Victor Golmer/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Summary Following my coverage on Zalando ( ZLDSF ) last December, which I upgraded to a buy rating as the B2B business was becoming more apparent, and that the AI impact was not proving to be as bad as I thought, this post is to provide an update on my thoughts on the business and stock. I still like the stock. Inventory risk is easing, B2B continues...
Victor Golmer/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Summary Following my coverage on Zalando ( ZLDSF ) last December, which I upgraded to a buy rating as the B2B business was becoming more apparent, and that the AI impact was not proving to be as bad as I thought, this post is to provide an update on my thoughts on the business and stock. I still like the stock. Inventory risk is easing, B2B continues to scale with better margins, and AI is becoming more useful across product discovery, fulfillment, and partner onboarding. I reiterate my buy rating. Q1 2026 earnings review Last week, ZLDSF dropped its Q1 results, which saw solid reported revenue growth of ~24% y/y with GMV up ~22% y/y. But that reported growth was helped by the inclusion of ABOUT YOU, so the cleaner like-for-like picture was much more subtle. Pro forma GMV grew 6% y/y, while pro forma revenue grew 3.4% y/y. For segment performance, B2C grew 2.1% pro forma, while B2C GMV grew 6%. As for B2B, it is much better. On a pro forma basis, B2B revenue grew ~17%, with growth driven by ZEOS Fulfillment, which includes Zalando Fulfilment Solutions and multi-channel fulfillment, and by the inclusion of SCAYLE. Importantly, B2B gross margin also improved from 12.4% to 18.2%, suggesting ZLDSF is capturing better economics as it scales. At the EBIT level, B2B adj. EBIT margin expanded to 8.6% from 2.4%, and even if we exclude the EUR4 million provision release, B2B margin would still have been 7.4%. At the consolidated level, adj. EBIT grew to EUR64.8 million, with adj. EBIT margin expanding from 1.9% to 2.2%. Inventory risk has improved, and this directly addresses my prior concern I will start by touching on inventory. In my previous coverage, inventory was one of the issues I was paying attention to as the worry was that if ZLDSF had too much stock, it might need to discount more aggressively, which would pressure gross margin and weaken earnings quality. We saw progress in Q3 2025, and I am encouraged that ZLDSF is...
juststock/iStock via Getty Images My readers know I am not a big fan of Lemonade ( LMND ). Or say it differently or more accurately, I have problems with the current valuation of company, and the narrative supported by the management, while the company remains unprofitable. We have entered the AI era, and I understand companies want to surf the AI trend to be financed, developed, and ultimately pr...
juststock/iStock via Getty Images My readers know I am not a big fan of Lemonade ( LMND ). Or say it differently or more accurately, I have problems with the current valuation of company, and the narrative supported by the management, while the company remains unprofitable. We have entered the AI era, and I understand companies want to surf the AI trend to be financed, developed, and ultimately provide what they promised. AI will certainly revolutionize many industries, and the insurance industry will be affected. It already is. And, somehow, against all odds, I may have found an insurtech combining AI, technology, and something even more revolutionary in this sector: profitability. Its name is Root ( ROOT ). A Mini-Progressive I am a fan of metaphors and comparisons. I called Chubb ( CB ) the "One"; Progressive ( PGR ) is "The Motor king". Root could be named either "A Successful Lemonade" or—to be less clickbait - "A Mini-Progressive". Root was founded in 2015 and went public in 2020 at $27.00 per share . At that time, the company generated $275.3 million in premiums in 2019 with a loss of $281.8 million. IPO Prospectus - Root In 2025, the company posted a premium volume of $1.4 billion and a post-tax income of $40.3 million. Not bad for a company that was still bleeding in 2023 by posting a $147 million post-tax loss for a net premium volume of $399.9 million ($635 million before reinsurance). Root - FY2025 Shareholder Letter In Q1 2026, Root posted an underwriting gain of $31.3 million (for a net combined ratio of 91.4%) and a post-tax income of $35.9 million. Root - Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter How did the company become profitable? First, through the scaling. With a premium growth from $0.4 billion to $1.4 billion in 2025, the company succeeded in expanding its footprint, reducing its fixed costs and improving its profitability. Second, by massively improving the loss ratio. Progressive vs. Root When you want the leader of the motor insurance industry, you go st...
