Fang Zheng Costco ( COST ) saw record fuel sales volumes in the third quarter as shoppers flocked to its gas stations to pay less at the pump amid high oil prices driven by the Iran war. "All three four-week fiscal periods of the quarter set successive all-time company volume sales records, with the final five weeks of the quarter becoming our top 5 volume weeks ever," Costco ( COST ) CEO Ron Vach...
Fang Zheng Costco ( COST ) saw record fuel sales volumes in the third quarter as shoppers flocked to its gas stations to pay less at the pump amid high oil prices driven by the Iran war. "All three four-week fiscal periods of the quarter set successive all-time company volume sales records, with the final five weeks of the quarter becoming our top 5 volume weeks ever," Costco ( COST ) CEO Ron Vachris said during an earnings call on Thursday. "The high consumer price sensitivity, which fueled these record volumes, also drove many members to use our gas stations for the very first time in Q3," he noted, adding that "this will drive even greater loyalty with these members in the future." Costco ( COST ) reported Q3 comparable sales growth of 9.8%, well above the consensus estimate of 7.8%. Gas price inflation positively impacted comp sales by about 2.2%. "Gas prices are very much on members' minds," said Costco ( COST ) CFO Gary Millerchip, as gas is now a bigger percentage of a member's total spend in the month because of higher prices. "We've widened our gaps in terms of price to make sure we're there for our members." More on Costco Costco Wholesale (COST) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Costco Wholesale 2026 Q3 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Costco Q3 Earnings Preview: Great Business With Limited Upside Costco outlines 30-plus net new openings per year
At the time, officials estimated the cost at between £17m and £700m - however, that top figure would only apply if all of the waste was dug up and transported elsewhere, which is not what Muir's department is planning to do.
At the time, officials estimated the cost at between £17m and £700m - however, that top figure would only apply if all of the waste was dug up and transported elsewhere, which is not what Muir's department is planning to do.
The trillion-dollar company that Warren Buffett helped build, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA 0.27%)(BRKB 0.53%), has entered uncharted territory. For the first time in well over half a century, the Oracle of Omaha, who outperformed the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.58%) by more than 6,000,000% over six decades, is not at the helm. But just because Buffett retired as CEO on Dec. 31 and handed the reins to ...
The trillion-dollar company that Warren Buffett helped build, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA 0.27%)(BRKB 0.53%), has entered uncharted territory. For the first time in well over half a century, the Oracle of Omaha, who outperformed the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.58%) by more than 6,000,000% over six decades, is not at the helm. But just because Buffett retired as CEO on Dec. 31 and handed the reins to his protégé, Greg Abel, it doesn't mean his legacy isn't lasting. Two weeks ago, an update of Warren Buffett's $786 million "secret" portfolio revealed that a time-tested investment and proven millionaire-maker is still the No. 1 holding. The Oracle of Omaha's "secret" portfolio is nothing like Berkshire's $333 billion portfolio In 1998, Berkshire Hathaway acquired General Re in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $22 billion. Though the catalyst of this deal was General Re's reinsurance operations, this wasn't the only puzzle piece of this acquisition. General Re also owned a specialty investment firm, New England Asset Management (NEAM). Upon completion of the deal, NEAM became a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Although Buffett didn't oversee NEAM's portfolio in the same way that he directed traffic for Berkshire's $333 billion investment portfolio, NEAM's assets are, ultimately, part of Berkshire. This connection is what makes NEAM Buffett's "secret" portfolio. Institutional investors with at least $100 million in assets under management are required to file a Form 13F with regulators every quarter, detailing their buying and selling activity. NEAM handily exceeds this threshold, allowing investors to track trades in this under-the-radar portfolio. New England Asset Management's latest 13F shows 99 holdings, with a big emphasis on exchange-traded funds (ETFs), preferred stocks, and time-tested dividend stocks. This is in stark contrast to Berkshire's concentrated investment portfolio. This top holding is a surefire moneymaker (with a catch) Sitting atop the pedes...
Key Points Although Warren Buffett retired as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO on Dec. 31, his legacy is lasting. The Oracle of Omaha's "secret" portfolio, which can be traced to a Berkshire acquisition in 1998, is highly diverse and ETF-oriented. The top holding of Buffett's secret portfolio tracks an index that hasn't generated a negative rolling 20-year total return (including dividends) since 1900. 10...
Key Points Although Warren Buffett retired as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO on Dec. 31, his legacy is lasting. The Oracle of Omaha's "secret" portfolio, which can be traced to a Berkshire acquisition in 1998, is highly diverse and ETF-oriented. The top holding of Buffett's secret portfolio tracks an index that hasn't generated a negative rolling 20-year total return (including dividends) since 1900. 10 stocks we like better than SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust › The trillion-dollar company that Warren Buffett helped build, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB), has entered uncharted territory. For the first time in well over half a century, the Oracle of Omaha, who outperformed the benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) by more than 6,000,000% over six decades, is not at the helm. But just because Buffett retired as CEO on Dec. 31 and handed the reins to his protégé, Greg Abel, it doesn't mean his legacy isn't lasting. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Two weeks ago, an update of Warren Buffett's $786 million "secret" portfolio revealed that a time-tested investment and proven millionaire-maker is still the No. 1 holding. The Oracle of Omaha's "secret" portfolio is nothing like Berkshire's $333 billion portfolio In 1998, Berkshire Hathaway acquired General Re in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $22 billion. Though the catalyst of this deal was General Re's reinsurance operations, this wasn't the only puzzle piece of this acquisition. General Re also owned a specialty investment firm, New England Asset Management (NEAM). Upon completion of the deal, NEAM became a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. Although Buffett didn't oversee NEAM's portfolio in the same way that he directed traffic for Berkshire's $333 billion investment portfolio, NEAM's assets are, ultimately, part of Berkshire. Th...
