gilaxia/E+ via Getty Images Shares of RPM International ( RPM ) surged as much as 15% in New York trading Wednesday after the company reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations for both revenue and earnings. The maker of paints and coatings ( RPM ) reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $1.61 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion, while adjusted earnings c...
gilaxia/E+ via Getty Images Shares of RPM International ( RPM ) surged as much as 15% in New York trading Wednesday after the company reported quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations for both revenue and earnings. The maker of paints and coatings ( RPM ) reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $1.61 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion, while adjusted earnings came in at $0.57 a share, well ahead of estimates for $0.35 a share. Strong top-line growth drives results RPM International delivered record quarterly sales, with revenue rising 8.9% year over year, supported by strength in high-performance building solutions, acquisitions and favorable foreign exchange trends. The company said growth was partially offset by continued softness in do-it-yourself markets, though demand in infrastructure and construction-related end markets remained robust. Profit pressured despite operational gains Net income fell to $51.4 million, or $0.40 a share, from $52.0 million, or $0.40 a share, a year earlier. Still, profitability improved on an adjusted basis as the company benefited from higher volumes and operational efficiencies tied to its Margin Achievement Plan initiatives. Margins expand on efficiency gains Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization improved alongside higher sales, with adjusted EBIT rising sharply to $116.4 million from $78.2 million a year earlier. The company said improved fixed-cost leverage and cost optimization actions helped offset higher healthcare expenses and restructuring costs. CEO highlights execution in volatile environment “I am proud of our record third-quarter results,” Chief Executive Frank Sullivan said in a statement. “In a period of volatile market conditions, we generated volume growth and record sales by utilizing our competitive strengths and nimbly focusing on growing end markets.” He added that the company leveraged higher volumes to expand margins and generate strong operating ca...
Mixed feelings in Tehran as people gather and discuss sudden pause in the destructive war with US and Israel Middle East crisis – live updates The video from the streets of Tehran shows crowds gathering in small groups, some waving Iranian flags while others wear them draped over their backs. In Enghelab Square, a centre for pro-regime rallies throughout the 40-day-long war, people are holding hea...
Mixed feelings in Tehran as people gather and discuss sudden pause in the destructive war with US and Israel Middle East crisis – live updates The video from the streets of Tehran shows crowds gathering in small groups, some waving Iranian flags while others wear them draped over their backs. In Enghelab Square, a centre for pro-regime rallies throughout the 40-day-long war, people are holding heated discussions. It is clear there are mixed feelings. Footage captured by a pro-regime figure and posted online offers a peek inside the domestic reaction to a t wo-week ceasefire announced overnight. Continue reading...
JasonDoiy/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images It's been practically a year since my last coverage of Roblox Corporation ( RBLX ), and my rating was a sell. Since then, RBLX stock has fallen 33%, and that made me a little more optimistic about the stock. Basically, my opinion was that there were some uncertainties but mainly a valuation that priced in perfection, but that the growth story was still ...
JasonDoiy/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images It's been practically a year since my last coverage of Roblox Corporation ( RBLX ), and my rating was a sell. Since then, RBLX stock has fallen 33%, and that made me a little more optimistic about the stock. Basically, my opinion was that there were some uncertainties but mainly a valuation that priced in perfection, but that the growth story was still appealing. Now, we have a growth story that is still appealing, but the valuation is much more reasonable, considering that the company lost practically a third of its market cap in this period. But even so, I don't think it's possible to be super optimistic about Roblox. The scenario clearly got better, and that’s why I’m giving an upgrade to a hold rating, but I still don't see that shareholder value generation is obvious for the coming years. RBLX's Growth Story Is Stronger In the last article, Roblox's KPIs (key performance indicators) were already very interesting. The company had just reached ~21.7 billion hours engaged and was still showing a growth of 30%. Even though only 3-4 quarters have passed, this indicator has already changed a lot. Now we see 35 billion hours engaged with a growth of 88% YoY, and the last quarter with this growth closer to 30% was precisely Q1, showing that the company accelerated this KPI a lot. Roblox Investor Presentation And other indicators also ended up following this good operational momentum: gross bookings reached $2.2 billion in the last quarter, revenue reached $1.4 billion, and the guidance for 2026 is still for a top line growth of around 25% YoY, which is still quite solid given the level reached. But the best part of the case for me is not even that, but rather the narrative behind it. The company itself mentions so many positive points that could become a relevant source of revenue in the coming years that it becomes a little easier to understand that there could be good and strong positive surprises in the next ~5-10 years. ...
