Bilanol/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Hallador Energy ( HNRG ) has been fairly stable since I last rated it a Hold back in June 2025 , as the stock has lost around 4.39% since, while the S&P 500 gained 18.79%. Though it initially ticked up, the stock dropped due to what I previously flagged as the major risk, being the exclusivity agreement with the unnamed global data center developer that...
Bilanol/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Hallador Energy ( HNRG ) has been fairly stable since I last rated it a Hold back in June 2025 , as the stock has lost around 4.39% since, while the S&P 500 gained 18.79%. Though it initially ticked up, the stock dropped due to what I previously flagged as the major risk, being the exclusivity agreement with the unnamed global data center developer that was supposed to lock in most of Merom’s output at above-forward-curve pricing for over a decade, expired without producing a definitive agreement. I’ll dive into the company to see if a potential re-rating is on the cards. Current Dynamics As the data center PPA fell through , the capacity market has actually picked up where the narrative left off, as in late March, Hallador signed a 3-year agreement to sell all of its remaining accredited capacity to a utility customer for 2026 through summer 2028 at around double the pricing previously embedded in its forward sales book . The deal is expected to generate around $86MM through the next 3 years. Management has stated that if these elevated pricing levels persist across the broader book, annual capacity revenues could reach around $130MM starting in 2029 , and given Merom’s largely fixed cost structure, most of that incremental revenue would flow directly to cash flow. That’s a great dynamic, especially as we have noticed that the MISO Zone 6 is genuinely short on dispatchable generation , and the companies that can effectively own the remaining on-switch capacity have genuine pricing power. Looking ahead, the forward sales book now stands at around $1.3B in committed energy, capacity, and coal sales through 2029, with $866.9MM of that being contracted 3 rd party revenue. This is strong visibility for a $750MM market cap firm. Though one thing that has gotten worse has been the dilution problem, as Hallador stopped its market equity program and instead executed a fully underwritten stock offering, raising around $53.6MM . To...
Earnings Call Insights: Virtu Financial (VIRT) Q1 2026 Management View “Our first quarter results show that we're executing on our plan to grow through investing in our infrastructure, acquiring top talent and expanding our capital base.” (CEO & Director Aaron Simons) “Following that plan in the last 7 months, we have added over $500 million in new trading capital and maintained a return on our to...
Earnings Call Insights: Virtu Financial (VIRT) Q1 2026 Management View “Our first quarter results show that we're executing on our plan to grow through investing in our infrastructure, acquiring top talent and expanding our capital base.” (CEO & Director Aaron Simons) “Following that plan in the last 7 months, we have added over $500 million in new trading capital and maintained a return on our total capital in excess of 100%.” (CEO & Director Simons) “For the first quarter of 2026, we generated adjusted net trading income, or ANTI, of $12.9 million per day or a total of $787 million.” (Executive VP, CFO & Treasurer Cindy Lee) “We generated $521 million in adjusted EBITDA, representing a 66% margin. Adjusted EPS was $2.24.” (CFO Lee) “We will continue to expand our capital base, strengthening our infrastructure and deploy capital where we see the greatest opportunities, all while maintaining our quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share.” (CFO Lee) Outlook “We really don't do this month-to-month.” (Co-President & Co-COO Joseph Molluso) “Just because it's more muted... doesn't mean it isn't a very good environment.” (Co-President & Co-COO Molluso) “This year, we hope to get our headcount close to 1,100.” (CEO & Director Simons) “Through the cycle, at the point, Patrick, is the key point in that discussion... when we talk about goals and trading capital of $4 billion, that factors into that goal.” (Co-President & Co-COO Molluso) Financial Results “This was the highest quarter total ever for Virtu.” (CFO Lee) “Market Making reported ANTI of $10.4 million per day for Q1, Execution Services reached $2.5 million per day for the quarter.” (CFO Lee) “Our first quarter 2026 cash compensation ratio was at 22%, which was within the historical range.” (CFO Lee) “Our invested capital stands at $2.6 billion as of March 31, while generating an average return of 107% on the capital over the past year.” (CFO Lee) Q&A Patrick Moley, Piper Sandler: asked where Virtu saw the most opportuni...
Sundry Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images F5 ( FFIV ) shares climbed 7% during Wednesday morning trading after the application delivery and security company reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results that surpassed expectations and increased its full-year revenue outlook. Analysts were impressed by the revenue growth in Systems hardware, and they also noted more evidence of AI-related ...
