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BofA Securities analyst Omar Dessouky reiterated a Buy rating and a $705 price forecast for AppLovin Corp (NYSE:APP) in a note released on Monday. The firm identifies e-commerce as the primary “swing factor” for the company.

AppLovin is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on May 6.

• AppLovin stock is trading in a tight range. What’s ahead for APP stock?

Gaming Drives Immediate Sequential Growth

Management continues to highlight mobile gaming as the main engine for first-quarter sequential growth. BofA expects gaming strength to carry the majority of the quarter’s expansion.

Investor first-quarter e-commerce expectations edged lower, with a ramp expected in referral cohort spending; gaming is likely to drive most quarter-over-quarter growth, the note said.

E-commerce Scaling In The Spotlight

Analysts are looking …

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Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY) reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial results on Friday.

Ally Financial reported quarterly earnings of $1.11 per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 93 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $2.179 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.138 billion.

Ally Financial shares rose 2.1% to trade at $46.32 on Monday.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on Ally Financial following earnings announcement.

  • Barclays analyst Jason Goldberg maintained Ally Financial with …

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Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is facing an international backlash over self-driving promises the carmaker made nearly a decade ago, with class actions now spanning California, Australia and a fresh European campaign.

The suits land two days before Tesla reports first-quarter earnings.

The latest front opened last week in the Netherlands, where a Dutch Tesla owner launched a campaign organizing European drivers who paid thousands for automated driving they still cannot access.

An Australian law firm is pursuing a parallel class action accusing Tesla of selling vehicles incapable of fully autonomous driving, while in California an 80-year-old retired attorney who paid $8,000 for Full Self-Driving in 2017 won class-action certification in September on behalf of roughly 3,000 Tesla owners seeking refunds.

The Hardware 3 Problem

At the center of each case is Hardware 3, the …

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Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) on Friday reported upbeat first-quarter results.

The company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.05, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.89. Quarterly sales of $2.753 billion (+6.8% year over year) beat the Street view of $2.605 billion.

“Underlying profitability improved, with gross profit increasing by 10%, although adjusted operating income was slightly lower due to temporary lower R,D&E reimbursements and the one-time income in Q1 last year,” said CEO Mikael Bratt.

The company expects full-year 2026 organic sales growth to be around 0%, based on stable customer demand and no major macroeconomic or trade disruptions. Adjusted operating margin is projected …

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Badger Meter Inc (NYSE:BMI) on Friday reported weaker first-quarter results.

Sales dropped 9% to $202.3 million, missing estimates, while diluted EPS fell to 93 cents from $1.30, also below expectations.

“Our first quarter results were consistent with that expectation,” said CEO Kenneth C. Bockhorst. “In our view, the year-over-year decline in revenue and associated operating leverage are related to variability in project timing and short-cycle customer order patterns and do not reflect a change in underlying demand, our competitive position, or the long-term market drivers for our business.”

Seperately, Badger Meter also announced an agreement to acquire UK-based UDlive for $100 million plus contingent consideration, with closing expected by the end …

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Dynex Cap (NYSE:DX) held its first-quarter earnings conference call on Monday. Below is the complete transcript from the call.

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Access the full call at https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1757721&tp_key=8f7976773d

Summary

Dynex Capital Inc reported a book value of $12.60 per share, with an economic return of negative 2.5% for the quarter, due to a decrease in book value and dividend payouts.

The company increased its total capital base by 18% during the quarter, deploying $442 million as MBS spreads widened, and improved book value post-quarter as spreads tightened.

Management emphasized strategic growth in capital markets, focusing on long-term shareholder value creation through disciplined portfolio and risk management.

Net interest income increased to $0.40 per share, driven by declining financing costs following Federal Reserve rate cuts, with expectations for expenses to normalize in the upcoming quarters.

The company is leveraging its scale as the third-largest agency-focused mortgage REIT, aiming for tighter mortgage spreads and highlighting its capacity for opportunistic capital allocation amid market volatility.

Dynex Capital Inc is optimistic about future spread tightening, supported by GSE mortgage buying and a supportive policy environment, and remains focused on delivering stable valuations and solid returns.

Full Transcript

Allison Griffin (Vice President of Investor Relations)

Thank you, operator and good morning everyone. The press release associated with today’s call was issued and filed with the SEC this morning, April 20th. You may view the press release on the homepage of the Dynex website at dynexcapital.com as well as on the SEC’s website at sec.gov before we begin, we wish to remind you that this conference call may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform act of 1995. The words believe, expect, forecast, anticipate, estimate, project, plan and similar expressions identified forward looking statements that are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. The company’s actual results and timing of certain events could differ considerably from those projected and or contemplated by those forward looking statements as a result of unforeseen external factors or risks. For additional information on these factors or risks, please refer to our disclosures filed with the SEC, which may be found on the Dynex website under Investor as well as on the SEC’s website. This conference call is being broadcast live over the Internet with a streaming slide presentation which can be found through the webcast link on the website. The slide presentation may also be referenced on the Investors page. Joining me on the call today are Smriti Papano, Co Chief Executive Officer and President, Byron Boston, Chairman and Co Chief Executive Officer Mike Sartori, Chief Financial Officer and TJ Connolly, Chief Investment Officer. I now have the pleasure to turn the call over to Smriti.

Smriti Papano (Co Chief Executive Officer and President)

Thank you, Allison and good morning everyone. We continue to build our company at the intersection of two powerful demographic tailwinds, the need for income and the need for housing. Dynex continues to deliver differentiated top tier performance. Our track record now combined with the significant growth in our capital base over the last 15 months, propels value creation by delivering scale and resilience to our shareholders. The team is focused on methodically building durability across investments, finance, technology, risk and operations. Growing an enduring platform reinforces the value of our business meaningfully beyond the valuation of our balance sheet, further driving long term shareholder returns. Turning now to the global macroeconomic environment, government policy is squarely in the driver’s seat, defining and driving outcomes. Scenario planning for us has evolved to mapping policy pathways, what policymakers could do next, how markets may transmit those decisions and how we position ourselves for those moves. More than ever, mindset and preparedness are the key factors for successful decision making because the policy paths aren’t always foreseeable. Flexibility and openness in our team’s mindset, something we actively teach and practice, are now essential parts of navigating the investment landscape in the first quarter we added value by executing our plan. We managed the portfolio through a short burst of volatility which we used to opportunistically raise and deploy capital. We grew the total capital base by 18%, deploying the funds during the quarter as MBS spreads widened. Since quarter end, MBS spreads have tightened and book value is higher. Mike and TJ will now review the detailed quarterly results and our outlook.

Mike Sartori (Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you and good morning everyone joining us today! I’d like to begin by welcoming Kaelyn Mauritz who joins Dynex today to lead capital markets and investor relations. Kaelyn brings deep industry experience across both functions and her background will support the continued growth of our capital and investor base while also deepening the engagement with our existing investors. We are excited to add her capabilities to our strong and growing Dynex team. Turning now to our financial results for the quarter, book value ended the quarter at $12.60 per share and economic return was negative 2.5% for the quarter consisting of $0.51 per share of common dividends and an $0.85 per share decrease in book value. We ended the quarter with leverage of 8.6x versus total equity. The majority of the increase was attributable to the growth in our investment portfolio of $6 billion reflecting the deployment of capital raised during the quarter of $442 million. Our liquidity position remained very strong with $1.3 billion in cash and unencumbered securities at the end of the quarter representing over 46% of total equity. We continue to evaluate growth through the lens of market opportunity, investment returns and long term accretion to drive shareholder value. Net interest income for the quarter rose from $0.28 per share to $0.40 per share primarily due to declining financing costs which fell 33 basis points due to the impact of the Federal Reserve’s rate cuts in the fourth quarter with respect to expenses G&A increased quarter over quarter driven primarily by onetime items. As we noted in the prior first quarter earnings. We expect overall expenses to normalize in the second quarter with full year expense ratio anticipated to be flat or modestly lower versus year end as we grow our capital base. Importantly, we remain disciplined in managing cost. Our expense structure. With that, I’ll turn it over to TJ to provide additional detail on portfolio strategy and the outlook.

TJ Connolly (Chief Investment Officer)

Thanks, Mike. We entered the quarter with policy attention focused squarely on housing affordability and the mortgage market. As the quarter progressed, global events, most notably the war in Ukraine, shifted market focus toward geopolitics and drove a sharp increase in volatility. As markets become more accustomed to that global backdrop, we expect both investors and policymakers to refocus on domestic priorities over the balance of the year, particularly housing and the availability of mortgage credit, a transition we believe could support tighter mortgage spreads over time. Early in the quarter, mortgage markets benefited from a strong technical tailwind. Government policy, long one of our most important inputs, had turned supportive, with policymakers emphasizing GSE mortgage buying to tighten spreads and improve affordability. As volatility rose later in the quarter, agency mortgages traded like much riskier assets, creating potential opportunities. Because we operate with strong liquidity, we navigated that volatility constructively and selectively added assets as spreads widened to more attractive levels. Fundamentals and technicals remain highly supportive and we believe the long term path toward tighter equilibrium spreads remains highly likely boosted by policy supply, demand dynamics and yield carry. Net supply is light and demand remains broad and robust across banks, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), money managers and foreign investors. Last quarter I noted that we expected net supply to be $200 billion this year. So far in 2026, it appears supply could come in even lower. Returning to the demand side, the potential bid from the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac retained portfolios improves downside liquidity, stabilizes spreads during periods of volatility, and supports broader Investor participation. The GSEs have been actively buying mortgages. They are selective on valuation, they regularly retain pools they had previously been selling through their cash window programs and there was some question about potential hedging. They are mostly hedging using interest rate swaps in parallel. Proposed changes tied to the Basel III endgame could lower the capital cost banks face to hold mortgages both in loan and securitized form and to intermediate financing more efficiently. Financing costs are declining amid the light regulatory regime. Refill markets functioned smoothly, spreads were stable and funding was readily available even during periods of heightened volatility. MBS repo spread to sofr remained in the 13 to 17 basis point range, 3 to 5 basis points below last year’s averages. Structural improvements in the short term funding markets alongside elevated money market balances, standing Fed backstops and more efficient balance sheet intermediation continue to support financing for high quality mortgage assets like those Dynex owns, we have seen agency MBS spreads to 7 year interest rate swaps begin to trend tighter again after moving from the high 120s to nearly 170 basis points in March. Spreads were in the low 160s at quarter end and moved back toward the 150 area late last week. As geopolitical events evolve and policymakers …

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Federal Reserve officials are signaling a more cautious approach to interest rate cuts, emphasizing that inflation risks remain elevated and policy decisions will not follow a fixed timeline. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, speaking in recent remarks cited by the Federal Reserve Board, said the central bank is “not in a hurry to adjust policy” and will wait for “greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward our 2% target.”

The message has been reinforced by other policymakers across the Federal Reserve system. Governor Michelle Bowman, in remarks published by the Fed, stated that “inflation progress has been uneven, and the risks of easing too early remain,” highlighting continued concern within the central bank about prematurely loosening financial conditions. Similarly, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester told Bloomberg Television that policymakers must ensure inflation is “clearly on a downward path before considering cuts.”

The evolving stance comes as global developments add complexity to the inflation outlook. Rising geopolitical tensions, particularly those affecting energy markets, are increasingly seen as a potential obstacle to price stability. Seth Carpenter, Chief Global Economist at Morgan Stanley, said in a research note that “a sustained increase in oil prices would likely push headline inflation higher and delay the Fed’s ability to ease policy,” reinforcing concerns that external shocks could derail progress.

Financial markets have begun adjusting expectations accordingly. According to data cited by CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, investors are now pricing in a slower pace of rate cuts compared to earlier projections, with some forecasts shifting potential easing further into the year. Goldman Sachs economists, led by Jan Hatzius, wrote in a client note that “the path to rate cuts is becoming more conditional on continued disinflation and stable growth.”

The implications for businesses are significant. Higher borrowing costs for longer periods impact corporate investment decisions, credit availability, and expansion strategies. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said in recent remarks reported by CNBC that “the economy remains resilient, but companies are becoming more cautious given the uncertainty around rates and geopolitics,” pointing to a shift in corporate behavior.

At the same time, economic fundamentals remain relatively stable. Labor market strength and consumer spending continue to support growth, even as momentum shows signs of moderation. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, speaking to Reuters, said that “the U.S. economy continues to show resilience, but we are closely monitoring inflation and global risks.”

For policymakers, the challenge lies in balancing competing priorities. Moving too quickly to cut rates risks reigniting inflation, while maintaining restrictive policy for too long could slow economic activity. Jerome Powell emphasized this balance, stating that “we are navigating a complex environment where patience is necessary,” according to Federal Reserve transcripts.

Looking ahead, upcoming inflation reports, wage data, and energy price trends will play a decisive role in shaping the Fed’s next steps. Any renewed price pressure could further delay easing, while sustained cooling may provide the confidence policymakers are seeking.

The Federal Reserve’s message is increasingly clear: interest rate decisions will be driven by data, not deadlines. In a global environment shaped by uncertainty, that cautious stance is becoming a defining feature of U.S. monetary policy.

JBizNews Desk

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U.S. stocks traded mixed this morning, with the S&P 500 falling around 0.1% on Monday.

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.03% to 49,462.33 while the NASDAQ fell 0.21% to 24,417.97. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.08% to 7,120.57.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed by 0.8% on Monday.

In trading on Monday, consumer discretionary stocks fell by 0.9%.

Top Headline

Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE:CLF) fell more than 6% on Monday after the company reported results for the first quarter.

The company reported quarterly losses of 40 cents per share which missed the analyst consensus estimate of losses of 39 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $4.922 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $4.777 billion.

Equities Trading UP
           

  • Enveric Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:ENVB) shares shot up 174% to $4.99 after President …

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U.S. stocks were lower, with the Nasdaq Composite falling around 100 points on Monday.

Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) rose sharply after the company announced results from a blinded 16-week treatment extension period in its Phase 2b REZOLVE-AA study.

The company said the REZOLVE-AA extension results demonstrated continued improvement in patients with severe-to-very-severe alopecia areata treated with rezpegaldesleukin, with responses strengthening over time across key SALT (Severity of Alopecia Tool) measures.

Nektar Therapeutics shares climbed 18.8% to $100.88 on Monday.

Here are some other big stocks recording gains in today’s session.

  • AEVEX Corp (NYSE:AVEX) shares jumped 40% to $37.70. The shares gained momentum from the recent debut of the company on the NYSE.
  • Compass Pathways PLC (NASDAQ:CMPS) gained 38.3% to $9.14 after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Saturday instructing health regulators to hasten the review process of psychedelic drugs.
  • AtaiBeckley Inc (NASDAQ:ATAI) rose 30.6% to $5.26 after …

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SmartFinancial (NYSE:SMBK) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Monday. Read the complete transcript below.

This content is powered by Benzinga APIs. For comprehensive financial data and transcripts, visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/.

The full earnings call is available at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/980529382

Summary

SmartFinancial reported Q1 2026 operating earnings of $13.7 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, with total operating revenue of $53.8 million, showing growth from the previous quarter.

The company experienced 14% annualized loan growth and 7% annualized growth in core deposits, maintaining strong credit performance with low non-performing assets.

SmartFinancial’s net interest income increased to $45.9 million with a net interest margin improvement to 3.48%, supported by a reduction in funding costs.

The company adjusted its allowance for credit losses with a new model, resulting in a provisioning increase, and hired a new Director of Private Banking and Wealth Management.

Management expressed confidence in achieving a $4 EPS run rate by Q4 2026 and emphasized ongoing organic growth and strategic recruitment efforts, particularly in key markets like Nashville.

Full Transcript

Clare (Moderator)

Hello everyone and thank you for joining the SmartFinancial first quarter 2026 earnings release and Conference Call. My name is Clare and I’ll be coordinating your call today. During the presentation you can register a question by pressing STAR followed by one on your telephone keypad. If you change your mind, please press STAR followed by two on your telephone keypad. I will now hand over to Nate Strohl, Director of Investor Relations to begin. Please go ahead.

Nate Strohl (Director of Investor Relations)

Thanks Claire and good morning everyone and thank you for joining us for SmartFinancial’s first quarter 2026 earnings call. During today’s call we will reference the slides and press release that are available in the Investor Relations section on our website smartbank.com Billy Carroll, our president and CEO, will begin our call followed by Ron Gorzinski, our CFO will provide some additional commentary. We will be available to answer your questions at the end of our call. Our comments include forward looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and actual results could vary materially. We list the factors that might cause these results to differ materially in our press release and in our SEC filings which are available on our website. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward looking statements because of new information or early developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law. During the call we will reference non-GAAP financial measures related to the company’s performance. You may see the reconciliation of these measures in the appendices of the earnings release and investor presentation filed on April 20, 2026 with the SEC. And now I’ll turn it over to Billy Carroll to open our call.

Billy Carroll (President and Chief Executive Officer)

Thanks Nate and good morning everyone. Great to be with you and thank you for joining us today and for your interest and SmartBank. As usual, I’ll open up our call with some commentary and hand it over to Ron to walk through some numbers in greater detail. After our prepared comments, we’ll open it up with Ron, Nate, Rhett Miller and myself available for Q&A. It was a great start to the year for our company with another very busy quarter as we continue to execute on our strategy of leveraging the great foundation we’ve built over the last several years. Our team’s focus on this execution continues to be outstanding and this first quarter of 2026 was yet another example of that. So let me jump right into some of our highlights. First, and in my opinion one of the most important metrics we continue to increase the tangible book value of our company, which is now up to $27.33 per share, up from $26.86 at year end. For the quarter we posted operating earnings of $13.7 million or $0.81 per diluted share, with total operating revenue coming in at 53.8 million, higher than the 53.3 million in the prior quarter. Even with two fewer days, we continue to execute on outstanding growth on both sides of the balance sheet, posting 14% annualized growth in loans and 7% annualized growth in core deposits. Our history of strong credit continues with only 25 basis points in non performing assets. I’m very pleased with our credit performance and our extremely low level of non-performing assets and operating non interest expenses also came in on target at $32.9 million as we continue to exhibit expense discipline. Looking at the first few pages in the deck you’ll see our continuation of some very nice trends. We’re building a we’re building our return metrics and most importantly growing total revenue, earnings per share and tangible book value. All of those charts are great graphics to illustrate our execution. I’m looking forward to and expecting these trends to continue. So a couple of additional high level comments for me on growth. Our balance sheet expansion is a direct result of the focus of our sales teams. Our continued evolution as an outstanding organic growth company is one of the things I’ve been most proud of and I believe something that sets us apart from many other banks. We have hired well and we have built an outstanding process on prospecting and bringing in new client relationships. I would argue that we are in a top a small top of class group when it comes to pure organic growth. As I stated, we grew our loan book 14% annualized quarter over quarter as sales momentum stays strong and balanced across all of our regions. Our average portfolio yield including fees and accretion held up well at 6.02%. Regarding deposits, again, core deposits were up 7% annualized excluding when excluding brokered CD payoffs. Plus we absorbed a large seasonal withdrawal early in the year. So all in all a very nice deposit quarter. It’s important to recognize how we’re building this bank with core relationships as we have intense focus on both sides of the balance sheet. A couple of other highlights noted in our release Bullets included an allowance for credit loss model change that bumped their provisioning during the quarter. So we accomplished these results while adding an outsized provision adjustment with the new ACL model that better suits our company. Ron’s going to discuss this a little bit more in a moment. We also had a senior team addition with a new Director of Private Banking and Wealth Management from an in market regional bank that I believe is going to elevate this the work that we’re doing in this area even further. We don’t talk a lot about our wealth and investments platform, but this business line has steadily grown over the last several years as we’ve added some outstanding private bankers and new financial advisors. This focus on assisting high net worth clientele is becoming a great business driver for us and with our strategy we can go toe to toe with any regional or national player. So all in all a very nice way to start 2026. I’m going to stop there, hand it over to Ron and let him dive into some details.

Ron Gorzinski (Chief Financial Officer)

Ron thanks Billy and good morning everyone. I’ll start by highlighting some key deposit results during the quarter. Our momentum remains strong with non broker deposits increasing by 95 million driven by two factors, new deposit generation at a cost of 2.82% which was 22 basis higher than the previous quarter and seasonal inflows. Given the strength in core funding, we took the opportunity to pay down the remaining 52 million in broker deposits which carried an average rate of 4.35%. And as we noted on the last call, our year end totals included some transitory non-interest bearing deposits. As those deposits rolled off and put some and put and clients put some excess liquidity to work. Non interest bearing deposits were over 18% of total deposits at quarter end. Overall interest bearing deposits declined by 19 basis points to 2.60 and were 2.58% in March. We continue to maintain a robust liquidity profile as demonstrated by our loan-to-deposit ratio of 87%. Net Interest Income for the quarter was 45.9 million which was 782,000 higher than the previous quarter even though this quarter had two fewer days. Our Net Interest Margin also improved by 10 basis points to 3.48%. This increase was mainly driven by an 18 basis point reduction in funding costs which more than offset a 3 basis point decline in asset yields. The reduction in funding costs resulted from the full quarter effects of the prior quarter’s federal rate cuts, the previously mentioned paydowns of higher cost brokered funding and new deposit generation and CD renewals at lower rates. The decline in asset yields was caused by a 6 basis point reduction in loan yields mainly due to the impact of the rate cuts mentioned above and the pay downs and payoffs of higher rate loans. This reduction was slightly offset by our strategic utilization of balance sheet cash. The rate average yield on new loan production for the quarter was 6.40% and 6.45% for March. Looking forward, we anticipate that our margin will stabilize and remain relatively flat for the second quarter before increasing slightly in the second half of the year. Turning to credit, our provision expense for the quarter was 4.1 million, which includes 926,000 attributable to an increase in our unfunded commitments liability. As mentioned during the last earnings call, we’ve updated our Current Expected Credit Loss allowance model enabling broader capabilities such as economic forecasting tailored to loan segments and stronger qualitative adjustments. Details about this model update will be included in our first quarter 10-Q filing. Due to the changes in our modeling approach and quarterly activities, the allowance for credit losses increased to 44 million, representing 0.97% of total loans compared to 0.94% in the previous quarter and our liability for unfunded commitments totaled 4.5 million, up from 3.6 million. Looking forward, we anticipate that the allowance will remain within the 97.98basis point range contingent on prevailing market and credit conditions. Furthermore, our asset quality metrics remain robust with non-performing assets accounting for just 0.25% of total assets and net charge offs were limited to 2 basis points. Operating non interest income was 7.9 million, down slightly from the last quarter but exceeding expectations. Higher investment services fees offset lower mortgage banking and capital markets revenue which was lower primarily due to seasonality. Other income sources met or modestly surpassed expectations. Operating non interest expenses for the quarter increased slightly to 32.9 million, which was modestly below our guidance. Salary and benefit expenses were higher, mainly due to variable compensation on stronger than anticipated production as well as our annual merit increase adjustments that started in March. We also reduced our Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance accrual by 275,000 this quarter, but expect this expense to return to normal levels in future periods. Our operating efficiency ratio for the first quarter remained around 60% plus level, showing our continued focus on improving margins and controlling costs. For the second quarter, non interest income is projected to be approximately 7.8 million and non interest expense is expected to be in the range of 34 to 34.5 million. Salary and benefit expenses are anticipated to range from 20.5 to 21 million, slightly elevated from …

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Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) shares are trading slightly lower Monday morning. The move comes as the company navigates a complex backdrop of geopolitical volatility and sharp ethical critiques regarding its defense sector involvement.

The Nasdaq is down 0.33% while the S&P 500 has shed 0.14%.

Geopolitical Tensions Fuel Defense Focus

Markets opened under pressure Monday as U.S.-Iran tensions flared over the weekend. President Donald Trump warned he would “knock out every single Power Plant and every single Bridge, in Iran” if terms were not met.

As oil prices surged over …

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Nano X Imaging (NASDAQ:NNOX) held its fourth-quarter earnings conference call on Monday. Below is the complete transcript from the call.

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Summary

Nano X Imaging reported a GAAP net loss of $33.4 million for Q4 2025, an increase from the previous year, attributed largely to an impairment of long-lived assets and increased sales and marketing expenses.

The company signed agreements to deploy 300 Nanox ARC systems over three years with Howard Technology Solutions and additional agreements for 360 systems across multiple markets, indicating a strategic shift towards scaling business operations.

Revenue targets for 2026 are set at $35 million, with significant growth expected in the second half of the year as deployment and commercial agreements mature.

Operational restructuring in Korea is underway, including closing the chip manufacturing line and shifting to international manufacturing partners to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Management changes include the departure of CFO Ron Daniel and the appointment of Guy Nettensome, aimed at bolstering financial leadership as the company scales operations.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Nano X Imaging fourth quarter 2025 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speaker’s presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you would need to press star 11 on your telephone. You would then hear an automated message advising that your hand is raised. And to withdraw your question, please press Star one one again. Please be advised that today’s conference is being recorded. I would like now to turn the conference over to Mike Cavanaugh, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Mike Cavanaugh (Investor Relations)

Good morning and welcome to the Nano X Imaging fourth quarter 2025 investor call. Earlier today, Nano X Imaging Limited released financial results for the quarter ending December 31, 2025. The release is currently available on the Investors section of the Company’s website. With me today are Erez Meltzer, Chief Executive Officer and Acting Chairman, and Ron Daniel, Chief Financial Officer. Before we get started, I would like to remind everyone that management will be making statements during this call that include forward looking statements regarding the Company’s financial results, research and development, manufacturing and commercialization activities, regulatory process and clinical activities, among other matters. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are based on management’s current expectations as of today and may not be updated in the future. Therefore, these statements should not be relied upon as representing the company’s views as of any subsequent date. Factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those described in the Company’s filings with the securities and Exchange Commission. We will also refer to certain non GAAP financial measures to provide additional information to investors. A reconciliation of the non GAAP to GAAP measures is provided with our press release, with the primary differences being non GAAP net loss attributable to ordinary shares, non GAAP cost of revenue, non GAAP gross profit, non GAAP gross profit margin, non GAAP research and development expenses, non GAAP sales and marketing expenses, non GAAP general and administrative expenses, and non GAAP gross loss per share. With that, I’d now like to turn the call over to Erez Meltzer.

Erez Meltzer (Chief Executive Officer and Acting Chairman)

Thank you, Mike, and thank you all for joining us today. In the fourth quarter of 2025, we continued to move the business forward across multiple fronts. While our primary focus remains on expanding our commercial presence. Given the current geopolitical situation, we spent a lot of effort during the quarter and the beginning of 2026 to secure our supply chain and strengthen our financial positions as well. On top of that, we made good progress advancing the capabilities of Nano X’s platform and strengthening the operational infrastructure needed to support our long term growth. I’m happy to report that we recently entered into an agreement with Howard Technology Solutions, a division of Howard Industries, which has a national reach and an established presence in healthcare and public sector markets, providing us with a scalable framework for expanding nanox ARC deployment. This agreement reflects our confidence in the commercial demand for the Nano X ARC and our ability to engage partners that can support sustained growth in system placement across the US under the framework of this agreement, Howard is expected to deploy 300 Nanox arc systems over a three years period, of which 60 are indicated to be deployed in the first year. We also recently announced multiple commercial agreements which together accumulates to roughly 360 systems over a two to three years period. These partnerships expand our reach across imaging centers and specialty care settings where point of care imaging is integral to clinical workflow and patient management. This represents a fundamental shift in how we’re poised to scale our business from providing our technology to deploying in a meaningful volume, shifting toward a growing CAPEX portion. This is what we see as getting us closer to our indicated revenue of 2026. The framework has the potential to become a meaningful contributor over time and gives us confidence in our ability to convert our robust pipeline into revenue as we move forward. We view this as continued momentum and see ourselves moving closer to an inflection point. We observed a clear shift in the market perception at major radiology conferences including RSNA in the US and ECR in Europe, where engagement and inbound interest increased meaningfully. We have also taken important steps to strengthen our operational foundation. A key component of this initiative is the restructuring of certain activities in our Korean manufacturing facility in order to reduce our Korean operation, OPEX and cash burn and improve efficiency while maintaining our supply of nanox ARC system components. We are very pleased with the progress we have made recently, but it is clear that the pace of deployment continues to be influenced by various external processes including import licenses, construction timelines and regulatory requirements in certain markets. These steps take time to complete and while we are not setting time with the pace and would like to see deployments more faster, this reflects the current operating reality across multiple markets. We expect that many of these processes will be streamlined as additional sites move through the pipeline. Introducing new technology of any kind into a medical environment is always complex process. It requires alignment across clinical workflow, regulatory framework and operational infrastructure as well as changing behaviors which all takes time to achieve. While this can slow down the early stages of deployment, it is also a natural part of introducing innovative technology into the healthcare systems. Turning to revenues, we continue to target $35 million in revenue for the full year of 2026 based on the execution of our current plans. Today, as part of the above mentioned, we have signed commercial agreement which we believe could result in present and future placements of about 400 systems globally over the next 23 years. Of this, approximately 38 systems are currently at various stages of deployment, including demonstration, commercial installation and systems pending construction and or regulatory approval. In addition, There are approximately 15 systems that are expected to be installed over the next few months as part of our NAS imaging network. That said, it is important to emphasize that our current revenue base remains at an early stage and part of this deploy base is not generating revenues and the pace of REMPROP will depend primarily on on the timing of system activation, their transition into a revenue generating operation and the impact of the deployment by the business partners. As more systems move into operation and utilization increases, we expect revenue to build accordingly. However, the exact timing of this trend may vary and always depending on the deployment process and progress and our factors. I will now provide some additional color on the Korea restructuring that I referenced in my opening remarks. Recently we adopted a restructuring plan designed to better align our manufacturing cost structure with our long term financial model, support our path toward improved gross margin and align our manufacturing capabilities with the company’s strategic priorities. As part of this plan and our broader cost reduction efforts, we are closing our chip manufacturing line in South Korea, downsizing our fabrication facilities and shifting production to established international manufacturing partners including sisam, a Switzerland based manufacturing partner. We currently hold substantial amateur inventory which we plan to work through as we transition to a more efficient outsourced production model better aligned with current and projected demand. With these actions, we expect to reduce structural and overhead costs, lower our cash burn and enhance overall operation efficiency. With that overview, let’s now take a detailed look at at our various business segments starting with the US Deployment. Beyond the hardware agreement, we also recently announced a distribution agreement with Imperial Imaging Technology, a US based provider of diagnostic imaging solution, to support rollout across the Southeast, particularly in orthopedic focused environment where there is strong demand for a point of care imaging. In addition, we signed agreements with distributors such as Integrity Imaging, a US based provider of medical imaging solutions with established relationship across imaging centers and healthcare providers Elite Surgical, which serves surgical and specialty care environments Digital X Ray Imaging, a leading diagnostic imaging provider with deep regional present across Arkansas and most recently a collaboration with Nu dx, an imaging solution provider focused on expanding access to diagnostic imaging and radiology oncology system to support all to support the deployment of nanox ARC systems, these collaborations aim to strengthen our distribution capabilities by adding sales resources and on the ground present expands our geographic coverage and we believe it is the potential to become a meaningful contributor to revenues over time. In parallel, we remain in active discussion with additional partners reflecting continued interest from medical equipment providers and likely further expansion of our U.S. pipeline. Alongside our channel strategy, our U.S. direct sales team on the ground continues to make progress in targeted clinical segments. For example, we recently signed an agreement with Regional Sports Medicine in Orthopedic Group, our first orthopedic practice customer in the United States. This represents an important step into a segment where imaging plays a central role in diagnostic and treatment decisions and where providers benefit from having imaging available on site. Orthopedics remain a high volume and imaging driven specialty with a strong incentives to retain imaging in house. Additionally, we are advancing the nanox Imaging Network, a focused initiative designed to build a network based imaging services model in the US this initiative targets segments such as the workers compensation and specialized care reimbursement dynamics may support higher per scan pricing. We are currently deploying already systems across a number of sites in the U.S. under this model, Nanox support Nanox arc system deployment, maintenance and connectivity while our partners manage site operation and local engagement. While still in the very early stage, we believe this initiative can become an important component of our long term commercial strategy as utilization increases and the model is further validated. To provide additional context around this shift in engagement, were participated in two major industry events during the period at RSNA, the world’s largest annual radiology conference held in the U.S. our booth featuring live demonstration of the NanoPSR system saw strong interest throughout the event at the European Congress of Radiology, the largest radiology conference in Europe, we showedcases the nanox ARC live in Europe for the first time and presented new clinical and AI data. Engagement levels were high, reflecting growing awareness of the system’s clinical value and its potential role in routine imaging workflow. We were also proud to receive the Red Dot award for product design 226 for the Nanox ArcX prestigious international recognition that reflects the maturity, usability and clinical readiness of our platform. Let’s now turn to work outside of the U.S. as I mentioned earlier regarding ECR, we were also honored to receive …

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Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) shares are trading lower on Monday. The decline follows a period of intense volatility and a significant rally in the nuclear sector.

