Victor Golmer/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Thesis Novo Nordisk A/S ( NVO ) has just reported a Q1 '26 miss on both EPS and revenue when looking at adjusted figures. The adjusted figures declined year-on-year, even though we saw some strong headline growth. The good news was that the company slightly raised their FY26 outlook; however, management still expects adjusted sales and operating prof...
Victor Golmer/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Thesis Novo Nordisk A/S ( NVO ) has just reported a Q1 '26 miss on both EPS and revenue when looking at adjusted figures. The adjusted figures declined year-on-year, even though we saw some strong headline growth. The good news was that the company slightly raised their FY26 outlook; however, management still expects adjusted sales and operating profit to fall somewhere between 4% to 12%, which would reflect the ongoing pricing pressure despite the strong GLP-1 demand we’re seeing. Now, my bull case for Novo would be that the market is overreacting to short-term pricing pressure here. I feel like they’re underestimating the strength and scalability of GLP-1 demand, particularly for Wegovy going forward, which would drive volume-led growth and margin stabilization. In that case, we should see earnings recovery beyond 2026 even though there could well be more short-term volatility. Shares are up slightly on the earnings announcement. In my previous coverage , I went over the latest results from the REDEFINE 4 Phase III obesity trial, and despite that being a slight disappointment, shares have started to recover well and are up about 16% since then. Seeking Alpha Q1 '26 update As you know, Novo posted a pretty complex set of Q1 '26 results this week, which, on the surface, would appear exceptionally strong, but I feel that they actually require a bit of interpretation. The reported net sales rose 32% at constant exchange rates (CER) to about DKK 96.8 billion, whilst operating profit surged about 65% to DKK 59.6 billion. However, we have to keep in mind that these headline figures were significantly helped out by a one-off reversal tied to the U.S. 340B Drug Pricing Program. So if we exclude this non-recurring benefit, which is worth around $4.2 billion, the adjusted sales actually declined by about 4% at CER. Novo Nordisk A/S Also, the adjusted operating profit fell by around 6%. So that divergence goes to show just how m...
Kardd/iStock via Getty Images Introduction & Investment Thesis The software landscape has had a tough (and volatile) 2026 so far. But that may be about to change, especially after Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR ) reported its Q1 FY26 earnings report two days ago, along with ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) holding its Investor Day on the same day. Not only that, Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM ), Twilio (NYSE: TWLO ) and Z...
Kardd/iStock via Getty Images Introduction & Investment Thesis The software landscape has had a tough (and volatile) 2026 so far. But that may be about to change, especially after Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR ) reported its Q1 FY26 earnings report two days ago, along with ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) holding its Investor Day on the same day. Not only that, Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM ), Twilio (NYSE: TWLO ) and Zeta Holdings (NYSE: ZETA ) also posted much better than expected earnings reports last week, which sent their respective stocks considerably higher. To quickly recap, the sector suffered a freefall until the end of February when Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and OpenAI Frontier posed disruption risks to the whole industry by challenging the once predictable “seat-based” pricing model. While I called for the sector to have potentially bottomed out then , it was soon hit by yet another rock in early April when Anthropic launched its Managed Agents platform, threatening the agentic platform roadmap of several companies in the industry. As I said in several posts , we still needed a couple/few quarters of accelerating RPO (Remaining Performance Obligations), strengthening NRR (Net Retention Rate), and stable margins across software companies to help investors find footing on how to value the sector and the companies within it. During this period of time, I have also pointed out companies such as Palantir, ServiceNow, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD ), Cloudflare (NYSE: NET ) and Rubrik (NYSE: RBRK ) that could be potential winners in the SaaSpocalypse, which I am already invested in for The Pragmatic Optimist portfolio. Here is the thing. Assuming an equal weighted allocation to the above stocks, along with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) that I also hold in the portfolio, it would yield a return of 6.1% over the last one month, compared to the 9.42% return of the software sector ETF IGV ( IGV ), as can be seen below. SA: Price performance of IGV compared to selected software companies over th...
