Key Points 3D Systems is seeing strong gains in its medical technology and defense businesses. Management is prioritizing spending cuts to improve the company's profit margins. 10 stocks we like better than 3D Systems › Shares of 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) rallied on Monday after the additive manufacturing leader showed significant progress toward achieving profitability. By the close of trading, 3D S...
Key Points 3D Systems is seeing strong gains in its medical technology and defense businesses. Management is prioritizing spending cuts to improve the company's profit margins. 10 stocks we like better than 3D Systems › Shares of 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) rallied on Monday after the additive manufacturing leader showed significant progress toward achieving profitability. By the close of trading, 3D Systems' stock price was up over 27%. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Solid top-line growth and cost cuts 3D Systems' fourth-quarter revenue rose 16% sequentially to $106.3 million. The gains were fueled by sales of new printers and rising materials usage by existing systems. "Three markets were particularly noteworthy: med tech, dental, and aerospace and defense, which are rapidly adopting 3D printing as a core manufacturing method," CEO Jeffrey Graves said. "These three markets have been a particular focus for our new product development over the last several years, and we believe they offer sustained growth opportunities over the next decade." 3D Systems' expense-reduction initiatives created roughly $55 million in annualized cost savings in 2025. That helped the 3D printing company's fourth-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) improve by $13.8 million year over year, to a loss of $5.3 million. An upbeat forecast Looking ahead, management expects revenue of $91 million to $94 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $3 million to $5 million in the first quarter. "We remain intensely focused on reducing overall spending, while prioritizing strategic investments that drive growth in our priority markets," interim chief financial officer Phyllis Nordstrom said. Should you buy stock in 3D Systems right now? Before you buy stock in 3D Systems...
When Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA 0.35%) (BRKB 0.36%) reported its Q4 results over the weekend, the conglomerate was once again flush with cash on its balance sheet. The market had a strong 2025 and is hanging in there thus far in 2026, so it makes you wonder if Berkshire is being too patient with its cash. The company ended the year with a whopping $373.3 billion in cash. That was down from the recor...
When Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA 0.35%) (BRKB 0.36%) reported its Q4 results over the weekend, the conglomerate was once again flush with cash on its balance sheet. The market had a strong 2025 and is hanging in there thus far in 2026, so it makes you wonder if Berkshire is being too patient with its cash. The company ended the year with a whopping $373.3 billion in cash. That was down from the record $381.6 billion in cash the company had at the end of Q3, as it spent $9.7 billion to acquire OxyChem, the chemical subsidiary of holding Occidental Petroleum. However, Berkshire was once again a net seller of stocks for the 13th straight quarter. Its main source of funds continues to be from the sales of Apple and Bank of America, two stocks it has been selling pretty consistently. Apple, however, remains Berkshire's largest holding, and new CEO Greg Abel pointed to it as being a long-term core holding, along with American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody's in the U.S. He also highlighted several Japanese companies that fell into this bucket, as well. Berkshire once again decided not to repurchase any of its own shares. It was the sixth straight quarter that the company has decided not to do a buyback. However, the company did start to buy back shares earlier this month. In the past, Berkshire would repurchase its shares when they were trading at 1.1 times book value or below, before later increasing it to 1.2 times. More recently, it stopped using price-to-book ratio (P/B) altogether, with former CEO Warren Buffett saying the metric wasn't always reflective of the stock's intrinsic value. The stock has come down from the 1.8 P/B it had reached and is now around 1.4 times, which is a bit more in line with where the stock has traded over the past several years. In his first annual letter as CEO, Abel preached patience with Berkshire's huge cash hoard, saying the company needed to remain disciplined and wait for its pitch in the heart of the zone. He also emphasized the import...
"Legacy Of Imbeciles": Corpus Christi Careens Toward Water-Shortage Catastrophe Submitted by Dylan Baddour via Inside Climate News (emphasis ours), The imminent depletion of water supplies in Corpus Christi threatens to cut off the flow of jet fuel to Texas airports and other oil exports from one of the nation’s largest petroleum ports, triggering potential shockwaves through energy markets in Tex...
