Agreements with Microsoft, Google DeepMind and xAI focus largely on recognizing cybersecurity, biosecurity and chemical weapons risks The US government has struck deals with Google DeepMind, Microsoft and xAI to review early versions of their new AI models before they are released to the public. The Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), part of the US Department of Commerce, announced th...
Agreements with Microsoft, Google DeepMind and xAI focus largely on recognizing cybersecurity, biosecurity and chemical weapons risks The US government has struck deals with Google DeepMind, Microsoft and xAI to review early versions of their new AI models before they are released to the public. The Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), part of the US Department of Commerce, announced the agreements on Tuesday, saying the review process would be key to understanding the capabilities of new and powerful AI models as well as to protecting US national security. These collaborations will help the federal government “scale (its) work in the public interest at a critical moment”, the agency said in a press release. Continue reading...
Several widely followed stocks, including GameStop, ranked among Monday’s largest bearish price surprises by volume. With GameStop pursuing an ambitious acquisition-driven strategy, the key question is whether these declines signal value—or bigger risk.
Several widely followed stocks, including GameStop, ranked among Monday’s largest bearish price surprises by volume. With GameStop pursuing an ambitious acquisition-driven strategy, the key question is whether these declines signal value—or bigger risk.
Earnings Call Insights: Harley-Davidson (HOG) Q1 2026 Management View "Thank you for joining us today for our Q1 2026 financial results as well as an introduction to our new strategic plan, which we're calling Back to the Bricks." (CEO, President & Director Arthur Starrs) "North America delivered a 14% increase versus the prior year, contributing to global retail sales growth of 8% in what remains...
Earnings Call Insights: Harley-Davidson (HOG) Q1 2026 Management View "Thank you for joining us today for our Q1 2026 financial results as well as an introduction to our new strategic plan, which we're calling Back to the Bricks." (CEO, President & Director Arthur Starrs) "North America delivered a 14% increase versus the prior year, contributing to global retail sales growth of 8% in what remains a challenging consumer environment." (CEO, President & Director Starrs) "During the quarter, we reduced global inventory by 22% year-over-year as we continued to prioritize dealer inventory sell-through and aligning wholesale shipments with retail demand." (CEO, President & Director Starrs) "Consolidated revenue in the first quarter was down 12% and driven primarily by HDFS revenue being down 54% as it moved into a new capital-light model after the closing of the HDFS transaction." (CFO & Chief Commercial Officer Jonathan Root) "In Q1, earnings per share was $0.22" and "HDMC revenue decreased by 2%, coming in at $1.1 billion." (CFO & Chief Commercial Officer Root) "We're really excited to announce that our iconic Harley-Davidson Sportster will be returning in 2027" and "we're excited to bring Sprint to market beginning in the back half of 2026." (CEO, President & Director Starrs) Outlook "While we are not changing our financial guidance, we would note that our optimism on the year has increased." (CFO & Chief Commercial Officer Root) "For the full year 2026, the company reaffirms its guidance and continues to expect at HDMC retail units of 130,000 to 135,000 and wholesale units of 130,000 to 135,000." (CFO & Chief Commercial Officer Root) "At this point in time, we expect the cost of increased tariffs to be in a range of $75 million to $90 million for the full year 2026" and "this is an update to the prior range we provided of $75 million to $105 million." (CFO & Chief Commercial Officer Root) "At HDMC, we expect operating income of positive $10 million to a loss of $40 mi...
Earnings Call Insights: Repligen (RGEN) Q1 2026 Management View "We delivered $194 million of first quarter revenue" with "15% reported revenue growth or 11% organic" and "160 basis points of adjusted operating margin expansion" (President, CEO & Director Olivier Loeillot). "We are reiterating our expectation for 9% to 13% organic growth while updating our reported revenue guidance to reflect the ...
