Nearly a month after President Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, tensions are heating up in the region again. The United Arab Emirates said it was facing an attack from Iranian missiles and drones on Tuesday, one day after the two sides exchanged fire as the U.S. attempted to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. said it had destroyed six Iranian small boats, but nonetheless said that the cea...
Nearly a month after President Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, tensions are heating up in the region again. The United Arab Emirates said it was facing an attack from Iranian missiles and drones on Tuesday, one day after the two sides exchanged fire as the U.S. attempted to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. said it had destroyed six Iranian small boats, but nonetheless said that the ceasefire was holding. A barrel of Brent Crude oil jumped 6%, but gave back some of those gains today, hovering around $110, as the U.S. defended the ceasefire, signaling that it doesn't intend to reignite the war and is still looking to "make a deal." Continue reading
Earnings Call Insights: Metallus (MTUS) Q1 2026 Management view “Demand continues to improve across our end markets, and our order book grew year-over-year, supported by overall industrial and defense demand, decreasing distribution inventory levels and onshoring,” said CEO Michael Williams. Williams said the April 2026 Section 232 tariff update “do not affect our products, which are classified as...
Earnings Call Insights: Metallus (MTUS) Q1 2026 Management view “Demand continues to improve across our end markets, and our order book grew year-over-year, supported by overall industrial and defense demand, decreasing distribution inventory levels and onshoring,” said CEO Michael Williams. Williams said the April 2026 Section 232 tariff update “do not affect our products, which are classified as primary steel,” and added, “the 50% tariff on imported primary steel, including all long bar and tube products remains in place.” On capacity and execution, Williams said the company “achieved critical milestones during the quarter, highlighted by the safe and successful reheating and rolling of the first blooms from our new bloom reheat furnace,” and noted the bloom reheat furnace “has recently demonstrated a run rate of approximately 150 tons per hour compared with approximately 100 tons per hour using our legacy assets.” He added, “We expect the bloom reheat furnace to be fully operational in early to mid-third quarter and the roller furnace to be fully operational in late third quarter.” Williams highlighted market and program developments, including, “we were recently awarded an exciting contract with a new entrant in the defense supply chain to begin producing tubing for new rocket motors related to advanced weapon systems,” and reiterated “our near-term $250 million run rate revenue expectation” for aerospace and defense. “First quarter net sales totaled $308.3 million,” CFO John Zaranec said, adding, “Net income was $5.4 million in the first quarter or $0.13 per diluted share,” and “Adjusted EBITDA was $24.6 million in the first quarter.” Outlook Zaranec guided that “second quarter shipments are sequentially expected to increase modestly in the low single digits on a percentage basis,” and said “the company expects second quarter 2026 adjusted EBITDA to be modestly higher sequentially and year-over-year.” On pricing, Zaranec said, “In bar, we implemented 2 actions ...
Earnings Call Insights: HealthStream (HSTM) Q1 2026 Management view "We have a lot to go over, starting with the strong financial growth we delivered in the quarter, which included record-setting revenues of $81.2 million" (CEO Robert Frist), and "record-setting adjusted EBITDA" of "$20.1 million" (CEO Frist), alongside "Operating income" of "$7.5 million" (CFO Scott Roberts) and "Net income" of "...
Earnings Call Insights: HealthStream (HSTM) Q1 2026 Management view "We have a lot to go over, starting with the strong financial growth we delivered in the quarter, which included record-setting revenues of $81.2 million" (CEO Robert Frist), and "record-setting adjusted EBITDA" of "$20.1 million" (CEO Frist), alongside "Operating income" of "$7.5 million" (CFO Scott Roberts) and "Net income" of "$5.9 million" (CFO Roberts). "The strong performance of Q1 is allowing us to increase investment beyond our original plan" (CEO Robert Frist), including "growth initiatives related to our current products, new products on the horizon and accelerated use of AI" (CEO Frist), while "Adoption is broadening across teams" and "we are encouraged by the early productivity and quality benefits we are already seeing" (CEO Frist). "We're reaffirming our 2026 full year guidance" (CEO Robert Frist) and "continue to anticipate revenue between $323 million to $330 million, net income between $20.4 million and $22.8 million and adjusted EBITDA between $73 million and $77 million" (CEO Frist). "Together, these 2 acquisitions contributed $3.4 million in revenue in the first quarter" (CFO Scott Roberts), and "both post-acquisition integrations are progressing well" (CFO Roberts), with "Virsys12" described as "extending our reach into payer credentialing" and "myCNAjobs" as "building momentum" (CFO Roberts). "We saw strong momentum" in Competency Suite with "a 17.3% increase in revenues" (CEO Robert Frist), while CredentialStream delivered "up approximately 19%" (CEO Frist) and ShiftWizard was "up approximately 29%" (CEO Frist); CFO Scott Roberts added that "CredentialStream" grew "by 19%; ShiftWizard" grew "by 29% and Competency Suite" grew "by 17%." "I'm pleased to announce the promotion of Michael Collier" (CEO Robert Frist) "to Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President" (CEO Frist), and "He will also serve as executive sponsor of the company's AI transformation" (CEO Frist). Out...
