4X-image/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images I've remained 'Neutral' on Weibo Corporation ( WB ) (9898.HK). Its platform is often seen as the China-equivalent of "X/Twitter." The stock's current valuations are aligned with its earnings prospects. The mixed trends from 4Q2025 are also expected to persist in the new year. WB's 3Q23 revenue underperformance and above-consensus EPS were highlighted in ...
4X-image/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images I've remained 'Neutral' on Weibo Corporation ( WB ) (9898.HK). Its platform is often seen as the China-equivalent of "X/Twitter." The stock's current valuations are aligned with its earnings prospects. The mixed trends from 4Q2025 are also expected to persist in the new year. WB's 3Q23 revenue underperformance and above-consensus EPS were highlighted in the prior November 9, 2023 article . Q4 Results Presented Contradictory Signals I think the group didn't balance growth and margins well during the latest three-month period. WB went from a 4.8% YoY turnover contraction in 3Q25 to a 3.6% rise for Oct-Dec last year. That's equivalent to a +7% beat (source: S&P Capital IQ) versus the consensus projection. In my opinion, specific client- and industry-related tailwinds impacted the firm positively. Its topline generated by key account Alibaba ( BABA ) jumped 24% year-on-year to $50M in 4Q25. BABA revealed in the 3QFY2026 results release that its normalized EBITA dropped "57% year-over-year" because of "the investment in quick commerce." It's reasonable for me to infer that part of the monies was allocated to social media promotions. Separately, WB's briefing commentary suggested that it "captured higher wallet share from both e-commerce and automobile sectors" by capitalizing on "stimulus policies." This is consistent with SA News' report regarding China's "$42.8B of subsidies in 2025 to support purchases of a variety of consumer goods." You would have expected locals to go bargain-hunting, which prompted an uplift in ad expenditures. However the enterprise's quarterly bottom-line of $66M came in 22% below the sell-side's prediction based on S&P Capital IQ data. The 4Q2025 EBIT-to-sales narrowed by -9ppts YoY to 21%. This profitability deterioration led to a 37.7% earnings fall during the same timeframe. WB shared at the analyst call that it "gained stronger recognition from e-commerce clients in acquiring high-value users." I ...
In early trading on Monday, shares of Palo Alto Networks topped the list of the day's best performing components of the S&P 500 index, trading up 5.2%. Year to date, Palo Alto Networks, has lost about 16.1% of its value. And the worst performing S&P 500 component thus
In early trading on Monday, shares of Palo Alto Networks topped the list of the day's best performing components of the S&P 500 index, trading up 5.2%. Year to date, Palo Alto Networks, has lost about 16.1% of its value. And the worst performing S&P 500 component thus
Fire alarm and firefighting pump systems at the housing estate engulfed in Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades were found to have been switched off a week before the tragedy struck, with no action taken to reactivate them, an evidential hearing has been told. An independent committee investigating the Tai Po blaze, which broke out on November 26 last year and killed 168 people, on Monday also c...
Fire alarm and firefighting pump systems at the housing estate engulfed in Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades were found to have been switched off a week before the tragedy struck, with no action taken to reactivate them, an evidential hearing has been told. An independent committee investigating the Tai Po blaze, which broke out on November 26 last year and killed 168 people, on Monday also called on the public to provide information on whether systematic problems – such as collusion – had...
Thomas Faull The Texas Manufacturing Index fell to -0.2 in March from +0.2 in February, the Dallas Fed said on Monday. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, fell six points to 6.8 from 12.5 in the prior month. Additionally, Shipments: 1.8 vs. 9.9 prior. Capacity utilization: 7.2 vs. 11.8. New orders: 6.1 vs. 11.1. Outlook index: -3.5 vs. 3.1. The outlook uncertaint...
Thomas Faull The Texas Manufacturing Index fell to -0.2 in March from +0.2 in February, the Dallas Fed said on Monday. The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, fell six points to 6.8 from 12.5 in the prior month. Additionally, Shipments: 1.8 vs. 9.9 prior. Capacity utilization: 7.2 vs. 11.8. New orders: 6.1 vs. 11.1. Outlook index: -3.5 vs. 3.1. The outlook uncertainty index shot up 20 points to 26.0, its highest reading since April 2025. Expectations are for increased manufacturing activity six months from now. The future production index held steady at 35.7, and the future general business activity index remained in positive territory but fell two points to 10.6. Other indexes of future manufacturing activity remained in positive territory and increased. More on U.S. Economy U.S. Q1 GDP May Improve As War Threatens The Outlook Recession odds in 2026 jump to nearly 40% on prediction markets Apollo warns that the US10Y is mispriced by more than 50 bps as term premium surges
swissmediavision/E+ via Getty Images Introduction Holcim ( HCMLF ) is one of the world’s largest producers of cement and building materials. I always thought the company had a smart M&A policy, and they have been very active in the past 12 months. A U.S. division was spun off, and Holcim recently entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Cementos Pacasmayo ( CPAC ). The guidance for...
