felixmizioznikov/iStock via Getty Images Ring Energy ( REI ) decided to take advantage of the costs it worked so hard to lower as noted in the last article by changing its strategy to forward some capital expenditures (to beat likely rising service prices). Lower well costs and lower infrastructure costs are a competitive advantage that lasts for the life of the production (and relevant infrastruc...
felixmizioznikov/iStock via Getty Images Ring Energy ( REI ) decided to take advantage of the costs it worked so hard to lower as noted in the last article by changing its strategy to forward some capital expenditures (to beat likely rising service prices). Lower well costs and lower infrastructure costs are a competitive advantage that lasts for the life of the production (and relevant infrastructure). Since these are long-lived wells, this is an important consideration. Every well that is drilled and completed before any costs go up is a well that has lower overall costs to produce. It does not take a lot of these lower costs to make a difference. For a small producer like Ring Energy, those potentially (up to) six wells could be producing at a lower cost that may well show up at the bottom line. The infrastructure expenditures could unlock some longer-term lower costs. Even some large companies I worked for would go for more money when possible, even if it was not material to the overall company picture. The reason is that more money is better than less money as long as so many costs are not piled on that "more money" so that it is not worth the effort. It may take some forward planning. But you would be surprised how many companies plan to pick up every last penny in the commodity business. You just never know if the opportunity is large or small until it is over. In this case, the time value of money is what is at stake. Just about every well that began production in the last two years has relatively high production compared to the older production. Those higher commodity prices make that earlier production more valuable (and there is more of that valuable production from younger wells). This can raise the profitability of those wells (at least until costs start rising). Hence the move to get a few more wells producing before it costs more to bring profitable wells into production. Free Cash Flow This strategy does affect free cash flow because free cash flow i...
The search for two missing Singaporean hikers after a volcanic eruption of Mount Dukono was still hampered by continuous eruptions and bad weather on Sunday, an Indonesian official said, though they were feared to be dead. Some 150 personnel with two thermal drones have been deployed since Sunday morning, the head of local rescue agency Iwan Ramdani said, with the focus of the search around 10...
The search for two missing Singaporean hikers after a volcanic eruption of Mount Dukono was still hampered by continuous eruptions and bad weather on Sunday, an Indonesian official said, though they were feared to be dead. Some 150 personnel with two thermal drones have been deployed since Sunday morning, the head of local rescue agency Iwan Ramdani said, with the focus of the search around 100-150 metres (492 feet) of the crater rim. “However, Mount Dukono continues to erupt and rain is...
Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is one of the 10 Best Utility Stocks that Beat Earnings Estimates. On May 7, 2026, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) reported Q1 revenue of $5.64B, ahead of the $5.24B consensus estimate, while ongoing operations adjusted EBITDA totaled $1.49B. President and CEO Jim Burke said the company entered 2026 with momentum driven by its […]
Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) is one of the 10 Best Utility Stocks that Beat Earnings Estimates. On May 7, 2026, Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) reported Q1 revenue of $5.64B, ahead of the $5.24B consensus estimate, while ongoing operations adjusted EBITDA totaled $1.49B. President and CEO Jim Burke said the company entered 2026 with momentum driven by its […]
Chinese EVs Absent From U.S. Roads, But Parts Under The Hood Are Alarming For good reason, U.S. policymakers have resisted opening the domestic auto market to a flood of cheap, gasoline-powered Chinese cars and EVs. Such a move would crush Detroit into even more misery. It would accelerate the hollowing out of the nation's industrial base ( something Europe willingly did ), further degrade supplie...