Earnings Call Insights: Transocean Ltd. (RIG) Q1 2026 Management View "Operational performance was very strong with an uptime of 98%. Adjusted EBITDA was $440 million, implying a solid margin of over 40%. Our average daily revenue in the period was $476,000, the highest in over a decade." (President, CEO & Director Keelan Adamson) "Since our February call, we have announced approximately $1.6 bill...
Earnings Call Insights: Transocean Ltd. (RIG) Q1 2026 Management View "Operational performance was very strong with an uptime of 98%. Adjusted EBITDA was $440 million, implying a solid margin of over 40%. Our average daily revenue in the period was $476,000, the highest in over a decade." (President, CEO & Director Keelan Adamson) "Since our February call, we have announced approximately $1.6 billion of backlog... increasing our backlog to over $7 billion" including a "3-year contract on the Transocean Barents with Var Energi in Norway at a rate of $450,000 per day" plus Petrobras extensions and an Eastern Med award. (President, CEO & Director Adamson) "As previously disclosed, we retired the balance of the Deepwater Titan notes, reducing debt by $358 million... consistent with our commitment to delever." (President, CEO & Director Adamson) "As of yesterday, we received a second request for additional information from the U.S. Department of Justice as a continuation of their antitrust review... we remain confident... and that we are on track to close the transaction in the second half of 2026." (President, CEO & Director Adamson) "Our performance during the first 3 months of the year exceeded our forecast and the guidance range we provided to you in February" and "contract drilling revenues of $1.08 billion reflected outstanding operations in the quarter." (Executive VP & CFO R. Vayda) Outlook "The upper end of our full year revenue range has been reduced by $50 million to $3.9 billion" and management cited "a somewhat lower probability of filling certain gaps in our 2026 contract schedule." (Executive VP & CFO Vayda) "We have increased our capital expenditure expectations for the year by $20 million" and "approximately half of this increase is related to environmental upgrades to exhaust systems on a rig operating in Norway" with the company expecting to "substantially recover the cost of this upgrade by the end of the year through specific contract provisions." (E...
Earnings Call Insights: Surgery Partners (SGRY) Q1 2026 Management View “First quarter performance broadly in line with our internal expectations, reflecting improved stability across the portfolio and initial signs of recovery in areas that were pressured towards the end of 2025.” (CEO & Director J. Evans) “During the quarter, we delivered approximately $811 million of net revenue, same-facility ...
Earnings Call Insights: Surgery Partners (SGRY) Q1 2026 Management View “First quarter performance broadly in line with our internal expectations, reflecting improved stability across the portfolio and initial signs of recovery in areas that were pressured towards the end of 2025.” (CEO & Director J. Evans) “During the quarter, we delivered approximately $811 million of net revenue, same-facility revenue growth of 4.4% and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $102 million.” (CEO & Director Evans) “Same-facility case growth of 0.6% in the first quarter was modest and below our long-term growth algorithm driven by primarily temporary weather-related disruptions early in the quarter.” (CEO & Director Evans) “We continue to see favorable trends in our musculoskeletal service line with total joints performed in our ASCs growing 14.6% year-over-year.” (CEO & Director Evans) “Our portfolio consists of 73 surgical robots.” (CEO & Director Evans) “During the quarter, we recruited approximately 140 physicians with a strong concentration in orthopedics, ophthalmology, GI and other priority specialties.” (CEO & Director Evans) “During the first quarter, we opened one de novo, bringing our total openings to 9 over the trailing 12 months.” (CEO & Director Evans) “Our adjusted EBITDA margin was 12.6%, in line with our expectations for the seasonally lower margin first quarter.” (CEO & Director Evans) “We are in advanced discussions on one key opportunity in a larger surgical hospital market and are working through customary diligence and transaction considerations... we continue to target an announcement in mid-2026.” (CEO & Director Evans) “We deployed approximately $4 million on acquisitions... we did not repurchase shares during the quarter.” (Executive VP & CFO David Doherty) Outlook “We are reiterating our full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance of at least $530 million.” (Executive VP & CFO Doherty) “For the second quarter, ...
