lorozco3D/iStock via Getty Images Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, believes market fundamentals remain robust despite significant geopolitical tensions, arguing that stock markets ( SP500 ), ( COMP:IND ), ( DJI ) have been signaling a desire to move past external shocks for weeks. While acknowledging the wide range of potential outcomes from current global conflicts, S...
lorozco3D/iStock via Getty Images Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, believes market fundamentals remain robust despite significant geopolitical tensions, arguing that stock markets ( SP500 ), ( COMP:IND ), ( DJI ) have been signaling a desire to move past external shocks for weeks. While acknowledging the wide range of potential outcomes from current global conflicts, Schleif maintains that equity markets are focused on underlying economic strength and the upcoming earnings season rather than unpredictable geopolitical developments. In an interview with CNBC, Schleif pointed to historical precedents to support her outlook, noting that markets bottomed during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 despite it taking years to reach full resolution. “Markets have definitely moved on, and they definitely want to focus on fundamentals,” she said, adding that the upcoming earnings season will provide investors the opportunity to assess how companies are preparing for and managing global impacts. BMO Private Wealth has maintained a consistently optimistic view on the U.S. economy, having not expected a recession for years—including during periods of broader market concern in 2022 and last year. “We thought the economy was going to power through because the resiliency of our companies,” Schleif explained. She noted that the current environment could allow for stronger-than-expected growth while benefiting from deflationary pressures that would prevent inflation from spiking. For investors navigating the current uncertainty, Schleif counseled patience over market timing. “Don’t try to time the market because over the long run, the criticality is time in the market,” she advised. Her recommendation involves making incremental adjustments—trimming winning positions to reallocate capital elsewhere rather than making dramatic portfolio shifts based on daily headlines. When it comes to specific opportunities, Schleif identified industrials ( XLI ), financi...
We Are/DigitalVision via Getty Images Summary I am neutral on Paychex ( PAYX ). I think the story is getting better, mainly because Paycor integration is tracking well and the outsourcing business is doing well too. Those two areas could help PAYX broaden beyond basic payroll and support better growth over time. That said, I do not think the market will re-rate the stock any higher from here becau...
We Are/DigitalVision via Getty Images Summary I am neutral on Paychex ( PAYX ). I think the story is getting better, mainly because Paycor integration is tracking well and the outsourcing business is doing well too. Those two areas could help PAYX broaden beyond basic payroll and support better growth over time. That said, I do not think the market will re-rate the stock any higher from here because core growth is still weak without Paycor, and the next quarter is likely to look slower on the headlines. Company overview PAYX is a human capital management business that provides payroll, HR, employee benefits, and insurance services in the US and parts of Europe. PAYX has three proprietary SaaS platforms: SurePayroll, Paychex Flex, and Paycor, and they are split into two categories: Management Solutions and PEO (Professional Employer Organization) and Insurance Solutions. Management Solutions covers payroll and broader HCM-related services. PEO and Insurance Solutions covers HR outsourcing, benefits, and insurance-related offerings. PAYX also earns interest on funds held for clients before those funds are remitted. Paycor and Outsourcing I see two key positive points for PAYX. The most important one is the Paycor acquisition . The primary concern, I think, the market has is integration given the size of this acquisition. My expectation is PAYX to execute well on this front, and we do have datapoints to support this. First and foremost, management commented that integration is progressing well and remains on track to exceed the FY2026 synergy targets. The more important datapoint is that bookings and broker referrals have reaccelerated to pre-acquisition levels, sales headcount is being added, and PAYX is getting traction cross-selling ASO (Administrative Services Only), PEO, and retirement solutions into the Paycor base. This is a massive win for PAYX because if Paycor can help PAYX sell more services into a broader customer base, then there are credible revenue syner...
Hello and welcome to the newsletter, a grab bag of daily content from the Odd Lots universe. Sometimes it’s us, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, bringing you our thoughts on the most recent developments in markets, finance and the economy. And sometimes it’s contributions from our network of expert guests and sources. Whatever it is, we promise it will always be interesting. If you like chatting ...
