Dow Jones futures will open Sunday evening, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Nvidia earnings loom with investors also watching out for U.S.-Iran developments. The stock market rose last week with the Nasdaq leading.
Dow Jones futures will open Sunday evening, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures. Nvidia earnings loom with investors also watching out for U.S.-Iran developments. The stock market rose last week with the Nasdaq leading.
Updates from 2.10pm kickoff (GMT) at Twickenham Follow us over on Bluesky | And you can email Lee “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” were the parting words of John Lydon at the last ever Sex Pistols gig in 1977, before the lead singer moved on to his long fermentation into a middle England MAGA muppet. Fans of both these teams may be asking themselves some version of the same question. En...
Updates from 2.10pm kickoff (GMT) at Twickenham Follow us over on Bluesky | And you can email Lee “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” were the parting words of John Lydon at the last ever Sex Pistols gig in 1977, before the lead singer moved on to his long fermentation into a middle England MAGA muppet. Fans of both these teams may be asking themselves some version of the same question. England’s crowd must wonder what is the reality of their side. Are they the team of twelve undefeated matches and months and the growing confidence it brought, or that which looked so very second best at Murrayfield last week? Continue reading...
mbbirdy/E+ via Getty Images Wall Street finished the week higher as investors digested a wave of economic data, earnings reports, and a major Supreme Court decision. In a 6–3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, limiting the administration’s ability to use emergency powers to enact broad trade levies without congressional approval. Meanwhile, econom...
mbbirdy/E+ via Getty Images Wall Street finished the week higher as investors digested a wave of economic data, earnings reports, and a major Supreme Court decision. In a 6–3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, limiting the administration’s ability to use emergency powers to enact broad trade levies without congressional approval. Meanwhile, economic data showed slowing momentum, with fourth-quarter 2025 GDP rising at a 1.4% annualized rate — down from 4.4% in the prior quarter and below the 2.8% consensus estimate. Corporate earnings also shaped sentiment, with Walmart ( WMT ) and Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) among major names reporting. For the week, the S&P ( SP500 ) gained +1.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) moved up +1.5%, and the blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) advanced +0.3%. Here’s what caught investor attention this week: Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Meta ( META ) agreed to a multi-year partnership this week, under which Nvidia ( NVDA ) will supply Meta ( META ) with a large volume of its current and next-generation AI hardware. The deal expands Meta’s use of Nvidia’s computing and networking technology to train and run AI models at scale. Walmart ( WMT ) reported its most recent quarterly results, which showed solid sales and earnings performance but came with a somewhat cautious outlook for the year ahead. Looking ahead, the retailer guided for FY27 of $2.75 to $2.85 (midpoint $2.80) vs. the $2.97 consensus mark. Blue Owl ( OWL ) said on Wednesday that some Blue Owl BDCs entered separate agreements with four North American public pension and insurance investors to sell $1.4B of direct lending investments at 99.7% of par value as of Feb. 12, 2026. This transaction positions Blue Owl Capital Corp. ((OBDC II)) to provide substantial liquidity to its shareholders. Figma ( FIG ) shares surged after it released its fourth quarter results. For the quarter ended December 31, the creative design software company ...
Deporting Censorship: US Targets UK Government Ally Over Free Speech Authored by Paul D. Thacker via RealClearInvestigations , As ICE sweeps in Minneapolis have drawn wide attention, a little-noticed immigration case playing out in a New York federal court has significant implications for America’s relationship with Britain and the ongoing debate over global censorship. In late December, the State...