"Legacy Of Imbeciles": Corpus Christi Careens Toward Water-Shortage Catastrophe Submitted by Dylan Baddour via Inside Climate News (emphasis ours), The imminent depletion of water supplies in Corpus Christi threatens to cut off the flow of jet fuel to Texas airports and other oil exports from one of the nation’s largest petroleum ports, triggering potential shockwaves through energy markets in Texas and beyond. Without significant rainfall, Corpus Christi is headed for a “ water emergency ” within months and total depletion of the system next year, according to the city’s website . “The impacts are going to be felt tremendously through the state, if not internationally,” said Sean Strawbridge, former CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi Authority, the nation’s top port for crude oil exports, in a 40-minute interview Thursday. “This should be no surprise to anybody. We were talking about this over a decade ago.” Other current and former officials, alarmed at what they call a lack of preparations, have suggested the potential for an economic crisis involving mass layoffs, disruption of fuel supplies and billions of dollars in emergency spending to avoid an evacuation of the city. Strawbridge, who now lives in Houston, laid the blame on city leaders, citing “ their lack of experience, their lack of knowledge, their lack of recognizing the risks” in a bumbling, decade-long endeavor to build a large seawater desalination plant that would veer the region off its clear course towards calamity. “ They’ve found themselves in quite a dire predicament as a result of those poor decisions ," Strawbridge said. “Time is up.” A spokesperson for Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo declined interview requests, citing “prior commitments,” and did not respond to follow-up questions. City manager Peter Zanoni also did not respond to questions. Instead, Corpus Christi public information manager Robert Gonzales provided an emailed statement. “ The water shortage in the Coastal Bend is the...
Key Points Berkshire ended 2025 with a huge cash pile. The company continued to be a net seller of stocks in Q4 and didn't buy back any of its own shares. 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway › Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and In...
Key Points Berkshire ended 2025 with a huge cash pile. The company continued to be a net seller of stocks in Q4 and didn't buy back any of its own shares. 10 stocks we like better than Berkshire Hathaway › Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » When Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) reported its Q4 results over the weekend, the conglomerate was once again flush with cash on its balance sheet. The market had a strong 2025 and is hanging in there thus far in 2026, so it makes you wonder if Berkshire is being too patient with its cash. The company ended the year with a whopping $373.3 billion in cash. That was down from the record $381.6 billion in cash the company had at the end of Q3, as it spent $9.7 billion to acquire OxyChem, the chemical subsidiary of holding Occidental Petroleum. However, Berkshire was once again a net seller of stocks for the 13th straight quarter. Its main source of funds continues to be from the sales of Apple and Bank of America, two stocks it has been selling pretty consistently. Apple, however, remains Berkshire's largest holding, and new CEO Greg Abel pointed to it as being a long-term core holding, along with American Express, Coca-Cola, and Moody's in the U.S. He also highlighted several Japanese companies that fell into this bucket, as well. Berkshire once again decided not to repurchase any of its own shares. It was the sixth straight quarter that the company has decided not to do a buyback. However, the company did start to buy back shares earlier this month. In the past, Berkshire would repurchase its shares when they were trading at 1.1 times book value or below, before later increasing it to 1.2 times. More recently, it stopped using price-to-book ratio (P/B) altogether, with former CEO Warren Buffett saying the metric wasn't always reflectiv...
Indonesia’s central bank may continue to defend the rupiah around a key threshold as volatile oil prices, a stronger dollar and risk-off flows tied to the Iran conflict deepen concerns over the nation’s investment appeal. Bank Indonesia is expected to keep intervening to hold the rupiah below the psychologically important 17,000 per dollar mark, according to analysts. Uncertainty over how long the...
Indonesia’s central bank may continue to defend the rupiah around a key threshold as volatile oil prices, a stronger dollar and risk-off flows tied to the Iran conflict deepen concerns over the nation’s investment appeal. Bank Indonesia is expected to keep intervening to hold the rupiah below the psychologically important 17,000 per dollar mark, according to analysts. Uncertainty over how long the war may last is compounding Indonesia’s existing economic concerns, while elevated crude prices risk stoking inflation in the net oil-importer. Pressure on the rupiah highlights mounting risks for Southeast Asia’s largest economy, where sustained currency weakness may strain fiscal metrics in the months ahead. After a string of warnings from rating companies about Indonesia’s economic trajectory, BI’s ability to steady the currency may be critical to restoring investor confidence. “Dollar strength and weak sentiment are weighing more on the rupiah now, and BI could see scope to defend the 17,000 level strongly,” said Lloyd Chan , currency strategist at MUFG Bank Ltd. “It’s both about anchoring sentiment and to prevent a sharp deterioration of the external balances.” The rupiah closed at 16,945 per dollar on Monday. Since late 2024, Bank Indonesia has stepped up efforts to stabilize the rupiah. It has done so by selling US dollars from its foreign-exchange reserves to buy rupiah, purchasing government bonds in the secondary market, and using non-deliverable forwards to shape market expectations. Still, further intervention may prove difficult to sustain given relatively thin reserve buffers, said Manthan Shingala , analyst at Nomura Singapore Ltd., who sees the rupiah potentially weakening toward 17,200 per dollar by the end of the month. Foreign reserves fell to $151.9 billion in February, according to Bank Indonesia data, the steepest monthly drop since April. Indonesian Stocks, Rupiah Slump as Iran Conflict Escalates Indonesia Military Goes on Highest-Level Alert on Mide...
