rise of the company's share price, my return/performance is about neutral at this time. It also means that my earlier article from October 2024 came bullish at a "too early." Was there a problem with the company that I did not account for? No, I would argue that wasn't the case. The company's market performance was decent, and the fundamentals were as I described them to be. Stepan Company, as a performance, foaming, and emulsifying chemical company, has done, overall, fairly well. The reason for the underperformance seems to be related mostly to broader market performance and trends. The company's misses and margin pressure trends that likely were the primary reasons for the poor performance were not related to fundamental shortcomings but due to increased pricing for raw materials, which can obviously hit any company in almost any market. The only issue I would ascribe to the company is the issues related to the company's new facilities in Pasadena (that's Texas, not California). A chemical company, any chemical company, may experience a rise in operating costs and, as a result, pressure on company margins and income. Oftentimes, this does not mean that the markets are poor or that there is any sort of fundamental issue - instead, it can reflect weak end markets and geographical pressures, which was the case with Stepan as well. These sorts of trends and results represent good lessons. While it's impossible to "time" the market, I believe I can do better than I did back then. There were some signs visible at the time that the company might drop more before it turned around - I didn't put enough weight on it. I d...
Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images Axon Enterprise ( AXON ) stock is soaring after hours on Tuesday following upbeat quarterly results in the midst of a steep downtrend over the last few months. I think this upward momentum is sustainable, and AXON should continue to climb back towards previous highs. Data by YCharts In my last piece on AXON back in November, I discussed the company's previou...
Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images Axon Enterprise ( AXON ) stock is soaring after hours on Tuesday following upbeat quarterly results in the midst of a steep downtrend over the last few months. I think this upward momentum is sustainable, and AXON should continue to climb back towards previous highs. Data by YCharts In my last piece on AXON back in November, I discussed the company's previous earnings and the stock's resulting 20%+ decline, arguing headwinds would be short-lived and rated the stock a Buy. Shares now sit around 20% lower (if the +15% post-market move holds). That article can be read here . Even that price movement doesn't tell the whole story of the rollercoaster that AXON shareholders have been on since fall. After surging to $750 per share before the Q3 report, shares dropped off a cliff, finally settling in the low $500 range. Over the next couple of months, it gradually dug itself out of the hole, crossing $600 only to again get knocked down to fresh lows in the $400 range. Which is where Q4 earnings come in. Market sentiment had turned extremely fearful -- so fearful that it seems investors forgot just how strong the company's growth has been and continues to be. However, it seems fundamentals have reasserted the bull thesis, which led to the after hours surge. Let's start with a recap of Q4: Axon Q4 2025 Earnings Presentation Revenue came in at $797 million in the quarter (+39% YoY/+12% QoQ) and gross margin was 61.1% overall, led by 76.7% for the ever-growing Software & Services segment as the company's new business model takes root. Non-GAAP EPS of $2.15 was up slightly YoY but came in well above consensus estimates. After all the fuss about tariff impacts in Q3, it's reassuring to see such a convincing rebound from Axon, shooing away some of the market's lingering fears about how the company would be affected by the economic and political environment in the US. To that point, bookings and backlogged revenue are exploding as annual recu...