Nasdaq futures are down 0.29% while S&P 500 futures have shed 0.34%.

Investors Secure Gains After Rally

The primary driver for Monday’s slide appears to be profit-taking. The stock surged 43.39% over the last two weeks, rising from $46.59 on April 7.

Space Nuclear Theme Drives Sentiment

Recent momentum stemmed from CEO Jacob DeWitte’s comments regarding extraterrestrial energy.

Speaking to CNBC’s The Exchange on Thursday, DeWitte emphasized nuclear power’s role in space. “We work with nuclear power to enable everything that we do that’s cool in space,” DeWitte said.

Strategic Partnerships And Timelines

The Sam Altman-backed company …

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Energy Focus Inc. (NASDAQ:EFOI) shares are retreating Monday morning.

The stock fell 12.17% in premarket action. This move follows a massive rally during Friday’s session.

Profit-Taking After Triple-Digit Surge

The decline appears to be driven by profit-taking. On Friday, the stock was halted on a circuit breaker.

It ended that session up a staggering 242.11%. Traders are now locked in gains after the exponential move.

Data Center Progress Fuels Volatility

Friday’s surge began after the energy-efficient lighting company outlined multi-year progress on data center infrastructure work. It specifically highlighted its …

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Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Monday. Read the complete transcript below.

This content is powered by Benzinga APIs. For comprehensive financial data and transcripts, visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/.

View the webcast at https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=3VsGPSh2

Summary

Cleveland-Cliffs reported a Q1 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $95 million, a significant $274 million increase from the previous year, driven by improved pricing.

The company noted a strong order book with increased demand from automotive OEMs, contributing to positive market conditions and extended production lead times.

Future outlook is optimistic with expected sequential improvements in Q2 and Q3, driven by higher shipments and pricing, alongside operational optimizations.

The company highlighted the impact of energy cost spikes on Q1 results but expects these costs to normalize moving forward.

Strategic initiatives include the Butler Works Electrical Steel expansion and a potential deal with Posco, although geopolitical factors may delay the latter.

Operational highlights include the idling of less efficient mills and the integration of AI into production processes to enhance decision-making.

Management expressed confidence in achieving strong free cash flow in the coming quarters, supported by asset sales and enhanced operational leverage.

Cleveland-Cliffs is actively engaged in labor negotiations with United Steelworkers, aiming for agreements that support competitiveness and sustainability.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

Kevin (Conference Facilitator)

My name is Kevin and I’m your conference facilitator. Today I’d like to welcome everyone to Cleveland-Cliffs first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker’s prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session. The company reminds you that certain comments made on today’s call will include predictive statements that are intended to be made as forward looking within the safe harbor protections of the Private Security Litigation Reform act of 1995. Although the company believes that its forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially are set forth in reports on Form 10K and 10Q and news releases filed with the SEC which are available on the Company website. Today’s conference call is also available and being broadcast at clevelandcliffs.com application. At the conclusion of the call, it will be archived on the website and available for replay. The Company will also discuss results excluding certain special items. Reconciliation for Regulation G purposes, can be found in the earnings release which was published this morning. At this time I’d like to introduce Lorenzo Goncalves, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Lorenzo Goncalves (Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer)

Thank you, Kevin and good morning everyone. The first quarter of 2026 was the beginning of a sustained improvement progression that will continue through the rest of the year. While Q1 results could be better, and they would be better if not for a couple of one timers, we can see the clear signs of a positive trend. For me, among these one timers, the impact of the spiking on energy costs was the Most relevant to Q1 results. Now to the good news. Our order book is full and the automotive OEMs are booking more and more steel from Cliffs. Production schedules are tight and lead times have moved out. Historically, pricing changes took about a month to flow through our realized numbers. Today, that lag is closer to two months. In practical terms, that means the pricing strength visible in the market today will increasingly show up in our results as we move through the year quarter by quarter. That combination, strong backlogs, disciplined production and visibility is what a healthy steel market looks like. The extended lead times allow us to optimize production schedules in our mills, improving our overall efficiency, productivity and costs. This market strength is driven by what is happening on the trade front. Steel imports into the United States are at their lowest levels since 2009. By now it’s clear that section 232 works. The melted and poured mandate works and the enforcement works along those lines. We are very encouraged by the recent changes in how derivative products tariffs are being enforced. Distribution transformers were added, which is exactly the right outcome. The Trump administration has given the domestic steel industry what we needed and have been asking for. Union jobs are being protected, domestic supply chains are more resilient and mills are running at higher utilization with real predictability. The one piece still missing is Canada. There’s a robust domestic market in Canada for our Canadian subsidiary Stelco to sell steel into. But the Canadian market is still oversupplied with steel from countries that are no longer able to dump their excess capacity into the United States. Because of that, they dump steel in Canada. That said, we are confident that Canada will ultimately get to the right place and enhance its own national security defenses against the negative impact of foreign steel causing the destruction of Canadian companies. We truly believe the Canadian government is honest about defending Canadian jobs and Canadian steel workers. We fully expect that Fortress North America can be and will be implemented by Canada because that’s totally within their own power. Canada does not depend on anyone else to do so. In Canadian, jobs are the ones at stake. The national security base for steel tariffs is being validated in real time. The war activity in Iran has disrupted global freight lanes, driven up energy prices and destabilized metal supply chains. Imported steel is now not only subject to tariffs, it is structurally more expensive due to transportation costs, energy volatility and geopolitical risk. And while this global uncertainty is exposing weaknesses elsewhere, it is strengthening the position of domestic steel producers like Cleveland Cliffs. Nowhere is that more evident than in aluminum. The aluminum industry has been hit repeatedly. Fires, power shortages, curtailments, geopolitical disruption and customers have taken notice of all that. Automotive OEMs are prioritizing supply, certainty, total costs and safety. Our Cliffs’ steel delivers all of that without the fragility embedded in aluminum supply chains. In my long career in this business, I have never seen so much momentum in substituting aluminum with steel. And automotive is not the only place where the shift from aluminum to steel is occurring. Building products, appliances and trucker and trailer sectors have been recently gravitating toward more steel use as well as we advance the use of our Cliffs’ steel being formed in equipment previously utilized exclusive for aluminum. Cleveland-Cliffs has demonstrated to our clients with real life results, the most potential benefit to market share gains from Alumina. We are also pleased to inform all of our stakeholders that in February, Cleveland-Cliffs received from our clients Toyota the Toyota Quality Excellence Award. Toyota does not hand out quality excellence awards lightly. Their standards are among the strictest in the world. quality excellence awards lightly. Their standards are among the strictest in the world. Winning that award is confirmation that our processes, consistency, execution and our overall quality are at the highest level for Toyota’s high standards. That strength has drawn attention from companies outside the United States. When we last spoke, we expected to achieve during the second quarter a mutually satisfactory transaction with Posco. In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both companies last year. This goal remains achievable, but the current disruption in the Middle east and its impact on the country of South Korea have not helped accelerate the conclusion of our ongoing discussions. That said, our engagement with Posco is active and we still believe a deal can be completed within this time frame or slightly later. Our Department of Energy funded projects on this side, we continue to make solid progress. The Butler Works Electrical Steel expansion project is moving along as planned and remains on schedule for 2028 completion. Similarly, our Middletown Works project has received clear affirmation that the project will proceed once the updated scope is finally approved and we are now in the final stages of completing their work. The revised scope of the project reflects a modern blast furnace configuration that positioning Middletown among the most energy efficient in the world. Taken together, the Butler and Middletown projects underscore our disciplined approach to modernization, investing in critical infrastructure in a way that strengths domestic steelmaking improves efficiency and supports long term competitiveness. At the same time, we are continuing the footprint optimization actions we began last year at Burns Harbor. We are idling our smaller plate mill as we have successfully been able to consolidate all capabilities of the 110 inch mill into the 160 inch mill. This removes an inefficient line, improves utilization at the efficient 160 inch mill and strengths our cost performance without sacrificing any capability. We are also idling the Gary plate finishing line which is no longer needed. There will be no loss in overall steel production or layoffs as we will backfill those roles in areas where we have seen retiree attrition. We expect that these operational changes, coupled with the positive momentum we have been currently seeing in the plate market should enhance our earnings from the plate business on rare earths. We continue to analyze our potential on these critical minerals. That said, economics hinge on domestic refinement capability and today that infrastructure is extremely limited in the United States. Refinement is capital intensive and not something we intend to pursue ourselves. If and when viable domestic refinement infrastructure becomes available, either through government supported projects or third party investments, we see ourselves well positioned to take advantage of the opportunity we have also partnered with a leading and prominent AI provider to help us take a meaningful step forward in how we run the interface between operations and commercial, particularly by embedding AI into our production, planning and order entry processes. Their platform allows us to use machine learning models across our internal data to anticipate constraints optimizing, sequencing and making better decisions in real time rather than after the fact. Our people are good, but it is impossible to perfect these processes with humans running Excel spreadsheets. This initiative will ultimately move us from human experience driven planning toward a new and enhanced AI assisted decision making system that scales with the complexity of our operations. We expect to make a full announcement on our AI initiative, including the name of our partner in the next few weeks. One important milestone we will navigate in the coming months is the renegotiation of our labor agreement with United Steelworkers. Our employers are the backbone of this company and their skills, commitment and pride in what they produce are critical to our success in our evolving and increasingly capital intensive industry. We must ensure that the structure of our labor agreements supports competitiveness, flexibility and long term sustainability. We approach these discussions with respect and realism with the goal of reaching an agreement that rewards our workforce while strengthening the company’s ability to invest, grow and remain a strong employer for decades to come. This process represents a meaningful opportunity for both Cleveland Cliffs management team and our union workforce to demonstrate the depth and strength of our partnership and we will not disappoint anyone with that. I’ll turn it over to our CFO Celso Gonçalves to go over our financial results.

Celso Goncalves (Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you. Good morning everyone. Our adjusted EBITDA in The quarter was 95 million dollars, a 274 million dollar increase from a year ago due primarily to increased pricing. Starting with the top line first quarter shipments totaled just over 4.1 million tons, which represents a recovery of more than 300,000 tons sequentially. That improvement was driven by better demand conditions across spot and trade channels and by a more stable operating cadence. Coming out of the fourth quarter we were still impacted by weather related disruptions, but volume strengthened as the quarter progressed. Shipments should increase further into Q2 as this trend continues. That volume recovery is critical because of the fixed cost nature of our business. Every incremental ton we produce and ship has a disproportionate impact on margins. The operating leverage embedded in integrated steelmaking remains substantial. Pricing also moved in the right direction. Average selling prices increased by $68 per ton from a year ago and sequentially by $55 per ton during the quarter reflecting improving market conditions and better automotive pull. This came in slightly below our original estimate as contractual lags were longer than anticipated based on customers ordering at max levels. As mentioned earlier by Lorenzo, what used to be roughly a one month realization lag has effectively extended to closer to two months as our order book has filled and schedules have stretched. That means price strength visible today will will show up more fully in Q2 and Q3 results. In the US about 45% of our sales are linked to the commodity HRC price. The remainder are under fixed price arrangements like in automotive or linked to other indices like we have with plate in Canada. Effectively all shipments …

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The economic fallout from the U.S.-Iran war is proving more stubborn than the conflict itself, with economists warning that a wave of inflation will persist long after the fighting stops, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

Prices Already Climbing

U.S. inflation jumped to 3.3 % in March, its highest level in two years, driven largely by surging fuel costs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Petrol prices have climbed from $2.98 per gallon when the conflict began in late February to $4.08 on Friday, according to the AAA motoring group. Diesel has surged from $3.76 to $5.59 a gallon, approaching its 2022 record.

“We were on a very good trajectory of inflation going down. Now there is somewhat a reversal,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told the FT, warning the fallout would not “evaporate overnight even if the war ends tomorrow.”

Second-Order Effects Mounting

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil supply typically transits, triggered the energy shock. Brent crude surged from around …

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Shares of Enveric BioSciences (NASDAQ:ENVB) added over 92% in the premarket trading session on Monday. AtaiBeckley Inc (NASDAQ:ATAI) surged by 28.1%, while Compass Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS) and Definium Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DFTX) saw their shares ascend by 26.1% and 14.6%, respectively, after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Saturday instructing health regulators to hasten the review process of psychedelic drugs.

Other companies in the sector also reaped benefits. GH Research (NASDAQ:GHRS) shares rose by 17.23%.

…

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Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) shares traded lower Monday morning. Nasdaq futures are down 0.44% while S&P 500 futures have shed 0.47%.

The decline follows a volatile period for the software giant. Investors are weighing massive capital spending against renewed Middle East concerns.

Geopolitical Tensions Weigh On Markets

U.S. stock futures retreated early Monday. A weekend surge in U.S.-Iran tensions rattled investor confidence.

Iran restricted vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz again on Saturday.

President Donald Trump warned Sunday of potential strikes on Iranian infrastructure if terms are not met. Oil prices soared over 6% in response.

Infrastructure Costs and Job Cuts

Investors remain cautious …

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The most oversold stocks in the energy sector presents an opportunity to buy into undervalued companies.

The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered oversold when the RSI is below 30, according to Benzinga Pro.

Here’s the latest list of major oversold players in this sector, having an RSI near or below 30.

Peabody Energy Corp (NYSE:BTU)

  • On March 31, UBS analyst George Eadie maintained Peabody Energy with a Neutral and lowered the price target from $36.5 to $35.5. The company’s stock fell around 32% over the past month and has a 52-week low …

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TORONTO, April 20, 2026 /CNW/ –  Dynamic today announced the April 2026 cash distributions for the Dynamic Active ETFs and ETF series units of certain Dynamic funds (ETF Series) listed on the TSX, which pay on a monthly basis. Unitholders of record on April 27, 2026, will receive cash distributions for the respective Dynamic Active ETFs and ETF Series payable on April 30, 2026. The details of the cash distribution amounts per unit are as follows:

Dynamic Active ETF and ETF Series

Ticker 
symbol 

Cash 
distribution 
per unit ($) 

Distribution 
frequency 

Dynamic Active Bond ETF

DXBB

0.070

Monthly

Dynamic Active Canadian Bond ETF

DXBC

0.070

Monthly

Dynamic Active Canadian Dividend ETF

DXC

0.082

Monthly

Dynamic Active Corporate Bond ETF

DXCB

0.077

Monthly

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While Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported a zero-dollar federal tax bill for 2025, findings have revealed another significant source of tax savings for the company.

Over the past two decades, Tesla has reported little to no U.S. federal tax liability in most years, largely due to deductions from prior losses and incentives tied to clean energy tax credits, Reuters reported.

However, a review of Tesla’s corporate filings by the publication revealed another significant source of savings. Tesla’s subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Singapore reported $18 billion in untaxed profits. If not for profit shifting, a financial strategy that reallocates earnings across jurisdictions, these profits would likely have been declared and taxed in the U.S., which could have resulted in Tesla paying over $400 million more in U.S. taxes, the report said.

Regulatory filings in Singapore show that Tesla Motors Singapore Holdings received approximately $18 billion in profits between 2023 and early 2025 from TM International, a Dutch subsidiary of which it owns more than 99%.

TM International is registered in the Netherlands as a non-resident partnership. According to Dutch registry records, it has no employees …

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GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 21.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share, up from $1.49 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for GE Aerospace’s quarterly revenue is $10.72 billion (it reported $9 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

Ahead of quarterly earnings, Citigroup analyst John Godyn, on April 2, maintained a Buy rating on GE Aerospace and lowered the price target from $380 to $353.

With the recent buzz around GE Aerospace, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company’s dividends, too. As of now, GE Aerospace has an annual dividend yield of 0.62%, with a quarterly dividend of 47 cents per share ($1.88 per year).  

So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield …

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Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades and downgrades, please see our analyst ratings page.

  • Truist Securities cut the price target for Doximity Inc (NASDAQ:DOCS) from $37 to $29. Truist Securities analyst Jailendra Singh downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold. Doximity shares closed at $24.71 on Friday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Stifel raised Plexus Corp (NASDAQ:PLXS) price target from $200 to $250. Stifel analyst Ruben Roy upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy. Plexus shares closed at $228.64 on Friday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Needham raised price target for Cadence Design Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CDNS) from $390 to $400. Needham analyst Charles Shi maintained a Buy rating. Cadence Design shares closed at $311.03 on Friday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Mizuho slashed the price target for Skyworks Solutions Inc …

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U.S. stock futures were lower this morning, with the Dow futures falling around 250 points on Monday.

Shares of AST SpaceMobile Inc (NASDAQ:ASTS) fell sharply in pre-market trading after the company said its BlueBird 7 satellite, launched aboard the New Glenn launch vehicle, was placed into a lower-than-planned orbit during the New Glenn 3 mission.

Although the satellite separated and powered on, the altitude is too low for sustained operations, and it will be de-orbited. The company expects to recover the satellite’s cost through insurance.

AST SpaceMobile shares dipped 13.5% to $73.95 in pre-market trading.

Here are some other stocks moving lower in pre-market trading.

  • SBC Medical Group Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SBC) fell 35.4% to $2.90 in pre-market trading after the company announced pricing of secondary public offering of 3.1 million shares of common stock.
  • Matrix Service Co (NASDAQ:MTRX) declined …

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On CNBC’s “Halftime Report Final Trades,” Stephen Weiss, chief investment officer and managing partner of Short Hills Capital Partners, named Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) as his final trade.

On the earnings front, Netflix, on Thursday, reported better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of 2026. The company issued a weak forecast for the second quarter and announced that chairman and co-founder Reed Hastings will not stand for re-election to the board when his term expires in June.

Jason Snipe, founder and chief investment officer of Odyssey Capital Advisors, said he likes BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK).

Lending support to her choice, BlackRock, on April 14, reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 …

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LanzaTech Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNZA) shares are falling on Monday. The stock continues a 37.13% selloff from Friday.

Auditor Dismissal Sparks Concern

The decline follows a Friday U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. LanzaTech dismissed Deloitte & Touche LLP as its independent accounting firm.

The Board approved the move on April 10. BDO USA, P.C. will take over for the 2026 fiscal year.

Going Concern Disclosures

Internal reports raise red flags for investors. Deloitte’s previous audits contained an “explanatory paragraph regarding substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

The firm also identified material weaknesses in internal controls. These are related to revenue recognition …

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Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

  • Goldman Sachs analyst John Mackay upgraded Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB) from Neutral to Buy and announced a price target of $82. Williams Companies shares closed at $71.15 on Friday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Stifel analyst Ruben Roy upgraded Plexus Corp (NASDAQ:PLXS) from Hold to Buy …

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Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) will release earnings for its first quarter after the closing bell on Monday, April 20.

Analysts expect the Seattle, Washington-based company to report a quarterly loss of $1.55 per share, compared to a loss of 77 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Alaska Air’s quarterly revenue is $3.29 billion (it reported $3.14 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On March 30, Alaska Airlines announced the election of Lindsay-Rae McIntyre to chief people officer.

Shares of Alaska Air jumped 10.3% to close at $45.40 on Friday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate …

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Mark Benioff, CEO of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM), refuted the “software bears” who predict a bleak future for the software industry.

Benioff’s rebuttal on X, on Monday, comes amid the impressive performance by Agentforce at Pearson and PenFed. At Pearson, Agentforce has been autonomously managing order statuses, refunds, and lost access codes, leading to a 40% increase in customer queries resolved without human intervention, as reported by Pearson’s VP, Gabriele Bauman.

Similarly, at PenFed, Agentforce has been instrumental in handling password resets and account unlocks for employees, resulting in a 40% reduction in total IT tickets, according to Shree Reddy, EVP & CIO at PenFed.

Benioff underscored …

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U.S. stocks settled higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 recording the first close above the 7,100 level after Iran announced the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for commercial vessels.

Stocks also recorded sharp gains last week, with the blue-chip Dow adding 3.2% and the S&P 500 surging 4.5%.

Wall Street analysts make new stock picks on a daily basis. Unfortunately for investors, not all analysts have particularly impressive track records at predicting market movements. Even when it comes to one single stock, analyst ratings and price targets can vary widely, leaving investors confused about which analyst’s opinion to trust.

Benzinga’s Analyst Ratings API is a collection of the highest-quality stock ratings curated by the Benzinga news desk via direct partnerships with major sell-side banks. Benzinga displays overnight ratings changes on a daily basis three hours prior to the U.S. equity market opening. Data specialists at investment dashboard provider Toggle.ai recently uncovered that the analyst insights Benzinga Pro subscribers and Benzinga readers regularly receive can successfully be used as trading indicators to outperform the stock market.

Top Analyst Picks: Fortunately, any Benzinga reader can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock …

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Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) will release earnings for its first quarter after the closing bell on Monday, April 20.

Analysts expect the Fort Wayne, Indiana-based company to report quarterly earnings of $2.79 per share. That’s up from $1.44 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Steel Dynamics’s quarterly revenue is $5.06 billion (it reported $4.37 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On March 17, Steel Dynamics issued first quarter earnings guidance in the range of $2.73 to $2.77 per share.

Shares of Steel Dynamics jumped 2.3% to close at $200.32 on Friday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate

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Prediction market giant Polymarket is exploring a capital raise, valuing it at around $15 billion, according to a report published Sunday.

New Funding Secured?

The cryptocurrency-based platform is in talks to raise $400 million in new funding, The Information reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Benzinga reached out to Polymarket to confirm the capital raise. The article will be updated once they respond.

Polymarket Trails Kalshi

The report comes after Intercontinental …

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BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB) stock saw a sharp surge in its momentum score, jumping from 14.91 to 36.14 on a week-over-week basis.

A momentum score is a measure that shows how strongly a stock is trending based on recent price and trading volume changes, reflecting the current strength of its upward or downward movement.

QNX Revenue Diversification Beyond The Automotive Sector

BlackBerry targeted double-digit revenue growth in fiscal 2027, driven by its QNX real-time operating system, as it expanded the software beyond its automotive roots into AI and robotics markets, reported The Wall Street Journal.

The company had said that about 20% of QNX revenue came from outside the automotive sector.

CEO John Giamatteo expects further growth as robotics and AI-driven machines increasingly require real-time, safety-certified software.

BlackBerry, once known for its smartphones, had shifted into a software and cybersecurity company, with its QNX platform powering critical systems in cars, medical devices and industrial robotics.

Giamatteo said the technology was being integrated into …

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The war with Iran is pushing the United States toward an unexpected milestone – becoming a net crude exporter for the first time since World War II.

In the week ending April 10, U.S. net crude imports narrowed to just 66,000 barrels per day, as exports jumped to 5.2 million. According to Reuters, it was a seven-month high for exports. Meanwhile, the U.S. has not been an exporter on an annual basis since 1943.

However, the recent shift is not a domestic production story; it is a geopolitical one. With the Strait of Hormuz, a route that handles about a fifth of global oil and gas supply, de facto closed, European and Asian refiners are forced to look elsewhere. Thus, the U.S. has emerged as one of the clearest beneficiaries.

Around 47% of April’s U.S crude exports headed to Europe, while 37% went to Asia – up from 30% a year ago, Kpler ship tracking showed. Top buyers included the Netherlands, Japan, France, Germany, and South Korea. Greece has reportedly bought U.S. crude for the first time in recent months.

“Atlantic Basin and Asian buyers are reaching further out for available supply,” Rystad vice president of oil markets, Janiv Shah, …

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Governor Tim Walz (D-Minn) on Sunday accused President Donald Trump of insider trading as oil prices surged following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

How Much Will Trump Make?

In a post on the social media platform X, Walz quoted a post by CNBC, which said that oil prices surged 7% after tensions escalated between Tehran and Washington. “So how much will the Trump family make in the stock market tomorrow morning?” Walz asked in the post.

The speculation comes as Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.), in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins, shared that a number of trades made during the war pointed towards the investors having advanced knowledge of key policy decisions.

Walz had also flagged similar concerns in the …

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Autonomous vehicles are touted by many to be the next big thing in the auto industry, with companies like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), as well as Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) emerging as some of the big players in the sector.

However, with the advent of self-driving cars and a favorable regulatory environment, concerns surrounding the technology, particularly with Tesla and Elon Musk‘s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, still worry The Dawn Project founder Dan O’Dowd, who recently spoke to Benzinga about the AV sector in the U.S.

Tesla’s HW3 System Woes

O’Dowd, a staunch critic of Tesla’s FSD tech, shared that The Dawn Project had run tests on 2023 Model 3 sedans with one megapixel cameras, calling the setup “pretty ancient,” adding that during the nighttime test, the testers “couldn’t read the letters for 20/20 [vision]” nor could they discern the letters with 20/40 vision either. The cameras caught the chart with 20/60 vision, O’Dowd said.

20/60 vision means that for what a regular person can see from 60 feet away, an affected person can see the object clearly from a distance of 20 feet, which could indicate mild to moderate vision impairment.

“The law says you have to have 20/40 vision to drive a car. So it’s legally blind by the California Department of Motor Vehicles definition,” O’Dowd said, adding that the system wasn’t “safe enough” to be on the roads. California’s DMV guidelines require the ability to see 20/40 with both eyes together, as well as 20/40 in one eye and at least 20/70 in the other eye, with or without corrective lenses.

Driving Tests, Elon Musk’s Claims

O’Dowd said that The Dawn Project also conducted a driver’s test with the system, similar to what new drivers would undergo at 16 years old. The system with the HW3 chip made four errors, which would’ve resulted in it failing the driving test.

“It doesn’t know what a road closed sign means. It doesn’t understand. It can’t read. It literally cannot read,” O’Dowd said, adding that the system struggled to understand a “Do Not Enter” sign until recently, as well as found it …

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Renowned economist and Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich highlighted the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in driving stock market gains while jobs and wages stagnate in the real economy.

“This is the reason the stock market is completely disconnected from the real economy,” Reich wrote on X on Sunday.

Reich shared a video clip from “Coffee Klatch,” where he discusses how AI allows companies to reduce payroll costs, thereby increasing profits and boosting stock market performance, while the average working population loses jobs.

The economist said payroll makes up about two-thirds of corporate costs, so cutting it to around 50% would largely boost profits.

“And so you have profits going up. And as profits go up, the stock market goes up,” explained Reich.

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O’Leary Warns Businesses: AI ‘Isn’t Optional Anymore’

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As of April 20, 2026, two stocks in the industrials sector could be flashing a real warning to investors who value momentum as a key criteria in their trading decisions.

The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered overbought when the RSI is above 70, according to Benzinga Pro.

Here’s the latest list of major overbought players in …

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With U.S. stock futures trading lower this morning on Monday, some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are as follows:

  • Wall Street expects Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE:CLF) to report a quarterly loss at 36 cents per share on revenue of $4.78 billion before the opening bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Cleveland-Cliffs shares rose 0.3% to $9.97 in after-hours trading.
  • Analysts are expecting Steel Dynamics Inc (NASDAQ:STLD) to post quarterly earnings at $2.79 per share on revenue of $5.10 billion. The company …

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In today’s rapidly evolving and fiercely competitive business landscape, it is crucial for investors and industry analysts to conduct comprehensive company evaluations. In this article, we will undertake an in-depth industry comparison, assessing NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) alongside its primary competitors in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry. By meticulously examining crucial financial indicators, market positioning, and growth potential, we aim to provide valuable insights to investors and shed light on company’s performance within the industry.

NVIDIA Background

Nvidia is a leading developer of graphics processing units. Traditionally, GPUs were used to enhance the experience on computing platforms, most notably in gaming applications on PCs. GPU use cases have since emerged as important semiconductors used in artificial intelligence to run large language models. Nvidia not only offers AI GPUs, but also a software platform, Cuda, used for AI model development and training. Nvidia is also expanding its data center networking solutions, helping to tie GPUs together to handle complex workloads.

Company P/E P/B P/S ROE EBITDA (in billions) Gross Profit (in billions) Revenue Growth
NVIDIA Corp 41.16 31.16 22.90 31.11% $51.28 $51.09 73.21%
Broadcom Inc 79.25 24.10 28.97 9.12% $11.15 $13.16 29.47%
Micron Technology Inc 21.48 7.08 8.88 21.0% $18.48 $17.75 196.29%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc 106.66 7.20 13.15 2.44% $2.86 $5.58 34.11%
Texas Instruments Inc 42.17 12.86 11.87 7.03% $2.07 $2.47 10.38%
Analog Devices Inc 67.91 5.37 15.64 2.46% $1.52 $2.04 30.42%
Qualcomm Inc 27.46 6.30 3.32 13.57% $4.11 $6.68 5.0%
Marvell Technology Inc 45.50 8.54 14.83 2.79% $0.75 $1.15 22.08%
Monolithic Power Systems Inc 114.18 20.42 25.42 4.95% $0.21 $0.41 20.83%
NXP Semiconductors NV 27.17 5.43 4.48 4.53% $0.98 $1.81 7.2%
ON Semiconductor Corp 286.24 4.26 5.70 2.33% $0.45 $0.55 -11.17%
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc 34.43 2.52 4.50 1.68% $0.73 $0.51 0.0%
Astera Labs Inc 142.66 21.73 36.66 3.41% $0.07 $0.2 91.77%
Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd 88.29 16.03 27.94 10.03% $0.16 $0.28 201.49%
Tower Semiconductor Ltd 116.72 8.75 16.42 2.78% $0.2 $0.12 13.69%
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc 125.33 15.35 20.34 3.64% $0.07 $0.15 24.52%
First Solar Inc 13.40 2.15 3.92 5.62% $0.7 $0.67 11.15%
Lattice Semiconductor Corp 5853 22.44 30.93 -1.08% $0.01 $0.1 24.16%
Rambus Inc 60.10 10.05 19.58 4.81% $0.09 $0.15 18.09%
Average 402.89 11.14 16.25 5.62% $2.48 $2.99 40.53%

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In the fast-paced and cutthroat world of business, conducting thorough company analysis is essential for investors and industry experts. In this article, we will undertake a comprehensive industry comparison, evaluating Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) in comparison to its major competitors within the Software industry. By analyzing crucial financial metrics, market position, and growth potential, our objective is to provide valuable insights for investors and offer a deeper understanding of company’s performance in the industry.

Palantir Technologies Background

Palantir is an artificial intelligence, analytics, and automated decision-making company that leverages data to drive efficiency across its clients’ organizations. The firm serves commercial and government clients via its Foundry and Gotham platforms, respectively. Palantir works only with entities in Western-allied nations and reserves the right not to work with anyone that is antithetical to Western values. The company was founded in 2003 and went public in 2020.