Deporting Censorship: US Targets UK Government Ally Over Free Speech Authored by Paul D. Thacker via RealClearInvestigations , As ICE sweeps in Minneapolis have drawn wide attention, a little-noticed immigration case playing out in a New York federal court has significant implications for America’s relationship with Britain and the ongoing debate over global censorship. In late December, the State Department announced its intention to revoke the visas of five foreign individuals who have allegedly censored Americans. The most consequential member of this group is Imran Ahmed, a British Labour Party political operative now living in the U.S., who is the CEO of an influential nonprofit, the Center for Countering Digital Hate . In documents released Feb. 6 in federal court, the State Department claims Ahmed and the Center have been key players in efforts to censor Americans. A memo written by State Department Undersecretary Sarah Rogers asserts that “ Ahmed was a key collaborator with the Biden administration on weaponizing the national security bureaucracy to censor U.S. citizens and pressure U.S. companies into censoring , and his group advocates for foreign regulatory action that extraterritorially impacts American citizens and companies.” In a follow-up memo, Secretary Marco Rubio wrote that Ahmed had led efforts to censor Americans and harm U.S. media outlets, including ZeroHedge and The Federalist. “I have determined that Ahmed’s activities and presence in the United States have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences and comprise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest.” Rubio asserted. While the Center casts itself as a disinterested nonprofit trying to stop online hate, Rubio noted that documents leaked from inside the group outline ambitious plans to “ kill Musk’s Twitter ” and “ trigger EU and UK regulatory action .” Ahmed has a small army of lawyers working to halt his deportation proceedings, which are now being litigated . Ahmed’s lead a...
Layoffs in the tech sector slowed down year-over-year during 2024 and 2025, but they appear to be picking up the pace in 2026, with more than 26,000 employees let go so far, according to the tracker Layoffs.fyi. Artificial intelligence was not indicated as the culprit behind most of the staff reductions. Instead, multiple companies planning large-scale layoffs attributed the plans to reducing bure...
Layoffs in the tech sector slowed down year-over-year during 2024 and 2025, but they appear to be picking up the pace in 2026, with more than 26,000 employees let go so far, according to the tracker Layoffs.fyi. Artificial intelligence was not indicated as the culprit behind most of the staff reductions. Instead, multiple companies planning large-scale layoffs attributed the plans to reducing bureaucracy. The bulk of the layoffs can be attributed to a single company: Amazon ( AMZN ). The tech and e-commerce giant announced a plan in late January to slash its workforce by 16,000. "We've been working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy," said Beth Galetti, Amazon's senior vice president of people experience and technology. To put things in perspective, Amazon's workforce totals more than 1.5M employees. The next largest layoff occurred at ASML ( ASML ), which announced in late January it planned to lay off 1,700 employees. The semiconductor equipment manufacturer said most of the layoffs would occur in the Netherlands, where it is headquartered, and some in its U.S. offices. "In the Technology organization, we are proposing to shift from a project/matrix setup to one where most of our engineers will be dedicated to a specific product and module," said a letter from ASML's board of management to its employees. "This will allow us to simplify processes and decision-making … As a result of these proposed changes, some roles—mainly at the leadership level—may no longer be required. At the same time, to retain our engineering capability, we will create new engineering jobs to strengthen existing technology projects and embark on new ones to support our own and our customers' growth plans." Meanwhile, Ericsson ( ERIC ) revealed plans to reduce its workforce by about 1,600 in mid-January. Most of those affected are based in Sweden, where Ericsson is headquartered. "The proposed staff reduction is part of global in...
⚽ Latest updates from the Premier League and beyond ⚽ Live scores | Follow us on Bluesky | And email Dom Right, we’re starting a bit early on today’s clockwatch to cover the intriguing EFL lunchtime games, which include leaders Coventry away at midlands rivals West Brom. It’s hard to believe the Baggies and Leicester are now among this season’s relegation contenders; the Foxes are currently away a...
⚽ Latest updates from the Premier League and beyond ⚽ Live scores | Follow us on Bluesky | And email Dom Right, we’re starting a bit early on today’s clockwatch to cover the intriguing EFL lunchtime games, which include leaders Coventry away at midlands rivals West Brom. It’s hard to believe the Baggies and Leicester are now among this season’s relegation contenders; the Foxes are currently away at Stoke, by the way. The Premier League stuff begins later on with a trio of matches – Aston Villa v Leeds is surely the standout. Can Villa keep their feint title hopes alive, or at least keep the chasing top four/five pack at bay with a win? Or will Daniel Farke’s side continue their march away from trouble? There’s also Chelsea v Burnley and Brentford v Brighton. There’s also a full schedule of fixtures in League One, League Two and the National League. And in Scotland, Hearts must see off Falkirk to keep their noses in front in the title race, with Rangers and Celtic lurking. Continue reading...
