In this article INFY-IN WIPRO-IN CSA-FF Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Ai trading concepts. 3D render Blackjack3d | E+ | Getty Images This report is from this week's CNBC's "Inside India" newsletter which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse. Subscribe here. The big story Indian IT stocks are facing their steepest monthly declines sin...
In this article INFY-IN WIPRO-IN CSA-FF Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Ai trading concepts. 3D render Blackjack3d | E+ | Getty Images This report is from this week's CNBC's "Inside India" newsletter which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse. Subscribe here. The big story Indian IT stocks are facing their steepest monthly declines since the 2008 global financial crisis, with the Nifty IT Index on track to drop 20% this month, as concerns over AI-led disruption pressure software stocks globally. At the mega India AI summit last week, major tech companies announced tie-ups with leading Indian IT services firms to drive AI adoption across enterprises. India's largest and the world's second largest IT services company, Tata Consultancy Services, tied up with OpenAI, while Infosys partnered with the ChatGPT maker's rival Anthropic. These tie-ups did little to cheer the markets with the Nifty IT index down 19.6% so far this month as investor concerns over the impact of rapid artificial intelligence advancements on the sector has dampened sentiment. Indian IT industry leaders , however, have called AI implementation a "big opportunity." "We are confident AI will strengthen growth across our business and unlock the next phase of opportunity for the broader IT ecosystem," Sham Arora, chief technology officer at Tech Mahindra told CNBC. But unlike the U.S., where the debate is still on between AI fears being "illogical" and a possible collapse of companies offering software as a service, or SaaS, experts told me that AI won't make Indian firms offering IT services irrelevant. It will, however, shrink their margins. Biswajit Maity, senior principal analyst at Gartner, told me that traditional IT services companies such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Accenture will play a "pivotal role in enterprise AI adoption" by leveraging their client relationships and domain expertise in integrating AI solutions. Nvidia CEO Jensen...
Experimental therapy of applying stem cells during surgery could be ‘major milestone’ in treatment of birth defects Giving stem cells to unborn babies diagnosed with spina bifida while they have in utero surgery could be “a major milestone” in the treatment of birth defects, doctors say. A trial in the US found that applying stem cells from the mother’s placenta to her baby’s spine while it was be...
Experimental therapy of applying stem cells during surgery could be ‘major milestone’ in treatment of birth defects Giving stem cells to unborn babies diagnosed with spina bifida while they have in utero surgery could be “a major milestone” in the treatment of birth defects, doctors say. A trial in the US found that applying stem cells from the mother’s placenta to her baby’s spine while it was being repaired was safe and improved the child’s mobility and quality of life. Continue reading...
A man who raped a foreign domestic worker in the bushes near a Singapore railway station after pretending to be a police officer was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Thursday. Sharveen Chetty, a 48-year-old Malaysian, had pleaded guilty to one count of rape on the second day of his trial. A second rape charge and a charge of impersonating a police officer were taken into c...
A man who raped a foreign domestic worker in the bushes near a Singapore railway station after pretending to be a police officer was sentenced to 12 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Thursday. Sharveen Chetty, a 48-year-old Malaysian, had pleaded guilty to one count of rape on the second day of his trial. A second rape charge and a charge of impersonating a police officer were taken into consideration. In sentencing, Justice Dedar Singh Gill said Chetty was aware that the victim was a...
The increase in stamp duty on ultra-luxury homes above HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) is unlikely to change buying behaviour, analysts said, as the structural forces underpinning demand from mainland Chinese buyers could outweigh the impact of the rise in transaction costs. The Hong Kong government, in the annual budget on Wednesday, increased the tax rate on residential transactions above HK$10...
The increase in stamp duty on ultra-luxury homes above HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) is unlikely to change buying behaviour, analysts said, as the structural forces underpinning demand from mainland Chinese buyers could outweigh the impact of the rise in transaction costs. The Hong Kong government, in the annual budget on Wednesday, increased the tax rate on residential transactions above HK$100 million to 6.5 per cent from 4.25 per cent amid a surge in demand for high-end property from...