Earnings Call Insights: Repligen (RGEN) Q1 2026 Management View "We delivered $194 million of first quarter revenue" with "15% reported revenue growth or 11% organic" and "160 basis points of adjusted operating margin expansion" (President, CEO & Director Olivier Loeillot). "We are reiterating our expectation for 9% to 13% organic growth while updating our reported revenue guidance to reflect the sale of our non-core and low-margin Polymem business" and "we're increasing our adjusted earnings per share guidance for the full year" (CEO Loeillot). "We signed a critical partnership to expand our capabilities and local presence in China" and "local manufacturing beginning in 2027" under an OEM relationship that will be "multi-phase and multi-product" (CEO Loeillot). "We have formed a transformation office" to accelerate "our path to 30% adjusted EBITDA margin by 2030" and management "estimate this efforts should result in at least 1 point of annualized margin benefit by the end of 2027" (CEO Loeillot). "We divested the Polymem operation in France for nominal proceeds" and in 2025 "Polymem generated $7 million of revenue and an adjusted operating loss" (CEO Loeillot). "Adjusted fully diluted earnings per share for the first quarter was $0.48 compared to $0.39" and "our cash and marketable securities position at the end of the first quarter was $785 million" (CFO & Chief Compliance Officer Jason Garland). Outlook "We are now guiding $803 million to $833 million of revenue, or 9% to 13% growth on both a reported and organic basis" (CFO Garland). "We expect adjusted fully diluted earnings per share to be between $1.97 and $2.05" and "we now expect $124 million to $132 million of adjusted operating income" (CFO Garland). "Our update in guidance now reflects only one quarter of revenue from Polymem, which removes approximately $7 million of revenue from the full year previously included in guidance" (CFO Garland). "To assist with the quarterly cadence, we expect Q2 organic re...
Jack Mallers, co-founder and CEO of Twenty One Capital, joins Tim Stenovec on "Bloomberg Crypto." Tether has proposed that Twenty One Capital merge with Strike, a crypto trading and spending platform, and Elektron Energy, a Bitcoin mining firm, at a time when Twenty One Capital’s main business of investing in Bitcoin has fallen out of favor. (Source: Bloomberg)
Jack Mallers, co-founder and CEO of Twenty One Capital, joins Tim Stenovec on "Bloomberg Crypto." Tether has proposed that Twenty One Capital merge with Strike, a crypto trading and spending platform, and Elektron Energy, a Bitcoin mining firm, at a time when Twenty One Capital’s main business of investing in Bitcoin has fallen out of favor. (Source: Bloomberg)
Earnings Call Insights: Avista Corporation (AVA) Q1 2026 Management View “The year began with real momentum and the pace of activity across our business has only accelerated... we've taken meaningful steps to strengthen reliability and resilience, move forward with our growth opportunities and continue delivering value for our customers and shareholders.” (President, CEO & Director Heather Rosentr...
Earnings Call Insights: Avista Corporation (AVA) Q1 2026 Management View “The year began with real momentum and the pace of activity across our business has only accelerated... we've taken meaningful steps to strengthen reliability and resilience, move forward with our growth opportunities and continue delivering value for our customers and shareholders.” (President, CEO & Director Heather Rosentrater) “Negotiations continue with one of the prospective data center developer customers... with a projected incremental load of up to 500 megawatts... We are currently targeting a signed memorandum of understanding with this new customer by May 31.” (President, CEO & Director Rosentrater) “We also continue to work toward final contracts with the projects selected from our recent request for proposal, including the build transfer for a battery energy storage project included in our base capital plan and targeted to come online in 2028.” (President, CEO & Director Rosentrater) “Based on updates to project costs, we now expect capital expenditures at Avista Utilities of $615 million in 2026. We expect capital expenditures from 2026 through 2030 of $3.4 billion.” (SVP, CFO, Treasurer & Regulatory Affairs Officer Kevin Christie) Outlook “This morning, we are affirming our non-GAAP utility earnings guidance with a range of $2.52 to $2.72 per diluted share for 2026.” (SVP Christie) “Our guidance includes expected negative impact from the energy recovery mechanism or ERM of $0.10 in 90% customer, 10% company sharing band.” (SVP Christie) “Over the long term, we continue to expect that our earnings will grow 4% to 6% from the midpoint of our 2025 earnings guidance.” (SVP Christie) Compared with the prior quarter’s initial 2026 guide, management kept the same range: “We are initiating non-GAAP utility earnings guidance with a range of $2.52 to $2.72 per diluted share for 2026.” (CFO, Treasurer & Senior VP of Regulatory Affairs Christie, Q4 2025) Financial Results $1.11 consolidated ...