The US supreme court ruled against the president. Let’s hope the court removes its pro-Trump glasses on other issues and stands up for the rule of law There’s no denying that the US supreme court’s long-awaited ruling that overturned Donald Trump’s global tariffs is important, and if the ruling turns out to be a harbinger that the court is ready to abandon its startling sycophancy toward the US pr...
The US supreme court ruled against the president. Let’s hope the court removes its pro-Trump glasses on other issues and stands up for the rule of law There’s no denying that the US supreme court’s long-awaited ruling that overturned Donald Trump’s global tariffs is important, and if the ruling turns out to be a harbinger that the court is ready to abandon its startling sycophancy toward the US president, it could prove hugely important. The ruling this Friday is the first time during Trump’s second term that the justices have struck down one of his policies. Not only that, the policy they struck down is Trump’s signature economic policy – he has used tariffs to bash, lord over and terrorize dozens of other countries and make himself the King of the Economic Jungle. In the court’s main opinion, joined by three conservative justices and three liberals, chief justice John Roberts used some sharp language to slap down Trump’s tariffs, writing that the constitution specifically gives Congress, not the president, the power to impose taxes and tariffs. ( Roberts noted that tariffs are indeed taxes.) Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labour and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues Continue reading...
The Working Arts Club is working to counter the stark class disparity within the UK creative sector ‘The problem the art world has with class is a systemic issue and the need for support is everywhere,” says Meg Molloy, the founder of Working Arts Club, which aims to help people from working-class backgrounds secure jobs in the arts. Founded in 2024 as an independent initiative in London, it has c...
The Working Arts Club is working to counter the stark class disparity within the UK creative sector ‘The problem the art world has with class is a systemic issue and the need for support is everywhere,” says Meg Molloy, the founder of Working Arts Club, which aims to help people from working-class backgrounds secure jobs in the arts. Founded in 2024 as an independent initiative in London, it has collaborated with the likes of the V&A, Royal Academy, Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Frieze London. Continue reading...
Major Chinese technology companies, including ByteDance and Baidu, are aggressively expanding their US-based research and development teams, targeting high-level artificial intelligence and semiconductor recruits in key American tech hubs. The overseas hiring spree underscores these “big tech” firms’ growing ambitions to build up their skilled workforce in AI systems development and semiconductor ...
Major Chinese technology companies, including ByteDance and Baidu, are aggressively expanding their US-based research and development teams, targeting high-level artificial intelligence and semiconductor recruits in key American tech hubs. The overseas hiring spree underscores these “big tech” firms’ growing ambitions to build up their skilled workforce in AI systems development and semiconductor design amid increased competition in their home market. Social media giant ByteDance, the parent...
Which supermarket shortcrust pastry puffs up proudly, and which comes up short? • The best supermarket unsalted butter Puff pastry is made by wrapping a block of fat (ideally butter) in a sheet of dough, then rolling it out, folding it over itself, and repeating the rolling and folding process several times more. This creates dozens of thin layers of fat between each layer of pastry. It’s skilled,...
Which supermarket shortcrust pastry puffs up proudly, and which comes up short? • The best supermarket unsalted butter Puff pastry is made by wrapping a block of fat (ideally butter) in a sheet of dough, then rolling it out, folding it over itself, and repeating the rolling and folding process several times more. This creates dozens of thin layers of fat between each layer of pastry. It’s skilled, arduous work, but that’s where ready-rolled puff pastry comes in. This miraculous product makes baking your own pastries, vol-au-vents and upside-down tarts very simple indeed. I baked a small rectangle of pastry from each brand for 10-15 minutes at 180-200C (or according to the manufacturer’s instructions). I noted the height of the rise as well as the lamination (the separation of layers), texture, flavour, ingredients and value relative to quality. Continue reading...