Earnings Call Insights: Ellington Financial Inc. (EFC) Q4 2025 Management View Laurence Penn, CEO, opened the call stating, "Ellington Financial closed out 2025 on a high note, capping a year of consistently strong performance, portfolio growth and liability optimization." He highlighted that adjusted distributable earnings (ADE) of $0.47 per share "continued to substantially exceed our dividends,...
Earnings Call Insights: Ellington Financial Inc. (EFC) Q4 2025 Management View Laurence Penn, CEO, opened the call stating, "Ellington Financial closed out 2025 on a high note, capping a year of consistently strong performance, portfolio growth and liability optimization." He highlighted that adjusted distributable earnings (ADE) of $0.47 per share "continued to substantially exceed our dividends," and attributed results to "exceptional performance and execution in our loan origination and securitization platforms with outsized contributions once again from our Longbridge segment." Penn announced a $400 million unsecured notes offering, describing it as "our largest to date, marking a significant step forward in the evolution of our capital structure." He explained that proceeds were partly used to reduce short-term repo financing and further expand the investment portfolio by 9%. Penn detailed the completion of seven securitizations in Q4, including the first residential transition loans (RTL) securitization with a revolving structure, and the first agency-eligible mortgage securitization post year-end, expanding the EFMT branded shelf to five residential loan sectors. He emphasized, "this expansion allows us to term out financing across all of our major residential loan strategies on a nonrecourse, non-mark-to-market basis... further enhancing balance sheet resilience and capital efficiency." Penn revealed a targeted common equity raise in January 2026, sized precisely to redeem the highest-cost Series A preferred stock. "The coupon on our Series A preferred stock was over 9%. So starting tomorrow... our common shareholders will immediately see the benefit of a lower overall cost of capital." CFO JR Herlihy stated, "For the fourth quarter, we reported GAAP net income of $0.14 per common share on a fully mark-to-market basis and ADE of $0.47 per share." He added, "Net interest income increased sequentially and we also generated net realized and unrealized gains on ...
Earnings Call Insights: Indivior Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (INDV) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Joseph Ciaffoni stated that 2025 was a transition year, highlighting the successful completion of Phase I Generate Momentum and the delivery of record net revenue for SUBLOCADE of $856 million, a 13% increase versus 2024, and total net revenue of $1.24 billion, up 4% from the prior year. He emphasized, "We im...
Earnings Call Insights: Indivior Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (INDV) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Joseph Ciaffoni stated that 2025 was a transition year, highlighting the successful completion of Phase I Generate Momentum and the delivery of record net revenue for SUBLOCADE of $856 million, a 13% increase versus 2024, and total net revenue of $1.24 billion, up 4% from the prior year. He emphasized, "We improved our commercial execution and generated momentum for SUBLOCADE, delivering record net revenue in 2025 of $856 million, a 13% increase versus 2024 and total net revenue of $1.24 billion, representing a 4% increase compared to the prior year." Ciaffoni announced the completion of the $295 million DOJ obligation payment and introduced a new $400 million share repurchase program. He described the shift to Phase II of the Indivior Action agenda, Accelerate, projecting accelerated SUBLOCADE dispense unit growth and net revenue in 2026, with immediate growth in adjusted EBITDA and cash flow. Chief Commercial Officer Patrick Barry reported, "In the fourth quarter, we delivered strong dispense unit growth of 12% versus the prior year and 6% versus the third quarter. New patient starts in the fourth quarter were up 25% year-over-year." Barry noted record levels in active SUBLOCADE prescribers and outlined improvements in field force messaging, commercial channel productivity, patient activation, and policy engagement. CFO Ryan Preblick stated, "We delivered on our financial commitments in 2025. We grew total SUBLOCADE net revenue by 13% and adjusted EBITDA by 20% year-over-year, and we simplified the organization while strengthening our financial profile." Preblick also highlighted the authorization of the new $400 million share repurchase program and reaffirmed 2026 financial guidance. Outlook The company reaffirmed 2026 guidance with total net revenue expected in the range of $1.125 billion to $1.195 billion, reflecting a modest decline at the midpoint due to anticipated SUBO...