Alistair Berg/DigitalVision via Getty Images U. S. equity futures remained steady Friday morning, after a record-breaking day on Wall Street. Market sentiment is supported by strong tech earnings and diplomatic progress in the Middle East. However, ongoing market challenges are limiting overall trading volumes ahead of key economic updates. Here are some of Friday's biggest stock movers: Biggest s...
Alistair Berg/DigitalVision via Getty Images U. S. equity futures remained steady Friday morning, after a record-breaking day on Wall Street. Market sentiment is supported by strong tech earnings and diplomatic progress in the Middle East. However, ongoing market challenges are limiting overall trading volumes ahead of key economic updates. Here are some of Friday's biggest stock movers: Biggest stock gainers Dell Technologies ( DELL ) +38.4% - Shares advanced after posting record Q1 revenue of $43.8 billion (+88% YoY) and massive non-GAAP EPS of $4.86. The company also upped its full-year forecast for fiscal 2027 , as it now sees revenue between $165B and $169B, up from a prior range of $138B to $142B. Analysts were expecting $142.12B in full-year revenue. Adjusted earnings are expected to be $17.90 per share at the midpoint, well above the $13.12 analysts had anticipated. For the upcoming second quarter of fiscal 2027, Dell said it expects revenue to be between $44B and $45B, with the $44.5B midpoint well above the $35.06B analysts were expecting. Adjusted earnings for the second quarter are expected to be $4.80 per share, well above the $2.99 analysts were anticipating. Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) +19.1% - Shares gained momentum in sympathy with Dell's blockbuster numbers and a major pre-earnings price target hike to $37 from $27 (retaining an Overweight rating). Analysts noted strong enterprise refresh activity and high demand for networking/cloud solutions. A clear path to a $3.00 EPS target for fiscal 2028 suggests a promising mid-to-high-teens earnings CAGR before Q2 earnings on June 1. NetApp ( NTAP ) +15.2% - Shares advanced after delivering strong Q4 earnings , beating top- and bottom-line expectations with an adjusted EPS of $2.43 on revenue of $1.95 billion, driven by robust expansion in high-margin all-flash storage arrays. NetApp anticipates Q1 2027 sales of $1.75B to $1.9B, surpassing the $1.67B forecast. Adjusted earnings are projected between...
Key Points Ethereum is crypto's largest and most important venue for decentralized finance (DeFi). Hyperliquid has a small but quickly growing DeFi ecosystem. However, it's facing a lot of competition. 10 stocks we like better than Hyperliquid › Investors are always coming up with new narratives about new challengers rising and unseating the market's entrenched leaders. Today, there's a narrative ...
Key Points Ethereum is crypto's largest and most important venue for decentralized finance (DeFi). Hyperliquid has a small but quickly growing DeFi ecosystem. However, it's facing a lot of competition. 10 stocks we like better than Hyperliquid › Investors are always coming up with new narratives about new challengers rising and unseating the market's entrenched leaders. Today, there's a narrative that suggests Hyperliquid (CRYPTO: HYPE), a blockchain and decentralized crypto exchange for trading a type of derivative called perpetual futures, just might become the next Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). That's more plausible than ever, considering that Hyperliquid spent its first year of existence bulldozing its competition in decentralized derivatives before starting to expand into the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) segment. DeFi is Ethereum's main reason for being, and in that respect it's way out in front. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » But becoming the next Ethereum is a big task. That network grew to be plenty big, but the more important factor is that it invented the very category it grew into. Whether Hyperliquid can follow that arc depends on several different factors, so let's analyze them and see if it has a shot at unseating the crypto sector's reigning DeFi champion. This chain has the energy of a unicorn tech start-up Hyperliquid's grip on the decentralized perpetuals market is hard to overstate. As of April 2026, it controlled more than 70% of open interest (OI) across decentralized perpetual markets, processing upward of $180 billion in monthly volume, which is more than every other on-chain derivatives platform combined. Perpetual futures contracts are essentially a way of making a leveraged bet on the direction that an asset is moving constantly, rather than using other...
Here are three stocks added to the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) List today: Brookfield Corporation BN is a diversified investment company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 10.7% downward over the last 60 days. CNB Financial Corporation CCNE is a bank holding company for CNB Bank. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 7...
Here are three stocks added to the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) List today: Brookfield Corporation BN is a diversified investment company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 10.7% downward over the last 60 days. CNB Financial Corporation CCNE is a bank holding company for CNB Bank. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 7.1% downward over the last 60 days. Cass Information Systems, Inc. CASS is a payment and information processing services provider.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has been revised 14.2% downward over the last 60 days. View the entire Zacks Rank #5 List. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cass Information Systems, Inc (CASS) : Free Stock Analysis Report CNB Financial Corporation (CCNE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Brookfield Corporation (BN) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Lenovo Group has unexpectedly emerged as the best performer on the Hang Seng Index this year after its shares more than doubled, as optimism builds that the Chinese personal computer (PC) maker will become more reliant on artificial intelligence for growth. The stock surged 22 per cent to HK$24 in Hong Kong on Friday, extending its gain so far in 2026 to 159 per cent, ranking first among the 90 co...
Lenovo Group has unexpectedly emerged as the best performer on the Hang Seng Index this year after its shares more than doubled, as optimism builds that the Chinese personal computer (PC) maker will become more reliant on artificial intelligence for growth. The stock surged 22 per cent to HK$24 in Hong Kong on Friday, extending its gain so far in 2026 to 159 per cent, ranking first among the 90 constituent members of the city’s stock market benchmark indicator. Lenovo’s gain was more than three times that of Contemporary Amperex Technology, the second-best performer on the Hang Seng gauge with a 47 per cent advance. The surge came after Lenovo signed a contract with the Tianjin municipal government to invest in a research and manufacturing centre for products linked to AI computing power, with mass production estimated in 2027. Also adding to buying sentiment was the upbeat guidance by global peer Dell Technologies for the AI business. Over the past week, Lenovo has jumped 52 per cent after its fourth-quarter results last week showed that growth of its AI segment accelerated. Advertisement “Lenovo is evolving from a PC-led hardware company into a hybrid AI platform spanning devices, AI infrastructure and services,” said Jim Hin Kwong Au, an analyst at DBS Group. “Its global device installed base, and ‘global-local’ supply chain should help defend profitability through the memory upcycle, while AI PCs, Motorola smartphones and enterprise AI infrastructure create multiple monetisation layers.” Investors’ enthusiasm for Lenovo underscores the increasing conviction that the traditional manufacturer would benefit from the AI boom by leaning more into data centres, cloud and computing services. Its AI-related revenue surged 84 per cent from a year ago in the quarter ending in March, contributing 38 per cent of total sales, according to its earnings report. Advertisement As the global AI trade continues to develop, investors are scouring for stocks that can generate real c...
Private Capital Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,628 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after selling 4,587 shares during the period. Amazon.com comprises approximately 1.8% of Private Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th bigges...
Private Capital Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,628 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after selling 4,587 shares during the period. Amazon.com comprises approximately 1.8% of Private Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Private Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $17,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,740 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in Amazon.com by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 1,633 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Amazon.com by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 886 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its position in Amazon.com by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 3,076 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navalign LLC lifted its position in Amazon.com by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 13,349 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $3,081,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Amazon...
Underwriting discipline eventually separates winners from losers Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images In a prior article , I compared Mercury General ( MCY ) with Safety Insurance ( SAFT ), and named Safety as a "safer Mercury". During the pre-COVID period, Safety Insurance was a decent underwriter, with a combined ratio ranging between 95% and 97% - or an underwriting margin of roughly 3–...
Underwriting discipline eventually separates winners from losers Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images In a prior article , I compared Mercury General ( MCY ) with Safety Insurance ( SAFT ), and named Safety as a "safer Mercury". During the pre-COVID period, Safety Insurance was a decent underwriter, with a combined ratio ranging between 95% and 97% - or an underwriting margin of roughly 3–5%. On the other hand, Mercury was a struggling insurer that ultimately lost its dividend aristocrat status following the post-COVID inflationary environment, the lack of repricing, and insufficient underwriting measures. Mercury General was a falling knife, while Safety was what I would call a “so-so” regional carrier: not bad, not great, but sufficiently profitable to reward shareholders. In 2026, it is time to revisit the situation and see whether the paradox still exists. Spoiler alert: the situation has changed massively, and the bad has become the good - and vice versa. Underwriting Performance Comparison The key metric for a property & casualty insurer is the combined ratio level. Hypergrowth aficionados would argue that growth is everything. Not in the insurance industry. Underwriting discipline is the key. Both insurers suffered from the post-COVID inflation surge. In 2022 and 2023, both insurers reported underwriting losses. But while Safety continued posting underwriting losses in 2024, Mercury General managed to restore profitability and continued generating underwriting profits over 2025. Safety returned to profitability only in 2025, after three consecutive years of underwriting losses. Year Mercury General Safety Insurance 2020 93.6% 95.6% 2021 98.7% 89.4% 2022 109.5% 102.7% 2023 105.8% 107.7% 2024 96.1% 101.1% 2025 96.5% 99.0% Click to enlarge Source: MCY & SAFT's Annual reports In Q1 2026, Mercury’s outperformance became even more obvious, with a combined ratio of 89.3% versus 113.4% for Safety Insurance. The Northeastern insurer suffered from two catastrop...