javarman3/iStock via Getty Images Vanguard’s Total World Stock ETF ( VT ) is an elegant product: a single fund that gives you cap-weighted exposure to the entire global equity market. In the current market environment, global diversification is more valuable than ever. For investors who want exposure to all companies worldwide, Vanguard’s Total World Stock ETF is hard to beat for its simplicity – ...
javarman3/iStock via Getty Images Vanguard’s Total World Stock ETF ( VT ) is an elegant product: a single fund that gives you cap-weighted exposure to the entire global equity market. In the current market environment, global diversification is more valuable than ever. For investors who want exposure to all companies worldwide, Vanguard’s Total World Stock ETF is hard to beat for its simplicity – but is its simplicity costing you money? We’re often asked by DIY investors whether they’d be better off replicating VT’s exposure using two separate Vanguard ETFs – the Total US Stock Market ETF ( VTI ) and the Total International Stock ETF ( VXUS ) – held in the same weights. The answer, it turns out, is yes – and by a meaningful margin. Every basis point matters The table below lays out the numbers. Owning VTI and VXUS results in a blended expense ratio 0.03% per annum lower than the all-in-one ETF. For investors who have enough assets in their taxable accounts to accommodate their VXUS holding, an even bigger benefit of the two-ETF strategy is that VXUS passes through 0.23% in the form of a foreign tax credit, which the all-in-one VT does not. This is a consequence of the IRS rule that says if a fund has less than 50% of its assets in foreign stocks at the end of each quarter, it cannot pass through the foreign tax credit to its shareholders. VT fails this test, with under 40% of its assets in foreign stocks. 2 Fund Name Ticker Exp. Ratio Holdings Div. Yield Foreign Tax Credit Total AUM Vanguard Total World Stock VT 0.06% 10,060 1.82% 0.00% $140 B Vanguard Total Stock Market VTI 0.03% 3,503 1.12% 0.00% $1.6 T Vanguard Total Intl Stock VXUS 0.05% 8,794 3.18% 0.23% $580 B Blended VTI + VXUS (61%/39%) 0.04% 12,297 1.92% 0.09% $2.2 T Click to enlarge The 0.13% combined benefit from the lower expense ratio and the foreign tax credit is pretty substantial, equivalent to $1,300 per $1 million of investment every year. 3 A few additional bonuses The two-ETF solution provides a ...
Michael Burrell/iStock via Getty Images Introduction & Investment Thesis When I last wrote about Hims & Hers Health, Inc. ( HIMS ), I downgraded my rating to a Hold. This was after news emerged that Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) had dropped their lawsuit against the company and the two had entered a new agreement that allowed HIMS to sell Novo’s weight loss medications directly on their platform. While the...
Michael Burrell/iStock via Getty Images Introduction & Investment Thesis When I last wrote about Hims & Hers Health, Inc. ( HIMS ), I downgraded my rating to a Hold. This was after news emerged that Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) had dropped their lawsuit against the company and the two had entered a new agreement that allowed HIMS to sell Novo’s weight loss medications directly on their platform. While the stock had surged at the time of my writing, I remained cautious, claiming that such an agreement would fundamentally alter the unit economics of Hims & Hers’s weight loss segment. Hims & Hers reported its Q1 FY26 earnings at the start of the week, after which the stock dropped over 15% and is now back to the price at my previous publication, as it posted severe earnings and revenue misses on the back of deteriorating unit economics that I feared would happen (in the previous post). SA: Price performance since last "hold" rating While management raised their full-year revenue guidance, signaling confidence in the momentum in the international markets as well as the ramp-up of their newer specialties, I don’t believe it will be sufficient to move the needle in investor sentiment. Especially when the company has now missed revenue and earnings estimates twice over the last four quarters. The way I see it, the worst is likely not fully priced in, and the risk-reward is simply not attractive enough for me to initiate a position at current levels, leading me to reiterate my Buy rating on the stock. Q1 Basically Validated All The Fears I Had In my previous post, I had highlighted three main areas of concern regarding the company’s strategic shift in its Weight-Loss business. First, I pointed out that the design of the agreement between Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers Health is such that the latter will offer the branded medications at Novo's self-pay prices, which would be 80% more expensive than the compounded kind. This, I claimed, would fundamentally alter the unit economics, whe...
