A few years back, electric vehicles (EV) were one of the hottest themes in investing. Tesla’s success paved the way for many EV pure plays to go public, while legacy automakers committed billions of dollars to shift gears toward electric mobility. It was seen as the next big transformation in autos that would drive future revenue and earnings growth. But the hype has faded. EVs have proved to be a...
A few years back, electric vehicles (EV) were one of the hottest themes in investing. Tesla’s success paved the way for many EV pure plays to go public, while legacy automakers committed billions of dollars to shift gears toward electric mobility. It was seen as the next big transformation in autos that would drive future revenue and earnings growth. But the hype has faded. EVs have proved to be a costly transition, adoption has slowed, and things haven’t quite played out the way many had anticipated. In the United States, the EV market has struggled to hold momentum, partly due to weaker government support. The Trump administration rolled back incentives and regulations meant to boost EV sales. A key tax credit— worth up to $7,500 for qualifying EVs and plug-in hybrids— expired last September, removing an important demand driver. This has weakened the near-term case for EVs, even though they are still widely considered to be the future of transportation. In response, many auto giants such as Ford F, General Motors GM and Stellantis STLA have reconsidered their EV strategies and taken write-off charges on related investments that no longer make business sense. The latest casualty is Honda HMC, which announced yesterday that it expects to take charges of up to $16 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, as it pivots away from EVs. Interestingly, Honda’s closest peer appears to have largely avoided this situation. That is the Japanese auto titan Toyota TM. The company did not go all in on EVs when the rest of the industry was aggressively investing in the technology, a decision that drew criticism at the time. But that cautious approach now seems to be paying off, as Toyota has not announced any EV write-downs so far. Surprisingly though, the same automaker is now preparing to double down on EVs at a time when demand remains uncertain. Before discussing its strategy, let’s briefly look at how Ford, General Motors, Stellantis and Honda ended up taking write-o...
Earnings Call Insights: Emerald Holding, Inc. (EEX) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Hervé Sedky opened by highlighting 2025 as a “transformational year,” pointing to “solid year-on-year growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA, excluding insurance proceeds of 16.2% and 26.8%, respectively, along with healthy organic growth.” Sedky emphasized the company’s focus on reshaping its portfolio through acquisit...
Earnings Call Insights: Emerald Holding, Inc. (EEX) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Hervé Sedky opened by highlighting 2025 as a “transformational year,” pointing to “solid year-on-year growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA, excluding insurance proceeds of 16.2% and 26.8%, respectively, along with healthy organic growth.” Sedky emphasized the company’s focus on reshaping its portfolio through acquisitions, including This is Beyond, Insurtech Insights, and Generis, and the exit from underperforming brands. Sedky stated, “We enter 2026 with the strongest and most diversified portfolio we've ever had, which we believe will drive predictable and highly cash flow generative growth in the years ahead.” The company initiated 2026 guidance, expecting revenue between $490 million to $495 million and adjusted EBITDA of $137.5 million to $142.5 million. Sedky added, “Pacing remains healthy across the business, supported by strong rebooking activity and sustained customer engagements.” M&A will continue to play a key role, with “tuck-in and bolt-on acquisitions that strengthen the portfolio, expand our presence in attractive end markets and drive long-term value within a disciplined return framework.” CFO David Doft reported, “For the fourth quarter, revenue was $132.7 million compared to $106.8 million in the prior year quarter,” attributing growth to acquisitions and organic expansion. Doft also noted, “The improvement in both periods was driven by strong revenue growth, particularly from the acquired businesses, offset by higher bonus expense.” Outlook Management expects 2026 revenue in the range of $490 million to $495 million and adjusted EBITDA between $137.5 million and $142.5 million. Doft explained, “At the midpoint, this represents approximately 6% revenue and 10% adjusted EBITDA growth year-over-year.” Guidance reflects continued strong demand, portfolio repositioning, and operational efficiencies. Management stated the outlook incorporates the impact of tariffs and note...
Earnings Call Insights: The Beauty Health Company (SKIN) Q4 2025 Management View Pedro Malha, CEO & President, described his first five months as reinforcing his conviction in the long-term opportunity for BeautyHealth, emphasizing the company's "global recognized brand," "large installed base of systems," and a "consumables model that when executed well, generates meaningful operating leverage." ...
