Derick Hudson/iStock Editorial via Getty Images NEW YORK (April 7) - We've long thought that hopes for a Starbucks ( SBUX ) stock recovery to its long-past its α glory days were sanguine and based more on promises than performance. We reiterate that view today. Last week's earnings release of the Second Quarter of fiscal 2026 numbers, with an earnings call at 4:15 EDT April 28, boosted the SBUX sh...
Derick Hudson/iStock Editorial via Getty Images NEW YORK (April 7) - We've long thought that hopes for a Starbucks ( SBUX ) stock recovery to its long-past its α glory days were sanguine and based more on promises than performance. We reiterate that view today. Last week's earnings release of the Second Quarter of fiscal 2026 numbers, with an earnings call at 4:15 EDT April 28, boosted the SBUX share price from $97 to $103 by the close at 4:00 EDT; then, up to over 106 the next day, April 29th. The stock prices has since receded, somewhat, to a closing price of $105 at a recent closing. The stock has been meandering around that price the last several days. SBUX Closing Prices 4/26 to 5/4 (Starbucks Investor Relations) At least one media outlet last week attributed the spike in the share price to the earnings beat. But if you set the hurdle low enough, even the Achilles could clear it after being hit with the arrow. As you can see below, the SBUX "estimate" for last weeks earnings release was the lowest EPS estimate in seventeen quarters! Indeed, if you look at this linke of the source data of this chart, the EPS estimate was the lowest since 2020Q3, when the estimate was just $0.33, coming out of the worst of the pandemic. (This chart of 17 quarters is just to show detail.) The Stuyvesant Square Consultancy from Alpha Query data. There are other issues with the SBUX earnings, too. Cash provided by operations is down 17% from the same quarter in 2025, yet the dividend is up nearly 2%. In 2025Q2, SBUX distributed about 59% of its $2,364 million cash flow from operations. But in 2026Q2, it distributed nearly 72% of a lower cash flow from operations, $1,962.2 millions. Despite the lower year-on-year quarterly operating cash flow, SBUX nevertheless distributed $26.5 million more in dividends last quarter than the same quarter in 2025. Although same store sales, or comparable sales - or "comps", for short - were reportedly up 6.2% globally, year-on-year, just 3.8% of comp...
AlexSecret/iStock via Getty Images Since 2013 (or thereabouts), investors have lived in a world where there appears to be no alternative to investing in US stocks and the S&P 500 in particular. And with the benefit of hindsight, investing in the S&P 500 was (in most cases) the right choice. After all, the US large-cap index is up about 250% over the last ten years, compared to a 70% gain for the F...
AlexSecret/iStock via Getty Images Since 2013 (or thereabouts), investors have lived in a world where there appears to be no alternative to investing in US stocks and the S&P 500 in particular. And with the benefit of hindsight, investing in the S&P 500 was (in most cases) the right choice. After all, the US large-cap index is up about 250% over the last ten years, compared to a 70% gain for the FTSE 100 and a measly 35% gain for the FTSE 250. The good news is that a large part of the S&P 500's growth has been driven by fundamentals, like earnings and dividend growth, but that isn’t the whole story. That 250% gain has also been driven by an increase in the S&P 500’s valuation multiples, and that is why my S&P 500 forecast for 2026 may surprise you (or, if you’ve been around here long enough, it may not). The good news: The S&P 500's earnings are growing Some will argue that the S&P 500’s expanded valuation is justified by its heavy exposure to AI winners and tech monopolists. These companies, so the argument goes, will continue to grow rapidly because “software is eating the world”. I am no AI expert, and I have no strong view on the long-term future of the Magnificent Seven (or whatever their current nickname might be). However, I do have an opinion on the S&P 500’s ability to generate earnings growth over a multi-decade period of technological transformation because we have hard data. More specifically, over the last 40 years, as the world was transformed by the information superhighway that is the Internet, the S&P 500 grew its earnings by about 7% per year, on average, and that growth rate was fairly stable across those four decades. If we smooth out the ups and downs of individual years by looking at cyclically adjusted earnings (their inflation-adjusted ten-year average), the picture is broadly the same. Over the last 40 years, the S&P 500’s cyclically adjusted earnings grew by just under 7% per year, on average. As for the S&P 500’s dividend, it grew by about...
