Thawatchai Chawong/iStock via Getty Images OneSpan ( OSPN ) reported 1Q26 results. The company continues to show consistent subscription growth, and Digital Agreements had a very good quarter, with double-digit revenue growth and a large margin expansion. Cybersecurity was also up, but most of the growth seems to have come from acquisitions, and profitability fell materially. The call also had int...
Thawatchai Chawong/iStock via Getty Images OneSpan ( OSPN ) reported 1Q26 results. The company continues to show consistent subscription growth, and Digital Agreements had a very good quarter, with double-digit revenue growth and a large margin expansion. Cybersecurity was also up, but most of the growth seems to have come from acquisitions, and profitability fell materially. The call also had interesting information about the general "SaaSpocalypse" fear around software names. OSPN products are sold based on usage, which makes the AI disruption risk lower than in many other software categories. Coming to valuation, for a company that has traded at a growth valuation at times, the problem is that growth has not arrived. For three years, OneSpan has struggled to prove that it can grow. The valuation now is no longer demanding, at roughly 10x earnings power, especially considering the high margins, net cash balance, and exposures. Still, I would not consider it cheap. I maintain a Hold rating, although with more constructive optimism than in previous quarters . 1Q26 Results The quarter was in line with OneSpan's long-term trend. Subscription revenues continue to grow across both segments, but this growth is offset by declining hardware and legacy maintenance revenues. The best part of the quarter was Digital Agreements. Revenues grew 10%+ YoY. More importantly, operating income increased from ~$3.5 million to ~$5.5 million, with operating margins expanding 9 pp to 30%+. This is the company's star business. Cybersecurity was more complicated. Revenue grew only 2% YoY to ~$49 million. Subscription revenue grew, but hardware and maintenance revenue declined by a similar amount. The issue is that Cybersecurity benefited from two acquisitions: NOK NOK last year and Build38 in 1Q26. In the call, management said organic ARR growth was about 7/8% for the segment. That implies maybe $8 million to $9 million of incremental ARR per year, or around $2 million per quarter, the sam...
Trading of Indian derivatives on the nation’s biggest bourse slumped last month by the most since curbs started in late 2024 as higher taxes aimed at cooling the options market took effect. The average daily notional turnover sank 26% in April from March for futures and options on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. to 217 trillion rupees ($2.3 trillion). That was the biggest drop since Dece...
Trading of Indian derivatives on the nation’s biggest bourse slumped last month by the most since curbs started in late 2024 as higher taxes aimed at cooling the options market took effect. The average daily notional turnover sank 26% in April from March for futures and options on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. to 217 trillion rupees ($2.3 trillion). That was the biggest drop since December 2024, with the turnover reaching its lowest in more than a year. Trading of index contracts plunged 34% and 31%, respectively, after rising in recent months. The Indian government unveiled in February a proposal to increase taxes on equity derivatives in a broader effort to curb excessive speculation that’s hit retail investors with billions of dollars in losses. The higher levies, implemented on April 1, sharply raised the threshold for high-frequency and arbitrage strategies to be profitable, in a move to nudge the market toward longer-term activity. “The increase in transaction costs is beginning to bite, especially for short-term traders who rely on tight spreads,” said Maurya Ghelani , a derivatives strategist at Kai Securities in Mumbai. “You’re seeing a recalibration of strategies rather than an outright exit, but volumes are clearly adjusting lower.” Also read: High-Speed Traders Face Profit Squeeze After India Tax Hike It didn’t help that two key expiries in April coincided with market holidays . Meanwhile, at rival bourse BSE Ltd. , which handled about one-third of index options trading last month, the average daily notional turnover for derivatives jumped 20% to 269 trillion rupees . The central bank is also tightening oversight, and upcoming measures are likely to impact derivatives trading further. One of them will force firms to use cash as collateral for proprietary trades, something that will hamper the leverage that has been driving the market. Prop firms are responsible for about 50% of equity-options turnover and one-third for equity futures. “Liquid...
