StockPlanets/E+ via Getty Images Since my first coverage of Stride ( LRN ), the stock has been rising 17%. My initial thesis was that Stride's growth depends on enrolling new customers and the ability to provide a service that retains them. Switching schools is extremely costly and difficult for a child, so if Stride can somewhat satisfy their customers, the likelihood of them staying with Stride ...
StockPlanets/E+ via Getty Images Since my first coverage of Stride ( LRN ), the stock has been rising 17%. My initial thesis was that Stride's growth depends on enrolling new customers and the ability to provide a service that retains them. Switching schools is extremely costly and difficult for a child, so if Stride can somewhat satisfy their customers, the likelihood of them staying with Stride is very high. In the past, this flawless execution has not always taken place, as many customers and teachers expressed being unhappy with Stride's operations. Since demand for an alternative to traditional schools is high, Stride could easily compensate for high fluctuations with even greater demand. However, I do not believe this method will last in the long run, as soon as a new player that truly satisfies customer needs enters the market. Stock performance since last article (seekingalpha.com) On the occasion of the Q3 filings, which were released earlier this week, I want to share whether this thesis is still applicable and what has changed since the earnings reveal. Q3 Results The third quarter results were in line with guidance, as 9M revenue grew to $1.88 billion, up 7.4%. This increase in revenue mostly comes from enrollment growth in the Career Learning segment, which increased by 11.4 thousand students, up 11.6% from last year. Revenue per enrollment increased by $70, or 2.9%, further supporting revenue growth to 15.9% from Career Learning alone. However, this growth was offset by a decrease in General Education and Adult Education enrollments, down 5% and 31%, respectively. Q3 Earnings Presentation The decrease in General Education enrollments is partly due to new students not being accepted this late in the school year, closing the gates slightly earlier than last year. Nevertheless, this indicates that high fluctuation is usually offset through new enrollments, which supports my idea shared in my initial article. CEO James Ryu did not reveal any further detail...
A new partnership between CoastalPay, a payment services provider, and Resolve Pay, a B2B payments platform, is enhancing the e-commerce landscape by offering embedded net terms and installment financing to merchants. This collaboration allows CoastalPay merchants to extend flexible payment options—such as 30, 60, and 90-day net terms—at checkout without incurring credit risk or managing collectio...
A new partnership between CoastalPay, a payment services provider, and Resolve Pay, a B2B payments platform, is enhancing the e-commerce landscape by offering embedded net terms and installment financing to merchants. This collaboration allows CoastalPay merchants to extend flexible payment options—such as 30, 60, and 90-day net terms—at checkout without incurring credit risk or managing collections. By leveraging Resolve's AI-powered credit infrastructure, merchants can receive up to 100% of...
Neste Oyj press release ( NTOIY ): Q1 GAAP EPS of € 0.69. Revenue of € 5.16B. More on Neste Oyj Neste Oyj 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Neste Oyj (NTOIY) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Neste: I'm Out, The Upside Is Too Speculative (Rating Downgrade) Petróleo Brasileiro is the top Quant rated foreign stock amid global market volatility Neste upgraded at Barclays, seeing further u...
Neste Oyj press release ( NTOIY ): Q1 GAAP EPS of € 0.69. Revenue of € 5.16B. More on Neste Oyj Neste Oyj 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Neste Oyj (NTOIY) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Neste: I'm Out, The Upside Is Too Speculative (Rating Downgrade) Petróleo Brasileiro is the top Quant rated foreign stock amid global market volatility Neste upgraded at Barclays, seeing further upside momentum
European Union flags flutter on the day European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde speaks to reporters following the Governing Council's monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany September 12, 2024. Jana Rodenbusch | Reuters The European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold at its April meeting, despite a surge in inflation in the euro zone since the war in Iran began. The ECB...
European Union flags flutter on the day European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde speaks to reporters following the Governing Council's monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany September 12, 2024. Jana Rodenbusch | Reuters The European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold at its April meeting, despite a surge in inflation in the euro zone since the war in Iran began. The ECB's governing council opted to hold its benchmark deposit facility rate at 2% on Thursday. In a statement, the bank said that while its previous assessment of the inflation outlook was largely unchanged, "the upside risks to inflation and the downside risks to growth have intensified." It said its Governing Council remained committed to setting monetary policy to ensure that inflation stabilizes at the 2% target in the medium term. Acknowledging that the war in the Middle East had led to a sharp increase in energy prices, pushing up inflation and weighing on economic sentiment, the ECB noted that "the implications of the war for medium-term inflation and economic activity will depend on the intensity and duration of the energy price shock and the scale of its indirect and second-round effects." "The longer the war continues and the longer energy prices remain high, the stronger is the likely impact on broader inflation and the economy," the bank stressed. It said it would closely monitor the situation and take a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach to determining its monetary policy stance. Policymakers would not pre-commit to a particular rate path, it emphasized. The euro was trading almost 0.2% higher against the dollar after the move, at $1.17. Euro zone bond yields fell slightly, with the interest rate on the 10-year German bund down 3 basis points to 3.0580%, and its French equivalent 4 basis points lower, at 3.7135%. The ECB's decision came after flash data out Thursday showed inflation in the euro zone jumped to 3% in April, driven largely by a rise in ener...
