Earnings Call Insights: CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Jason Wells highlighted "continued performance is reflected in our delivery of 9% EPS growth for the fourth time in the last 5 years." He emphasized the "increased acceleration of the significant growth in our Houston Electric business," with peak load demand now forecast to increase by 50%—an additional 10 gigawatts—by 2...
Earnings Call Insights: CenterPoint Energy (CNP) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Jason Wells highlighted "continued performance is reflected in our delivery of 9% EPS growth for the fourth time in the last 5 years." He emphasized the "increased acceleration of the significant growth in our Houston Electric business," with peak load demand now forecast to increase by 50%—an additional 10 gigawatts—by 2029, which is "2 years earlier than previously planned." Wells stated, "we are adding $500 million of incremental capital to our 10-year $65 billion capital investment plan to fund an additional 765 kV import line." Wells reaffirmed, "we are reaffirming our 2026 non-GAAP earnings guidance of $1.89 to $1.91, an 8% increase at the midpoint from our 2025 delivered results." He projected long-term non-GAAP EPS growth at the "mid- to high end of our 7% to 9% long-term annual guidance range through 2028 and 7% to 9% annually thereafter through 2035." CFO Christopher Foster reported, "On a GAAP EPS basis, we reported $0.40 for the fourth quarter and $1.60 for the full year 2025." He added, "On a non-GAAP basis, we reported $0.45 for the fourth quarter and $1.76 for the full year 2025. Our 2025 results reflect 9% growth compared to 2024 results." Foster noted, "we received a final order in our Ohio gas LDC rate case," approving a revenue requirement of $53.1 million and an ROE of 9.79%. Outlook Management reaffirmed 2026 non-GAAP earnings guidance of $1.89 to $1.91, which is described by Foster as "an 8% increase over 2025 delivered results." Wells stated, "Over the long term, we continue to expect to grow non-GAAP EPS at the mid- to high end of our 7% to 9% long-term annual guidance range through 2028 and 7% to 9% annually thereafter through 2035." The company expects "continued execution across electric and gas infrastructure, resiliency and system modernization," with the 2026 capital plan at $6.8 billion. Financial Results CenterPoint reported GAAP EPS of $0.40 for Q4 and $1.60...
Earnings Call Insights: Choice Hotels International (CHH) Q4 2025 Management View Patrick Pacious, President and CEO, reported that "in 2025, we delivered adjusted EBITDA of $626 million, up 4% year-over-year and grew adjusted earnings per share, both in line with our expectations." He highlighted a 14% year-over-year growth in global hotel openings, expanded international presence, and record U.S...
Earnings Call Insights: Choice Hotels International (CHH) Q4 2025 Management View Patrick Pacious, President and CEO, reported that "in 2025, we delivered adjusted EBITDA of $626 million, up 4% year-over-year and grew adjusted earnings per share, both in line with our expectations." He highlighted a 14% year-over-year growth in global hotel openings, expanded international presence, and record U.S. extended-stay hotel openings. The company achieved an increase in average royalty rate across the U.S. portfolio, with an 8 basis point rise in 2025 and 10 basis points in the fourth quarter. Pacious emphasized the launch of the next evolution of the Choice Privileges loyalty platform and a forthcoming digital platform for small and midsized businesses. He stated, "our hotel development pipeline remains a powerful engine for future earnings growth, supported by strong developer interest with global franchise agreements awarded up 22% year-over-year in 2025." The company expects U.S. net rooms growth to "return to positive territory this year." The CEO noted specific international milestones, including 37% growth in international revenues and a 13% increase in international system size to approximately 160,000 rooms. He said, "over the past several years, we've deliberately built the foundation for scalable, high-return international growth." Pacious addressed the strength of the extended-stay segment, stating, "today, the extended-stay segment represents more than 40% of our U.S. pipeline" and reported a record number of U.S. extended-stay hotel openings, up 8% year-over-year. Scott Oaksmith, Chief Financial Officer, stated, "for full year 2025, we delivered adjusted EBITDA of $626 million, up 4% year-over-year and in line with the midpoint of our guidance range. Adjusted earnings per share for the full year were $6.94 per share, also in line with the midpoint of our guidance range." Oaksmith highlighted robust average royalty rate growth, international business expansion...
Oakmark Global Concentrated Strategy outperformed with a return of 3.45% for Q4 2025 compared with a 3.12% gain for the MSCI World Index over the same period. During Q4 2025, the fund initiated new positions in Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY ). In Q4 2025, the fund exited Mercedes-Benz Group ( MBGAF ) and Roche Holding ( RHHBY ). Source . More on Sanofi, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, etc. Mercedes-Benz Group AG (B...