A study of analyst recommendations at the major brokerages shows that Warrior Met Coal Inc (Symbol: HCC) is the #22 broker analyst pick, on average, out of the 50 stocks making up the Metals Channel Global Mining Titans Index, according to Metals Channel. The Metals Channel Glo
A study of analyst recommendations at the major brokerages shows that Warrior Met Coal Inc (Symbol: HCC) is the #22 broker analyst pick, on average, out of the 50 stocks making up the Metals Channel Global Mining Titans Index, according to Metals Channel. The Metals Channel Glo
Do companies realise the misery caused when they take much-loved products off the market? I’m still in mourning for Izal Medicated toilet paper I was sitting with Mrs Patmore from Downton Abbey in my car outside Langley station in Berkshire. This wasn’t a dream – this was real. To be fair, it wasn’t Mrs Patmore, it was my friend Lesley Nicol, who plays Mrs Patmore. Anyway, there we were, shooting ...
Do companies realise the misery caused when they take much-loved products off the market? I’m still in mourning for Izal Medicated toilet paper I was sitting with Mrs Patmore from Downton Abbey in my car outside Langley station in Berkshire. This wasn’t a dream – this was real. To be fair, it wasn’t Mrs Patmore, it was my friend Lesley Nicol, who plays Mrs Patmore. Anyway, there we were, shooting the breeze on matters various, like our childhoods and stuff, when she mentioned something called a Jubbly. She has fond memories of this frozen drink/lolly offering. And I think we all have strong feelings about this kind of frozen drink/lolly offering from our childhood. I base this very much on anecdote rather than data. My limited research has been inspired by an email I received from a Guardian reader called Bloss, from Marple near Stockport. Vastly overestimating my influence over anything, she implored me to use my influence to get Rose’s Lime Marmalade back on supermarket shelves. Her husband loves it, you see. She can get him Rose’s Lemon & Lime Marmalade, but for him, if she’ll pardon the slight pun, this just doesn’t cut it. Continue reading...
Apple (AAPL) just made a shocking move. It approved a third-party driver for Apple Silicon Macs, Tom's Hardware reported. Although some may view the change as minor, it could potentially create a significant opportunity for Nvidia (NVDA) in the AI space. Apple’s (AAPL) closed ecosystem is a ...
Apple (AAPL) just made a shocking move. It approved a third-party driver for Apple Silicon Macs, Tom's Hardware reported. Although some may view the change as minor, it could potentially create a significant opportunity for Nvidia (NVDA) in the AI space. Apple’s (AAPL) closed ecosystem is a ...
JohnGollop/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Stock markets are soaring on news of a ceasefire in Iran, but on the whole the mood in the stock market remains incredibly cautious, especially around volatile retail stocks that are heavily dependent on consumer spending. As we dive into the early innings of the Q1 earnings season, however, we're getting data that indicates that the consumer may not b...
JohnGollop/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Stock markets are soaring on news of a ceasefire in Iran, but on the whole the mood in the stock market remains incredibly cautious, especially around volatile retail stocks that are heavily dependent on consumer spending. As we dive into the early innings of the Q1 earnings season, however, we're getting data that indicates that the consumer may not be as weak as feared. Levi Strauss & Co. ( LEVI ), the heritage denim brand, was one of the first companies to report fiscal Q1 results , covering December through February. An acceleration in comp sales, plus a lift to full-year guidance, has boosted Levi's stock by more than 10% post-earnings. Levi's is up about 75% over the past 12 months, and in my view, the post-earnings rally represents the second leg of the stock's rebound. Data by YCharts I last wrote a Buy article on Levi's in January, when the stock was trading at $20 per share. Since then, even though Levi's valuation has stretched somewhat after the post-earnings rally, we now have a lot more clarity on the strength of the company's execution. Levi's continues to expand its market share overseas while expanding its product portfolio, including and especially its Beyond Yoga line. I'm reiterating my Buy rating on this company. First things first: despite Levi's recent post-earnings surge, we still find the stock to be trading at very attractive and buyable levels, especially against a raised guidance outlook. At current share prices near $22, Levi's trades at a market cap of $8.54 billion. Netting off the $812.0 million of cash and $1.05 billion of debt on Levi's most recent balance sheet gives us an enterprise value of $8.78 billion. Levi's FY26 outlook (Levi's Q1 earnings release) As shown in the chart above, Levi's has boosted its FY26 guidance across all metrics. It's expecting total revenue growth of 5.5-6.5%, which is 50 bps higher than its previous outlook. Note that the company is expecting "organic" reven...
