Andrzej Rostek/iStock via Getty Images Introduction When we buy equities, we don't buy them with the expectations of underperforming. We buy with the belief that the price will eventually rise. And if the stock pays a dividend, the income can helps soften the blow during periods of volatility. In the case of the BDC ( BIZD ) sector, I anticipated underperformance due to expected rate cuts and a we...
Andrzej Rostek/iStock via Getty Images Introduction When we buy equities, we don't buy them with the expectations of underperforming. We buy with the belief that the price will eventually rise. And if the stock pays a dividend, the income can helps soften the blow during periods of volatility. In the case of the BDC ( BIZD ) sector, I anticipated underperformance due to expected rate cuts and a weakening economy, both of which would pressure BDC's ability to sustain their dividends. Since turning cautious on the sector early last year, many BDCs have underperformed, with many ultimately reducing their dividends. In the case of Carlyle Secured Lending ( CGBD ), my dividend cut prediction proved accurate after management reduced the dividend by 12.5%. While headwinds appear priced in and the dividend reduction give management additional flexibility, I still believe investors should remain cautious and wait to see more financial stabilization before considering a position. In this article, I discuss their latest earnings, why management reduced the dividend, and why the 14% dividend yield & discount to NAV still warrant caution. Previous Thesis During my article on CGBD back in March, I remained cautious as I suspected the BDC was at high risk of potentially reducing the dividend. The sequential decline in the company's bottom line led to deteriorating dividend coverage, putting them at high risk of underperformance. Dividend coverage declined year-over-year from 118% to 82.5%. Although their balance sheet, spillover income, and higher investment activity provided a temporary cushion, I remained cautious and suggested investors wait for more economic clarity. Since, CGBD's price has held relatively steady, up close to 2%. For comparison, the S&P ( SP500 ) is up closer to 10% over the same period. Seeking Alpha Higher Losses Forces A 12.5% Dividend Cut Carlyle Secured Lending reported their Q1 earnings and saw a continued decline in their bottom line. Adjusted net inves...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I previously rated Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) ( MSFT:CA ) as a Strong Buy in March 2026, thanks to the improved margin of safety from the prior correction. In this article, I shall discuss why MSFT remains a Strong Buy, given their robust enterprise SaaS/cloud monetization trends and the discounted valuations. MSFT Proves That SaaS Is Not Dead MSFT 1Y St...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I previously rated Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) ( MSFT:CA ) as a Strong Buy in March 2026, thanks to the improved margin of safety from the prior correction. In this article, I shall discuss why MSFT remains a Strong Buy, given their robust enterprise SaaS/cloud monetization trends and the discounted valuations. MSFT Proves That SaaS Is Not Dead MSFT 1Y Stock Price (Trading View) Since my last Strong Buy rating, MSFT has indeed bottomed in March 2026, with a similar cadence also observed in its hyperscaler/SaaS peers in varying degrees. As the 4th biggest global company by market cap at $3.08T at the time of writing, I am of the opinion that the King of Enterprise SaaS stocks remains extremely compelling here. 1. Robust SaaS/Cloud Prospects This is especially since MSFT has proven the prior market fears of new AI tools potentially disrupting the SaaS sector's per-seat monetization prospects wrong, with the ongoing AI boom merely giving way to the company's new monetization opportunity through usage-based pricing models. For example, the Q1'26 earnings season, or the company's FQ3'26 earnings call, reports their growing Copilot consumption revenues at " nearly 2x quarter-over-quarter " and the usage consumption models resulting "in acceleration in the top line." This is on top of more customers shifting "from a traditional seat model to seats plus consumption" and 60% of their customers in the customer service sector "already purchasing usage-based credits." This reason may also be why MSFT is looking to: fully transition the GitHub Copilot to usage-based billing from June 2026 onwards, to align "usage with costs" with the free-tier still enabled , and continue offering Microsoft 365 Copilot on a per-seat basis, albeit with "access and use agents, priced on a metered basis," amongst others, with the hybrid pricing models allowing them to deliver differentiated value across various audiences, in this case, developers and enter...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I previously rated Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) ( MSFT:CA ) as a Strong Buy in March 2026, thanks to the improved margin of safety from the prior correction. In this article, I shall discuss why MSFT remains a Strong Buy, given their robust enterprise SaaS/cloud monetization trends and the discounted valuations. MSFT Proves That SaaS Is Not Dead MSFT 1Y St...