KenRinger/iStock via Getty Images Airlines may need to retire aircraft at more than double the recent pace to keep supply and demand in balance, a shift that could ripple across the aerospace sector and pressure some of its most profitable business lines, according to a report from BNP Paribas on Thursday. Analyst Matt Akers said the global fleet retirement rate, which has hovered around 1.5% to 2...
KenRinger/iStock via Getty Images Airlines may need to retire aircraft at more than double the recent pace to keep supply and demand in balance, a shift that could ripple across the aerospace sector and pressure some of its most profitable business lines, according to a report from BNP Paribas on Thursday. Analyst Matt Akers said the global fleet retirement rate, which has hovered around 1.5% to 2% in recent years, will likely need to rise to more than 4% later this decade as new aircraft deliveries ramp and older planes become less economical to operate. That acceleration isn’t being driven by fuel prices, but by a wave of incoming supply. Boeing ( BA ) and Airbus ( EADSF ) ( EADSY ) are increasing production, while roughly 1,000 parked aircraft are expected to return to service as engine issues are resolved and upgrades improve durability. Retirements set to accelerate The report argues that today’s “tight supply” narrative misses a key nuance: planes are full, with load factors near record highs, but they are not being used as intensively as before the pandemic. Each seat is carrying about 5% less traffic on average compared with pre-Covid levels, signaling under-utilization across the fleet. At the same time, global passenger traffic has recovered to slightly above pre-pandemic levels but remains roughly 20% below its long-term trend when measured against economic growth. To restore balance, BNP estimates airlines may retire about 7,000 aircraft, or roughly 20% of today’s fleet, over the next five years. Older narrowbody and mid-sized jets are most at risk, including earlier-generation Airbus A320 models, Boeing 737 NG and Classic aircraft, and aging 757 and 767 planes. Aftermarket faces pressure While higher retirements could help align capacity with demand, the trend poses a problem for companies that rely on servicing older aircraft. Aftermarket revenue, which includes maintenance, repairs and spare parts, tends to be more profitable than original equipment s...
solarseven/iStock via Getty Images A rare technical warning signal known as the Hindenburg Omen triggered simultaneously on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, renewing debate among traders about whether U.S. equities are becoming increasingly unstable beneath the surface. The indicator is designed to detect internal market divergence by measuring whether numerous stocks are simultane...
solarseven/iStock via Getty Images A rare technical warning signal known as the Hindenburg Omen triggered simultaneously on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, renewing debate among traders about whether U.S. equities are becoming increasingly unstable beneath the surface. The indicator is designed to detect internal market divergence by measuring whether numerous stocks are simultaneously hitting new highs and new lows. Technicians view that combination as a sign of weakening market breadth and rising uncertainty, even when major indexes such as the S&P 500 ( SPY ) and Nasdaq-100 ( QQQ ) remain elevated. The latest signal arrived as indexes continued hovering near record levels, driven largely by megacap technology and AI-related stocks. However, the Hindenburg Omen suggested participation under the rally may be narrowing. Historically, the indicator has preceded several major market pullbacks and crashes, including periods before the 1987 crash, the dot-com unwind, and the 2008 financial crisis. Still, traders caution that the signal also produces false alarms and does not guarantee an imminent selloff. For the omen to remain active, technicians typically look for confirmation signals in subsequent sessions rather than treating a single trigger as decisive. The simultaneous trigger across both exchanges nevertheless drew attention on Wall Street because of how infrequently the setup appears during strong index rallies. More on NASDAQ Student Loan Defaults Surge As Treasury Assumes Collections April Retail Sales About As Expected - Consumers Spending At A Modest Pace The Stock Market Is Growing Increasingly Dependent On The Stock Market AI trade accounts for over half of S&P 500 weight - JPM S&P 500 hits 7,500 as Wall Street awaits fresh U.S.-China headlines
phakphum patjangkata/iStock via Getty Images Summary Data by YCharts Fair Isaac Corporation ( FICO ) announced fiscal second quarter 2026 results that significantly outpaced consensus estimates for revenues and earnings. The outperformance was driven by two key factors: the Scores segment growing 60% year-over-year (YoY), driven by aggressive price increases and a meaningful recovery in mortgage o...
