In February, numerous workers from a company that Meta contracted to perform data annotation for Ray-Ban Meta reported viewing sensitive, embarrassing, and seemingly private footage recorded by the smart glasses. About two months later, Meta ended its contract with the firm. According to a BBC report today, “less than two months” after a report from Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Götebor...
In February, numerous workers from a company that Meta contracted to perform data annotation for Ray-Ban Meta reported viewing sensitive, embarrassing, and seemingly private footage recorded by the smart glasses. About two months later, Meta ended its contract with the firm. According to a BBC report today, “less than two months” after a report from Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten and Kenya-based freelance journalist Naipanoi Lepapa came out featuring Sama workers complaining about watching explicit footage shot from Ray-Ban Metas, “Meta ended its contract with Sama.” Sama is a Kenya-headquartered firm that Meta contracted to perform data annotation work, including working with video, image, and speech annotation for Meta’s AI systems for Ray-Ban Metas. Sama claims that Meta's cancellation of the contract affected 1,108 workers. Read full article Comments
The Federal Emergency Management Agency this week told more than a dozen staffers to return to work after placing them on administrative leave eight months ago for signing an open letter criticizing the Trump administration’s cuts to disaster response, according to people familiar with the decision. FEMA emailed workers Wednesday notifying them that an investigation into the matter “had been close...
The Federal Emergency Management Agency this week told more than a dozen staffers to return to work after placing them on administrative leave eight months ago for signing an open letter criticizing the Trump administration’s cuts to disaster response, according to people familiar with the decision. FEMA emailed workers Wednesday notifying them that an investigation into the matter “had been closed” and that they were “being returned to a full-time duty status,” according to the memo seen by Bloomberg News. Some of the employees were instructed to report back to work as soon as Thursday, April 30. About 14 people were recalled back to work, according to current and former staff familiar with the situation who asked not to be named discussing confidential information. “I do feel vindicated,” said Abigail McIllraith, one of the letter signers. She also expressed frustration at having to endure months on administrative leave. “The United States taxpayers are on the hook for us being locked out of our jobs that help disaster survivors in this country,” she said. Michael Coen, a former senior FEMA official under the Biden administration who was involved in the letter effort, confirmed the decision, adding that the move “will start to rebuild trust among the FEMA workforce.” Nearly 200 current and former staffers signed the Aug. 25 letter, dubbed the Katrina Declaration, warning the nation risked another major catastrophe after deep cuts to agency staffing and funding. Most signed anonymously. The current employees who signed publicly were placed on paid leave and notified that an investigation had been opened . “Under new leadership, FEMA is addressing outstanding personnel actions to ensure workforce stability and a strong, deployable surge force for upcoming national events and potential disasters,” FEMA spokesperson Victoria Barton said, pointing to the World Cup and the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season that officially starts June 1. “FEMA remains committed to opera...
According to a recent SEC filing , CAHABA Wealth Management increased its position in iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (NASDAQ:ISTB) by 64,238 shares during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated value of the trade was $3.1 million, calculated using quarterly average pricing. The total value of CAHABA’S ISTB holding rose by $2.8 million over the quarter -- a figure that reflects both the new p...
According to a recent SEC filing , CAHABA Wealth Management increased its position in iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (NASDAQ:ISTB) by 64,238 shares during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated value of the trade was $3.1 million, calculated using quarterly average pricing. The total value of CAHABA’S ISTB holding rose by $2.8 million over the quarter -- a figure that reflects both the new purchase and price movements. The iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (ISTB) is a passively managed fund designed for cost-efficient exposure to the short-term U.S. bond market. CAHABA's decision to add another 64,000-plus shares of ISTB won’t generate headlines the way a big tech bet would. Continue reading
Earnings Call Insights: Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) Q1 2026 Management View "We delivered a solid Q1 and continue to improve our say-to-do ratio with disciplined execution across the business" (CEO & Chairman Christopher Boerner). "In the quarter, growth portfolio sales were up 9% year-over-year" and "Eliquis performed well and grew in line with the range we provided on our Q4 call" (CEO & Chairman...