Earnings Call Insights: OneSpan Inc. (OSPN) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Victor Limongelli introduced the call by describing OneSpan as "a software business with over 80% of revenue in 2026 expected to be derived from software," highlighting a shift from hardware, which will be "less than 20% of our business, down from over 50% in 2019 and over 1/3 of the business as recently as 2022." Limongelli e...
Earnings Call Insights: OneSpan Inc. (OSPN) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Victor Limongelli introduced the call by describing OneSpan as "a software business with over 80% of revenue in 2026 expected to be derived from software," highlighting a shift from hardware, which will be "less than 20% of our business, down from over 50% in 2019 and over 1/3 of the business as recently as 2022." Limongelli emphasized the company’s two software segments: Cybersecurity and Digital Agreements, noting, "In Cybersecurity, we provide value to our customers in 2 critical areas. Our first focus area is B2C or consumer authentication, particularly for banking and financial institutions." He announced a "definitive agreement to acquire Build38 to strengthen our app shielding offering," stating the acquisition "will enable deeper integration with our customers' mobile applications and will allow us to dynamically update our detection methods." Limongelli reported, "our gross retention rate in our DA business improved by over 4% in 2025 compared to 2024 and is now over 90%." The CEO highlighted that "we generated nearly $60 million in cash from operations" in 2025, returned nearly $32 million to shareholders, and completed acquisitions without drawing on the credit facility. Limongelli added, "I'm pleased the team's hard work and focus on operational excellence drove a strong quarter and a record year of profitability," but cautioned about a pull-forward of $3 million in Q4 2025 that would have otherwise come in Q1 2026. CFO Jorge Martell stated, "In the fourth quarter, our net retention rate was 104%, up from 103% last quarter… Q4 revenue was $62.9 million, an increase of 3% compared to last year's Q4." Outlook For full year 2026, Martell guided, "we expect software and services revenue to be in the range of $201 million to $204 million, representing 4% to 5% growth. We expect hardware revenue to be in the range of $43 million to $45 million, a decline of 8% to 12% year-over-year. We exp...
Earnings Call Insights: Whitestone REIT (WSR) Q4 2025 Management View CEO David Holeman reported that for 2025, Whitestone delivered $1.05 core FFO per share, highlighting this as a 5% CAGR since 2021 and stating, "we did that while strengthening our balance sheet as evidenced by our debt-to-EBITDA metric improving from 9.1x for the full year 2021 to 7.0x for the full year 2025" (CEO David Holeman...
Earnings Call Insights: Whitestone REIT (WSR) Q4 2025 Management View CEO David Holeman reported that for 2025, Whitestone delivered $1.05 core FFO per share, highlighting this as a 5% CAGR since 2021 and stating, "we did that while strengthening our balance sheet as evidenced by our debt-to-EBITDA metric improving from 9.1x for the full year 2021 to 7.0x for the full year 2025" (CEO David Holeman). Holeman emphasized confidence in the company's outlook: "we have very good visibility into the next 3 years and are very confident in our ability to generate long-term 5% to 7% core FFO per share growth." The company delivered 4% same-store NOI growth in 2025, with guidance for 2026 set at 3% to 4.75% same-store NOI growth, supported by "strong contractual escalators in excess of 2%, leasing success with straight-line leasing spreads in excess of 19% and targeted redevelopment." Whitestone acquired World Cup Plaza in Plano and Ashford Village in Houston during Q4, while disposing of Kempwood Plaza in Houston. The acquisition and disposition strategy focuses on identifying gaps between neighborhood and tenant strength, aiming to "close that gap" for earnings growth. President and COO Christine Mastandrea highlighted, "We hit a record occupancy of 94.6% and delivered same-store NOI growth of 4% for the year. Combined straight-line leasing spreads for the fourth quarter were 18.2%, 25.9% for new leases and 16.6% for renewals." Mastandrea noted a sharp reduction in bad debt to 0.55% for 2025, stating, "less than half the rate versus the years prior to the pandemic." CFO J. Scott Hogan reported, "We delivered $1.05 in core FFO per share versus $1.01 in 2024, representing 4% growth," and confirmed record occupancy, strong cash flow, and a 5.6% dividend increase for Q1 2026. Outlook The company issued same-store NOI growth guidance of 3% to 4.75% for 2026. Long-term guidance targets 5% to 7% core FFO per share growth, with management stating, "we feel very confident that it's g...