Earnings Call Insights: Ocular Therapeutix (OCUL) Q1 2026 Management view Dr. Pravin Dugel said the company’s key development was the SOL-1 Phase III wet AMD result for AXPAXLI, stating: "SOL-1 has fundamentally changed the conversation in wet AMD." He added: "In February, AXPAXLI became the first novel investigational therapy to demonstrate superiority to an approved anti-VEGF agent in a Phase II...
Earnings Call Insights: Ocular Therapeutix (OCUL) Q1 2026 Management view Dr. Pravin Dugel said the company’s key development was the SOL-1 Phase III wet AMD result for AXPAXLI, stating: "SOL-1 has fundamentally changed the conversation in wet AMD." He added: "In February, AXPAXLI became the first novel investigational therapy to demonstrate superiority to an approved anti-VEGF agent in a Phase III wet AMD trial." Dr. Dugel emphasized durability and rescue profile from SOL-1, including: "In 2/3 of the patients, just a single AXPAXLI injection maintained vision for an entire year." He also said the trial showed "substantially fewer rescues" and characterized the differentiation as: "That is not incremental progress. That is true differentiation." Dr. Dugel said the company remains on track to file based on SOL-1, stating: "we remain on track to submit our NDA relying on SOL-1 week 52 data, subject to ongoing formal discussions with the FDA." He also said the company "intend[s] to leverage the 505(b)(2) pathway, which may further allow for a shortened review time line" and that it is "accelerating commercial readiness in parallel." Dr. Dugel updated the SOL-R program and timeline, saying: "We completed randomization of 631 subjects in December 2025, exceeding our original 555 subject target" and "we recently accelerated our guidance for SOL-R top line data to the first quarter of 2027." Dr. Dugel announced progress on the long-term extension, stating: "Just last week, we announced the initiation of enrollment in SOL-X" and explained it is designed to extend follow-up: "bringing the total follow-up to 5 years." Dr. Dugel described liquidity and runway, saying: "We ended the first quarter with approximately $667 million in cash, which we expect to provide us runway into 2028." He cautioned: "our cash runway does not include the full expenses we anticipate we will need to support the commercialization of AXPAXLI." No CFO prepared remarks or CFO direct quote were included...
Boarding1Now/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Airbus ( EADSF ) ( EADSY ) is preparing to unveil a sizable aircraft order from AirAsia, with the low-cost carrier expected to commit to roughly 150 A220 jets, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The announcement, anticipated Wednesday, would provide a lift to Airbus’ smallest commercial aircraft after recent competitive pressure...