Copper sits at ~$12-13k per metric ton as of March, hovering near the top of its 12-month range after a January peak of $12,986.61. If you want a liquid US-listed vehicle whose fortunes rise and fall with the red metal, plus a side helping of lithium, Chilean banks, and the Santiago political cycle, the iShares ... This Tiny Country ETF Could Be One Of The Purest Ways To Bet On Copper And Chile
Copper sits at ~$12-13k per metric ton as of March, hovering near the top of its 12-month range after a January peak of $12,986.61. If you want a liquid US-listed vehicle whose fortunes rise and fall with the red metal, plus a side helping of lithium, Chilean banks, and the Santiago political cycle, the iShares ... This Tiny Country ETF Could Be One Of The Purest Ways To Bet On Copper And Chile
SpaceX, Elon Musk's space company that also houses his AI company, xAI, is considering spending $55 billion, at least initially, to build a semiconductor factory in Texas, according to a filing with Grimes County.
SpaceX, Elon Musk's space company that also houses his AI company, xAI, is considering spending $55 billion, at least initially, to build a semiconductor factory in Texas, according to a filing with Grimes County.
SpaceX, Elon Musk's space company that also houses his AI company, xAI, is considering spending $55 billion, at least initially, to build a semiconductor factory in Texas, according to a filing with Grimes County.
SpaceX, Elon Musk's space company that also houses his AI company, xAI, is considering spending $55 billion, at least initially, to build a semiconductor factory in Texas, according to a filing with Grimes County.
Earnings Call Insights: Astec Industries (ASTE) Q1 2026 Management View “Net sales for the quarter increased 20.3%” and adjusted EBITDA was “$30.3 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 7.6%,” CEO Jaco van der Merwe said, while highlighting “$32.6 million of free cash flow” and stating, “we are maintaining our full year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $170 million to $190 million.” van d...
Earnings Call Insights: Astec Industries (ASTE) Q1 2026 Management View “Net sales for the quarter increased 20.3%” and adjusted EBITDA was “$30.3 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 7.6%,” CEO Jaco van der Merwe said, while highlighting “$32.6 million of free cash flow” and stating, “we are maintaining our full year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $170 million to $190 million.” van der Merwe described segment conditions as “healthy demand for asphalt plants and concrete plants” with “challenging markets for forestry and mobile paving equipment” that “persisted,” adding, “we are pleased to see a recent uptick in backlog for these products.” On profitability headwinds, van der Merwe said, “Q1 profitability was lower than planned, reflecting a combination of timing effects and near-term cost pressures from tariffs, freight and sales mix,” and noted expenses were also affected by “the ConExpo trade show that occurs once every 3 years.” CFO Brian Harris said “operating adjusted EBITDA declined $4.9 million versus the same period the prior year,” and “adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were $0.54 compared to $0.91 in the first quarter of 2025.” Harris added liquidity and leverage details: “we had $73.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, along with $194.1 million in available credit,” and “net debt to adjusted EBITDA stood at approximately 2.3x and is within our target range of 1.5x to 2.5x.” Outlook Management reiterated full-year assumptions: “adjusted EBITDA of $170 million to $190 million,” “an effective tax rate between 25% and 28%,” “capital expenditures between $40 million and $50 million,” “depreciation and amortization of $55 million to $65 million,” plus quarterly ranges including “adjusted SG&A of $70 million to $80 million” and “interest expense, approximately $7 million,” Harris said. The company’s guidance language centered on recovering from Q1 mix and tariff timing, with Harris stating, “we’ve got more pricing that we can implement...
Earnings Call Insights: Mueller Water Products (MWA) Q2 fiscal 2026 Management view CEO Paul McAndrew said the quarter set “new quarterly records for net sales, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income per share,” and highlighted “net sales growth of 5.5%” and “adjusted EBITDA margin 210 basis points year-over-year,” adding that “manufacturing efficiencies more than offset the impact of higher tari...
