JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images It has been ages since I initiated The Clorox Company ( CLX ) at a buy rating , and so today, I've decided to provide a much-needed update. Back in July 2025, I found signs that the company's comeback may have been starting with margin improvement and guidance looking quite good. While the stock did decline for a period after my bullish call, the stock h...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images It has been ages since I initiated The Clorox Company ( CLX ) at a buy rating , and so today, I've decided to provide a much-needed update. Back in July 2025, I found signs that the company's comeback may have been starting with margin improvement and guidance looking quite good. While the stock did decline for a period after my bullish call, the stock has now fully recovered and then some. Nonetheless, today I will offer a fresh perspective and see if the stock still deserves its buy rating. Seeking Alpha Below, it is shown that signs of a comeback for the company are unclear, and hope may be fading, at least for the near term. While Clorox holds significant brand strength, their financials are unconvincing. Revenue growth remains negative, gross margin is contracting, and their full-year guidance is rather soft. With that in mind, I would say that the valuation has become unattractive for entry, but the sizeable capital returns still justify a hold rating for the stock. Brand Remains Competitive Clorox CAGNY Presentation A good indication of the brand strength of Clorox's products is, of course, the dollar share of private labels. As you can see above , the metric has been unchanged annually from 2022 to 2025, and so it seems that consumers' spending habits haven't changed materially in these categories of products. With consumer confidence being rather shaky in the U.S. and in various economies around the world, there was perhaps some risk that consumers would shift to cheaper private label products. With dollar share being stable, this risk clearly hasn't materialized, and for a company like Clorox, whose brand strength is a huge factor, this is good news. Clorox CAGNY Presentation It is no secret that the company has a wide variety of products that are leaders in their respective categories. However, a look at the numbers shows just how strong their brand power is. As stated above, 60% of their product portfolio repor...
Justin Paget/DigitalVision via Getty Images From a fundamental perspective, fourth quarter earnings from First Solar, Inc. ( FSLR ) look like an absolute disaster. GAAP earnings for the quarter missed Street expectations , but the bigger concern is around guidance for 2026. First Solar seems set for a year in which revenue declines; Street consensus was for nearly 20% growth . Sell-side analysts e...
Justin Paget/DigitalVision via Getty Images From a fundamental perspective, fourth quarter earnings from First Solar, Inc. ( FSLR ) look like an absolute disaster. GAAP earnings for the quarter missed Street expectations , but the bigger concern is around guidance for 2026. First Solar seems set for a year in which revenue declines; Street consensus was for nearly 20% growth . Sell-side analysts expected $3.17 billion in Adjusted EBITDA in 2026; the guidance range was set at $2.6-$2.8 billion. In that context, a 13% selloff in after-hours trading following the release makes some sense. The core question is whether 2026 is something of a reset year, as executives seemed to argue on the Q4 2025 conference call , or if structural concerns around solar have begun to show through. From here, the former explanation seems most logical: First Solar's plans for 2026 have been upended by geopolitical uncertainty (primarily around the tariffs instituted, then re-instituted following the Supreme Court decision last week that invalidated many President Trump's tariff duties.) But the truly surprising guidance does raise the question that, even excluding tax credits, this simply isn't quite as good a business as analysts and shareholders (myself included) believed. And so the question for First Solar in 2026 might well be how patient, and how trusting, the market will be until the company can resume its growth trajectory. Valuing First Solar Stock It's helpful to start with the numbers here, which remain somewhat tricky to decipher. Headline multiples here suggest FSLR is a screaming buy: 2026 guidance suggests GAAP EPS of about $18 (using a minimal tax rate and modest net interest income), with the figure nearing $20 when backing out underutilization costs and start-up expenses at a new plant in South Carolina. At the early-Wednesday trading price of $211, that puts P/E around 12x for a business with still-solid long-term growth prospects (even if, as discussed below, the 2026 o...
pticelov/iStock via Getty Images Rayonier Advanced Materials ( RYAM ) soared 42% after it was disclosed that it rejected an offer of $11 to $12 a share for the company. American Industrial Partners disclosed that it bid $11-$12 a share in cash for Rayonier Advanced ( RYAM ) in November, according to a 13D filing on Wednesday. American Industrial has a 5.07% stake in Rayonier Advanced. AIP received...
pticelov/iStock via Getty Images Rayonier Advanced Materials ( RYAM ) soared 42% after it was disclosed that it rejected an offer of $11 to $12 a share for the company. American Industrial Partners disclosed that it bid $11-$12 a share in cash for Rayonier Advanced ( RYAM ) in November, according to a 13D filing on Wednesday. American Industrial has a 5.07% stake in Rayonier Advanced. AIP received a letter in December rejecting the offer, according to the filing. Rayonier Advanced ( RYAM ) has a market cap of ~$500 million. The company is set to report Q4 results next Wednesday. More on Rayonier Advanced Rayonier Advanced Materials appoints Scott Sutton as CEO Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Rayonier Advanced Historical earnings data for Rayonier Advanced Financial information for Rayonier Advanced
Market strategists were weighing in on President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address late Tuesday and coming away with some important implications for the U.S. dollar.