Company P/E P/B P/S ROE EBITDA (in billions) Gross Profit (in billions) Revenue Growth
Palantir Technologies Inc 232.37 47.39 83.91 8.71% $0.58 $1.19 70.0%
AppLovin Corp 47.53 75.40 29.77 61.09% $1.34 $1.47 65.88%
Salesforce Inc 23.35 2.52 4.19 3.26% $3.27 $8.69 12.09%
Intuit Inc 25.59 5.71 5.51 3.61% $1.14 $3.61 17.36%
Adobe Inc 14.25 8.64 4.20 16.39% $2.66 $5.73 11.97%
Synopsys Inc 69.01 2.82 9.79 0.22% $0.69 $1.77 65.52%
Cadence Design Systems Inc 76.61 15.69 16.05 7.27% $0.59 $1.25 6.2%
Autodesk Inc 46.28 16.77 7.22 10.64% $0.58 $1.79 19.4%
Datadog Inc 408.42 12 13.43 1.3% $0.08 $0.77 29.21%
Roper Technologies Inc 25.52 1.87 4.96 2.15% $0.86 $1.43 9.67%
Workday Inc 47.81 4.08 3.48 1.74% $0.39 $1.92 14.52%
Zoom Communications Inc 14.24 2.64 5.56 7.06% $0.28 $0.95 5.31%
PTC Inc 20.58 4.33 5.89 4.34% $0.25 $0.57 21.36%
Trimble Inc 39.38 2.76 4.67 2.69% $0.25 $0.7 -1.38%
IREN Ltd 33.40 6.35 18.95 -5.77% $-0.23 $0.11 59.02%
Tyler Technologies Inc 47.58 3.93 6.44 1.79% $0.12 $0.26 6.29%
Guidewire Software Inc 63.51 7.87 9.14 3.95% $0.08 $0.23 24.05%
HubSpot Inc 258.71 5.68 3.78 2.78% $0.1 $0.71 20.42%
Average 74.22 10.53 9.0 7.32% $0.73 $1.88 22.76%

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US stock futures retreated early Monday as a weekend surge in US-Iran tensions dashed hopes for a lasting Middle East peace deal, sending oil prices sharply higher and rattling investor confidence heading into a pivotal week of earnings.

Dow Jones futures dropped 0.70%, while contracts on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 each fell roughly 0.6% in early trading Monday.

The pullback comes after a winning week for Wall Street, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbing to all-time highs last week on the back of ceasefire optimism and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The weekend brought a sharp reversal. Iran had declared the Strait of Hormuz reopened, but by Saturday, vessel traffic through the key shipping lane was restricted again, with state media saying the US “did not fulfill their obligations.” Trump warned Sunday he would “knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran” if Tehran did not agree to Washington’s terms to end the conflict, with the fragile ceasefire set to expire this week.

Oil prices soared over 6% on Monday in response, though they remained below the key $100 level. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded at around $88 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude changed hands just above $96.

This week brings a heavy slate of corporate earnings that could set the tone for broader markets. Earnings season accelerates from April 20 to 24, with key names including Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Intel

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Investor Peter Schiff on Sunday accused President Donald Trump of lying about the situation in the Middle East, as Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz once again amid uncertainty.

Market Manipulation

In a post on X, Schiff delivered sharp criticism of Trump, saying that the likely reason for “Trump’s Truth Social lies” about the situation in Iran on Friday was “market manipulation.” He added that Trump’s insiders “must have made billions” from the trade. Schiff then criticized Trump as being “incompetent” or “delusional.”

$760 Million Oil Trade

Schiff’s comments come as Reuters reported on Friday that traders placed a $760 million bet on falling crude oil prices around 20 minutes prior to the Iranian Foreign Minister announcing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The report said that between 12:24 GMT and ​12:25 GMT, multiple investors sold over 7,990 lots …

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Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) will release earnings for its first quarter after the closing bell on Monday, April 20.

Analysts expect the Rosemont, Illinois-based company to report quarterly earnings of $2.96 per share, up from $2.69 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Wintrust Financial’s quarterly revenue is $707.92 million (it reported $643.11 million last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On April 9, Wintrust Financial announced retirement of board members H. Patrick Hackett Jr. and William J. Doyle.

Wintrust Financial shares rose 2% to close at $148.17 on Friday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look …

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The U.S. is reportedly eager to strike a swift deal with Iran, a move that has caused unease among European allies.

The Trump Administration may accept a “bad initial” Iran deal for a quick win, leaving complex issues for “endless downstream problems,” a senior European diplomat told Reuters.

Diplomats from France, Britain, and Germany, who have been negotiating with Iran since 2003, feel sidelined. They had earlier worked with the U.S. to secure the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, but President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, calling it “one-sided.”

The European allies said that a basic deal involving an economic package for the nuclear stockpile is possible, but cautioned that nuclear issues remain the main sticking point. The dispute centers on Iran’s right to enrich uranium, with Trump pushing for zero enrichment and Iran insisting on civilian use. A compromise could involve a temporary pause and limited enrichment under strict oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the diplomats told Reuters.

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Andrew Left, an activist short seller, is gearing up for a high-profile securities fraud case next month as he prepares to fight charges that could result in a prison sentence of up to 25 years if found guilty, per the report from Business Insider.

According to the report, Left said “I’m not going to trial because I think I’m going to lose. “Because at the end of the day, I believe in justice, I believe in the system.”

The Charges for Manipulation of Stocks

Left, the founder of Citron Research, is accused by the SEC of manipulating the stock prices of some stocks like Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), and Meta Platforms Inc.

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Pablo Hernández de Cos, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, said Monday that stablecoins present both “opportunities and challenges,” urging coordinated efforts to move forward.

The Pros And The Cons

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value by pegging it to a reserve asset. Most popular stablecoins, such as Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) and USDC (CRYPTO: USDC), are fiat-backed, holding cash or U.S. Treasuries to ensure a 1:1 redemption rate.

In a speech at a Bank of Japan seminar, Hernández de Cos highlighted the potential of stablecoins to improve cross-border payments and provide “convenient access” to the dollar and other foreign currencies. He also praised their instant settlement and simultaneous settlement capabilities.

“On the other hand, stablecoins pose significant macroeconomic and financial challenges, including their potential effects on credit supply, financial stability and monetary and fiscal policy, ” Hernández de Cos emphasized.

He particularly stressed their …

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Investor Gary Black of The Future Fund LLC on Sunday predicted that ride-hailing platforms with human drivers would become obsolete in the next five years as autonomous vehicles scale.

The Rise Of Robotaxis

In a post on the social media platform X, Black shared his prediction about what the ride-hailing industry could look like in the near future. “Ride hailing platforms with drivers will likely become extinct within 5 years,” he said, outlining that Robotaxis would become “dominant” in the future.

Black also said that as the sector progresses, autonomous capabilities would “become one of the most popular add-on options” for customers at the time of purchase. He then shared that the future will also see intense competition in the sector.

Tesla’s Role

However, Black lamented at Tesla Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) lack of progress in the sector, sharing that the idea that Tesla would alone scale unsupervised autonomy was “borderline head-in-the-sand delusional” as competitors like Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Waymo, WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ:WRD), Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY), Baidu Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:BIDU) Apollo Go were “already completing 1.0M paid unsupervised autonomous trips per week.”

He also said that Tesla’s Robotaxi economics cannot be modeled based on factors like trips per day, miles per trip, etc. He then said that a better forecast would be modeling the total addressable market for autonomous ride times Tesla’s market share in …

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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 21.

Analysts expect the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based company to report quarterly earnings of $6.61 per share, down from $7.20 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for UnitedHealth’s quarterly revenue is $109.66 billion (it reported $109.58 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On March 2, UnitedHealth Group filed shelf prospectus for offering of securities.

UnitedHealth shares rose 2.6% to close at $324.63 on Friday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the …

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Global oil prices surged and U.S. stock futures fell sharply Monday after a direct escalation between Washington and Tehran injected fresh volatility into markets, with reports confirming a U.S. seizure of an Iran-linked vessel and Iran signaling it would refuse to continue ceasefire negotiations, raising immediate concerns over supply disruptions and broader regional instability.

In early trading, as traders rapidly priced in geopolitical risk tied to potential disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint responsible for roughly 20% of global oil flows, U.S. oil futures surged 7.14% to $89.94 per barrel, while Brent crude rose 5.9% to $95.71. Gold moved lower, declining 1.6% to $4,801.40 an ounce. The U.S. dollar edged up 0.2% against the euro and gained 0.25% versus the Japanese yen, while the 10-year Treasury yield held steady at 4.248%.. “This is no longer theoretical risk—this is action and reaction,” said Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, adding that “any escalation involving physical assets in or near Gulf shipping lanes immediately tightens perceived supply.”

The move follows confirmed U.S. action targeting an Iran-linked maritime asset, a step widely interpreted by analysts as a show of force aimed at enforcing sanctions and maintaining control over critical shipping corridors. Iran’s response—pulling back from ongoing ceasefire discussions—has further amplified fears of a prolonged standoff. Over the weekend, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz reiterated Washington’s position, stating that “freedom of navigation will be enforced by the United States Navy under the authority of the president as commander-in-chief.”

Markets reacted swiftly. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all traded lower, reflecting a broad risk-off shift as investors moved away from equities and into safer assets. Treasury yields edged down as demand for government bonds increased, while the U.S. dollar strengthened modestly.

The escalation marks a shift from rhetoric to tangible confrontation, something markets tend to react to more aggressively. “We’ve moved from headline risk to event-driven volatility,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. “That changes how investors position, especially with energy feeding directly into inflation expectations.”

Energy stocks were among the few bright spots in premarket trading, with major oil producers expected to benefit from higher crude prices if tensions persist. However, sectors sensitive to fuel costs—including airlines and transportation—faced renewed pressure, as rising oil threatens margins just ahead of peak summer demand.

Beyond equities, the implications for monetary policy are also coming into focus. A sustained rise in oil prices could complicate the Federal Reserve’s inflation outlook and delay anticipated rate cuts. “Energy shocks are one of the fastest ways to derail disinflation,” said Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, noting that “central banks may be forced to stay tighter for longer if oil remains elevated.”

The geopolitical backdrop adds another layer of complexity. Analysts point to internal divisions within Iran’s leadership, where diplomatic channels appear increasingly at odds with more hardline elements. The decision to halt ceasefire discussions signals that Tehran may be recalibrating its strategy in response to U.S. enforcement actions.

For global markets, the immediate concern is whether this incident remains contained or escalates into broader disruption. The Strait of Hormuz remains the focal point, and even limited interference with shipping traffic could send oil prices significantly higher. “It doesn’t take a full shutdown—just enough friction to create uncertainty,” Croft added.

Investors are now closely watching for follow-up actions from both sides, including any additional U.S. naval movements or retaliatory measures from Iran. Markets are likely to remain highly sensitive to headlines in the coming days, with oil acting as the primary transmission channel into equities, currencies, and inflation expectations.

If tensions ease, some of Monday’s moves could reverse quickly. But if the standoff deepens—particularly with diplomacy now off the table—oil could continue its upward trajectory, placing renewed strain on global growth and complicating an already fragile economic outlook.

—JBizNews Desk

On:

Economist Justin Wolfers, on Monday, highlighted growing concerns over prolonged high gasoline prices amid ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Hormuz Disruption To Fuel Long-Term Gas Prices

Wolfer, in a post on X, said “Strait of Hormuz uncertainty isn’t just pushing up today’s gas prices — it’s lifting futures through 2027 and beyond.” Wolfers said that Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s optimism may already be “outdated.”

The economist posted, “Until we get resolution, expensive gas isn’t going anywhere soon.”

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Investment bank Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco believes Tesla Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) launch of its Robotaxi service in Houston and Dallas is a sign of progress for the automaker’s self-driving vision.

Tangible Progress

In an investor note released on Sunday, Percoco said that the rollout represented “tangible progress at a time when the market was growing increasingly skeptical about Tesla’s robotaxi expansion timeline.” The analyst also shared that the move was a “material evolution” from Austin’s launch last year, with human safety drivers for several months before it became unsupervised.

“We believe a successful robotaxi rollout has the potential to create a powerful flywheel across Tesla’s ecosystem,” Percoco said in the note, believing the rollout would help expedite the development of unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology.

Speaking on Tesla’s capex figures of nearly $8.5 billion, Percoco said that the advancements in FSD were “a key lever to re-invigorate auto sales and margins to fund Tesla’s longer-term ambitions in physical AI.” There was no change in his price target of $415 for the automaker.

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Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.) has raised concerns over a series of large trades in crude oil and S&P 500 E-mini futures placed shortly before President Donald Trump disclosed developments related to U.S. actions involving Iran.

Lawmaker Flags Highly Suspicious Trading Activity

In a letter sent Friday to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig, Liccardo raised concerns, CNBC reported.

“The timing indicates bets were placed by those with advance knowledge of the President’s action, strongly suggesting illicit trading on insider information,” he wrote.

Trades Preceded Market-Moving Iran Announcement

The scrutiny follows reports that significant positions in oil markets were taken just hours before a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, generating substantial profits.

Separately, a surge in S&P 500 E-mini futures trading occurred roughly 15 minutes before Trump announced that military action would …

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A wave of momentum swept through large-cap stocks this week, driving standout gains across multiple sectors.

From short squeezes to breakthrough developments, several names captured strong investor attention.

These ten large-cap stocks were top performers last week. Are they a part of your portfolio?

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) jumped 71.48% last week. A massive short squeeze is the primary driver behind the sudden upward price action.

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) increased 62.86% this week after the company was awarded a contract in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Heterogeneous Architectures for Quantum program.

Revolution Medicines, Inc.

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Large-cap stocks faced broad selling pressure last week, with several names slipping on weak earnings and strategic shifts.

From analyst downgrades to macro concerns, multiple factors weighed on investor sentiment across sectors.

These ten large-cap stocks were worst performers last week. Are they a part of your portfolio?

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) decreased 14.09% this week. JP Morgan analyst Jeremy Tonet maintained a Neutral rating on the stock, lowering the price target from $19 to $16.

Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) fell 10.23% this week following reports suggesting the company will sell a former smelter site to NYDIG. Also, the company reported worse-than-expected Q1 financial results.

LyondellBasell Industries …

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A senior global energy official is urging a renewed focus on overland export routes from the Middle East, with International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol advocating for the expansion and optimization of the Iraq–Turkey pipeline as a strategic alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vulnerable energy chokepoints.

Speaking in remarks reported by Turkish outlet Hürriyet, Fatih Birol said diversifying export routes is increasingly critical as geopolitical risks continue to threaten maritime oil flows through the Persian Gulf. “Relying heavily on a single corridor like Hormuz exposes global markets to significant disruption risk,” Birol said, emphasizing the importance of strengthening alternative infrastructure.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical artery for global energy markets, with roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passing through the narrow waterway. Analysts have long warned that escalating tensions involving Iran and regional actors could jeopardize shipments, creating volatility in oil prices and supply chains. Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group and former White House energy advisor, noted, “Any credible alternative route that reduces dependence on Hormuz has immediate strategic value for both producers and consumers.”

The proposed emphasis on the Iraq–Turkey pipeline comes as Ankara and Baghdad continue to navigate disputes over oil exports from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The pipeline, which runs from northern Iraq to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, has faced intermittent shutdowns in recent years due to legal and political disagreements. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said previously that “resolving outstanding issues with Iraq remains a priority to fully restore and potentially expand flows.”

For Iraq, the pipeline represents a critical opportunity to diversify export routes and reduce reliance on southern terminals that ultimately feed into Hormuz-bound shipments. Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has acknowledged the importance of maintaining multiple export channels, stating, “Iraq’s long-term energy strategy includes strengthening infrastructure that ensures stable and diversified access to global markets.”

Energy economists say the timing of the proposal reflects heightened concern about geopolitical instability and its impact on global energy security. Amrita Sen, director of research at Energy Aspects, said, “The conversation around bypassing Hormuz tends to intensify whenever regional tensions rise, but implementing viable alternatives requires sustained political coordination and investment.”

The broader push also aligns with efforts by consuming nations to secure more resilient supply chains. European policymakers, still recalibrating energy strategies following disruptions tied to the Russia-Ukraine war, have shown increasing interest in diversified supply routes from the Middle East. Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, has emphasized that “energy security depends not only on supply volumes but also on the reliability and diversity of transport routes.”

Still, significant hurdles remain. Expanding or fully optimizing the Iraq–Turkey pipeline would require political alignment between Baghdad, Erbil, and Ankara, as well as regulatory clarity and infrastructure investment. Industry experts caution that without resolution of existing disputes, the pipeline’s full potential cannot be realized. Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said, “The infrastructure exists, but the bottleneck is political, not technical.”

Market participants are closely watching whether renewed diplomatic engagement could unlock progress. A fully operational and expanded Iraq–Turkey corridor could shift regional energy dynamics, offering producers a meaningful hedge against disruptions in Hormuz and providing buyers with greater supply security.

For global markets, the implications extend beyond the Middle East. Oil traders and policymakers alike view alternative transit routes as a key buffer against price shocks. “Even incremental diversification of supply routes can have an outsized impact on market stability,” McNally added.

As geopolitical risks remain a persistent feature of the energy landscape, the push by Fatih Birol underscores a broader strategic recalibration—one that prioritizes flexibility, redundancy, and resilience in global energy flows. Whether the Iraq–Turkey pipeline can fulfill that role will depend not only on infrastructure, but on the political will to align competing interests across the region.

—JBizNews Desk

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) had a busy week, with significant developments in the legal, technological, and market sectors. Here’s a quick recap of the key events.

Apple Scores Key Win As Trade Commission Rejects Masimo‘s Bid To Reinstate Apple Watch Import Ban

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has declined to review a previous ruling that cleared Apple’s redesigned watches of patent infringement, dealing a blow to Masimo Corp.(NASDAQ:MASI). This decision effectively ends Masimo’s latest attempt to reinstate an import ban on Apple Watch models in the U.S. The case revolves around blood-oxygen sensing technology, which Masimo alleges Apple copied after hiring away its employees.

Read the full article here.

Apple Leans Into Edge AI With M5 Chip Push, BofA Calls It ‘Meaningful Step’

Apple is positioning itself as the “ultimate edge AI play” through its latest internal hardware developments. In a recent note, BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a Buy rating and a $325 price forecast for the tech giant. The focus remains on the newly expanded M5 chip family, which …

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As the week comes to a close, here’s a quick recap of the top stories that made headlines in the financial world.

Former Treasury Chief Paulson Warns Of Bond Demand Crisis, Calls For Emergency Plan

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has issued a warning about a potential collapse in the demand for government bonds. He has called for an emergency contingency plan to be put in place before it’s too late. Paulson, who steered the Treasury through the 2008 financial crisis, believes that a U.S. debt crisis would be much harder to contain than the credit meltdown he managed then.

Read the full article here.

Mark Cuban Proposes Special Bank Account For Healthcare To Tackle Unpayable Debt

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has suggested a unique bank account model for healthcare. This model would use Affordable Care Act Silver plan–level monthly …

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The Israeli shekel is again pressing against historic highs, trading just below the NIS 3-per-dollar threshold after briefly breaking through the level for the first time since the mid-1990s, a move that is reshaping both household purchasing power and investment returns. Bank of Israel data and interbank market pricing on Sunday showed the currency hovering near NIS 2.98 per dollar, capping an appreciation of more than 20% over the past 18 months, even as the U.S. dollar has weakened broadly across global markets.

For Israeli consumers, the stronger currency is translating into tangible gains in purchasing power. Imported goods—from electronics and vehicles to raw materials and energy inputs—are becoming cheaper in shekel terms, easing inflationary pressures and lowering costs for businesses reliant on global supply chains. Travel abroad has also become more affordable, with Israelis effectively getting more value per dollar or euro spent overseas.

“A stronger shekel increases real purchasing power for households and reduces the cost of imports across the economy,” said Ofer Klein, chief economist at Harel Insurance and Finance. “It has a moderating effect on inflation, particularly in categories tied to global pricing such as fuel, consumer goods, and durable imports.”

Yet that same strength is creating a very different reality for investors. While the S&P 500 delivered gains approaching 30% over the past year, Israeli savers invested in unhedged, dollar-denominated vehicles—such as passive ETFs, pension tracks, and retirement funds linked to U.S. indices—have seen those returns significantly reduced once converted back into shekels. Institutional performance data through early 2026 show returns in the low single digits for fully dollar-exposed strategies, compared with roughly 25%–30% in domestically managed equity tracks.

“For many years, I have said this is a problematic path for Israeli savers,” said Tamir Hershkovitz, senior vice president and head of investments at Ayalon Insurance and Finance. “Investing in the S&P 500 is excellent—but linking it fully to the dollar, without managing currency exposure, creates a mismatch. The saver earns and spends in shekels, so currency movements can erase a large portion of the gains.”

He added, “A balanced portfolio with limited foreign-exchange exposure is increasingly necessary in this environment.”

The divergence highlights how currency dynamics have become a dominant factor in portfolio performance. Israeli institutional investors—including pension funds and insurance companies—have been actively rebalancing portfolios by selling dollars after strong gains in overseas markets and reallocating into shekel-denominated assets. These transactions, including spot conversions and hedging strategies, are adding further upward pressure on the currency.

“In the last 12 months, U.S. equities rose by around 30%, but the dollar weakened by roughly 20%, cutting the effective return for Israeli investors dramatically,” said Idit Moskovich, manager of the trading room at First International Bank of Israel. “Investors fully exposed to foreign currency—especially through passive U.S. index products—must factor this in. Currency hedging is becoming essential, not optional.”

Beyond financial flows, structural drivers are reinforcing the shekel’s strength. Israel’s export engine—particularly in technology, defense, and natural gas—continues to generate substantial foreign currency inflows. These revenues are routinely converted into shekels for domestic use, creating sustained demand for the local currency.

“We are seeing a combination of strong export inflows and institutional activity all supporting the shekel,” said Klein. “When you add global dollar weakness and improving geopolitical expectations, you get a powerful alignment of forces.”

Geopolitical sentiment is also influencing the currency’s trajectory. Markets are increasingly pricing in a more stable regional outlook, which has supported continued capital inflows into Israeli assets. Even amid intermittent tensions, analysts note that global investors have maintained exposure to Israel, signaling confidence in the country’s economic resilience.

“Even in periods of uncertainty, capital continues to flow into Israel,” said Hershkovitz. “That reflects long-term confidence in the economy and helps explain why the shekel remains strong despite external challenges.”

At the corporate level, multinational activity is further contributing to demand. Global firms operating in Israel convert foreign earnings into shekels for payroll and local investment, while exporters continue to repatriate revenues. At the same time, importers benefit from lower costs, which can feed through into consumer pricing and corporate margins.

Still, the rapid pace of appreciation is raising concerns, particularly among exporters. A stronger shekel makes Israeli goods more expensive abroad, reducing competitiveness and squeezing profit margins.

“The speed of appreciation is critical,” said Klein. “If a company operates with a 10%–15% margin and the currency strengthens by more than 20%, that margin can effectively be wiped out. That creates real pressure on exporters and could eventually impact growth.”

Despite these concerns, economists do not expect immediate direct intervention from the Bank of Israel. The central bank, led by Governor Amir Yaron, holds more than $200 billion in foreign exchange reserves but has shifted away from frequent currency market intervention.

“The Bank of Israel is more likely to act through interest rate policy rather than direct foreign exchange intervention,” said Klein. “Currency intervention is typically reserved for extreme market conditions, which we are not seeing right now.”

Looking ahead, the outlook for the shekel remains tied to both domestic fundamentals and global developments. Continued export strength, stable geopolitical conditions, and a weaker dollar could sustain the current trend. However, shifts in U.S. monetary policy, global market corrections, or renewed regional tensions could quickly reverse the currency’s trajectory.

“Currency markets can change direction very quickly,” Klein added. “If global markets turn or geopolitical risks increase, the shekel could weaken just as fast as it strengthened. The current levels are not guaranteed.”

For Israeli households, the story is one of mixed outcomes: stronger purchasing power at home and abroad, but diminished returns on global investments. For investors and policymakers alike, the shekel’s rise underscores a broader shift—currency exposure is no longer a secondary consideration but a central factor in economic and financial decision-making.

As the shekel hovers near historic highs, the question is no longer just how strong it can get—but how long the forces behind its rise can remain in place before the cycle turns.

—JBizNews Desk- Tel Aviv

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Compass Pathways PLC (NASDAQ:CMPS) said a White House executive order aimed at accelerating mental health treatment research could help speed access to its experimental psilocybin therapy, which the company says has shown fast and durable results in late-stage clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression.

White House Order Boosts Psychedelic Drug Momentum

The biotechnology company Compass Pathways welcomed the Trump administration’s move, calling it an important step toward addressing the mental health crisis.

Compass CEO Kabir Nath said the executive order “recognizes the profound urgency of the mental health crisis facing millions of Americans and the potential impact FDA-approved psychedelics could have.”

Nath said the policy “aligns regulatory urgency with patient need” and supports “accelerating access, without compromising rigorous science.”

He added that the company’s synthetic psilocybin drug, COMP360, has shown “highly statistically significant and clinically meaningful data” in Phase 3 trials for treatment-resistant depression.

The company said …

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Wealth inequality in the U.S. has widened dramatically over the past five decades, with gains heavily concentrated among the ultra-rich.

Wealth Gap Widens Sharply

On Saturday, data shared by The Kobeissi Letter highlights a stark divergence in wealth growth since 1976.

According to the post on X, the real wealth of the top 0.001% of U.S. households has surged roughly 3,500% over that period.

By comparison, the top 0.01% and 0.1% saw gains of about 2,200% and 1,200%, respectively, while the average household’s wealth increased by just 200%.

The post also noted a sharp rise in ultra-wealthy households, estimating that about 430,000 U.S. households now hold at least $30 million in net worth, including roughly 74,000 worth more than $100 million.

A large share of wealth at the top is tied to financial markets. “~72% of wealth for the top 0.1% is concentrated in corporate equities, mutual funds, and private businesses,” the post said.

In contrast, lower-income households have struggled to build …

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Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) on Saturday announced the expansion of its robotaxi service to two new cities in Texas, Dallas and Houston, after launching in Austin in June 2025, ahead of the company’s first quarter results on April 22.

The Elon Musk-led electric vehicle manufacturer revealed the news in a post on X, accompanied by a 14-second video, showing Tesla vehicles operating without human monitors or drivers in the front seat.

This expansion brings the total number of cities with Tesla’s robotaxi service in Texas to three, following the launch in Austin last year and the commencement of driverless rides in January 2026.

Despite the recent expansion, Tesla may not have a …

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Fear is unwinding as fast as it built.

The CBOE Volatility Index — commonly known as the VIX, Wall Street’s real-time gauge of expected equity market volatility — collapsed 44% over the three weeks ending April 17, 2026. The gauge hit a nine-week low of 16.87 Friday as Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tehran had agreed to never close the waterway again.

A drop of that magnitude over a three-week window is rare.

History suggests what follows tends to be positive and durable for equity markets.

A Rare Signal: Only Seven Prior Episodes Since 1970

A TradingView event study analyzing every instance of a three-week VIX rate of change dropping at or below negative 40% since 1970 identified just seven prior episodes.

The current reading of negative 43.74 joins that list as the eighth.

Date VIX 3-Week Move % Catalyst
Jan 14, 2013 −45.16% U.S. fiscal cliff crisis resolved
Nov 3, 2014 −40.34% Mid-cycle growth scare; Ebola fears and slowing global demand faded
Jul 11, 2016 −50.82% Brexit vote shock absorbed; central banks signaled accommodation
Nov 21, 2016 −45.18% U.S. presidential election; markets pivoted to …

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Wall Street heads into a high-stakes week after a powerful rally fueled by easing geopolitical tensions.

A packed earnings calendar will now test whether the market’s momentum can be sustained.

CNBC host Jim Cramer outlined his strategy for the upcoming trading week after a powerful market surge tied to easing geopolitical tensions. He described the rally as one of the most notable he has witnessed, driven by sharp gains across major indexes.

The surge followed developments in the Middle East, where Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz during a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The move eased supply concerns and lifted investor sentiment, CNBC reports, pushing equities higher amid improving risk appetite.

Market Momentum Builds

Major indexes rallied strongly as the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 869 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also posted solid gains.

The Nasdaq extended its winning streak to 13 sessions, marking its longest run since 1992.

Cramer emphasized the market’s durability, noting stocks have advanced through multiple phases of conflict. He said broad participation across sectors has supported the rally despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

Geopolitical Risks …

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Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors’ favorite stocks over the last week — here’s a look at some of our top stories.

U.S. stocks surged to fresh record highs this week as easing geopolitical tensions triggered a powerful rally across global markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all advanced sharply after Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz during a ceasefire, alleviating fears of prolonged energy disruptions. The move marked a dramatic reversal from weeks of volatility tied to the conflict, with investors rushing back into equities as confidence improved.

Energy markets drove much of the shift in sentiment, with crude prices plunging more than 10% after the reopening of the key shipping route eased supply concerns. The sharp decline in oil — following a surge above $100 per barrel during the height of the crisis — reduced inflation pressures and boosted expectations for a more supportive Federal Reserve stance. As a result, sectors previously hit by high fuel costs, including airlines and travel stocks, rebounded strongly while energy names lagged.

The rally also highlighted a broader rotation back into growth assets, with technology stocks extending gains and the Nasdaq posting one of its longest winning streaks in decades. Investor sentiment improved as volatility declined and markets began pricing in a more stable macro backdrop, even as analysts cautioned that the ceasefire remains fragile. Overall, the week’s action underscores how quickly markets can shift when geopolitical risks ease, setting the stage for continued momentum if stability holds.

Benzinga provides daily reports on the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week’s most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.

The Bulls

“Oracle Stock Explodes 25% On AI Build-Out, Bloom Energy Deal,” by Erica Kollmann, reports that Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) shares surged roughly 25% in just two sessions as investor …

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Artificial intelligence chipmaker Cerebras Systems filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, after withdrawing its IPO plans in October 2025, stating the 2024 filing document was “stale.”

Cerebras Systems, a California-based competitor to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), submitted a registration statement to the SEC for the proposed IPO of its Class A common stock.

The number of shares and the price range for the offering are yet to be determined, contingent on market conditions.

The company plans to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “CBRS.”

Cerebras stated that the offering will be managed by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Citigroup (NYSE:C), …

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Video meeting platform Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM) has joined forces with Sam Altman-founded human ID verification network World, aiming to authenticate the identities of meeting attendees and offer customers more ways to incorporate trust into their workflows.

World, which was developed in 2023 by Tools for Humanity, a technology company co-founded in 2019 by Altman and Alex Blania.

How It Works

The feature uses World’s World ID Deep Face technology, which employs a three-step process to confirm a participant’s authenticity. This includes cross-referencing a signed image from the user’s registration, a real-time face scan from the user’s device, and a live video frame visible to other meeting participants. A “Verified Human” badge will appear on a participant’s title only when all three verifications match.

According to Zoom, Deep Face Waiting Room requires participants to verify they are …

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AI coding startup Cursor is reportedly close to securing at least $2 billion in fresh capital at a $50 billion pre-money valuation, nearly doubling its valuation from six months ago, as venture capital firms Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz prepare to lead an already oversubscribed round.

Nvidia Among Expected Backers

According to a TechCrunch report published Friday, technology-focused investment firm Battery Ventures is expected to join the funding round as a new investor. Strategic investor Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is also expected to take part. However, the terms of the deal have not yet been finalized and could still change.