Boarding1Now/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Airbus ( EADSF ) ( EADSY ) is preparing to unveil a sizable aircraft order from AirAsia, with the low-cost carrier expected to commit to roughly 150 A220 jets, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The announcement, anticipated Wednesday, would provide a lift to Airbus’ smallest commercial aircraft after recent competitive pressure from Brazil’s Embraer ( EMBJ ). The A220 program, in which Quebec holds a minority stake, is assembled in Mirabel, near Montreal, and in Mobile, Alabama. Aircraft destined for customers outside the U.S. are produced in Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to attend an event tied to the announcement in the Montreal area, though officials declined to comment and cautioned that plans could still shift. Reports of a potential order surfaced earlier this week in La Presse and Bloomberg, while earlier indications suggested a deal of similar size could be in the works. Program under pressure The prospective agreement would bolster the A220 as Airbus ( EADSF ) ( EADSY ) works to improve the economics of a program it acquired from Bombardier in 2018. The aircraft has faced stiff competition from Embraer’s ( EMBJ ) E2 family, which secured key wins and outpaced A220 sales last year. Airbus ( EADSF ) ( EADSY ) has been increasing output but recently scaled back its production target to about 12 aircraft per month by 2026, citing supply chain constraints and delays tied to upgraded engines. Strategic fit for AirAsia AirAsia, which has played a central role in the rise of budget travel across Asia, already has more than 350 Airbus ( EADSF ) ( EADSY ) A320-family aircraft on order. Adding smaller A220 jets would allow the airline to expand into thinner routes and new destinations, a strategy previously outlined by co-founder Tony Fernandes. The potential deal comes amid broader industry headwinds, including elevated fuel costs linked to geopolitical tensions in the Mi...
Palantir's stock is down after a gangbusters first quarter , and while the earnings report showed one or two tiny blemishes, signs of any real weakness for the company were basically nonexistent, even by the hyperbolic standards of tech-sector performance. The lukewarm investor response more likely signals wariness of soaring valuations and fatigue with idiosyncratic metrics at a moment of genuine...
Palantir's stock is down after a gangbusters first quarter , and while the earnings report showed one or two tiny blemishes, signs of any real weakness for the company were basically nonexistent, even by the hyperbolic standards of tech-sector performance. The lukewarm investor response more likely signals wariness of soaring valuations and fatigue with idiosyncratic metrics at a moment of genuine uncertainty in big tech and national security, analysts said. Palantir has forward price-to-earnings of roughly 85 times and forward price-to-free-cash-flow of about 66 times, according to FactSet – eye-popping multiples at a time when leaps in artificial intelligence are forcing meetings at the White House and running roughshod over the legacy software business. PLTR 1D mountain Palantir shares in the past day Anthropic said its new Mythos model can reverse engineer hacks on even closed-source software. The company has reportedly been facing pressure from the White House to limit its rollout on security concerns. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai met with senior Trump administration officials last week about boosting AI processing power to make sure the government can "maintain its own defenses," according to The New York Times . The high-stakes confabs follow the software rout labeled "SaaS-maggedon" that's seen valuations within the historically high-margin sector take a dive. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) has fallen more than 16% year to date. Can valuations endure amid breakthroughs? Multiples like Palantir's look increasingly unsubstantiated in such an environment. "Anthropic just raced by them . If [Palantir does] $12 billion next year [in revenue], Anthropic is on a $40 billion run rate. You look at that and say, 'Wait a minute. Why aren't you investing in more salespeople? You're letting your margin go to 60, [arguing that] there's no competition, but someone just passed you on the left side going 100 miles an hour.' I don't understand that," Jeffer...
Two industrial bellwethers are putting up tech-like returns in 2026, and the catalyst is hiding in plain sight: power for the AI buildout. Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) stock is up 53% year to date through the May 4 close, while GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) stock has surged 65%, with both sitting near record highs. The two industrials-sector stocks ... Industrial-Strength Rally: Why Caterpillar Is Up 53% and GE...
Two industrial bellwethers are putting up tech-like returns in 2026, and the catalyst is hiding in plain sight: power for the AI buildout. Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) stock is up 53% year to date through the May 4 close, while GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) stock has surged 65%, with both sitting near record highs. The two industrials-sector stocks ... Industrial-Strength Rally: Why Caterpillar Is Up 53% and GE Vernova Is Up 65% in 2026
The US government can mitigate the effect of rising long-term Treasury yields on its cost of borrowing by taking a page from the credit markets, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists. Their proposal is a so-called reverse inquiry window, by which debt is sold directly to investors in response to bespoke requests. Though common in some of the more esoteric corners of the global bond market...