Earnings Call Insights: Mueller Water Products (MWA) Q2 fiscal 2026 Management view CEO Paul McAndrew said the quarter set “new quarterly records for net sales, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income per share,” and highlighted “net sales growth of 5.5%” and “adjusted EBITDA margin 210 basis points year-over-year,” adding that “manufacturing efficiencies more than offset the impact of higher tariffs and inflationary pressures.” (President, CEO & Director Paul McAndrew) McAndrew described a strategic shift to a more formal operating cadence, introducing “our Mueller Operating System, which is a formalized system of tools and processes that will drive discipline, execution and excellence throughout the organization,” while also disclosing a portfolio action: “we recently made the difficult decision to exit the i2O pressure monitoring business outside of North America.” (President, CEO & Director McAndrew) CFO Melissa Rasmussen reported record quarterly sales and profitability, saying “consolidated net sales increased 5.5% to a new record of $384.4 million,” “gross margin expanding 250 basis points to 37.6%,” and “adjusted EBITDA reached a record of $97.2 million.” (Senior VP & CFO Melissa Rasmussen) Outlook Rasmussen reiterated revenue growth guidance and raised profitability guidance: “We are reiterating full year guidance for consolidated net sales growth to be between 2.8% and 4.2% year-over-year,” and “we are raising our annual adjusted EBITDA guidance by $5 million at the midpoint to a new range of $360 million to $365 million.” (Senior VP & CFO Rasmussen) Compared with the prior quarter’s call, management previously guided “a new range of $355 million and $360 million” for adjusted EBITDA and said it “continue[d] to expect free cash flow to exceed 85% of adjusted net income for the year,” versus Q2’s “free cash flow to exceed 70% of adjusted net income.” (Senior VP & CFO Rasmussen; Q1 and Q2 transcripts) Financial results Rasmussen said quarterly profitability ...
FabrikaCr/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the First Eagle Small Cap Opportunity Fund Q1 2026 Commentary . Small Cap Opportunity Fund A Shares ( FESAX )(without sales charge*) posted a return of 5.96% in first quarter 2026. Information technology, energy and industrials were the leading contributors among equity sectors; healthcare, communication services and financ...
FabrikaCr/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the First Eagle Small Cap Opportunity Fund Q1 2026 Commentary . Small Cap Opportunity Fund A Shares ( FESAX )(without sales charge*) posted a return of 5.96% in first quarter 2026. Information technology, energy and industrials were the leading contributors among equity sectors; healthcare, communication services and financials were the largest detractors. The Fund outperformed the Russell 2000 Value Index in the period. Leading contributors in the First Eagle Small Cap Opportunity Fund this quarter included Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc., Oil States International, Inc., Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. and FormFactor, Inc. Ultra Clean ( UCTT ) develops and supplies components, parts and subsystems for ultra-high-purity cleaning and analytical services for the semiconductor industry. Shares were strong as sustained demand for AI and data centers fueled confidence in the semiconductor upcycle. Beyond strong demand, Ultra further benefited from a mix shift toward increased chip complexity. Future success may hinge on continued growth in AI and memory spending, high-capacity utilization and a multiyear semiconductor cycle. Houston-based Oil States ( OIS ) provides equipment and services to the oil and natural gas industry, focusing on shale basins in the US and deepwater/offshore developments internationally. Shares rallied on very strong bookings during the quarter and improved operator-powered solutions and services inside the wellbore. We value the company's reduced cash spend on land businesses in favor of focusing on offshore opportunities. Lincoln Educational ( LINC ) provides career-oriented post-secondary education for automotive technology, HVAC, electrical, welding and healthcare with 22 campuses in 12 states. Interest in and demand for Lincoln's programs has been heightened by structural shortages of skilled labor, increased infrastructure and ene...