In recent weeks, Intel and Apple reached a preliminary agreement for Intel to manufacture some of the chips that power Apple devices, while Intel also named former Qualcomm executive Alex Katouzian to lead its Client Computing and Physical AI Group and confirmed Pushkar Ranade as chief technology officer. Together with Intel’s new AI-focused leadership structure and an expanded push into factory o...
In recent weeks, Intel and Apple reached a preliminary agreement for Intel to manufacture some of the chips that power Apple devices, while Intel also named former Qualcomm executive Alex Katouzian to lead its Client Computing and Physical AI Group and confirmed Pushkar Ranade as chief technology officer. Together with Intel’s new AI-focused leadership structure and an expanded push into factory optimization and advanced computing, the Apple deal signals a broad attempt to reposition the...
Intel (INTC) Is Up 16.0% After Securing Preliminary Apple Chip Manufacturing Pact - What's Changed Yahoo Finance Apple, Intel have reached preliminary chip-making deal, WSJ reports Yahoo Finance Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement WSJ Intel shares soar on Apple chip deal report. Here's why it signals a total pivot for chipmaking CNBC Apple, Intel reach preliminary chip-maki...
Intel (INTC) Is Up 16.0% After Securing Preliminary Apple Chip Manufacturing Pact - What's Changed Yahoo Finance Apple, Intel have reached preliminary chip-making deal, WSJ reports Yahoo Finance Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement WSJ Intel shares soar on Apple chip deal report. Here's why it signals a total pivot for chipmaking CNBC Apple, Intel reach preliminary chip-making deal, WSJ reports Reuters Intel Has Reportedly Signed A Preliminary Deal To Produce Chips For Apple Engadget Intel has preliminary deal to make chips for Apple, WSJ reports OregonLive.com Apple Talks Just Changed Everything for Intel MarketBeat Intel Reportedly Lands a Chip Deal With Apple Thanks to Trump Gizmodo
Mick Hucknall belts out all the tunes on stage in Chile. Plus, the wonderfeul Hannah Waddingham hosts SNL UK! Here’s what to watch this evening 10.15pm, BBC Two Continue reading...
Mick Hucknall belts out all the tunes on stage in Chile. Plus, the wonderfeul Hannah Waddingham hosts SNL UK! Here’s what to watch this evening 10.15pm, BBC Two Continue reading...
South Korea is drawing growing interest from Middle Eastern oil producers seeking to store crude oil at the country’s petroleum reserve bases, the world’s sixth largest, amid a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a South Korean official and an expert on the matter have said. The strait’s closure in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran has taken a toll not only on South Korea and other nat...
South Korea is drawing growing interest from Middle Eastern oil producers seeking to store crude oil at the country’s petroleum reserve bases, the world’s sixth largest, amid a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a South Korean official and an expert on the matter have said. The strait’s closure in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran has taken a toll not only on South Korea and other nations dependent on oil imports but also oil-producing countries whose storage tanks are filling up...
The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images Four months had passed since my previous coverage of Leggett & Platt, Inc. ( LEG ), and a lot of things have already transpired. Macroeconomic volatility has intensified as inflation picked up momentum, fueled by tariff wars and skyrocketing oil prices. The housing market has faced several more challenges, which extended to home furnishing shops. The...