Universal Music Group press release ( UMGNF ): Q1 Revenue of €2.9B. Adjusted EBITDA of €636 million declined 3.8% year-over-year, and increased 3.9% in constant currency driven by revenue growth, while Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 0.9pp to 21.9%, primarily due to the consolidation of Downtown. More on Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (UNVGY) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Uni...
Universal Music Group press release ( UMGNF ): Q1 Revenue of €2.9B. Adjusted EBITDA of €636 million declined 3.8% year-over-year, and increased 3.9% in constant currency driven by revenue growth, while Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 0.9pp to 21.9%, primarily due to the consolidation of Downtown. More on Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (UNVGY) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Universal Music Group N.V. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Universal Music Group: What Bill Ackman's Takeover Means For Investors (Rating Downgrade) Universal Music Group launches first-ever €500M share buyback program Historical earnings data for Universal Music Group
Julien Viry/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I'm still bullish about Yum China Holdings, Inc. ( YUMC ). YUMC's 1Q2026 financial metrics topped expectations. The company is also progressing well towards the goals set at its earlier investment event. The January 2, 2026, initiation piece highlighted my constructive view of its revenues, profitability, and capital distributions. Strongest Q1 Operati...
Julien Viry/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I'm still bullish about Yum China Holdings, Inc. ( YUMC ). YUMC's 1Q2026 financial metrics topped expectations. The company is also progressing well towards the goals set at its earlier investment event. The January 2, 2026, initiation piece highlighted my constructive view of its revenues, profitability, and capital distributions. Strongest Q1 Operating Income To Date The group issued an 8-K filing disclosing its latest financials on Apr. 29 morning. YUMC's top line was 9.7% higher YoY at $3,271M for Jan-Mar '26, or 1.4% above the sell-side's forecast. During the same timeframe, its bottom line of $0.87/share also represented a 1.9% beat and 5.8% rise. The firm registered a recent three-month EBIT amounting to $447M. That's equivalent to a more substantial 2.9% outperformance versus consensus. This also marks a historic first-quarter peak. I believe that YUMC's good showing was driven by network expansion, the pivot towards franchising, and a tighter ship. The company added over 600 point-of-sales in 1Q2026. This is equivalent to a faster-than-anticipated one-third of its full-year goal. The implied year-on-year increase in outlets is an impressive 12.6%. My early-Jan write-up cited "a firmer footing in Tier 3/4 markets" as a critical lever. I was proven right with its KFC brand establishing a fresh presence in 300+ Chinese cities in the past 12-month period. Also, the share of its new shops run by franchisees improved 6ppts YoY to 42% for the first three months of 2026. In absolute terms, there were about 700 non-owned restaurant openings between 1Q25 and 1Q26. It's reasonable for me to assume that YUMC's partner-led model has a higher-margin profile without committing to capital expenditures. Its 1Q2026 EBIT-to-sales widened by 704bps sequentially and 28bps year-on-year to 13.67% too. I'm encouraged that it has found different ways to become leaner. At its analyst briefing , the enterprise emphasized the need to "opti...
aprott/iStock via Getty Images By Lynn Song , Chief Economist, Greater China Taiwan's growth beats all forecasts again 1Q26 GDP growth accelerated to 13.69% YoY, up from 12.65% YoY in 4Q25, bucking expectations for a slight moderation of growth. This rate of growth beat the entire range of forecasts once again. Unsurprisingly, external demand continued to be the main driver of growth, contributing...