Earnings Call Insights: USA TODAY Co., Inc. (TDAY) Q4 2025 Management View Michael Reed, Chairman, CEO & President, reported "Q4 was by far our strongest quarter in recent years," highlighting total adjusted EBITDA surpassing $90 million, up approximately 17% year-over-year, and margin expanding 300 basis points to about 16%, the company's highest in five years. Reed stated digital revenues repres...
Earnings Call Insights: USA TODAY Co., Inc. (TDAY) Q4 2025 Management View Michael Reed, Chairman, CEO & President, reported "Q4 was by far our strongest quarter in recent years," highlighting total adjusted EBITDA surpassing $90 million, up approximately 17% year-over-year, and margin expanding 300 basis points to about 16%, the company's highest in five years. Reed stated digital revenues represented "more than 47% of total revenues, an all-time high" and confirmed the company is well-positioned to surpass 50% digital revenue in 2026. Reed emphasized execution of several AI licensing agreements, including a multiyear partnership with Meta, the largest such deal to date, and noted these contributed positively to Q4 results and are expected to be "highly accretive to total adjusted EBITDA." The company strengthened its balance sheet by increasing cash, repaying $136 million in long-term debt, and reducing First Lien Net Leverage to 2.4x. Kristin Roberts, President of USA Today Media, described 2025 as "a year defined by innovation, resilience, and strong collaboration," and noted that the company closed the year as the #1 news and information provider based on unique visitors as measured by Comscore. Roberts highlighted the launch of a reimagined entertainment hub and the PLAY gaming initiative, both of which are driving audience engagement and creating new monetization opportunities. Trisha Gosser, CFO, stated "In the fourth quarter, total revenues were $585 million, a decrease of 5.8% or 3.9% on a same-store basis, which marks a 290 basis point improvement over Q3 same-store trends." Outlook The company expects full-year growth in net income, total adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow for 2026, supported by improving same-store revenue trends, total digital revenue growth, and continued deleveraging. Gosser projected "total digital revenues to remain at year-over-year growth on a same-store basis, driving more meaningful growth and exceeding 50% of total revenues d...
Earnings Call Insights: Krispy Kreme, Inc. (DNUT) Q4 2025 Management View Joshua Charlesworth, President and CEO, opened the call highlighting the company's progress on its turnaround plan focused on deleveraging the balance sheet and driving sustainable, profitable growth. He stated, “Our turnaround plan is centered on unlocking that demand through our 2 biggest opportunities, profitable U.S. exp...
Earnings Call Insights: Krispy Kreme, Inc. (DNUT) Q4 2025 Management View Joshua Charlesworth, President and CEO, opened the call highlighting the company's progress on its turnaround plan focused on deleveraging the balance sheet and driving sustainable, profitable growth. He stated, “Our turnaround plan is centered on unlocking that demand through our 2 biggest opportunities, profitable U.S. expansion and capital-light international franchise growth.” Charlesworth detailed the refranchising strategy, expecting nearly 50% of system-wide sales to come from franchisees by the start of 2027, compared to 75% from company-operated locations in 2025. He noted, "We are targeting 2 to 3 international refranchising deals in 2026." The company announced a strategic refranchising agreement with Unison Capital for Japan, with expected cash proceeds of approximately $65 million. Additional refranchising efforts will prioritize value-maximizing partners in other international markets and reduce company ownership to a minority stake in the Western U.S. joint venture with WKS Restaurant Group. Charlesworth emphasized a substantial reduction in capital expenditures, stating, “2026 CapEx will be nearly half of last year.” He cited the opening of a Hot Light Theater shop in Madrid and a production hub in Minneapolis projected to drive approximately $10 million in first-year sales. Operational improvements include outsourcing 57% of the U.S. fresh delivery network to third-party logistics partners by the end of 2025, with full transition expected in 2026. Charlesworth noted, “Total shop and delivery labor and SG&A expenses declined more than 10% in the second half of the year versus the first half.” Marketing initiatives led to record Halloween and Valentine’s Day campaigns, with U.S. digital sales up 15% year-over-year and digital representing 22.5% of U.S. retail sales in Q4. The loyalty platform surpassed 17 million members in the U.S. CFO Raphael Duvivier stated, “Adjusted EBITDA ...