Earnings Call Insights: HNI Corporation (HNI) Q1 2026 Management View "The takeaway from today's call is we expect a strong year in 2026 with the fifth straight year of double-digit earnings improvement and modest revenue growth in both segments" (Chairman of the Board, President & CEO Jeffrey Lorenger). "In our legacy Workplace Furnishings businesses, first quarter net sales were down about 5% ye...
Earnings Call Insights: HNI Corporation (HNI) Q1 2026 Management View "The takeaway from today's call is we expect a strong year in 2026 with the fifth straight year of double-digit earnings improvement and modest revenue growth in both segments" (Chairman of the Board, President & CEO Jeffrey Lorenger). "In our legacy Workplace Furnishings businesses, first quarter net sales were down about 5% year-over-year on an organic basis" and "we saw organic segment orders turn positive in March with additional acceleration thus far in the second quarter" (Chairman of the Board, President & CEO Lorenger). "It is important to note the integration of Steelcase is going well. Synergy capture and accretion are on track" and "we remain confident in our projected total synergy-driven accretion of $1.20 when fully mature" (Chairman of the Board, President & CEO Lorenger). "In Residential Building Products, revenue increased more than 2% versus prior year period" and "our remodel retrofit revenue was up 13% on a year-over-year basis" (Chairman of the Board, President & CEO Lorenger). "On a GAAP basis, diluted EPS from continuing operations totaled $0.55" and "on a non-GAAP basis, diluted EPS totaled $0.34" (Executive VP & CFO Vincent Berger). Outlook "Looking ahead, we expect second quarter 2026 net sales in the legacy Workplace Furnishings to increase at a low single-digit rate year-over-year" and "in Residential Building Products, second quarter 2026 net sales are expected to decrease at a low single-digit rate compared to the same period in 2025" (Executive VP & CFO Berger). "Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share in the second quarter of 2026 are expected to decline modestly from 2025 levels" and "the year-over-year non-GAAP earnings pressure is expected to be driven by lower organic volume and continued investment" (Executive VP & CFO Berger). "Our outlook for 2026 full year earnings reflects expectations for mid-teens percent non-GAAP EPS growth from 2025 full year of $3.53" and ...
Microsoft revealed last month that it's planning to offer long-serving employees in the US the ability to voluntarily retire . While the terms of the buyout were supposed to be announced to employees tomorrow, sources at Microsoft tell me the company has posted them on its internal HR website a little earlier than expected. US employees whose combined years of service added to their age totals 70 ...
Microsoft revealed last month that it's planning to offer long-serving employees in the US the ability to voluntarily retire . While the terms of the buyout were supposed to be announced to employees tomorrow, sources at Microsoft tell me the company has posted them on its internal HR website a little earlier than expected. US employees whose combined years of service added to their age totals 70 or more will be eligible for voluntary retirement, and the package will include five years of access to Microsoft's healthcare coverage, a lump sum cash severance payment, and six months of vesting for unvested stock options. The five years of medi … Read the full story at The Verge.
Earnings Call Insights: Medline (MDLN) Q1 2026 Management View “We started the year with 11% top line growth in the first quarter, powered by 1 of our strongest quarters ever in Supply Chain Solutions.” (CEO & Director James Boyle) “Adjusted EBITDA was $776 million, 11% decline versus prior year, reflecting robust sales that were more than offset by anticipated higher cost of goods sold including ...