Earnings Call Insights: Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) Q1 2026 Management View "We delivered a solid Q1 and continue to improve our say-to-do ratio with disciplined execution across the business" (CEO & Chairman Christopher Boerner). "In the quarter, growth portfolio sales were up 9% year-over-year" and "Eliquis performed well and grew in line with the range we provided on our Q4 call" (CEO & Chairman Boerner). "Our iberdomide filing for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma was accepted by the FDA with breakthrough therapy designation and priority review with a PDUFA date of August 17" and "For mezigdomide, we reported positive Phase III interim data" (CEO & Chairman Boerner). "We have set a target to reach lead molecule identification approximately 50% faster" and "Over time, we expect these efforts to deliver a 30% reduction in cycle times versus just a few years ago" (CEO & Chairman Boerner). "Total revenue in the first quarter was up 1% year-over-year at approximately $11.5 billion" and "Overall, diluted earnings per share was $1.58 for the quarter" (Executive VP & CFO David Elkins). Outlook "We are reaffirming our financial guidance for the full year of 2026" and "we see our financial performance tracking towards the upper end of our established revenue and EPS guidance ranges" (Executive VP & CFO Elkins). "The latter part of 2026 is shaping up to include an increasing cadence of pivotal readouts" including "milvexian in atrial fibrillation and secondary stroke prevention, cobenfy in Alzheimer's psychosis, admilparant in IPF and iberdomide PFS data" (CEO & Chairman Boerner). Compared with last quarter’s framing, management again emphasized end-of-year catalysts, previously saying "most of these readouts will occur in the second half of the year" (CEO & Chairman Boerner, Q4 2025) and now saying readouts are "expected late in the year" (CEO & Chairman Boerner, Q1 2026). Financial Results "Total revenue in the first quarter was up 1% year-over-year at approximately...
Earnings Call Insights: Franklin BSP Realty Trust (FBRT) Q1 2026 Management View "Our origination activity outpaced repayments this quarter, resulting in portfolio growth" (Chief Executive Officer Michael Comparato), and "we selectively began deploying capital into equity investments where we saw the potential for strong risk-adjusted returns" (CEO Comparato), adding that "we've already seen meani...
Earnings Call Insights: Franklin BSP Realty Trust (FBRT) Q1 2026 Management View "Our origination activity outpaced repayments this quarter, resulting in portfolio growth" (Chief Executive Officer Michael Comparato), and "we selectively began deploying capital into equity investments where we saw the potential for strong risk-adjusted returns" (CEO Comparato), adding that "we've already seen meaningful appreciation in those assets" and "we expect the equity allocation of the portfolio to increase throughout 2026, but we will also strategically exit equity investments if the pricing is compelling" (CEO Comparato). "Our adjusted distributable earnings covered our dividend. We increased book value. We bought back a meaningful amount of stock at a substantial discount to book value" (CEO Comparato), and "the Board approved more stock buybacks post quarter end" (CEO Comparato), alongside operating updates including: "we sold our largest REO position early in the second quarter," "issued a highly accretive CRE CLO that closed in the second quarter," and "we integrated the entire BSP servicing book into NewPoint" (CEO Comparato). "FBRT reported GAAP net income of $12.3 million or $0.08 per fully converted common share" (CFO, COO & Treasurer Jerome Baglien), and "distributable earnings for the quarter were $13.5 million or $0.09 per fully converted share" (CFO Baglien), while noting "distributable earnings includes $12.3 million of realized losses tied to foreclosure real estate that we sold" and "excluding these losses, distributable earnings were $0.22 per fully converted share" (CFO Baglien). "We repurchased nearly $40 million of common stock during the quarter" (CFO Baglien), and "subsequent to quarter end, the Board reauthorized the share repurchase program with $50 million available through December 31, 2026" (CFO Baglien). Outlook "Looking ahead, we expect earnings to benefit from the larger core portfolio and a more stable contribution from NewPoint over the course ...
Earnings Call Insights: Belden (BDC) Q1 2026 Management view “Today, we announced an important step in our solutions journey, an agreement to acquire Ruckus Networks, a market-leading provider of Wi-Fi and enterprise switching solutions.” (President, CEO & Director Ashish Chand) Chand said the deal is intended to “accelerate our evolution into a full stack IT/OT networking solutions provider,” add...