With waits for council plots in England decades-long, Roots is renting out green space – but some communities are digging in When police arrived at the field outside Bristol in October 2023, two old cars, wheels removed, were blockading the gates. Protesters had hauled them across the entrance to stop developers building on the slice of north Somerset green belt. The threat was not housing or indu...
With waits for council plots in England decades-long, Roots is renting out green space – but some communities are digging in When police arrived at the field outside Bristol in October 2023, two old cars, wheels removed, were blockading the gates. Protesters had hauled them across the entrance to stop developers building on the slice of north Somerset green belt. The threat was not housing or industry, but a company building vegetable patches. Roots builds privatised allotments to give city dwelling customers a place to grow food. It was co-founded in 2021 by Christian Samuel, Ed Morrison and William Gay, who were frustrated by a 28-year waiting list for a plot in their area of Streatham, south London. “We thought: ‘This is crazy’,” says Samuel, 32. “‘Why don’t we just build our own?’” Continue reading...
In this article MAT HAS Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 2:53 02:53 Why toymakers like Hasbro and Mattel need Hollywood CNBC Digital Original Video The gap is widening between rival toy makers Hasbro and Mattel — thanks in part to a 30-year-old trading card game. The toy giants have flip-flopped dominance in the space for decades, jockeying for the most coveted maste...
In this article MAT HAS Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now VIDEO 2:53 02:53 Why toymakers like Hasbro and Mattel need Hollywood CNBC Digital Original Video The gap is widening between rival toy makers Hasbro and Mattel — thanks in part to a 30-year-old trading card game. The toy giants have flip-flopped dominance in the space for decades, jockeying for the most coveted master licenses to put new fan favorites — Disney princesses and "Star Wars" characters among them — on store shelves. But as the industry recovers from a period of declining sales, Hasbro is the one winning over Wall Street. For the fiscal year 2025, Hasbro reported revenue gains of 14%, reaching $4.7 billion, while Mattel saw its net sales drop 1% to $5.3 billion. Though Mattel's revenue is larger than Hasbro's, its growth has been stagnating, according to Eric Handler, managing director and senior research analyst at Roth Capital Partners. "[Mattel's] revenue has been in a very tight range for five years now, and 2026, on an organic basis, is the same," he told CNBC. Mattel shares are down more than 20% in the last 12 months, trading at around $17. Meanwhile, Hasbro's stock is up roughly 46% over the same period, with shares trading at around $100. Of course, Hasbro's journey post-pandemic has not been without its own headwinds. The company's revenue took a hit when it divested its film and TV business, eOne . Also, its entertainment segment, which includes film and TV licenses, was deeply impacted by Hollywood's dual labor strikes in 2023. "Despite market volatility and a shifting consumer environment, we returned this company to growth in a meaningful way," Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks told investors during an earnings call earlier this month. Throughout these changes, one key piece of Hasbro's business has been steadily growing — Wizards of the Coast. A dash of Magic The Hasbro division includes Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and the company's portfolio of digital and ...
Welcome to the Wall Street Week newsletter, bringing you stories of capitalism about things you need to know, but even more things you need to think about. I’m David Westin , and this week we told the story of Japan’s return to growth, with Marc Rowan and Eiji Ueda of Apollo Global Management, Hiromi Yamaji of the Japan Exchange Group, Hiroki Totoki of Sony and Masashi Nagayasu of Panasonic Automo...
