tarabird/iStock via Getty Images High Tide Inc. ( HITI ) reported the company’s fiscal Q1 results from the November-January period on the 17 th of March. The cannabis retailer and distributor is showing a promising recovery in the acquired Remexian business after a slow start, but the core Canadian retail business had a noticeably slower quarter due to a market slowdown. Overall, the High Tide sto...
tarabird/iStock via Getty Images High Tide Inc. ( HITI ) reported the company’s fiscal Q1 results from the November-January period on the 17 th of March. The cannabis retailer and distributor is showing a promising recovery in the acquired Remexian business after a slow start, but the core Canadian retail business had a noticeably slower quarter due to a market slowdown. Overall, the High Tide story remains on track after the report, but Canadian cannabis consumption has to be watched closely going forward. I remained at a Strong Buy rating in my previous January article on the stock, titled “ High Tide: Why The Market Is Wrong After Q4.” The stock has since returned 9%, while the S&P 500 has declined by -4%. My Rating History on HITI (Seeking Alpha) High Tide Q1 Review In my opinion, High Tide reported good, but not great, fiscal Q1 results . Revenues came in at C$178.3 million, up by 25% through the acquisition of Remexian as well as organic growth at Canna Cabana. Adjusted EBITDA reached C$11.5 million, up by 62% year-on-year through solid margin gains. Behind good overall surface-level financials, High Tide’s segment performance was more mixed as EBITDA did decline slightly from Q4. Author's Illustration Using TIKR Data The most important segment, brick-and-mortar retail, had a noticeably slower quarter after very strong momentum in the past. Same-store sales growth only came in at 0.5%, below inflation and compared to 4.1% in FY2025 and even faster growth in later quarters of the prior fiscal year. Canna Cabana’s store expansion still led total brick-and-mortar revenues to grow by 10% to C$149.7 million, but slower same-store sales are quick to pressure earnings. Despite a 10 basis point sequential gain in the gross margin, brick-and-mortar segment EBITDA came in at C$13.2 million, down by C$0.9 million sequentially through SG&A deleverage. Brick-and-mortar earnings were still up considerably year-on-year from thin Q1'FY2025 margins. HITI Q1 FY26 MD&A While the...
Fire and plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 14, 2026. Altaf Qadri | AP Iran's strikes are pushing Gulf states toward a breaking point, forcing a choice between restraint and retaliation. Iran's Gulf neighbors have been repeatedly targeted and hit by Iranian drones and missiles as part of the Islamic Republic's retaliatory strikes against th...
Fire and plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 14, 2026. Altaf Qadri | AP Iran's strikes are pushing Gulf states toward a breaking point, forcing a choice between restraint and retaliation. Iran's Gulf neighbors have been repeatedly targeted and hit by Iranian drones and missiles as part of the Islamic Republic's retaliatory strikes against the U.S. and Israel's bombardment since late February. The latest and perhaps most significant escalation in attacks on Iran's neighbors came this week when Tehran launched retaliatory missile attacks on Qatar's Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal following Israel's attack on Iran's South Pars gas field. Gulf states — from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait — have responded to Iran's repeated attacks on their energy infrastructure by saying "a price must be paid" and that the attacks " cannot go unanswered ," but, so far, they have not retaliated. That diplomatic and defensive stance can't and won't last forever, analysts say, noting that the Gulf states are now likely weighing up when, where and how they might shift from a neutral stance to an offensive one. Patience among the Gulf states is obviously wearing thin, with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud warning early Thursday that tolerance of Iranian attacks on his country and neighboring Gulf states is limited. "I think it's important for the Iranians to understand that the kingdom, but also its partners who have been attacked and beyond, have very significant capacities and capabilities that they could bring to bear should they choose to do so," he said . "The patience that is being exhibited is not unlimited. Do they [the Iranians] have a day, two, a week? I'm not going to telegraph that," he added. CNBC has requested further comment from the foreign ministry. watch now VIDEO 2:49 02:49 Gulf energy escalation: key regional facilities come under a...