Hello and welcome to the newsletter, a grab bag of daily content from the Odd Lots universe. Sometimes it’s us, Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway, bringing you our thoughts on the most recent developments in markets, finance and the economy. And sometimes it’s contributions from our network of expert guests and sources. Whatever it is, we promise it will always be interesting. If you like chatting with us, check out the Odd Lots Discord , where you can hang out and talk with us and with other listeners 24/7. What Joe and Tracy are thinking about today... Hello Odd Lots readers. Today we are using the newsletter to let you know that we’re coming to London and that you can buy tickets now . Our first ever public show outside the US will be held at Wilton’s Music Hall on Thursday, May 7. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. We have some great guests booked already, with more names to be announced soon. But we wanted newsletter readers to get the first crack at going, so we’re placing the link here, before publicizing it elsewhere. If you’re around, we’d love to see you there for an evening of live recordings, and hanging out with fellow listeners and readers. On the podcast Today on the podcast we had the opportunity to speak with the legendary trading entrepreneur Thomas Peterffy, the founder and chairman of Interactive Brokers . Like several other players, IBKR is trying to get into the prediction markets business, which Peterffy expects to eventually be huge. So we talk to him about the firm’s offering, its business model, and what it will take to attract institutional investors into the space. Listen: Apple / Spotify More from Bloomberg Enjoying Odd Lots? Check out these newsletters: Markets Daily for what’s moving in stocks, bonds, FX and commodities Going Private for coverage of private markets and the forces moving capital away from the public eye CFO Briefing for what finance leaders need to know Deals for transactions and analysis, from IPOs to st...
Grupo Cibest S.A. press release ( CIB ): Q4 net income attributable to shareholders was COP 3.8 trillion. The quarterly annualized return on equity for Grupo Cibest was 9.1% for the quarter. More on Grupo Cibest S.A. Grupo Cibest S.A. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Grupo Cibest S.A. (CIB) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Grupo Cibest: A Good Diversification Play In The Global Banki...
Grupo Cibest S.A. press release ( CIB ): Q4 net income attributable to shareholders was COP 3.8 trillion. The quarterly annualized return on equity for Grupo Cibest was 9.1% for the quarter. More on Grupo Cibest S.A. Grupo Cibest S.A. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Grupo Cibest S.A. (CIB) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Grupo Cibest: A Good Diversification Play In The Global Banking Sector Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Grupo Cibest S.A. Historical earnings data for Grupo Cibest S.A.
sergioboccardo/iStock via Getty Images Denison Mines ( DNN ) has a really long history in uranium mining through its predecessors, going back to the 1950s. In the last few years, with the announcement of the results of the pre-feasibility study of the Phoenix deposit in its Wheeler River project, Denison is now once again on the path to becoming a full-fledged uranium producer. Construction is abo...
sergioboccardo/iStock via Getty Images Denison Mines ( DNN ) has a really long history in uranium mining through its predecessors, going back to the 1950s. In the last few years, with the announcement of the results of the pre-feasibility study of the Phoenix deposit in its Wheeler River project, Denison is now once again on the path to becoming a full-fledged uranium producer. Construction is about to begin. First production should happen in mid-2028. The Phoenix ISR project is a high-grade, low-cost asset delivering ~73% IRR and rapid payback. All of these things have suddenly made investors notice DNN stock, and it has gone up significantly in the last one year. Business Overview Denison’s assets are mainly in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, which have some of the highest grade uranium in the world. While Denison has several exploration and development projects, the investment case now rests primarily on Wheeler River. There are two key deposits here: Phoenix and Gryphon. Phoenix is the one that is near-term, with construction about to begin after they secured final investment approval. Gryphon is a second option, which will take more time, it being a conventional mining project, driving the company’s revenues beyond Phoenix. Phoenix Project Economics Key Project Metrics Author (Note: costs are in US dollars, while capex and NPV are reported in Canadian dollars.) What The Numbers Actually Say Phoenix has a low cost structure of roughly $18 per pound all-in. That sits well below the current uranium price of $80-90. So the margin is $60+ per pound, placing the mine firmly in the lower end of the global cost curve. A second feature is the front-loaded nature of the extraction. Approximately 41.9 million pounds, or nearly three-quarters of the total reserve, can be extracted within the first five years, at around 8.4 million pounds per year. This accelerates cash flow and reduces the impact of discounting. This is why both the NPV and the IRR are so high. Here’s a quick ex...