Nvidia (NVDA +2.71%) is currently the largest public company by market cap, and Alphabet (GOOG +2.77%)(GOOGL +2.81%) isn't far behind in third (as of March 6). Each has benefited from the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), but Nvidia has been the bigger winner so far. Demand for its GPUs has driven 13 consecutive quarters of revenue growth. Both are strong companies and should continue to do ...
Nvidia (NVDA +2.71%) is currently the largest public company by market cap, and Alphabet (GOOG +2.77%)(GOOGL +2.81%) isn't far behind in third (as of March 6). Each has benefited from the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), but Nvidia has been the bigger winner so far. Demand for its GPUs has driven 13 consecutive quarters of revenue growth. Both are strong companies and should continue to do well going forward, but I expect Alphabet to deliver greater long-term growth. One of Alphabet's key advantages here is how diversified it is. Google Search is its biggest source of revenue, accounting for 55% of the $113.8 billion it made in the fourth quarter of 2025. However, Alphabet also made $17.7 billion from Google Cloud, $13.6 billion from Google subscriptions, platforms, and devices, and $11.4 billion from YouTube ads. With several widely used products and services, Alphabet isn't overly reliant on any one business. It has also demonstrated its ability to pivot in response to technological changes to protect its competitive advantage. When AI chatbots appeared to threaten Google's search dominance, it added AI overviews to search results, which had more than 2 billion monthly users as of July 2025. Nvidia's success primarily comes from its GPU dominance, with data center revenue accounting for 91% of sales in its most recent quarter. This leaves the chipmaker vulnerable to a few potential threats. Leading tech companies could dial back their AI infrastructure spending, which would impact Nvidia's sales. They could also buy from another chipmaker to avoid overreliance on Nvidia. We've seen an example of that recently, when Meta Platforms agreed to a GPU deal worth up to $100 billion with Advanced Micro Devices. Expand NASDAQ : GOOGL Alphabet Today's Change ( 2.81 %) $ 8.37 Current Price $ 306.68 Key Data Points Market Cap $3.6T Day's Range $ 294.09 - $ 306.80 52wk Range $ 140.53 - $ 349.00 Volume 1.4M Avg Vol 34M Gross Margin 59.68 % Dividend Yield 0.28 % In fairne...
Key Points While extremely successful in recent years, Nvidia relies heavily on its GPU dominance and rapidly increasing AI spending by tech companies. Alphabet has a more diversified revenue stream, including ads, cloud services, subscriptions, and hardware. 10 stocks we like better than Alphabet › Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is currently the largest public company by market cap, and Alphabet (NASDAQ: ...
Key Points While extremely successful in recent years, Nvidia relies heavily on its GPU dominance and rapidly increasing AI spending by tech companies. Alphabet has a more diversified revenue stream, including ads, cloud services, subscriptions, and hardware. 10 stocks we like better than Alphabet › Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is currently the largest public company by market cap, and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) isn't far behind in third (as of March 6). Each has benefited from the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), but Nvidia has been the bigger winner so far. Demand for its GPUs has driven 13 consecutive quarters of revenue growth. Both are strong companies and should continue to do well going forward, but I expect Alphabet to deliver greater long-term growth. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » One of Alphabet's key advantages here is how diversified it is. Google Search is its biggest source of revenue, accounting for 55% of the $113.8 billion it made in the fourth quarter of 2025. However, Alphabet also made $17.7 billion from Google Cloud, $13.6 billion from Google subscriptions, platforms, and devices, and $11.4 billion from YouTube ads. With several widely used products and services, Alphabet isn't overly reliant on any one business. It has also demonstrated its ability to pivot in response to technological changes to protect its competitive advantage. When AI chatbots appeared to threaten Google's search dominance, it added AI overviews to search results, which had more than 2 billion monthly users as of July 2025. Nvidia's success primarily comes from its GPU dominance, with data center revenue accounting for 91% of sales in its most recent quarter. This leaves the chipmaker vulnerable to a few potential threats. Leading tech companies could dial back their AI infra...
(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Friday, snapping a losing streak of five sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 below the 26,700 level at a 14-month low, despite the negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders picked up stocks at a bargain following the recent sell-off. Meanwhile, trades also remain concerned about the sharp spike in domestic new corona...