The US government can mitigate the effect of rising long-term Treasury yields on its cost of borrowing by taking a page from the credit markets, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists. Their proposal is a so-called reverse inquiry window, by which debt is sold directly to investors in response to bespoke requests. Though common in some of the more esoteric corners of the global bond market, it would be a novelty in the $31 trillion Treasury market. With the Treasury Department slated to announce its quarterly financing outlook Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in Washington and 30-year bond yields back above 5% for the first time since July , investors will be on alert for for any cues regarding how eventual growth in the borrowing need might be addressed. The department “has looked for ideas to help contain the long end,” a Bank of America team including Ralph Axel , Mark Cabana and Meghan Swiber wrote in a note on Tuesday. “A window could allow Treasury to keep long-end sizes stable for an even longer period and meet demand on a reverse inquiry basis.” To be sure, the Treasury Department rarely surprises investors, and Bank of America isn’t saying it will. In the normal course, before rolling out any sort of financing innovation, officials’ first step is to seek feedback from dealers via a public process, then move forward slowly. For example, the re-introduction of 20-year bonds in May 2020 began with a query in October 2019. Still, investors “should be aware of the possibility given potential market impact,” the strategists wrote. Any hint that officials are mulling such a change would likely drive outperformance by long-dated Treasuries relative to comparable interest-rate swaps, they wrote. The Treasury Department finances the US government’s budget deficits by selling an array of securities of varying maturities, ranging from four-week bills to 30-year bonds. It also sells floating-rate notes and inflation-protected securities. Most of the financing is done via ...
TowneBank is likely to announce a dividend increase in May, continuing its 14-year streak of consecutive dividend growth based on historical patterns. Analysts expect a consensus annual dividend of $1.46 per share, implying a quarterly dividend of approximately $0.365, which would represent nearly a 35.2% increase from the prior payout of $0.2700. The company last declared a quarterly dividend of ...
TowneBank is likely to announce a dividend increase in May, continuing its 14-year streak of consecutive dividend growth based on historical patterns. Analysts expect a consensus annual dividend of $1.46 per share, implying a quarterly dividend of approximately $0.365, which would represent nearly a 35.2% increase from the prior payout of $0.2700. The company last declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2700 per share in February 2026, representing an annual yield of 3.13%, and raised its dividend last May by 8.0% to $0.2700 from $0.2500 in May 2024. The company has delivered a 5-year dividend growth rate of approximately 8.45% and maintains an annual payout ratio of 35.06%. The company holds ratings of D+ for safety, C- for growth, C+ for yield, and B+ for dividend consistency. TowneBank is scheduled to report its fiscal Q2 2026 financial results on July 23, 2026. More on TowneBank Q1 Justifies Wait-And-See Approach For TowneBank TowneBank announces sale of Resort Property Management Segment for $250M Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on TowneBank Historical earnings data for TowneBank Dividend scorecard for TowneBank
What's driving the Nasdaq's 1.3% gain today? It's a new twist in the long-running AI boom. Here's how the ripple effects are lifting the entire market.
What's driving the Nasdaq's 1.3% gain today? It's a new twist in the long-running AI boom. Here's how the ripple effects are lifting the entire market.
Ashland ( ASH ) is expected to announce a dividend increase this May, continuing its 16-year streak of regular dividend growth. Based on past trends, analysts expect a consensus annual dividend of about ~$1.70 per share. This equals a quarterly dividend of ~0.425 per share, which implies an increase of ~2.4% from last year's ~$0.4150 per share payout. The company last paid a dividend of ~$0.415 pe...