OneStream, the AI operating system for modern Finance that unifies core financial and operational processes, embedding the governance, context, and control required to make AI work for Finance, and Microsoft today announced a significant expansion of its strategic partnership. The companies have committed to investing over the next three years to scale and advance AI infrastructure and accelerate ...
OneStream, the AI operating system for modern Finance that unifies core financial and operational processes, embedding the governance, context, and control required to make AI work for Finance, and Microsoft today announced a significant expansion of its strategic partnership. The companies have committed to investing over the next three years to scale and advance AI infrastructure and accelerate the adoption and value of artificial intelligence within the Office of the CFO.
mtcurado/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Introduction Nordea ( NRDBY ) ( NBNKF ) is a Finland-based financial institution focusing on serving the Nordic region. Thanks to a combination of low loan loss provisions and a robust underlying performance, the bank is in good shape and is working towards meeting its profitability targets for 2030. With an anticipated dividend payout ratio of approxima...
mtcurado/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Introduction Nordea ( NRDBY ) ( NBNKF ) is a Finland-based financial institution focusing on serving the Nordic region. Thanks to a combination of low loan loss provisions and a robust underlying performance, the bank is in good shape and is working towards meeting its profitability targets for 2030. With an anticipated dividend payout ratio of approximately 70%, one could also consider Nordea to be a dividend stock—although foreign investors should look into reducing the dividend tax pressure as Finland has a high dividend tax rate. Data by YCharts A good result in the first quarter of the year One of the key elements in Nordea’s investment thesis is the fact the bank has been able to keep its loan loss provisions extremely limited. Nordea reported a lower net interest income compared to the same period last year, but it also saw a higher net fee and commission income as well as a higher net insurance result. This all helped to keep the impact on the operating income somewhat limited (there still was a 2% decrease). Nordea Investor Relations As the income statement above shows, the total amount of operating expenses increased by more than 15% to 1.51 billion EUR, and the almost 200 million EUR increase in staff costs is the main driver behind this increase. This doesn’t mean Nordea staff suddenly got a double-digit pay raise, but the restructuring expenses were booked as a staff cost. The fine print mentioned that about 168 million EUR of a 190 million EUR restructuring expense was booked as a staff cost (with the remainder booked as an "other expense" or as an accelerated depreciation item). While this does impact the reported profitability (1.35 billion EUR versus 1.62 billion EUR), the underlying result is, of course, much better. The pre-loan loss result still decreased on a YoY basis, but this was more manageable. Moreover, whereas the bank recorded a net loan loss provision in Q1 2025, there was a loan loss reversal...
The Stagflation Narrative: What Doomers Get Wrong Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, The stagflation narrative dominating financial social media isn’t completely wrong. That’s what makes it so dangerous. After more than 30 years of managing client portfolios through actual inflationary cycles, not watching them on YouTube, I’ve learned that the most damaging investment advice ...
The Stagflation Narrative: What Doomers Get Wrong Authored by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com, The stagflation narrative dominating financial social media isn’t completely wrong. That’s what makes it so dangerous. After more than 30 years of managing client portfolios through actual inflationary cycles, not watching them on YouTube, I’ve learned that the most damaging investment advice isn’t built on outright lies. It’s built on partial truths, stretched past the point where the data still holds. If you haven’t read Commodity Supercycle: The Enemy Of The Bull Thesis (Part 1) , it is an important primer to today’s discussion. Let’s dig in. The doomers have legitimate inputs. Supply chains are genuinely under pressure, and the dollar currently faces real structural headwinds. Central banks have been buying gold at a historic pace. Equity valuations in certain segments are stretched, and every one of those observations is defensible. However, the leap from those observations to “sell everything, go all-in on commodities, bonds are dead forever, the great reset is here,” is where the analysis ends and the storytelling begins. I want to do two things here. First, I’ll score the stagflation narrative claim-by-claim. We will give credit where it’s earned and expose where the logic collapses. I’ll lay out what a sound investment framework actually looks like when the data, not the narrative, drives the decision. Moreover, why the boom-bust nature of commodity markets and the AI-driven capex cycle both fundamentally change where allocations belong. The Stagflation Narrative Spreading Across Social Media Spend an hour on X, and you’ll encounter some version of the same script. The Federal Reserve has destroyed the currency. The 1970s are back, only worse. Commodities are going to surge for the next decade. Gold is the only real money. Bonds are a guaranteed way to lose purchasing power. Anyone still holding a diversified portfolio is either naive or not paying atte...