If completed, this funding would nearly double Cursor’s previous post-money valuation of $29.3 billion, which was set …

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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) will reportedly start its first round of mass layoffs on May 20, cutting about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its global workforce, with further reductions expected later this year, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg accelerates an AI-focused restructuring.

The specifics of the cuts have not yet been finalized, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the plans. The sources disclosed that the company’s executives may adjust their plans as they observe developments in artificial intelligence capabilities.

Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.

Zuckerberg Bets Big On AI Amid Leaner Operations

Zuckerberg is investing heavily in AI to transform the company’s operations, aligning with a broader trend among major U.S. companies, particularly in the tech sector.

Despite Meta’s significant layoffs in 2022 and 2023, the company’s stock was struggling at the time. However, it is currently in a more stable financial position. Meta’s shares have risen by 5.86% since the beginning of the year.

The impending layoffs …

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A late-night post from President Donald Trump has dragged Reed Hastings back into the spotlight, just as Netflix Inc‘s (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock tumbled and the company confirmed his board exit.

Trump, writing on Truth Social on Friday, questioned whether Hastings was “forced” off the board, adding a political edge to what was already a consequential week for the world’s largest streaming platform.

Post-WBD Stock Rally Fades Quickly

Netflix shares closed down 9.7% at $97.31 on Friday, marking their steepest one-day drop in nearly six months, after a disappointing second-quarter outlook overshadowed an otherwise strong first-quarter report. The decline also erased a chunk of recent gains. Since walking away from its proposed deal for Warner Bros. Discovery

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President Donald Trump has stated that Iran has agreed to all terms, including the removal of enriched uranium, a claim that Iran has refuted.

Uranium Transfer Claim Sparks Direct Rebuttal

In a phone interview with CBS News, Trump also assured that this process would not involve U.S. ground troops.

However, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson quickly refuted this claim, stating that “enriched uranium is as sacred to us as Iranian soil and will not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances.”

Trump also claimed to CBS News that Iran has agreed to cease support for proxy terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. He did not provide a timeline for announcing the deal, but said discussions are ongoing.

Despite a

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OpenAI lost three senior leaders on Friday as Kevin Weil, head of OpenAI for Science, Bill Peebles, creator of AI video tool Sora and B2B engineering head Srinivas Narayanan announced departures following the AI startup’s strategic pullback from consumer-facing moonshot projects.

OpenAI Kills ‘Side Quests’

The exits also come as the Sam Altman-led company cuts back on “side quests” in favor of enterprise AI and its upcoming “superapp.”

Sora, which was incurring an estimated $1 million per day in compute costs, was shut down last month. OpenAI for Science, the internal research group behind Prism, an AI-powered platform promising to accelerate scientific discovery, is being absorbed into “other research teams,” according to Weil’s social media post.

Weil’s departure comes after his team released GPT-Rosalind, a new model to expedite life sciences research and drug discovery.

Peebles, in his X post announcing his departure, credited Sora with sparking a “huge amount of investment in video across the industry.”

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The small-cap Russell 2000 punched through to an intraday record high on Friday, capping a furious 13-day rally that marks the index’s best run since 2020 and signaling that gains are finally broadening beyond the mega-cap tech leaders. 

The benchmark’s sprint to fresh highs comes less than a month after the U.S.-Iran conflict drove it into a 10%-plus correction. 

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) is now up roughly 8.6% over the past two weeks, trouncing the S&P 500’s 1.6% gain over the same stretch, according to Benzinga Pro data. 

What’s Driving The Move

A major turning point came on Tuesday when President Donald Trump announced …

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Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is doubling down on enterprise AI, partnering with Expert.ai to push real-world adoption beyond experimentation and into scalable deployment.

Expert.ai has partnered with Microsoft Italy to accelerate enterprise adoption of artificial intelligence for complex business processes. The collaboration aims to help organizations move AI from experimental stages into scalable, production-ready environments.

The partnership brings Expert.ai’s EidenAI Suite to the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, enabling businesses to deploy advanced AI capabilities within a trusted cloud ecosystem.

The latest development comes when Bank of America Securities analyst Tal Liani expects Azure growth to depend on how quickly new AI capacity comes online. Microsoft posted 38% constant-currency growth last quarter, and the analyst models about 37.5% growth for the fiscal third quarter, in line with expectations.

Driving Enterprise AI Adoption

The collaboration focuses on enabling companies to operationalize artificial intelligence across critical workflows.

By leveraging Microsoft Azure, organizations can integrate models, data, and automation into unified systems that support enterprise-grade deployment.

The initiative addresses a key challenge in the AI landscape, where many companies …

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BLUF: Prologis (NYSE:PLD) holds an A credit rating and maintains approximately 41% dividend buffer, with Core FFO of $5.81 per share against an annualized dividend of $3.84. The balance sheet is investment grade at the high end of the REIT sector, with a 5.3x debt-to-EBITDA ratio and 8.2-year weighted average debt maturity. The variable worth watching is CapEx velocity — a 5.7 gigawatt data center pipeline is compressing the distance between growth and structural constraint. The dividend is not under pressure today. The structure is being tested.

The Stability Case

Prologis enters 2026 with structural metrics that place it among the most insulated dividend payers in the REIT sector. Core FFO coverage of approximately 1.51x — $5.81 per share against a $3.84 annual dividend — leaves meaningful room before refinancing pressure or occupancy softness could threaten the payout.

The debt structure reinforces that position. A weighted average interest rate of 3.3% on approximately $32 billion in total debt, combined with an 8.2-year weighted average maturity, limits near-term refinancing exposure. The company closed $3.0 billion of new debt in 2025 at a 3.1% weighted average rate — below the existing portfolio cost — which suggests the refinancing cycle, when it arrives, may not materially compress coverage.

Operationally, 2025 was a record year. Prologis signed 228 million square feet of leases, pushing occupancy toward 96%. Management guided 2026 Core FFO at $6.00 to $6.20 per …

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Michael Saylor spent another billion dollars betting Bitcoin has bottomed, but prediction markets are pricing a 57% chance he is wrong.

Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) disclosed in an April 13 filing that it acquired 13,927 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) between April 6 and April 12 at an average price of $71,902, funded entirely through its Stretch preferred stock (NASDAQ:STRC).

The company now holds 780,897 BTC at an average cost of $75,577.

Saylor Has Been Calling The Bottom

At a Mizuho investor event earlier this month, Saylor said Bitcoin “likely bottomed around $60,000,” framing the current drawdown as forced-seller exhaustion rather than a sentiment reset.

He doubled down this week on crypto podcast Bankless. “I haven’t seen anything to shake my confidence yet,” Saylor said, calling the asset oversold and predicting it closes 2026 materially higher.

So far, the call has held. Bitcoin bottomed …

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Volume is one of the most widely used trading indicators in market analysis. The underlying idea is straightforward: a price move accompanied by high volume is generally considered more reliable, as it reflects stronger participation from market participants.

This apparent simplicity is what made volume so popular, leading many traders to rely on it as a confirmation tool for price movements.

Understanding how volume works is essential for anyone involved in trading or building systematic strategies. However, volume is not as easy to interpret as it may seem, and in several contexts it can be distorted or difficult to compare.

In this article, we will explore what volume actually represents, then focus on some of the most common pitfalls in its interpretation, along with practical ways to address them.

What Is Volume in Trading and How the Indicator Works

Volume represents the number of contracts or shares traded over a given period of time. On most trading platforms, it is displayed as a histogram, typically located at the bottom of the chart.

To better understand its meaning, consider a simple example: every trade involves a buyer and a seller. When a transaction is executed, volume increases based on the number of units exchanged. For instance, if 1 share is traded, volume increases by 1. If 100 shares are traded, volume increases by 100. In essence, volume simply measures the total number of transactions completed.

As shown in Figure 1, volume is always tied to a specific time interval. On a daily chart, for example, each bar in the histogram represents the total number of trades executed during that trading session. This means volume is not cumulative over time – it resets at the beginning of each new interval, reflecting activity within that specific period.

From a visual standpoint, it is easy to identify phases of lower activity, characterized by smaller volume bars, and phases where trading activity increases significantly, highlighted by noticeable spikes. This alternating pattern is one of the key reasons why volume has become such a widely used tool for analyzing market activity.

Figure 1. Volume indicator in trading: example of a volume histogram on a daily chart

Why Volume Is So Widely Used by Traders

As mentioned earlier, volume is often used as a confirmation tool for price movements. The underlying assumption is that higher volume reflects participation from larger market players, and therefore from more influential participants.

From this perspective, a significant increase in volume is typically interpreted as a sign of stronger interest and engagement, making …

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Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) shares are relatively flat on Friday as the company announced the launch of its new CommandCentral RMS, a unified records and case management platform designed to streamline investigations.

This news comes as the broader market is experiencing gains, with the S&P 500 up 1.1% and the Communication Services sector gaining 0.2%, although MSI is slightly underperforming its sector.

Motorola Solutions unveiled CommandCentral RMS, which aims to enhance productivity for public safety agencies by automating time-intensive case management processes. The platform will be showcased at the upcoming Summit 2026 public safety technology conference from April 20-22 in Orlando.

The broader market saw gains, with the Technology sector up 1.32% today. MSI’s performance aligns with the overall market trend, though it is slightly lagging behind the sector’s growth.

Technical Analysis

Motorola Solutions is currently trading within the upper range of its 52-week spectrum, indicating a strong position relative to its historical performance. The stock is trading 0.2% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA), suggesting short-term bullish momentum, while it is 1.6% below its 50-day SMA, indicating some weakness in the intermediate trend.

The relative strength index (RSI) is at 49.91, reflecting a neutral momentum state, suggesting that the stock is neither overbought nor oversold. The MACD is currently below the signal line, which indicates bearish momentum; however, traders should watch for any potential shifts …

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Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), the first Iranian American Democrat in Congress, filed six articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday over the Iran war.

A day later, she turned her attention to another Iran-war flashpoint: prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi.

Ansari posted on X that prediction markets are casinos where the rich and powerful are the house and everyone else is the chips. She said 99.96% of users lose everything while the top 0.04% walk away with billions.

The political risk lands on Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, which committed $2 billion to Polymarket in a two-stage deal completed in March. Kalshi raised $1 billion at a $22 billion valuation in its latest round.

Ansari was promoting the BETS OFF Act, which she cosponsored last month alongside Sen. …

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Carvana Co (NYSE:CVNA) shares are surging his Friday.

Nasdaq is up 1.27% while the S&P 500 has gained 1.29% as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared the Strait of Hormuz fully open to all commercial vessels for the duration of the ceasefire.

The rally follows news on Tuesday, regarding its Carvana Insurance Built with Root program. The partnership with Root Inc (NASDAQ:ROOT) officially surpassed 200,000 policies sold.

Leadership On Integration

“This milestone is a strong reflection of the success and momentum,” stated Root CEO Alex Timm. Carvana CEO Ernie …

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U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 2% on Friday.

The Dow traded up 2.16% to 49,629.15 while the NASDAQ surged 1.61% to 24,489.57. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 1.35% to 7,136.68.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares climbed by 3.1% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, energy stocks fell by 4.5%.

Top Headline

State Street Corp (NYSE:STT) reported upbeat earnings for the third quarter on Friday.

The company posted quarterly earnings of $2.84 per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.63 per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $3.796 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $3.658 billion.

Equities Trading UP
           

  • Energy Focus Inc (NASDAQ:EFOI) shares shot up 288% to $8.11. Energy Focus announced a multi-year data …

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Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) shares are trading higher on Friday after the firm reported first-quarter results that topped expectations, supported by solid sales growth and resilient demand across key markets.

The company highlighted continued momentum in Asia and improving underlying profitability despite some margin pressure.

Quarterly Details

The company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.05, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.89. Quarterly sales of $2.753 billion (+6.8% year over year) beat the Street view of $2.605 billion.

Adjusted operating income in the quarter under review slumped 3.9% year over year to $245 million. Adjusted operating margin contracted to 8.9% from 9.9% a year ago.

“Underlying profitability improved, with gross profit increasing by 10%, although …

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U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) reported upbeat first-quarter 2026 results on Thursday.

The bank reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.18, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.14. Quarterly sales of $7.288 billion outpaced the Street view of $7.277 billion.

“Strong revenue growth drove 440 basis points of positive operating leverage, as ongoing investments for growth and continued cost savings drove 260 basis points of year-over-year improvement in our efficiency ratio,” said CEO Gunjan Kedia.

U.S. Bancorp expects net interest income and fees to grow 6%–7% in the second quarter. The bank also guides full-year revenue growth of 4%–6% with operating leverage of over 200 basis points.

U.S. Bancorp shares rose 3.4% …

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iSpecimen Inc (NASDAQ:ISPC) shares are surging during Friday’s session.

Logistics Overhaul Drives Momentum

The Massachusetts-based biospecimen marketplace last week announced a direct supplier-to-customer shipping overhaul. This move eliminates centralized hub routing. Previously, this routing added 7–14 days to delivery. iSpecimen reported that the new model slashes domestic transit times by 70–85%.

Domestic Shipments See Rapid Delivery

Under the restructured model, domestic shipments now arrive in 1–2 days. Fewer handoffs also contribute to lower overall shipping costs for the company.

The efficiency gains come as broader markets trade higher on Friday. The Nasdaq gained 1.30% …

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ManpowerGroup (NYSE:MAN) reported upbeat earnings for the first quarter on Thursday.

The company posted quarterly earnings of 51 cents per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 49 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $4.510 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $4.414 billion.

ManpowerGroup said it sees second-quarter GAAP EPS of 91 cents to $1.05, versus market estimates of 96 cents.

Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chair & CEO, said, “We delivered solid performance in the quarter driven by disciplined execution and stabilization in demand trends across key markets. This marks five consecutive quarters of year over year revenue trend improvement. We grew our pipeline, saw continued momentum across the portfolio within our Manpower brand, and enhanced operating leverage through reductions in SG&A. Building on this …

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State Street (NYSE:STT) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Friday. Read the complete transcript below.

This content is powered by Benzinga APIs. For comprehensive financial data and transcripts, visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/.

The full earnings call is available at https://state-street-1q-2026-earnings.open-exchange.net/registration

Summary

State Street Corp emphasized the high-quality credit risk profile of its investment services clients, highlighting zero losses in subscription finance and AAA CLOs.

The company expects low to mid single-digit growth in its strategic lending segments, despite minor impacts from elevated redemption requests in the private credit space.

A scoping charge of $41 million was discussed, linked to an existing alpha client, but deemed idiosyncratic and unrelated to previous issues.

Management noted a 2% year-on-year decrease in headcount contributing to a 4% net productivity savings, with plans for further optimization through automation and process re-engineering.

The company reported strong positive operating leverage for the ninth consecutive quarter, driven by organic growth and strategic investments in geographic and product capabilities.

Scale and technology investments, including AI, were highlighted as critical for maintaining competitive advantage over smaller players in the financial services sector.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

That customer segment. And these are investment services clients by and large. And you know, as part of the broad suite of services we provide them, we support them from a balance sheet standpoint. So this is highly strategic lending for us. When you see NDFIs and each of these categories are extremely well positioned from a risk return credit risk profile standpoint. We’ve never had losses in, in subscription finance or in the AAA CLO book. And that’s really the large majority of the NDFI book is in that space. And we wanted to make it clear that you know, just how high quality, you know, these, these categories are. You know, we’re down to $1.6 billion in the actual BDC lending. You know, I would, I would, you know, kind of highlight that, that the points made on the slide with respect to that these are seniors secured with substantial subordination on them. You know, 80% subordination sitting behind the positions that we have in the BDC space. Diversified with ongoing structural protections. This is, this will be a growth area for us. And you know, you could see, you know, low to mid single digit growth and commensurate with our continued penetration of this customer segment, which is really attractive for us. And I think we’re feeling very good about the profile here. Great. And on the private market, private credit servicing business, you’ve made several investments there over the past few years. Do any of the pressures that we’re seeing here on the private credit side impact that business? Got it. Appreciate all the details, thank you. Our next question will come from Vivek Janija with JP Morgan. Your line is now open. Please go ahead. Thanks. A couple of questions. Firstly you had a scoping charge of 41 million. This was the second one in the last 12 months. Can you give us some color? Is it the same client? What? Is it the same type of issue? It doesn’t seem like it but I just want to, you know, not make assumptions. What’s driving …

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WeShop Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:WSHP) shares are trading higher on Friday.

The community-owned social commerce platform on Thursday announced it will release its first quarterly earnings report as a public company on April 28.

Massive Trading Volume Spikes

Market activity for WSHP is significantly higher than usual. Friday’s volume reached six million shares. This far exceeds the average daily volume of 690,565 shares.

The surge comes amid a positive day for the broader indices. …

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Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) shares are surging Friday morning as Wall Street reacts to a de-escalation in Middle East tensions.

The world’s largest home improvement retailer is finding support from broader market momentum following news of a strategic maritime reopening.

Geopolitical Optimism Lifts Markets

Investor sentiment shifted overnight after Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” for commercial vessels during the current ceasefire.

President Donald Trump previously said that the Iran war “should be ending pretty soon.” These developments have propelled the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei plans to visit the White House on Friday to meet with President Donald Trump‘s top adviser in an effort to resolve the company’s ongoing lawsuit with the Pentagon.

Amodei is meeting with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Axios reported.

Anthropic has been under fire for its AI models being used by the Pentagon. Tensions stem from concerns about national security and from the Defense Department under Trump seeking unrestricted military use of AI.

The company filed a lawsuit in March, after the Pentagon formally notified the artificial intelligence company that its products pose a risk to the …

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The Nasdaq 100, tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ), is entering record territory with a 12-day streak on the line Friday and a chance to have the longest daily gain streak since 2013 when the week is over.

Here’s a look back at the other times the index has had a 12-day win streak and how close the record is from being broken.

• Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 shares are testing new highs. Why is QQQ stock breaking out?

Nasdaq 100 12-Day Win Streaks

On Thursday, the Nasdaq 100 reached 12 straight days of positive gains, marking only the eighth time this feat has been accomplished since the index was created back in 1985.

The gains come as Middle East tension sent markets lower earlier this year and has caused extreme volatility for investors. Markets have traded higher in recent weeks, with both the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 hitting all-time highs.

The index could also break its record for the longest streak if it continues to post daily gains. Here’s a look at the past times when the index has traded higher for 12 or more days, with data from Carson Group Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick:

  • Feb. 18, 1986: 12 days
  • May 24, 1990: 19 days (record)
  • Jan. 9, 1992: 13 days
  • July 23, 2009: 12 days
  • March 12, 2010: 13 days
  • July 15, 2013: 14 days
  • July 24, 2017: 12 days
  • April 16, 2026: 12 days (current streak)

A positive gain on Friday would extend the current streak to 13 days and see the index accomplish something that has only been done four other times.

The Nasdaq 100 could head for record …

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is positioning itself as the “ultimate edge AI play” through its latest internal hardware developments.

In a Friday note, BofA Securities analyst Wamsi Mohan reiterated a Buy rating and a $325 price forecast for the tech giant. The focus remains on the newly expanded M5 chip family, which analysts believe will revolutionize on-device AI processing.

AI-Optimized Architecture Drives Local Inference

The M5 generation represents a “meaningful step” toward a self-sustained AI compute stack. Unlike previous iterations, the M5 focuses on local inference. This strategy reduces reliance on cloud infrastructure.

According to BofA, this shift provides “faster response time, better privacy and lower cloud infra costs.” The base M5 launched in October, followed by the Pro and Max versions in …

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La Rosa Holdings (NASDAQ:LRHC) shares are down on Friday in a volatile trading session. The company announced the upcoming release of its My Agent Account 5.0 platform, which aims to enhance transaction management through advanced AI capabilities.

This news comes as the broader market saw gains on Thursday, with the S&P 500 futures rising 1.47%, indicating that the decline may be driven by company-specific factors.

La Rosa Holdings unveiled My Agent Account 5.0, a platform designed to streamline transaction functions and improve operational efficiency, with a public release expected in Fall 2026.

This initiative reflects the company’s strategy to integrate technology into its brokerage operations, aiming to enhance agent …

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President Donald Trump‘s claim that he is “permanently opening” the Strait of Hormuz sent Polymarket peace deal odds surging on Friday, with traders repricing a potential US-Iran agreement by 28 to 43 percentage points across every major deadline.

But the market still isn’t buying the “permanently” framing: traders give just 41% odds of a permanent deal by April 22, the day the current ceasefire expires.

Cash-For-Uranium Plan Drives Repricing

The repricing tracks a scoop from Axios reporting the U.S. and Iran are negotiating over a three-page memorandum of understanding to end the war, with a central element being a $20 billion release of frozen Iranian funds in exchange for Tehran giving up its enriched uranium stockpile.

U.S. negotiators started at $6 billion for humanitarian purchases; Iran asked for $27 billion.

Trump pushed back on Truth Social after the story published, writing …

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U.S. stocks were higher, with the Dow Jones index gaining around 700 points on Friday.

Shares of Autoliv Inc (NYSE:ALV) rose sharply after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial results.

Autoliv reported quarterly earnings of $2.05 per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.89 per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $2.753 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.605 billion.

Autoliv shares jumped 8.4% to $120.77 on Friday.

Here are some other big stocks recording gains in today’s session.

  • Critical Metals Corp (NASDAQ:CRML) shares jumped 30.4% to $12.08 following reports suggesting the company raised its stake in Greenland’s Tanbreez rare earth deposit.
  • American Bitcoin Corp (NASDAQ:ABTC) gained 22.5% to $1.38. American Bitcoin will release financial results for the first quarter of 2026 after the market closes on May 6.
  • mF International Limited (NASDAQ:MFI) gained 20% to $12.95.
  • Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ:BYND) jumped 16.6% to $0.91.
  • Rackspace Technology, Inc.

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Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. (NASDAQ:FFAI) shares are up on Friday, gaining traction after California State Treasurer Fiona Ma visited the company’s headquarters.

The visit highlighted the firm’s EAI robotics and electric vehicle initiatives, which may be contributing to the stock’s positive movement as broader markets experienced mixed results on Thursday, with the Nasdaq rising 0.21% and the S&P 500 gaining 0.27%.

During the visit, Treasurer Ma unveiled the FF EAI Robotics Education & Innovation Lab, marking a significant step for Faraday Future in its goal to enhance EAI education in California.

The event also included discussions on expanding access to public procurement channels for Faraday’s products, indicating strong support from state officials for the company’s initiatives.

Technical Analysis

Faraday Future is currently trading within its 52-week range, with a high of $3.61 and a low of 21 cents. The stock …

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Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Friday. Read the complete transcript below.

This content is powered by Benzinga APIs. For comprehensive financial data and transcripts, visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/.

Access the full call at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/920732669

Summary

Fifth Third Bancorp reported strong financial results with earnings per share of $0.83, excluding certain items, and revenue reaching $2.9 billion, a 33% increase year-over-year.

The company’s acquisition of Comerica, which closed on February 1, 2026, is progressing ahead of schedule, with expected net cost savings of $360 million this year and an $850 million annual run rate by the fourth quarter.

Fifth Third Bancorp’s credit performance remained stable, with net charge-offs at 37 basis points, and improved metrics in NPAs and criticized assets.

The commercial segment saw healthy growth with C&I loan balances up 6%, driven by manufacturing and construction sectors, while consumer and small business loans grew 7%, led by auto and home equity loans.

The company plans to open new branches and expand its market presence in Texas, Arizona, and California, with an emphasis on leveraging digital marketing channels post the technology conversion scheduled for Labor Day weekend.

Management remains optimistic about achieving its 2027 financial targets, with a focus on sustaining strong returns on equity and efficiency ratios, and plans to resume share repurchases in the second half of 2026.

Full Transcript

Audra (Conference Operator)

Good morning, My name is Audra and I will be your conference operator today. At this time I would like to welcome everyone to the first quarter 2026 Fifth Third Bancorp earnings conference call. Today’s conference is being recorded. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker’s remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you’d like to ask a question during this time, simply press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. At this time I would like to turn the conference over to Matt Kirow, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Matt Kirow (Director of Investor Relations)

Good morning everyone. Welcome to Fifth Third First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. This morning our Chairman, CEO and President Tim Spence and CFO Brian Preston will provide an overview of our first quarter results and outlook. Please review the cautionary statements in our materials which can be found in our earnings release and presentation. These materials contain information regarding the use of non GAAP measures and reconciliations to the GAAP results, as well as forward looking statements about Fifth Third’s performance. These statements speak only as of April 17, 2026 and Fifth Third undertakes no obligation to update them. Following prepared remarks by Tim and Brian, we’ll open up the call for questions. With that, let me turn it over

Tim Spence (Chairman, CEO and President)

to Tim Good morning everyone and thanks for joining us today. At Fifth Third, we believe great banks distinguish themselves based on how they perform in uncertain environments, not in benign ones. We prioritize stability, profitability and growth in that order. We deliver them by finding ways to get 1% better every day while investing meaningfully in the future. Today we reported earnings per share of $0.15 or $0.83, excluding certain items outlined on page 2 of the release. Results reflect the February 1 closing of the Comericaa acquisition. Revenue was $2.9 billion, up 33% year over year and adjusted net income was $734 million, up 38%. Credit performance was in line with expectations with net charge offs at 37 basis points. Both NPAs and criticized assets improved modestly in the quarter we closed the largest M&A transaction in fifth thirds history. We delivered an adjusted return on assets of 1.12% and an adjusted return on tangible common equity of 13.7%. Our tangible common equity ratio rose to 7.3% and tangible book value per share increased 1%. We are the only bank among our peers who have reported to date to increase both of these key metrics during the quarter. Fifth Third legacy strategies are continuing to produce broad based growth while we execute the Comericaa integration on plan and on schedule. In Commercial Legacy Fifth Third CNI loan balances grew 6% year over year. Production remained healthy with the strongest activity in manufacturing and construction supported by reshoring and infrastructure investment. New client acquisition more than doubled led by our southeast markets and 35% of new clients were fee led with no extension of credit. Importantly, our commercial loan growth continues to come from relationship based lending and not from non relationship sources. In commercial payments, Newline continued to scale with revenue up 30% and deposits up $2.7 billion year over year. During the quarter, Plaid launched a new payment product built on Newline, joining other marquee clients like Stripe and Circle, and we advanced preparations for the second quarter launch of a new Direct Express platform. In consumer the Legacy Fifth Third franchise delivered 3% household growth and 4% DDA balance growth. Southeast households grew 8% led by Georgia and the Carolinas, and we opened 10 additional branches in the region during the quarter. Consumer and small business loans grew 7% led by auto home equity and and our provide fintech platform. Now turning to Comericaa thanks to timely regulatory approvals, we closed earlier than originally expected on February 1 and have continued to make progress at an accelerated pace. Our top priority is our people and we’re working hard to become one team. Since Legal Day One leaders have been on the ground in Comericaa’s major markets nearly every week and we visited every branch in the Comericaa Network. We’ve also hosted product showcases to highlight the breadth of our combined capabilities. Organizational design and leadership decisions are complete and I’m very excited about the caliber of our combined team on technology. We remain on track to convert all systems over Labor Day weekend with our first full mock conversion later this month. As a result, we remain confident that we will deliver $360 million of net cost savings this year and reach an $850 million annual run rate by the fourth quarter. We’re also already building a strong pipeline of revenue synergies in commercial we’re seeing early wins by bringing capital markets payments and specialty lending to existing relationships. In the first 60 days, our capital markets team completed fuels and metals commodity hedges and executed an accelerated share repurchase for Comericaa clients. We also booked our first Comericaa to Fifth Third loan win in asset based lending, while Fifth Third referrals helped to build the largest ever pipeline in Comericaa’s national dealer services business. Commercial Payments has presented our managed services solutions to over 100 Comericaa clients with 65 of them interested in moving forward in consumer we launched our first Comericaa branded deposit campaign in Texas in February. Response rates and average opening balances were broadly consistent with results that we generate in our legacy Fifth Third markets and nearly half of new savings customers also opened a checking account. We’ve hired more than half of the mortgage loan officers and auto dealer representatives that we plan to add this year in Comericaa’s footprint and pipelines in each of those businesses. We’ll open our first Fifth Third branded branches in Dallas and Fresno this month. And we now have letters of intent in place or in progress for 81 of our targeted 150 de novo branches in Texas. As I wrote in our annual letter to shareholders, the global economy is a complex, adaptive system, and such systems react to change in unexpected ways. We’re closely evaluating the direct impacts of the war in Iran on energy and other commodities, as well as the implications for prices, interest rates and customer activity in an environment where we may not see the macro tailwinds that many expected at the start of the year. The Comericaa merger expands Fifth Third organic opportunity set, but we do not need a perfect backdrop to deliver on our commitments. Before I turn it over to Brian, I want to take a moment to say thank you to our colleagues. Earlier this month we surpassed 300 billion in total assets for the the first time, an important milestone that reflects the work we do together to serve customers, support communities and show up for one another. I know many of you are putting in extra effort to support the integration, whether that’s helping customers, learning new products, meeting new teammates or navigating change. Your commitment to getting 1% better every day, and your dedication to our clients and to each other is what gives me confidence in what we’re building and and the opportunities ahead. With that, Brian will provide more detail on the quarter and the outlook.