Earnings Call Insights: The Beauty Health Company (SKIN) Q4 2025 Management View Pedro Malha, CEO & President, described his first five months as reinforcing his conviction in the long-term opportunity for BeautyHealth, emphasizing the company's "global recognized brand," "large installed base of systems," and a "consumables model that when executed well, generates meaningful operating leverage." He highlighted a strategic shift: "We need to evolve our model ahead of that curve and shifted from a model of device placement to a model of device utilization, which is where we believe the long-term growth of the business is." Malha stated that Q4 total revenue was $82.4 million, down 1.3% year-over-year but a meaningful improvement from the prior quarter's double-digit decline, and consumables revenue increased to $57.7 million. He also noted "operationally, we placed more than 1,000 devices in the quarter and end up the year with over 36,000 systems in our global installed base." Malha introduced three 2026 priorities: sales force excellence, marketing discipline, and focused innovation, including the early-stage development of a next-generation Hydrafacial system targeted for launch in 2028. Michael Monahan, Chief Financial Officer, stated, "We increased our adjusted gross margins from 62% to over 68% and GAAP gross margins increased from 54.5% to 65.3%. We grew adjusted EBITDA from $12.3 million to $45.1 million or 268%. We generated over $37 million in operating cash flows, and we strengthened our balance sheet by proactively restructuring our debt." Monahan noted that for the full year, net sales were $300.8 million, with consumables revenue at $212.7 million and device revenue at $88.1 million. He highlighted a year-end cash balance of $232.7 million, down from the previous year primarily due to convertible note repurchases and refinancing. Outlook For 2026, Monahan guided to revenue in the range of $285 million to $305 million and positive adjusted EBITDA of $35 ...
If you’re in the market for a new laptop, smartphone, tablet, or even a gaming console, things could get a whole lot pricier as inflation on memory and storage products heats up, thanks to unprecedented demand from AI data centers. Micron (NASDAQ:MU) moved on from the consumer RAM market at the end of last year, ... Memory Inflation Is Real—and Apple Is the Only One Turning It Into an Opportunity
If you’re in the market for a new laptop, smartphone, tablet, or even a gaming console, things could get a whole lot pricier as inflation on memory and storage products heats up, thanks to unprecedented demand from AI data centers. Micron (NASDAQ:MU) moved on from the consumer RAM market at the end of last year, ... Memory Inflation Is Real—and Apple Is the Only One Turning It Into an Opportunity
While Academy voters are supposed to keep their picks secret, another batch of anonymous ballots have leaked – giving us some insight on a hard-to-call race Oscars 2026: how to watch, nominations, what to read and predictions It took a great deal of blood, sweat and tweets, but in 2016 the Academy finally took notice and started to embrace both diversity and modernity. The # OscarsSoWhite furore o...
While Academy voters are supposed to keep their picks secret, another batch of anonymous ballots have leaked – giving us some insight on a hard-to-call race Oscars 2026: how to watch, nominations, what to read and predictions It took a great deal of blood, sweat and tweets, but in 2016 the Academy finally took notice and started to embrace both diversity and modernity. The # OscarsSoWhite furore over two straight years of all-white nominees (Michael B Jordan’s Creed snub was in my opinion the cruelest) led to a dramatic shake-up and one that has continued ever since with more women, people of colour and international voters added to what had been an overwhelmingly homogenous base. It has all led to an Oscars race that is increasingly harder to predict using old-fashioned thinking in ways that have become rather thrilling over time, the idea of an “Oscar movie” now far more slippery. Films such as Parasite, Anora, Moonlight, Anatomy of a Fall, Nomadland, Get Out and The Zone of Interest have now found their way into the major categories in past years, and this year’s crop showcases further progression – from foreign language picks to outsider narratives to pricklier characters than ever before . Continue reading...
HSBC stock is counting on the bank’s Asia-focused strategy, as strong profitability and rising dividends and share buybacks position it for long-term growth.
HSBC stock is counting on the bank’s Asia-focused strategy, as strong profitability and rising dividends and share buybacks position it for long-term growth.
Amazon.com and Cerebras Systems on Friday said they have reached a deal to combine the two companies' computing chips in a new service aimed at speeding up chatbots, coding tools and other artificial intelligence services. Valued at $23.1 billion, Cerebras is a chip startup aiming to take on Nvidia by building a fundamentally different kind of AI chip that does not rely on expensive high-bandwi...
Amazon.com and Cerebras Systems on Friday said they have reached a deal to combine the two companies' computing chips in a new service aimed at speeding up chatbots, coding tools and other artificial intelligence services. Valued at $23.1 billion, Cerebras is a chip startup aiming to take on Nvidia by building a fundamentally different kind of AI chip that does not rely on expensive high-bandwidth memory as Nvidia's flagship chips do. Earlier this year, Cerebras signed a $10 billion deal to supply chips to ChatGPT creator OpenAI.