A spate of AI-tinged job cuts at crypto and payments companies has brought up a curious question for analysts and investors: how does one assess whether the artificial intelligence part is real? The debate started in February after Block Inc. , the owner of Square and Cash App, announced it would cut a whopping 50% of staff, citing a secular change in how AI affects its operations. Gemini Space St...
A spate of AI-tinged job cuts at crypto and payments companies has brought up a curious question for analysts and investors: how does one assess whether the artificial intelligence part is real? The debate started in February after Block Inc. , the owner of Square and Cash App, announced it would cut a whopping 50% of staff, citing a secular change in how AI affects its operations. Gemini Space Station Inc. and Crypto.com made similar announcements , followed by Coinbase Global Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. this week. “The biggest risk now is not taking action,” Coinbase Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong posted online Tuesday. “We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native.” However, just like Block’s Jack Dorsey faced near-immediate accusations of “AI washing” — trendy term that suggests forward-thinking and hide more serious business issues — industry observers were wondering how anyone can tell what’s really going on inside these firms. Bitcoin is down about one-third since hitting a peak in October, crypto trading volumes are low and the payments industry is more competitive than ever, making it harder to earn. Companies also have their own idiosyncratic issues that a sweeping job cut announcement might help paper over. Block, for instance, went on a hiring frenzy during boom times, while PayPal has a new CEO orchestrating a turnaround . On the other hand, AI has truly been transforming the way the corporate world works, so it’s not unreasonable to believe the technology could make a big chunk of a company’s staff irrelevant overnight, especially if it had bloated staff levels in the first place. “It’s probably an 80/20 split across the industry right now between real AI efficiency gains versus trimming down from the last bull run,” said Raman Shalupau, founder of CryptoJobsList, which recently conducted a study on the topic. Shalupau’s team found that not only is AI replacing workers, but remaining workers mus...
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Oil futures moved lower after U.S. officials indicated that recent Iranian strikes had not derailed a fragile cease-fire, even as American forces continue operations to support commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said some early volatility was expected but maintained that the truce remains intact. Crude prices declin...
SlavkoSereda/iStock via Getty Images Oil futures moved lower after U.S. officials indicated that recent Iranian strikes had not derailed a fragile cease-fire, even as American forces continue operations to support commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said some early volatility was expected but maintained that the truce remains intact. Crude prices declined on expectations that tanker traffic could begin to normalize, though analysts cautioned that the broader risk environment has not materially improved. Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group said the U.S. effort to stabilize maritime transit has lifted sentiment somewhat, but uncertainty persists in the absence of a comprehensive agreement between Washington and Tehran. He noted that recent attacks continue to underpin elevated risk premiums across energy markets, The Wall Street Journal reported. West Texas Intermediate crude ( CL1:COM ) settled 3.9% lower at $102.27 a barrel, while Brent crude ( CO1:COM ) fell 4% to $109.87. More on Brent Futures, Crude Oil Futures, etc. SPX Realized Skew Inverts As Traders Focus On Right Tail Commodities: Middle East Re-Escalation Pushes Oil Prices Higher Oil Spikes Rhyme Through Time Ken Griffin warns prolonged Hormuz closure will spark global recession U.S. gasoline stocks slide toward record lows as imports dry up: Morgan Stanley
Key PointsNBZ Investment Advisors increased its First Eagle Global Equity ETF (FEGE) stake by 78,360 shares in Q1 2026, with an estimated trade value of $3.8 million.
Key PointsNBZ Investment Advisors increased its First Eagle Global Equity ETF (FEGE) stake by 78,360 shares in Q1 2026, with an estimated trade value of $3.8 million.
From DOJ To Ballot Box: The Rise Of Lawfare Candidates Authored by Julie Kelly via RealClearInvestigations , One of the beneficiaries of Virginia’s aggressive attempt to gerrymander the state for Democratic advantage could be a former federal prosecutor whose campaign for Congress hinges on his efforts to use the law to target President Trump and his supporters. When a slim majority of Virginia vo...