Brian Preston (Chief Financial Officer)

Thanks Tim and good morning. Our first quarter results reflect the strength of what we have built and the discipline with which we are executing. Results exceeded our March expectations, driven by stronger nii, disciplined expense management and integration. Execution on plan adjusted Return on Assets (ROA) was 1.12% and adjusted Return on Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE) excluding AOCI was 13.7%. The Comerica acquisition closed without tangible book value. Dilution and Tangible Book Value (TBV) per share grew 1% sequentially and 15% year over year. The earnings power of the combined company is intact and the integration is on track. Given the magnitude of the acquisition standard year over year and sequential comparisons obscure more than they reveal this quarter, what matters is how we exit a larger, more granular loan portfolio, a lower cost deposit base and larger diversified fee income businesses. Each of those is a deliberate outcome and each positions us to generate stronger and more durable returns as the integration delivers. Now diving further into the income statement starting with net interest income (NII) and the balance sheet, net interest income was $1.94 billion for the quarter above our March expectations. Net interest margin expanded 17 basis points to 330 basis points driven by the impacts of the Comerica acquisition that includes 7 basis points from securities portfolio marks and repositioning, 6 basis points from cash flow hedge termination and 2 basis points from purchase accounting accretion on the loan portfolio. A full quarter of these impacts will benefit NIM by a few additional basis points in the second quarter, end of period loans were $178 billion, up 2% sequentially from pro forma combined year end balances. Average total loans were 158 billion, reflecting the February 1 close. The growth was broad based. Strong middle market production, a rebound in line utilization and continued momentum in home equity auto and a provide fintech platform in commercial line utilization ended the quarter at 40.7%, up approximately 120 basis points from the pro forma combined year end level and notably held steady throughout the volatility in March. Clients are cautious but active on a legacy 5th 3rd basis. Commercial loans grew 6% year over year. Combined with the Comerica addition, shared national credits now represent only 26% of total loans, a deliberate and ongoing reduction in concentration risk. On the consumer side, first quarter auto originations were the highest in two years with average indirect secured balances up 10% year over year. Home equity balances grew substantially supported by both the acquisition and strong underlying production. We achieved the number one HELOC origination market share in our legacy 5th 3rd branch footprint with an average portfolio FICO of 773 and average loan to value of 64%. The production strength is real and the credit discipline behind it is equally real. Turning to deposits, Average core deposits were 207 billion and end of period core deposits were 231 billion dollars. Non interest bearing balances comprised 28% of core deposits at quarter end, up from 25% at the same point last year. That improvement reflects the combined benefit of Comerica’s commercial DDA franchise and our continued organic consumer DDA growth. The household growth Tim described is showing up directly in our funding costs. On a legacy 5 third basis, consumer household growth of 3% over last year supported 4% consumer DDA growth. Total deposit costs including the benefit of non interest bearing balances were 158 basis points in the first quarter, a funding cost profile that compares favorably across the peer group. Interest bearing deposit costs were 215 basis points, down 27 basis points year over year, reflecting both that organic deposit mix improvement and the benefit of the Comerica balance sheet. Despite the larger balance sheet, our approach to balance sheet management is unchanged. We prioritize granular insured deposit funding over large wholesale holds, we maintain strong liquidity buffers and we proactively managed the overall cost of funds. That discipline showed up again this quarter. Average wholesale funding declined 3% year over year even with Comerica balances included. That favorable mix shift lowered the cost of interest bearing liabilities by 36 basis points. We also maintained full category one Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) compliance at 109% and a loan to core deposit ratio of 76%. Now turning to fees, adjusted noninterest income excluding securities losses and the other items listed on page four of our release was $921 million, slightly above the midpoint of our March expectations. The most significant milestone here is that both wealth and commercial payments are now generating fee income at the run rate necessary to deliver $1,000,000,000 each in annualized non interest income. That outcome reflects years of consistent disciplined investment in both businesses and the recurring nature of the revenue. Looking further at wealth, fees were $233 million and total AUM ended the quarter at 119 billion. Legacy 5 3rd AUM trends remained strong, up $10 billion or 15% over last year. 5th 3rd securities delivered strong retail brokerage results with revenue up 15% year over year. These are businesses that we have been consistently investing in and the returns are compounding. Commercial payment fees totaled 218 million for the quarter. Direct Express contributed $14 million in fees for the quarter and approximately $3.7 billion in average deposits for the month of March. Newline continues to drive strong fee growth of 30% year over year and related deposits reached $5.5 billion, up $2.7 billion from last year. Capital markets fees were $134 million, up 11%. Sequentially increased hedging activities and commodities and FX and strong bond underwriting fees combined with two months of Comerica activity were the primary drivers of this growth. Turning to expenses, page 5 of our release details certain items that had a larger impact on the non interest expense this quarter, primarily $635 million in merger related expenses. Adjusted noninterest expense was 1.77 billion. Consistent with our guidance, the adjusted efficiency ratio was 61.9%, which reflects the addition of Comerica and normal first quarter seasonality associated with the timing of compensation awards and payroll taxes. On the Synergy front, we remain confident in our ability to achieve the $850 million of annualized run rate cost savings in the fourth quarter of this year. Integration activities are progressing as planned against our established milestones and savings are being realized. The expense benefit will build steadily over the first three quarters of this year with a more significant increase in the fourth quarter once the system conversion and branch consolidations are completed in early September. Shifting to Credit the net charge off ratio was 37 basis points for the quarter, in line with our expectations and the lowest level in two years. The NPA ratio was 57 basis points compared to 65 basis points last quarter. Commercial net charge offs were 26 basis points, also a two year low with stable trends across industries and geographies. Consumer net charge offs were 58 basis points, down 5 basis points from last year. The consumer portfolio remains healthy with non accrual and over 90 delinquency rates relatively stable across all loan categories. We have been deliberate about where we choose to grow. Our exposure to non depository financial institutions represents only 7% of our total loan portfolio, well below the industry average. Our three largest categories are subscription lines, supporting capital call facilities, corporate credit facilities to traditional institutions such as payment processors, insurance companies and brokerage firms, and secured lending to residential mortgage related entities. These are long standing portfolios. We have deep underwriting expertise in each of them, strong collateral visibility and structural protections where needed, including borrowing base requirements and advance rates that provide significant loss absorption before we would recognize a dollar of loss on private credit. We have chosen not to participate meaningfully in lending to private credit vehicles and business development companies which combined represent less than 1% of total loans. That was a deliberate decision, not a missed opportunity. The structural complexity embedded in these exposures introduces risks that are harder to assess through a cycle. We would rather grow in categories where we have more transparency to the collateral and have direct relationships with the underlying borrowers. On software and data center lending, we have maintained that same disciplined posture. We believe in the long term demand for AI infrastructure, but we have also seen how quickly these build cycles can overshoot. We have remained selective and our exposure is intentionally limited. Software related exposures is less than 1% of total loans with the portfolio performing in line with expectations with no material migration in the quarter. ACL as a percentage of portfolio loans and leases decreased to 1.79%, primarily reflecting the Comerica acquisition. The ACL as a percentage of non performing assets increased to 316%. Provision expense included $83 million for merger related day one ACL build. Our baseline and downside cases assume unemployment reaching 4.5 and 8.5% respectively in 2027. We made no changes to our macroeconomic scenario weightings during the quarter, though a qualitative adjustment was applied to reflect the direct impacts of the elevated energy and commodity costs as well as the broader implications for economic growth, inflation and unemployment in the current geopolitical environment. Moving to capital CET1 ended at 10% reflecting the impact of the Comerica transaction and strong RWA growth under the proposed capital rule. Our estimated fully phased in pro forma CET1 ratio is 9.6%. The RWA benefit to capital ratios associated with the new rule is nearly 100 basis point improvement primarily due to credit risk RWA reduction. The proposed rule recognizes the granular, well secured and relationship based nature of our loan portfolio, the same portfolio characteristics we have been deliberately building toward over the past several years. The proposed rule should expand the ability of the banking industry to support the economy through increased lending capacity. Additionally, our tangible common equity ratio including the impact of AOCI and the Comeric acquisition increased to 7.3% over the last 12 months. The impact of unrealized losses included in regulatory capital under the proposed rule has decreased by 16%, a 25 basis point improvement to the pro forma capital ratios despite an 11 basis point increase in the 10 year treasury rate. That is the direct result of our strategy to concentrate our AFS portfolio in securities that return principal on a known schedule which represents approximately 55% of the fixed rate holdings within our AFS portfolio. We expect continued improvement in the unrealized losses as the securities pulled apart. Moving to our Current Outlook Our outlook reflects the forward curve at the end of March which assumes no rate cuts or hikes in 2026. Given the updated rate outlook and our more asset sensitive balance sheet, we are updating our full year net interest income (NII) outlook to a range between 8.7 and $8.8 billion. We will continue to take actions to move the balance sheet to a more neutral rate risk position over time which could include investment portfolio and or other hedging actions. Our outlook for full year average total loans remains in the mid $170 billion range. Full year non interest income is expected to be between 4.0 and $4.2 billion reflecting continued revenue growth in commercial payments, capital markets and wealth and asset management. Full year non interest expense is expected to be 7.2 to $7.3 billion, including the impact of $210 million of CDI amortization and $360 million of net expense synergies in 2026. This outlook excludes acquisition related charges. In total, our guide implies full year adjusted PP and R including CDI amortization up approximately 40% over 2025. We remain on track to exit 2026 at or near the profitability and efficiency levels consistent with our 2027 targets. For credit. We expect full year net charge offs between 30 and 40 basis points. Turning to Capital with the release of the proposed Capital Rule, we are updating our CET1 operating target to a range of 10 to 10.5%. We expect to resume regular quarterly share repurchases in the second half of 2026 with the amount and timing dependent on the balance sheet growth and the timing of the remaining merger related charges. Our capital return priorities are unchanged. Pay a strong dividend, support …

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A week before Tesla Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Q1 earnings, Elon Musk posted a photo of what he said was the first physical sample of the company’s AI5 processor, the chip meant to power future self-driving cars, Optimus robots, and potentially xAI data centers.

TSLA has ripped 14% since last Friday’s close, clawing back a chunk of a year-to-date decline that had reached 23% after the Q1 delivery miss.

The question for traders is whether the rally is a pre-earnings short squeeze or the start of a new narrative leg.

A Half-Reticle Chip And A 40X Claim

The image Musk shared shows an ASIC die roughly half the size of a standard reticle, ringed by 12 SK hynix memory packages, most likely GDDR6 or GDDR7, according to Tom’s Hardware. Twelve packages suggest a 384-bit memory interface.

Musk has claimed AI5 could be up to 40 times …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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On Friday, Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY) discussed first-quarter financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below.

This content is powered by Benzinga APIs. For comprehensive financial data and transcripts, visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/.

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Summary

Ally Financial reported a significant increase in adjusted EPS to $1.11, up 90% year-over-year, and a core ROTCE of 11.1%, indicating strong financial performance.

The company emphasized its Focusforge strategy, highlighting its success in doubling down on key business segments, resulting in record application flow and origination volumes with risk-adjusted returns.

Ally Financial remains optimistic about its future outlook, projecting sustainable upper 3% net interest margins and maintaining confidence in its ability to deliver mid-teens ROTCE despite a dynamic macroeconomic environment.

Operational highlights include record written premium volume in insurance, strong growth in corporate finance with a 26% ROE, and continued expansion of its digital bank customer base.

Management expressed confidence in capital allocation priorities, supported by a favorable Basel III proposal, and noted the company’s ability to balance growth, capital build, and shareholder returns.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the first quarter 2026 Ally Financial Earnings Conference Call. At this time all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speakers’ presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session,, you’ll need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised to withdraw your question. Please press star 11 again. Please note that today’s conference is being recorded. I’d now like to hand the conference over to Sean Leary, Chief Financial Planning and Investor Relations Officer. Please go ahead.

Sean Leary (Chief Financial Planning and Investor Relations Officer)

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to Ally Financial’s first quarter 2026 earnings call. This morning our CEO Michael Rhodes and our CFO Russ Hutchinson will review Ally’s results before taking questions. The presentation we’ll reference can be found on the Investor Relations section of our website, ally.com. Forward-looking statements and risk factor language governing today’s call are on page two. GAAP and non-GAAP measures pertaining to our operating performance and capital results are on page three. As a reminder, non GAAP or core metrics are supplemental to and not a substitute for U.S. GAAP measures, definitions and reconciliations can be found in the appendix. And with that I’ll turn the call over to Michael.

Michael Rhodes (Chief Executive Officer)

Thank you Sean and good morning everyone. I appreciate you joining us today for our our first quarter earnings call. In the last update I noted my optimism for the path ahead one quarter into 2026. Our results confirm we’re on the right path and support my confidence in our outlook even as the macro environment remains dynamic. That confidence is grounded in the position of strength we carried into the year, driven by the actions to focus our business, streamline our operations and increase our capital levels. The focus-forward strategy we rolled out last year is simple and powerful. Focused means we’re doubling down on the businesses and segments where we have clear competitive advantages. These are areas where we have long standing relationships, differentiated capabilities, relevant scale and a right to win. Forward reflects our ambition to create something extraordinary and sustainable from a position of strength. Together these principles have allowed us to streamline and sharpen our focus, building a business that is increasingly impactful and enduring. The results since our refresh last year provide unmistakable evidence it’s working. Record application flow has enabled strong origination volume with accretive risk adjusted returns. Record written premium volume as we continue to leverage our insurance offering to deepen dealer relationships and help them win across their entire ecosystem. Strong growth across the corporate finance portfolio while delivering an ROE of over 25% and maintain an unwavering focus on credit risk and reinforce our position as the nation’s leading all digital direct bank as we continue to grow customers and increase engagement providing stable, cost efficient funding. The progress is real and we remain committed to delivering even more. With that, let me cover some of the highlights from our first quarter. Adjusted EPS of $1.11 was up 90% year over year. Core ROTCE of 11.1% was up 440 basis points versus 2025 reflecting the structurally high returns we’re capable of generating. Margin of 3.52% was impacted by the lease headwinds we discussed last quarter, but we remain confident in our ability to deliver a sustainable upper 3% margin. The final lever of our mid teens thesis. Adjusted net revenue of 2.2 billion was up 6% year over year and 12% when adjusting for the sale of credit card. Finally, CET1 of 10.1% was up roughly 60 basis points year over year. We’re encouraged by the thoughtful Basel III proposal released a few weeks ago and the clarity it provides. We appreciate the agency’s efforts to modernize the capital rules and achieve a more streamlined framework that better aligns capital requirements with the risks inherent in our business. Specific to Ally, I view the proposal as being constructive and supporting our existing capital allocation priorities. We remain confident in our ability to identify accretive opportunities for organic growth in our business, build CET1, and return capital to shareholders. The strategy is amplified by our brand and our culture. Our brand is an asset, one known for authenticity and impact. Earlier this week we announced that we met our 50/50 media pledge to spend equally in men’s and women’s sports. That’s a year ahead of schedule and clear proof of the impact we can make. Women’s sports have been experiencing remarkable growth in recent years and we’re incredibly proud to partner with and support those shaping the evolution. The business outcomes of these investments have been encouraging. With our brand health at an all time high and customer retention continuing to lead the industry, our culture is based on an unwavering commitment to do it right and establishes an ethos for everything we do. In the first quarter, we were honored to be named to Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for, the highest ranking we’ve received and the fourth consecutive year being recognized. Additionally, Newsweek included Ally on their list of the most trusted companies. These recognitions reflect the kind of culture and customer centricity our team builds every day. What mattered even more was hearing directly from our teammates. Over 90% said that Ally is a great place to work and saw meaningful gains in trust and leadership and confidence in where we are headed. That tells me our strategy is resonating. We’re aligned, focused and executing in a way that employees can resonate with. That alignment is energizing. The momentum is real and I am excited for what lies ahead with that. Let’s turn to page five and discuss the Core Franchises Operational momentum within each of our core franchises remains strong, builds on the progress we delivered in 2025 and positions us for further improvement in financial performance. Our dealer centric through the cycle approach remains a key differentiator, driving results across dealer financial services and reinforcing the strength of our relationships. 4.4 million applications reflect another record quarter. The scale and breadth of our product offerings and mutually beneficial dealer relationships remain key strategic advantages that drive strong application flow and enable us to be selective in what we originate. The strength at the top of the funnel translate into solid origination performance with consumer originations of $11.5 billion up 13% year over year despite a decline in industry, light vehicle sales and healthy competition. Importantly, with a focus on risk adjusted returns, we are mindful of the economic environment and maintain a dynamic approach to underwriting. The benefit of the strong application flow extends beyond originations as we saw record volume and revenue from our pass through programs this quarter. Insurance is a critical lever contributing to the success of our dealer partners and our ability to win. That strength is translating to results. With written premium of $389 million marking a first quarter record for Ally, growth continues to be fueled by leveraging synergies with the auto finance team as we highlight our all in value proposition to support dealers across all aspects of their business. In corporate finance, we delivered a 26% ROE while growing the portfolio to $13.7 billion up roughly 6% quarter over quarter. While we continue to see accretive growth opportunities, credit remains central to how we operate. As we’ve cited previously, we serve as the lead agent for virtually all transactions, giving us the ability to own the diligence, process, underwrite and structure transactions appropriately. Turning to Ally bank, our customer first approach sets us apart as we continue to benefit from the shift to digital channels. We ended the quarter with $146 billion in retail deposit balances, reinforcing our position as the largest all digital direct bank in the us. Our focus remains on providing best in class products and services to drive customer growth and retention. We saw an improvement in customer acquisition the first quarter and over the past year we delivered 6% customer growth. We see meaningful opportunity to continue deepening relationships with 3.5 million customers as we look to provide value extending beyond rate paid. The strength and stability of the portfolio remains critical to our success. Retail deposits continue to represent nearly 90% of total funding and 92% are FDIC insured. The franchise provides stable, low cost funding source that enables our business to focus on prudent growth. Let me finish where I opened up and that’s with optimism. Our path ahead is clear and compelling. Our core franchises are delivering and returns are moving higher. I’m encouraged by the progress and momentum and while mindful of the dynamic operating environment, I’m optimistic for what remains ahead. And with that I’ll turn it over to Russ to walk through the financials in more detail.

Russ Hutchinson (Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you Michael. I’ll begin by walking through first quarter performance on slide 6. Net financing revenue excluding OID, of $1.6 billion was up 8% year over year and up 15% when excluding the credit card business in the prior year. We continue to benefit from strong performance across our core franchises, ongoing optimization of the balance sheet toward higher yielding assets and our disciplined approach to deposit pricing. Adjusted other revenue of $572 million in the first quarter was flat year over year despite an approximately $25 million headwind due to the sale of the credit card business. This momentum reflects the strength of our diversified revenue streams which include insurance, smart auction and our pass through programs. Adjusted provision expense of $474 million was down $23 million year over year, largely driven by continued improvement in retail auto NCOs and the exit from the credit card business. Retail auto NCOs declined 15 basis points year over year to 1.97%. Adjusted non interest expense of $1.2 billion was down $85 million year over year, demonstrating our continued commitment to cost discipline as well as reflecting the sale of the credit card business and historically elevated weather losses in March of last year. Let’s move to slide 7 to discuss margin in detail. Net interest margin excluding OID, was 3.52% as repricing of floating rate exposures and lower lease yields were offset by lower deposit costs. Retail auto portfolio yield excluding the impact from hedges was flat sequentially consistent with the expectations noted in January. Lease Yield included a $10 million loss on lease terminations given the headwinds on select plug in hybrids we noted in January. We assessed depreciation rates quarterly, and we accelerated depreciation on certain leases maturing in the near term primarily due to these impacted models. As a reminder, we expect our lease termination mix will start to shift next year. Approximately half of the leases we originated over the past two years have OEM residual value guarantees, while the other half reflect a more diversified mix of OEMs. This will continue to reduce lease gain and loss volatility over time. On the liability side, cost of funds decreased 9 basis points quarter over quarter, largely driven by a 9 basis point decrease in deposit costs. Retail deposit balances increased $2.6 billion and we added 74,000 net new customers, clear proof our brand and products resonate in the market. We remain disciplined on pricing through a key growth period, but given the strength of the portfolio, we were able to reduce liquid saving rates by 10 basis points in February, bringing our cumulative beta to 57%. While not reflected in 1Q results, we just reduced liquid savings another 10 basis points, bringing our cumulative beta to 63%. Additionally, CD maturities remain a tailwind with approximately $18 billion in maturities in the first half of 2026, carrying a weighted average yield of nearly 4%. Looking ahead, we anticipate a decline in 2Q retail deposit balances given seasonal tax payments. Our focus remains on customer growth trends and optimizing overall cost of funds. Average earning assets were up 2% year over year. Importantly, growth continues to be concentrated in our highest returning assets retail, auto and corporate finance. Those portfolios in aggregate were up 6% year over year. Momentum across the balance sheet supports my conviction in our path to a sustainable upper 3s margin over time across a variety of rate environments. Turning to page 8, CET1 of 10.1% was up approximately 60 basis points versus the prior year. Like Michael, I’m appreciative of our regulators thoughtful approach to the revised Basel proposals and and the clarity they provide. I look forward to continued engagement throughout the comment period. The proposal’s improved alignment between capital requirements and fundamental risk in our business is encouraging. Relative to current headline CET1 of 10.1%, the revised standardized approach would produce a CET1 ratio just above 9% when fully phasing in AOCI. That is nearly 100 basis points higher than where we would have landed under the 2023 proposal. In addition to the standardized approach, we continue to evaluate the expanded risk based framework. As Michael noted, the proposals indicate a favorable outcome for Ally and our capital allocation priorities remain the same. We look forward to continuing to drive accretive growth in our core franchises, build capital support our dividend and repurchase shares earlier this week we announced a quarterly, dividend of $0.30 for the second quarter of 2026, which remains consistent with the prior quarter and we repurchased shares worth $147 million. Our open ended buyback authorization continues to provide flexibility enabling us to remain dynamic in any given quarter as buybacks complement the rest of our capital allocation framework. At the end of the quarter, adjusted tangible book value per share reached an all time high of $41, up nearly 14% over the past year and reflecting our ability to concurrently increase book value and returns. On slide 9, we will review asset quality trends. Consolidated net charge offs of 121 basis points were down 13 basis points versus the prior quarter and down 29 basis points year over year. Strength across our commercial portfolios continues to complement favorable trends in retail auto. Retail auto net charge offs of 197 basis points were down 17 basis points quarter over quarter and down 15 basis points compared to a year ago. 1Q marked the fifth consecutive quarter of year over year improvement in NCOs as we benefited from particularly strong used vehicle prices and record low flow to loss rates. On the top right of the page 30 all in delinquencies of 4.6% were down 17 basis points from the prior year, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year over year improvement on an all in basis. Industry data has shown that tax refunds increased roughly 11% year over year versus some earlier expectations for increases above 20%. Notwithstanding the increase in tax refunds and a dynamic macro delinquency followed what we would consider to be a typical seasonal pattern during the quarter. We’ve continued to see a resilient consumer, but given the evolving backdrop, we feel it’s appropriate to remain measured. Turning to the bottom of the page on reserves, Consolidated coverage decreased 1 basis point this quarter to 2.53% given mix dynamics, while the retail auto coverage rate was flat at 3.75%. Retail auto coverage levels continue to balance favorable credit results within our portfolio against macroeconomic uncertainty across our commercial portfolios. Credit performance remains strong with stable fundamentals. We continue to see accretive growth opportunities, but risk adjusted returns remain our focus. We’ll remain disciplined on both underwriting and pricing as growth is assessed through a credit first lens. Moving to Slide 10 to review auto segment highlights pretax income of $336 million was lower year over year due mainly to CECL reserve build on the bottom …

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RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) shares are up during Friday’s session as the company has launched new maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for its PT6C-67C and PW127XT engine families at its Singapore facility.

This expansion aims to enhance support for helicopter and regional turboprop operators in the Asia Pacific region, which is crucial as the company seeks to meet rising demand for localized maintenance solutions. New maintenance services are expected to reduce turnaround times and bolster the company’s competitive edge in the region.

Pratt & Whitney Canada, a business unit of RTX, has delivered over 3,000 PT6C-67C engines, accumulating more than 10 million flight hours. The new capabilities at the Singapore facility will include full overhauls supported by a modular test cell, enhancing the existing MRO capabilities for the PW100 family, which has seen over 220 million flight hours globally.

Airbus EASA Certification

Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney’s GTF Advantage-powered Airbus A320neo family aircraft has received EASA certification, clearing the way for entry into service.

The engine was previously certified by the FAA in February 2025 and validated by EASA in October 2025. GTF Advantage delivers 4–8% more thrust, improved range and payload, and up to double time on wing.

It will become the production standard by …

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Arrive AI Inc. (NASDAQ:ARAI) stock is retreating Friday morning. The decline follows a week of intense price swings for the autonomous delivery firm. Shares are cooling off after a brief rally and a subsequent sharp reversal.

Nasdaq futures are up 0.92% while S&P 500 futures have gained 0.82%.

Mixed Earnings Results

The company released its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings on Wednesday. Arrive AI reported quarterly revenue of approximately $15,000. Full-year revenue reached about $113,000. Both figures stemmed …

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Prologis Inc. (NYSE:PLD) on Thursday reported better-than-expected first-quarter funds from operations and raised its full-year 2026 outlook.

Rental and other revenue totaled $2.137 billion, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $2.212 billion.

Core funds from operations rose to $1.50 per share from $1.42 a year earlier, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49. Earnings per share increased to $1.05 from $0.63 in the prior-year quarter.

Prologis shares traded at $142.45 on Friday.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on Prologis following earnings announcement.

  • BTIG …

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The leading solar module maker’s loss more than tripled in the fourth quarter of last year, as its gross margin barely managed to stay positive

image credit: Bamboo Works

Key Takeaways:

  • JinkoSolar’s revenue fell 15% in the fourth quarter, easing from a 34% decline in the previous quarter
  • The solar products maker forecast its shipments would continue to fall this year, as its new CEO called 2026 a “transition year”

Record gold prices may be getting all the attention in commodities headlines lately, but similarly spiking prices for silver have been causing headaches for solar companies these days. That factor nearly drove JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE:JKS)(688223.SH) back into the difficult position of spending more to produce each of its solar cells and modules than it could sell them for, just two quarters after its gross margin returned to positive territory.

The rising yuan, JinkoSolar’s home currency, also worked against the company’s gross margin, which dropped to just 0.3% in the fourth quarter of last year, well below the 7.3% in the third quarter and 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its latest results published on Thursday. Just as disheartening for investors, the company forecast its shipments would continue to decline this year, as its recently named CEO Cao Haiyun referred to 2026 as a “transition year.”

Adding to its woes, the company and its peers took a hit from April 1, as China officially cancelled its yearslong tax rebate policy for exported photovoltaic products. That policy previously dropped the value added tax that solar companies had to pay for their products to 9% for exports from the standard 13%.

That rebate policy was just one of many Chinese government subsidies designed to promote the industry’s development for years – something Western countries often complained about, saying it gave Chinese manufacturers an unfair advantage over global competitors. China is eliminating the export rebate policy as part of a broader campaign to wean its companies from reliance on government support and end a destructive price war that has plunged most manufacturers into the red in the last year.

JinkoSolar was typical of the group, reporting a massive …

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U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Dow Jones index gaining over 600 points on Friday.

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 1.30% to 49,210.43 while the NASDAQ surged 1.05% to 24,355.28. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.74% to 7,093.54.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares climbed by 2% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, energy stocks fell by 4.5%.

Top Headline

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares dipped over 11% on Friday as the company reported better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of 2026 after the market close on Thursday.

The company issued weak forecast for the second quarter and announced that chairman and co-founder Reed Hastings will not stand for re-election to the board when his term expires in June.

Equities Trading …

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Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:PLTR) shares are gaining momentum during Friday’s morning session. This follows a broader weekly rally where the stock jumped over 11%. Investor sentiment is shifting as macroeconomic and company-specific factors align.

Nasdaq futures are up 0.49% while S&P 500 futures have gained 0.49%.

Geopolitical Tensions Ease

Broader market optimism is fueling the move on the heels of a 10-day cease-fire agreement between Israeli forces and the militant group Hezbollah, which went into effect at midnight.

President Trump said on Friday that the U.S.’s naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place until a deal with Iran is reached.

Wall Street Defends Growth

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives recently defended the company against …

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Allbirds Inc (NASDAQ:BIRD) shares climbed Friday morning, following a week of massive price swings. The company recently announced it is abandoning the footwear business to pivot toward artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Nasdaq futures are up 0.32% while S&P 500 futures have gained 0.36%.

• Allbirds stock is charging ahead with explosive momentum. Why are BIRD shares rallying?

NewBird AI and Financing Details

The company signed a definitive agreement for a $50 million convertible financing facility. This supports a rebrand to NewBird AI. The firm will focus on GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud solutions. This shift follows the sale of footwear assets to American Exchange Group.

Short …

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Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades and downgrades, please see our analyst ratings page.

  • Benchmark raised the price target for J B Hunt Transport Services Inc (NASDAQ:JBHT) from $230 to $250. Benchmark analyst Christopher Kuhn maintained a Buy rating. J B Hunt Transport shares closed at $238.32 on Thursday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Truist Securities cut US Bancorp (NYSE:USB) price target from $63 to $62. Truist Securities analyst John McDonald maintained a Buy rating. US Bancorp shares closed at $55.48 on Thursday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Truist Securities raised price target for Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) from $280 to $285. Truist Securities analyst Youssef Squali maintained a Buy rating. Amazon shares closed at $249.70 on Thursday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Stephens & Co. slashed the price target for Domo Inc …

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Navitas Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:NVTS) shares fell in Friday’s premarket trading, likely reflecting profit-taking after the stock surged more than 20% in the previous session.

The stock closed Friday at $12.37, up $2.11, or 20.57%.

Earlier this week, Navitas announced the appointment of Gregory Fischer to its board of directors.

Fischer brings more than four decades of industry experience, including his prior role as senior vice president at Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO).

Short Interest Data

Data shows that short interest recently decreased. Total shorted shares fell from 43.80 million to 43.48 million.

Currently, 25.11% of the float is held short. At average volumes, it would take 1.96 days for shorts to cover.

Technical Analysis

Navitas Semiconductor is currently trading 31.7% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 36.1% above its 100-day SMA, suggesting strong short-term momentum. The stock’s 12-month performance shows a remarkable gain of 579.67%, reflecting significant investor interest over the past year.

The relative strength index (RSI) is at 71.79, indicating that the stock is in …

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Economist Mohamed A. El-Erian has warned that a growing mismatch between debt supply and investor demand is building risks in U.S. bond markets and investors may not be pricing that in, as fiscal pressures intensify.

“We do have a developing fundamental imbalance between the amount of issuance we’re gonna see and the amount of money available to buy that issuance,” El-Erian said in a CNBC interview on Thursday.

Rising Issuance Meets Weakening Demand

The Wharton professor pointed to persistent deficits of around 6–7% of GDP, heavy refinancing needs and increased corporate borrowing as key drivers of supply, while demand is showing signs of strain.

“On the demand side, the money from the Middle East isn’t going to be there in the quantity that has been,” he said.

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28, has killed thousands of people and effectively closed the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transits, threatening the worst oil shock in history and roiling markets.

‘Doom loop’ Risk Emerges In Bond Markets

He warned …

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The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK) reported better-than-expected first-quarter 2026 results Thursday.

Diluted EPS rose 42% year over year to $2.24 from $1.58, while adjusted EPS of $2.25 topped estimates of $1.93. Total revenue increased 13% to a record $5.409 billion, exceeding estimates of $5.180 billion.

CEO Robin Vince said, “BNY had a strong start to 2026 with record revenue of $5.4 billion in the first quarter, up 13% year-over-year, reflecting broad-based growth across our Securities Services and Market and Wealth Services businesses.”

Bank of New York Mellon shares rose 0.1% to close at $134.84 on Thursday.

These analysts made changes …

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Truist Finl (NYSE:TFC) reported first-quarter financial results on Friday. The transcript from the company’s first-quarter earnings call has been provided below.

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Summary

Truist Finl reported a net income available to common shareholders of $1.4 billion for Q1 2026, representing a 25% increase year-over-year.

The company’s strategic priorities focused on loan and fee growth, robust deposit engagements, and executing on their digital strategy, including AI enhancements.

Truist Finl aims for a ROTCE target of 14% in 2026 and 15% in 2027, with a long-term target of 16-18%, driven by profitability improvements and capital management.

Consumer and small business deposits and loans grew, supported by digital engagement and AI deployment, with digital users increasing significantly.

Wholesale banking saw strong growth in loans and deposits, particularly in new expansion markets, with solid performance in investment banking and trading.

The company anticipates 2-3% growth in net interest income for 2026, slightly revised due to expected unchanged federal rates, but maintains a strong non-interest income growth forecast.

Management commented on the strength of their investment banking business, highlighting its broad-based growth and connectivity with the core franchise.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Truist Financial Corporation First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Currently, all participants are in a listen only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this event is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Mr. Brad Millsaps.

Brad Millsaps (Moderator)

Thank you Betsy and good morning everyone. Welcome to Truist’s first quarter 2026 earnings call. With us today are our chairman and CEO Bill Rogers, our CFO Mike McGuire and our chief Risk Officer Brad Bender, as well as other members of truist’s senior management team. During this morning’s call, they will discuss Truist’s first quarter 2026 results, share their perspectives on current business conditions and provide an updated outlook for 2026. The accompanying presentation as well as our earnings release and supplemental financial information are available on the TRUIST Investor relations website, ir.truist.com Our presentation today will include forward looking statements and certain non GAAP financial measures. Please review the disclosures on slides 2 and 3 of the presentation regarding these statements and measures as well as the appendix for appropriate reconciliations to gaap. With that, I will turn it over to Bill.

