Marina113/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction Avis Budget Group, Inc. ( CAR ) had a phenomenal performance over the last couple of weeks, which was mostly based on momentum and sentiment shift, rather than a turnaround in its fundamentals. I wanted to go through its financials over the last year and see if this movement was at all related to the overall company financial performance. Th...
Marina113/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Introduction Avis Budget Group, Inc. ( CAR ) had a phenomenal performance over the last couple of weeks, which was mostly based on momentum and sentiment shift, rather than a turnaround in its fundamentals. I wanted to go through its financials over the last year and see if this movement was at all related to the overall company financial performance. The short answer is no, and you would do fine with selling some of your shares if you caught the 100% gain over the last week. There could be further share price gains due to the short squeeze but do so at your own discretion. Briefly on Financials There wasn’t much happening in the top line over the last year . Even if there was an uptrend at one point, the growth was nowhere near impressive. Over the whole year, revenues were essentially flat when compared to the beginning of the year. Americas’ revenues for the year were down 2%, while International helped offset it a little with a 3% growth. Seeking Alpha I often say that the top-line performance isn’t the most important part of the company. I don’t mind a top-line growth that is unexciting, as long as the internal operations are getting more streamlined and more profitable. Here, we can see that there have been some improvements across the board. The company is still not profitable; however, I don’t think it needs a lot more work to get there, at least on a GAAP basis. Seeking Alpha On an adjusted basis, the Americas’ adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter improved to $1m, which isn’t much, but it improved from a $63m loss last year. Lower cost fleets, which were partly offset by lower revenue per day. The international adjusted EBITDA improved to $21m, up from a $11m loss last year. The main drivers for this performance were stronger revenue per day, as well as lower fleet costs, but it was also partly offset by fewer rental days. On a GAAP basis, however, loss per share was a whopping $21.25 due to a massive charge to ...
blackred/E+ via Getty Images As Q1 2026 earnings season draws near, the industrials sector is contending with a shifting macroeconomic backdrop, infrastructure spending momentum, defense budget expansions, and ongoing supply chain normalization are all influencing how analysts are pricing in near-term earnings for industrial companies. The following list highlights mid-cap industrials stocks that ...
blackred/E+ via Getty Images As Q1 2026 earnings season draws near, the industrials sector is contending with a shifting macroeconomic backdrop, infrastructure spending momentum, defense budget expansions, and ongoing supply chain normalization are all influencing how analysts are pricing in near-term earnings for industrial companies. The following list highlights mid-cap industrials stocks that have earned a Seeking Alpha EPS Revision Quant Grade of A or higher, a strong signal that analysts have been meaningfully raising their earnings expectations ahead of Q1 reports, spanning a diverse range of sub-sectors from aerospace and defense to construction engineering and industrial machinery. The list is topped by Astronics Corporation ( ATRO ), Exponent, Inc. ( EXPO ), and Fluor Corporation ( FLR ), all earning A+ grades. These companies represent the highest quantitative rankings for earnings estimate revisions within the mid-cap industrial space. Kennametal Inc. ( KMT ), MYR Group Inc. ( MYRG ), and Vicor Corporation ( VICR ) round out more of the top A+ rated names. The diversity of industries covered spans aerospace and defense, construction and engineering, industrial machinery, and electrical components. A high EPS revision grade indicates that analysts are increasingly bullish on these companies’ bottom lines, suggesting positive momentum in earnings expectations. Astronics Corporation ( ATRO ) A+ Exponent, Inc. ( EXPO ) A+ Fluor Corporation ( FLR ) A+ Kennametal Inc. ( KMT ) A+ MYR Group Inc. ( MYRG ) A+ Construction Partners, Inc. ( ROAD ) A+ U-Haul Holding Company ( UHAL ) A+ Vicor Corporation ( VICR ) A+ Watts Water Technologies, Inc. ( WTS ) A+ Argan, Inc. ( AGX ) A AAR Corp. ( AIR ) A Amprius Technologies, Inc. ( AMPX ) A Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. ( BW ) A GATX Corporation ( GATX ) A Matson, Inc. ( MATX ) A Maximus, Inc. ( MMS ) A Mueller Water Products, Inc. ( MWA ) A Powell Industries, Inc. ( POWL ) A Rush Enterprises, Inc. ( RUSHA ) A Trinity...
Wall Street, along with the rest of the world, is nervous. President Trump's deadline to reach a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is quickly approaching, with the odds dwindling of an agreement being struck. Trump said in a new Truth Social post early Tuesday that, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will...
Wall Street, along with the rest of the world, is nervous. President Trump's deadline to reach a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is quickly approaching, with the odds dwindling of an agreement being struck. Trump said in a new Truth Social post early Tuesday that, "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will." Beforehand, multiple reports said the U.S. conducted military strikes on Kharg Island in Iran. As a result, stocks were under pressure in early trading Tuesday and U.S. crude prices rallied more than 2%. International Brent crude oil gained about 1%. Yet, many Wall Street investment banks are positioning for some sort of de-escalation — perhaps leading to more muted moves ahead of the 8 p.m. ET Tuesday deadline set by the White House. "Notwithstanding his increasingly bellicose rhetoric, none of the escalatory options available to Trump … are good ones and given the huge costs involved in each (along with the fact that the U.S. strategic objectives have been achieved), he will be forced to pursue an offramp of some sort," wrote Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge. .SPX mountain 2026-03-02 S & P 500 since Iran war began Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, head of European Research at 22V Research, echoed that sentiment. "Due to these very large and very negative consequences from an imminent escalation in the air campaign against Iran, it continues to have to be the outcome of any attempted rational analysis – such as this one – that such a course of action cannot be the base case going forward. A negotiated and diplomatic path of some kind towards de-escalation and an eventual end to the conflict must still be the base case," he wrote to clients. Stocks have languished since the U.S.-Iran war began. The S & P 500 is down nearly 4% and has fallen below its 200-day moving average, a key technical level watched by investors. Yet the benchmark is also coming off its strongest weekly perfo...