BlackJack3D/iStock via Getty Images Anthropic, a potential gap in portfolios that is closeable today To invest in Anthropic ( ANTHRO ), you most likely need venture capital access, accredited investor status, or a seat at the table during a fundraising round. The KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF ( AGIX ) had just that. AGIX was able to invest in Anthropic (directly on its cap...
BlackJack3D/iStock via Getty Images Anthropic, a potential gap in portfolios that is closeable today To invest in Anthropic ( ANTHRO ), you most likely need venture capital access, accredited investor status, or a seat at the table during a fundraising round. The KraneShares Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF ( AGIX ) had just that. AGIX was able to invest in Anthropic (directly on its capitalization table) during a fundraising round. Now, public market investors can gain exposure to one of the most talked about private companies of 2026, Anthropic, as a holding in our AI ETF, AGIX. What Is Anthropic? Anthropic is an AI safety and research company best known for Claude, its family of large language models (LLMs). Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, Anthropic has grown into one of the most valuable private technology companies in the world, building AI systems designed to be safe, reliable, and commercially deployable at scale. How AGIX Was Able To Invest In Anthropic In February of 2025, KraneShares’ AI ETF, AGIX, added direct exposure to Anthropic. At that time, Anthropic was not well known to many investors, especially when compared to OpenAI. However, since AGIX invested in Anthropic at a $61.5 billion valuation 1 , it has arguably become a fixture in AI-related headlines. Currently, AGIX has a 2.91% allocation to Anthropic. 2 Even though this may not seem significant, it has actually been a notable driver of performance. Since adding exposure to Anthropic and xAI (now SpaceX), this private exposure has directly led AGIX to outperform its own public market benchmark by over 10%. 3 Why AI ETF AGIX Invested In Anthropic Anthropic has emerged as a core building block of the global AI ecosystem. Anthropic has developed impressive large language models and AI agents that power use cases from enterprise productivity to software development. For many portfolios, however, the ability to invest in Anthropic directly has been missing, creating a gap in ex...
Warren Buffett built a spectacular investing career based on many principles, and a key one is the following: Invest for the long-term. This means buying shares of a quality company and holding on for a number of years. Buffett has proven his commitment to this strategy with many of his top holdings, such as Coca-Cola and American Express . Those heavyweights have held their spot in the Berkshire ...
Warren Buffett built a spectacular investing career based on many principles, and a key one is the following: Invest for the long-term. This means buying shares of a quality company and holding on for a number of years. Buffett has proven his commitment to this strategy with many of his top holdings, such as Coca-Cola and American Express . Those heavyweights have held their spot in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio for decades. Through this strategy, Buffett helped Berkshire Hathaway beat the S&P 500 over 60 years. The investing giant passed his chief executive officer hat on to Greg Abel at the start of 2026, but this doesn't mean he's no longer present at the company. Buffett remains chairman and goes to the office daily to continue participating in the investing process. And just last week, the billionaire sat in the directors' section at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. He took the opportunity to praise the chief of a company he bet $35 billion on a decade ago. It was a surprising investment, considering Buffett's usual strategy, but it turned out to be the right one as it grew to $185 billion. Continue reading
uchar/iStock via Getty Images Germany’s Bayer ( BAYZF ) agreed to acquire U.S.-based Perfuse Therapeutics in a transaction valued at up to $2.45B. The deal includes an upfront payment of $300M, with additional payouts tied to development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. The acquisition gives Bayer full rights to PER-001, a small-molecule endothelin receptor antagonist currently in Phase II ...
uchar/iStock via Getty Images Germany’s Bayer ( BAYZF ) agreed to acquire U.S.-based Perfuse Therapeutics in a transaction valued at up to $2.45B. The deal includes an upfront payment of $300M, with additional payouts tied to development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. The acquisition gives Bayer full rights to PER-001, a small-molecule endothelin receptor antagonist currently in Phase II clinical trials for glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Bayer ( BAYZF ) said the purchase fits its ophthalmology expertise and complements its broader pharmaceutical pipeline. PER-001 is designed to improve blood flow to the retina and could potentially emerge as a disease-modifying treatment for major eye disorders, addressing significant unmet medical needs in conditions affecting millions globally. The acquisition will be completed after it receives required antitrust approvals and approval from Perfuse’s shareholders. More on Bayer Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY) Shareholder/Analyst Call Transcript Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY) Shareholder/Analyst Call - Slideshow Bayer: Turnaround Is Underway - Don't Miss It Supreme Court Roundup case could reshape Bayer’s legal risk Bayer faces high-stakes Roundup test as plaintiffs weigh $7.5B settlement
China’s effort to rein in inflated credit ratings is running up against a fundamental constraint: they are key to how the country’s bond market functions. The downgrade of Qingdao Shanghe Holding Development Group Co. Ltd. , a local government financing vehicle (LGFV), from AAA to AA+ in April crystallized the problem. On paper, the trigger was a relatively small 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) t...