Bill Rogers (Chairman and CEO)

Thanks Brad Good morning everyone and thanks for joining our call today. Before we discuss our first quarter 2026 results, let’s begin as we always do, with purpose on slide 4. At Truist, our purpose is to inspire and build better lives and communities and one way we bring that to life is through the work we do every day for our clients. One example of this is our Project Finance business which is a client focused platform that provides financial advice and capital to help develop essential infrastructure that drives long term economic growth, job creation and stronger and better communities throughout our footprint in the United States. Our relationships with these clients have led to broad based franchise engagement which includes deposits, payments and lead roles in capital market transactions. From a financial perspective, there are aspects of this business that generate returns somewhat differently than our other businesses. A meaningful portion of this benefit is realized through reductions to our tax provision rather than reported revenue. Mike’s going to walk you through the impact of that later in the call, but this dynamic contributed to our lower tax provision in the first quarter, is a factor in our expected lower tax rate for 2026 compared to 2025. This though is a great example of how serving our clients and communities is true to our purpose and also drives strong financial outcomes for our shareholders. Now turning to our results on Slide 5. Before I get into the details of our first quarter, I want to spend a moment on the quality of what we’re delivering across the company and how we’re executing against our strategic priorities. What I’m most excited about this quarter is the underlying momentum we’re seeing. New client pipelines are growing, activity levels remain healthy, and we’re continuing to add talent and execute in the areas that matter most to our strategy of driving improvement in our profitability. During the quarter, we once again added new clients, deepened existing relationships and grew profitably in the business and products where we’re chosen to focus on. With loan growth coming from priority segments, fee growth driven by core client activity and stronger referrals and connectivity across the company, I can clearly say that we’re focused, we’re aligned and we’re executing well, which is evident in our first quarter results. As you can see on Slide 5, we delivered net income available to common shareholders of 1.4 billion or $1.09 per diluted share for the first quarter, which represents a 25% increase over the first quarter of last year. Earnings of $0.87 a share. Our performance was driven by continued execution against strategic priorities including growth in both consumer and wholesale loans along with strong non interest income growth led by our investment banking and wealth management businesses. Together those factors, along with our expense and credit discipline contributed to 250 basis points of year over year positive operating leverage in the quarter. As a result of this execution in managing our capital through share repurchases, our return on tangible common Equity improved by 150 basis points to 13.8% compared to the first quarter of 2025, representing meaningful progress towards our full year 2027 ROTC target of 15%. While we remain firmly on track to achieve this target, as I’ve said before, it’s not a ceiling for our company. The progress we’re seeing today across our company gives us confidence in our ability to drive profitability higher over time. With continued execution against our strategic priorities, continued capital return and the benefit of expected changes to the capital framework, we’re establishing a long term rotc target of 16 to 18%. Before I hand the call over to Mike to discuss quarterly results, I want to spend some time discussing the positive momentum we’re seeing within our business segments and with our digital strategy on slides six and seven. First, let me start with consumer and small business banking. DSBB delivered another solid quarter that was consistent with our expectations and strategy to drive profitability improvement across the enterprise. Average consumer and small business deposits and loans were up 1% and 4% respectively versus the first quarter of last year of 2025. Average loans declined modestly for the fourth quarter, which is consistent with normal seasonality and our goal of emphasizing growth in categories offering the most attractive risk adjusted returns. As you can see on the slide, Premier Banking was again a source of strength with both deposit and lending production up significantly, driven by deeper client engagement, advisor productivity and continued momentum in financial planning activity. Digital continues to be a key growth engine for CSBB. Digital share of new to bank clients increased to 45% with Gen Z and Millennials representing more than half of the growth. Active digital users grew year over year and digital transaction volumes remained strong, reflecting sustained client engagement with our platforms. Building on that digital progress, we’re increasingly focused on how AI can further enhance productivity, decision making and client engagement across the company. We see AI as a real operating lever, one that improves the client experience while also creating productivity and operating leverage across our businesses without compromising control, safety and reliability. Our focus is on using AI to strengthen relationships, giving clients faster, more personalized service and enabling our teammates to spend more time advising and problem solving, not navigating processes. We’re already deploying AI across consumer and small business banking in practical, client facing ways. Truist Insights delivers personalized financial guidance at scale. Truist Assist handles most routine service requests digitally and around the clock, improving consistency and reducing call volumes. AI enabled call summarization is live for care center agents, lowering after call work and enhancing insight capture. Overall, our disciplined focus on capital allocation, pricing, productivity and digital execution is translating into strong underlying performance and positions consumer and small business banking well as we progress through the year. Now turning to wholesale on slide 7. In wholesale we delivered a strong start to 2026 with continued momentum across loans, deposits and fees while maintaining a disciplined focus on relationship returns and capital efficiency. Average wholesale loans and deposits increased 9% and 2% respectively versus the first quarter of 2025, reflecting diversified growth across our industry, banking, middle market and CRE teams as we continue to prioritize high quality relationship driven loan growth. Middle market deposits in particular, an area where we’ve invested heavily, grew 11% year over year, driven by 7% growth in our legacy markets and and 30% growth in expansion markets such as Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Wholesale fee performance was also a standout this quarter with strong results in wealth management and investment banking and trading. Investment banking and trading delivered its highest quarterly revenue since 2021, driven by strength across a broad set of product areas. Importantly, we’re also seeing even stronger connectivity among our commercial, corporate and investment banking platforms. This is driving higher quality fee growth with an increase in the number of lead roles and meaningful contributions from existing commercial and wealth clients. We’re also leveraging AI across wholesale to enhance productivity, underwriting and client engagement, using predictive analytics to improve advisor effectiveness, accelerate underwriting speed and precision and scale lead generation and conversion among payments and wealth. These capabilities are helping us serve clients more efficiently while improving returns and speed to market. Overall, we see clear evidence that our strategy is working. We are pairing high quality balance sheet growth with improving fee mix, stronger client engagement and enhanced operating efficiency which gives us confidence Wholesales Outlook in Wholesales outlook for the remainder of this year. Now let me turn it over to Mike to discuss our financial results in a little more detail.

Mike McGuire (Chief Financial Officer)

Thanks Bill and good morning Everybody. We reported first quarter 2026 GAAP net income available to common shareholders of $1.4 billion or $1.09 per diluted share. Earnings per share increased 25% versus the first quarter of 2025 and we’re up 9% versus the fourth quarter of 2025. Revenue decreased 1.9% linked quarter due to lower net interest income primarily related to day count. Revenue increased 5.1% versus the first quarter of 2025 due to higher net interest income driven by strong loan growth and higher non interest income primarily due to growth in investment banking and trading and wealth management income. GAAP non interest expense decreased 5.9% versus the fourth quarter of 2025 primarily due to low other expense. Non interest expense increased 2.6% versus the first quarter of 2025 which helped drive the 250 basis points of year over year. Positive operating leverage. Our effective tax rate in the first quarter was 12.4% versus 17.9% in the first quarter of 2025. Approximately half of the year over year decline was due to increased client transaction activity in our project finance business that Bill mentioned earlier in the call. Next, I’ll cover loans and leases on Slide 9. Average loans held for investment increased $2.3 billion or 0.7% on a linked quarter basis to $327 billion, driven by 1.8% growth in commercial loans, partially offset by a 0.9% decline in consumer loans. End of period loans increased modestly linked quarter as 1% growth in commercial loans was offset by a 1.1% decline in consumer loan balances. Both average and end of period loan trends are consistent with the expectations for loan growth and mix that we outlined in January. As a reminder, our expectations for 2026 were that average loan growth would be driven primarily by commercial and other consumer categories with relatively slower growth in residential mortgage and indirect auto. This outlook reflected our focus on profitability and being selective in where we deploy capital within consumer average. Other consumer loans, which include our specialty lending businesses like Sheffield Service Finance and lightstream, were relatively stable on a linked quarter basis consistent with normal seasonal patterns. We continue to expect these portfolios to grow at a mid to high single digit pace in 2026 given their attractive risk adjusted returns. Based on our current pipeline and economic outlook, we continue to expect average loan growth of approximately 3 to 4% in 2026. Moving now to deposits on slide 10 driving client deposit growth is a key priority across many of our top businesses and growth initiatives and I’m encouraged that we saw growth in client deposits in what is typically a seasonally weak quarter for client deposit growth. Average deposits increased 0.7% linked quarter driven by growth in interest checking, partially offset by declines in all other deposit categories. Average interest bearing deposit costs declined 14 basis points linked quarter to 2.09% and average total deposit cost declined 9 basis points to 1.55%. As shown in the chart on the bottom right of the slide, our cumulative interest bearing deposit beta increased from 45% to 46% and our total deposit beta increased from 30% to 31% on a linked quarter basis. Moving now to net interest income and net interest margin on Slide 11, taxable equivalent net interest income decreased 2.8% linked quarter or $105 million, primarily due to two fewer days in the quarter compared with the fourth quarter and seasonal changes in our deposit mix. Our net interest margin decreased by 5 basis points linked quarter to 3.02% driven primarily by that same seasonal change in deposit mix for full year 2026. We now expect net interest income to increase 2 to 3% compared with our prior expectation of 3 to 4% growth. The change in our outlook is primarily driven by our expectation that the federal funds rate will remain unchanged throughout 2026 compared with our previous expectation for two 25 basis point reductions, one in April and one in July, our net interest income outlook still assumes 3 to 4% average loan growth and and the continued benefit from fixed rate asset repricing. Although we expect the net interest margin to remain relatively stable in the second quarter, we do anticipate the full year 2026 average net interest margin will exceed the 25 average of 3.03%. As you can see on the right hand side of the slide, we also updated our fixed rate asset repricing outlook and our swap disclosure. Turning now to non interest income on slide 12. Non interest income increased $7 million or 0.5% versus the fourth quarter of 2025 reflecting strong growth in investment banking and trading income and lending related fees largely offset by a decline in other income due to lower investment income. Investment banking and trading income increased $37 million or 11% linked quarter to $372 million reflecting stronger trading income and capital markets activity partially offset by lower M and A fees. Noninterest income increased 11.6% versus the first quarter of 2025 due primarily to the 36% growth in investment banking and trading and 7.6% growth in wealth management income. Next I’ll cover noninterest expense on slide 13 on a linked quarter basis. Non interest expense declined 5.9% driven by lower other expense and lower personnel expense. Other expense in the fourth quarter of 2025 included an accrual income related to a legal matter, while the decline in personnel expense was driven primarily by lower incentive compensation. These benefits were partially offset by higher regulatory costs as the fourth quarter of 2025 benefited from an FDIC Special assessment credit on a year over year basis. Expense growth remains well controlled. Non interest expense increased 2.6% versus the first quarter of 2025 reflecting higher personnel expense partially offset by lower professional fees and outside processing costs. Moving now to asset quality on Slide 14, our asset quality metrics remain strong on both a linked and light quarter basis. Net charge offs increased 4 basis points, linked quarter to 61 basis points and were up 1 basis point versus the first quarter of 2025. Non performing loans held for investment increased 2 basis points linked quarter to 50 basis points of total loans driven by higher consumer non performing loans partially offset by improvement in CNI and cre. The increase in consumer nonperforming loans was primarily due to a change in the non accrual criteria for certain indirect auto loans which we disclosed in our 10k rather than any deterioration in underlying credit trends. While this enhancement will result in higher reported non performing indirect auto loans over time, there’s no impact to the cash flows or loss expectations and over the lifetime earnings of these loans. Before I move on to discuss our capital position on Slide 16, I do want to spend a few moments on our non depository financial institution or NDFI exposure and how we think about the risk profile of that portfolio. To support that discussion, we’ve included expanded detail on our NDFI loan portfolio on Slide 15. As of March 31, loans classified as NDFI represented 12% of total loans. This is a well diversified portfolio across 35 different asset classes and it’s structured with protections that have held up well historically in stress environments. Our largest NDFI exposure is to diversified equity REITs. This is a client driven business that we’ve been active in for more than 20 years and it’s an area where we have deep experience. These loans are secured by income producing real estate, underwritten with conservative leverage and supported by strong covenant packages which helps mitigate downside risk. With respect to private credit. Our exposure is primarily through lending relationships with business development companies or BDCs and middle market loan funds. In total, these exposures represent about 1% of our loan portfolio. From a risk standpoint, these facilities are underwritten with advanced rate limits, borrowing based mechanics and meaningful equity positions beneath us, all of which are designed to provide significant loss protection in more stressed scenarios. Moving now to Capital on slide 16, our 10.8% CET ratio was stable with the fourth quarter. During the first quarter we repurchased $1.1 billion of common stock compared with $750 million in the fourth quarter. We are targeting repurchases of $1.2 billion in the second quarter and approximately $5 billion in 2026 compared with our previous expectation for $4 billion of repurchases for full year 2026. Overall, our capital allocation priorities remain unchanged. These priorities include supporting the organic growth needs of our clients, paying our common stock dividend and returning excess capital to shareholders through share repurchases. M and A is not a priority for TRUIST as we remain focused on improving our own profitability and returning …

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Simmons First Ntl (NASDAQ:SFNC) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Friday. Read the complete transcript below.

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Summary

Simmons First Ntl reported a strong quarter with 10% annualized loan growth, driven by a focus on quality growth and internal shifts, such as changes in incentive plans and client targeting strategies.

The company is optimistic about future organic growth, supported by a favorable talent environment and recent leadership hires in commercial and consumer sectors.

Simmons First Ntl expects net interest margin (NIM) to continue improving, driven by deposit cost management, balance sheet remixing, and a structural tailwind from back book repricing.

Operating leverage is expected to surpass the initial 5% growth guidance for the year, with confidence in achieving the top end of the 9-11% NII growth range.

Credit quality remains stable despite some non-performing loan increases, with management expressing confidence in their net charge-off outlook.

Capital deployment remains focused on organic growth and dividends, with share buybacks under consideration given the current valuation and earnings outlook.

Full Transcript

Ed Billick (Director of Investor Relations)

Good morning and welcome to the Simmons First National Corporation First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference call and webcast. All participants will be in listen only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing Star then zero on your telephone keypad. After today’s presentation there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press Star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press Star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Ed Billick,, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Good morning and welcome to Simmons First National Corporation first quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me today are several members of our Executive management team including President and CEO Jay Brogden and CFO Daniel Hobbs. Today’s call will be in a Q and A format. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that our first quarter earnings materials, including the earnings release and presentation deck are available on our website at simmonsbank.com under the Investor Relations tab. During today’s call we will make forward looking statements about our future plans, goals, expectations, estimates, projections and outlook including among others, our outlook regarding future economic conditions, interest rates, lending and deposit activity, credit quality, liquidity and net interest margin. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and you should therefore not place undue reliance on any forward looking statement as actual results could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward looking statements due to a variety of factors. Additional information concerning some of these factors is contained in our earnings release and investor presentation furnished with our Form 8K yesterday as well as our Form 10K for the year ended December 31, 2025 including the risk factors contained in that filing. These forward looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and Simmons assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements or other information. Finally, in this presentation we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial metrics we believe provide useful information to investors. Additional disclosures regarding non-GAAP metrics, including the reconciliations of these non-GAAP metrics to GAAP are contained in our Earnings Release and Investor presentation which are furnished as exhibits to the Form 8K we filed yesterday with the SEC and are also available on the Investor Relations page of our website. simmonsbank.com Operator we’re ready to begin the Q and A session.

OPERATOR

Thank you. We will now begin the Question and Answer session. To ask a question, you may press Star then one on your telephone keypad. If you’re using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you’d like to withdraw your question, please press star then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question comes from David Feaster with Raymond James. Please go ahead.

David Feaster (Equity Analyst)

Hey, good morning, everybody. Hey, David. Good morning. I wanted to start on the growth front. It was a terrific quarter for growth. You know, 10% annualized, that was, it was diverse. Pipelines remain solid. You know, I think one of the concerns that the markets had over the past few years, we’ve really questioned your ability to grow like this and your growth clearly showing what you can do. I guess my question is, what’s changed to get here? Is this a function of demand? Is payoffs and pay downs improving? Or is this just more of an internal shift, like a cultural shift and an increased emphasis on quality growth? And just how sustainable do you think this kind of 7 to 10% pace of annualized growth that we’ve seen over the past couple quarters is?

Jay Brogden (President and CEO)

Yeah. Hey, David, I’ll jump in on that. Thanks for the comments and the question there. So, you know, I think overall probably the best way to answer the sustainability of the loan growth is really say we’ve been focused on quality growth for really a few years now. We started focusing on organic growth really a handful of years ago. And it’s taken time to inflect and create some of those internal capabilities, bring maturity. Big part of that has been focus on both soundness and profitability, as you’ve heard us say over and over again. And so there’s been changes in behaviors, changes in incentive plans, changes in how we, you know, target clients that we want to grow. And I think what you’ve seen in the last couple of quarters is, you know, one part, some of that, you know, inflecting some of the maturity in those programs coming to bear. I do think you also have to acknowledge that a part of it is just the timing. The market setup, the last part of last year and early into this year has been very, very good for us. We’ve seen really, really robust demand. Our biggest concern as we think about the growth outlook really isn’t the things that we control, it’s the non controllables. We would acknowledge uncertainty in the macro. We have acknowledged, I think several times in recent calls, pricing, competition, all of those things still give us some caution to the overall optimism that we have about our business and our ability to grow the business. But we were really, really pleased with what we saw in the quarter this quarter. I don’t want to promise 10% annualized loan growth every quarter. This just happened to be a really good quarter for that. But I do think it clearly demonstrates the capabilities that we’ve been working on and our ability to bring those to bear in the marketplace.

David Feaster (Equity Analyst)

Okay, that’s great. And then one of the comments in the press release that stood out to me is just the comments on the talent environment being favorable and supporting that organic growth trajectory. So a couple questions on the talent side first. I know you’ve made a couple leadership hires on the commercial and consumer side, so was hoping you could touch on what they’re working on and where they see the most opportunity near term to kind of accelerate organic growth. And then secondarily, just on the banker side, the pipelines that you’ve got there, your appetite for new hires, and then just any comments on that? I know you hired a recent wealth management team. How have some of the new hires that you’ve. You’ve made been going so far?

Jay Brogden (President and CEO)

Yeah. So again, I’ll jump in on this. Our two new leadership hires over consumer and commercial have been here, I guess eight or nine weeks at this point. So really, really pleased with what they’re already bringing to bear in the organization. On the consumer side, I think just the rhythms of everyday life are in our retail network is changing or evolving in very, very good ways. And the approach to driving business, deepening relationships. We’ve got some very strong and loyal customers that have been with us for a long time. But in many of those situations with those customers, there’s still relatively thin relationships to the bank and so really focused on deepening and capitalizing on the loyalty and strong relationships we have in those regards as well as driving marketing and better penetrating the communities that we serve throughout the retail network. So real focus on sales, performance and again, kind of deepening through that network. On the commercial side, it’s really a lot of the things that I was describing in the first question that you asked around, that real organic growth emphasis, its total banking relationship focus. I think it would be fair to say that a lot of our focus in some of our recent history has been more kind of a lending growth focus and a commercial loan growth focus. We’ve been really, really investing heavily in commercial treasury management, really our full commercial payments suite of products, and the talent in the organization that can really go after those types of relationships and drive more diversified commercial business. And so we’ve got a lot of really good things going in that regard under both of those leaders. And I would just say that the talent pipeline, the opportunities that we are seeing, from senior leadership all the way down to very productive bankers who have strong reputations in our markets, we’re seeing some really, really good opportunities to continue to grow and invest in that way. So that will continue to be a great focus. You asked about the wealth team that we also brought on throughout the first quarter and just as a reminder, we brought on about half that team in kind of mid or late January. The other half joined in March. So they haven’t been here for all that long when you think about first quarter results. But what I could tell you is that that group has already brought over about in terms of assets under management that are either transferring or verbally committed, over 350 million in AUM. And so we could not be more pleased with what we’re seeing in terms of early success. And actually the part of that team, what we’re seeing that has me most excited is the referrals. When I think about what that team’s doing in terms of referring their client relationships into the commercial bank, into private banking, et cetera, really, really excited. And that’s just one small example, David. We can look all across the footprint and see some great examples of those kinds of behaviors. And again, I dovetail that all the way back to your first question. Those are the things that are helping me, helping all of us get more and more optimistic about our ability to drive organic growth in a very meaningful and profitable way.

David Feaster (Equity Analyst)

The business that’s great. And then maybe just staying a bit more high level still. And you know, kind of following up on some of your commentary. I mean, in the release you talked about designing a more efficient and scalable infrastructure. And I know we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the Better bank initiative and some of the things that you’re focusing on there from improving processes and procedures. I mean, you’ve obviously made a lot of progress on the expense front that’s demonstrated in your results. I was just hoping you could maybe elaborate on some of the things that you’re working on to improve the efficiency and scalability of what you got to support the organic growth that you got. Just some of the things that you’re more excited about and key initiatives that you’re focused on as a part of that Better bank initiative.

Jay Brogden (President and CEO)

Yeah, I think, at least for now, David, I’ll probably sound like a broken record here or Daniel would too. But really our mantra in the bank is fund every investment that we want to make in the business. And we have been able to do that over the last few years. We were able to do that here in the …

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Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) on Thursday posted upbeat first-quarter earnings but revised its 2026 earnings outlook below expectations.

The global healthcare company reported quarterly sales of $11.16 billion, slightly beating the consensus of $10.99 billion. Abbott reported adjusted earnings of $1.15 per share, beating the Wall Street estimate of $1.14 and management guidance of $1.12-$1.18 per share.

The global healthcare company on Thursday said it expects the second quarter of 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.25-$1.31, below the consensus of $1.37. Abbott lowered its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings from $5.55-$5.80 per share to $5.38-$5.58 per share compared to the Wall Street consensus of $5.62.

The updated guidance includes 20 …

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Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Friday. Read the complete transcript below.

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The full earnings call is available at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/bsxkr7js/

Summary

Autoliv reported a strong first quarter for 2026, with sales exceeding expectations due to strong March performance and productivity improvements.

The company’s growth in Asia, particularly in China and India, was notable, with sales in India growing by 38% organically.

Despite a 4% decrease in adjusted operating income, Autoliv maintained its full-year guidance of flat organic sales and an operating margin of 10.5-11%.

Operational highlights include the introduction of the first airbag for motorcycles and a complete wearable airbag solution.

The company continues to focus on strategic cost reductions and optimization to offset raw material headwinds, estimated at $90 million.

Autoliv paid a dividend of $0.87 per share and paused buybacks but remains committed to its $2.5 billion share repurchase authorization through 2029.

Management highlighted the resilience of cash flow generation across economic cycles and maintained a positive outlook despite geopolitical uncertainties.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

And thank you for standing by. Welcome to The Autoliv Inc. First Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference call and webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speaker’s presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, please press Star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message as your hand is raised to withdraw your question, please press Star one one again. Please note that today’s conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to First Speaker, VP Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Anderstrap (VP Investor Relations)

Thank you Razia. Welcome everyone to our first quarter 2026 earnings call. On this call we have our President and Chief Executive Officer Mikael Bratt, our Chief Financial Officer Monica Gramma and I am Anderstrap, VP Investor Relations. During today’s earnings call we will highlight several key points: our strong performance in a challenging market environment, our full year guidance, the potential impact of ongoing and new geopolitical challenges, an update on the latest market developments, and finally an overview of our continued strong shareholder returns. Following the presentation we will be available to answer your questions. As usual, the slides are available on autoliv.com Turning to the next slide, we have the Safe Harbor Statement which is an integrated part of this presentation and includes the Q and A that follows. During the presentation we will reference non-U.S. GAAP measures. The reconciliations of historical US GAAP to non use GAAP measures are disclosed in our quarterly earnings Release available on autoliv.com and in the 10Q that will be filed with the SEC and at the end of this presentation. Lastly, I should mention that this call is intended to conclude at 3:00pm Central European Time, so please follow a limit of two questions per person. I now hand over to our CEO Mikael Bratt.

Mikael Bratt (President and Chief Executive Officer)

Thank you Anders. Looking on the next slide, the first quarter exceeded our expectations driven by strong sales in March. Operational performance was also ahead of plan, supported by solid productivity improvements, partly reflecting reduced call off volatility. Our positive trend in Asia continued with strong growth in India, South Korea and China. In China we continued to grow faster than light vehicle production, especially with the Chinese OEMs outperforming by more than 40 percentage points. In India, we grew sales by 38% organically, reflecting mainly the trend of increased safety content in vehicles in India, but also the continued high level of light vehicle production growth. Underlying profitability improved with gross Profit increasing by 10%, although adjusted operating income was slightly lower due to temporary lower RD and E reimbursements and a one time income in Q1 last year. In the quarter we paid a dividend of US$0.87 per share representing a total payout of US$65 million. Buybacks were paused as the company was in a restricted period following multiple filings and the announcement of a new CFO. Our 2.5 billion US dollar share repurchase authorization through 2029 remains unchanged with the Ambition annual share repurchase between 300 and 500 million US dollars. Hostilities in the Persian Gulf had a limited impact this quarter and we are continuously monitoring any potential wide reaching impact on the industry. Based on what we know today, we reiterate Our full year 2026 guidance of flat organic sales. With continued significant outperformance of light vehicle production in both China and India, we continue to expect an adjusted operating margin of around 10.5 to 11%. This is based on the assumption that light vehicle production will decline by around 1% and that the gross headwind from raw materials is around US$90 million. I am also pleased that we introduced our first airbag for motorcycles as well as our first complete wearable airbag solution for motorcycle riders, building on our long term strategy of growing outside our traditional core business. Looking now on the next slide, first quarter sales increased by approximately 7% year over year driven by strong outperformance relative to light vehicle production along with favorable currency effects and tariff related compensations. The adjusted operating income for Q1 decreased by 4% to US$245 million compared to a strong first quarter last year. The adjusted operating margin was 8.9%, 1 percentage points lower than in the same quarter last year. Operating cash flow was a negative US$76 million, a decrease of US$153 million compared to last year. The lower cash flow was mainly driven by a temporary negative working capital impact from strong sales towards the end of the quarter as well as other temporary effects that are expected to reverse later in the year and the normalization of payables from year end. Looking now on the next slide, we continue to deliver broad based improvements with particularly strong progress in direct costs. Our positive direct labor productivity trend continues. This is supported by the implementation of our strategic initiatives including optimization and digitalization. Gross Profit increased by US$48 million and the gross margin improved by almost 60 basis points year over year. RD&E net cost rose year over year primarily on negative currency translation effects and lower engineering income due to timing of specific currency. Customer development project SGA costs increased by 16 million US dollars mainly due to negative currency translation effects. Higher costs for personnel and non recurring costs of US$4 million. Looking now on the market development in the first quarter on the next. According to S and P Global data from April, global light vehicle Production declined by 3.4% in the first quarter, slightly better than earlier expectations. The modestly stronger than expected outcome was mainly supported by Europe in March and rest of Asia. The decline in global light vehicle production was primarily driven by China. India contributed positively to global light vehicle production performance, benefiting from substantially lower taxes on new vehicle purchases. As an effect of the declining light vehicle production in China in the quarter, the global regional light vehicle production mix was approximately 1.5 percentage points favorable during the quarter. Volatility improved despite higher than expected call offs in March. We will talk about the market development more in detail later in the presentation. Looking now on our sales growth in more detail on the next slide, Our consolidated net sales were almost US$2.8 billion, the highest for a first quarter yet. This was around US$175 million, higher than last year, mainly driven by US$154 million, positive kerosene translation effect and US$14 million from higher tariff related compensation. Excluding currencies, our organic sales grew US$21 million or by 80 basis points including tariff cost compensation. Based on the latest light vehicle production data from S and P Global, we outperformed the market by over 4 percentage points. Globally. Our outperformance was significant in China and Restoration. In rest of Asia we outperformed the market by 7 percentage points, driven by continued strong sales growth in India where we outperformed by close to 30 percentage points. South Korea and the Asian sub region also contributed to the outperformance, partly offset by Japan. In China we outperformed overall with 15 percentage points, mainly driven by sales to Chinese OEMs that outperformed light vehicle production with over 40 percentage points. Despite light vehicle production decline in China, China increased its share of our sales to 18% versus 17% a year ago. Asia excluding China accounted for 20%, Americas for 31% and Europe for 30%. On the next slide, we will look more on our growing business in India. Autoliv is rapidly expanding its business in India, securing its market leadership. India now represents almost 6% of Autoliv’s global sales, which is almost triple what it was in just three years ago. Fuelled by regulatory focus and rising consumer demand for safety. Safety content in vehicles has increased by around 20% annually for the past two years in India. Autoliv operates five manufacturing plants, a technical centre and a global support engineering center with more than six associates in total. To further strengthen our footprint, Autoliv recently opened a new inflated plant to meet growing demand for airbags from both India and other Asian markets. Autoliv’s largest customers in India, including Maruti, Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra and Under, reflecting the company’s strong position among leading vehicle manufacturers in the country. Looking now on the next slide, the first quarter of 2026 saw a relatively high number of new launches, primarily in China with both Chinese and other OEMs. These new China launches reflect strong momentum for autoliv in this important market. Higher content per vehicle is driven by front center airbags on many of these new vehicles. In terms of Autoliv’s sales potential, the Nissan Voracia is the most significant in the quarter. Here you also see the Yamaha Tri City 300 commuter scooter. For rest of 2026, we expect a high number of new product launches mainly driven by Chinese OEMs, offsetting fewer launches in America and Europe. Let’s continue with the next slide. Before I’m moving on, I’d like to introduce our new CFO Monika Grammer. Monika joined AutoLeave in 2009 and has been instrumental in strengthening the EMEA division during a particular challenging period for the automotive industry. I am very pleased to welcome her to the executive management team and looking forward to her continued contributions in her new role. I will now hand it over to Monika.

Monika Grammer

Thank you Michael. I will talk about the financials more in detail on the next slide. Turning to the next slide, this slide highlights our key figures for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter of 2025. Our net sales were almost 2.8 billion, representing a 7% increase. Gross profit increased by 40 million 48 million US dollar and gross margin increased by almost 60 basis points compared to the prior year. The drivers behind the gross profit improvement were mainly positive. FX translation effects improved operational efficiency with lower cost for labor and as well as positive effects from higher sales. This was partly offset by increased tariff cost. The adjusted operating income decreased from 255 million US dollar to 245 million and the adjusted operating margin decreased from 9.9% to 8.9%. The reported operating income of 237 million US dollar was 8 million lower mainly due to capacity alignment activities. The adjusted earning per share diluted decreased by 10 cents. The main drivers 9 cents from lower operating income, 4 cents from financial and non operating items, 4 cents from taxes, partly offset by 7 cents from lower number of outstanding shares diluted. Our adjusted Return on capital employed was a solid 23% and our adjusted return on equity was 24%. We paid a dividend of $0.87 per share in the quarter. Looking now on the adjusted operating income bridge on the next slide, in the first quarter of 2026 our adjusted operating income decreased by 10 million US dollar. Operations contributed 28 million positively, primarily driven by higher organic sales and the successful execution of operational improvement initiatives supported by better call off stability. Excluding the 13 million from ethics translation effects, cost for RB and E net and SGA increased by 28 million driven by lower R&D reimbursement of 9 million. Due to timing and the non recurring cost of 4 million during the quarter we recovered approximately 70% of our US tariff costs. This recovery rate was lower than last year due to delays from the implementation of the new U.S. administration’s import adjustment Offset Program. We expect though most of the outstanding tariffs to be recovered later in the year. The combination of unrecovered tariffs and the dilutive effect of the recovered portion resulted in a negative impact of around 40 basis points on our operating margin in the quarter. Looking now at cash flow on the next slide, Operating cash flow for the first quarter was negative 76 million, a decrease of US$153 million year over year. This change was primarily due to a negative working effect of 349 million US dollar compared with a negative impact of 179 million in the prior year. The working capital effect was was largely driven by higher end of quarter sales which is the good reason other temporary effects that are expected to reverse later in the year and the normalization of payables from the year end 2025. Capital expenditures net for the quarter decreased by 9 million. Capital expenditures net in relation to sales was 3% versus 3.6 a year earlier. The lower level of capital expenditure net is mainly related to lower footprint optimization, less capacity expansion and timing effects. Reoperating cash flow for the quarter was negative 159 million compared to negative 16 million in the same period in the prior year due to lower operating cash flow partly offset by lower CapEx. The cash conversion for the last 12 months, defined as free operating cash flow in relation to net income was 83%, exceeding our target of at least 80%. Now looking on our cash flow and shareholder returns on the next slide, our cash flow generation has proven resilient across economic cycles as shown on this slide, we have consistently delivered positive operating and free operating cash flow through major disruptions such as the financial crisis, the COVID 19 pandemic and periods of structural change. Cash generation has strengthened in recent years, reaching record levels. This resilience reflects disciplined working capital management, a flexible cost base and limited capital intensity of our operations, supporting higher asset returns, durable long term growth and shareholder value …

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French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday convened an international summit in Paris to advance plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continues to disrupt one of the world’s most critical oil arteries.