lcva2/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I previously rated Microsoft Corporation ( MSFT ) ( MSFT:CA ) as a Strong Buy in March 2026, thanks to the improved margin of safety from the prior correction. In this article, I shall discuss why MSFT remains a Strong Buy, given their robust enterprise SaaS/cloud monetization trends and the discounted valuations. MSFT Proves That SaaS Is Not Dead MSFT 1Y Stock Price (Trading View) Since my last Strong Buy rating, MSFT has indeed bottomed in March 2026, with a similar cadence also observed in its hyperscaler/SaaS peers in varying degrees. As the 4th biggest global company by market cap at $3.08T at the time of writing, I am of the opinion that the King of Enterprise SaaS stocks remains extremely compelling here. 1. Robust SaaS/Cloud Prospects This is especially since MSFT has proven the prior market fears of new AI tools potentially disrupting the SaaS sector's per-seat monetization prospects wrong, with the ongoing AI boom merely giving way to the company's new monetization opportunity through usage-based pricing models. For example, the Q1'26 earnings season, or the company's FQ3'26 earnings call, reports their growing Copilot consumption revenues at " nearly 2x quarter-over-quarter " and the usage consumption models resulting "in acceleration in the top line." This is on top of more customers shifting "from a traditional seat model to seats plus consumption" and 60% of their customers in the customer service sector "already purchasing usage-based credits." This reason may also be why MSFT is looking to: fully transition the GitHub Copilot to usage-based billing from June 2026 onwards, to align "usage with costs" with the free-tier still enabled , and continue offering Microsoft 365 Copilot on a per-seat basis, albeit with "access and use agents, priced on a metered basis," amongst others, with the hybrid pricing models allowing them to deliver differentiated value across various audiences, in this case, developers and enter...
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. press release ( BMDPF ): Q1 total revenues stand at EUR 1,960 million. Excluding the contribution from the Mediobanca perimeter, amounting to EUR 925 million, revenues come to EUR 1,034 million, representing an increase compared with same period of the previous year (+2.7%, equal to EUR +27.2 million), driven by a positive trend in net interest income (+0.8%,...
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. press release ( BMDPF ): Q1 total revenues stand at EUR 1,960 million. Excluding the contribution from the Mediobanca perimeter, amounting to EUR 925 million, revenues come to EUR 1,034 million, representing an increase compared with same period of the previous year (+2.7%, equal to EUR +27.2 million), driven by a positive trend in net interest income (+0.8%, equal to EUR +4.2 million), net fee and commission income (+3.0%, equal to EUR +11.8 million) and other income from financial operations (+13.1%, equal to EUR +8.7 million). Other operating income and expenses also record a positive performance (EUR +2.6 million). More on Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Historical earnings data for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. Financial information for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A.
Austevoll Seafood ASA ( ASTVF ): Q1 EPS (adj.) of NOK 3.1. Revenue of NOK 9.81B (flat Y/Y). More on Austevoll Seafood ASA Historical earnings data for Austevoll Seafood ASA Dividend scorecard for Austevoll Seafood ASA Financial information for Austevoll Seafood ASA
Austevoll Seafood ASA ( ASTVF ): Q1 EPS (adj.) of NOK 3.1. Revenue of NOK 9.81B (flat Y/Y). More on Austevoll Seafood ASA Historical earnings data for Austevoll Seafood ASA Dividend scorecard for Austevoll Seafood ASA Financial information for Austevoll Seafood ASA
Hispanolistic/E+ via Getty Images The CPI rose 0.64% in April, bringing the YoY rate to 3.811%. Both numbers were slightly hotter than expected. Core CPI rose 0.376%, bringing the YoY rate to 2.75%. Both numbers were slightly hotter than expected . Core CPI increased at the fastest pace in four years. By category, core services ex-housing continued its upward trajectory, but core goods CPI dipped,...