There’s been much discussion about the possibility of an AI bubble of late. Of course, not everybody has the risk tolerance or conviction to make bearish bets on the highest-flyers within the hottest corners of the AI chip scene as Dr. Michael Burry has. But for the average retail investor, the big takeaway might not ... If an AI Bubble Forms and Pops, the Mag 7 Won’t All React the Same Way
There’s been much discussion about the possibility of an AI bubble of late. Of course, not everybody has the risk tolerance or conviction to make bearish bets on the highest-flyers within the hottest corners of the AI chip scene as Dr. Michael Burry has. But for the average retail investor, the big takeaway might not ... If an AI Bubble Forms and Pops, the Mag 7 Won’t All React the Same Way
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is struggling to reach an agreement with her coalition partners over an electoral law originally devised to improve the Italian premier’s chances at the next general election. Meloni has even reached out to the opposition, which is against the initiative, amid inconclusive talks with her allies. The premier’s Brothers of Italy party and its allies, the nationa...
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is struggling to reach an agreement with her coalition partners over an electoral law originally devised to improve the Italian premier’s chances at the next general election. Meloni has even reached out to the opposition, which is against the initiative, amid inconclusive talks with her allies. The premier’s Brothers of Italy party and its allies, the nationalist League and the center-right Forza Italia, have clashed over how big a seat bonus should be awarded to the leading party in the winning coalition, according to people familiar with the matter. “There’s real openness to dialogue with the opposition, as long as it respects the general framework of the law, which is devised to favor governability and stability,” Alessandro Battilocchio, one of the Forza Italia lawmakers working on the law, said in an interview. The seat bonus is intended to ensure a winning coalition can govern comfortably. Meloni has helmed one of Italy’s longest-serving governments, though polls indicate she could face the prospect of a hung Senate . The lack of progress on one of her top legislative priorities follows Meloni’s setback in a March referendum . Though the ballot asked voters to approve an overhaul of the courts, it quickly became a plebiscite on Meloni herself — and Italians defeated the government by a margin of seven percentage points. The electoral law used in the next general election, due next year, is crucial: The latest poll by Youtrend for daily Corriere della Sera , published Friday, shows a difference of just 0.1% between the government and opposition coalitions. An agreement in principle reached in February was for 35 and 70 extra seats in the lower and upper chambers of Parliament for whatever coalition had the most votes above a threshold of 40%, respectively, with a maximum of 230 MPs in the 400-member lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, and 114 MPs in the 200-seat Senate. One option under early consideration, some of the p...
Hopes for an end to the Iran conflict faded after President Trump failed to secure a commitment from China to help pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Hopes for an end to the Iran conflict faded after President Trump failed to secure a commitment from China to help pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
A woman is 50, has $300,000 in her 401(k), and wants to renovate her kitchen. Her plan looks tidy on paper: borrow $50,000 from the plan, pay it back over five years at 7% via payroll deduction, and pay the interest back to herself. No bank, no credit check, no problem. I would tell her ... Why I Would Tell a 50-Year-Old to Skip the $50,000 401(k) Loan and the $100,000 It Would Quietly Cost Her
A woman is 50, has $300,000 in her 401(k), and wants to renovate her kitchen. Her plan looks tidy on paper: borrow $50,000 from the plan, pay it back over five years at 7% via payroll deduction, and pay the interest back to herself. No bank, no credit check, no problem. I would tell her ... Why I Would Tell a 50-Year-Old to Skip the $50,000 401(k) Loan and the $100,000 It Would Quietly Cost Her
On May 13, 2026, Channing Capital Management, LLC disclosed a new position in Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) , acquiring 939,667 shares in an estimated $73.65 million trade based on the quarterly average price. According to a SEC filing dated May 13, 2026, Channing Capital Management, LLC initiated a new stake in Independent Bank, purchasing 939,667 shares. The estimated transaction value was $73....