Around 30 countries were set to take part in the talks, which did not include the United States. The meeting is part of efforts by nations not directly involved in the conflict to address the economic impact of the disruption.

Iran has effectively shut the strait since the war began on Feb. 28, restricting passage through a channel that typically carries about a fifth of global oil supply.

Macron said ahead of the summit that a proposed Strait of Hormuz Maritime Freedom of Navigation Initiative would be “strictly defensive” and limited to non-belligerent countries, to be …

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Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

  • BMO Capital analyst Frank Lee upgraded Postal Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:PSTL) from Market Perform to Outperform and raised the price target from $21 to $23. Postal Realty Trust shares closed at $19.88 on Thursday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh upgraded Texas Instruments Inc (NASDAQ:TXN) from Underperform to Neutral and raised the price target from $160 to $215. Texas …

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(Editor’s note: The futures moves, ETFs data and the stocks in focus section were updated to include the latest information)

U.S. stock futures moved higher early Friday, as investors built on recent optimism that tensions in the Middle East may be easing.

President Donald Trump said the Iran war “should be ending pretty soon,” describing developments as “going along swimmingly” during remarks in Las Vegas on Thursday. The comments followed the announcement of a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Recent optimism around a potential peace deal has lifted equities, putting all three major indexes on track for weekly gains. The Dow is up about 1.4%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have advanced roughly 3.3% and 5.2%, respectively.

Investors will also watch earnings from financial firms on Friday, including State Street (NYSE:STT), Truist Financial Corp (NYSE:TFC) and Fifth Third Bancorp (NYSE:FITB).

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.305%, and the two-year bond was at 3.773%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 99.5% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.

Index Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones 0.57%
S&P 500 0.39%
Nasdaq 100 0.39%
Russell 2000 0.56%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were higher in premarket trading on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.57% at $705.64, while the QQQ gained 0.62% to $644.41.

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Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

  • BMO Capital analyst Eric Borden initiated coverage on Four Corners Property Trust Inc (NYSE:FCPT) with a Market Perform rating and announced a price target of $27. Four Corners Property shares closed at $25.12 on Thursday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Stephens & Co. analyst Jeff Lick initiated coverage on RB Global Inc (NYSE:RBA) with an Equal-Weight rating and announced a price target …

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Polaris Inc. (NYSE:PII) shares are up during Friday’s premarket session, rising 1.58%. The company announced that recent changes to tariff policy are not expected to impact its 2026 full-year guidance materially.

This news comes as the company strengthens its domestic manufacturing presence, which includes facilities in Alabama, Indiana, and Minnesota, supporting American jobs while enhancing supplier relationships, as detailed in the recent announcement.

Polaris expects that the recent tariff policy changes will not have a significant effect on its financial outlook for the year.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the firm’s adjusted gross profit margin fell 77 basis points to 20.3%, primarily driven by tariffs and net price.

The broader market saw gains on Thursday, with the Technology sector rising 0.60%.

Technical Analysis

Polaris is currently trading within its 52-week range, which spans from $31.40 to $75.25, suggesting it is positioned in the middle of this range. The stock is trading 1.2% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 7.4% below its 100-day SMA, indicating a potential short-term weakness …

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Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

  • BMO Capital analyst James Thalacker downgraded Exelon Corp (NASDAQ:EXC) from Outperform to Market Perform and cut the price target from $52 to $49. Exelon shares closed at $47.59 on Thursday. See how other analysts view this stock.
  • Wolfe Research analyst Chris Caso downgraded Qorvo Inc (NASDAQ:QRVO) from Outperform to Peer Perform. Qorvo shares closed at $81.72 on …

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Polestar Automotive (NASDAQ:PSNY) held its fourth-quarter earnings conference call on Friday. Below is the complete transcript from the call.

This transcript is brought to you by Benzinga APIs. For real-time access to our entire catalog, please visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/ for a consultation.

Access the full call at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/kdtoh7ky/

Summary

Polestar Automotive reported record retail sales of over 60,100 cars for 2025, achieving a 34% year-on-year growth and meeting its growth target of 30-35%.

The company announced a $1 billion equity raise supported by Geely Sweden Holdings and conversions of $640 million in loans to equity, strengthening its balance sheet.

Polestar Automotive plans to expand its model lineup with four new cars over the next three years, including the Polestar 5 and a new variant of the Polestar 4.

Revenue for 2025 grew by 50% year-on-year to surpass $3 billion, although gross margin remained negative at 35% due to impairment expenses.

The company’s plans for 2026 include achieving low double-digit growth in sales volume, expanding its retail network by 20%, and continuing cost reduction initiatives.

Full Transcript

Anna Gavrilova (Head of Investor Relations)

Hello everyone, I’m Anna Gavrilova, Head of Investor Relations at Polestar. Thank you for joining this call covering Polestar’s results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025. I’m joined by Michael Lochscheller, Polestar CEO, and Jean Francois Madi, Polestar CFO, who will comment on the performance and then we will open the floor to analysts questions. Before we start, I would like to remind participants that many of our comments today will be considered forward looking Statements under the U.S. federal securities laws and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause Polestar’s actual results to differ materially from what has been communicated. These forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the future financial performance of the company, production and delivery volumes, financial and operating results, near term outlook and medium term targets, fundraising and funding requirements, macroeconomic and industry trends, company initiatives and other future events. Forward looking statements made today are effective only as of today and Polestar undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward looking statements. For a discussion of some of the factors that could cause our actual results to differ, please review the risk factors contained in our SEC filings. In addition, management may make references to non GAAP financial measures during the call. A discussion of why we use non GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measure can be found in the appendix of the press release and in the form 6k published today. Now I will hand over to Michael

Michael Lochscheller (Chief Executive Officer)

hello everyone and thank you for joining us today as we present our full year 2025 results and provide an update on recent developments across the business. As you are all aware, the world around us continues to throw up challenges, but we are making good progress and we are focusing on delivering against our strategy. I want to update you on the most recent developments within technology, our financing situation and future model lineup expansion. But before that, a few words on the year that just passed. 2025 was a record year for Polestar in terms of retail sales. We delivered over 60,100 cars during the year in line with our guidance of 30 to 35% growth and a new record for our young brand, an achievement to be proud of given the competition and market conditions. 2025 was also a year in which we took significant steps to adapt our commercial strategy and footprint, an important foundation for our future growth and journey towards profitability. We accelerated the expansion of our network of retailers by 50% from 140 to 210 retail sales points and have worked hard to improve our operational efficiency whilst also preparing for the company’s largest ever model Offensive, which we presented in February. During the fourth quarter we made several announcements that reinforce our position as a technology leader in the EV segment. The upgraded model year 26 Polestar 3, which is being tested by the world’s leading automotive media in the UK this week, has received several upgrades including an 800 volt architecture. This means our flagship SUV offers customers charging speeds of up to 350 kilowatts, up to 500 kilowatts of power and 6% better efficiency. It also has an upgraded Nvidia processor taking its computing power from 30 to 254 trillion operations per second. The same upgrade is also being offered to all existing Polestar 3 customers. We are the first OEM to integrate Google’s Life Lane guidance in our cars. It’s already being rolled out to Polestar 4 customers across the US and Sweden with more to come. Further evidence of our strong relationship with Google came in November when We demoed Google’s AI based Gemini assistant in Polestar 5. This service brings a whole new level of interaction and experience to our cars and it will be rolled out via over the air updates to existing Polestar customers. We have made solid progress on securing additional financing in the last month. Starting in December 2025, through a series of the three equity financing rounds, we have raised $1 billion of new external equity with the support of Geely Sweden Holdings. These placements strengthen our balance sheet and widen our shareholder base. Concurrently, we have announced agreements with Volvo Cars and Geely Sweden holdings for the conversion of approximately $640 million of shareholder loans to equity. These conversions, once completed, will reinforce our liquidity profile and maintain Volvo Car’s ownership in Pollster at approximately 19.9%. Both the equity funding rounds and the debt to equity conversions are a clear sign of the continued support that we enjoy from our major shareholders. In February we presented the details of our largest ever model LineUp expansion with four new cars planned in the next three years. Polestar 5, our four door GT which was presented during the end of last year, is expected to start deliveries in the summer. This car sets a whole new standard in EV performance segment, combining design, performance and luxury in a way that has never been done before. Later this year we will bring a new variant of Polestar 4 to the market. Our global bestseller, which represented 65% of our deliveries in the first quarter of this year, will bring even more versatility to an already incredible car. The this will help us to address a wider segment and offer more customers an alternative based on their lifestyle and needs. First deliveries are expected to start in the fourth quarter, with production for all markets taking place in Busan, South Korea. Our next model will be the next generation Polestar 2, the car that built Polestar’s brand. With over 190,000 Polestar 2 on the road, this car already has a huge following and customer base which we have an opportunity to capitalize on. Completely redesigned with the latest in drivetrain, battery and UX technology, Polestar 2 will play an important role in our future success. Our Compact Premium SUV Polestar 7 provides provides an attractive entry point to the brand, offering a level of performance and design that this segment lacks today. The pace at which we are developing and bringing those models to market is a testament to the value of our asset light model, our ability to work in close collaboration with partners, and a sign of our underlying ambitions for more profitable growth. Targeting wider, more profitable segments before handing over to Jean Francois for the financial details, I’d like to just spend a moment reflecting on the first quarter of this year 2026. Our sales team has worked incredibly hard to carry over our record performance in 25 into the start of this year. Our Our retail sales in the first quarter totaled some 13,100 cars, a record number for a first quarter, translating into a year …

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During times of turbulence and uncertainty in the markets, many investors turn to dividend-yielding stocks. These are often companies that have high free cash flows and reward shareholders with a high dividend payout.

Benzinga readers can review the latest analyst takes on their favorite stocks by visiting Analyst Stock Ratings page. Traders can sort through Benzinga’s extensive database of analyst ratings, including by analyst accuracy.

Below are the ratings of the most accurate analysts for three high-yielding stocks in the information technology sector.

AudioCodes Ltd (NASDAQ:AUDC)

  • Dividend Yield: 4.49%
  • Needham analyst Joshua Reilly maintained a Buy rating with a price target of $12.5 on May 7, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 55%
  • Needham analyst Ryan Koontz maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $11 to $12.5 on Feb. 5, 2025. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 81%.
  • Recent News: AudioCodes announced that it will release financial results for its first quarter on …

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IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ) shares are under pressure Friday morning. Nasdaq futures are up 0.20% while S&P 500 futures have gained 0.26%.

After skyrocketing more than 50% this week, the stock is seeing natural profit-taking from investors.

No specific company event triggered the slide, but recent data shows a climb in bearish bets.

Short interest in the quantum firm rose from 79.48 million to 80.93 million shares during the last reporting period. This currently places 22.78% of the company’s float in short positions.

Sector Momentum and Nvidia Catalyst

The dip comes despite a massive week for the …

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Zions Bancorporation, National Association (NASDAQ:ZION) will release earnings for its first quarter after the closing bell on Monday, April 20.

Analysts expect the Salt Lake City, Utah-based company to report quarterly earnings of $1.43 per share, up from $1.13 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Zions Bancorp’s quarterly revenue is $855.145 million. It reported $806 million last year, according to Benzinga Pro.

Some Zions investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company’s dividends. Currently, the bank has an annual dividend yield of 2.92%. That’s a quarterly dividend amount of 45 cents per share ($1.80 a year).  

So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 monthly?

To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $205,113 or around …

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TORONTO, April 17, 2026 /CNW/ – CIBC (TSX:CM) (NYSE:CM) – CIBC Global Asset Management (“CIBC GAM”) today announced it will reopen the Renaissance U.S. Equity Fund (the “Fund”) to investors on or about April 30, 2026. This means the Fund will be open to all new purchases from existing and new unitholders (including through regular investment plans). The Fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing primarily in equity securities of companies listed on major U.S. exchanges and/or domiciled primarily in the United States.

The Fund was previously capped to all investors on December 9, 2020.

Effective on or about April 30, 2026, portfolio management responsibilities for the Renaissance U.S. Equity Fund will be assumed by Emory W. (Sandy) Sanders, Jr. Sandy brings over two decades of distinguished leadership in equity …

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Mortgage rates fell for the second consecutive week, providing some relief to homebuyers during what is typically the busiest period for the housing market.

This has lent some support to homebuilder ETFs such as iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (BATS:ITB), SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE:XHB), Invesco Dynamic Building & Construction ETF (NYSE:PKB) and Hoya Capital Housing ETF (NYSE:HOMZ).

As of Friday morning, ITB was up 0.7% while the other three funds were trading flat during the premarket session.

ETFs in Focus

ITB provides exposure to U.S. companies that manufacture residential homes by tracking the Dow Jones U.S. Select Home Construction Index. With Assets Under Management (AUM) of $2.6 billion, the fund charges 0.38% in annual fees and trades an average of 2.5 million shares a day. The fund has shed 2.3% year-to-date but gained 1.1% over the past month.

Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings indicate ITB has a weak pricing trend in short, medium and long term.

XHB follows the S&P Homebuilders Select Industry Index, charging investors 0.35% in annual fees. The fund has AUM of $1.5 billion and trades in an average daily volume …

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As of April 17, 2026, two stocks in the health care sector could be flashing a real warning to investors who value momentum as a key criteria in their trading decisions.

The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered overbought when the RSI is above 70, according to Benzinga Pro.

Here’s the latest list of major overbought players in this sector.

Avanos Medical Inc (NYSE:AVNS)

  • On April 14, Avanos Medical agreed to be acquired by American Industrial Partners for …

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Earnings season is gaining momentum across Corporate America, as early results from banks and tech leaders beat expectations and signal continued resilience despite elevated interest rates and global uncertainty.

Large U.S. lenders, including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, have reported stronger-than-expected earnings, benefiting from higher interest rates that continue to support net interest income. The results come as the Federal Reserve maintains a cautious stance on rate cuts, reinforcing a “higher-for-longer” policy environment.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell recently underscored that policymakers are not in a rush to ease, noting that inflation “remains somewhat elevated” and that the central bank still needs “greater confidence” it is moving sustainably toward its 2% target. That stance has effectively extended the runway for banks to capitalize on wider lending spreads.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon reflected that dynamic in the bank’s latest earnings call, describing the U.S. economy as “resilient,” while warning that “significant geopolitical tensions and persistent inflation pressures” remain key risks shaping the outlook. The combination of strong consumer activity and disciplined balance sheet management has helped large banks outperform expectations, even as uncertainty lingers.

At the same time, executives are beginning to signal caution beneath the headline strength. Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser pointed out that while overall consumer spending has held up, “we are seeing signs of stress in certain segments,” particularly among lower-income borrowers—an early indication that higher rates are beginning to filter through parts of the economy.

Technology companies, meanwhile, are once again leading market performance, driven by accelerating demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure and services. Firms such as Microsoft, Alphabet, and NVIDIA continue to benefit from enterprise adoption of AI tools, cloud expansion, and large-scale data investment.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently emphasized that “AI is the defining technology of this generation,” highlighting how it is already delivering measurable productivity gains across industries. That shift is no longer theoretical—companies are reporting real revenue impact tied directly to AI integration.

The surge in AI investment is reshaping capital allocation across corporate America. Businesses are directing spending toward data centers, advanced semiconductors, and automation platforms, while simultaneously using these technologies to streamline operations and improve margins.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon noted that “the pace of technological change, particularly in AI, is creating both opportunity and disruption across industries,” reinforcing the idea that companies must adapt quickly or risk falling behind.

Markets have responded positively to the early earnings strength, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq holding near recent highs. However, investors are increasingly focused on forward guidance rather than backward-looking results.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller recently reinforced the cautious policy stance, indicating that while inflation is moderating, there is “no need to move as quickly” on rate cuts without clearer evidence of sustained progress. Similarly, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester has suggested it may be “appropriate to hold rates at restrictive levels for some time,” adding to the expectation that borrowing costs will remain elevated.

This backdrop is forcing companies to adjust strategies in real time. Businesses that relied on low-cost financing are facing pressure, while those with strong balance sheets are finding opportunities to expand, invest, and gain market share.

Across earnings calls, executives are consistently emphasizing efficiency, cost discipline, and targeted growth. Many are prioritizing investments that produce immediate returns—particularly in automation and digital transformation—rather than broad expansion.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan captured the tone, noting that clients remain active but are “thoughtful” in how they deploy capital, reflecting a more measured approach to growth in an uncertain environment.

Geopolitical developments are also playing a role. Ongoing tensions in the Middle East, even amid a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, continue to influence energy markets and corporate risk planning. Companies with global exposure are factoring in potential disruptions to supply chains and pricing.

For investors, the early phase of earnings season reinforces a familiar pattern: market leadership remains concentrated among large, well-capitalized companies with strong technological positioning.

That concentration has supported market resilience, but it also raises questions about how broadly the strength will extend. If earnings growth remains narrowly focused, markets could become more sensitive to any signs of weakness among leading firms.

Still, the initial tone remains constructive.

With more sectors set to report in the coming weeks—including consumer goods, industrials, and healthcare—investors will gain a clearer view of how deeply current economic conditions are impacting the broader economy.

For now, the takeaway is clear: companies that combine scale, capital strength, and technological execution are not just navigating the current environment—they are widening the gap.

— JBizNews Desk

On:

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further improvement in the overall market sentiment, while the index remained in the “Greed” zone on Thursday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite surging to new all-time highs as peace-deal optimism over the Iran conflict kept buyers engaged.

President Donald Trump announced that Israeli and Lebanese leaders have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, calling it his potential tenth war resolved.

In earnings, PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) posted upbeat earnings for the first quarter on Thursday. Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) reported better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of 2026 after the market close on Thursday.

On the economic data front, U.S. initial jobless claims declined to 207,000 in the week ended April 11, versus a revised 218,000 in the …

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Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) unveiled Headless 360 on Wednesday, shifting its platform toward an API-first architecture where AI agents and humans execute workflows across data, applications and business logic amid a broader software sector selloff.

From UI-First CRM To Agent-Driven Infrastructure

Headless 360 exposes Salesforce’s Customer 360 stack through APIs, MCP tools and CLI commands, enabling AI agents to operate without traditional interfaces. The release includes 60+ MCP tools and 30+ preconfigured coding skills, designed to give agents direct access inside developer environments such as Anthropic‘s Claude Code and Anysphere‘s Cursor.

A new Agent Fabric layer adds governance and deterministic orchestration across multi-vendor AI deployments.

Bulls vs. Bears: AI Catalyst Or SaaS Disruption Risk

The rollout comes amid broader skepticism toward software equities as investors reassess whether AI will replace or commoditize traditional SaaS offerings. The debate …

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The most oversold stocks in the consumer staples sector presents an opportunity to buy into undervalued companies.

The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered oversold when the RSI is below 30, according to Benzinga Pro.

Here’s the latest list of major oversold players in this sector, having an RSI near or below 30.

Pilgrims Pride Corp (NASDAQ:PPC)

  • On April 13, Pilgrim’s Pride announced pricing of tender offer for its 6.250% senior notes due 2033. The company’s stock fell around 10% over the past month and has a 52-week low of $32.79.
  • RSI Value: 29.4
  • PPC Price Action: …

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Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Monday, April 20.

Analysts expect the Cleveland, Ohio-based company to report a quarterly loss of 41 cents per share, versus a loss of 92 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Regions Financial’s quarterly revenue is $4.79 billion (it reported $4.63 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On Feb. 9, Cleveland-Cliffs reported mixed fourth-quarter financial results.

Cleveland-Cliffs shares rose 0.6% to close at $9.72 on Thursday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.

  • JP …

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The S&P 500 rose on Thursday, gaining 0.26% to close at a fresh record of 7,041.28, as optimism around a potential end to the Iran war continued to support equities.

The Polygon-based (CRYPTO: POL) Polymarket crowd remains bullish heading into Friday. The April 17 market shows a majority of traders betting “Up,” with early trading activity building on whether the S&P 500 will open higher or lower.

Why That Number Matters

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the war in Iran “should be ending pretty soon,” adding to a …

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In today’s rapidly changing and highly competitive business world, it is imperative for investors and industry observers to carefully assess companies before making investment choices. In this article, we will undertake a comprehensive industry comparison, evaluating Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) vis-à-vis its key competitors in the Software industry. Through a detailed analysis of important financial indicators, market standing, and growth potential, our goal is to provide valuable insights and highlight company’s performance in the industry.

Palantir Technologies Background

Palantir is an artificial intelligence, analytics, and automated decision-making company that leverages data to drive efficiency across its clients’ organizations. The firm serves commercial and government clients via its Foundry and Gotham platforms, respectively. Palantir works only with entities in Western-allied nations and reserves the right not to work with anyone that is antithetical to Western values. The company was founded in 2003 and went public in 2020.

Company P/E P/B P/S ROE EBITDA (in billions) Gross Profit (in billions) Revenue Growth
Palantir Technologies Inc 226.60 46.22 81.83 8.71% $0.58 $1.19 70.0%
Salesforce Inc 23.23 2.83 4.17 3.26% $3.27 $8.69 12.09%
AppLovin Corp 46.42 73.64 29.08 61.09% $1.34 $1.47 65.88%
Intuit Inc 25.19 5.62 5.43 3.61% $1.14 $3.61 17.36%
Adobe Inc 14.46 8.77 4.26 16.39% $2.66 $5.73 11.97%
Cadence Design Systems Inc 75.61 15.48 15.84 7.27% $0.59 $1.25 6.2%
Synopsys Inc 67.71 2.77 9.60 0.22% $0.69 $1.77 65.52%
Autodesk Inc 46.49 16.85 7.25 10.64% $0.58 $1.79 19.4%
Datadog Inc 398.29 11.71 13.09 1.3% $0.08 $0.77 29.21%
Roper Technologies Inc 25.48 1.86 4.95 2.15% $0.86 $1.43 9.67%
Workday Inc 48.21 4.11 3.51 1.74% $0.39 $1.92 14.52%
Zoom Communications Inc 14.03 2.60 5.47 7.06% $0.28 $0.95 5.31%
PTC Inc 20.36 4.28 5.82 4.34% $0.25 $0.57 21.36%
Trimble Inc 38.45 2.69 4.56 2.69% $0.25 $0.7 -1.38%
IREN Ltd 33.11 6.30 18.78 -5.77% $-0.23 $0.11 59.02%
Tyler Technologies Inc 47.20 3.90 6.38 1.79% $0.12 $0.26 6.29%
Guidewire Software Inc 62.95 7.80 9.05 3.95% $0.08 $0.23 24.05%
HubSpot Inc 259.28 5.69 3.79 2.78% $0.1 $0.71 20.42%
Average 73.32 10.41 8.88 7.32% $0.73 $1.88 22.76%

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In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive business world, it is crucial for investors and industry followers to conduct comprehensive company evaluations. In this article, we will delve into an extensive industry comparison, evaluating Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in relation to its major competitors in the Software industry. By closely examining key financial metrics, market standing, and growth prospects, our objective is to provide valuable insights and highlight company’s performance in the industry.

Microsoft Background

Microsoft develops and licenses consumer and enterprise software. It is known for its Windows operating systems and Office productivity suite. The company is organized into three equally sized broad segments: productivity and business processes (legacy Microsoft Office, cloud-based Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype, LinkedIn, Dynamics), intelligence cloud (infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service offerings Azure, Windows Server OS, SQL Server), and more personal computing (Windows Client, Xbox, Bing search, display advertising, and Surface laptops, tablets, and desktops).

Company P/E P/B P/S ROE EBITDA (in billions) Gross Profit (in billions) Revenue Growth
Microsoft Corp 26.30 7.98 10.27 10.2% $58.18 $55.3 16.72%
Oracle Corp 32.02 15.29 8.08 11.65% $8.16 $11.1 21.66%
Palo Alto Networks Inc 92.76 14.42 12 4.78% $0.64 $1.91 14.93%
ServiceNow Inc 57.75 7.71 7.60 3.31% $0.76 $2.73 20.66%
Fortinet Inc 34.05 49.27 9.27 51.3% $0.69 $1.52 14.75%
Nebius Group NV 1442.54 9.07 78.96 -5.3% $0.01 $0.1 55.85%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd 14.30 4.98 5.55 10.21% $0.37 $0.65 5.85%
Gen Digital Inc 20.39 5.14 2.60 8.02% $0.57 $0.97 25.76%
Dolby Laboratories Inc 25.93 2.36 4.66 2.04% $0.1 $0.3 -2.88%
UiPath Inc 20.40 2.67 3.59 5.21% $0.09 $0.41 13.56%
CommVault Systems Inc 49.41 19.25 3.73 8.33% $0.03 $0.25 19.5%
Monday.Com Ltd 29.63 2.72 2.86 6.1% $0.01 $0.3 24.59%
Qualys Inc 15.45 5.34 4.58 9.75% $0.06 $0.15 10.11%
BlackBerry Ltd 52.11 3.70 5.10 3.27% $0.04 $0.12 10.09%
Teradata Corp 19.83 11 1.56 16.48% $0.08 $0.26 2.93%
A10 Networks Inc 46.53 8.99 6.72 4.72% $0.03 $0.06 8.29%
Average 130.21 10.79 10.46 9.32% $0.78 $1.39 16.38%

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Silver prices hovered around $80 per ounce on Friday, as a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel calmed inflation fears and weakened the U.S. dollar.

A sustained supply deficit projection for 2026 is also supporting prices.

What ETFs To Tap Amid Silver Rebound?

Silver COMEX (May 2026) rose 1% to $79.47 at 4.42 AM EDT after declining about 15% since the war began in late February amid fears that rising energy costs would stoke inflation, keeping interest rates higher. Those concerns have eased somewhat, with optimism returning on hopes that the U.S. and Iran could reach a permanent ceasefire deal over the weekend.

This has brought back the allure of the white metal and investors looking to tap the rise in silver prices could consider the following ETFs:

1. iShares Silver Trust

The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) offers exposure to the day-to-day movement of the price of silver bullion. It has an AUM of $21.5 billion and trades in a heavy volume of 41 million shares a day. It charges 0.50% in fees per year from investors.

Price Action: SLV gained 0.4% at 4.16 AM ET, but is down 16.1% since the Iran war began.

Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings indicate SLV has a Momentum score in the 91th percentile and maintains a strong price trend in the short, …

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Shares of Blaize Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:BZAI) rose sharply in pre-market trading following a contract of up to $50 million with technology company NeoTensr for AI edge data center infrastructure across Asia Pacific and a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with Taiwan-based rugged technology maker Winmate Inc. targeting sovereign, mission-critical edge AI deployments.

Blaize Holdings shares jumped 24.3% to $2.15 in pre-market trading.

Here are some other stocks moving in pre-market trading.

Gainers

  • Psyence Biomedical Ltd (NASDAQ:PBM) gained 85.4% to $10.90 in pre-market trading after jumping around 106% on Thursday.
  • iSpecimen Inc (NASDAQ:ISPC) gained 44.9% to $0.17 in pre-market trading after adding 4% on Thursday.
  • YXT.Com Group Holding Ltd – ADR (NASDAQ:YXT) rose 54.1% to $0.57 in pre-market trading after declining 10% on Thursday.
  • Able View Global Inc (NASDAQ:ABLV) jumped 39.8% to $0.81 in pre-market trading after falling over 5% on Thursday.
  • WeShop Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:WSHP) rose 31.9% to $18.82 in pre-market trading after jumping around 74% on Thursday.
  • Harte Hanks Inc (NASDAQ:

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The numbers no longer add up—at least not in the traditional sense. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) just added roughly $30 billion in a single week, even as the “physical reality” tells a different story.  U.S. GDP growth was revised down to 0.5%, spot oil prices hit a record high, and an active geopolitical conflict is choking global trade flows.

Yet the market climbs.

The Buffett indicator, a ratio of the total U.S. stock market to GDP, has climbed to 223.5%—a level that makes the 162% peak during the Dot-Com bubble look almost conservative. Historically, such readings signaled imminent danger. Today, they barely register as a concern.

Such paradoxes best show the ongoing structural shift. The stock market is no longer a wind vane for the real economy. It has become a leveraged bet on a narrow but powerful future—one driven by artificial intelligence, capital intensity, and financial system resilience. Investors are no longer buying “America.” They are buying a handful of global platforms increasingly detached from the “dirt and diesel” economy.

Micro is Macro

Company-level dynamics, specifically AI-driven capital expenditures, have become so …

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Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. (OTC:FLYYQ) could reportedly halt operations within days as the creditors raise doubts about the company’s ability to clear dues.

Spirit To Liquidate?

On Thursday, CBS News reported that the airline could halt its operations within the coming days, raising questions about the passengers who might have already booked their tickets on Spirit flights. The airline had earlier filed for bankruptcy amid post Covid-19 struggles.

Spirit Airlines didn’t immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.

The war in Iran has led to a surge in fuel costs, which is said to be the reason behind the reported liquidation. According to data from Airlines for America, the price of a gallon of jet fuel on Thursday was $4.32, which, while lower …

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Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE:ALLY) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Friday, April 17.

Analysts expect the Detroit, Michigan-based company to report quarterly earnings of 94 cents per share. That’s up from 58 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Ally Financial’s quarterly revenue is $2.14 billion (it reported $1.54 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On April 15, the board of directors of Ally Financial declared a quarterly cash dividend of 30 cents per share of the company’s common stock.

Shares of Ally Financial fell 0.7% to close at $41.96 on Thursday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look …

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Telefonaktiebolaget L M (NASDAQ:ERIC) reported first-quarter financial results on Friday. The transcript from the company’s first-quarter earnings call has been provided below.

This transcript is brought to you by Benzinga APIs. For real-time access to our entire catalog, please visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/ for a consultation.

Access the full call at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/376wte82/

Summary

Telefonaktiebolaget L M reported a 10% decline in sales due to currency headwinds, but achieved a 6% organic growth across all segments.

The company maintained a strong gross margin of 48.1%, with the networks segment reaching 50.4%, despite mid-single-digit sales reductions in North America.

EBITDA was 5.6 billion krona with a margin of 11.3%, impacted by currency fluctuations, while cash flow remained healthy at 5.9 billion krona.

Telefonaktiebolaget L M announced a share buyback program worth 15 billion krona and an increased dividend, reflecting confidence in cash flow and financial stability.

Strategic focus areas include expanding into enterprise and mission-critical networks, with notable interest in defense solutions and 5G-based sensing technologies.

The company is cautious about rising input costs, including memory prices, and plans to mitigate these through pricing strategies and product substitution.

Management highlighted reduced geographic dependency, particularly on North America, and expressed confidence in growth from markets like India and Japan.