The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images Four months had passed since my previous coverage of Leggett & Platt, Inc. ( LEG ), and a lot of things have already transpired. Macroeconomic volatility has intensified as inflation picked up momentum, fueled by tariff wars and skyrocketing oil prices. The housing market has faced several more challenges, which extended to home furnishing shops. The Somnigroup's ( SGI ) M&A deal has already been accepted and signed. So, it is not that surprising that the stock price have stayed flat from where we left off, which justifies my hold rating. Valuation also seems cheap, but that's just it; we cannot anticipate anything exciting. Technicals adhere to it as investors have come to accept their fate. LEG Q1 2026: Market Challenges Persist, But Some Resilience Remained The start of the year was a bit of a roller coaster ride for consumer discretionary businesses. Hope flickered amid the policy easing cycle, but stubborn inflation and recent geopolitical tensions offset it. The weaker housing market was another challenge faced. And even a big brand like Leggett & Platt, Inc. experienced the impact. But its strategic production capacity management continued to help protect its business. In Q1 2026, its total sales amounted to $918.2M , down by 10.2% YoY from $1.02B. Softer consumer demand drove it as sales volume dropped YoY and QoQ. This YoY growth was weaker than in my previous coverage at 6.0%, suggesting that market dynamics weakened again. Even so, I understand that the part of the sales decrease was due to its efforts to stabilize expenses and protect margins, and I think this still worked. As you can see, the operating costs decreased by 10.2% and offset the sales drop. So, its gross profit margin improved by one basis point, although it is still basically flat at 18.6%. Its SG&A expenses and depreciation and amortization expenses also decreased. These also helped LEG preserve its positive profits. Income Statement (LEG Q1...
INTC DEADLINE ALERT: ROSEN, A LEADING INVESTOR RIGHTS LAW FIRM, Encourages Intel Corporation Investors With Losses In Excess of $100K to Secure Counsel Before Important July 2 Deadline in Securities Class Action - INTC TMX Newsfile
INTC DEADLINE ALERT: ROSEN, A LEADING INVESTOR RIGHTS LAW FIRM, Encourages Intel Corporation Investors With Losses In Excess of $100K to Secure Counsel Before Important July 2 Deadline in Securities Class Action - INTC TMX Newsfile
Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson star in a farmyard mystery, while the spirited bonkbuster returns for a smutty second outing The Sheep Detectives Out now Few can claim a writing career as varied as Craig Mazin, creator of TV’s Chernobyl, co-writer of several Scary Movie and The Hangover films, and co-creator of The Last of Us. Here, he turns his hand to a comedy-mystery about sheep, starring Hugh J...
Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson star in a farmyard mystery, while the spirited bonkbuster returns for a smutty second outing The Sheep Detectives Out now Few can claim a writing career as varied as Craig Mazin, creator of TV’s Chernobyl, co-writer of several Scary Movie and The Hangover films, and co-creator of The Last of Us. Here, he turns his hand to a comedy-mystery about sheep, starring Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson. Adapted from a novel by Leonie Swann. Continue reading...
With the war on Iran, Ukraine, AI and climate breakdown increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war, the clock stands closer to midnight than ever before. So who decides how many seconds we have left – and can we buy ourselves more time? The Earth is getting hotter. Conflicts are raging, in the Middle East and Ukraine, each increasing the chance of nuclear war. AI is infiltrating almost every aspec...
With the war on Iran, Ukraine, AI and climate breakdown increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war, the clock stands closer to midnight than ever before. So who decides how many seconds we have left – and can we buy ourselves more time? The Earth is getting hotter. Conflicts are raging, in the Middle East and Ukraine, each increasing the chance of nuclear war. AI is infiltrating almost every aspect of our lives, despite its unpredictability and tendency to hallucinate. Scientists, tinkering in labs, risk introducing new, deadly pathogens , more destructive than Covid. Our pandemic response preparedness has weakened . The Doomsday Clock – a large, quarter clock with no numbers, keeps ticking, counting down the seconds until the apocalypse. Tick. Tick. Tick. In January, we reached 85 seconds to midnight. Experts believe humanity has never stood so close to the brink. “What we have seen is a slow almost sleepwalk into increasing dangers over the last decade. And we see these problems growing. We see science advancing at a rate that defies our ability to understand it, much less control it,” says Alexandra Bell, CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the organisation that sets the Doomsday Clock. She speaks of the “complete failure in leadership” in the US and other countries, which are doing little to address global, catastrophic threats, even as they feed into one another. Climate change increases global conflict, for instance, and the incorporation of AI into nuclear decision-making is, frankly, terrifying. Continue reading...
Jonathan, 23, a student, meets Katie, 27, an environmental campaigner What were you hoping for? To meet someone outside my usual bubble, have an interesting conversation, and see where it goes. Continue reading...
Jonathan, 23, a student, meets Katie, 27, an environmental campaigner What were you hoping for? To meet someone outside my usual bubble, have an interesting conversation, and see where it goes. Continue reading...