Getty Images Introduction Sandisk ( SNDK ) has been the biggest winner this year as it rallied over 356% YTD based on the thesis that NAND has de-cyclicalized through the $42B in long-term hyperscaler contracts and that the current gross margins represent a structural reset. I want to address whether this performance represents a permanent elevation of the business model or the most extreme cyclic...
Getty Images Introduction Sandisk ( SNDK ) has been the biggest winner this year as it rallied over 356% YTD based on the thesis that NAND has de-cyclicalized through the $42B in long-term hyperscaler contracts and that the current gross margins represent a structural reset. I want to address whether this performance represents a permanent elevation of the business model or the most extreme cyclical peak in the history of the industry. Current Dynamics I’ll dive into how Sandisk has become what it is right now, as it spun off from Western Digital ( WDC ) back in February 2025, a move necessary considering the diverging capital requirements and market dynamics of the HDD and NAND flash divisions. The combined entity was generally penalized by a conglomerate discount, where the steady but slow growth of the HDD business masked the explosive potential of the flash segment. The spin-off clearly was the right move, considering the share appreciation of both Sandisk and Western Digital, as it allowed both of them to become pure-plays at the right time of the AI supercycle. Going more recently, I’ll dive into the latest earnings to grasp the current trajectory of the firm. First, SNDK posted a massive 252.1% Y/Y growth rate on revenue that reached $5.95B for the quarter, a beat of over $1.22B, while Q1 Non-GAAP EPS stood at $23.41, an incredible beat of $8.75. These are more than highly impressive numbers, but it was effectively linked to the pricing power and product mix rather than sheer volume. Bit shipments were reported as flat Y/Y and actually down high-teens on a quarterly basis. That’s a paradox that was deliberate, as the firm decided to move away from low-value consumer segments toward the premium datacenter configurations. The most startling metric was the non-GAAP gross margin of 78.4% , which is a far cry from the NAND industry averages that typically hover between 30% and 40% and are categorized as robust. The 78% print suggests a temporary suspension of the ...
Corri Seizinger/iStock via Getty Images Piedmont Realty Trust overview Especially office REITs ( VNQ ) are trading at very low valuations right now. For contrarian investors like myself that believe the impact of AI is real but overblown, A-tier office REITs can be very attractive investments for those who have a higher risk tolerance and a multi-year investment approach. A-tier office REIT Piedmo...
Corri Seizinger/iStock via Getty Images Piedmont Realty Trust overview Especially office REITs ( VNQ ) are trading at very low valuations right now. For contrarian investors like myself that believe the impact of AI is real but overblown, A-tier office REITs can be very attractive investments for those who have a higher risk tolerance and a multi-year investment approach. A-tier office REIT Piedmont Realty Trust ( PDM ) released its Q1 2026 financials last week. Ive been covering this stock relentlessly, so today I will just go over the most important trends and developments, to see if this REIT is on track to a potential dividend reinstatement next year. First of all, the company increased and narrowed its 2026 core FFO outlook from $1.47 - $1.53 up to $1.49 - $1.54, or + 2 cents at the low point. Q1 2026 supplemental presentation The outlook is based - among others - on 2026 leasing volumes of 1.7 - 2.0 million square, resulting in the anticipated year-end leased percentage of the company's in-service portfolio of around 90%. Stabilization of the out of service assets should land at around 85% - 90%. These assets will be added to the in-service portfolio around Q4 2026. But most importantly, PDM is attractive when you take a multi-year approach, as illustrated by the following: As of March 31, 2026, the Company had approximately 1.0 million square feet of executed leases for vacant space that are yet to commence representing approximately $42 million of future additional annual cash rents, and approximately 0.9 million square feet of executed leases currently under rental abatement, representing approximately $26 million of future additional annual cash rents. Cash rental income for the quarter already came in at approximately $107 million. When you add 1/4 of the additional $68 million of future annual cash rent, quarterly cash rent will grow by around 16%. This is not a nothing burger to say the least, especially when factoring in the fact that the office indust...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images BorgWarner ( BWA ) announced on Wednesday two new business awards that reinforce its mix of combustion and electrified powertrain technologies. The company landed a high-efficiency variable turbine geometry turbocharger and exhaust gas recirculation cooler for a major European commercial vehicle OEM, while also earning two Conquest Awards in Asia for ...