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction & Investment Thesis Amazon.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AMZN ) stock has failed to impress despite AWS (Amazon Web Services) accelerating over 400 basis points sequentially in Q4 FY25 , while its custom silicon, specifically Trainium and Graviton, now has a combined annual revenue run rate exceeding $10B. In fact, just a few weeks after the company’s...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction & Investment Thesis Amazon.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AMZN ) stock has failed to impress despite AWS (Amazon Web Services) accelerating over 400 basis points sequentially in Q4 FY25 , while its custom silicon, specifically Trainium and Graviton, now has a combined annual revenue run rate exceeding $10B. In fact, just a few weeks after the company’s Q4 earnings, OpenAI announced an $110B funding round where Amazon would be investing $50B in a multi-year strategic partnership with the company. As part of this deal, OpenAI committed 2 gigawatts of Trainium capacity while expanding the original $38B AWS compute agreement from November by $100B over eight years, directly adding to AWS’s top line. This news too failed to move the needle on the stock, as investors remain squarely focused on the question of Amazon’s capex sustainability. In the company’s latest earnings, Amazon management raised their FY26 capex guidance by over 50% to $200B, which might lead to their free cash flow turning negative, as the company would now have to tap into the debt markets to fund its AI buildout ambitions. The way I see it, Amazon looks quite similar to Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) in early 2023. In 2023, investors were heavily skeptical that Google might face extensive disruption to its search monopoly from OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Yet, no one was paying attention to the work Google was quietly doing to control the entire AI value chain with its custom TPUs and utilizing them to build Gemini and optimize the performance of its services (Search, YouTube, etc.). Amazon today is in a similar spot, where it is fiercely doubling down on its custom silicon roadmap, which in turn is helping it accelerate its AWS revenue growth as enterprises look to diversify away from Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA ) GPUs, while Bedrock creates a powerful ecosystem lock-in in the AWS stack. Unfortunately, investors are looking past it all and may only be convinced when they see a ...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction & Investment Thesis Amazon.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AMZN ) stock has failed to impress despite AWS (Amazon Web Services) accelerating over 400 basis points sequentially in Q4 FY25 , while its custom silicon, specifically Trainium and Graviton, now has a combined annual revenue run rate exceeding $10B. In fact, just a few weeks after the company’s...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction & Investment Thesis Amazon.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AMZN ) stock has failed to impress despite AWS (Amazon Web Services) accelerating over 400 basis points sequentially in Q4 FY25 , while its custom silicon, specifically Trainium and Graviton, now has a combined annual revenue run rate exceeding $10B. In fact, just a few weeks after the company’s Q4 earnings, OpenAI announced an $110B funding round where Amazon would be investing $50B in a multi-year strategic partnership with the company. As part of this deal, OpenAI committed 2 gigawatts of Trainium capacity while expanding the original $38B AWS compute agreement from November by $100B over eight years, directly adding to AWS’s top line. This news too failed to move the needle on the stock, as investors remain squarely focused on the question of Amazon’s capex sustainability. In the company’s latest earnings, Amazon management raised their FY26 capex guidance by over 50% to $200B, which might lead to their free cash flow turning negative, as the company would now have to tap into the debt markets to fund its AI buildout ambitions. The way I see it, Amazon looks quite similar to Google (NASDAQ: GOOG ) in early 2023. In 2023, investors were heavily skeptical that Google might face extensive disruption to its search monopoly from OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Yet, no one was paying attention to the work Google was quietly doing to control the entire AI value chain with its custom TPUs and utilizing them to build Gemini and optimize the performance of its services (Search, YouTube, etc.). Amazon today is in a similar spot, where it is fiercely doubling down on its custom silicon roadmap, which in turn is helping it accelerate its AWS revenue growth as enterprises look to diversify away from Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA ) GPUs, while Bedrock creates a powerful ecosystem lock-in in the AWS stack. Unfortunately, investors are looking past it all and may only be convinced when they see a ...
India is set to scrap the bids it received for a majority stake in IDBI Bank Ltd. as the amounts were below the minimum price sought, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Technically this development brings a halt to the sale process, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t public. They declined to quantify the bids or the government’s so-called reserve pric...
India is set to scrap the bids it received for a majority stake in IDBI Bank Ltd. as the amounts were below the minimum price sought, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Technically this development brings a halt to the sale process, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details aren’t public. They declined to quantify the bids or the government’s so-called reserve price. Calls and an email to India’s Finance Ministry weren’t immediately answered. While the people didn’t identify the bidders, Bloomberg News had previously reported that Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. was the frontrunner for what would have been the biggest foreign investment in India’s banking sector, and that Emirates NBD had also bid. The 61% stake that the government and a state-run insurer planned to sell in the private lender is worth about $6.5 billion at the current market price. The Narendra Modi -led government has been looking to sell the Mumbai-based lender for several years, part of its efforts to pare state ownership in the banking sector. IDBI Bank returned to profitability in recent years after capital support and aggressive recoveries helped it cut non-performing assets.