Ashland ( ASH ) is expected to announce a dividend increase this May, continuing its 16-year streak of regular dividend growth. Based on past trends, analysts expect a consensus annual dividend of about ~$1.70 per share. This equals a quarterly dividend of ~0.425 per share, which implies an increase of ~2.4% from last year's ~$0.4150 per share payout. The company last paid a dividend of ~$0.415 per share in January 2026, which comes to an annual yield of 3.16%. Earlier, in April last year, it increased the dividend by ~2.46%, from ~$0.4050 to ~$0.4150. Over the past five years, Ashland ( ASH ) has delivered a dividend growth rate of ~8.58% and currently maintains a payout ratio of ~50.46%. Meanwhile, on dividend quality metrics, the company carries ratings of C+ for safety, D for growth, B for yield, and A for consistency. Ashland ( ASH ) last week posted its Q2 results, missing on both revenue and profit. More on Ashland Ashland Inc. (ASH) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript Ashland Inc. 2026 Q2 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Ashland Inc. (ASH) Presents at Gabelli Funds Annual Specialty Chemicals Symposium Transcript Ashland outlines fiscal 2026 sales of $1.835B-$1.87B and adjusted EBITDA of $385M-$400M as Hopewell timing cuts $10M-$12M savings Ashland Non-GAAP EPS of $0.91 misses by $0.03, revenue of $482M misses by $3.61M
LeClair Wealth Partners initiated a new position in the VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF (NASDAQ:USVM) , acquiring 191,096 shares in the first quarter. The estimated trade size was $18.43 million based on quarterly average pricing, according to the May 5, 2026, SEC filing. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated May 5, 2026, LeClair Wealth Partners add...
LeClair Wealth Partners initiated a new position in the VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF (NASDAQ:USVM) , acquiring 191,096 shares in the first quarter. The estimated trade size was $18.43 million based on quarterly average pricing, according to the May 5, 2026, SEC filing. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated May 5, 2026, LeClair Wealth Partners added a new position in the VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF (NASDAQ:USVM) by purchasing 191,096 shares. The estimated value of this trade was $18.43 million, based on the mean unadjusted closing price during the first quarter. The quarter-end value of the position was $18.09 million. The VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF offers diversified exposure to U.S. small and mid-cap equities with a disciplined focus on value and momentum factors. The fund’s systematic approach seeks to maintain lower volatility than traditional capitalization weighted indexes. Continue reading
whitemay/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images In this article, I'll be looking at HSBC Holdings, a British/UK-based bank operating in London/England, as well as the other parts of the world with a presence in well over 50 countries and over 35 million customers. I've been reviewing British banking institutions for the past month or so, and HSBC is the last one of the big ones that I have on my list ...
whitemay/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images In this article, I'll be looking at HSBC Holdings, a British/UK-based bank operating in London/England, as well as the other parts of the world with a presence in well over 50 countries and over 35 million customers. I've been reviewing British banking institutions for the past month or so, and HSBC is the last one of the big ones that I have on my list to cover and establish coverage on my spectrum here. This bank is attractive on the basis of its presence and assets. The company is one of the largest institutions based on assets, with over $3T worth of assets at this point, which also makes it one of the largest banks in the entire world. It's also privately owned, which makes it one of the largest non-state-owned banks on the planet. Its roots go back well over 150 years, to a trading house in Hong Kong, and it became established in London under the current parent company in 1991. With its subsequent merger with Midland Bank, it then became, by assets and coverage, one of the largest banks in all of the UK. Its exposure also includes significant emerging markets, such as Africa, South America, and Asia, which is part of the reason that I find the company interesting. If you follow my articles or me, you know what I'll be focusing on in this article. Establishing this company's bona fides, showing what makes it appealing, what the risks are, what I see going forward, and what price I would put on the company to make it what I consider to be a "safe" or attractive overall investment with a good potential upside. So, without further ado, let's get going and see what we have to look at here. The bank reported results today, so I view it as an excellent time to look at the company's upside and potential here. HSBC Holding - a British Bank With Upside, but Perhaps Not as Much as You Think When you look at a business, you'll want to see how the entire sector is currently looking in terms of upside, appeal, and realistic potent...