jetcityimage/iStock Editorial via Getty Images BorgWarner ( BWA ) announced on Wednesday two new business awards that reinforce its mix of combustion and electrified powertrain technologies. The company landed a high-efficiency variable turbine geometry turbocharger and exhaust gas recirculation cooler for a major European commercial vehicle OEM, while also earning two Conquest Awards in Asia for combustion and hybrid powertrain programs. The European win supports a Euro 7-compliant, six-cylinder heavy-duty diesel platform for long-haul trucking, with production expected to start at the end of 2028. In Asia, BorgWarner ( BWA ) said the awards highlight customer confidence in its engineering and localized manufacturing capabilities, with the company expanding its role across hybrid and combustion applications. Collectively, the announcements indicate BorgWarner ( BWA ) is continuing to win content in both legacy and transition powertrains as automakers pursue efficiency, emissions compliance, and hybridization across major markets. Shares of BorgWarner ( BWA ) were up 1.3% in premarket trading. The company topped consensus estimates with its Q1 earnings report released earlier in the day. More on BorgWarner BorgWarner: Time To Change The Thesis (Rating Downgrade) BorgWarner Inc. (BWA) Presents at Bank of America Global Automotive Summit Transcript BorgWarner Is Good, But No Longer Great (Downgrade) BorgWarner wins Euro 7 OEM deal; expands EU CV market position BorgWarner Non-GAAP EPS of $1.24 beats by $0.07, revenue of $3.53B beats by $30M
Dilok Klaisataporn/iStock via Getty Images In August 2023, I wrote an article on the Simplify Volatility Premium ETF ( SVOL ) which at that time seemed to offer an unique investment exposure for yield-seeking investors. By unique I mean high option income that stems from other sources than covered call premiums and which come with attached tail risk protection. At that time, the stood at ~17% whic...
Dilok Klaisataporn/iStock via Getty Images In August 2023, I wrote an article on the Simplify Volatility Premium ETF ( SVOL ) which at that time seemed to offer an unique investment exposure for yield-seeking investors. By unique I mean high option income that stems from other sources than covered call premiums and which come with attached tail risk protection. At that time, the stood at ~17% which in combination with seemingly de-risked strategy seemed very compelling. Since then SVOL has returned ~13%. Obviously, this implies a negative alpha and totally unacceptable return considering that a) most assets have delivered much stronger returns and b) on an inflation adjusted basis the outcome is barely positive. This is how SVOL has performed since its inception to December 2024. Ycharts SVOL was actually delivered quite solid results. Of course, the only negative was that the underlying NAV was slowly but surely eroding. So, for this reason the Simply ETF (asset manager of SVOL) embarked on a strategy change in January 2025. And I have to say that when it comes to results, there are more questions than answers: Ycharts With this in mind, let me now revisit my thesis on SVOL. Thesis Review The main trigger for SVOL's strategy change was the structurally bleeding NAV. Even though the distributions were juicy enough to warrant solid total return performance, it was only a matter of time until they would decrease (adjust closer to the NAV base). Now, the reason behind NAV erosion was the increased correlation (beta factor) between short VIX positions and the S&P 500 ( SPY ): Simplify ETFs Sound fancy, but this is how we could think about it: SVOL was profiting ( still is ) from decrease in volatility. Based on its option and physical exposure structure, SVOL was effectively long the large-cap market risk. When the market started to tumble (small dips), the VIX tended to react in a magnified fashion which introduced problems from two sides: 1) losing money from falling ...
Investors have been bidding up the price of MP Materials (NYSE: MP) ahead of the company's first quarter 2026 earnings release. Over the past month alone, the shares have risen by more than 30%. However, the stock is still down more than 30% from its 52-week high. That said, the company turned a profit in the fourth quarter of 2025, so it may have hit an important turning point as a business. Is i...
Investors have been bidding up the price of MP Materials (NYSE: MP) ahead of the company's first quarter 2026 earnings release. Over the past month alone, the shares have risen by more than 30%. However, the stock is still down more than 30% from its 52-week high. That said, the company turned a profit in the fourth quarter of 2025, so it may have hit an important turning point as a business. Is it worth buying? MP Materials is well-positioned to be a vital supplier of rare-earth metals. The miner and rare-earth metal processor has been preparing for this for some time, as it looks to provide customers with an alternative to buying rare-earth metals from China. China has proven it will use access to rare-earth metals as a political bargaining chip, a situation which most companies would likely prefer to avoid. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Sundry Photography GlobalFoundries ( GFS ) was upgraded at Susquehanna to Positive from Neutral after the semiconductor foundry reported better-than-expected results and offered up a strong outlook for the second quarter. Shares rose 1.3% in premarket trading. "Rationale for our upgrade despite the stock doubling since Nov 2025: (1) Smartphone-related revenue (1/3 of total) marked a bottom in 1Q26...