aprott/iStock via Getty Images By Lynn Song , Chief Economist, Greater China Taiwan's growth beats all forecasts again 1Q26 GDP growth accelerated to 13.69% YoY, up from 12.65% YoY in 4Q25, bucking expectations for a slight moderation of growth. This rate of growth beat the entire range of forecasts once again. Unsurprisingly, external demand continued to be the main driver of growth, contributing 9.62pp to growth. While this came in a little lower than 4Q25's 11.9pp contribution, it nonetheless remains the clear primary driver of Taiwan's economic growth in the first quarter. The direct contribution from exports was little changed at 24.01pp, but higher imports at 14.39pp cut into the growth contribution somewhat. We believe there is a strong case for this momentum to carry forward into the second quarter, given the continued strength of recent export orders data, which suggests that export demand will remain strong in the months ahead. This year, Taiwan has benefited from rising tech product prices as the AI boom continues. As a producer of the most advanced chips, Taiwan has been able to maintain strong pricing power despite rising input costs. This price effect, combined with robust demand volumes, has helped push Taiwan’s economic performance consistently above market forecasts. On the domestic demand side, we saw a solid 4.07pp contribution from domestic demand, supported by private final consumption rising to 2.23pp, the highest since 1Q24. This comes on the back of recently accelerating retail sales growth. Decent performance in government spending (0.46) and gross capital formation (1.38) also supported domestic demand in the first quarter. Strong start to the year adds upside risk (again) to our forecasts We recently upgraded our Taiwan 2026 full-year forecast to 8.2% YoY on the back of consistently outperforming exports, in what we wrote was a risky forecast upgrade amid the Iran War uncertainty. Higher energy prices haven't had much impact so far on the ...
InterDigital press release ( IDCC ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $2.57 beats by $0.05 . Revenue of $205.4M (-2.4% Y/Y) beats by $8.5M . Annualized recurring revenue increased 13% year-over-year from $502.9 million to $567.2 million Smartphone ARR increased 18% year-over-year to an all-time high of $491.8 million Company reaffirms full year 2026 guidance: (in millions, except per share data) Q2 2026 Full Ye...
InterDigital press release ( IDCC ): Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $2.57 beats by $0.05 . Revenue of $205.4M (-2.4% Y/Y) beats by $8.5M . Annualized recurring revenue increased 13% year-over-year from $502.9 million to $567.2 million Smartphone ARR increased 18% year-over-year to an all-time high of $491.8 million Company reaffirms full year 2026 guidance: (in millions, except per share data) Q2 2026 Full Year 2026 Revenue $139 - $143 vs. $159.88M consensus $675 - $775 vs. $704.70M consensus Adjusted EBITDA 1 $67 - $73 $381 - $477 Diluted EPS $0.80 - $0.97 $5.77 - $8.51 Non-GAAP EPS 3 $1.41 - $1.60 vs. $2.13 consensus $8.74 - $11.84 vs. $9.85 consensus Click to enlarge More on InterDigital InterDigital: Good Results Already Priced In InterDigital, Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript InterDigital Q1 2026 Earnings Preview InterDigital renews license agreement with Sony
Hispanolistic March Core PCE Price Index: +0.3% M/M vs. +0.3% consensus and +0.4% prior, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday. +3.2% Y/Y vs. +3.2% consensus and +3.0% in February. PCE Price Index: +0.7% M/M vs. +0.7% consensus and +0.4% prior. +3.5% Y/Y vs. +3.5% consensus and +2.8% in February. Personal outlays: +0.9% M/M vs. +0.9% consensus and +0.6% prior (r...
Hispanolistic March Core PCE Price Index: +0.3% M/M vs. +0.3% consensus and +0.4% prior, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday. +3.2% Y/Y vs. +3.2% consensus and +3.0% in February. PCE Price Index: +0.7% M/M vs. +0.7% consensus and +0.4% prior. +3.5% Y/Y vs. +3.5% consensus and +2.8% in February. Personal outlays: +0.9% M/M vs. +0.9% consensus and +0.6% prior (revised from +0.5%). Personal income: +0.6% M/M vs. +0.3% consensus and 0.0% prior (revised from -0.1%). Developing… Check back for updates. More on Inflation Fed chair nominee Warsh's inflation strategy could backfire - BofA NY Fed's Williams sees some positive signs on the inflation front Hormuz disruption fuels COVID-like inflation, Bisserie warns—CNBC interview
Hong Kong homebuyers snapped up most of the new flats released on Thursday, with developers beginning to ramp up new construction amid sustained housing demand. All 120 units at the One Victoria Cove I in Hung Hom, jointly developed by Henderson Land Development, Hysan Development and Empire Group, were sold by 5.20pm, according to agents. Meanwhile, New World Development (NWD) and MTR Corp’s Pavi...
Hong Kong homebuyers snapped up most of the new flats released on Thursday, with developers beginning to ramp up new construction amid sustained housing demand. All 120 units at the One Victoria Cove I in Hung Hom, jointly developed by Henderson Land Development, Hysan Development and Empire Group, were sold by 5.20pm, according to agents. Meanwhile, New World Development (NWD) and MTR Corp’s Pavilia Farm III above Tai Wai MTR station found buyers for 19 of the 45 units as of 6.50pm. Most recent...
