Apple (NasdaqGS:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook is joining President Trump and other top U.S. tech leaders on a business delegation to China. The group is meeting Chinese officials to discuss technology, trade, and regulatory issues that directly affect Apple's position in the country. The summit focuses on market access, product approvals, and longer term cooperation in areas such as hardware and AI. For Appl...
Apple (NasdaqGS:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook is joining President Trump and other top U.S. tech leaders on a business delegation to China. The group is meeting Chinese officials to discuss technology, trade, and regulatory issues that directly affect Apple's position in the country. The summit focuses on market access, product approvals, and longer term cooperation in areas such as hardware and AI. For Apple, China is a key market for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and wearables, as well as a core hub for its...
Honda Motor Co. forecast a rebound in operating profit for the current fiscal year, even after an ill-timed bet on electric vehicles led to a writedown and a record loss. The manufacturer of cars and motorcycles sees profit of ¥500 billion ($3.2 billion) for the period ending March 2027, higher than the consensus estimate of ¥212.4 billion. It posted a ¥414.3 billion shortfall during the previous ...
Honda Motor Co. forecast a rebound in operating profit for the current fiscal year, even after an ill-timed bet on electric vehicles led to a writedown and a record loss. The manufacturer of cars and motorcycles sees profit of ¥500 billion ($3.2 billion) for the period ending March 2027, higher than the consensus estimate of ¥212.4 billion. It posted a ¥414.3 billion shortfall during the previous year, its first annual loss since it was founded in 1948. The Japanese carmaker has struggled to keep up with intense competition as the global automobile industry shifts toward electrification and automation. Honda has insufficient models to tap into renewed demand for gas-electric hybrids in the US, while in China local brands churning out EVs have all but taken over what is now the world’s largest car market. The onus now falls on Chief Executive Officer Toshihiro Mibe to stem further losses and stabilize Honda’s automobile business before it becomes too much of a burden for its more profitable motorcycle unit. “The management group there has been shielded too long by a super profitable motorcycle business that allows them to push problems with the automotive business under the rug,” said Christopher Richter, a senior analyst at CLSA Securities Japan. “The motorcycle business has become a crutch for Honda that prevents them from taking a serious look at their automotive business.” Read More: Honda’s Car Troubles Began Long Before Disastrous Bet on EVs Almost one in three motorcycles sold globally carries the Honda badge. The unit generates a majority of the company’s operating profit despite accounting for less than a fifth of sales. A host of geopolitical challenges — war in the Middle East, US tariffs and a shortage of Chinese semiconductors — have only added to the challenges faced by global carmakers as they navigate the transition toward EVs and software-focused development. Honda first sounded the alarm of a costly slowdown in EV demand in early February. Soon afte...
Mike_Pellinni/iStock via Getty Images Broad U. S. market indices declined during the quarter and dispersion was elevated across sectors. Investors grappled with the conflict in Iran and a related spike in energy prices, in addition to continued AI-related uncertainty. Against this volatile backdrop, energy stocks led the value index higher, while our portfolio declined and underperformed its value...
Mike_Pellinni/iStock via Getty Images Broad U. S. market indices declined during the quarter and dispersion was elevated across sectors. Investors grappled with the conflict in Iran and a related spike in energy prices, in addition to continued AI-related uncertainty. Against this volatile backdrop, energy stocks led the value index higher, while our portfolio declined and underperformed its value benchmark. The financials, technology, and health care sectors were the largest detractors from performance during the quarter. Medicare Advantage (MA) insurer Humana ( HUM ) was the largest individual detractor after CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) proposed a disappointing preliminary MA rate update for 2027. Additionally, management projected rapid growth in its MA membership in 2026, which investors fear may reflect overly rich plan benefit design relative to peers. We view these risks as more timing-related than thesis-changing and added to our position on weakness. Within financials despite reporting results that reflected a stable credit environment, credit card issuer Capital One ( COF ) declined, driven by fear that macroeconomic risk from the Iran conflict, coupled with AI's potential to weigh on employment in the future, could pressure consumer credit quality. Leading IT services provider Cognizant ( CTSH ) was weak, despite reporting robust 4Q earnings with peer-leading organic growth, due to fears around AI disruption to the services industry more broadly. We continue to see these fears as overblown and added to our position on weakness. The energy and industrials sectors contributed positively to performance in the quarter. Commodity chemicals producer Dow ( DOW ) rallied as oil prices spiked, which is expected to tighten global polyethylene markets and benefit Dow due to its cost-advantaged footprint in North America. Integrated oil producer Shell PLC ( SHEL ) also benefited from the rising oil price. Shares of biopharma company Bristol-Myers...