From DOJ To Ballot Box: The Rise Of Lawfare Candidates Authored by Julie Kelly via RealClearInvestigations , One of the beneficiaries of Virginia’s aggressive attempt to gerrymander the state for Democratic advantage could be a former federal prosecutor whose campaign for Congress hinges on his efforts to use the law to target President Trump and his supporters. When a slim majority of Virginia voters gave the legislature authority last month to create congressional districts that could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage, J.P. Cooney cheered the outcome in a message on social media , boasting that the new district he was running in had been drawn “expressly for the purpose of standing up to Donald Trump’s and MAGA’s corruption.” Although the fate of Virginia’s 7th Congressional District remains unclear – a state judge immediately blocked the measure, and the issue is expected to end up before the Supreme Court – Cooney’s candidacy represents a small but growing wave of former prosecutors who are running on their anti-Trump bona fides. So far, at least two other former Justice Department officials are seeking office by touting their work against the president, his supporters, and his current administration. All are running as Democrats. J.P. Cooney is hoping to ride the anti-Trump credentials he accrued as a federal prosecutor to Congress. LinkedIn To their supporters, these candidates represent a principled stand against what they see as the lawless excesses of the Trump administration. To many Republicans, the entry of supposedly neutral federal prosecutors into the brass knuckle world of politics confirms their suspicions that the DOJ is filled with partisans who used their power to target the president and the MAGA movement in general. Ryan Crosswell, who is running for Congress as a Democrat in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, resigned from his position as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York last year, after the Justice Departm...
(RTTNews) - Insurance solutions provider Assurant Inc. (AIZ) on Monday reported sharply higher first-quarter net profit, driven by lower catastrophe losses and strong performance in its Global Lifestyle segment.
(RTTNews) - Insurance solutions provider Assurant Inc. (AIZ) on Monday reported sharply higher first-quarter net profit, driven by lower catastrophe losses and strong performance in its Global Lifestyle segment.
piranka/E+ via Getty Images Obviously, there are different ways to play the AI infrastructure trend. But personally, I like the data center niche a lot. Why? Mega caps are supporting the buildout with multi-year contracts, and, quite frankly, I don't see why it should stop. Honestly, Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. ( CRDO ) offers an interesting angle on this industry, in my opinion. A niche o...
piranka/E+ via Getty Images Obviously, there are different ways to play the AI infrastructure trend. But personally, I like the data center niche a lot. Why? Mega caps are supporting the buildout with multi-year contracts, and, quite frankly, I don't see why it should stop. Honestly, Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. ( CRDO ) offers an interesting angle on this industry, in my opinion. A niche one. Well, it's a leading company in high-quality and rapid transfer connection solutions, which I think is nothing but crucial for data centers and the cloud. As long as the data center demand remains strong, it's a significant tailwind for CRDO. And to be honest, I don't think it will stop anytime soon. CRDO: Stock Surged 300% Over The Past Year (Seeking Alpha) As the title says, I truly believe in the long game here. For both CRDO and data centers overall. It's surely not the cheapest AI exposure, but in my opinion, a crucial one. Over the past year, it posted a triple-digit percentage revenue growth . And to me, it clearly indicates that the demand is strong. Simply put, my rating is a Buy, and here's why. The Data Center Market Is Expected to Double from Here That's true. The data center market is currently estimated to be worth roughly $270 billion . Now, if the bullish AI narrative develops favorably and this research comes to fruition, it may more than double by 2034. That's 11% over the next eight years. I don't think the market has priced this in. On top of that, if it reaches an almost $700 billion market size by that time, I think multiple AI infrastructure names could operate and succeed in the niche. So far, Credo experiences solid demand, which tells me that the clientele is happy with its connection solutions. I don't think that's going to fade soon. What I also love about the company is that it continues raising R&D expenses. And to me, it suggests it's playing for a long game. If Credo continues to successfully offer advanced connectivity solutions for AI n...
On May 5, 2026, Western Standard LLC reported selling out of Select Medical Holdings (NYSE:SEM) , with an estimated $32.30 million transaction value based on quarterly average pricing. According to its SEC filing dated May 5, 2026, Western Standard LLC exited its position in Select Medical Holdings by selling 2,064,021 shares. The estimated value of these trades was $32.30 million, calculated usin...
On May 5, 2026, Western Standard LLC reported selling out of Select Medical Holdings (NYSE:SEM) , with an estimated $32.30 million transaction value based on quarterly average pricing. According to its SEC filing dated May 5, 2026, Western Standard LLC exited its position in Select Medical Holdings by selling 2,064,021 shares. The estimated value of these trades was $32.30 million, calculated using the average closing price during the first quarter of 2026. The quarter-end value of the Select Medical Holdings stake decreased by $30.65 million, reflecting both the sale and stock price changes. Select Medical Holdings operates a national network of hospitals, clinics, and occupational health centers. Continue reading