Sundry Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images F5 ( FFIV ) shares climbed 7% during Wednesday morning trading after the application delivery and security company reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results that surpassed expectations and increased its full-year revenue outlook. Analysts were impressed by the revenue growth in Systems hardware, and they also noted more evidence of AI-related gains. "Systems revenue of +26% Y/Y vs. MSe of +15% Y/Y was driven by multi-cloud, investments in digital sovereignty, particularly in EMEA, and AI (with the company noting ~$50mm from AI in the 1H—or ~3% of revenue, growing 200%+ Y/Y)," said Morgan Stanley analysts Meta Marshall and Antonio Jaramillo in a Wednesday investor note. Morgan Stanley maintained its Equal-weight rating and increased its price target to $340 from $305. "Given margin headwinds from memory, uncertain dynamics around pullforward given upcoming pricing increases, and needing to know how reasonable we view company guidance at the upcoming Analyst Day, we are still on the sidelines for now," Marshall noted. "However, with software having the potential to accelerate as well and AI use cases having the potential to be $100mm+ this year, we see increasing reasons to be encouraged around the name." Meanwhile, Needham maintained its Hold rating and did not set a price target. "Management raised FY26 Revenue growth guidance to 7-8% from 5-6%, and signaled the possibility of Systems to grow in FY27," said Needham analysts Jeffrey Hopson and Ryan Koontz in a note. "However, despite F5 executing on its hardware refresh, we are still uncertain what Systems growth looks like after the refresh and are not yet convinced AI tailwinds can move the needle." F5 plans to hold its Analyst Day event at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 28, in New York City. It will be live streamed . More on F5 Networks F5, Inc. 2026 Q2 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation F5, Inc. (FFIV) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript F5, Inc. (FFIV) Present...
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images As a bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) investor for almost 8 years, I think I'm used to volatility. Bitcoin miners aren't immune to the volatility of their own end products. But the largest by market capitalization are now transforming their business to become AI and HPC hosting providers. Or at least, that's what they are trying to do. The business shift comes from declini...
Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images As a bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) investor for almost 8 years, I think I'm used to volatility. Bitcoin miners aren't immune to the volatility of their own end products. But the largest by market capitalization are now transforming their business to become AI and HPC hosting providers. Or at least, that's what they are trying to do. The business shift comes from declining revenues from Bitcoin mining and the revenue boom generated by AI, especially thanks to the capital expenditures of hyperscalers. The problem miners are facing is the decline in Bitcoin which, after reaching an all-time high of $122,000 last October, sharply dropped to $64,000 in February. Despite the recent rebound, the drop has been significant over the past few years. I was very surprised when I looked at which instrument performed better over the past five years: Bitcoin or the S&P500 ( SPY ). I thought Bitcoin was the instrument that outperformed the market. But I was wrong. Data by YCharts In this article I wrote why I no longer want to hold Bitcoin, and that I'm just waiting for the right moment to sell and take some profits on the investment I made in 2018. I don't want to own any more Bitcoin because I thought it would be more widely adopted in the future, especially as a medium of exchange that would start replacing the dollar bill. But it wasn't like that. Profitability problems of crypto miners Besides my own interpretation about bitcoin and its price, mining companies are losing revenue and profitability due to the drop in hashrate . In this case, it's not just that Bitcoin has fallen to 2024 lows that matters, but that the key profitability unit for miners is far from 2021 levels. This is a result, in my opinion, of increased competition, which drove up energy consumption in the global mining network. We must add to this the 2024 Bitcoin halving, which, while boosting the price, didn't help miners regain profitability. In other words: Bitcoin miners' revenu...
Medical Properties Trust ( MPT ) is set to announce first-quarter earnings on Thursday, April 30th, before the market open. Wall Street expects the hospital and medical facility REIT to post EPS of $0.01 on revenue of $249.68M for the quarter. Last quarter, the REIT reported FFO of $0.18, beating expectations by $0.03, while revenue of $270.34M was $25.68M higher than market estimates. During the ...