Chinese EVs Absent From U.S. Roads, But Parts Under The Hood Are Alarming For good reason, U.S. policymakers have resisted opening the domestic auto market to a flood of cheap, gasoline-powered Chinese cars and EVs. Such a move would crush Detroit into even more misery. It would accelerate the hollowing out of the nation's industrial base ( something Europe willingly did ), further degrade suppliers, and weaken the country's ability to convert truck production lines to tank production in wartime. However, while Chinese-made cars remain absent from U.S. highways, there has been a flood of Chinese auto parts, from airbags to transmissions to starters to steering systems and many other components, according to a new Wall Street Journal report citing data from consulting firm AlixPartners. According to AlixPartners data, Chinese companies hold ownership stakes in about 10,000 suppliers nationwide. The exposure is an eye-opener for lawmakers, as the urgency to decouple critical supply chains from China remains a national security priority under the Trump administration. "They're [China] deeply integrated into the industry," Michael Dunne, CEO of automotive consulting firm Dunne Insights, told the outlet. Examples of this alarming deep integration include Ford's Mustang GT, which uses a six-speed manual transmission from China; Toyota's Prius plug-in hybrid, with about 15% of parts sourced from China; and GM's Chevrolet Trax, Blazer EV, and Equinox EV, which contain approximately 20% Chinese parts. Several automakers have been dialing back their parts exposure to China in recent years. Tesla has required suppliers to remove China-made components from U.S.-built vehicles, while GM says China now accounts for less than 3% of its direct material spending for U.S.-made cars. Still, government data show that at least 40 models for sale in the U.S. have alarmingly high levels of Chinese components. What's increasingly clear is that over the last 15 years, Beijing has been takin...
Prediction: The Helium Crunch Will Accelerate the Reshoring of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chip Manufacturing. Here Are the Best Growth Stocks to Own. The Motley Fool
Prediction: The Helium Crunch Will Accelerate the Reshoring of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chip Manufacturing. Here Are the Best Growth Stocks to Own. The Motley Fool
Sundry Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Many cybersecurity stocks were tossed out with the software bathwater earlier this year. Shares of CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) plunged 40% over just a handful of months, culminating with a rather epic decline on “Citrini Research” on Monday, February 24. Right before the final leg lower, I upgraded CRWD from a hold to a buy, primarily because I believe...
Sundry Photography/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Many cybersecurity stocks were tossed out with the software bathwater earlier this year. Shares of CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) plunged 40% over just a handful of months, culminating with a rather epic decline on “Citrini Research” on Monday, February 24. Right before the final leg lower, I upgraded CRWD from a hold to a buy, primarily because I believed the market was overreacting to the potential AI could swipe from enterprise cybersecurity. That worked out well. The stock has returned about 30% since my February assessment , outperforming the S&P 500 by 23 percentage points. Today, I’m downgrading the best-of-breed cybersecurity player to a hold. I don’t often like to get this cute and short-term with plays, but sentiment has clearly flipped, and CRWD’s valuation remains a question to me. CRWD Storms Back Since February Stockcharts.com Back in March, CrowdStrike reported a solid set of quarterly results. Fiscal Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $1.12 topped the Wall Street consensus forecast of $1.10, while revenue of $1.3 billion, up 24% from the same period a year earlier, was a small $10 million beat. An optimistic and reassuring outlook from CEO George Kurtz and his team helped support the stock. Indeed, CRWD rallied 4.2% in the session that followed, its best earnings reaction since August last year. Looking ahead to the June 3 Q1 release, the options market prices in a moderate 7.4% earnings-related stock price swing based on the at-the-money straddle expiring soonest after the report. The stock now trades with an elevated 55% implied volatility percentage, while short interest on the $129 billion market cap equity is low at 2.5%. Looking back on the quarter that was, CrowdStrike tallied solid growth and detailed strong platform adoptions in February. The company tallied a new high net new Annual Recurring Revenue ( ARR ) of $331 million, a 47% increase YoY, bringing its total ending ARR to $5.25 billion. Financial performance ...
On May 7, SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) reported its first-quarter 2026 earnings report, featuring revenue that met expectations, but shares still dropped sharply afterward. The drop appears to be due to several issues. The company did not raise guidance in its report, markets are worried about growing losses, and the stock price had already had a big run-up heading into the report. Still, SoundHou...
On May 7, SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) reported its first-quarter 2026 earnings report, featuring revenue that met expectations, but shares still dropped sharply afterward. The drop appears to be due to several issues. The company did not raise guidance in its report, markets are worried about growing losses, and the stock price had already had a big run-up heading into the report. Still, SoundHound is in the early stages of meeting demand from what it projects is a $140 billion total addressable market (TAM), so this recent short-term pullback may not be as big an issue for long-term investors. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading