Sea Ltd. reported quarterly earnings that topped analysts’ estimates after warding off rivals in Southeast Asia’s competitive e-commerce market rattled by economic and political challenges. Net income for the three months through March rose 6% to $428 million, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Analysts predicted $394 million on average, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Revenue increase...
Sea Ltd. reported quarterly earnings that topped analysts’ estimates after warding off rivals in Southeast Asia’s competitive e-commerce market rattled by economic and political challenges. Net income for the three months through March rose 6% to $428 million, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Analysts predicted $394 million on average, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Revenue increased 47% to $7.1 billion, also exceeding estimates. Chief Executive Officer Forrest Li is battling intensifying competition from ByteDance Ltd. ’s TikTok, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ’s Lazada and upstarts like Temu in Southeast Asia’s fast-growing online retail market of more than 675 million consumers. But even as e-commerce arm Shopee remains the region’s leading platform, Indonesia’s looming regulatory threats could potentially crimp demand in one of its biggest markets. In a speech last week, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto outlined a surprise plan to cap the commissions platforms earn from motorcycle drivers, raising concerns the policy could spill over to logistics providers that underpin Sea’s e-commerce operations. Potential online shopping restrictions for children in Indonesia could also add to regulatory uncertainty in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Read More: Indonesia Could Restrict E-Commerce for Children Under 16 Years Sea’s shares advanced about 6% in pre-market trading. They had fallen more than 50% since a September high as investors assessed its prospects in the cutthroat market. In November, Sea announced its first buyback program for as much as $1 billion, seeking to reward investors and take advantage of the stock plunge. For 2026, Sea said it is on track to hit its guidance of about 25% increase in e-commerce gross merchandise value. Yet, the company is sacrificing some of its profitability for the growth. In the first quarter, Shopee’s revenue grew about 45% while its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization shran...
macgyverhh/iStock via Getty Images Market Environment U.S. equities endured a turbulent first quarter, with the S&P 500 Index declining 4.33% as two distinct forces converged to reshape the investment landscape. The period began with a sharp recalibration across the software industry, as the emergence of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) tools raised questions about the durability of traditiona...
macgyverhh/iStock via Getty Images Market Environment U.S. equities endured a turbulent first quarter, with the S&P 500 Index declining 4.33% as two distinct forces converged to reshape the investment landscape. The period began with a sharp recalibration across the software industry, as the emergence of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) tools raised questions about the durability of traditional software business models. Investors moved swiftly to reprice companies most exposed to AI disruption, triggering a broad sell-off that weighed heavily on the technology-heavy corners of the market. The dislocation also spilled into private credit, where several firms with outsized exposure to software faced redemption pressures. Despite this turbulence, the underlying economy remained strong through the opening months of the year — consumers continued to spend, and expectations held firm for another quarter of solid earnings growth within the S&P 500 Index. The second, and more consequential, disruption arrived in late February with the outbreak of the U.S.–Iran conflict and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world's seaborne oil transits. The resulting supply shock sent crude prices surging past $100 per barrel for the first time in four years, injecting potential inflationary pressure into an economy the Federal Reserve (Fed) had been carefully guiding lower. Higher energy costs complicated the Fed's rate-cutting path; markets entered the quarter pricing in two rate cuts in 2026 but exited with expectations that the Fed will remain on hold. At its March meeting, the Fed held rates steady and raised its 2026 inflation projections, acknowledging that the economic implications of the conflict remain uncertain. Accordingly, Energy was the top performing sector within the S&P 500 Index, while the Financials sector was the weakest. While we understand the equity market's focus this year will likely be on whi...
Horses seized and several people questioned after animal rights activist shares video of race along country roads A video showing an illegal horse race in Sicily, with spectators firing pistols into the air and brandishing Kalashnikov rifles, has prompted a police investigation that has led to the seizure of the animals. The clip, reportedly filmed last Friday , shows two jockeys driving horse-dra...
Horses seized and several people questioned after animal rights activist shares video of race along country roads A video showing an illegal horse race in Sicily, with spectators firing pistols into the air and brandishing Kalashnikov rifles, has prompted a police investigation that has led to the seizure of the animals. The clip, reportedly filmed last Friday , shows two jockeys driving horse-drawn carts at breakneck speed along country roads in the town of Palagonia, near Catania, in eastern Sicily. Behind them, dozens of people follow on scooters, firing shots into the air. The footage was posted on social media by an animal rights activist named Enrico Rizzi. Continue reading...
Earnings Call Insights: AbCellera Biologics (ABCL) Q1 2026 Management View "2026 has the potential to be a big year for AbCellera" (CEO, President & Chairperson Carl L. Hansen), highlighting priorities to "deliver[] top line data readouts for ABCL635 and ABCL575," "advanc[e] ABCL688 and ABCL386 through IND-enabling activities" and "add[] at least one new development candidate to our pipeline." "By...
Earnings Call Insights: AbCellera Biologics (ABCL) Q1 2026 Management View "2026 has the potential to be a big year for AbCellera" (CEO, President & Chairperson Carl L. Hansen), highlighting priorities to "deliver[] top line data readouts for ABCL635 and ABCL575," "advanc[e] ABCL688 and ABCL386 through IND-enabling activities" and "add[] at least one new development candidate to our pipeline." "By far, the most important data readout in 2026 will be the top line readout" for ABCL635 Phase II, "anticipated in Q3" (CEO Hansen), positioning ABCL635 as "a potential first-in-class antibody medicine" for nonhormonal treatment of menopausal vasomotor symptoms with "once-monthly subcutaneous self-injection." "Assuming only price parity with approved small molecule NK3R antagonist, we estimate the total addressable U.S. market for non-hormonal VMS treatments to be at least $6 billion annually" (CEO Hansen), with additional potential use in VMS "caused by cancer treatments" including "breast, ovarian and prostate cancers." "Across all cohorts, treatment with ABCL635 was generally well tolerated" (Chief Medical Officer Sarah Noonberg), adding: "To date, there have been no reports of serious adverse events, severe adverse events or adverse events leading to discontinuation" and "notably, we have observed no adverse events of liver toxicity." "ABCL635 exhibited favorable linear pharmacokinetics across doses" and "The estimated half-life of 635 is approximately 24 days" (CMO Noonberg), which she said "supports a monthly dosing schedule." "As Carl pointed out, AbCellera continues to be in a strong liquidity position with approximately $530 million in cash and equivalents" (Chief Financial Officer Andrew Booth), alongside "roughly $125 million in available committed government funding" and "approximately $655 million in available liquidity to continue to execute on our strategy." Outlook "The top line readout of this study... is anticipated in Q3" for ABCL635 Phase II (CEO Hansen),...
Earnings Call Insights: WM Technology (MAPS) Q1 2026 Management View “I want to start by acknowledging the recent federal action to reschedule medical cannabis to Schedule III.” (Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO & Director Douglas Francis) “At this time, we do not expect the rescheduling to materially affect our operations.” (CEO Francis) “Operators continue to navigate price compression driven by oversu...
Earnings Call Insights: WM Technology (MAPS) Q1 2026 Management View “I want to start by acknowledging the recent federal action to reschedule medical cannabis to Schedule III.” (Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO & Director Douglas Francis) “At this time, we do not expect the rescheduling to materially affect our operations.” (CEO Francis) “Operators continue to navigate price compression driven by oversupply and competition, pressure on consumer discretionary spending, elevated tax burdens, limited access to capital and regulatory uncertainty across both federal and state markets.” (CEO Francis) “These pressures continue to impact client budgets, business stability and the pace at which operators can invest for growth.” (CEO Francis) “I also wanted to address our recent voluntary delisting from NASDAQ.” (CEO Francis) “As we have shared, this was a strategic decision intended to provide Weedmaps with greater flexibility to pursue opportunities across the cannabis ecosystem.” (CEO Francis) “We are now free to put our balance sheet to work in 2 key ways.” (CEO Francis) “First, we may invest in strategic clients and partner companies across the cannabis supply chain...” (CEO Francis) “And second, we plan to begin development and expansion of our technology platform and services into areas previously prohibited by Nasdaq.” (CEO Francis) “Revenue for the first quarter was $43.6 million, down 2% year-over-year and up 1% sequentially, in line with expectations.” (CFO, Principal Financial Officer & Principal Accounting Officer Susan Echard) Outlook “Looking ahead, we expect second quarter revenue to decline sequentially by low single digits from the first quarter.” (CFO Echard) “This outlook reflects continued client churn and account removals in mature markets as well as a more normalized level of client spend following the seasonal increase ahead of the 4/20 holiday.” (CFO Echard) The analysts estimates provided were revenue-only and did not include EPS; the company did not provi...
(RTTNews) - Qnity Electronics, Inc. (Q), a high-performance computing and advanced connectivity, on Tuesday reported decreased net income despite higher sales in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the previous year.