On May 13, 2026, Channing Capital Management, LLC disclosed a new position in Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) , acquiring 939,667 shares in an estimated $73.65 million trade based on the quarterly average price. According to a SEC filing dated May 13, 2026, Channing Capital Management, LLC initiated a new stake in Independent Bank, purchasing 939,667 shares. The estimated transaction value was $73.65 million, based on the average first-quarter 2026 closing price. At the end of the quarter, the position was valued at $70.67 million, reflecting both the purchase and subsequent price movement. This new position accounts for 1.8098% of Channing Capital’s 13F assets under management as of March 31, 2026 Continue reading
MP Materials (NYSE:MP) keeps stealing the rare earth spotlight on the back of its Pentagon equity stake and Apple offtake hype, and that is exactly the problem. The MP trade is crowded, late, and priced for a perfect execution that does not yet exist on its income statement. By the time a name lands in ... Forget MP Materials. One of These Mining Stocks Is Up 274% and Has $354 Million in Pentagon ...
MP Materials (NYSE:MP) keeps stealing the rare earth spotlight on the back of its Pentagon equity stake and Apple offtake hype, and that is exactly the problem. The MP trade is crowded, late, and priced for a perfect execution that does not yet exist on its income statement. By the time a name lands in ... Forget MP Materials. One of These Mining Stocks Is Up 274% and Has $354 Million in Pentagon Contracts. The Other Controls the Largest Rare Earth Deposit Outside China
Bafta winner tells preview screening in Bristol there is not enough on television about the female perspective The Bafta-winning actor Katherine Parkinson has lauded the television series Rivals for its “radical” depiction of sex from a woman’s perspective. Speaking at a preview screening in Bristol, where much of the series was filmed, Parkinson, who plays the romance author Lizzie Vereker in the...
Bafta winner tells preview screening in Bristol there is not enough on television about the female perspective The Bafta-winning actor Katherine Parkinson has lauded the television series Rivals for its “radical” depiction of sex from a woman’s perspective. Speaking at a preview screening in Bristol, where much of the series was filmed, Parkinson, who plays the romance author Lizzie Vereker in the show, said there were not enough examples on television of a woman’s view of sex. Continue reading...
FEATURE SpaceX has a busy handful of days ahead. For starters, Elon Musk’s rocket company is expected to give an update on its hotly anticipated IPO. The company’s S-1 initial public offering registration statement could become public as soon as next week, according to a CNBC report on Thursday.
FEATURE SpaceX has a busy handful of days ahead. For starters, Elon Musk’s rocket company is expected to give an update on its hotly anticipated IPO. The company’s S-1 initial public offering registration statement could become public as soon as next week, according to a CNBC report on Thursday.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest is staying true to its high-growth strategy. Two of its biggest funds snapped up Cerebras Systems on the heels of the chip maker’s impressive market debut, which saw the stock surge nearly 70%. A trading disclosure shows the flagship (ARKK) picked up 71,655 Cerebras shares on Thursday.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest is staying true to its high-growth strategy. Two of its biggest funds snapped up Cerebras Systems on the heels of the chip maker’s impressive market debut, which saw the stock surge nearly 70%. A trading disclosure shows the flagship (ARKK) picked up 71,655 Cerebras shares on Thursday.
Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) has become one of the defining AI infrastructure trades of 2026, and our proprietary model sees room to run. Shares trade at $238.94 as of May 12, 2026, up 91.28% year to date and 134.62% over the past year. Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Dell is $269.53, implying 12.8% upside ... This Will Be Dell’s Stock Price in 2027
Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) has become one of the defining AI infrastructure trades of 2026, and our proprietary model sees room to run. Shares trade at $238.94 as of May 12, 2026, up 91.28% year to date and 134.62% over the past year. Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Dell is $269.53, implying 12.8% upside ... This Will Be Dell’s Stock Price in 2027
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