phakphum patjangkata/iStock via Getty Images Summary Data by YCharts Fair Isaac Corporation ( FICO ) announced fiscal second quarter 2026 results that significantly outpaced consensus estimates for revenues and earnings. The outperformance was driven by two key factors: the Scores segment growing 60% year-over-year (YoY), driven by aggressive price increases and a meaningful recovery in mortgage origination volumes, and Software Platform revenue growing 54% YoY. As a result, net income grew 63% YoY, highlighting FICO’s exceptional operating leverage. More importantly, management raised full-year guidance and delivered convincing, data-backed rebuttals to the narrative that VantageScore (VS) would erode FICO’s dominant market position. This is now my third article covering FICO, with the first in December 2025 and the second in March 2026 . While FICO shares have dropped since my coverage, the thesis has never been stronger. With FICO trading well below its historical average P/E ratio despite stronger fundamentals, I maintain my rating of FICO as a Strong Buy with a price target of $2,395. 2Q26 Earnings FICO FICO reported total revenues of $692 million , growing 39% YoY, beating consensus estimates of $627 million by a meaningful 10.4%. The Scores segment, FICO’s crown jewel, grew 60% YoY to $475 million and now represents approximately 69% of total revenue. B2B scores surged 72% YoY, driven by a combination of pricing increases and recovering mortgage volumes, with B2C scores jumping 5% YoY. FICO As a reminder, at the start of FY26, FICO restructured its mortgage origination pricing from a flat $4.95 per score to either $10 per score or $4.95 per score plus a performance fee at closing. FICO This pricing restructure greatly improved the unit economics for FICO, fueling the expansion of Scores Operating Margin to reach 91% as there is almost no incremental cost to this revenue. This price increase was supplemented by a 127% YoY increase in mortgage originations, dri...
Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) stock, the space company that returned America to the moon in 2024 after a 52-year absence, opened sharply lower after missing Q1 estimates this morning. As of 11:25 a.m. ET, the stock has pared its losses and is down only about 0.5%. Heading into Intuitive's report, analysts expected the space stock to lose about $0.06 per share on $200.1 million in revenue. Inst...
Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) stock, the space company that returned America to the moon in 2024 after a 52-year absence, opened sharply lower after missing Q1 estimates this morning. As of 11:25 a.m. ET, the stock has pared its losses and is down only about 0.5%. Heading into Intuitive's report, analysts expected the space stock to lose about $0.06 per share on $200.1 million in revenue. Instead, Intuitive reported a $0.25-per-share loss on sales of $186.7 million. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
cmart7327 Susquehanna raised the price target on Tower Semiconductor ( TSEM ) to $330 from $180 while keeping its Positive rating on the stock following the chipmaker's first quarter results . Shares of Tower rose about 2% on Thursday. "Updating estimates to reflect TSEM’s recent results, outlook, planned capacity expansion, and revised L-T revenue/OM [operating margin] targets. We now expect the ...
cmart7327 Susquehanna raised the price target on Tower Semiconductor ( TSEM ) to $330 from $180 while keeping its Positive rating on the stock following the chipmaker's first quarter results . Shares of Tower rose about 2% on Thursday. "Updating estimates to reflect TSEM’s recent results, outlook, planned capacity expansion, and revised L-T revenue/OM [operating margin] targets. We now expect the company to exit 2027 at an annualized EPS of ~$7, rising to ~$8 by the end of 2028, with prospects of upside beyond these levels," said analysts led by Mehdi Hosseini. The analysts noted that Tower continues to execute on the radio frequency, or RF, infrastructure ramp (including Silicon Photonics, or SiPh, and Silicon Germanium, or SiGe), with first quarter 2026 results and the guidance both exceeding consensus. Hosseini and his team added that they continue to see a path to annualized EPS of $10. Tower's management framed the $1.3B of 2027 SiPho commitments as a base case forecast, with actual shipments expected to come in higher, supported by the conversion of 200 mm RF-Silicon-on-Insulator, or SOI, capacity to SiPh and the in-flight 300 mm expansion at Fab 7 Uozu, the analysts noted. More on Tower Semiconductor Tower Semiconductor: The AI Bottleneck Nobody Saw Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (TSEM) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Tower Semiconductor: Pure-Play Israeli Foundry In A Boom Cycle Tower Semiconductor surges as record guidance, Q1 beat and $1.3B in new contracts ignite rally Tower Semiconductor Q1 2026 Earnings Preview
Spotify will let creators distribute and monetize video podcasts on Apple Podcasts using Apple’s HLS streaming technology, without changing their existing workflows.
Spotify will let creators distribute and monetize video podcasts on Apple Podcasts using Apple’s HLS streaming technology, without changing their existing workflows.