When Warren Buffett's hand-picked successor, Greg Abel, took the reins as chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA 1.60%) (BRKB 1.65%) this year, it was unclear how he would react to Berkshire's large positions in core holdings. In his Feb. 28 letter to shareholders, Abel wrote that investors should expect concentration in Apple, American Express (AXP 2.11%), Coca-Cola, and Moody's to c...
When Warren Buffett's hand-picked successor, Greg Abel, took the reins as chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA 1.60%) (BRKB 1.65%) this year, it was unclear how he would react to Berkshire's large positions in core holdings. In his Feb. 28 letter to shareholders, Abel wrote that investors should expect concentration in Apple, American Express (AXP 2.11%), Coca-Cola, and Moody's to continue with limited activity unless Berkshire sees "fundamental changes in long-term economic prospects." In other words, Berkshire is committed to holding these stocks over the long term. American Express has been one of Berkshire's greatest investments. The conglomerate owns 22% of the company at a cost basis of just $1.29 billion, compared to a market value at the time of the shareholder letter of $56.1 billion. Berkshire last year collected $479 million in American Express dividends -- meaning that less than three years of dividends exceed the cost basis on its entire American Express position. Here's why American Express is one of the top buys in the financial sector. American Express has a straightforward cost structure for delivering consistent growth American Express has an exceptional track record of managing the credit risk of the cards it issues, as evidenced by its relatively low net write-off rates -- essentially the sunk costs of debt that is unlikely to be repaid. In fiscal 2025, American Express collected almost $10 billion in net card fees, up 18% year over year.The figure will jump even more in fiscal 2026 -- the first year the $895 annual Platinum Card fee takes effect. Despite the high fees, cardholders are getting a great deal on points, as American Express spent a staggering $18.4 billion on card member rewards in fiscal 2025 -- nearly double what it collected in net card fees. Metric Fiscal 2025 Discount Revenue $37.4 billion Net Card Fees $10 billion Service Fees and Other Revenue $7.5 billion Net Interest Income $17.2 billion Total Provisions For C...
The short answer? No. Why do we say that? Let’s unpack. It’s a tug-of-war between one of the oldest commodities, oil, and one of the newest technologies, which is agentic AI. As we head into Q2 2026, three key factors are driving the market: $110 oil fueled by Iran-U.S./Israel tensions and a Fed leadership transition are keeping rates stable. The rapid rise of agentic AI. Previous AI systems mostl...
The short answer? No. Why do we say that? Let’s unpack. It’s a tug-of-war between one of the oldest commodities, oil, and one of the newest technologies, which is agentic AI. As we head into Q2 2026, three key factors are driving the market: $110 oil fueled by Iran-U.S./Israel tensions and a Fed leadership transition are keeping rates stable. The rapid rise of agentic AI. Previous AI systems mostly generated content. The latest agentic systems autonomously execute complex business workflows – and there is hope they could counter energy-driven inflation. Is that hope justified? The Oil Shock Iran has launched retaliatory strikes on key energy infrastructure across the Gulf, while escalating tensions have severely disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint that typically carries about 20% of global oil and significant LNG flows. Sure, the U.S. enters this crisis as a net energy exporter, but it is not shielded from the shock. Oil is a globally priced commodity. A barrel in Texas costs the same as a barrel in Rotterdam. Even with domestic production at record highs of over 13 million barrels per day, American consumers and businesses face immediate pain. There are two factors to watch here. First, there is cost-push inflation. Unlike demand-driven growth, this is a “supply-side” shock that increases the cost of producing and transporting everything from groceries to semiconductors. For the Fed, this is a challenge, since this is an inflationary spike that interest rate management can’t easily fix. Then there is the consumer squeeze: At $110, gasoline is averaging over $3.80/gallon nationally. For the average household, this represents a substantial annual “tax” on their budget. This could drain some of the discretionary spending that fueled the 2025 rally, potentially cooling the economy just as the Fed is forced to stay hawkish. Fed: Steady Rates, Rising Uncertainty The Federal Reserve held rates steady at 3.5%–3.75% on March 18, signaling a “wait-and...