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / April 30, 2026 / By Kristin Wyman What you should know: The future of automotive cannot be delivered by any single company - it requires a deeply collaborative ecosystem that brings together automakers, tier-one ...
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / April 30, 2026 / By Kristin Wyman What you should know: The future of automotive cannot be delivered by any single company - it requires a deeply collaborative ecosystem that brings together automakers, tier-one ...
Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images With the earnings season underway, the Fed's unchanged policy rate stance at yesterday's FOMC meeting turned it into a non-event for the stock markets. And that, in a nutshell, is a good indication of how to approach macro investing right now. De-emphasize it. In favor of individual stock picking. To explain why, here I first look at the details of the lates...
Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images With the earnings season underway, the Fed's unchanged policy rate stance at yesterday's FOMC meeting turned it into a non-event for the stock markets. And that, in a nutshell, is a good indication of how to approach macro investing right now. De-emphasize it. In favor of individual stock picking. To explain why, here I first look at the details of the latest FOMC statement, which explains the current macroeconomic scenario. Next, the possible interest rate trajectory over 2026 is explored, which underlines the economic context. This is followed by the market response to the statement, which indicates how the stock markets already feel about current conditions, finally leading to conclusions on investing ideas. The FOMC statement highlights uncertainty There's little change to the Fed's observations on the real economy in the latest FOMC statement, but it does highlight inflation risks and economic uncertainty more than it did in March. The details are as below. "Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace" In its opening remark, the Fed continues to be positive on overall economic activity. The only difference is that it replaces the phrase "Available indicators" in March with "Recent indicators" now. The content of this remark is at odds with the recently released third estimate for GDP growth in Q4 2025, which came in at just 0.5%, a sharp drop from the advance estimate of 1.4%. At the same time, GDP grew at around the trend level of 2.1% for the full year 2025. It also outpaced the Fed's projection of a 1.7% increase, which can explain its positive verdict on economic activity. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis "Job gains have remained low, on average, and the unemployment rate has been little changed in recent months" The Fed's observation of the labor market, too, remains essentially unchanged. The only difference is that it now sees job gains as low "on average", a caveat that w...
Leestat/iStock via Getty Images By Paolo Pizzoli , Senior Economist, Italy, Greece The preliminary estimate of Italy's GDP growth in the first quarter of 2026 turned out slightly stronger than expected. According to the Istat release, GDP was up 0.16% on the quarter, while both we and consensus were pointing to 0.1%. The streamlined press release – which, at the preliminary estimate stage, omits t...
Leestat/iStock via Getty Images By Paolo Pizzoli , Senior Economist, Italy, Greece The preliminary estimate of Italy's GDP growth in the first quarter of 2026 turned out slightly stronger than expected. According to the Istat release, GDP was up 0.16% on the quarter, while both we and consensus were pointing to 0.1%. The streamlined press release – which, at the preliminary estimate stage, omits the detailed demand breakdown – adds that net exports provided a positive contribution to quarterly growth, whilst domestic demand (gross of inventories) acted as a drag. From the supply-side angle, value added increased over the quarter in services and contracted in industry and agriculture. As expected, the impact of a month of war was not enough to stall economic growth for the entire quarter. Don’t forget that February was the month of the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, which prompted an acceleration in foreign tourist arrivals and attendance. This might have helped push net exports via the tourism services channel. As far as the demand components are concerned, it seems reasonable to assume a negative contribution of inventories after a strong push in the fourth quarter of 2025. Looking ahead, given the protracted deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz, prospects for the second quarter are of a further deceleration of GDP growth. We are currently anticipating a flat quarter; private consumption is likely to suffer the direct impact of rising inflation on household purchasing power, while gross fixed capital formation may prove more resilient thanks to a likely acceleration in infrastructural investment as the end-June deadline of the EU-funded national recovery plan approaches. Needless to say, risks to this call are clearly tilted to the downside if the standoff in US-Iran negotiations continues. April's confidence data, which marked a widespread deterioration in confidence across the economy, was an unambiguous warning shot. Content Disclaimer This publication has bee...
A key measure of inflation used by the Federal Reserve to set interest rates posted the biggest increase in March in almost three years, marking another major hurdle for a resilient but harried U.S. economy.
A key measure of inflation used by the Federal Reserve to set interest rates posted the biggest increase in March in almost three years, marking another major hurdle for a resilient but harried U.S. economy.