Sundry Photography GlobalFoundries ( GFS ) was upgraded at Susquehanna to Positive from Neutral after the semiconductor foundry reported better-than-expected results and offered up a strong outlook for the second quarter. Shares rose 1.3% in premarket trading. "Rationale for our upgrade despite the stock doubling since Nov 2025: (1) Smartphone-related revenue (1/3 of total) marked a bottom in 1Q26. (2) Comm Infrastructure bottomed in 2Q25. At that trough, SiPh accounted for 23% of the Comm Infrastructure mix and less than 3% of total company revenue. (3) Forecasting Comm Infrastructure revenue to grow at 35% CAGR (2025-2028) assuming GFS maintains its 20% market share," analyst Mehdi Hosseini wrote in a note to clients. "This would lift the segment to 18% of total revenue by 2028, up from 11% in 2025. (4) SiPh is the fastest-growing subsegment within Comm Infrastructure with GFS's SCALE platform, where the laser is co-packaged with PIC+EIC, gains traction as a second source to TSMC's COUPE. (5) Technology Services revenue growing at 15% CAGR (2025-2028) as MIPS and Synopsys IP contributions become material and scalable. (6) Utilization rates improving toward 95%+ through 2028, even as additional wafer capacity is added. (7) Expect GM/OM to improve toward 32/25, respectively, up from the reported 29/17 in 1Q26. (8) $4 of annualized EPS by 2028." Hosseini also raised his price target on GlobalFoundries to $100 from $50. More on GLOBALFOUNDRIES GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. (GFS) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. 2026 Q1 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation GlobalFoundries: I'm Maintaining A Neutral View After The Secondary Offering GlobalFoundries outlines Q2 2026 revenue of $1.76B while targeting silicon photonics to exceed $1B run rate by exit 2028 GlobalFoundries rises after Q2 outlook beat
The White House is looking into an executive order that would create a vetting system for new artificial intelligence models like Anthropic PBC ’s Mythos in a bid to protect business and government networks from AI-related cyber risks, a top economic adviser said Wednesday. “We’re studying, possibly an executive order to give a clear roadmap to everybody about how this is going to go and how futur...
The White House is looking into an executive order that would create a vetting system for new artificial intelligence models like Anthropic PBC ’s Mythos in a bid to protect business and government networks from AI-related cyber risks, a top economic adviser said Wednesday. “We’re studying, possibly an executive order to give a clear roadmap to everybody about how this is going to go and how future AIs that also potentially create vulnerabilities should go through a process so that they’re released to the wild after they’ve been proven safe, just like an FDA drug,” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox Business. The directive is taking shape weeks after Anthropic revealed that its breakthrough Mythos model was adept at finding network vulnerabilities and could pose a global cybersecurity risk. The company has limited access for now to a handful of large tech and financial companies, and the Trump administration has been pressing to make Mythos available to federal agencies to test government systems. Hassett acknowledged that effort on Wednesday. “We have scrambled an all of government effort and all the private sector to coordinate and make sure that before this model is released out into the wild, that it’s been tested left and right, to make sure that it doesn’t cause any harm to the American businesses or the American government,” Hassett said. Anthropic’s Mythos announcement spurred Trump administration officials into accelerating existing efforts to shape AI policy. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and other senior administration officials met with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei last month, where topics discussed included Mythos. Hassett said it’s “really quite likely” that any testing spelled out under the order would ultimately extend to all AI companies. “I think that, that Mythos is the first of them, but it’s incumbent on us to build a system,” he said. “And that’s really pretty much what we’re working almost full time on right now.”...
Nike (NYSE:NKE) currently trades around $44, while Wall Street’s consensus price target is about $62 per share, implying roughly 41% upside today if analysts are right. Nike remains the world’s largest athletic footwear and apparel company, now working through CEO Elliott Hill’s “Win Now” turnaround. The stock has been under heavy pressure, but analysts are still ... Nike’s 65% 3-Year Plunge Could...
Nike (NYSE:NKE) currently trades around $44, while Wall Street’s consensus price target is about $62 per share, implying roughly 41% upside today if analysts are right. Nike remains the world’s largest athletic footwear and apparel company, now working through CEO Elliott Hill’s “Win Now” turnaround. The stock has been under heavy pressure, but analysts are still ... Nike’s 65% 3-Year Plunge Could Lead to 41% Upside Today
IURII BUKHTA/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Harley Davidson's ( HOG ) stock has been getting hammered, but who's afraid of a downtrend on a value hunt? Not me. This once-iconic brand is a little under-the-weather, but the heritage is immense and the turnaround is tangible. Down 25% since my last Hold rating , when I warned against the investment, has me confident that we might be at a better lo...