Market strategists were weighing in on President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address late Tuesday and coming away with some important implications for the U.S. dollar.
Deciding where you will live is one of the biggest retirement decisions you can make. Even if you like where you currently reside, you might find that the cost of staying there is just too high to support once you stop working. But costs are high everywhere, so you need to tread carefully when choosing a new location. If you plan to move down South, however, you might want to take a look at the at...
Deciding where you will live is one of the biggest retirement decisions you can make. Even if you like where you currently reside, you might find that the cost of staying there is just too high to support once you stop working. But costs are high everywhere, so you need to tread carefully when choosing a new location. If you plan to move down South, however, you might want to take a look at the attractive balance Quincy, Florida, offers. Where you live is a very personal decision, and only you can make the final call. However, there are many options, and searching for a new home can be overwhelming. That's why The Motley Fool created its 2026 Best Places to Retire report . It is a comprehensive look at retirement options so you can quickly narrow your list to just a few places. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Shares of MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) tumbled out of the gate on Wednesday, falling as much as 14%. As of 11:36 a.m. ET, the stock was still down 10.6%. The catalyst that sent the online retail and fintech specialist lower was its quarterly financial report, which investors found wanting. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Shares of MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) tumbled out of the gate on Wednesday, falling as much as 14%. As of 11:36 a.m. ET, the stock was still down 10.6%. The catalyst that sent the online retail and fintech specialist lower was its quarterly financial report, which investors found wanting. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Earnings Call Insights: UWM Holdings Corporation (UWMC) Q4 2025 Management View Mathew Ishbia, Chairman, President & CEO, highlighted the company's "fourth consecutive year as the #1 overall lender in America and our 11th consecutive year as the #1 wholesale lender" and reported that UWM delivered $163.4 billion in originations for the year, up 17% from 2024. Ishbia emphasized the pending Two Harb...
Earnings Call Insights: UWM Holdings Corporation (UWMC) Q4 2025 Management View Mathew Ishbia, Chairman, President & CEO, highlighted the company's "fourth consecutive year as the #1 overall lender in America and our 11th consecutive year as the #1 wholesale lender" and reported that UWM delivered $163.4 billion in originations for the year, up 17% from 2024. Ishbia emphasized the pending Two Harbors acquisition and the process of bringing servicing in-house as "strategic inflection points, not just operational improvements." He explained, "Together, these initiatives position us to expand our dominance, deliver high-quality leads to our brokers, increase the recapture rate while lowering cost per recaptured loan and more data-driven personalization tools for our brokers." The partnership with Bilt was highlighted as "going fantastic," with Ishbia stating, "Bilt is going to allow our brokers to not really acquire consumers earlier and expand the volume at the top of our funnel for lead flow, but also keeps the mortgage brokers top of mind through the whole process." CFO Rami Hasani stated, "Q4 was a strong quarter. We reported total revenue of $945 million in Q4, up from $843 million in Q3. Net income was $164.5 million in Q4, up from $12.1 million in Q3." Hasani added, "We also continue to maintain our MSR portfolio with a UPB of approximately $241 billion, a fair value of $4.1 billion and net servicing income of $186 million in Q4, up from $169 million in Q3." Outlook Management reiterated its commitment to bringing servicing in-house and completing the Two Harbors acquisition, with Ishbia stating excitement for "bringing servicing in-house and completing the Two Harbors acquisition to further strengthen our business for long-term growth and success." He also noted, "We expect to stay #1 in the growing market and excited about how our AI implementation can drive expenses lower while driving production much higher." Ishbia described the model as "the lowest cost in...
Nassim Taleb issued a new warning for those enjoying the AI rally. The author of "The Black Swan" recently sounded an alarm that the artificial intelligence-driven rally is entering a more fragile phase. This can potentially lead to escalating volatility and potential bankruptcies ...
Nassim Taleb issued a new warning for those enjoying the AI rally. The author of "The Black Swan" recently sounded an alarm that the artificial intelligence-driven rally is entering a more fragile phase. This can potentially lead to escalating volatility and potential bankruptcies ...
In trading on Wednesday, shares of ePlus Inc (Symbol: PLUS) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $76.90, changing hands as low as $76.56 per share. ePlus Inc shares are currently trading down about 0.5% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of PLU
In trading on Wednesday, shares of ePlus Inc (Symbol: PLUS) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $76.90, changing hands as low as $76.56 per share. ePlus Inc shares are currently trading down about 0.5% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of PLU