Chart-topping US rapper Afroman has been cleared of wrongdoing after Ohio police filed a lawsuit against him, alleging defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy after the artist used footage from a police raid on his home in a series of mocking videos. In 2022, police searched the rapper’s home for evidence of drug possession and trafficking, and kidnapping. No evidence was found and ...
Chart-topping US rapper Afroman has been cleared of wrongdoing after Ohio police filed a lawsuit against him, alleging defamation, emotional distress and invasion of privacy after the artist used footage from a police raid on his home in a series of mocking videos. In 2022, police searched the rapper’s home for evidence of drug possession and trafficking, and kidnapping. No evidence was found and no charges were filed. His wife filmed the raid on her phone, and video recordings were also made on home security cameras. Afroman used this footage to make videos in which he taunted the officers and the judge who issued the warrant. He also alleged his property was damaged in the raid and that $400 in cash had been taken from his house. The videos referred to the officers as being from “Adams KKKounty” and made bawdy, coarse jokes about them, including questioning the gender and sexuality of a female officer. The video for the song Lemon Pound Cake – named after the cake an officer glances at in the raid footage – has been viewed 3.5m times on YouTube. The lawsuit claimed Afroman’s videos invaded officers’ privacy and were “willful, wanton, malicious”. It also alleged that his actions endangered the officers, who “suffered humiliation, ridicule, mental distress, embarrassment and loss of reputation”. View image in fullscreen Afroman, real name Joseph Foreman, in 2001. Photograph: Shawn Baldwin/AP During the three-day trial, a lawyer for the plaintiffs claimed Afroman “perpetuated lies intentionally, repeatedly, over three and a half years on the internet about these seven brave deputy sheriffs”. But Afroman and his legal team defended the videos as comedy, saying they could not be construed as statements of fact. “Some of it is a social commentary, but it is not fact. And everybody knows that,” said lawyer David Osborne Jr. One of the videos jokingly suggested that the wife of one of the officers, Randolph Walters Jr, had a sexual relationship with Afroman. “It’s caused ...
ArtMarie/E+ via Getty Images In recent months, a wide variety of B2B software companies have seen their stocks cut by 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, or even 70%, as AI agents like Claude Code have disrupted the software engineering landscape and reduced the marginal cost of producing software to zero. In an environment like that, what separates winners from losers, and recurring revenue streams from disrupta...
ArtMarie/E+ via Getty Images In recent months, a wide variety of B2B software companies have seen their stocks cut by 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, or even 70%, as AI agents like Claude Code have disrupted the software engineering landscape and reduced the marginal cost of producing software to zero. In an environment like that, what separates winners from losers, and recurring revenue streams from disruptable business models? Recently, I watched an interview with Gokul Rajaram and Harry Stebbings, where Gokul, an early employee of Google ( GOOGL ) ( GOOG ), Meta ( META ), Square ( XYZ ), and DoorDash ( DASH ), breaks down the actual competitive moats that he thinks will drive a business to succeed or fail through a period of AI disruption. I found the framework useful, and in this article (and a number of following articles), I'll break down a number of top B2B SaaS companies and rank them across this matrix. At this point, we all understand the attractiveness of software; it's a capital-light business with extremely high gross margins, strong recurring revenues, and a high level of predictability. What matters now - as AI agents develop - is whether or not these businesses can survive going forward and continue producing fast-growing, high-margin profit flows for investors. In this article, I'm going to be looking at Datadog ( DDOG ), the industry-leading monitoring platform that allows engineering teams to spot performance issues and rectify them via real-time software. The company counts OpenAI as its largest customer, and appears set to capitalize on potential adoption by a new wave of vibe-coded software products. But how will this firm actually rank? Is the stock worth buying? Today, I'll analyze Datadog's competitive moat, look at the business's financials and valuation, and give my take on whether or not the stock is worth buying for your portfolio. Sound good? Let's dive in. Defensibility As promised, let's take a look at Datadog through the lens of competitive moat...