swissmediavision/E+ via Getty Images Introduction Holcim ( HCMLF ) is one of the world’s largest producers of cement and building materials. I always thought the company had a smart M&A policy, and they have been very active in the past 12 months. A U.S. division was spun off, and Holcim recently entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Cementos Pacasmayo ( CPAC ). The guidance for this year remains strong with an anticipated free cash flow result of 2B CHF, but that doesn’t make Holcim a "B uy" as the market is rewarding the company for its consistency with a high earnings multiple. Yahoo Finance The company has its main listing on the Swiss exchange, and the average daily volume in Switzerland, where Holcim is trading with HOLN as its ticker symbol, is roughly 1.5 million shares per day . I will use the CHF as the base currency throughout this article. The results: R obust free cash flows The margins remain a key element for Holcim, and in 2025, the company was able to continue to improve on its recurring EBIT margin, which came in at 18.3%, an 80 bps increase compared to the preceding year. The total revenue generated in 2025 was approximately 15.7 billion CHF , resulting in a gross profit of 6.66 billion CHF. The 2025 financial statements are somewhat complicated, as Holcim spun off Amrize, which was reported as a discontinued operation. The company generated a gain on the distribution of Amrize shares but also recorded 1.4 billion CHF on disposals during the year. This resulted in a net income of 460 million CHF from continuing operations and a total net profit of 13.25 billion CHF, including the gain on the distribution of Amrize shares. Holcim Investor Relations Holcim always mentions its free cash flow result as well, and that also is the most important metric I use to make my investment decisions. As the cash flow statement below shows, Holcim reported a total cash flow from continuing operations of 3.13 billion CHF, but this includes a tota...
boygovideo/iStock via Getty Images Co-authored by Relative Value. Overview The equity market is selling, the treasury yield curve is upshifting, and we are once again in the position of searching for as safe a credit-wise exposure as possible. The increased equity volatility, in combination with rising yields, causes disturbance in the fixed-income products, too. Many investors try to bottom-pick ...
boygovideo/iStock via Getty Images Co-authored by Relative Value. Overview The equity market is selling, the treasury yield curve is upshifting, and we are once again in the position of searching for as safe a credit-wise exposure as possible. The increased equity volatility, in combination with rising yields, causes disturbance in the fixed-income products, too. Many investors try to bottom-pick stocks they like in a situation like this. This is an adequate approach when one can pinpoint the bottom. Another, a more risk-averse approach, would be to lock in mis-pricings in pair trades and wait for a mean reversion to kick in. Such will be the idea presented here : a pair trade between the exchange-listed fixed-income products of Duke Energy Corporation ( DUK ): the 5.625% Junior Subordinated Debentures due 9/15/2078 ( DUKB ) and the 5.75% Depositary Shares Series A Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock ( DUK.PR.A ). The pair trade mitigates to a great extent the effects of a possible big upshift in the long-term yields and eliminates the credit risk. The last time we brought this pair trade to your attention was in the summer of 2025, and it played out beautifully within only a couple of weeks. Of course, past performance is not a guarantee for future results, but it gives some level of confidence in picking our trades/investments. Duke Energy Overview and Performance I'm well aware that many investors do not engage in pair trading and would prefer to take only the long leg in the suggested idea, so we'll go through the company's basic metrics to evaluate the potential dangers in investing in Duke's junior subordinated debentures. Founded in 1904 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Duke Energy is an energy holding company. Duke operates through its two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure. Duke Energy is among the 500 largest companies by market capitalization in the U.S. and part of the S&P 500 Index ( SP50...
Mantis takes disparate sources of data to make synthetic datasets that can be used to build so-called "digital twins" of the human body, representing anatomy, physiology and behavior.
Mantis takes disparate sources of data to make synthetic datasets that can be used to build so-called "digital twins" of the human body, representing anatomy, physiology and behavior.
The stock market has been off to a poor start to 2026, with the S&P 500 falling sharply to end last week, and now it's down around 7%. It's a brutal performance, but there are many stocks that have been doing even worse. Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) 's stock has already fallen 42% through just the first three months of the year. And over the past 12 months, its valuation has been cut in half, easily m...
The stock market has been off to a poor start to 2026, with the S&P 500 falling sharply to end last week, and now it's down around 7%. It's a brutal performance, but there are many stocks that have been doing even worse. Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) 's stock has already fallen 42% through just the first three months of the year. And over the past 12 months, its valuation has been cut in half, easily making it one of the worst-performing stocks on the entire S&P 500 index during that stretch. Could the stock be heading even lower, or has the market been too harsh on Robinhood, and is it overdue for a big rally? Continue reading
Ask people what the most important thing you can do to improve your retirement readiness is, and you'll probably get some answer related to saving: Start early. Claim your 401(k) match. Make regular retirement contributions each pay period. That's all good advice, but if it's all you're focused on, there's a chance you could still wind up off track. There's another important step you should take a...