Earnings Call Insights: Medline (MDLN) Q1 2026 Management View “We started the year with 11% top line growth in the first quarter, powered by 1 of our strongest quarters ever in Supply Chain Solutions.” (CEO & Director James Boyle) “Adjusted EBITDA was $776 million, 11% decline versus prior year, reflecting robust sales that were more than offset by anticipated higher cost of goods sold including incremental tariffs and continued operational investments.” (CEO & Director Boyle) “I’m excited to announce that we have partnered with MMC or Mohawk Medbuy Corporation... selected to serve as their Prime Vendor for 9 acute member hospitals in Southwestern Ontario... starting implementation in the second half of 2026.” (CEO & Director Boyle) “We announced our partnership with Symbotic... expect to begin piloting this technology next year at our Ohio distribution center with the goal of increasing throughput and scalability.” (CEO & Director Boyle) “In Q1, we added several customers to the pilot, reaching 10 in total... We aim to expand the rollout in Q2 and offer Mpower to most acute care customers by year-end.” (CEO & Director Boyle) “We had a strong start to the year with the first quarter net sales of $7.4 billion, up 11% versus prior year.” (Chief Financial Officer Michael Drazin) Outlook “We are now raising our full year 2026 organic sales growth guidance to a range of 8.5% to 9.5% from our previous range of 8% to 9%.” (CFO Drazin) “We are maintaining our full year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $3.5 billion to $3.6 billion.” (CFO Drazin) “We expect to generate some favorability from the lower tariff rate, offset by continued investments... and headwinds from rising oil prices due to the Middle East conflict.” (CFO Drazin) “We have assumed that the current 10% tariff rate will expire midyear and then return to the higher rates we experienced prior to the Supreme Court IEEPA decision.” (CFO Drazin) Financial Results “The Medline Brand segment delivered $3.5 billion of net ...
Presenting himself as a serious, sensible ‘grownup’ was essential to Starmer’s rise to power. His premiership has revealed how hollow that message is Some big questions will be asked this weekend – about how Labour fell so far so fast, about when Keir Starmer goes and who takes his place – but at least one big thing will be clear: never entrust your country to people who keep insisting they’re gro...
Presenting himself as a serious, sensible ‘grownup’ was essential to Starmer’s rise to power. His premiership has revealed how hollow that message is Some big questions will be asked this weekend – about how Labour fell so far so fast, about when Keir Starmer goes and who takes his place – but at least one big thing will be clear: never entrust your country to people who keep insisting they’re grown up. Think back to 2024 and the birth of Starmer’s government. “The adults are back in the room,” exulted Darren Jones as Labour went marching into Downing Street. Having chopped the party’s largest pledges into little pieces (Goodbye, Green New Deal! Farewell, securonomics!), the single greatest qualification Starmer, Jones and co had for office was not policy, but vibes. After a decade of blue-on-blue fighting and a string of gap-year prime ministers, all the reds had to be was serious, sensible, businesslike. Labour would own the mien of production. Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
Key PointsBrooktree Capital Management bought 46,129 shares of Wix.com in Q1 2026, with an estimated transaction value of $3.86 million based on average Q1 pricing.
Key PointsBrooktree Capital Management bought 46,129 shares of Wix.com in Q1 2026, with an estimated transaction value of $3.86 million based on average Q1 pricing.
JHVEPhoto Pitney Bowes ( PBI ) has received interest in a potential sale or take-private offer as the company enters the second stage of a review of its business. The interest comes after the mailing and shipping services firm last May said it would start a strategic review after naming Kurt Wolf, the head of activist fund Hestia Capital Management, as its CEO. “We have had inbound interest,” Wolf...
JHVEPhoto Pitney Bowes ( PBI ) has received interest in a potential sale or take-private offer as the company enters the second stage of a review of its business. The interest comes after the mailing and shipping services firm last May said it would start a strategic review after naming Kurt Wolf, the head of activist fund Hestia Capital Management, as its CEO. “We have had inbound interest,” Wolf said Wednesday in a Bloomberg TV interview. “As you can imagine, there’s interest from taking private. But we’re going to do whatever’s best for shareholders.” Shares of Pitney Bowes ( PBI ) fell 6.8% after reporting Q1 results on Tuesday. Wolf said on the company's earnings conference call that the firm has started interviewing advisors for the second stage of its strategic review. “We're evaluating: is it appropriate to sell? Is it appropriate for us to expand into new areas? Some of the outreach has been tied to strategic partnerships. So there’s a whole host of opportunities that exist for us,” Wolf told Bloomberg. More on Pitney Bowes Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Pitney Bowes: Reviewing The Validity Of The Bounce Pitney Bowes Moves From Hold To Buy On Stronger Fundamentals (Rating Upgrade) Pitney Bowes targets net debt to EBITDA around 3x while planning to pay off the '27s within months Pitney Bowes Q1 2026 Earnings Preview
SpaceX's plan to go public will reportedly give CEO Elon Musk "virtually unchecked executive authority" and limit the rights of shareholders to sue the company. The plan, reported by Reuters today, could prevent shareholder lawsuits like the one that held up a lucrative Musk pay package at Tesla. "Excerpts of SpaceX's IPO registration statement reviewed by Reuters show the company is combining sup...