A cargo ship carrying imported soybeans at a port terminal in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, on April 20, 2026. Photo: IC Photo *The mutual dependency between the U.S. and China is undeniably waning. *Rather than isolating China, the tariff war catalyzed its diversification. *True decoupling remains a political talking point, not an economic reality. Nearly a decade has passed since U.S. President...
A cargo ship carrying imported soybeans at a port terminal in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, on April 20, 2026. Photo: IC Photo *The mutual dependency between the U.S. and China is undeniably waning. *Rather than isolating China, the tariff war catalyzed its diversification. *True decoupling remains a political talking point, not an economic reality. Nearly a decade has passed since U.S. President Donald Trump launched his first tariff war, yet the global political and economic landscape has not witnessed the total decoupling of American and Chinese markets. Instead, we are seeing a profound, structural reshaping. Amid escalating geopolitical friction, the resilience of the Chinese economy and the continuous upgrading of its manufacturing base have frustrated attempts to isolate it. The current trade dynamic between the United States and China is not a simple standoff, but a complex evolution.
Copa Holdings press release ( CPA ): Q1 GAAP EPS of $5.16 beats by $1.20 . Revenue of $1.05B (+16.8% Y/Y) beats by $20M . Operating margin of 24.6% and net margin of 20.2%, increases of 0.8 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively, compared to 1Q25. Capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew by 14.0% year over year, and passenger traffic in RPMs increased by 15.0%. As a result, load fa...
Copa Holdings press release ( CPA ): Q1 GAAP EPS of $5.16 beats by $1.20 . Revenue of $1.05B (+16.8% Y/Y) beats by $20M . Operating margin of 24.6% and net margin of 20.2%, increases of 0.8 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively, compared to 1Q25. Capacity, measured in available seat miles (ASMs), grew by 14.0% year over year, and passenger traffic in RPMs increased by 15.0%. As a result, load factor increased by 0.8 percentage points to 87.2%. Revenue per available seat mile of 11.8 cents, an increase of 2.7% compared to 1Q25. Operating cost per available seat mile increased 1.6% year over year to 8.9 cents, while CASM excluding fuel (Ex-fuel CASM) decreased 1.0% to 5.8 cents. The Company ended the quarter with approximately US$1.5 billion in cash, short-term and long-term investments, representing 40% of the last-twelve-months’ revenues. Adjusted Net Debt to EBITDA ratio ended 1Q26 at 0.7 times. In 1Q26, the Company took delivery of 2 Boeing 737-MAX 8 aircraft to end the quarter with a total fleet of 127 aircraft. More on Copa Holdings Copa Holdings: I Believe This Is A Potential Diamond In The Rough Copa Holdings reports 16.7% traffic surge for April 2026; load factor stable at 86.8% Copa Holdings Q1 2026 Earnings Preview Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Copa Holdings Historical earnings data for Copa Holdings
Getty Images By Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy and Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist Energy - Further pressure on oil demand Oil prices are in a wait-and-see mode ahead of President Trump's and President Xi’s meeting in Beijing. The market could be pinning too much hope on the US-China talks yielding some positive results on Iran. Some hope that China could exert pressure on Ir...
Getty Images By Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy and Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist Energy - Further pressure on oil demand Oil prices are in a wait-and-see mode ahead of President Trump's and President Xi’s meeting in Beijing. The market could be pinning too much hope on the US-China talks yielding some positive results on Iran. Some hope that China could exert pressure on Iran to reach a deal with the US to end the war and lead to a resumption of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The IEA released its latest monthly oil market report yesterday. It once again aggressively revised its demand forecasts for 2026 downward. The IEA now expects global oil demand to fall by 420k b/d year-on-year, leaving it 1.3m b/d below pre-war level forecasts for 2026. This decline is predominantly driven by the petrochemical and aviation sectors. Global oil supply is estimated to have fallen by 1.8m b/d in April, bringing supply losses since February to 12.8m b/d. As a result, oil inventories continue to decline. They are estimated to have fallen by 129m barrels in March, and preliminary numbers suggest a further 117m barrels decline in April. OPEC’s monthly oil market report, released yesterday, showed the group’s crude oil production fell by a further 1.73m b/d month-on-month to 18.98m b/d in April. Persian Gulf production continues to trend lower due to the disruption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. This data includes UAE production, as the country officially left the group only on 1 May. OPEC is more constructive on demand; it still expects global demand to grow by 1.17m b/d in 2026. In the US, EIA weekly data continued to show a tightening in the domestic oil market. Total commercial crude oil inventories fell by 4.31m barrels over the week. When SPR releases are taken into account, total crude inventories declined by 12.91m barrels. The draw is driven by continued strength in crude oil exports, which grew by 742k b/d week-on-week. Refiners...