Oakmark Global Concentrated Strategy outperformed with a return of 3.45% for Q4 2025 compared with a 3.12% gain for the MSCI World Index over the same period. During Q4 2025, the fund initiated new positions in Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY ). In Q4 2025, the fund exited Mercedes-Benz Group ( MBGAF ) and Roche Holding ( RHHBY ). Source . More on Sanofi, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, etc. Mercedes-Benz Group AG (BENZ:CA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Prepared Remarks Transcript Mercedes-Benz Group AG 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Sanofi: CEO Leaves With Project Rejuvenation Unfinished, But Stock Undervalued Genentech's Gazyva succeeds in phase 3 trial for primary membranous nephropathy Sanofi replaces CEO Paul Hudson, names Belén Garijo as successor
OpenAI (Unlisted:OPAI) is reportedly close to completing the first phase of a funding round that could exceed $100 billion, according to Bloomberg, a move that would mark a record raise for the company and support expansion of its artificial intelligence tools and infrastructure. Early...
OpenAI (Unlisted:OPAI) is reportedly close to completing the first phase of a funding round that could exceed $100 billion, according to Bloomberg, a move that would mark a record raise for the company and support expansion of its artificial intelligence tools and infrastructure. Early...
Kenneth Cheung/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Over the past year, eBay Inc. ( EBAY ) has been a bit of a roller coaster, notching huge gains but also suffering sharp declines. I covered eBay back in July 2025, and shortly thereafter, the stock climbed more than 30%. A sharp selloff in late October following a tepid earnings release erased those gains, but a positive earnings release on Februar...
Kenneth Cheung/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Over the past year, eBay Inc. ( EBAY ) has been a bit of a roller coaster, notching huge gains but also suffering sharp declines. I covered eBay back in July 2025, and shortly thereafter, the stock climbed more than 30%. A sharp selloff in late October following a tepid earnings release erased those gains, but a positive earnings release on February 18th had eBay up more than 8% in pre-market trading on the 19th as I write this. I believe there is quite a lot to like with eBay and its earnings. Thus, I rate it a Buy. There’s a lot to like with the numbers, but perhaps the biggest and brightest move was the announced $1.2 billion acquisition of Depop from Etsy ( ETSY ). I covered Etsy as well in 2025, and while I came away with a Hold rating, I highlighted the potential for Depop specifically, which focuses on second-hand clothing and vintage items. Etsy fell about 20% after my Hold rating, although it gained over 15% in pre-market trading, following the deal’s announcement. Out of the gate this morning, growth for eBay was more temperate at about 3%, while ETSY opened up more than 10% over yesterday’s closing price. The Depop Move Is Especially Attractive The cash for Depop deal could turn out well for both parties, but I especially like the move for eBay. Not only is Depop a natural fit for eBay, but its strong positioning among younger shoppers can help eBay make inroads with a crucial demographic. As far as I can tell, eBay has a bit of a stodgy reputation, and more than 60% of its users are 35 or older according to Similarweb , which also reports that more than half of Depop’s user base is under the age of 35. Other sources point to Gen Z making up 90% of Depop’s user base , and in a report put together along with Bain & Co., the company itself notes its users are “overwhelmingly from Gen Z,” although the data is from a study conducted in 2020. More recent research from the Harris Poll, however, shows Depop’s bra...
zimmytws FanDuel ( FLUT ) and DraftKings ( DKNG ) have formally applied to enter the Arkansas online sports betting market as third-party mobile operators. The applications will be reviewed and decided on by the Arkansas Racing Commission, which is the state agency that regulates casino gaming and sports betting and has explicit authority to approve or deny third-party mobile sportsbook partners f...