Tesla Inc. and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has given an insight into what his proposed trillion-dollar fortune could look like as the commercial space flight giant gears itself up for an IPO this year. It's Not Like It's Sitting In A Bank In an interview with entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, Musk shared what a trillion-dollar fortune would mean. "It really just represents percentage ownership in companies t...
Tesla Inc. and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has given an insight into what his proposed trillion-dollar fortune could look like as the commercial space flight giant gears itself up for an IPO this year. It's Not Like It's Sitting In A Bank In an interview with entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, Musk shared what a trillion-dollar fortune would mean. "It really just represents percentage ownership in companies that I built," Musk said. He added that net worths are more complex than just money in the bank. "It'
Struggling to nod off? From magnesium flakes to mental maths, knee pillows to boring podcasts, here are the things you – and we – swear by for a peaceful slumber • The best mattresses – tested When it comes to falling (and staying) asleep, there are endless sleep aids on the market, and plenty of hacks promising a restful night. But which ones actually work? As the days grow longer, lighter and wa...
Struggling to nod off? From magnesium flakes to mental maths, knee pillows to boring podcasts, here are the things you – and we – swear by for a peaceful slumber • The best mattresses – tested When it comes to falling (and staying) asleep, there are endless sleep aids on the market, and plenty of hacks promising a restful night. But which ones actually work? As the days grow longer, lighter and warmer, making sleep more elusive, here at the Filter, we want answers. We asked you for your best tried-and-tested sleep tips (and no, you don’t have any vested interest in any of these: we checked), and rounded up some of our own – from products we’ve tested to help you wind down to the most optimal bedding; from the most sleep-friendly mattresses , pillows and pyjamas to tricks involving almost everything from boring podcasts to mental maths. Here are the things you – and we – swear by for a peaceful slumber. Continue reading...
Saudi Arabia’s race to bypass the Strait of Hormuz has led to a buildup of oil supertankers waiting off the kingdom’s Red Sea coast to collect cargoes, as Riyadh tries to overcome unprecedented disruption caused by the Iran war. In the past day or so, 11 very-large crude carriers reached the port of Yanbu and are now waiting nearby before starting loading, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg ...
Saudi Arabia’s race to bypass the Strait of Hormuz has led to a buildup of oil supertankers waiting off the kingdom’s Red Sea coast to collect cargoes, as Riyadh tries to overcome unprecedented disruption caused by the Iran war. In the past day or so, 11 very-large crude carriers reached the port of Yanbu and are now waiting nearby before starting loading, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. Saudi Aramco , the state oil giant, has said shipments will soon reach 5 million barrels a day, but the infrastructure to do that has never been tested to this extent before. That’s left traders watching closely the pace at which the country can load cargoes onto an influx of tankers racing toward the port. Oil prices have surged to near $100 a barrel since the Iran war began, with the International Energy Agency describing the effective closure of the critical Hormuz choke-point as the biggest hit to global production on record. Waiting Normal One-day waiting times outside ports are quite normal for arriving tankers and can be because paperwork is being sorted out, or just relate to the logistics of berthing. However, Yanbu export flows remain — averaging 2.7 million barrels a day so far this month — just above half the target level, meaning they are expected to keep rising in the coming days. They averaged 2.9 million barrels a day in the week to March 12, up from 1.9 million in the first five days of the month. Yanbu has huge capacity to load barrels. There are two crude export terminals — Yanbu North and Yanbu South, also known as Al Mu’ajjiz. Between them, the two facilities have a total of seven berths, each theoretically capable of loading about one VLCC per day. It’s likely to take anywhere from four to 10 days for any increase in the amount of crude put into Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline at Abqaiq to show up at Yanbu, using standard pipeline flow rates of between three and eight miles an hour. Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said on Tuesd...
Trade talks between China and the United States in Paris this weekend are likely to focus on setting the scene for the Beijing summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump later this month, analysts said, downplaying the prospects of any significant breakthroughs. Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are expected to discuss potential deals on tariffs,...
Trade talks between China and the United States in Paris this weekend are likely to focus on setting the scene for the Beijing summit between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump later this month, analysts said, downplaying the prospects of any significant breakthroughs. Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are expected to discuss potential deals on tariffs, investment, and trade in soybeans and rare earths, which would be presented as deliverables for the...