Medical Properties Trust ( MPT ) is set to announce first-quarter earnings on Thursday, April 30th, before the market open. Wall Street expects the hospital and medical facility REIT to post EPS of $0.01 on revenue of $249.68M for the quarter. Last quarter, the REIT reported FFO of $0.18, beating expectations by $0.03, while revenue of $270.34M was $25.68M higher than market estimates. During the firm’s Q4 earnings call, Rosa Hooper, Senior VP of Operations & Secretary at Medical Properties Trust, highlighted that the company expects 2026 to be a year of continued stabilization and increasing cash rents as our tenants capitalize on service line enhancements, reimbursement tailwinds, EMR modernization, and operating efficiencies gained throughout 2025. Seeking Alpha analysts are bullish and rate, on average, MPT a Buy . Seeking Alpha author Daniel Jones rated MPT a Strong Buy as operational recovery accelerates and tenant issues are largely resolved. Jones added that MPT's re-tenanting efforts and new leases are driving rent growth, with annualized cash rent targeted at $1 billion by year-end. Agreeing with Jones’ bullish views, Seeking Alpha analyst Juxtaposed Ideas added that despite uncertain macroeconomic risks, the REIT's improving portfolio and balance sheet performance signals resilience, aided by a secure AFFO payout ratio of 50%. However, Wall Street analysts and Seeking Alpha’s Quant rating are cautious, rating MPT a Hold and Sell, respectively. The REIT’s shares have risen nearly 4.1% year-to-date, compared to the benchmark S&P 500’s 4.8% gain in the same period. Over the last three months, EPS estimates have not seen any upward revisions against one downward move, while revenue estimates have not seen any upward revisions compared to one downward revision. More on Medical Properties Trust Medical Properties Trust: From Crisis To Comeback Medical Properties Trust: The Second-Most Shorted REIT And Its 7.2% Dividend Yield Medical Properties Trust: New Tenant...
It’s unusual for a country to have both a female head of government and a woman in the key cabinet post of finance minister, simultaneously. Famously, there was Finland, when former Prime Minister Sanna Marin installed an all-female cabinet after she was elected in 2019 at the age of 34. And there’s been some noteworthy examples in Australia, Estonia and Honduras. But few other countries have had ...
It’s unusual for a country to have both a female head of government and a woman in the key cabinet post of finance minister, simultaneously. Famously, there was Finland, when former Prime Minister Sanna Marin installed an all-female cabinet after she was elected in 2019 at the age of 34. And there’s been some noteworthy examples in Australia, Estonia and Honduras. But few other countries have had two women in such powerful positions at the same time, and it’s never happened in a Group of Seven nation — until current-day Japan. But if there was some stereotype of what female leadership should look like, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama don’t fit neatly into that mold. Takaichi, the 65-year-old leader of the Liberal Democratic Party who took office in October , holds traditional values around family and gender (she opposes both legalizing same-sex marriage and having separate surnames for married couples). She also supports rebuilding Japan’s military after a period of post-World War II pacifism and wants Japan to play a stronger role in global politics (her cabinet has approved lethal weapons exports for the first time since the 1940s). And she’s pledged to stimulate growth through subsidies and investment. For her part, Katayama, 66, is moving at pace, with a firm hand. She pushed through the nation’s highest-ever initial budget of ¥122 trillion ($764.5 billion), called an urgent meeting with the nation’s largest banks to discuss the risk of cybersecurity threats exposed by Anthropic PBC’s new AI model Mythos and has been clear she stands ready to intervene to support the weakening yen . Turmoil in the Middle East , the source of 90% of Japan’s oil needs, has complicated the pair’s policy plans. As surprised as it was at the breakout of war, what really took the government off guard was the level of speculation on oil futures that followed, Katayama said at a Bloomberg New Voices event in Tokyo last week. Those development...
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) primarily engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties, operating primarily in the United States, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas globally, while also operating large downstream and chemical segments that capture, manufacture, and sell various...
Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) primarily engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties, operating primarily in the United States, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas globally, while also operating large downstream and chemical segments that capture, manufacture, and sell various petrochemical products. Revenue here refers to the data provider's standardized income statement revenue line item and serves as a fundamental financial indicator that helps retail investors evaluate the total money brought in by a company's core commercial operations before any operating expenses are deducted. Continue reading
The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (NYSEMKT:SPSM) offers a higher yield and different index methodology than the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (NYSEMKT:VB) , which provides broader exposure through a larger basket of stocks. Small-cap stocks can provide the engine for long-term portfolio growth, though they may experience more significant price swings than large-cap peers. These two fu...