Ask people what the most important thing you can do to improve your retirement readiness is, and you'll probably get some answer related to saving: Start early. Claim your 401(k) match. Make regular retirement contributions each pay period. That's all good advice, but if it's all you're focused on, there's a chance you could still wind up off track. There's another important step you should take as soon as possible to increase your odds of retiring comfortably, and most people skip it. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
For years and even decades, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock has been synonymous with growth. It is one of the most valuable companies in the world, and it continually invests in leading technologies to become even bigger and better. But what I find a bit surprising is that over the past five years, it has actually underperformed the S&P 500 . The index is up over 60% during that time frame, but shares...
For years and even decades, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock has been synonymous with growth. It is one of the most valuable companies in the world, and it continually invests in leading technologies to become even bigger and better. But what I find a bit surprising is that over the past five years, it has actually underperformed the S&P 500 . The index is up over 60% during that time frame, but shares of Amazon have only risen by 30%. It's almost as if investors have grown tired of the stock and moved on to other, flashier names. Meanwhile, Amazon has continued to grow its earnings. And when the stock price doesn't rise in unison, that effectively makes it cheaper with respect to its bottom line. That means if you're looking to buy Amazon stock today, you could be getting it at an incredible deal. Continue reading
Watch Live: Fed Chair Powell Speaks At Harvard University Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has just over a month left in his tenure as head of the world's most important central bank, speaks at 10:30am ET to the Harvard University Principles of Economics class. He is not expected to make monetary policy comments. As CNBC notes, this will be one of Powell’s final scheduled public appearances before his...
Watch Live: Fed Chair Powell Speaks At Harvard University Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who has just over a month left in his tenure as head of the world's most important central bank, speaks at 10:30am ET to the Harvard University Principles of Economics class. He is not expected to make monetary policy comments. As CNBC notes, this will be one of Powell’s final scheduled public appearances before his term ends in May. The discussion comes with markets anticipating the central bank will be on hold regarding interest rates through the end of the year. In his most recent comments, Powell characterized the economy as growing at “a solid pace” and said he is not concerned with worries of stagflation, low growth with high inflation. However, he noted that policymakers are taking a cautious approach as multiple factors play out this year, including the Iran war, tariffs and a stagnant labor market; he flagged frustration over sticky non-housing services and made clear that, if inflation progress does not resume, cuts will not follow. On rates, Powell kept optionality but did not open the door to near-term easing. He said policy was in a good place, noting it was around the high end of neutral, or only modestly restrictive. He said the labour market was being watched closely, particularly weak private payroll growth, but stopped short of suggesting employment risks now dominate the Fed’s policy balance. On his role as Fed Chair, Powell said that if a successor had not been confirmed before his term as Chair ends in May, he would remain in place as Fed Chair "Pro Tern"; on his role as Governor beyond that, he said he has no intention of leaving the Board until the DoJ investigation is over, and he he had not yet decided whether he would stay on. Powell’s term ends officially on May 15, and there is only one more policy meeting between now and then. However, it’s possible he will stay in the position longer if the Senate does not confirm is designated successor, former Governor ...
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran speaks during an interview with CNBC on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 10, 2025. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran on Monday continued his campaign for lower interest rates, telling CNBC that policymakers should disregard the current energy price spike unless there are signs it ...
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran speaks during an interview with CNBC on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 10, 2025. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran on Monday continued his campaign for lower interest rates, telling CNBC that policymakers should disregard the current energy price spike unless there are signs it will have longer-lasting impacts. "If I saw a wage-price spiral, or I saw evidence that inflation expectations are starting to pick up, then I would get worried about it," he said during a " Squawk on the Street " interview. "There's no evidence of it thus far, and you can move the monetary policy rate all you want — today tomorrow — but it's not going to affect inflation the next couple of months." Citing market-based indicators, Miran said inflation expectations remain well-anchored, despite the jump in oil to more than $100 a barrel and a price shock at the pump that has pushed gasoline higher by more than $1 a gallon. Monetary policy works with a lag and isn't geared toward short-term market gyrations, he added. Miran has dissented at each of the meetings he has attended since September 2025. He told CNBC that he continues to think "we could be about a point easier, gradually done over the course of a year." The fed funds rate is currently targeted in a range between 3.5%-3.75%. Market pricing is implying no moves in either direction before the end of the year. Miran's term has expired, but he continues to serve as the nomination of former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh's nomination is held up in the Senate Banking Committee. If confirmed, Warsh will take over as chair for Jerome Powell when the latter's term expires in May. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.