Hispanolistic/E+ via Getty Images The CPI rose 0.64% in April, bringing the YoY rate to 3.811%. Both numbers were slightly hotter than expected. Core CPI rose 0.376%, bringing the YoY rate to 2.75%. Both numbers were slightly hotter than expected . Core CPI increased at the fastest pace in four years. By category, core services ex-housing continued its upward trajectory, but core goods CPI dipped, suggesting an annual lapping of the 2025 tariff hit. Digging into the report, supercore CPI was also an upside surprise, adding 0.454% from March to April, taking the annual rate to 3.379%, a multi-quarter high. For consumers, it means decidedly negative real average hourly earnings to begin the second quarter, given the sharp rise in energy costs. The energy component accounted for over 40% of the April consumer price rise. The shelter component also played an outsized role, and that tends to be a badly lagged part of the inflation picture. Gasoline CPI was +28.4% YoY, while electricity CPI printed +6.1% YoY. Used vehicle prices deflated in April, but CPI food at home jumped by the most since August 2022 last month. CPI rates across the board increased from those seen in March, and the market now sees headline CPI potentially climbing toward 4.5% at some point this year, though much hinges on how the conflict in Iran and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz unfold. Equity futures actually ticked up as the April inflation data were absorbed. The S&P 500 ( SP500 ) was indicated lower by 0.4% heading into the 8:30 a.m. ET report. The same story was seen in the Treasury complex. Yields were up in the pre-market but then eased just marginally post-CPI. The bond market now leans toward a rate hike by early-mid 2027. April CPI hotter than expected Bloomberg CPI YoY 3.8%, highest since May 2023 Trading Economics CPI biggest 2-month jump since May-June 2022 Trading Economics Core CPI 2.8% YoY, highest since last September Trading Economics Core CPI m/m +0.4%, which hasn't been ho...
When US President Donald Trump’s delegation touches down in Beijing on Wednesday night, he looks to be flanked by a cadre of corporate executives, headlined by a man seen by much of the Chinese public as the most familiar American entrepreneur of his generation: Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX chief’s presence alongside Trump for meetings with President Xi Jinping adds a distinctive commercial and...
When US President Donald Trump’s delegation touches down in Beijing on Wednesday night, he looks to be flanked by a cadre of corporate executives, headlined by a man seen by much of the Chinese public as the most familiar American entrepreneur of his generation: Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX chief’s presence alongside Trump for meetings with President Xi Jinping adds a distinctive commercial and personal layer to a diplomatically delicate trip. “Musk’s inclusion in Trump’s China delegation has...
Here are the key takeaways on the US consumer price index report for April, released Tuesday: The headline CPI climbed 0.6% from a month before, as expected, while the core gauge excluding food and energy costs rose 0.4%, slightly more than forecast, though about 2-in-5 economists had expected at least 0.4%. On a year-on-year basis, the CPI jumped 3.8%, a pace that outstripped workers’ earnings fo...
