Welcome to Bloomberg’s Texas Edition — covering all the industries and people driving America’s second-largest economy, from finance and oil to tech and sports. Join us each week for an inside look at Texas through a Bloomberg lens. Sign up here if you’re not already on the list. Texas is about to get splashed with billions more in spending as Big Tech races to build infrastructure for the artific...
Welcome to Bloomberg’s Texas Edition — covering all the industries and people driving America’s second-largest economy, from finance and oil to tech and sports. Join us each week for an inside look at Texas through a Bloomberg lens. Sign up here if you’re not already on the list. Texas is about to get splashed with billions more in spending as Big Tech races to build infrastructure for the artificial-intelligence future. Elon Musk’s SpaceX envisions putting up $55 billion to start building a chipmaking factory in Grimes County to kick off his Terafab project. He faced skepticism in March when he announced the plan, which is intended to supply his dreams for robotics, space and AI initiatives. But he has been courting suppliers and, now, lining up a site in southeast Texas. It will be a “next-generation, vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturing and advanced computing fabrication facility,” according to a public notice posted on the Grimes County website. Bloomberg’s Debby Wu also reported that the estimated total investment could rise to $119 billion if SpaceX follows through with more phases. The county plans a hearing on June 3. AI is driving a ton of spending across Big Tech , and SpaceX’s tally isn’t even included in the projected $700 billion-plus in total outlays by so-called hyperscalers including Meta Platforms. And ... Bloomberg scooped the news that Meta is enlisting Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan to lead the charge on financing for an El Paso project that could total about $13 billion. The effort has been code-named “Sopaipilla” — and, yes, there’s a pastry thread here, since Meta raised funding for a Louisiana data center via a vehicle called “Beignet Investor LLC.” Most of the package is expected to be debt, with the rest in equity, according to the exclusive from Silas Brown, Aaron Weinman, Davide Scigliuzzo, Laura Benitez and Paula Seligson. The banks and Meta declined to discuss their work. The Fine Line Senator Ted Cruz was at the Milken Instit...
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) has reported on its first quarter under new CEO Greg Abel, marking a new era for the conglomerate. For now, though, not much has changed. Berkshire once again ended the quarter with a stockpile of cash, which rose to more than $397 billion from $373 billion at the end of December. That was a new record for the company, even after it restarted its stock ...
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) has reported on its first quarter under new CEO Greg Abel, marking a new era for the conglomerate. For now, though, not much has changed. Berkshire once again ended the quarter with a stockpile of cash, which rose to more than $397 billion from $373 billion at the end of December. That was a new record for the company, even after it restarted its stock buyback plan in March. In total, the company spent around $234 million on buybacks in the quarter, repurchasing 33 of its Class A shares and 431,462 of its Class B shares. It was the first time the company had repurchased shares since May 2024. Still, it's a far cry from the approximately $17 billion in stock it repurchased from 2022 to 2023. Continue reading
Eilish and Cameron are mismatched in flashy pop documentary that misses the subtlety of her music For a long time concert tour films were seen as a cash-in. Ask a music fan for their favorite, and they’ll probably answer with something that isn’t really a concert film at all, such as Madonna ’s deliciously gloves-off documentary Truth or Dare or Stop Making Sense , Jonathan Demme’s high-concept pe...
Eilish and Cameron are mismatched in flashy pop documentary that misses the subtlety of her music For a long time concert tour films were seen as a cash-in. Ask a music fan for their favorite, and they’ll probably answer with something that isn’t really a concert film at all, such as Madonna ’s deliciously gloves-off documentary Truth or Dare or Stop Making Sense , Jonathan Demme’s high-concept performance art classic starring Talking Heads. But in recent years the concert film has become a bona fide cinematic event for super-fans wishing to relive the experience as well as those who draw the line at paying a month’s rent to see their favorite musician. In 2023, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the genre’s biggest-grossing film of all time, taking over $250m at the global box office. ( Swift herself took home an estimated third of that figure thanks to an exclusive distribution deal with AMC Theaters). Beyoncé ’s Renaissance film extended her album as a cultural moment, while this year Baz Luhrmann’s Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert has packed out multiplexes and a concert documentary from the K-pop boyband Stray Kids topped the global box office. Continue reading...
MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images I sometimes review small and somewhat interesting companies in my work. The Honest Company, Inc. ( HNST ) is one of those companies, though my latest review of the business was roughly 3 years back. Today, I mean to provide an update on the business. When I last reviewed the business, I called it a "HOLD". You can find that article here. The "HOLD" w...
MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images I sometimes review small and somewhat interesting companies in my work. The Honest Company, Inc. ( HNST ) is one of those companies, though my latest review of the business was roughly 3 years back. Today, I mean to provide an update on the business. When I last reviewed the business, I called it a "HOLD". You can find that article here. The "HOLD" was based on a lack of clarity, a lack of clear upside, and overall better investments available on the market today. The performance since my last article has validated my neutral/bearish thesis of not investing in the company at that valuation, despite an 8% upside, since the market is up more than 5x that amount. At the time for the article, I also made it clear that I like the company itself for its values, its products, its founder, and the mission that it seems to focus on - but I found myself unable to invest given the competition on the market and understanding too much of the dynamics with players like L'Oréal ( LRLCY ) and other giants. While new entrants and special brands have done a lot better than expected. Honest Company has, since 2022, done so-so. The perhaps most worrying trend since 2022 is the declining digital sales. It seems that consumers have generally returned to in-person shopping trends, and what was previously the largest sales channel by far is now less than 35% - with retail sales of Honest Company goods accounting for well over 65% as of the latest few years. It's fair to say that since I reviewed it last, the company has gone through a significant strategic shift. Instead of digital growth and digital sales, Honest has been focusing on growing legacy sales channels. It's actually something I like to see, because I believe digital sales in some sectors have gone a bit too far - different sales channels have their roles, but the DTC-focused company that Honest was when I last reviewed it is no longer there. So with that said, let's see where Hon...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images The eye-popping Q1 earnings season rolls on. Vistra Corp. ( VST ) put up a double beat on Thursday, May 7, and shares lifted 6% in the early going during the session that followed. But the now $54 billion market cap Utilities sector company has lagged lately, merely trading sideways this year, all while the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) has climbed to record highs....
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images The eye-popping Q1 earnings season rolls on. Vistra Corp. ( VST ) put up a double beat on Thursday, May 7, and shares lifted 6% in the early going during the session that followed. But the now $54 billion market cap Utilities sector company has lagged lately, merely trading sideways this year, all while the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) has climbed to record highs. I had a Buy rating on VST a year ago . The stock has returned a solid 20% with today’s gain included, but that falls 10 percentage points shy of the S&P 500’s performance. I reiterate a Buy rating, however, as I see sanguine earnings forecasts and an improved valuation compared to 12 months ago. Today, I’ll provide a look at the Q1, an updated valuation, and a fresh technical take. VST Lags the Utilities Sector and S&P 500 YoY StockCharts.com In May, Vistra reported a solid set of quarterly results. Q1 GAAP net income was verified at $1.029 billion, boosted by a $723 million unrealized hedge gain, and adjusted EBITDA was $1.494 billion. Full-year guidance was reiterated, with the company seeing adjusted EBITDA of $6.8–$7.6 billion and adjusted free cash flow before growth (FCFbG) between $3.925 and $4.725 billion. Shares initially jumped 6% early in the session that followed, which would be its best earnings reaction since November of 2024 if it were to hold to the close. Data from Option Research & Technology Services reveals that implied volatility on VST is high at 55%, and the expected swing after today’s report was 8.1%. The dividend yield is low at just 58 basis points, while short interest on VST is material at 3.32%. Looking back on the quarter that was, the Utilities sector firm tallied a strong start to 2026, delivering roughly $1.5 billion in ongoing operations-adjusted EBITDA in Q1, according to the earnings report. Resilience is what I’d best describe the quarter as, as the power producer successfully navigated a backdrop of mild weather in the key Texas ERCOT...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images NEOS Enhanced Income Credit Select ETF ( HYBI ) makes a compelling case with a ~8% distribution, paid monthly. Income is, to state a very obvious fact, the primary draw for income investors. However, HYBI’s attraction as a high yielder gets complicated under a closer look. HYBI is mostly a wrapper around 3 high-yield bond ETFs: SPDR Portfolio High Yield...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images NEOS Enhanced Income Credit Select ETF ( HYBI ) makes a compelling case with a ~8% distribution, paid monthly. Income is, to state a very obvious fact, the primary draw for income investors. However, HYBI’s attraction as a high yielder gets complicated under a closer look. HYBI is mostly a wrapper around 3 high-yield bond ETFs: SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF ( SPHY ), iShares Broad USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF ( USHY ), and Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF ( HYLB ) These already yield between ~6.5% and ~7.3%. Their fees are just 5-8 basis points compared to HYBI’s 68 bps expense ratio. Once you account for fees, the actual income advantage is just 50-100 bps, so that leads to the obvious question: why bother? The truth is, HYBI is not just a slightly higher-yielding version of its underlying bond ETFs. While it clearly holds the same credit exposure, it adds on an options strategy for additional income. This gets you a product which looks similar on the surface but behaves differently underneath in important ways. In 2026, high-yield returns are driven by carry, and equity markets remain volatile but range-bound. In that scenario, HYBI’s credit exposure and option overlay make a compelling income strategy, not just a marginal upgrade over its underlying high-yield ETFs. The Baseline — The Underlying Are Already Doing the Job The problem with HYBI is its underlying are already doing a pretty good job earning a decent income for their investors. They provide broad exposure to the US HY corporate bond market, holding between them over a thousand underlying securities. Friction from fees is designed to be minimal; see below: High-Yield ETF Baseline Author With the bond funds, fees are nearly nothing, and investors get to keep almost the entire yield. This sets a very high bar for HYBI, which has more complex layers on top of the credit exposure. The underlying funds have clean exposure, and returns come pr...