Earnings Call Insights: Aebi Schmidt Holding AG (AEBI) Q1 2026 Management View “Q1 2026 was marked by strong order momentum, increased sales and profitability, especially in Europe and Rest of the World,” and “our order intake increased by 9% and order backlog by 23% versus Q1 2025,” according to Vice Chairman & CEO Barend Fruithof. Fruithof said the company “launched our new brand architecture, c...
Earnings Call Insights: Aebi Schmidt Holding AG (AEBI) Q1 2026 Management View “Q1 2026 was marked by strong order momentum, increased sales and profitability, especially in Europe and Rest of the World,” and “our order intake increased by 9% and order backlog by 23% versus Q1 2025,” according to Vice Chairman & CEO Barend Fruithof. Fruithof said the company “launched our new brand architecture, completed key facility ramp-ups and positioned the company to execute on our record backlog of $1.3 billion,” and added, “we also announced a strategic partnership with Yeti Move…to accelerate the future of autonomous mobility for airports.” President of Vehicle Solutions & CEO North America Steffen Schewerda said, “2026 started with strong order entry and solid progress of the integration, especially of our commercial truck business,” while also noting, “we saw a profitability impact during the ramp-up of the walk-in van production to meet our full year revenue goals.” “Net sales in the first quarter reached $456 million,” and “we converted an overall stable net sales into a 6% growth in adjusted EBITDA versus prior year first quarter, delivering $33.1 million of adjusted EBITDA in Q1 or a 7.3% margin,” CFO Marco Portmann said. Outlook Fruithof said, “We confirm our full year 2026 guidance, net sales in the range of $1.95 to $2.15 billion, adjusted EBITDA between $175 million and $195 million and year-end leverage at or below 2x.” Portmann linked the cadence to seasonality: “we expect to see significant improvements in net sales materializing in the second quarter and especially in the second half of 2026. This is due to the typical seasonality of our business.” On what drives the revenue range, Portmann said commercial is the swing factor: “we also have the other segments, commercial specifically…That is still soft, and that's still unclear how it will develop for the second half year.” Financial Results Net sales were $456 million in Q1 2026 vs. $456,770,000.0 in the prov...
GEFHunter/iStock via Getty Images Introduction This is my third update ( 1st report, 2nd report) on Micron Technology, Inc. ( MU ), which has become my largest position. Every update has seen a sharp increase in expected earnings with an eventual flattening or decline in 2028, despite market estimates for most other data center suppliers and hyperscaler capex continuing to grow. While valuation ha...
GEFHunter/iStock via Getty Images Introduction This is my third update ( 1st report, 2nd report) on Micron Technology, Inc. ( MU ), which has become my largest position. Every update has seen a sharp increase in expected earnings with an eventual flattening or decline in 2028, despite market estimates for most other data center suppliers and hyperscaler capex continuing to grow. While valuation has increased, it has remained discounted vs. many other semiconductor stocks at around 10x P/E. The incredible rally is accompanied by incredible earnings increases, similar to what has been witnessed at Nvidia ( NVDA ). However, the market has still not re-rated the shares from a low-value cyclical commodity to an integral part of the AI and data center value chain. This slow realization may lead to a stock valued at 15x, still a discount, which propels the price target to $903 YE26 and $1,477 to YE27 on current consensus estimates. Created by author with data from Capital IQ Micron Maybe Undereestimated When I updated the MU consensus estimates, apart from the massive increase in absolute terms, what intrigued me was the YE28 forecasts call for a drop in revenue and earnings. I then compared the hyperscalers' and other data center owners'/builders' capex to see if the market expected this decline; it does not. I then compared several key AI data center supply chain participants' revenue growth and discovered that only MU is expected to suffer a drop, which did not make sense to me. One could argue that unit prices would decline and also impact margins, but this is not the case. It seems the market still does not believe that memory chips are as important as GPUs, fiber cables, and routers in building and operating data centers. Another data point I calculated is the percentage of the supplier's revenue from total hyperscaler capex. As can be seen, MU is around 20%, while NVDA is increasing to over 50%, which indicates that the company may be at greater risk of disappointme...
GEFHunter/iStock via Getty Images Introduction This is my third update ( 1st report, 2nd report) on Micron Technology, Inc. ( MU ), which has become my largest position. Every update has seen a sharp increase in expected earnings with an eventual flattening or decline in 2028, despite market estimates for most other data center suppliers and hyperscaler capex continuing to grow. While valuation ha...