SpaceX's plan to go public will reportedly give CEO Elon Musk "virtually unchecked executive authority" and limit the rights of shareholders to sue the company. The plan, reported by Reuters today, could prevent shareholder lawsuits like the one that held up a lucrative Musk pay package at Tesla. "Excerpts of SpaceX's IPO registration statement reviewed by Reuters show the company is combining supervoting shares, mandatory arbitration, stricter rules on shareholder proposals and Texas corporate law to give Musk and other insiders broad control," Reuters wrote. "At the same time, it sharply limits investors' ability to challenge management, sue in court and force votes on governance issues." Reuters said the policies "will erode typical shareholder protections in unprecedented ways," and "the only person who can fire Musk is Musk, who will retain majority control through supervoting shares." Read full article Comments
Fasai Budkaew/iStock via Getty Images This article updates my review of January 2025 in light of current holdings and recent performance. XSMO Strategy Invesco S&P SmallCap Momentum ETF ( XSMO ) was launched on 03/03/2005 and tracks the S&P SmallCap 600 Momentum Index. XSMO has a portfolio of 113 stocks, a 30-day SEC yield of 0.53%, and a net expense ratio of 0.36%. As described by Invesco , the m...
Fasai Budkaew/iStock via Getty Images This article updates my review of January 2025 in light of current holdings and recent performance. XSMO Strategy Invesco S&P SmallCap Momentum ETF ( XSMO ) was launched on 03/03/2005 and tracks the S&P SmallCap 600 Momentum Index. XSMO has a portfolio of 113 stocks, a 30-day SEC yield of 0.53%, and a net expense ratio of 0.36%. As described by Invesco , the methodology starts from the SmallCap 600 Index, whose constituents receive a momentum score based on 12-month price return, excluding the most recent month and adjusted for volatility. Approximately 120 stocks with the highest score are included in the underlying index. Weights are calculated by multiplying market capitalization and momentum score, with constituent and sector constraints. The index is reconstituted semi-annually in March and September. The portfolio turnover rate was 115% in the most recent fiscal year and 107% in the previous year. This article will use as a benchmark the parent index S&P SmallCap 600, represented by iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF ( IJR ). Portfolio XSMO is exclusively invested in U.S. companies, with significant exposure in industrials (23.7%) and technology (18.1%). Other sectors are below 14%. Compared to the benchmark, the fund overweights the top two sectors, while it mostly downplays financials and consumer discretionary. XSMO sector breakdown (Chart: author; data: Invesco, iShares.) Company-specific risk is moderate. The top 10 holdings, listed in the next table, represent 26.5% of asset value, and the largest position weighs 4%. Ticker Name Weight VIAV Viavi Solutions Inc. 4.04% PRIM Primoris Services Corp. 3.40% VSAT Viasat, Inc. 3.39% ESE ESCO Technologies Inc. 2.77% SANM Sanmina Corp. 2.52% FORM FormFactor, Inc. 2.34% POWL Powell Industries, Inc. 2.15% KRYS Krystal Biotech, Inc. 2.04% MYRG MYR Group Inc. 1.94% INDV Indivior Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 1.88% Click to enlarge Fundamentals Although XSMO is classified by Morningstar in the...