Welcome to the Wall Street Week newsletter, bringing you stories of capitalism about things you need to know, but even more things you need to think about. I’m David Westin , and this week we told the story of Japan’s return to growth, with Marc Rowan and Eiji Ueda of Apollo Global Management, Hiromi Yamaji of the Japan Exchange Group, Hiroki Totoki of Sony and Masashi Nagayasu of Panasonic Automotive. If you’re not yet a subscriber, sign up here for this newsletter. Japan’s “Generational Change in Corporate Governance” Apollo Global Management brought its partners to Tokyo this month to see firsthand the changes in business and finance coming at long last to a country that has lacked growth and inflation for so long. CEO Marc Rowan sees a wealth of opportunities in Japan, where trillions of dollars in capital has been sitting in cash for decades and there’s a pressing need for investment to increase productivity. The Apollo CEO sees possibilities for the Japanese economy, for Japanese companies, and potentially for firms like his that can help reallocate that capital to where it needs to go. Japanese Carveouts on the Rise More than a decade ago, then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarked on a plan to kickstart the country’s economy with fiscal stimulus and monetary easing. These days, some of the country’s largest firms have been trying to boost their own fortunes by carving out pieces of their operations, according to Hiromi Yamaji, who oversees the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Exchange. Japan “Salaryman” Stereotype Is Long Past The financial and corporate reforms coming to Japan can represent big changes, including for employees. In the past, there’s been a good deal of reporting on the Japanese “salaryman,” a dedicated white-collar worker who often remains with one employer until retirement. That notion may always have been overdone, as Mireya Solis, an expert in Japan studies, points out: “We believe that something like 38% to 40% of all employees” ...
When dinosaur fossils surface at a site, it is often not possible to tell how many millions of years ago their bones were buried. While the different strata of sedimentary rock represent periods of geologic history frozen in time, accurately dating them or the fossils trapped within them has frequently proven to be frustrating. Fossilized bones and teeth have been dated with some success before, b...
When dinosaur fossils surface at a site, it is often not possible to tell how many millions of years ago their bones were buried. While the different strata of sedimentary rock represent periods of geologic history frozen in time, accurately dating them or the fossils trapped within them has frequently proven to be frustrating. Fossilized bones and teeth have been dated with some success before, but that success is inconsistent and depends on the specimens. Both fossilization and the process of sediment turning to rock can alter the bone in ways that interfere with accuracy. While uranium-lead dating is among the most widely used methods for dating materials, it is just an emerging technology when applied to directly dating fossils. Dinosaur eggshells might have finally cracked a way to date surrounding rocks and fossils. Led by paleontologist Ryan Tucker of Stellenbosch University, a team of researchers has devised a method of dating eggshells that reveals how long ago they were covered in what was once sand, mud, or other sediments. That information will give the burial time of any other fossils embedded in the same layer of rock. Read full article Comments
Antonio Filosa attends the presentation of the new Fiat 500 Hybrid at the Stellantis FIAT Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy, in November of 2025. | Elisa Marchina/NurPhoto via Getty Images Demand for EVs has gone glacial, and one automaker after another is running aground: General Motors threw $7.6 billion overboard. Ford washed $19.5 billion off its books. Leave it to Stellantis to face the most ti...
Antonio Filosa attends the presentation of the new Fiat 500 Hybrid at the Stellantis FIAT Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy, in November of 2025. | Elisa Marchina/NurPhoto via Getty Images Demand for EVs has gone glacial, and one automaker after another is running aground: General Motors threw $7.6 billion overboard. Ford washed $19.5 billion off its books. Leave it to Stellantis to face the most titanic charge yet, a $26.5 billion bill for its own misplaced bet on EVs. The Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler parent company hasn't said how much of that unfathomable sum is explicitly due to EV losses, as the write-down wiped away about 25 percent of the company's stock value overnight. Every automaker faces the same cooling EV demand and whipsawing political climate, yet Stellantis appears the most exposed, due in part to longstanding … Read the full story at The Verge.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a market environment where capital rotation and risk recalibration are shaping investor behavior, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is drawing notable attention. The decentralized finance project has reportedly surpassed $20.6 million in funding, marking a significant milestone amid shifting sentiment across the altcoin sector.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a market environment where capital rotation and risk recalibration are shaping investor behavior, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is drawing notable attention. The decentralized finance project has reportedly surpassed $20.6 million in funding, marking a significant milestone amid shifting sentiment across the altcoin sector.