(RTTNews) - Qnity Electronics, Inc. (Q), a high-performance computing and advanced connectivity, on Tuesday reported decreased net income despite higher sales in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the previous year.
Central bank assesses AI’s economic impact The People’s Bank of China analyzed the macroeconomic impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in its latest monetary policy execution report, noting that the technology will continue to support high-quality economic growth. The central bank highlighted continued advances in key AI technologies such as multimodal capabilities and logical reasoning, deeper a...
Central bank assesses AI’s economic impact The People’s Bank of China analyzed the macroeconomic impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in its latest monetary policy execution report, noting that the technology will continue to support high-quality economic growth. The central bank highlighted continued advances in key AI technologies such as multimodal capabilities and logical reasoning, deeper adoption of AI across industries that is reshaping traditional sectors, and the accelerated expansion of Chinese AI companies into emerging markets including Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
(RTTNews) - Global commerce major eBay Inc. (EBAY) Tuesday announced that its Board of Directors has determined to reject GameStop's unsolicited, non-binding acquisition proposal.
(RTTNews) - Global commerce major eBay Inc. (EBAY) Tuesday announced that its Board of Directors has determined to reject GameStop's unsolicited, non-binding acquisition proposal.
Two national agencies fighting corruption in Ukraine have named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former chief of staff as an official suspect in a major corruption investigation. Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced late on Monday that Andriy Yermak is suspected of an alleged 460-million-hryvnia (US$10.5 million) money-...
Two national agencies fighting corruption in Ukraine have named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s former chief of staff as an official suspect in a major corruption investigation. Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced late on Monday that Andriy Yermak is suspected of an alleged 460-million-hryvnia (US$10.5 million) money-laundering scheme. The announcement coincided with, but was not connected to, the end of a three-day...
Brett_Hondow/iStock Editorial via Getty Images By Anthony Goh, Senior Investment Research Analyst @ Khaveen Investments Dollar General ( DG ) and Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) operate chains of dollar stores, which, as the name suggests, are stores that sell a wide range of inexpensive goods priced at around a dollar or a few dollars. Dollar stores have grown rapidly in the US over the decade, doubling fro...
Brett_Hondow/iStock Editorial via Getty Images By Anthony Goh, Senior Investment Research Analyst @ Khaveen Investments Dollar General ( DG ) and Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) operate chains of dollar stores, which, as the name suggests, are stores that sell a wide range of inexpensive goods priced at around a dollar or a few dollars. Dollar stores have grown rapidly in the US over the decade, doubling from around 20,000 stores to over 40,000, and 88% of Americans have shopped at a dollar store, according to Consumer Reports . Both companies are the two largest dollar store companies in the US by revenue, with a combined revenue of approximately $62.1 billion, selling products such as packaged food and beverages, cleaning and household supplies, and low-cost home products. We compare the two to determine which is the stronger company in terms of market positioning and business model, growth performance, profitability, and financial strength Market Positioning and Business Model Comparison We start by comparing the two to determine which has stronger market positioning and whether there are any unique differences in their business models. We analyze their market share among top US retailers, which we previously compiled in our Costco analysis. Company Data, Khaveen Investments While Dollar General and Dollar Tree are the two largest dollar store retailers in the US, they remain small relative to much larger retailers such as Walmart ( WMT ), Amazon ( AMZN ), and Costco ( COST ), which have significantly higher market shares as they sell a much more extensive selection of merchandise, including higher value items, unlike dollar stores. Still, within the dollar store category itself, Dollar General and Dollar Tree remain the clear leaders. Between the two, Dollar General has the higher market share, at 2.4% in 2025 , compared to 1.1% for Dollar Tree. This reflects Dollar General’s larger scale, as it generates higher revenue and operates around 2.3x more stores (20,893 vs 9,282...
Indonesia’s latest wave of police raids has exposed signs that online gambling and scam syndicates, squeezed out of traditional hubs such as Cambodia and Myanmar, are trying to turn Southeast Asia’s biggest economy into a new base. Analysts warned that Indonesia’s porous visa regime, weak law enforcement and welcoming attitude towards foreigners had made it an attractive destination for syndicates...
Indonesia’s latest wave of police raids has exposed signs that online gambling and scam syndicates, squeezed out of traditional hubs such as Cambodia and Myanmar, are trying to turn Southeast Asia’s biggest economy into a new base. Analysts warned that Indonesia’s porous visa regime, weak law enforcement and welcoming attitude towards foreigners had made it an attractive destination for syndicates looking to avoid scrutiny. Authorities have arrested hundreds of foreign nationals in Jakarta,...