Here are the key takeaways on the US consumer price index report for April, released Tuesday: The headline CPI climbed 0.6% from a month before, as expected, while the core gauge excluding food and energy costs rose 0.4%, slightly more than forecast, though about 2-in-5 economists had expected at least 0.4%. On a year-on-year basis, the CPI jumped 3.8%, a pace that outstripped workers’ earnings for the first time in three years and marked the highest inflation print since May 2023. The core CPI was up 2.8%, the most since September. Core inflation was affected by a statistical quirk tied to housing costs, which climbed the most since 2024. Data on housing weren’t collected during the government shutdown late last year, and statisticians recorded a flat reading back then that ended up inflating the prices for April. Natixis estimated that owners’ equivalent rent added 0.17 percentage point to core inflation. Energy prices jumped 3.8% on the month, after a 10.9% March surge. Gasoline was up 5.4%. Airfares climbed 2.8% on a monthly basis and some 20.7% on an annual one. A number of economists cautioned against dismissing away the inflationary elements of the report, given risks of higher headline costs feeding through to inflation expectations. Markets showed limited reaction to the report, with two-year Treasury yields staying higher – up about 4 basis points as of 9:17 a.m. in New York, at 3.99%. S&P 500 futures stayed lower, and were down about 0.3%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index remained higher, up about 0.4%. Read the full live blog on the Terminal and online .
Stocks are surging--but they're also developing a case of "bad breadth." That is, most of the gains are coming from a small slice of the market (I'm looking at you, tech).
Stocks are surging--but they're also developing a case of "bad breadth." That is, most of the gains are coming from a small slice of the market (I'm looking at you, tech).
Leading AI Research Lab signs two-year compute off-take agreement for the ALPHA-01 Enterprise-Scale NVIDIA B200 Deployment of 504 GPUs in Canadian Data CenterROAD TOWN, TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, May 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alpha Compute Corp. (“Alpha Compute” or the “Company”), a pioneering technology leader in AI GPU-as-a-service (GPUaaS) and AI Confidential Compute, today announced i...
Leading AI Research Lab signs two-year compute off-take agreement for the ALPHA-01 Enterprise-Scale NVIDIA B200 Deployment of 504 GPUs in Canadian Data CenterROAD TOWN, TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS, May 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alpha Compute Corp. (“Alpha Compute” or the “Company”), a pioneering technology leader in AI GPU-as-a-service (GPUaaS) and AI Confidential Compute, today announced it has closed a definitive lease agreement with a leading frontier artificial intelligence laboratory
IREN Limited ( IREN ) on Tuesday said it priced an upsized $2.6 billion offering of 1.00% convertible senior notes due 2033 in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers. The offering was increased from the previously announced $2 billion. IREN also granted initial purchasers an option to buy up to an additional $400 million of notes within 13 days of issuance. The notes will carry a co...
IREN Limited ( IREN ) on Tuesday said it priced an upsized $2.6 billion offering of 1.00% convertible senior notes due 2033 in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers. The offering was increased from the previously announced $2 billion. IREN also granted initial purchasers an option to buy up to an additional $400 million of notes within 13 days of issuance. The notes will carry a conversion price of about $73.07 per share, representing a 32.5% premium to IREN’s May 11 closing price of $55.15. IREN said it expects net proceeds of about $2.57 billion, which it plans to use for general corporate purposes, working capital, and capped call transactions intended to reduce potential share dilution from note conversions. The notes are scheduled to settle on May 14, subject to customary closing conditions. IREN +0.22% premarket to $55.27. Source: Press Release More on IREN Limited IREN: On Track To 10X Its ARR By 2028 IREN's Real Moat Is Becoming Clearer Twenty One Capital sees lowest short interest in April among mid-mega cap firms IREN drops 8%, announces $2B convertible notes offering
Nadja Wohlleben/Getty Images News Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met Palantir Technologies' ( PLTR ) CEO Alex Karp, as Kyiv boosts efforts to use AI to gain an edge in the war with Russia. Zelenskyy said the two discussed areas of technological development in the context of combat operations and civilian needs. "A good meeting with the CEO of Palantir Technologies, Alex Karp. Ste...