Ayman Zaid/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment thesis update Since my prior articles on Alibaba, the latest one in August 2025, Alibaba ( BABA ) has experienced a roller coaster ride in terms of share price, reached as high as $190 but is currently down 20% YTD - despite cloud revenue accelerating to 36% YoY in Q3 FY2026 and AI-related product revenue now posting triple-digit growth for t...
Ayman Zaid/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Investment thesis update Since my prior articles on Alibaba, the latest one in August 2025, Alibaba ( BABA ) has experienced a roller coaster ride in terms of share price, reached as high as $190 but is currently down 20% YTD - despite cloud revenue accelerating to 36% YoY in Q3 FY2026 and AI-related product revenue now posting triple-digit growth for ten consecutive quarters, as reported in the latest earnings. However, the current market still prices Alibaba as a consumer company with e-commerce and cloud divisions. The recent underperformance relative to the broader market reflects this view as the Chinese economy remains sluggish, while the Company is spending huge in AI, which does not give investors comfort. My thesis on BABA is that what the market has not priced in is that Alibaba is on track to become China's most important AI infrastructure company on which China's agentic AI application boom is built. One should recognize that the US and China are no longer running the same AI race. The US is chasing Artificial General Intelligence ( AGI ), which is to achieve human-level intelligence by pouring hundreds of billions into massive compute clusters aimed at self-improving loops and scientific discovery. Meanwhile, China, constrained by US export controls on high-bandwidth memory and advanced GPUs, takes a fundamentally different path: developing open-source small models to enhance enterprise applications and run edge AI on hardware like autonomous driving and humanoid. As such, Alibaba's Qwen, which is now the most downloaded open-source AI model series globally, is not only a research program but also the foundation on which the nation's edge AI applications run. This positioning is not well understood by investors: On one hand, bears worry about hyperscalers spending too much and are in a bubble, missing the different pathway BABA takes; on the other hand, bulls think BABA is losing to the US LLMs, which in fact...
Maskot | Digitalvision | Getty Images It may be more expensive for some student loan borrowers to access a popular debt forgiveness program , after a new policy rolled out by the Trump administration. Borrowers who were using the so-called buyback option to get their debt cleared under Public Service Loan Forgiveness will likely be subject to a higher bill, as a result of the changes. PSLF, which ...
Maskot | Digitalvision | Getty Images It may be more expensive for some student loan borrowers to access a popular debt forgiveness program , after a new policy rolled out by the Trump administration. Borrowers who were using the so-called buyback option to get their debt cleared under Public Service Loan Forgiveness will likely be subject to a higher bill, as a result of the changes. PSLF, which Congress created and President George W. Bush signed into law in 2007, allows certain not-for-profit and government employees to have their federal student loans canceled after 120 payments, or 10 years. PSLF Buyback , meanwhile, was created by the Biden administration, and allows borrowers who have hit 120 months of qualifying employment to submit a request to the U.S. Department of Education to retroactively pay for any months they missed because of a forbearance or deferment. Here's why "buyback" offers may become more expensive, and what borrowers can do about it. Trump administration won't use SAVE plan formula After you have submitted your buyback request, the Education Department is supposed to send you an offer letter. That should include the number of monthly payments you missed during your public service history, and a chance to pay that bill in exchange for student loan forgiveness. The reason borrowers may now have to pay more for that relief: The department says it won't calculate borrowers' offers using the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan if their deferment or forbearance was on or after July 1, 2024. The Biden administration-era SAVE plan, which was officially blocked by a federal appeals court in March, came with much lower monthly payments than other repayment plans. Under the SAVE plan, monthly payments were based on as low as 5% of a borrower's discretionary income. For comparison, the Income-Based Repayment plan takes 10% — and that share rises to 15% for certain borrowers with older loans. "Coming up with high payments may possibly prevent...
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLI ) surged 4.3% in the first quarter of 2026, against the broader S&P 500 Index, which fell 4.6% over the same period. As companies prepare to report their results for the quarter gone by, Seeking Alpha provides a snapshot of how companies rank across key factors such as valuation, growth, profitability, momentum, and estimate revisions. Below...