aydinmutlu/iStock via Getty Images I have covered AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS ) a couple of times in the past year and found it short of a high conviction Buy on both occasions. The last thesis in December was on the edge of a Hold call with caution, looking at how the EV had galloped in the past months versus the actual magnitude of risks still pending validation. The global direct to device connectiv...
aydinmutlu/iStock via Getty Images I have covered AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS ) a couple of times in the past year and found it short of a high conviction Buy on both occasions. The last thesis in December was on the edge of a Hold call with caution, looking at how the EV had galloped in the past months versus the actual magnitude of risks still pending validation. The global direct to device connectivity opportunity was undeniably a strong narrative, but I saw execution risks substantially high at valuations that looked like factoring in future success to a large extent. ASTS was still a thesis that looked pending commercial (deployment at scale) and economic validation. Since the December thesis, valuations have expanded further, with the EV moving up by ~40% (over 60% at one point, before markets started cooling around long duration risks). This thesis analyzes whether that is commensurate with any meaningful de-risking that has happened since, and finds only limited progress in manufacturing readiness and early launches. Core risks in deployment, activation and economics are still almost as far as they were in December. That becomes a problem in a market that is finding it more challenging to underwrite long duration bets and tilts a thesis, already tilting toward caution earlier, to a Sell. Data by YCharts I find better value in Rocket Lab ( RKLB ) while we are talking about investments in the broader theme of space infrastructure, connectivity and innovation. RKLB and ASTS are often discussed together when talking about the space economy - both are high growth and high uncertainty innovation bets (Rocket Lab's uncertainty is reduced to scaling questions though), and are capital intensive and long duration opportunities. The relation between the two different end-use business models is visible from the way both reacted positively to the generic space theme recently (the SpaceX IPO buzz). The thematic and sentimental commonality at this stage means end markets, TAM a...
Getty Images For a long time energy stocks were something of a bore, which meant that not much time or attention was spent on them as they did not do all that much to warrant it. However, energy stocks were able to achieve something in Q1 2026 that has been unusual to see in recent years, which is to rise to the top of the leaderboard with gains that far surpass that of the leading indexes. Energy...
Getty Images For a long time energy stocks were something of a bore, which meant that not much time or attention was spent on them as they did not do all that much to warrant it. However, energy stocks were able to achieve something in Q1 2026 that has been unusual to see in recent years, which is to rise to the top of the leaderboard with gains that far surpass that of the leading indexes. Energy stocks have outperformed thus far in 2026 with a major assist from recent events in the Middle East and the reaction for many may be to jump into the fray. However, there is an argument to be made that recent events are not as positive for the sector as it may appear at first. In fact, they may even serve to backfire down the road. Energy stocks come to life A previous article at the start of 2026 written by myself noted how the energy sector had underperformed in what was a good year overall for most stocks in 2025. In addition, the year 2026 looked destined to turn into another year of weak performance, especially with the oil market projected to be oversupplied. Yet the article still argued that the year 2026 was not guaranteed to play out the same way as 2025. For this to happen and for energy stocks to surprise by outperforming, it was most likely to happen as a result of possible moves on the geopolitical chessboard, specifically in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz in particular. Source: Thinkorswim app It is still early and there are three more quarters to go in 2026, but the energy sector did much better in Q1 2026 than it ever did in 2025. For instance, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF ( XLE ), an ETF which tracks companies active in the energy sector, has tended to lag well behind the SPDR S&P500 ETF ( SPY ) in recent quarters, including as recently as Q4 2025. However, this changed in Q1 2026 because XLE ended the quarter with a gain of 37.02%, much better than the 4.63% loss for SPY. This includes a gain of 9.55% in the month of March, a very turb...
Alex Cristi /iStock via Getty Images Quality Stocks To say last month was rough would be an understatement. The S&P 500 fell by ~5%, making March one of the worst months of the past 3 years. The bad news, the catalysts for this decline are far from over which means there may be more pain on the horizon. The Middle East conflict still has no end in sight and oil prices have climbed over 50%, this o...
Alex Cristi /iStock via Getty Images Quality Stocks To say last month was rough would be an understatement. The S&P 500 fell by ~5%, making March one of the worst months of the past 3 years. The bad news, the catalysts for this decline are far from over which means there may be more pain on the horizon. The Middle East conflict still has no end in sight and oil prices have climbed over 50%, this of course raises the fear of higher inflation and a slew of other domino effects that could ripple through the economy. For long-term investors this is just another speed bump along the journey to wealth creation. With a glass half full outlook instead of dwelling on the paper losses in our portfolios we should focus on the more attractive valuations a market pullback presents. With that I would like to present my stock screening process aimed at identifying the best High Growth Dividend opportunities. The primary objective of this process is to present me with opportune investment ideas to consider in the current month. The stock selection strategy is designed to seek out high-quality companies that are trading below intrinsic value and have the potential to deliver above-average long-term total returns. The Top 25 list for April offers an average starting dividend yield of 1.52%, slightly better than the S&P 500. The chosen stocks appear to be about 34% undervalued based on dividend yield theory. Collectively these companies have increased their dividend payouts at a rate of 17.7% during the last 5 years. My long-term return estimate, that will be explained in detail later, stands at a very attractive +21% per year. If you'd like to read about the initial screening process and the stock selection strategy, you can do so in the original article here . I've made a few minor tweaks along the way but for the most part the process and overall concept of the strategy remains the same. Top 25 High Growth Dividend Stocks for April 2026 Created by Author A total of 137 stocks were ...