(RTTNews) - The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Friday, snapping a losing streak of five sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 below the 26,700 level at a 14-month low, despite the negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders picked up stocks at a bargain following the recent sell-off. Meanwhile, trades also remain concerned about the sharp spike in domestic new coronavirus infections, with daily new COVID-19 cases in Japan surging to a new record of 78,929 cases on Thursday, topping the 70,000 mark for the second day in a row to push hospitals and clinics to the breaking point. The daily new cases also hit record highs each day since last week. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 508.27 points or 1.94 percent to 26,678.57, after touching a high of 26,731.02 earlier. Japanese shares closed sharply lower on Thursday. Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining 1.5 percent and Toyota is adding more than 3 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 2 percent, while Screen Holdings is losing more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.5 percent. In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining 1.5 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent. Among major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent, Panasonic is adding more than 2 percent and Sony is adding almost 3 percent, while Canon is declining almost 3 percent. Among the other major gainers, Fuji Electric is soaring almost 9 percent, Shin-Etsu Chemical is surging more than 7 percent and Fujikura is rising almost 7 percent, while Nitto Denko and Chugai Pharmaceutical are gaining almost 5 percent each. Idemitsu Kosan, Daiichi Sankyo, Marui Group, NSK and Citizen Watch are all adding almost 4 percent each, while Sumitomo Metal Mining, Asahi Kasei, Recruit Holding...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images There are very few companies in semiconductor equipment that I consider structurally advantaged, regardless of where we are in the cycle. TSMC is at the top of that list, along with some others, but it looks like KLA Corporation ( KLAC ) is firmly in that category. The industry is in a phase where process geometries are shrinking and the architectures are...
hapabapa/iStock Editorial via Getty Images There are very few companies in semiconductor equipment that I consider structurally advantaged, regardless of where we are in the cycle. TSMC is at the top of that list, along with some others, but it looks like KLA Corporation ( KLAC ) is firmly in that category. The industry is in a phase where process geometries are shrinking and the architectures are becoming more complex, so we’re seeing higher demand for inspection, metrology, and yield management. KLA supplies the tools that determine whether advanced-node production ramps efficiently or stalls under defect pressure. If we look at things operationally and financially, the company is performing at a very high level. Its gross and operating margins are very steady, and it is more profitable than ever. The latter point is largely due to its updated business model, where services now bring in roughly a quarter of revenue, and that gives the company more stability than most wafer fab equipment peers. My main question is the price being paid for that quality, because everything about the stock screams overpriced. KLA Sits At The Most Profitable Choke Point In The Fab In my opinion, KLA’s USP is that it focuses on process control, which includes wafer inspection, patterning control, metrology, reticle inspection, and the software that ties those tools together. That’s fairly complicated language, so we can simply say that its systems are used to detect defects, measure critical dimensions, and ensure that increasingly complex chip designs can actually be manufactured at acceptable yields. I cannot overstate how important it is that the products in these markets come out with uniform measurements. Nodes are shrinking, and the architectures are shifting toward advanced packaging and heterogeneous integration, so any variation in wafer sizes is incredibly expensive. We all use smartphones, among other modern gadgets, and those of us who like to read spec sheets may see a 3 nm...
MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images Back in September of last year, I argued that Copart ( CPRT ) was due to restart their buyback activity. I thought that the valuation back then, coupled with a fast-growing cash pile, made the case for buybacks imminent. "Imminent" turned out to be too strong a word, as the following earnings release (last November) revealed ongoing hand-sitting on t...
MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images Back in September of last year, I argued that Copart ( CPRT ) was due to restart their buyback activity. I thought that the valuation back then, coupled with a fast-growing cash pile, made the case for buybacks imminent. "Imminent" turned out to be too strong a word, as the following earnings release (last November) revealed ongoing hand-sitting on the buyback front [Sigh]. That changed last month. On mid-February, our prayers to the rational-capital-allocator gods were answered. Copart's CEO, Jeff Liaw, confirmed that the company had started repurchases during the prior quarter and they had already bought back $500 million (about 10% of the cash pile and some 1.3% of float). We will go into why this is a great decision, but some may not be as familiar with what the company does. What Copart does Copart is the leader in a two-horse race to consolidate junkyards (and the related auctions) in the US. It led competitor RB Global's IAA unit into the internet age by some 20 years. In doing this, they amassed a large international buyer pool that is focused on extracting the most value from deemed total-loss but repairable cars within the US market. Despite owning most of their land, Copart holds no debt. Their main asset is mostly their intangible benefit of owning the leading internet auction platform, which is impossible to disrupt without the massive land footprint to store the inventory. Insurers now depend on the two junkyard operators for most activities post-crash (to the point of delegating towing, title transfer, etc.). I have covered the company frequently; linked here is the initial piece that focuses on their operating model. Rationale for Buyback Questioned during the call about the timing, Mr. Liaw gave a "Buffettesque" answer that long-term shareholders should cheer: As to your question about the share buybacks, there's no particular witchcraft or anything magical to it. I think it's a function of what genera...