The State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLI ) surged 4.3% in the first quarter of 2026, against the broader S&P 500 Index, which fell 4.6% over the same period. As companies prepare to report their results for the quarter gone by, Seeking Alpha provides a snapshot of how companies rank across key factors such as valuation, growth, profitability, momentum, and estimate revisions. Below is an overview of small-cap financial stocks with market capitalizations below $2 billion, highlighting those with the highest and lowest quant ratings ahead of Q1 2026 results. Top quant-rated companies, with a market capitalization below $2 billion Commercial Vehicle Group ( CVGI ) - Strong Buy rating 4.98 . Tigo Energy ( TYGO ) - Strong Buy rating 4.96 . Seanergy Maritime Holdings ( SHIP ) - Strong Buy rating 4.94 . Diana Shipping ( DSX ) - Strong Buy rating 4.91 . Innovative Aerosystems ( ISSC ) - Strong Buy rating 4.81 . Bottom quant-rated companies, with a market capitalization below $2 billion Surf Air Mobility ( SRFM ) - Strong Sell rating 1.05 . FTC Solar ( FTCI ) - Strong Sell rating 1.05 . Cycurion ( CYCU ) - Strong Sell rating 1.05 . Birchtech ( BCHT ) - Strong Sell rating 1.04 . Southland Holdings ( SLND ) - Strong Sell rating 1.03 . More on State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF Finding The Opportunities After The Selloff And End Of The War Time Is Running Out The Middle East War: Let's Talk About U.S. Defense Stocks Industrial stocks hit fresh highs as ceasefire rally lifts infrastructure names Weekly ETF flows: Five of 11 sectors record outflows; energy sector leads inflows
CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) on Thursday announced an expanded agreement with Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, XETRA:FB2A, SIX:FB) to provide AI cloud capacity through December 2032. The deal, valued at approximately $21 billion, continues the companies’ existing relationship and supports Meta’s...
CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) on Thursday announced an expanded agreement with Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, XETRA:FB2A, SIX:FB) to provide AI cloud capacity through December 2032. The deal, valued at approximately $21 billion, continues the companies’ existing relationship and supports Meta’s...
Michael Vi Shares of BlackBerry ( BB ) surged about 11% on Thursday after fourth quarter results and revenue outlook surpassed estimates. The Canadian company's fiscal fourth quarter, ended Feb. 28, saw adjusted EPS of $0.06, while revenue jumped about 10% year-over-year to $156M. Both top and bottom-line numbers exceeded expectations. "QNX is now a Rule of 40 business, and a clear leader in autom...
Michael Vi Shares of BlackBerry ( BB ) surged about 11% on Thursday after fourth quarter results and revenue outlook surpassed estimates. The Canadian company's fiscal fourth quarter, ended Feb. 28, saw adjusted EPS of $0.06, while revenue jumped about 10% year-over-year to $156M. Both top and bottom-line numbers exceeded expectations. "QNX is now a Rule of 40 business, and a clear leader in automotive, embedded in more than 275 million vehicles worldwide, with growing momentum in robotics, physical AI, and other adjacent markets. Secure Communications has returned to growth, driven by a real and accelerating digital sovereignty tailwind. That growth is translating into stronger profitability and cash generation, which we are deploying with discipline," said BlackBerry's CEO John Giamatteo. The company noted that QNX posted record quarterly revenue of $78.7M, up 20% year-over-year. Secure Communications revenue grew 8% year-over-year to $72.5M. The company added that Licensing revenue was $4.8M. Outlook For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, BlackBerry expects total revenue to be between $132M and $140M (midpoint at $136M) versus a consensus estimate of $129.83M. The company forecasts non-GAAP basic EPS to be in the range of $0.02 to $0.03. For the full fiscal year 2027, BlackBerry expects total revenue to be between $584M and $611M (midpoint at $597.5M) versus a consensus estimate of $577.25M. The company expects non-GAAP basic EPS to be in the range of $0.15 to $0.19 (midpoint at $0.17). More on BlackBerry A Look At BlackBerry's Growth Drivers, Ahead Of Fourth-Quarter Earnings Report BlackBerry Now Looks Attractive As QNX Expands Beyond Automotive BlackBerry: QNX Could Unlock Solid Growth And Value BlackBerry shares fell for seven straight sessions Historical earnings data for BlackBerry Limited