cookelma The technology sector had a turbulent start to the year, with a broad selloff compounded by pressures from the U.S.–Iran conflict and broader global market weakness. The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLK ) fell 7.90% in the first quarter, underperforming the wider market, which declined 4.81% over the same period. As companies prepare to report their results for the qua...
cookelma The technology sector had a turbulent start to the year, with a broad selloff compounded by pressures from the U.S.–Iran conflict and broader global market weakness. The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLK ) fell 7.90% in the first quarter, underperforming the wider market, which declined 4.81% over the same period. As companies prepare to report their results for the quarter gone by, FactSet analyst John Butters noted that 59 out of 110 companies have issued positive EPS guidance, the highest in five years. The majority of these positive earnings projections were concentrated in the information technology and energy sectors. The tech sector stood out with the highest number of companies issuing positive EPS guidance. Overall, 33 tech firms projected a positive EPS for the quarter. “This quarter ties the mark with the previous quarter for the second-highest number of companies in the information technology sector issuing positive EPS guidance for a quarter since FactSet began tracking this metric in 2006. The current record is 36, which occurred in Q3 2025,” Butters said. Within the information technology sector, the semiconductors and semiconductor equipment industry leads in positive EPS guidance, with 10 companies issuing upbeat forecasts. Mirroring EPS guidance trends, the information technology sector leads all 11 sectors with 47 companies issuing positive revenue guidance. This also marks a record high for the sector since FactSet began tracking the metric in 2006, surpassing the previous peak of 45 in Q2 2021. According to Seeking Alpha’s Quant rating system, the sector has an average health score of 3.12. The system awards grades based on quantitative measures, like valuation, earnings growth, and recent stock performance. The highest possible score for any individual company is a 5. Among individual companies in the tech sector, 47 stocks were rated as Buy or higher based on their Quant ratings, 200 stocks were rated Neutral, and 3...
BrianAJackson/iStock via Getty Images I wrote a bearish article on Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. ( BOOT) back in December 2025, and at that time the stock was trading for about $202 per share. Since then, the stock has dropped by nearly 30%. Now that the shares have been repriced, and since there have been a number of other developments, including a fiscal Q3 earnings report, I think it makes sense to ...
BrianAJackson/iStock via Getty Images I wrote a bearish article on Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. ( BOOT) back in December 2025, and at that time the stock was trading for about $202 per share. Since then, the stock has dropped by nearly 30%. Now that the shares have been repriced, and since there have been a number of other developments, including a fiscal Q3 earnings report, I think it makes sense to take another look. The Chart As shown in the chart below, Boot Barn shares have plunged in the past few weeks and now trade well below key support levels such as the 50-day moving average of around $175 and the 200-day moving average, which is just over $178. Boot Barn shares recently traded down to the low $130 range but have since rebounded somewhat. I believe it could retest this low $130 range once again, especially if the stock market remains under pressure overall. A successful retest of this level could suggest a bullish double bottom. In a more negative potential scenario, this stock could also retest the lows it hit in April 2025, which were in the $80 range. This would probably not be likely unless there is a stock market correction, possibly caused by a major growth scare or an actual recession. StockCharts.com Fiscal Q3 Earnings Report Boot Barn recently reported strong results for fiscal Q3 , and as a result, the company raised guidance for fiscal year 2026. The company expects sales to come in at a range of between $2.24 billion and $2.25 billion. This represents growth of around 17% to 18%, which is slightly higher than previous growth guidance of between 15% and 17%. Boot Barn expects net income to come in at a range of $7.25 to $7.35 per share for FY2026. I think it's worth noting that these fiscal Q3 results were released on Feb. 4, and the war in Iran began around Feb. 28. This means that the potential impact of the Iran war and surging oil prices does not appear to be reflected in this generally positive guidance for 2026. Based on this, I believe it's p...
Justice department says Bondi will not be at the House deposition since she was ousted as US attorney general Pam Bondi , the former US attorney general, will not appear next week for a scheduled deposition before the House oversight and government reform committee to answer questions about the justice department’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and its release of the Epstein f...
Justice department says Bondi will not be at the House deposition since she was ousted as US attorney general Pam Bondi , the former US attorney general, will not appear next week for a scheduled deposition before the House oversight and government reform committee to answer questions about the justice department’s handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and its release of the Epstein files, the committee said. In a statement Wednesday morning shared with the Guardian, a spokesperson for the House oversight committee said “the Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer Attorney General and was subpoenaed in her capacity as Attorney General”. Continue reading...
Australia was the first country to issue a ban in late 2025, aiming to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, including cyberbullying, social media addiction, and exposure to predators.
Australia was the first country to issue a ban in late 2025, aiming to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, including cyberbullying, social media addiction, and exposure to predators.