GEFHunter/iStock via Getty Images Introduction This is my third update ( 1st report, 2nd report) on Micron Technology, Inc. ( MU ), which has become my largest position. Every update has seen a sharp increase in expected earnings with an eventual flattening or decline in 2028, despite market estimates for most other data center suppliers and hyperscaler capex continuing to grow. While valuation has increased, it has remained discounted vs. many other semiconductor stocks at around 10x P/E. The incredible rally is accompanied by incredible earnings increases, similar to what has been witnessed at Nvidia ( NVDA ). However, the market has still not re-rated the shares from a low-value cyclical commodity to an integral part of the AI and data center value chain. This slow realization may lead to a stock valued at 15x, still a discount, which propels the price target to $903 YE26 and $1,477 to YE27 on current consensus estimates. Created by author with data from Capital IQ Micron Maybe Undereestimated When I updated the MU consensus estimates, apart from the massive increase in absolute terms, what intrigued me was the YE28 forecasts call for a drop in revenue and earnings. I then compared the hyperscalers' and other data center owners'/builders' capex to see if the market expected this decline; it does not. I then compared several key AI data center supply chain participants' revenue growth and discovered that only MU is expected to suffer a drop, which did not make sense to me. One could argue that unit prices would decline and also impact margins, but this is not the case. It seems the market still does not believe that memory chips are as important as GPUs, fiber cables, and routers in building and operating data centers. Another data point I calculated is the percentage of the supplier's revenue from total hyperscaler capex. As can be seen, MU is around 20%, while NVDA is increasing to over 50%, which indicates that the company may be at greater risk of disappointme...
JayLazarin/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images The high reported return-of-capital, or ROC, distributions of the Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETF ( GPIX ) are a source of some confusion among investors. Goldman Sachs’ disclosures give an estimate of 91.4% ROC, while finalized 2025 tax reporting later showed approximately 87.5%. Both are high numbers and raise the concern whether the fund is...
JayLazarin/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images The high reported return-of-capital, or ROC, distributions of the Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETF ( GPIX ) are a source of some confusion among investors. Goldman Sachs’ disclosures give an estimate of 91.4% ROC, while finalized 2025 tax reporting later showed approximately 87.5%. Both are high numbers and raise the concern whether the fund is returning investors’ own capital rather than generating sustainable income. That concern seems overstated. GPIX’s ROC is more a tax artifact than NAV-eroding. The fund still delivers solid dividends and even price upside—in the last twelve months, Goldman reports roughly 91.8% upside capture. Its strategy of paying monthly distributions from income generated through call option premiums and equity dividends seems to be working out. Investors often confuse three different ideas: tax classification, economic return, and NAV sustainability. With option-income ETFs, money generated from options and portfolio appreciation could get classified as ROC simply because of earnings-and-profits calculations, basis-adjustment rules, and option-tax treatment. This doesn’t mean the fund is destroying shareholder capital. My view is that GPIX is very different from some of the older high-yield overwrite funds that used to do just that—erode investor capital for current income. That makes GPIX attractive for income investors. What Return Of Capital Actually Means Return of capital is one of the most misunderstood terms in income investing. It doesn’t always mean that a fund is quietly mailing you back some of your own money at the end of every month. Sometimes, it can be more complicated. At a basic level, ROC means distribution was not classified as taxable ordinary income or realized capital gains at that particular time. Instead, the distribution reduces the investors’ cost basis in the shares. So far so good, but in NAV-eroding ROC, not just the tax basis but the NAV itself gets reduce...
Plaza Retail REIT press release ( PAZRF ): Q1 revenue of C$32.5M (+4.5% Y/Y). FFO increased by 11.7% year over year to C$10.9M, or C$0.098 per unit. More on Plaza Retail REIT Plaza Retail REIT (PLZ.UN:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Historical earnings data for Plaza Retail REIT Dividend scorecard for Plaza Retail REIT Financial information for Plaza Retail REIT
Plaza Retail REIT press release ( PAZRF ): Q1 revenue of C$32.5M (+4.5% Y/Y). FFO increased by 11.7% year over year to C$10.9M, or C$0.098 per unit. More on Plaza Retail REIT Plaza Retail REIT (PLZ.UN:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript Historical earnings data for Plaza Retail REIT Dividend scorecard for Plaza Retail REIT Financial information for Plaza Retail REIT