Granite Real Estate Investment ( GRTUF ): Q1 AFFO was $85.9 million ($1.41 per unit) compared to $88.4 million ($1.41 per unit) in the prior year period. Revenue for the three month period ended March 31, 2026 increased by $11.1 million to $165.8 million from $154.7 million in the prior year period. More on Granite REIT Granite Real Estate Investment Trust 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Present...
Granite Real Estate Investment ( GRTUF ): Q1 AFFO was $85.9 million ($1.41 per unit) compared to $88.4 million ($1.41 per unit) in the prior year period. Revenue for the three month period ended March 31, 2026 increased by $11.1 million to $165.8 million from $154.7 million in the prior year period. More on Granite REIT Granite Real Estate Investment Trust 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Granite Real Estate Investment Trust 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (GRT.UN:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Granite REIT reports Q4 results Historical earnings data for Granite REIT
Key PointsLisanti Capital Growth reduced its holding in Alphatec by 372,407 shares, with an estimated transaction value of $5.42 million (based on quarterly average pricing).
Key PointsLisanti Capital Growth reduced its holding in Alphatec by 372,407 shares, with an estimated transaction value of $5.42 million (based on quarterly average pricing).
FabrikaCr/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from Diamond Hill Small-Mid Cap Strategy Q1 2026 Commentary . New positions Humana ( HUM ) , the second-largest Medicare Advantage insurer, has faced industry-wide pressure from rising health care costs and lower government reimbursement rates. Additionally, weaker-than-expected preliminary 2027 Medicare Advantage rates and belo...
FabrikaCr/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from Diamond Hill Small-Mid Cap Strategy Q1 2026 Commentary . New positions Humana ( HUM ) , the second-largest Medicare Advantage insurer, has faced industry-wide pressure from rising health care costs and lower government reimbursement rates. Additionally, weaker-than-expected preliminary 2027 Medicare Advantage rates and below-target 2026 guidance have added to near-term uncertainty. Even so, we do not believe the current share price reflects the company's earnings power, and as industry conditions normalize, we believe it can return to target margins over the long term. We initiated a position in Antero Resources ( AR ) , a natural gas exploration and production company, to gain exposure given our constructive long-term outlook for US natural gas. LPL Financial ( LPLA ), a wealth management firm, is expected to return to best-in-class organic growth following the completion of its Commonwealth acquisition. A renewed focus on efficiency and operating leverage should further support improvement in its valuation over time. Shares of health care revenue management software vendor Waystar ( WAY ) have been pressured amid broader AI concerns across software, and we believe the market is underappreciating the durability of its scaled platform, broad product capabilities and strong customer retention. The company is also well-positioned to help providers navigate complex reimbursement processes, reduce denials and improve cash flow over the long term. While we are not dismissing longer-term AI risk, we view the current valuation as an attractive entry point for a high-quality health care software business with a strong competitive position and growth prospects. We initiated a position in Willis Towers Watson ( WTW ) as revenue growth is recovering following disruption from the failed Aon merger and the sale of Willis Re. As growth returns, margin expansion driven by cost savings and improving free cas...
Solskin/DigitalVision via Getty Images Shares of Charles River Laboratories ( CRL ) have been a strong performer over the past year, gaining about 57%. A year ago, shares had been hammered by fears about the FDA banning animal testing, but while a headwind, the impact of this potential policy change is multiple years in nature rather than an imminent risk. We are also seeing some improvement in de...
