Mike Cassidy/iStock via Getty Images It has been over six months since my last IQVIA Holdings Inc. ( IQV ) article , where I covered the company’s Q2 earnings beat thanks to $4.017B in revenue, driven by growth in the Technology & Analytics Solutions (TAS) segment. I pointed out that despite the market’s pessimism, the company’s profitability continues to be their leading highlight, as high cash f...
Mike Cassidy/iStock via Getty Images It has been over six months since my last IQVIA Holdings Inc. ( IQV ) article , where I covered the company’s Q2 earnings beat thanks to $4.017B in revenue, driven by growth in the Technology & Analytics Solutions (TAS) segment. I pointed out that despite the market’s pessimism, the company’s profitability continues to be their leading highlight, as high cash flow conversions boosted their adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS. Accordingly, the company reaffirmed their full-year outlook despite the volatility and uncertainties of the biotech sector’s R&D environment. So, I was bullish on IQVIA heading into the back half of 2025 and expected the company to keep feasting on their current bookings and backlog to fuel their growth. Well, IQVIA's Q4 earnings confirmed that thesis with a beat on EPS and revenue. Plus, the company finished the year with an acceleration in R&DS bookings and an expansion of their backlog. However, management posted what I would say was typical guidance for 2026 with routine increases in revenue and EPS. The company’s EPS guidance was below the Street’s consensus, which led to analysts revising their target downward and the market responding accordingly. As a result, IQV is trading in the $160-$170 per share range after trading above $240 per share about a month ago. I’m looking to take advantage of the recent discount on IQV. I intend to review what we saw earlier in 2025, review what the Street was expecting heading into Q4, and then compare that to what IQVIA’s results were. In addition, I will highlight a few risks that investors should consider when managing their position. Finally, I will take a look at the charts to see how I can manage my position post-earnings. Q1–Q3 Recap Looking back at IQVIA’s Q1-Q3 performance, the company logged steady growth thanks to a combination of the durable TAS segment and sustained efforts in the R&DS. The company did stress that macroeconomic conditions continue to impact...
Shutthiphong Chandaeng/iStock via Getty Images Introduction In December 2025, International Business Machines Corporation ( IBM ) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Confluent Inc. ( CFLT ) for about $11 billion, equivalent to about $31 per share. This all-cash offer is expected to be completed around mid-2026. Confluent shareholders have already voted to sell the company to IBM, effective...
Shutthiphong Chandaeng/iStock via Getty Images Introduction In December 2025, International Business Machines Corporation ( IBM ) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Confluent Inc. ( CFLT ) for about $11 billion, equivalent to about $31 per share. This all-cash offer is expected to be completed around mid-2026. Confluent shareholders have already voted to sell the company to IBM, effectively ending its journey as an independent public company. This raises an important question for investors: why sell a fast-growing real-time data infrastructure platform at this early-growth stage of its development? I estimated Confluent’s intrinsic value at about $23 per share under optimistic assumptions and looking at it as an independent business. IBM’s offer, therefore, allows shareholders to exit at a higher price while avoiding execution risks. Investment Thesis Confluent operates in the real-time data streaming market. This is a segment benefiting from structural tailwinds with a projected double-digit growth rate. While still unprofitable, there is a path to profitability driven by topline growth, gross margin expansion, and reducing fixed cost margin. At the same time, its cost structure will enable disproportionately higher profit growth as revenue increases. IBM’s $31 offer materially exceeds my estimate of standalone intrinsic value. This helps explain why Confluent shareholders voted for the acquisition. The offer effectively converts anticipated future success into much higher realized shareholder returns today. A strong business platform Confluent IPO in 2021 as “…pioneering the data streaming platform category...” Rather than processing enterprise data after events occur, its platform enables organizations to act on information in real time. With this real-time processing, a company can respond while events are happening rather than react after events happen. You can imagine the benefits of this when it comes to lowering fraud losses or lowering downtime. As...
We cannot know where this foolish, reckless attack will end – but new hatreds will be seeded, terrorist vendettas sown and, ultimately, little will be achieved They never learn. Once again, a bellicose US president has unleashed overwhelming military firepower to force a sovereign nation to its knees. Once again, blatant lies and exaggerated claims are being propagated to justify the attack. Dupli...
We cannot know where this foolish, reckless attack will end – but new hatreds will be seeded, terrorist vendettas sown and, ultimately, little will be achieved They never learn. Once again, a bellicose US president has unleashed overwhelming military firepower to force a sovereign nation to its knees. Once again, blatant lies and exaggerated claims are being propagated to justify the attack. Duplicitous American diplomacy became a fig leaf for premeditated aggression. The cautionary advice of allies was spurned. The UN, international law and public opinion were ignored. Democratic consent is lacking. And once again, there are few defined goals by which to gauge success, and no long-term plan. Now, as in the past, the predictable result of today’s renewed, expanded and apparently open-ended US-Israeli aggression against Iran will be instant, spreading chaos. Civilians will be killed, children orphaned, families torn apart. Regional turmoil and international oil-price panic will follow the Iranian retaliation that has already begun, and which may be backed by Tehran’s Hezbollah and Houthi allies. New hatreds will be seeded, terrorist vendettas sown. The west’s foes will rejoice. And nothing of enduring value will be achieved. That was the bitter outcome of the failed US-led interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, it’s Tehran’s turn to reap the whirlwind. Continue reading...
Prime minister leads emergency committee to decide on the UK’s response to latest crisis situation in Middle East US-Israeli attack on Iran – live updates US and Israel strikes on Iran: what we know so far Keir Starmer is chairing a meeting of the UK government’s Cobra emergency committee as Britain decides how it will respond to the US-Israeli bombing of Iran and Tehran’s retaliation against base...
Prime minister leads emergency committee to decide on the UK’s response to latest crisis situation in Middle East US-Israeli attack on Iran – live updates US and Israel strikes on Iran: what we know so far Keir Starmer is chairing a meeting of the UK government’s Cobra emergency committee as Britain decides how it will respond to the US-Israeli bombing of Iran and Tehran’s retaliation against bases in the Gulf. The UK did not participate in the first wave of strikes overnight but had deployed RAF Typhoons to Qatar to protect the al-Udeid airbase in the country and other allied military facilities in the region. Continue reading...
Intapp (NASDAQ:INTA) used its Investor Day 2026 event to outline how management views the shift to agent-based artificial intelligence as a major opportunity for the company’s software platform serving capital markets, legal, and advisory firms. Executives highlighted record recent results, steady r
Intapp (NASDAQ:INTA) used its Investor Day 2026 event to outline how management views the shift to agent-based artificial intelligence as a major opportunity for the company’s software platform serving capital markets, legal, and advisory firms. Executives highlighted record recent results, steady r