The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (NYSEMKT:SPSM) offers a higher yield and different index methodology than the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (NYSEMKT:VB) , which provides broader exposure through a larger basket of stocks. Small-cap stocks can provide the engine for long-term portfolio growth, though they may experience more significant price swings than large-cap peers. These two funds represent some of the most efficient ways to access the asset class, with the Vanguard fund commanding significantly more assets under management (AUM) than the SPDR alternative. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield. Continue reading
Chinese hackers breached Cuba’s embassy in Washington to spy on communications of dozens of diplomats as the island nation stared down a US naval blockade, according to findings from the cyber firm Gambit Security. The campaign began in January and compromised the emails of 68 officials, including the Cuban ambassador and the deputy chief of mission, researchers said. The breach coincided with a p...
Chinese hackers breached Cuba’s embassy in Washington to spy on communications of dozens of diplomats as the island nation stared down a US naval blockade, according to findings from the cyber firm Gambit Security. The campaign began in January and compromised the emails of 68 officials, including the Cuban ambassador and the deputy chief of mission, researchers said. The breach coincided with a period of intense geopolitical friction, occurring shortly after a US raid in Venezuela and roughly coincided the Trump administration’s decision to halt oil deliveries to Cuba, contributing to widespread blackouts across the country. “This hack shows how world events drive cyber activity,” said Curtis Simpson, chief strategy officer at Gambit. The intruders bypassed embassy security by exploiting two five-year-old vulnerabilities in outdated Microsoft Exchange email servers, according to the Gambit findings. Once inside, attackers downloaded entire inboxes belonging to political and intelligence officials. The Cuban and Chinese embassies didn’t respond to requests for comment. The hack highlights a trend in state-sponsored espionage: the use of dated software flaws to conduct rapid mass exploitation operations designed to vacuum up details about global events. While the embassy breach provided access to diplomatic communications, the attackers also exploited a separate vulnerability in the popular developer tool React to compromise 5,000 servers globally beginning less than a week after the vulnerability was discovered. The React Foundation, which maintains React, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Gambit researchers said they also observed the Chinese group targeting the Venezuelan government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs around the same time. The hackers used tools, techniques and infrastructure associated with Chinese state-sponsored cyber-espionage , according to Gambit. Much of the exploitation and theft of sensitive data was opportunistic, researchers said. Ot...
Poca Wander Stock/iStock via Getty Images Originally published on April 28, 2026 Google ( GOOG , GOOGL ), Amazon ( AMZN ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta ( META ) report tomorrow. Apple ( AAPL ) on Thursday. The market has been waiting for some sign of capex fatigue for years now. It hasn't happened. And there are no signs of it happening when they report over the next couple of days. Remember, it wa...
Poca Wander Stock/iStock via Getty Images Originally published on April 28, 2026 Google ( GOOG , GOOGL ), Amazon ( AMZN ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta ( META ) report tomorrow. Apple ( AAPL ) on Thursday. The market has been waiting for some sign of capex fatigue for years now. It hasn't happened. And there are no signs of it happening when they report over the next couple of days. Remember, it was just earlier this year that Google doubled its expected 2026 capex to as much as $185 billion. Meta guided up to $135 billion for the year, a near double of what they spent last year. Amazon announced $200 billion in capex. And Andy Jassy said they were "monetizing capacity as fast as we can install it." It's because the "always-on" inferencing phase of AI has arrived. Moreover, it shifted into an even higher gear since early February, as autonomous agents have exploded in numbers - running around the clock, executing tasks, managing workflows, transacting, calling other agents. It's a demand explosion. Every agent is consuming compute, power, bandwidth, and storage - continuously. This is why the hyperscalers have said they can't build fast enough. And maybe the cleanest signal on how it's all going is from the storage industry. In fact, if we look back to late January, we talked about the "Nvidia ( NVDA ) moment for storage" - the point in time when the world realized AI demand for data storage is endless. Sandisk ( SNDK ) had just reported $3 billion in revenue and then guided for $4.4-4.8 billion the next quarter (a 50% sequential leap over just 90 days). With that, we heard from Seagate ( STX ) today, one of the data storage kings. Revenue was up 44% year-over-year to $3.1 billion . Record gross margins. Almost a billion dollars of free cash flow in a single quarter - the highest level Seagate has reported in over a decade. But here was the bigger takeaway: Seagate told us that the top three global cloud providers have nearly doubled their remaining performance oblig...
Continent ‘sleepwalking’ into series of economic and national security problems due to over-dependence Europe is “sleepwalking” into a series of economic and national security problems because of an over-reliance on Chinese green technology, according to experts. A report co-authored by Michael Collins, a former deputy head of national security strategy at the UK Cabinet Office, described the risk...