Solskin/DigitalVision via Getty Images Shares of Charles River Laboratories ( CRL ) have been a strong performer over the past year, gaining about 57%. A year ago, shares had been hammered by fears about the FDA banning animal testing, but while a headwind, the impact of this potential policy change is multiple years in nature rather than an imminent risk. We are also seeing some improvement in demand, though client spending levels remain muted. I last covered Charles River in February , rating the stock a “ H old,” which has been too conservative with shares up 22% since then. With updated financials, now is a good time to revisit shares. Seeking Alpha In the company’s first quarter , Charles River Laboratories earned $2.06 per share, which was $0.12 better than expected , as revenue grew 1% to $996 million. In general, CRL sees a stabilized demand environment from its biopharma customers after a difficult 18-24 months. Large firms are still spending less than normal, but spending levels are better than a year ago. Smaller biotech firms are still facing pressure; these companies are dependent on VC funding and capital markets. With so much focus going into AI-related firms, the fundraising environment in biotech has been constrained. Government-supported spending is stable; while I expect muted growth here, declines are also unlikely. While revenue was up from last year, this was primarily due to currency benefits, and organic revenue declined by 1.5%, reflecting the muted spending environment. Margins compressed 280bps to 16.3%, partially due to lower revenue. Aside from this, there were one-time items (i.e., stock compensation was unusually high given the CEO transition), and I expect margins to improve sequentially through the year. Given weaker organic revenue and margin pressure, earnings were down 12% from last year. Drilling into segment results, RMS (research model and services) revenue declined by 5.5% organically to $208 million. Margins also compressed 2...
Aliaksandr Litviniuk/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Eni ( E ) said Thursday its Geliga-1 natural gas discovery in the Kutei Basin offshore Indonesia delivered " exceptional " test results, confirming outstanding reservoir productivity and supporting accelerated development options, just two weeks after formally reporting the find. Based on the results of a drill stem test, the Geliga‑1 well is...
Aliaksandr Litviniuk/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Eni ( E ) said Thursday its Geliga-1 natural gas discovery in the Kutei Basin offshore Indonesia delivered " exceptional " test results, confirming outstanding reservoir productivity and supporting accelerated development options, just two weeks after formally reporting the find. Based on the results of a drill stem test, the Geliga‑1 well is estimated to produce a sustainable rate of ~200M scf/day of gas and 10K bbl/day of condensate. The discovery is located next to the undeveloped Gula gas discovery, estimated at 2T cf of gas in place and 75M barrels of condensate, and early evaluations indicate that, when combined, Geliga and Gula could underpin incremental production of ~1B scf/day of gas and 80K bbl/day of condensate, the company said. Eni ( E ) said it is preparing a plan of development, which it expects to submit to the government of Indonesia in the coming weeks and aims to enable the fast‑track development of a third production hub in the prolific Kutei Basin. The discovery is located in the Ganal block and is operated by Eni ( E ) with an 82% interest, while China's Sinopec holds the remaining 18%. More on Eni Eni Q1 2026 Earnings Call Presentation Eni Returned Over 100% Since My Buy Call: Here Is How Much Upside Is Left Eni: Significant Strategic Progress In 2025
Boeing Shares Rise As CEO Set To Join Trump On China Trip, Fueling Aircraft Order Speculation Boeing shares rose in late-morning trading in New York after CNBC reported that CEO Kelly Ortberg will join President Trump on his trip to Beijing next week for talks with President Xi Jinping. Boeing shares climbed a little more than 2% on the news as traders began to price in the possibility of a Chines...
Boeing Shares Rise As CEO Set To Join Trump On China Trip, Fueling Aircraft Order Speculation Boeing shares rose in late-morning trading in New York after CNBC reported that CEO Kelly Ortberg will join President Trump on his trip to Beijing next week for talks with President Xi Jinping. Boeing shares climbed a little more than 2% on the news as traders began to price in the possibility of a Chinese aircraft order, potentially covering both narrow-body and wide-body jets from the U.S.-based aircraft manufacturer. Senator Steve Daines, who is leading the bipartisan delegation to China, has called for stability and peaceful cooperation between the U.S. and China. "I strongly believe that we want to de-escalate, not decouple. We want stability; we want mutual respect," Daines said in opening remarks at a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday, according to Reuters . Daines also released a statement: Readout of Daines' Congressional Delegation Trip to China U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Deb Fischer (R-NE) today conducted three official meetings in Beijing with Premier of China Li Qiang, Chairman of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji, and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The bipartisan delegation discussed the importance of direct and open communication between the leadership of the two countries as well as issues of international and local importance. Topics of discussion included cooperation to stop the flow of fentanyl precursors, Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, and supply chain security. The Senators discussed the importance of reciprocal trade and opening up China's markets to sustained agriculture trade across beef, wheat, pulse crops, potatoes, apples, cherries, soybeans, grain sorghum, seafood, and other industries. The delegation also discussed the importance of China's relationship with Boeing and the proposed aircraft purchas...