zimmytws FanDuel ( FLUT ) and DraftKings ( DKNG ) have formally applied to enter the Arkansas online sports betting market as third-party mobile operators. The applications will be reviewed and decided on by the Arkansas Racing Commission, which is the state agency that regulates casino gaming and sports betting and has explicit authority to approve or deny third-party mobile sportsbook partners for Arkansas casinos. The online sports betting companies will be required to partner with one of the state's three commercial casinos as part of their applications. While Arkansas online sports betting itself has been live since 2022 via locally branded platforms such as Betly, BetSaracen, and Oaklawn Sports, national online sports betting companies have been hesitant to enter the state because of the 51% revenue-share requirement that is still in place. Arkansas mandates that any third-party mobile sportsbook deal must give at least 51% of net sports betting revenue to the in-state casino partner. However, with no new states expected to legalize online sports betting this year, the incremental revenue from an Arkansas launch looks more appealing to FanDuel ( FLUT ) and DraftKings ( DKNG ). Looking at the overall landscape, Citizens Equity Research analyst Jordan Bender noted things are trending in the right direction, but the time-consuming process for legislative action means the firm has a bearish view on any developments with new state legalization. More on DraftKings and Flutter DraftKings: Growth Is Slowing, Not Stopping DraftKings Inc. (DKNG) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript DraftKings Inc. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation DraftKings targets $6.5B–$6.9B 2026 revenue as predictions segment set for rapid expansion DraftKings slides after softer-than-expected revenue guidance
Another day, another Google AI model. Google has really been pumping out new AI tools lately, having just released Gemini 3 in November . Today, it's bumping the flagship model to version 3.1. The new Gemini 3.1 Pro is rolling out (in preview) for developers and consumers today with the promise of better problem-solving and reasoning capabilities. Google announced improvements to its Deep Think to...
Another day, another Google AI model. Google has really been pumping out new AI tools lately, having just released Gemini 3 in November . Today, it's bumping the flagship model to version 3.1. The new Gemini 3.1 Pro is rolling out (in preview) for developers and consumers today with the promise of better problem-solving and reasoning capabilities. Google announced improvements to its Deep Think tool last week, and apparently, the "core intelligence" behind that update was Gemini 3.1 Pro. As usual, Google's latest model announcement comes with a plethora of benchmarks that show mostly modest improvements. In the popular Humanity's Last Exam, which tests advanced domain-specific knowledge, Gemini 3.1 Pro scored a record 44.4 percent. Gemini 3 Pro managed 37.5 percent, while OpenAI's GPT 5.2 got 34.5 percent. Credit: Google Read full article Comments
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. sees plenty of growth opportunities as “the penny has finally dropped” on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s importance in supplying critical minerals to the US and other Western economies. “We’re in continuous dialog with all the world’s major mining companies and sovereign investors, and we see a lot of opportunity to grow our company,” Ivanhoe’s billionaire founder and co...
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. sees plenty of growth opportunities as “the penny has finally dropped” on the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s importance in supplying critical minerals to the US and other Western economies. “We’re in continuous dialog with all the world’s major mining companies and sovereign investors, and we see a lot of opportunity to grow our company,” Ivanhoe’s billionaire founder and co-chairman, Robert Friedland , told analysts on an earnings call Thursday. With vast mining assets in the DRC, Vancouver-based Ivanhoe plans to open offices in New York and Washington DC as executives work to understand the US government’s viewpoint, he said. Friedland, 75, who is behind some of the world’s biggest new copper mines, has been speaking publicly for years about looming shortages of critical materials and the frailties of Western supply chains. Earlier this month, he participated in the launch of the Trump administration’s minerals stockpile program, Project Vault. “It’s fair to say that the US places the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the highest order of priority internationally,” he said. In the DRC, Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula complex has just started shipping smelted copper to Germany as it continues to drill a massive exploration project called Western Foreland. With copper recently added to a US list of critical minerals, it has become well understood that smelting and refining is “absolutely critical to America’s national security,” Friedland said. Interest from prospective investors in Western Foreland is “nearly infinite,” he said. “I have never in my lifetime seen the intensity and the focus of interest in the expansion of mineral development, not only in the Congo and in Zambia and in Angola and in South Africa, but around the world,” he said. “There’s a more sober understanding now that all critical materials depend largely on Africa for their development.”
The Hunt - Apple TV's new French-language drama that was previously put on indefinite hold following concerns about plagiarism - has been given a solid release date. Today, Apple announced that The Hunt , which was produced by French studio Gaumont and directed by Cédric Anger, is set to premiere on March 4th. The news comes after months of delays that began when French media reporter Clement Gari...
The Hunt - Apple TV's new French-language drama that was previously put on indefinite hold following concerns about plagiarism - has been given a solid release date. Today, Apple announced that The Hunt , which was produced by French studio Gaumont and directed by Cédric Anger, is set to premiere on March 4th. The news comes after months of delays that began when French media reporter Clement Garin noted a number of striking similarities between The Hunt (which Anger originally sold as an original story of his own creation) and Shoot , Douglas Fairbairn's 1973 novel about two groups of hunters, which was also adapted into a 1976 film. Both T … Read the full story at The Verge.