The 10-year Treasury yield sits at 4.23% today, and that number matters more than most retirees realize. It represents the baseline. That is, what you can earn with zero risk. Any dividend ETF benchmarked against Treasurys would need to clear that bar in total return terms, or at least come close enough in yield that ... The 3 Best Dividend ETFs to Build Lasting Retirement Income in 2026
The 10-year Treasury yield sits at 4.23% today, and that number matters more than most retirees realize. It represents the baseline. That is, what you can earn with zero risk. Any dividend ETF benchmarked against Treasurys would need to clear that bar in total return terms, or at least come close enough in yield that ... The 3 Best Dividend ETFs to Build Lasting Retirement Income in 2026
Let’s dig into the relative performance of Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q4 data analytics earnings season. Organizations generate a lot of data that is stored in silos, often in incompatible formats, making it slow and costly to extract actionable insights, which in turn drives demand for modern cloud-based data analysis platforms that can effic...
Let’s dig into the relative performance of Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q4 data analytics earnings season. Organizations generate a lot of data that is stored in silos, often in incompatible formats, making it slow and costly to extract actionable insights, which in turn drives demand for modern cloud-based data analysis platforms that can efficiently analyze the siloed data. The 7 data analytics stocks we track reported a strong Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line. Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 6.2% on average since the latest earnings results. Best Q4: Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) Named after the all-seeing stones in "Lord of the Rings," Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) develops software platforms that help government agencies and enterprises integrate, analyze, and operationalize their data for decision-making. Palantir Technologies reported revenues of $1.41 billion, up 70% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 4.9%. Overall, it was a stunning quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates. Palantir Technologies achieved the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 3.1% since reporting and currently trades at $152.28. Read why we think that Palantir Technologies is one of the best data analytics stocks, our full report is free. Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) Once a traditional business intelligence software provider, Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) develops AI-powered enterprise analytics software while also functioning as a major corporate holder of Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Strategy reported revenues of $123 million, up 1.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. The business had an exceptio...
New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Free Report) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,700 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Palantir Technologies comprises about 0.6% of...
New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Free Report) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,700 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the period. Palantir Technologies comprises about 0.6% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in Palantir Technologies were worth $18,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palantir Technologies by 778.7% in the third quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 61,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,187,000 after buying an additional 54,347 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palantir Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $550,000. Watershed Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Watershed Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,798 shares of the company's stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350 shares during the last quarter. GAM Holding AG increased its position in Palantir Technologies by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 13,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinkerton Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,394,000. 45.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Palantir Technologies alerts: Sign Up Palantir Technologies Price Performance Shares of NASDAQ:PLTR opened at $152.77 o...
Silvaco Group, Inc. SVCO shares rallied 21.9% in the last trading session to close at $6.06. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 40.8% gain over the past four weeks. Silvaco Group benefits from adoption of AI-driven TCAD platform, rapid growth in Semiconductor IP, industry shift toward A...
Silvaco Group, Inc. SVCO shares rallied 21.9% in the last trading session to close at $6.06. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 40.8% gain over the past four weeks. Silvaco Group benefits from adoption of AI-driven TCAD platform, rapid growth in Semiconductor IP, industry shift toward AI in chip design and manufacturing, strong momentum in APAC region and high-margin business model. This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.09 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -28.6%. Revenues are expected to be $17.04 million, up 20.9% from the year-ago quarter. Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements. For Silvaco Group, Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on SVCO going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> Silvaco Group, Inc. belongs to the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry. Another stock from the same industry, indie Semiconductor, Inc. INDI, closed the last trading session 1.5% lower at $2.58. Over the past month, INDI has returned -31.1%. indie Semiconductor's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -7.7% over the past month to -$0.06. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +25%. indie Semiconductor currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). Quantum Computing Stocks Set To Soar Artific...