Earnings Call Insights: Belden (BDC) Q1 2026 Management view “Today, we announced an important step in our solutions journey, an agreement to acquire Ruckus Networks, a market-leading provider of Wi-Fi and enterprise switching solutions.” (President, CEO & Director Ashish Chand) Chand said the deal is intended to “accelerate our evolution into a full stack IT/OT networking solutions provider,” adding that “together, Belden and Ruckus will offer something no single competitor can match, a complete active and passive networking solution spanning the industrial edge to the enterprise campus.” (President, CEO & Director Chand) On Q1 performance, Chand reported “revenue totaled $696 million, up 11% compared to the prior year,” and “adjusted EPS came in at $1.77,” alongside “adjusted EBITDA was $118 million… and adjusted EBITDA margins expanded 40 basis points to 17%.” (President, CEO & Director Chand) “We are acquiring Ruckus for approximately $1.85 billion in cash, representing 13x projected 2026 adjusted EBITDA.” (Executive VP & Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Parks) Parks said the acquisition financing is “fully committed debt financing from JPMorgan,” and that post-close “we intend to temporarily pause both share repurchases and strategic M&A until leverage returns closer to our long-term target.” (Executive VP & Chief Financial Officer Parks) Outlook Belden guided Q2 revenue of $735 million to $750 million, GAAP EPS of $1.53 to $1.63, and adjusted EPS of $1.95 to $2.05, while stating, “Underlying demand signals remain encouraging, though near-term visibility is limited and the macro environment remains fluid.” (President, CEO & Director Chand) Management emphasized the Q2 outlook “is provided on a stand-alone basis and excludes any contribution from the proposed Ruckus acquisition,” and described the view as “a balanced, measured view consistent with typical seasonal patterns.” (President, CEO & Director Chand) Financial results Belden said Q1 revenue was $696 millio...
Earnings Call Insights: Smurfit Westrock (SW) Q1 2026 Management view “Set against a challenging environment, we delivered a solid first quarter performance, essentially in line with plan with adjusted EBITDA of $1,076 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 14%.” (President, Group CEO & Director Anthony P. J. Smurfit) Smurfit said Q1 results were pressured by disruptions, adding that “weather ev...
Earnings Call Insights: Smurfit Westrock (SW) Q1 2026 Management view “Set against a challenging environment, we delivered a solid first quarter performance, essentially in line with plan with adjusted EBITDA of $1,076 million and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 14%.” (President, Group CEO & Director Anthony P. J. Smurfit) Smurfit said Q1 results were pressured by disruptions, adding that “weather events that started in January and continued into February” cost “approximately $65 million across the group.” (President, Group CEO & Director Smurfit) In North America, Smurfit cited both demand and operational disruptions: adjusted EBITDA of $597 million (13.3% margin), with weather impact of about $55 million and “downtime costing $74 million, of which approximately half was unplanned,” alongside “generally tepid demand” and “logistical difficulties in Mexico” tied to “domestic security-related issues.” (President, Group CEO & Director Smurfit) Smurfit highlighted commercial traction in North America: “we entered into contracts with over 600 new corrugated customers,” with April at a “stronger pace,” and said the company expects growth later in the year as it onboards new business. (President, Group CEO & Director Smurfit) In EMEA/APAC, Smurfit reported adjusted EBITDA of $421 million (15.2% margin) and said the company announced consultations to close “4 smaller converting operations in the U.K. and the Netherlands, and one paper mill operation in the U.K., which has a capacity of approximately 200,000 tons per year.” (President, Group CEO & Director Smurfit) In Latin America, Smurfit reported adjusted EBITDA of $109 million and “an adjusted EBITDA margin of over 20%,” and said the company completed “a corrugated box plant acquisition in Ecuador.” (President, Group CEO & Director Smurfit) Smurfit disclosed a governance/listing action: “our decision to carry out a review of our listing on the London Stock Exchange,” where “the outcome of that review may result in us delis...
Earnings Call Insights: Ranpak Holdings Corp. (PACK) Q1 2026 Management View “Automation delivered an exceptionally strong quarter, increasing 111% year-over-year on a constant currency basis and excluding the impact of warrants,” and Omar Asali said momentum was “anchored by our European business” and supported by “our larger customers such as Walmart in North America” (Founder, CEO & Chairman Om...
Earnings Call Insights: Ranpak Holdings Corp. (PACK) Q1 2026 Management View “Automation delivered an exceptionally strong quarter, increasing 111% year-over-year on a constant currency basis and excluding the impact of warrants,” and Omar Asali said momentum was “anchored by our European business” and supported by “our larger customers such as Walmart in North America” (Founder, CEO & Chairman Omar Asali). “PPS volumes increased 0.8% year-over-year,” with Asali highlighting that “Europe was the outperformer and exceeded expectations that we shared on our fourth quarter call,” while “the distribution channel faced a challenging comparison” and management said it expects “this trend to normalize throughout the year” (CEO Asali). Asali tied product initiatives to competitive dynamics: “Cushioning in particular, is gaining tremendous momentum through our Guardian 24 launch in North America,” calling it “timely given the current disruption in pricing in the resin markets” (CEO Asali). On profitability and the operating plan, Asali said, “we are positioning ourselves conservatively… by taking cost reduction measures and continuing our focus on operational efficiency,” while also stating, “Paper producers in Europe are passing on price increases beginning in the second quarter, and we will, in turn, protect our margins through a temporary surcharge” (CEO Asali). “Our cost out and margin efficiencies are taking hold, driving 210 bps of gross margin improvement to 43.1%, excluding warrants and depreciation,” and William Drew added, “SG&A, excluding RSU expense, was down 1.5% on a constant currency basis versus prior year” (Executive VP & CFO William Drew). Outlook On full-year guidance posture, Asali said, “we don't want to be in the business of… tinkering with the guide all the time,” adding, “We've decided we're going to keep executing, but our confidence is very high” (CEO Asali). On automation outlook, Asali said, “Given how we started the year in terms of bookings, we'...
Earnings Call Insights: Plexus (PLXS) Q2 2026 Management View "Plexus' momentum is accelerating broadly. We now expect to deliver mid-teens or greater fiscal 2026 revenue growth from the contribution of numerous program ramps, ongoing market share gains and improving end market demand," said CEO Todd Kelsey. "Our team generated a record $355 million in new manufacturing program wins" and "our funn...
Earnings Call Insights: Plexus (PLXS) Q2 2026 Management View "Plexus' momentum is accelerating broadly. We now expect to deliver mid-teens or greater fiscal 2026 revenue growth from the contribution of numerous program ramps, ongoing market share gains and improving end market demand," said CEO Todd Kelsey. "Our team generated a record $355 million in new manufacturing program wins" and "our funnel of qualified manufacturing opportunities expanded sequentially and year-over-year," CEO Kelsey said, while also highlighting "better-than-expected working capital performance amid substantial acceleration in revenue growth and tightening supply chain conditions." "Fiscal second quarter revenue of $1.164 billion exceeded our guidance range" and "non-GAAP EPS of $2.05 exceeded guidance," CEO Kelsey said, adding, "We delivered a robust 6% non-GAAP operating margin, while continuing to heavily invest in program ramps, operational efficiency initiatives and technologies." "Gross margin at 10.2% was at the top end of our guidance" and "selling and administrative expense of $57.3 million was slightly above our guidance," said CFO Patrick Jermain, with the quarter resulting in "a non-GAAP operating margin of 6%, which was at the top end of our guidance." "Our funnel of qualified manufacturing opportunities expanded 11% sequentially in the fiscal second quarter and is now $4 billion," COO Oliver Mihm said, adding that Aerospace and Defense and Industrial funnels "expanded in excess of 45% as compared to the fiscal second quarter of 2025." "I want to celebrate Pat's incredible 12-year tenure as Plexus' CFO" and "I'm also excited to welcome David Abuhl as our next CFO," CEO Kelsey said. Outlook Fiscal Q3 non-GAAP EPS guidance of $2.02 to $2.18 vs. $1.99 (consensus estimate) and revenue guidance of $1.2 billion to $1.25 billion vs. $1.14855 billion (consensus estimate). "For our fiscal third quarter, we are guiding revenue of $1.2 billion to $1.25 billion" and "non-GAAP EPS of $2.02...
Earnings Call Insights: Standard Motor Products (SMP) Q1 2026 Management View CEO Eric Sills said, "Overall, we are quite pleased with our performance with all of our segments off to a solid start," adding that "Our top line grew by over 9%, reflecting a continuation of the demand trends we have been enjoying for the last several quarters." On Vehicle Control, CEO Sills said it "had a terrific qua...
Earnings Call Insights: Standard Motor Products (SMP) Q1 2026 Management View CEO Eric Sills said, "Overall, we are quite pleased with our performance with all of our segments off to a solid start," adding that "Our top line grew by over 9%, reflecting a continuation of the demand trends we have been enjoying for the last several quarters." On Vehicle Control, CEO Sills said it "had a terrific quarter with sales up more than 11%" and attributed a "large portion" to "certain customers expanding their assortment with pipeline orders," while noting POS was "in the mid-single digits" and wire sets "has now returned to its normal single-digit secular decline." On Temperature Control, CEO Sills said the segment was "up slightly from last year's extremely strong first quarter" and emphasized cadence: "as we enter the second quarter, we have preseason orders left to ship," adding that POS "was up substantially" and that tariff pricing provided a "nominal lift." On Nissens, CEO Sills said sales were up "more than 12%" and that SMP is focused on synergies, stating, "Our preliminary focus was on savings, which we expect to roll in over the course of this year," plus cross-selling, including two category launches in Europe: "ignition coils and air conditioning hoses." CFO Nathan Iles reported, "consolidated sales increased 9.1%, while adjusted EBITDA was 9.9% of net sales" and "non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.82 in the quarter." Outlook CFO Iles said full-year 2026 expectations were "really unchanged from before," while adding, "our outlook does not take into account ongoing changes in U.S. tariffs on imported goods" and that SMP will "continue to offset our cost of the dollar-for-dollar pass-through in pricing." CFO Iles guided, "For 2026 full year, we expect sales growth to be in the low to mid-single-digit percentage range" and "Our outlook for adjusted EBITDA margin is a range of 11% to 12% of net sales," citing "some continued margin compression from passing th...
Close watchers of the Supreme Court knew that the conservative supermajority was about to murder what was left of the Voting Rights Act . Wednesday's decision in Louisiana v. Callais took down Section 2 of the law, clearing the way for racist gerrymandering, because it is now racist to remedy racism . The decision is an affront to the history of the Voting Rights Act, an affront to the history of ...
Close watchers of the Supreme Court knew that the conservative supermajority was about to murder what was left of the Voting Rights Act . Wednesday's decision in Louisiana v. Callais took down Section 2 of the law, clearing the way for racist gerrymandering, because it is now racist to remedy racism . The decision is an affront to the history of the Voting Rights Act, an affront to the history of the United States, and an affront to math. The state of Louisiana, which is around 30 percent Black, has six districts. The voting districts are drawn so that there are two majority-Black districts. That is two out of six districts; approximately 33 … Read the full story at The Verge.
Shares of Bandwidth (NASDAQ: BAND) soared on Thursday, following a strong earnings report. The stock was up by 46.6% at 3:24 p.m. ET. The provider of cloud-based communications services hasn't seen these prices since Feb. 2022. Image source: Getty Images. In the first quarter of 2026, Bandwidth's revenue rose 20% year over year to $209 million. Adjusted earnings per share increased from $0.36 to $...
Shares of Bandwidth (NASDAQ: BAND) soared on Thursday, following a strong earnings report. The stock was up by 46.6% at 3:24 p.m. ET. The provider of cloud-based communications services hasn't seen these prices since Feb. 2022. Image source: Getty Images. In the first quarter of 2026, Bandwidth's revenue rose 20% year over year to $209 million. Adjusted earnings per share increased from $0.36 to $0.38. Operating cash flow swung from negative to positive. Continue reading
photoman/iStock via Getty Images Overview Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. ( ACHC ) looks a bit different today than it did in my last analysis in December. Arguably, the biggest change is at the CEO position, where Debbie Osteen has
photoman/iStock via Getty Images Overview Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. ( ACHC ) looks a bit different today than it did in my last analysis in December. Arguably, the biggest change is at the CEO position, where Debbie Osteen has
PaulMcKinnon/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The federal government has unveiled a lower deficit and added $37.5 billion in spending plans in its Spring Economic Update. Andrew Kelvin, Head of Canadian and Global Rates Strategy with TD Securities, joins MoneyTalk to discuss the government’s
PaulMcKinnon/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The federal government has unveiled a lower deficit and added $37.5 billion in spending plans in its Spring Economic Update. Andrew Kelvin, Head of Canadian and Global Rates Strategy with TD Securities, joins MoneyTalk to discuss the government’s
In just four months this year, shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) have shot up by a remarkable 129% as of this writing. A huge chunk of those gains arrived in April. Specifically, Intel stock has jumped 76% this month. The company's first-quarter 2026 results are the latest catalyst behind its red-hot rally, with the stock rising nearly 24% in a single session after its quarterly report on April 23. I...
In just four months this year, shares of Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) have shot up by a remarkable 129% as of this writing. A huge chunk of those gains arrived in April. Specifically, Intel stock has jumped 76% this month. The company's first-quarter 2026 results are the latest catalyst behind its red-hot rally, with the stock rising nearly 24% in a single session after its quarterly report on April 23. Intel's terrific rally has brought its stock price to almost $85, as of this writing. But can the chipmaker sustain its momentum and jump to $150 by the end of the year? Let's find out. Continue reading