Earnings Call Insights: Lightbridge Corporation (LTBR) Q4 2025 Management View Seth Grae, President, CEO & Chairman of the Board, characterized 2025 as "a transformative year for Lightbridge," highlighting major fuel development milestones, balance sheet strengthening, and strategic partnerships. Grae announced the start of irradiation testing of enriched uranium-zirconium alloy fuel material samp...
Earnings Call Insights: Lightbridge Corporation (LTBR) Q4 2025 Management View Seth Grae, President, CEO & Chairman of the Board, characterized 2025 as "a transformative year for Lightbridge," highlighting major fuel development milestones, balance sheet strengthening, and strategic partnerships. Grae announced the start of irradiation testing of enriched uranium-zirconium alloy fuel material samples in the advanced test reactor at Idaho National Laboratory, calling it a "pivotal step in demonstrating Lightbridge Fuel's uranium-zirconium alloy material performance, generating data to help us validate key thermophysical -- thermomechanical properties of our target fuel alloy." Grae detailed the signing of a memorandum of understanding and joint announcement with Oklo Inc. to explore collaboration opportunities including used fuel recycling and reprocessing, positioning Lightbridge for expanded market opportunities. Andrey Mushakov, Executive Vice President of Nuclear Operations, reported "measurable progress across several fronts" in fuel development, specifically mentioning the expansion of scope at Idaho National Laboratory to include review of the fuel qualification plan, code development work, and post-irradiation examination. He also noted significant expansion of the in-house development team across key technical disciplines. Scott Holcombe, Vice President of Engineering, emphasized the adoption of the fission accelerated steady-state test (FAST) method to "compress our testing time line relative to conventional irradiation methods," and highlighted the successful production and irradiation of alloy coupon samples using proprietary co-extrusion processes. Lawrence Goldman, CFO & Corporate Secretary, stated, "As of December 31, 2025, we held approximately $201.9 million in cash and cash equivalents compared to $40 million a year earlier. This positions us with substantial financial resources sufficient to support our operations for an extended period well beyond...
Meta Platforms has signed a deal to rent Google's AI chips, known as tensor processing units, to develop new AI models, the Information reported on Thursday, citing a person involved in the talks. The multi-year deal is worth billions of dollars, the report added. Meta and Google did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Meta Platforms has signed a deal to rent Google's AI chips, known as tensor processing units, to develop new AI models, the Information reported on Thursday, citing a person involved in the talks. The multi-year deal is worth billions of dollars, the report added. Meta and Google did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
Pete Hegseth has threatened to cancel $200m contract unless it is given unfettered access to Claude model Anthropic said Thursday it “cannot in good conscience” comply with a demand from the Pentagon to remove safety precautions from its artificial intelligence model and grant the US military unfettered access to its AI capabilities. The Department of Defense had threatened to cancel a $200m contr...
Pete Hegseth has threatened to cancel $200m contract unless it is given unfettered access to Claude model Anthropic said Thursday it “cannot in good conscience” comply with a demand from the Pentagon to remove safety precautions from its artificial intelligence model and grant the US military unfettered access to its AI capabilities. The Department of Defense had threatened to cancel a $200m contract and deem Anthropic a “supply chain risk”, a designation with serious financial implications, if the company did not comply with the request by Friday. Continue reading...