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images Co-authored by Kody's Dividends After the Battle of Zela, Julius Caesar famously wrote in his letter to the Roman Senate Veni, vidi, vici. This simply translates to "I came, I saw, I conquered." As a long-term dividend investor focused on both capital gains from my holdings as well as dividend growth, this is the kind of description I want to have for my...
Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images Co-authored by Kody's Dividends After the Battle of Zela, Julius Caesar famously wrote in his letter to the Roman Senate Veni, vidi, vici. This simply translates to "I came, I saw, I conquered." As a long-term dividend investor focused on both capital gains from my holdings as well as dividend growth, this is the kind of description I want to have for my portfolio and its performance. To do so, I must have holdings that provide me with reliable growing dividends and trade at an attractive value. When it comes to investing in real estate through real estate investment trusts (REITs), many focus on different niches. You can go out and buy REITs that focus on billboards or ones that focus on office buildings. I want to take a look at an investment opportunity within the REIT sector that focuses on experiential properties. These are the types of properties that you go to for an experience, not just to buy something or to go to work. Even when the economy is struggling, individuals will still find ways to experience something new. It may not be a trip to Disney ( DIS ) every single year, but it's still a focus of many. Today, I want to look at an excellent investment in this REIT sub-sector. Let's dive in! Well-Positioned For The Experience Economy VICI Properties November 2025 Investor Presentation A survey conducted by Empower a few years ago found that 88% of Americans say that their love of life comes from experiences. Just as strikingly, 86% of Gen Z noted that they overspent on live events, citing fear of missing out as a top reason. In the world of experiences, VICI Properties' ( VICI ) real estate is unparalleled. The company's properties include iconic Las Vegas properties, such as Caesars Palace Las Vegas, MGM Grand Las Vegas, and The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Key properties outside of Las Vegas include the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City and MGM Grand Detroit. VICI's business model is strong, too. The company'...
Henrik Sorensen/DigitalVision via Getty Images Purpose I look at the high frequency weekly indicators because while they can be very noisy, they provide a good nowcast of the economy, and will telegraph the maintenance or change in the economy well before monthly or quarterly data is available. They are also an excellent way to "mark your beliefs to market." In general, I go in order of long leadi...
Henrik Sorensen/DigitalVision via Getty Images Purpose I look at the high frequency weekly indicators because while they can be very noisy, they provide a good nowcast of the economy, and will telegraph the maintenance or change in the economy well before monthly or quarterly data is available. They are also an excellent way to "mark your beliefs to market." In general, I go in order of long leading indicators, then short leading indicators, then coincident indicators. A Note on Methodology Data is presented in a "just the facts, ma'am" format with a minimum of commentary so that bias is minimized. Where relevant, I include 12-month highs and lows in the data in parentheses to the right. All data taken from St. Louis FRED unless otherwise linked. A few items (e.g., Financial Conditions indexes, regional Fed indexes, stock prices, the yield curve) have their own metrics based on long-term studies of their behavior. Where data is seasonally adjusted, generally it is scored positively if it is within the top 1/3 of that range, negative in the bottom 1/3, and neutral in between. Where it is not seasonally adjusted, and there are seasonal issues, waiting for the YoY change to change sign will lag the turning point. Thus I make use of a convention: data is scored neutral if it is less than 1/2 as positive/negative as at its 12-month extreme. With long leading indicators, which by definition turn at least 12 months before a turning point in the economy as a whole, there is an additional rule: data is automatically negative if, during an expansion, it has not made a new peak in the past year, with the sole exception that it is scored neutral if it is moving in the right direction and is close to making a new high. For all series where a graph is available, I have provided a link to where the relevant graph can be found. Recap of Monthly Reports January data included increased industrial and manufacturing production, driven mainly by electric utilities. December housing perm...
Hanizam/iStock via Getty Images Perion Network ( PERI ) is emerging from a year in which the business underwent a significant transformation following the major headwinds impacting its search segment in 2024. While certain revenue headwinds still persist as management down prioritizes low-margin legacy offerings, the investment thesis now hinges solely on the success of its Perion One -based go-to...