Continent ‘sleepwalking’ into series of economic and national security problems due to over-dependence Europe is “sleepwalking” into a series of economic and national security problems because of an over-reliance on Chinese green technology, according to experts. A report co-authored by Michael Collins, a former deputy head of national security strategy at the UK Cabinet Office, described the risks of depending on China for green tech as “serious”. Continue reading...
OpenAI's ( OPENAI ) ChatGPT’s uninstall rate jumped 257% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026, the most among the top artificial intelligence apps, market intelligence firm Sensor Tower said. That was likely driven by OpenAI's Pentagon partnership, when uninstalls spiked 413% year-over-year in March alone, the research firm added. However, analyst Kara Lee noted that the uproar over the par...
OpenAI's ( OPENAI ) ChatGPT’s uninstall rate jumped 257% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026, the most among the top artificial intelligence apps, market intelligence firm Sensor Tower said. That was likely driven by OpenAI's Pentagon partnership, when uninstalls spiked 413% year-over-year in March alone, the research firm added. However, analyst Kara Lee noted that the uproar over the partnership with the Department of War appears to have settled down in April, as uninstalls fell 44% month-over-month. OpenAI is reportedly planning an initial public offering, but the AI giant is facing a trio of challenges : growth targets , intensifying price competition, and a potentially existential legal battle with co-founder Elon Musk. Sensor Tower noted that ChatGPT, Microsoft's ( MSFT ) Copilot, and Google's ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ) Gemini saw uninstall rates soar by 132%, 138%, and 169% year-over-year for the month-to-date in April, respectively. Users may increasingly switch among models as new features become available and, potentially, to avoid ads, the research firm added. Conversely, SensorTower's Lee said Anthropic's ( ANTHRO ) Claude’s 90% year-over-year increase in app uninstalls in April is the lowest among the studied group, as the brand’s messaging may have fostered long-term app adoption. While uninstall rates have jumped off a low base, overall, daily active users, or DAUs, remain elevated across the group as AI apps continue to be incorporated into daily workflow, according to the report. Lee said that ChatGPT downloads in month-to-date April (April 1 to April 26) have declined 8% year-over-year (compared to April 1, 2025 - April 26, 2025), which is only the second time that ChatGPT has seen a year-over-year decline in downloads since July 2024. The report added that this drop in downloads is taking place at a time when ChatGPT is seeing a higher proportion of downloads from paid sources. The research firm said ChatGPT’s softness across the U.S. market comes...
US Treasuries slumped, lifting yields to the highest levels this month, as mounting oil prices further eroded expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. Ahead of a Fed rate decision to be announced at 2 p.m. New York time — with no change anticipated — traders all but abandoned wagers on a rate cut this year and began to price in the possibility that the central bank’s next move will be ...
US Treasuries slumped, lifting yields to the highest levels this month, as mounting oil prices further eroded expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. Ahead of a Fed rate decision to be announced at 2 p.m. New York time — with no change anticipated — traders all but abandoned wagers on a rate cut this year and began to price in the possibility that the central bank’s next move will be an increase during the first half of 2027. Yields across maturities rose by four to six basis points, with short-dated tenors most sensitive to Fed rate changes leading the shift. The two-year note’s yield climbed as much as six basis points to nearly 3.90%, last seen March 27. The 30-year bond’s yield approached 5%, last seen in July. Yields also rose in European bond markets. “The market is coming to grips with the possibility that oil prices could stay high for longer,” said Priya Misra , portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management. “That increases the risk of second-order effects into inflation as well as longer-dated inflation expectations and complicates the decision for the Fed.” The oil price surge unleashed by the US attack on Iran in late February has weighed on bonds globally. It has contributed to higher inflation by driving up the price of gasoline and led to an increase in inflation expectations. Under those conditions, central bank policymakers are seen as unlikely to deliver rate cuts that traders had fully priced in before the Iran war began. Rates rose on short-term interest-rate derivatives that amount to wagers on what the Fed’s target band for US overnight lending rates — which has been 3.5%-3.75% since December, resulting in an effective rate of 3.64% in recent weeks. The December 2026 contract’s rate climbed to about 3.62%, pricing in minimal chance of a cut, while those for contracts expiring during the first half of 2027 rose at least five basis points to levels exceeding the current effective rate, implying a chance of an increase. Flows in thos...