Nadja Wohlleben/Getty Images News Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met Palantir Technologies' ( PLTR ) CEO Alex Karp, as Kyiv boosts efforts to use AI to gain an edge in the war with Russia. Zelenskyy said the two discussed areas of technological development in the context of combat operations and civilian needs. "A good meeting with the CEO of Palantir Technologies, Alex Karp. Step by step, we are developing cooperation with the American defense sector. Palantir is a renowned global company with strong potential, and there certainly are areas where we can be useful to one another, strengthening the defense of Ukraine, America, and our partners. We discussed areas of technological development – both in the context of combat operations and civilian needs. We agreed that our teams will stay in touch," said Zelenskyy in a post on X on Tuesday. Palantir said in a post on X that "the deployment of Palantir’s software on the battlefield in Ukraine has helped defend the brave people of Ukraine against Russia’s aggression since 2022 — and it will define how the entire West fights and wins for decades." The company added that "we are proud to be part of it and to strengthen our partnership with Ukraine." Ukraine had launched a project with Palantir called Brave1 Dataroom a few months ago to help intercept Russian drones. About three months ago, Ukraine's Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in a post on LinkedIn that the primary goal of Brave1 Dataroom is to equip interceptor drones with AI. On Tuesday Fedorov said in a post on LinkedIn that the results of the cooperation were the following: built a detailed air attack analysis system; deployed AI solutions for processing large volumes of intelligence data; and integrated technologies into deep strike operations planning. "A separate direction is the BRAVE1 Dataroom, created jointly with Palantir. This platform gives developers access to real battlefield data for training AI models. More than 100 companies...
Picture a first-time investor who sinks $200 into Intel shares and watches the position climb to $850, a 280% gain. The instinct is to feel like a genius and let it ride. According to Robert Croak and Austin Hankwitz of the Rich Habits Podcast, that instinct is the single biggest mistake beginner investors make. The ... The Biggest Mistake Beginner Investors Make, According to the Rich Habits Podc...
Picture a first-time investor who sinks $200 into Intel shares and watches the position climb to $850, a 280% gain. The instinct is to feel like a genius and let it ride. According to Robert Croak and Austin Hankwitz of the Rich Habits Podcast, that instinct is the single biggest mistake beginner investors make. The ... The Biggest Mistake Beginner Investors Make, According to the Rich Habits Podcast
Guido Mieth/DigitalVision via Getty Images Westrock Coffee Company ( WEST ) just reported Q1 earnings , which were received very well by the market, and since I haven’t covered the company in well over a year, I thought I’d go through the latest developments. I'll explore why I am still not quite convinced, but the company is getting a lot more attractive now that operations have improved dramatic...
Guido Mieth/DigitalVision via Getty Images Westrock Coffee Company ( WEST ) just reported Q1 earnings , which were received very well by the market, and since I haven’t covered the company in well over a year, I thought I’d go through the latest developments. I'll explore why I am still not quite convinced, but the company is getting a lot more attractive now that operations have improved dramatically from before. Latest numbers Revenue for the quarter came in at $308.8m, up 44% y/y, which beat estimates by around $24m. A decent beat and great growth. Let’s look at the breakdown in revenues in more detail. Beverage solutions, which made up the majority of sales, with over 77% of total revenues, grew a whopping 45.9% to $239.3m, while Sustainable Sourcing & Traceability, which made up the rest of net sales of $69.5m, also saw an impressive growth of 39.8%. Even though these were very impressive results, I think the star of the show was the company’s operational improvements. Overall gross profit came in at $45.8m, up 57.4%, and gross margin was around 15% vs 13.6% last year. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA came in at $26m, which has more than tripled compared to the same time last year, when it was $8.2m. The company attributed this massive improvement to all five production lines being commercialized. Looking at the segment profitability, Beverage Solutions saw its adjusted EBITDA increase by 142.9% y/y to $23.3m, while SS&T grew its EBITDA by 242% to $6.5m. We can see that the company managed to reach scale and gained a lot of operational leverage as profitability improved tremendously, because with the extra facilities in play, the fixed costs were able to be spread out across the whole operation a lot more efficiently. On a GAAP basis, the company is still unprofitable, with Q1 GAAP EPS coming in at ($0.09), but it beat estimates by a whopping 6 cents. That was quite a huge surprise. Let’s take a look at the company’s financial position. WEST finished the quarter wi...