The European Union ’s revamped plans to stimulate the semiconductor industry would allow the bloc’s executive arm to invest directly in manufacturing, people familiar with the draft said. The draft of the Chips Act II, expected in late May, is an attempt to improve on its 2022 predecessor . It aims to help Europe invest more in the critical technology and lessen reliance on foreign supply chains. ...
The European Union ’s revamped plans to stimulate the semiconductor industry would allow the bloc’s executive arm to invest directly in manufacturing, people familiar with the draft said. The draft of the Chips Act II, expected in late May, is an attempt to improve on its 2022 predecessor . It aims to help Europe invest more in the critical technology and lessen reliance on foreign supply chains. The proposal empowers the European Commission to invest in large, cross-border projects directly, whereas previously it was limited to funding research and approving aid from member states, the people said, asking not to be identified because the draft proposal isn’t yet public. The commission-backed projects would still be public-private partnerships, the people said. The new version of the act will also aim to increase development of tech crucial for chipmaking, including machinery, materials and circuit boards, the people said. The rules could still change before they’re published and will need to go through multiple rounds of negotiations between EU governments and members of the European Parliament before being passed. The process can take several months. A representative for the commission didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the risks of Europe’s reliance on global supply chains. The EU put the Chips Act forward as a way to stimulate local chip production and reduce the risk of disruption to local industries. At the time, the bloc said incentives for semiconductor projects could reach €86 billion ($101 billion) through a combination of state aid and corporate investments. It aimed to make it easier for countries to get authorization to spend money on manufacturing and draw in companies willing to build infrastructure in Europe. Read More: Global Chips Battle Intensifies With $81 Billion Subsidy Surge The goal was to double the EU’s market share in global chip production to 20% by 2030. But after a number of proposed proje...
designer491 Initial jobless claims for the week ended April 25 dropped to 189 K from 215K in the previous week (revised from 214K) and trailed the 213K consensus, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday. More on the U.S. Economy The Yen Recovers On Verbal Intervention Wall Street Lunch Fed Special: Powell Doesn't Go Gently Into That Good Night Middle East Turmoil Fue...
designer491 Initial jobless claims for the week ended April 25 dropped to 189 K from 215K in the previous week (revised from 214K) and trailed the 213K consensus, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday. More on the U.S. Economy The Yen Recovers On Verbal Intervention Wall Street Lunch Fed Special: Powell Doesn't Go Gently Into That Good Night Middle East Turmoil Fuels Inflation Fears, Testing Fed's Patience Bessent criticizes Powell's plan to stay on Fed board after chair term - report Trump has surprisingly mild reaction to Powell staying at Fed
Earnings Call Insights: CBIZ (CBZ) Q1 2026 Management View “We entered 2026 with a clear plan, and our overall first quarter performance was in line with our expectations,” said (President, CEO & Director Jerry Grisko), adding, “Our organic growth improved throughout the quarter and is up sequentially compared to the fourth quarter.” “With our solid start to the year, we are reaffirming our revenu...
Earnings Call Insights: CBIZ (CBZ) Q1 2026 Management View “We entered 2026 with a clear plan, and our overall first quarter performance was in line with our expectations,” said (President, CEO & Director Jerry Grisko), adding, “Our organic growth improved throughout the quarter and is up sequentially compared to the fourth quarter.” “With our solid start to the year, we are reaffirming our revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow targets while increasing our adjusted EPS outlook,” said (CEO Grisko), and he quantified integration-related headwinds: “We estimate that these temporary factors reduced reported organic revenue growth by approximately 200 basis points in the first quarter.” “With Peter's appointment as Chief Information and Technology Officer and President of CBIZ Technology, we're making a deliberate convergence, one leader, one platform, one road map,” said (CEO Grisko). “Just last week, we began the full rollout of our latest internal capabilities company-wide, moving from primarily AI-assisted workflows to more advanced agentic-based AI solutions,” said (Senior VP, Chief Strategy Officer & National Leader of Technology Peter Scavuzzo), and he added an example: “For year 1, our AI-based data extraction workflow is producing 20% efficiency with our anticipation in subsequent years that this efficiency will grow to 40%.” “We are on track to achieve our target of increasing offshore hours from approximately 6% in 2025 to 10% in 2026,” said (CEO Grisko), adding, “Over the next several years… we plan to expand hours completed outside the U.S. to more than 20%.” “Consolidated revenue increased 1.3% year-over-year to $849 million, with organic revenue growth of 1%,” said (Senior VP & CFO Brad Lakhia), and he added, “Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $2.50 compared to $2.33 in the first quarter of last year.” Outlook “We continue to expect revenue to be between $2.8 billion and $2.9 billion, representing 2% to 5% year-over-year growth,” said (CFO Lakh...