China’s effort to rein in inflated credit ratings is running up against a fundamental constraint: they are key to how the country’s bond market functions. The downgrade of Qingdao Shanghe Holding Development Group Co. Ltd. , a local government financing vehicle (LGFV), from AAA to AA+ in April crystallized the problem. On paper, the trigger was a relatively small 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) trust financing default. But its financial deterioration had been visible for months: the company had accumulated overdue commercial paper since early 2025.
Earnings Call Insights: BlackLine (BL) Q1 2026 Management View "Our Q1 results demonstrated that our strategy is working, delivering solid top line growth and profitability." (Chairman & CEO Owen Ryan) "Revenue grew to 9.7% year-over-year and non-GAAP operating margin improved to 21.6%." "Platform adoption maintained a healthy pace following Q4 seasonality with 94% of the eligible new bookings lan...
Earnings Call Insights: BlackLine (BL) Q1 2026 Management View "Our Q1 results demonstrated that our strategy is working, delivering solid top line growth and profitability." (Chairman & CEO Owen Ryan) "Revenue grew to 9.7% year-over-year and non-GAAP operating margin improved to 21.6%." "Platform adoption maintained a healthy pace following Q4 seasonality with 94% of the eligible new bookings landing on platform pricing" (Chairman & CEO Ryan), and "the metric reaching 13% of eligible ARR up from 11% in Q4." He also tied larger transactions to the model, saying "average new deal size this quarter was up 85% to $162,000." "Over 2/3 of our customers are now actively using these tools, a 285% increase in adoption quarter-over-quarter." (Chairman & CEO Ryan) "In Q1 alone, unique users grew 68% and total usage grew 183%." "Total revenue was $183 million, up 10%" (Chief Financial Officer Patrick Villanova), and "RPO... grew 18% to $1.1 billion fueled by larger deal sizes and longer contract terms inherent to our platform model." Outlook "For the second quarter, we expect total GAAP revenue to be in the range of $186 million to $188 million" (Chief Financial Officer Villanova), alongside "non-GAAP operating margin... 21.5% to 22.5%" and "$0.57 to $0.59" in non-GAAP EPS. "For the full year 2026, we expect total GAAP revenue to be in the range of $765 million to $769 million" (Chief Financial Officer Villanova), with "non-GAAP operating margin... 24% to 24.5%" and "$2.42 to $2.53" in non-GAAP EPS. "These results give us confidence to raise our full year outlook." (Chief Financial Officer Villanova) He added, "the first quarter's top line performance included about a $1 million benefit" that was "nonrecurring in nature," and said the company expects "a modest revenue headwind of roughly $1 million to $2 million over the balance of the year due to FX." Financial Results "ARR reached $712 million, up 9%" (Chief Financial Officer Villanova), and "calculated billings growth was 9...
The European Commission is working on a new trade weapon as the continent struggles to contend with a flood of low-cost imports from China. The tool may be presented at a May 29 gathering of the European Union’s executive branch, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday. Plans for a China-focused meeting were delayed from last month after the US-Israeli war on Iran prompted a new agenda fo...
The European Commission is working on a new trade weapon as the continent struggles to contend with a flood of low-cost imports from China. The tool may be presented at a May 29 gathering of the European Union’s executive branch, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday. Plans for a China-focused meeting were delayed from last month after the US-Israeli war on Iran prompted a new agenda focused on energy prices. It’s not clear what form the instrument will take. Business groups have been...