Hanizam/iStock via Getty Images Perion Network ( PERI ) is emerging from a year in which the business underwent a significant transformation following the major headwinds impacting its search segment in 2024. While certain revenue headwinds still persist as management down prioritizes low-margin legacy offerings, the investment thesis now hinges solely on the success of its Perion One -based go-to-market motion. The company is still early in leveraging its Outmax product offering for channel agnostic media buying as part of this effort. However, it is notable that it already serves 52 of the Fortune 100 companies in the U.S. Management's ambitions to grow contribution ex-TAC at over a 20% CAGR and achieve adjusted EBITDA margins of 28% appear ambitious. However, initial signs look promising, with management’s confidence underscored by a ramp up in share buybacks during Q4. With net cash on the balance sheet representing over 80% of the current market cap, downside appears limited, thereby setting up a favorable risk reward to my conservative price target of $12.4 per share. As a result, I am maintaining my Buy rating on the PERI stock. Earnings Snapshot and Medium Term Outlook PERI posted a Q4 contribution ex-TAC of $65.2 million, up 19% year-over-year. Despite this, full year contribution ex-TAC declined 4% year-over-year to $203.4 million. When considering PERI, investors are best served analyzing its two businesses separately: Advertising Solutions, driven by Perion One, and the Search business. The full-year declines are mainly driven by the Search business, which is no longer being prioritized by management. Advertising Solutions, on the other hand, is growing at mid single-digit rates. This is driven by its fast-growing CTV and Digital Out-of-Home ("DOOH") channels, which grew revenue 42% and 36%, respectively, in FY25, as shown below. These gains were partially offset by a 17% drop in the web channel, where some low-margin offerings are being intentionally de...
wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Market volatility has increased recently as fears of AI disruption have pummeled numerous sectors of the market including insurance brokers, wealth management firms and commercial real estate services. Bitcoin continues to trade below the $70,000 level after pushing past the $125,000 threshold in early October. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Initial Q4 GDP growth...
wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Market volatility has increased recently as fears of AI disruption have pummeled numerous sectors of the market including insurance brokers, wealth management firms and commercial real estate services. Bitcoin continues to trade below the $70,000 level after pushing past the $125,000 threshold in early October. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Initial Q4 GDP growth came in far lower than was projected on Friday. The primary driver of the 2.2% GDP growth in 2025 was the huge surge in tech spending connected to the massive build out of AI infrastructure. The housing market remains moribund as it has since 2023 and CMBS delinquency rates around commercial real estate continues to increase. Trepp - January 2026 My regular readers know that I believe the market is far overdue for a significant correction while CNBC continues to provide mostly happy talk around equities. In this article I will highlight three important numbers that stock market bulls simply don't want to acknowledge right now to their potential detriment. #1 - $35 billion to $50 billion That is the projected free cash flow at the four major hyperscalers in 2026. Meta Platforms ( META ) , Amazon ( AMZN ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Alphabet ( GOOG ) ( GOOGL ) all are expected to see their combined cash flows fall brutally this fiscal year. Free cash flow from these four names was a combined positive $237 billion in FY2024, which fell to $200 billion last year. Amazon's free cash flow is projected to be a negative $17 billion in FY2026 (Morgan Stanley estimate) as its ramps up capex by nearly $70 billion to $200 billion in FY2026. Bank of America expects negative cash flow of $28 billion in FY2026 for Amazon. Pivotal Research sees Alphabet's free cash flow plummeting this fiscal year to $8.2 billion from $73.3 billion in FY2025. Barclays sees Meta's free cash flow falling 90% this fiscal year and Microsoft's free cash flow dropping 28%. Meta's free cash flow was $43.6 billion in...
Many U.S. cities have too many office buildings and not enough homes. Developers are now converting some old offices into apartments and condos, but it's going slowly. (Image credit: Valerie Plesch for NPR)
Many U.S. cities have too many office buildings and not enough homes. Developers are now converting some old offices into apartments and condos, but it's going slowly. (Image credit: Valerie Plesch for NPR)