IURII BUKHTA/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Harley Davidson's ( HOG ) stock has been getting hammered, but who's afraid of a downtrend on a value hunt? Not me. This once-iconic brand is a little under-the-weather, but the heritage is immense and the turnaround is tangible. Down 25% since my last Hold rating , when I warned against the investment, has me confident that we might be at a better long-term entry point here due to operational synergies now bearing light at the end of the tunnel. I'm targeting a bull-case two-year annualized CAGR of 35% from the investment, but the downside 12-month risk from pure execution is about a -30% loss. If you're comfortable with that asymmetry and believe in the turnaround dynamics, this could make for a strong investment. Back to the Bricks Harley just posted Q1 earnings , with North America retail up 14%, global retail up 8%, dealer inventory down 22%, and shipments falling 3%. This shows real traction with real consumer demand, not just channel stuffing. The dealer network is being repositioned as the operating center of the brand, and by making stores more profitable, active, and central to rider culture, dealers drive new and used bike sales, service, customization, apparel, events, and local loyalty. This should help in Harley's cultural resurgence, which is much-needed. It's win-win for the rider community and Harley if the latter reforms the energy of its culture from "vintage" to "modern iconic nostalgia." It's key that the company's heritage remains intact: freedom, V-twin sound, customization, rallies, American mechanical mythology, and even outlaw fringe. After all, that cultural electricity, Hells Angels and all, is what drove generations to be enamored by the bikes. The old problem with the brand was over-monetization. If you turn a rebel motorbike brand into a corporate shareholder project, you're diluting the essence of the revolutionary energy at the core. FY25 exposed the damage of this approach, with global ...
This morning a "Potential Dividend Run Alert" went out for Resources Connection Inc (NASD: RGP), at our DividendChannel.com Dividend Alerts service (a free email alerts feature). Let's look at the situation in greater detail, shall we? First of all, what is a "Dividend Run" any
This morning a "Potential Dividend Run Alert" went out for Resources Connection Inc (NASD: RGP), at our DividendChannel.com Dividend Alerts service (a free email alerts feature). Let's look at the situation in greater detail, shall we? First of all, what is a "Dividend Run" any
This morning a "Potential Dividend Run Alert" went out for ClearBridge Energy MLP Opportunity Fund (NYSE: EMO), at our DividendChannel.com Dividend Alerts service (a free email alerts feature). Let's look at the situation in greater detail, shall we? First of all, what is a "Di
This morning a "Potential Dividend Run Alert" went out for ClearBridge Energy MLP Opportunity Fund (NYSE: EMO), at our DividendChannel.com Dividend Alerts service (a free email alerts feature). Let's look at the situation in greater detail, shall we? First of all, what is a "Di
Microsoft is considering delaying or abandoning its 2030 goal of matching its entire hourly electricity use with renewable energy purchases, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The expensive and energy-intensive push for data centers is reshaping the feasibility of Microsoft's climate commitments that were made before the AI era and rank among the indus...
Microsoft is considering delaying or abandoning its 2030 goal of matching its entire hourly electricity use with renewable energy purchases, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The expensive and energy-intensive push for data centers is reshaping the feasibility of Microsoft's climate commitments that were made before the AI era and rank among the industry's most ambitious targets, the report said. The discussions were ongoing and no final decision has been made, Bloomberg News added.
This morning a "Potential Dividend Run Alert" went out for Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund (NYSE: EMD), at our DividendChannel.com Dividend Alerts service (a free email alerts feature). Let's look at the situation in greater detail, shall we? First of all, what is a
This morning a "Potential Dividend Run Alert" went out for Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund (NYSE: EMD), at our DividendChannel.com Dividend Alerts service (a free email alerts feature). Let's look at the situation in greater detail, shall we? First of all, what is a
This morning a "Potential Dividend Run Alert" went out for Flaherty & Crumrine Total Return Fund Incorporated (NYSE: FLC), at our DividendChannel.com Dividend Alerts service (a free email alerts feature). Let's look at the situation in greater detail, shall we? First of all
This morning a "Potential Dividend Run Alert" went out for Flaherty & Crumrine Total Return Fund Incorporated (NYSE: FLC), at our DividendChannel.com Dividend Alerts service (a free email alerts feature). Let's look at the situation in greater detail, shall we? First of all