Future guidance suggests a flat RAND market with a focus on maintaining stable margins and strategic investments in new growth areas like AI-driven mobile applications.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Hello everyone and welcome to the presentation of Ericsson’s first quarter 2026 results. Joining us by video today is Börje Ekholm, our President and CEO. And in the studio I’m joined by Lars Sandstrom, our Chief Financial Officer. As usual, we’ll have a short presentation followed by Q and A. And in order to ask a question, you’ll need to join the conference by phone. Details can be found in today’s earnings release and on the investor relations website as well. Please be advised that today’s call is being recorded and that today’s presentation may include forward looking statements. These statements are based on our current expectations and certain planning assumptions which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially due to factors mentioned in today’s press release and discussed in the conference call. We encourage you to read about these risks and uncertainties in our earnings report as well as in our annual report. Now hand the call over to Börje and Lars for their introductory comments.

Börje Ekholm

Thanks Tanya and good morning everyone and thanks for joining us today. Q1 was a solid start of the year and with the results that reflects our continued execution against our operational and strategic priorities. We saw a very large currency headwind during the quarter, probably one of the toughest quarters from a comp ratio as the Swedish Krona strengthened towards almost all currencies compared to last year. So this of course materially impacted every line of our financial statements with reporting sales falling 10% at the same time. We performed well operationally, realizing strong organic growth of 6% with all segments contributing. Our results are a testament to our leading portfolio and the investments we’ve been making in furthering our technology leadership. Over the last few years we’ve actively managed to reduce dependence on geographic mix. Of course we realize that North America often receives a disproportionate interest from, I guess, you, the analyst community, but also around the world. And that’s of course natural because it is a front runner market. And this quarter we saw sales reduced by mid single digits in North America. But we could still deliver a gross margin of 48.1% for the group and 50.4% for segment networks, indicating that the work we’ve done to balance out the geographic mix is coming through in the result and giving us less sensitivity to geographic mix. Cloud software services continue to execute well. We reached a gross margin of 43.2%. That’s up more than 300 basis points year over year. Revenue seasonality was in line with the guidance we had for the quarter and we saw some deals being pushed into Q2 and we expect to see that therefore stronger seasonality than normal next quarter. EBITDA came in at 5.6 billion krona with a margin of 11.3. And the strengthening of the Swedish krona affected EBITDA by 2.2 billion krona. And you’ve also seen we had the revaluation of the long term stock based programs and all of those are of course included in the result. Cash flow during the first quarter is seasonably lower. Typically. Despite this, cash flow came in at a healthy 5.9 billion kroner with a net cash position of 68.1 billion. And as you’ve seen just a couple of weeks ago the AGM approved the board’s proposal on increased dividend and our first share buyback program. We will start to execute on the share buyback program next week with a target to buy back 15 billion kronor. In the next phase of AI we see that high performance mobile connectivity will become increasingly important. Even so, our planning assumptions for the RAN market remains flat over the longer term. With disciplined execution, we create room to make selective investments in growth to broaden the mobile platform to new use cases and new sectors. We believe the growth will come in areas outside of our traditional CSP markets. And then we’re talking about areas like enterprise and mission critical networks in our enterprise segments, which includes our wireless one business private networks, network APIs or as we now call it actually network powered solutions and mobile money. Organic growth was stronger, which is encouraging. There are new markets that we see as key opportunities going forward. Of course new markets take time to develop, but we’re now seeing these efforts start to scale. I would also comment on the loss in enterprise of 1.4 billion kroner. It’s clearly unacceptable, but it also includes a number of one time costs. And we have an improvement plan in place that we’re executing on and we will expect to see that coming through. Shrinking losses during the rest of the year comes from growth, operational discipline and of course at the one time cost a bit. We’re also driving several other growth initiatives and there we see good progress in mission critical networks which tend to be a bit lumpy and vary by quarter. We’re experiencing strong interest in several verticals, particularly within defense solutions. In modern defense applications, high performance then I’m talking about large capacity connectivity is required and this will make 5G standalone a cost effective alternative. And we’ve seen a trial with the Italian Navy or actually deployment with the Italian Navy this quarter. Another very exciting area is 5G based sensing where one of many use cases is about detecting unconnected drones. And a few weeks ago we showcased our solution which is seeing significant customer interest. Of course given a difficult current market environment or environment geopolitically we see that our technology here has great market potential and we’re now starting to invest to capture these opportunities. I would say this is just one example that you don’t have to wait for 6G to get part of new exciting use cases with the technology we have. So we’re seeing good momentum on our strategy execution and we’ve strengthened Ericsson operationally and I would say this is showing now in our Q1 results. With that I’ll Let me give the word over to you Lars to go through the numbers in some more detail.

Lars Sandstrom (Chief Financial Officer)

All right, thank you Börje. I will begin with some additional comments on the group before moving over to the segments so net sales in Q1 totaled 49.3 billion which with organic sales growing 6% year on year the growth was broad based and sales grew in all segments and three market areas delivered. Double digit organic growth driven by continued 5G rollouts and increased uptake of 5G core Americas declined 2% with strong growth in Latin America more than offset by a mid single digit decline in North America. Following a strong quarter last year, reported sales decreased by 10% impacted by a negative currency effect of 7.8 billion. So organic growth again grew 6%. IPR revenues were 3.1 billion and this run rate coming out of the quarter is approximately then 13 billion. Adjusted gross income was 23.7 billion with a negative currency impact of 3.8 billion. Adjusted gross margin was 48.1 in line with last year excluding iConnective. On the cost side, operating expenses excluding restructuring charges dropped to 18.4 billion, around 2 billion lower year over year driven mainly by currency as well as the divestment of iConnective. Underlying inflationary pressures were more than offset by cost reduction driven by headcount as well as efficiency measures. And as Bay mentioned, adjusted Ebitda, which excludes restructuring but includes the other one offs was 5.6 billion. This is down by 1.4 billion including a negative impact of 2.2 billion. The divestment of iConnective and 0.5 billion of additional share based compensation costs coming from the increased share price here during the quarter. The EBITDA margin was 11.3%. Cash flow before M&A was 5.9 billion driven by earnings and reduced net operating assets. So let’s move to the segments in Network sales decreased by 8% year on year to 32.9 billion with a negative currency impact of 5.2 billion. Organic sales increased by 7%. Organic revenues grew in three of our four market areas. Two strategic markets, India and Japan grew strongly. North America declined impacted by customer spend reallocation in Q1 this year following recent market consolidation. Customer investments were also elevated last year due to tariff uncertainty impacting the comparison network’s adjusted gross margin decreased slightly to 50.4% mainly reflecting actions to enhance resilience in the supply chain. Adjusted EBITDA was 6.4 billion, impacted by a negative currency impact of 2 billion and benefiting from lower operating expenses which were also supported by continued efficiency improvements. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 13.3%. Looking at the right hand graph, the rolling 4 quarter gross margin stabilized around 50% and adjusted EBITDA margin at around 20%. Moving to the segment cloud, software and services sales here decreased 9% to 11.8 billion including a negative currency impact of 1.6 billion. So organically sales grew by 4% with growth primarily in core. Adjusted gross margin came in at 43.2% an improvement from 39.9% last year supported by improved delivery efficiency and a favorable product mix. Adjusted EBITDA increased to 0.6 billion with a margin of 5.3 despite a negative currency impact of 0.3 billion. Lower gross income was offset by lower operating expenses. Here looking at the right hand graph, the rolling 4/4 adjusted gross margin was around 44% and adjusted EBITDA margin around 12% and these are both new high levels. So reported sales on the enterprise side decreased 30% impacted by the sale of iConnective and currency on organic basis. Enterprise grew by 4% and this marks the second quarter of organic growth. Adjusted gross margin declined to 49.0% reflecting the impact of the divestment of iConnective and change in business mix. In global communications platform, adjusted EBITDA landed at minus 1.4 billion reflecting the divestment of iConnective and non recurring cost of 0.3 billion in the current quarter. Turning then to free cash flow which was 5.9 billion before M&A in the quarter we delivered a cash to net sales of 13% for the rolling 4 quarters above our 9 to 12 target and cash flow generation was strong supported by earnings and a stronger than normal seasonal reduction in operating net assets. Net cash increased sequentially by 6.9 billion to 68.1 billion. Here in the quarter, the buyback program of up to 15 billion was approved by The AGM and share repurchases will start now, soon. Next I will cover the outlook. Global uncertainty remains elevated given the broad geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, including the global semiconductor situation and where we’ll come back to this. The Q2 outlook assumes no tariff changes and the exchange rates specified in the report. For networks we expect sales growth to be broadly similar to the three year average quarter on quarter seasonality and for cloud, software and services we expect the sales growth to be above the three year average quarter on quarter seasonality. We expect net works adjusted gross margin to be in the range of 49 to 51% and restructuring charges for 2026 are expected to be at an elevated level with a fairly large part already seen in Q1. So with that I hand back to you Bea.

Börje Ekholm

Thanks a lot lars. So our Q1 results demonstrate the strong execution on our strategic priorities and the actions we’ve taken over the last several years to strengthen the company operationally. This includes how we made Ericsson less reliant on any specific geographical mix, enabling us to sustain healthy margins in varying market conditions, as you have seen in today’s report. Our actions also include how we diversified our supply chain to mitigate as much of the geopolitical disturbances as possible. This continues to be a clear competitive advantage, enabling us to meet customer commitments amid the current backdrop. Of course, the global semiconductor situation remains challenging as the AI boom is increasing input costs. We continue to take actions, and Lars mentioned this as well, to mitigate this impact by working closely with both our customers and suppliers, of course, including our pricing. While we believe we’re in a good position, we’re not immune to these disturbances, so they will have consequences on price and availability. As of course AI may be the key driver for our industry. Longer term we see AI as a net positive for us. The next phase of AI will see AI being industrialized, shifting focus from current focus on data centers, large language models rather to applications devices use cases. This will require advanced mobile connectivity with capabilities such as ultra low latency and high uplink. This puts us in the middle of the next phase of …

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Oportun Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OPRT) shares surged 12.02% to $5.98 before the bell on Friday, after the San Mateo-based lender announced the appointment of Doug Bland as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 20.

Veteran Credit Operator Steps In

Bland, former Senior Vice President and General Manager of PayPal‘s (NASDAQ:PYPL) Consumer Business, brings over 30 years of consumer credit experience, according to Oportun. He earlier co-led Swift Financial through its 2017 PayPal acquisition and held senior lending roles at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) through the 2008 financial crisis.

Lead Independent Director Louis Miramontes called Bland “the ideal leader,” citing his disciplined credit management and operational track record.

Bland said …

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Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Friday, April 17.

Analysts expect the Birmingham, Alabama-based company to report quarterly earnings of 59 cents per share, up from 54 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Regions Financial’s quarterly revenue is $1.92 billion (it reported $1.8 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On April 15, Regions Financial declared quarterly common and preferred stock dividends.

Regions Financial shares rose 0.3% to close at $27.92 on Thursday.

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With U.S. stock futures trading mixed this morning on Friday, some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are as follows:

  • Wall Street expects State Street Corp (NYSE:STT) to report quarterly earnings at $2.63 per share on revenue of $3.66 billion before the opening bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro. State Street shares fell 0.6% to $141.00 in after-hours trading.
  • Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) reported better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of 2026 after the market close on Thursday. The company issued weak forecast for the second quarter and announced that chairman and co-founder Reed Hastings will not stand for re-election …

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Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged U.S. authorities on Thursday to prepare a contingency plan for a potential collapse in demand for government bonds before it’s too late.

“We need an emergency break-the-glass plan, which is targeted and short-term, on the shelf, so it’s ready to go when we hit the wall,” Paulson said during an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Week with David Westin.

A Different Crisis Than 2008

Paulson, who led the Treasury through the 2008 financial crisis, said a U.S. debt crisis would be far harder to contain than the credit meltdown he managed then.

“When you hit the wall and you’re trying to issue Treasuries and the Fed is the only buyer and the prices of the Treasuries are going down and interest rates are up, that’s a dangerous …

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Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Friday, April 17.

Analysts expect the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company to report quarterly earnings of $1.00 per share. That’s up from 89 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Truist Financial’s quarterly revenue is $5.18 billion (it reported $4.95 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On Feb. 26, Truist Securities named Matthew Miller as head of mergers & acquisitions.

Shares of Truist Financial fell 0.3% to close at $49.43 on Thursday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

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Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) slammed President Donald Trump on Thursday for causing Americans to spend billions in additional costs at the pump as fuel continues to hover around the $4-mark.

A Trump Win?

Taking to the social media platform X, Newsom’s official Press Office handle delivered sharp criticism of Trump. “Americans have paid $10.53 billion more for gas nationwide,” the post said, adding that states like Idaho, Utah, Kentucky and Arizona had seen the steepest increases in fuel prices. “TRUMP WIN?” the post said.

While the press office did not specify where the $10.53 billion figure came from, GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan had earlier shared that rising fuel costs have resulted in Americans paying over $10 billion in excess at the pumps. According to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), the national average price of a gallon of gas on …

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Tesla Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) legal troubles could reportedly cost the Elon Musk-led EV giant billions of dollars in settlement costs.

$14.5 Billion In Costs

On Thursday, Electrek reported that Tesla was facing over 21 active lawsuits comprising wrongful death lawsuits, as well as customers suing the EV giant over its self-driving and driver assistance systems. Tesla is also being sued over allegations of racial discrimination. The exposure estimates, according to the report, range from $2.1 billion to $14.5 billion.

The estimates include Autopilot/FSD crash lawsuits with exposures of $1-5 billion, as well as class action lawsuits relating to Full Self-Driving (FSD) false advertising ($100-500 million), autonomy predictions and more. The racial discrimination lawsuit at its Fremont, California, facility could cost up to $1.2 billion.

It also faces multiple regulatory investigations, like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) FSD investigation, which could cost over $500 million, as well as …

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AEVEX Corp rode a surge in defence spending and investor appetite for military tech to raise $320 million in its U.S. initial public offering on Thursday, pricing shares at $20 apiece, near the top of its indicated range.

The California-based drone maker sold 16 million shares between $18 and $21 each.

Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities and Jefferies acted as joint bookrunners. AEVEX is set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “AVEX” on Friday.

Defence Spending Surge Lifts Demand

The listing comes amid heightened interest in defence-linked companies, as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East push governments to ramp up military budgets. Investors are increasingly viewing such firms as strategic hedges against global instability, and the group is attracting higher valuations as smaller companies …

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Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) held its first-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday. Below is the complete transcript from the call.

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Summary

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reported a strong financial performance in Q1 2026, with earnings per share of $2.24, up 42% year-over-year, and record revenue of $5.4 billion, up 13%.

The company highlighted strategic initiatives, including significant investments in AI and technology, with over 200 AI solutions developed, and emphasized its role as a trusted provider in global financial markets.

Future outlook is positive with raised total revenue growth guidance for 2026 to approximately 6% year-over-year, driven by strong client engagement and a diversified business model.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good morning and welcome to the 2026 first quarter earnings conference call hosted by BNY. At this time all participants are in a listen only mode. Later we will conduct a question and answer session. Please note that this conference call and webcast will be recorded and will consist of copyrighted material. You may not record or rebroadcast these materials without BNY’s consent. I will now turn the call over to Mary Merz, BNY Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Mary Merz

Thank you operator Good morning, everyone and welcome to our first Quarter Earnings call. I’m here with Robin Vince, our CEO and David McDonagh, our CFO. As always, we will reference the Quarterly Update presentation which can be found on the Investor Relations page of our website at bny.com and I’ll note that our remarks will contain forward looking statements and non GAAP measures. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements. Information about these statements and non GAAP measures is available in the Earnings Press Release, Financial Supplement and Quarterly Update Presentation, all of which can be found on the Investor Relations page of our website. Forward looking statements made on this call speak only as of today, April 16, 2026, and will not be updated. With that, I will turn it over to Robin.

Robin Vince (Chief Executive Officer)

Thanks, Mary Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us. I’ll begin with a few broader comments before Dermot takes you through our financial results. Referring to page two of the Quarterly update presentation, BNY has started the year with a strong performance. In the first quarter earnings per share of $2.24 grew 42% year over year both on a reported basis and excluding notable items. Record revenue of $5.4 billion was up 13% year over year reflecting broad based growth across our securities services and market and wealth services businesses. And we delivered over 800 basis points of positive operating leverage while making meaningful investments in new products, capabilities, AI and critically our people and culture. Taken together, this combination of strong top line growth and significant operating leverage resulted in pre tax margin expansion to 37% and improved profitability with a return on tangible common equity of 29% in the quarter. BNY’s position at the heart of global financial markets with platforms across custody, security, settlement, collateral, payments, trading, wealth investments and more supports durable financial performance for our company enabling us to power our clients growth as they navigate an increasingly complex landscape. While the path of global markets is difficult to predict with certainty, what is clear is that the underlying trends higher levels of activity, greater complexity, new technologies and a resulting need for scale, efficiency and connectivity are more relevant than ever for our clients. As I mentioned in my shareholder letter earlier this year, the portfolio of BNY’s businesses is unique, but it is how we are embracing new ways of working, our adoption and integration of new technologies, and our strong culture that allows us to create truly differentiated solutions. Clients are increasingly recognizing the value of holistic solutions that support the full lifecycle of their activity. Whether it is managing liquidity, optimizing collateral, supporting higher trading volumes, or getting ready for the future of financial market infrastructure, our work to operate together as one BNY through both our platform’s operating model and our commercial model better enables us to bring the full breadth of our capabilities together in service of our clients. A good example of this from the first quarter is our work with Allianz Global Investors, one of the world’s leading active asset managers. AGI has selected BNY to support optimizing their investment operating model, leveraging the breadth of our global capabilities. This integrated model will help AGI deliver exceptional experience front to back, while placing AI and modern data infrastructure at the heart of their operations to enhance productivity, enable faster work, clearer insights and better outcomes for their teams and clients alike. In another example, PayPal has selected BNY to provide institutional grade digital asset custody, supporting their digital payments, wallets and financial services for millions of users globally. And just last week, the US Treasury Department announced that they have selected BNY as financial agent for Trump Accounts, the US Government’s Investment Savings Initiative for children. Aimed at building a strong financial foundation for for our next generation. BNY will manage the national infrastructure for the program and collaborate with Robinhood, which will provide brokerage and initial trustee services. These examples illustrate our strategic evolution toward deeper integration between our products delivered with the technology and scale of BNY’s differentiated platforms. Over the next phase of BNY’s transformation. One of the most significant enablers of being more for our clients and running our company better is AI, and so we felt that this was an opportune time to spotlight how we are going about AI at BNY. Turning to slide 3 of the presentation as a reminder, our work to set the foundation for reimagining our company has included intentional and consistent investments in AI AI over the past several years, we took a very deliberate approach to AI through the lens of integration, adoption and importantly our people and culture. We embraced a platform’s approach to embedding AI across the company, creating our AI hub in 2023 so we could develop the enterprise capabilities, strong governance framework and training to empower every employee to embrace AI. More than two years Ago, in collaboration with Nvidia, BNY became the first global bank to Deploy a DGX SuperPod and in the same year we launched Eliza, BNY’s AI platform outlined on page four. Our vision for AI at BNY is that it is for everyone, everywhere and everything. As is the case with many things, the key to making it work is culture. We took a people first approach over the last year we focused on broad adoption. We made eliza available to 100% of our employees and supported advanced learning and development through a series of training programs. This approach to enterprise wide enablement has already allowed us to develop more than 200 AI solutions and to introduce digital employees multi agentic solutions that operate alongside human colleagues. In 2026 we are doubling down on depth, moving from AI point solutions to using AI to enhance end to end processes, reducing manual touch points, improving cycle times, strengthening control outcomes and to build more connected intelligence by linking data, workflows and expertise to enhance the service and value propos for our clients. On page five we show just some of the initial outputs, tangible results of AI enablement and impact across improved business and operating performance, driving greater efficiency and product innovation. None of these metrics individually show a complete picture of AI at bny, but taken together they show something important that we are systematically embedding AI in our workflows across the entire company. Already, AI is helping us increase the pace at which we innovate our technology, accelerate onboarding, improve client service and streamline processes. And in combination with our broader efforts to run our company better, AI is starting to contribute to the improved financial performance trajectory at the bottom of the page. Building on our deliberate strategy and the solid foundation we’ve laid over the past several years, we’re confident that AI will enable us to evolve our business model and enhance how we deliver for clients. Our commitment not just to deep AI enablement, but the full reimagination of our company, combined with the role that we play in global financial market infrastructure, the breadth of our businesses and our trusted and deep client relationships together represents a powerful competitive advantage. Taking a Step back and Reflecting on the Operating Environment While AI was an ever present theme in markets over the past few months, the first quarter also presented a dynamic market backdrop. Significant volatility was driven by shifting expectations for the paths of growth, inflation and interest rates amid geopolitical conflicts and evolving policy outlooks. Within this constantly changing environment, our diversified business model combined with our strong balance sheet allows BNY to serve as a pillar of strength for our clients and for global markets. Before I hand it over to Dermot. I want to take a moment to recognize our employees around the world for rising to the challenge to execute on our long term plan to unlock BNY’s full potential for our clients and shareholders. We’ve had a strong start to the year supported by increasing client engagement and continued progress on our strategic priorities. I’d like to thank our clients for their trust, our employees for their commitment and hard work, and our shareholders for their continued support. And with that over to you Dermot.

Dermot

Thank you Robin and good morning everyone. I’ll pick up on page six of the presentation with our consolidated financial results for the first quarter. Total revenue of $5.4 billion was up 13% year over year. Fee revenue was up 11%. This included 10% growth in investment services fees reflecting higher client activity, net new business and higher market values. Investment management and performance fees were up 6%, primarily driven by higher market values and a favorable impact of a weaker US dollar, partially offset by the impact of the mix of AUM flows. While not on the page, I will note that firm wide AUCA of $59.4 trillion increased by 12% year over year. This reflects net client inflows, higher market values and the favorable impact of the weaker dollar. Assets under management of $2.1 trillion were up 6%, primarily driven by higher market values and the weaker dollar partially offset by cumulative net outflows. Foreign Exchange revenue was up 49% year over year on the back of higher volumes resulting from elevated market activity and supported by new products and capabilities. Investment and Other revenue was $271 million in the quarter, including approximately $135 million of investment related gains and $50 million of net securities losses. Net interest income increased by 18% year over year, primarily driven by continued reinvestment of investment securities at higher yields and balance sheet growth partially offset by deposit margin. Compression expenses of $3.4 billion were up 5% year over year, both on a reported basis and excluding notable items. This was primarily driven by our commitment to higher investments in our businesses, higher revenue related expenses, the unfavorable impact of the weaker dollar and employee merit increases partially offset by continued efficiency savings. Provision for credit losses was a benefit of $7 million in the quarter, primarily driven by improvements in commercial real estate exposure, partially offset by changes in macroeconomic and other factors. On the back of significant positive operating leverage of 833 basis points, pre tax margin expanded to 37% and return on tangible common equity was 29%. Taken together, we reported earnings per share of $2.24, up 42% year over year on to Capital and Liquidity on page 7, our Tier 1 leverage ratio for the quarter was 6% flat. Sequentially, Tier 1 capital increased by $532 million, primarily driven by preferred stock issuance and earnings retention, partially offset by a net decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income. Average assets increased by 2% on the back of deposit growth. Our CET1 ratio at the end of the quarter was 11%, down 89 basis points sequentially as CET1 capital remained approximately flat. This decrease was primarily driven by higher risk weighted assets, reflecting a single day increase in overnight loan balances on the last day of the quarter along with higher client activity in agency securities lending and foreign exchange. Over the course of the first quarter we returned $1.4 billion of capital to our shareholders representing a total payout ratio of 87%, and our board of directors authorized a new $10 billion share repurchase program. Our consolidated liquidity coverage ratio and net stable funding ratio were at 111 and 131% respectively. Turning to net interest income and balance sheet Trends on page 8, net interest income of $1.4 billion was up 18% year over year and up 2% quarter over quarter. Like the year over year increase described earlier, the sequential increase was primarily driven by the continued reinvestment of investment securities at higher yields and and balance sheet growth partially offset by deposit margin compression. Average deposit balances increased by 3% sequentially reflecting 2% growth in interest bearing and 6% growth in non interest bearing deposits and average interest earning assets were up 2% quarter over quarter. Cash and reverse repo balances were flat. Loans increased by 6% and investment securities portfolio balances increased by 2%. Turning to our business segments starting on page nine, security services reported a total revenue of $2.7 billion, up 17% year over year. Total investment services fees were up 10% in asset servicing. Investment services fees grew by 11% reflecting higher market values and broad based client activity. ETF AUCA were up 33% year over year on the back of higher market values, client inflows and net new business and our alternatives Auca were up 20%. I want to highlight that consistent with our strategy to deliver the breadth of BNY to our clients, over 50% of the clients that awarded asset servicing new business in the first quarter also awarded new business to at least one of our other lines of business in issuer services. Investment services fees were up 4% reflecting growth in both corporate trust and depository receipts. I’ll note that for the first time in our history, corporate trust reached $15 trillion of total debt serviced and we’re particularly pleased with our continued market share gains in CLO servicing. Once again, the breadth of our capabilities is a powerful differentiator. Our clients clearly recognize the superior value proposition of a single provider for corporate trust, asset servicing, collateral, liquidity solutions and more in Security services. Overall foreign Exchange revenue was up 44% year over year reflecting higher client volumes. Net interest income for the segment was up 20% year over year. Segment expenses of $1.6 billion were up 5% year over year, primarily driven by higher investments and revenue related expenses. The unfavorable impact of the weaker dollar and employee merit increases partially offset by efficiency savings Security Services reported pre tax income of $1 billion, a 46% increase year over year and a pre tax margin of 39%. Investment related gains added 3 percentage points to pre tax margin in the quarter. Next Market and Wealth Services on page 10 market and wealth services reported total revenue of $1.9 billion, up 11% year over year. Total investment services fees were up 10% during the quarter. We formed our Wealth Solutions business by realigning Archer’s managed accounts solutions from asset servicing to pershing. This integration further strengthens our capabilities to serve wealth advisors by adding Archer’s market leading distribution and managed accounts expertise to deliver fully integrated end to end solutions across the entire wealth ecosystem. In Wealth Solutions Investment services fees were up 6% reflecting higher market values and client activity. Net new assets were $22 billion in the quarter representing an annualized growth rate of 3% and AUCA of $3.3 trillion were up 14% year over year in clearance and collateral management. Investment services fees increased by 19% reflecting broad based growth in collateral balances and clearance volumes. Average collateral balances of $7.8 trillion increased by 18% year over year reflecting higher market activity and growth on the back of a robust environment for financing with U.S. treasury securities, strong money market fund balances and increasing client demand for non cash collateral ahead of the central clearing mandate for US Treasuries. We are engaging with central counterparties and our clients and we’re delivering innovative solutions from across BNY that help them find new ways to access the market clear transactions and manage collateral and margin. In the quarter we also saw strong growth in clearing volumes reflecting net new business wins particularly in international clearance and from expanding wallet share with existing clients. Doing more with BNY in our payments and trade business. Investment services fees were up 5% primarily reflecting net New business payments and Trade delivered another solid quarter with continued sales momentum including numerous multi line of business wins particularly with FX and global liquidity solutions. Net interest income for the Segment overall was up 15% year over year. Segment expenses of $937 million were up 6% year over year, primarily driven by higher investments, employee merit increases, higher revenue related expenses and the unfavorable impact of the weaker dollar partially offset by efficiency savings. Taken together, our Market and Wealth Services segment reported pre tax income of $961 million up 18% year over year and a pre tax margin of 51%. Turning to investment and wealth management on page 11, investment and wealth management reported total revenue of $825 million up 6% year over year. Investment management and performance fees were up 6% primarily driven by higher market values and the favourable impact of the weaker dollar partially offset by the impact of the mix of AUM flows. Segment expenses of $726 million were up 2% year over year primarily driven by the weaker dollar, employee merit increases and higher investments partially offset by efficiency savings. Investment and Wealth Management reported pre tax income of $90 million up 43% year over year and a pre tax margin of 11% versus 8% in the prior year quarter. As I mentioned earlier, assets under management of $2.1 trillion increased by 6% year over year in the first quarter. Long term active flows were flat reflecting net inflows into fixed income and LDI strategies and net outflows from equity strategies. We saw $10 billion of net outflows from cash and $7 billion net outflows from Index Strategies Wealth Management. Client assets of $339 billion increased by 4% year over year reflecting higher market values. Page 12 shows the results of the other segment. I’ll close with an update on our financial outlook for the year. In light of our strong performance in the first quarter, we are raising our outlook for total revenue excluding notable items for the full year 2026 and now expect approximately 6% year over year growth. That includes our expectation for full year 2026 net interest income to be up approximately 10% year over year. We expect full year 2026 expense growth excluding notable items to be at the top of the 3 to 4% year over year growth rate range that we provided in January and we continue to expect a quarterly tax rate of approximately 23% for the remaining quarters this year. I want to leave you with three important points. First, we delivered a strong financial performance in the first quarter and continue to serve as a pillar of strength for our clients amid a dynamic market environment. Second, the combination of our unique portfolio of businesses, our role in global financial market infrastructure, our deep and trusted client relationships, our diversified business model and the strength of our balance sheet represents an exceptional client value proposition and a powerful competitive advantage. And finally, what truly differentiates BNY today is our ability to mobilise all of the above for the benefit of our clients and shareholders. With that operator, can you please open the line for Q and A?

OPERATOR

If you would like to ask a question, please press Star one on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, we ask that you please limit yourself to one question and one related follow up question. We’ll take our first question from Brennan Hawken with BMO Capital Markets.

Brennan Hawken (Analyst at BMO Capital Markets)

Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I’ll just start with deposits. So the deposit trends were stronger than expected. Was hoping maybe you could speak to quarter to date trends around betas specifically for the euro and Pound deposit betas. Given we’ve got hikes now in the forward curve, how should we be thinking about the betas for those currencies? Thanks.

Dermot

Okay, thanks for the question, Brennan. Let me start with overall balances and trends. As you will recall from our call on January 13, we finished last year with strong momentum on deposits. With the macro uncertainty and just how the events of the quarter played out, we saw clients holding higher levels of liquidity. And …

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Economist Peter Schiff, on Thursday, expressed concerns about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open government-owned stores to make food more affordable.

New York’s State-Run Grocers Will Hurt Private Sector Profit

In a post on X, Schiff said that the opening of five state-run grocery would hurt private-sector profit and reduce the efficiency of the stores. He wrote “profit margins are less than 2%. Without a profit motive government stores will be far less efficient, so without taxpayer subsidies, prices will be higher.”

Full story available on Benzinga.com

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Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has sold out its Model S ‘Signature’ Edition inventory as Elon Musk bids farewell to the luxury Model S and X vehicles.

Reservations Closed, $56 Million Revenue

In a post on the social media platform X on Thursday, influencer Sawyer Merritt shared that the automaker had run out of ‘Signature’ Edition units. “The $160,000 Model S Signature Edition is officially sold out,” he said, adding that Tesla had closed reservations for both Model S and X units.

“Between the 250 Model S and 100 Model X Signature Editions, Tesla generated a combined $56M in revenue,” Merritt shared. Notably, Tesla has barred customers purchasing the limited editions from selling their vehicles within one year of purchase.

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Major U.S. indices closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.2% at 48,578.72, the S&P 500 gaining nearly 0.3% to 7,041.28, and the Nasdaq advancing about 0.4% to 24,102.70.

These are the top stocks that gained the attention of retail traders and investors through the day:

Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Netflix shares saw a slight increase of 0.07% to close at $107.79. The stock hit an intraday high of $108.95 and a low of $106.62, with a 52-week range of $134.12 to $75.01. The shares slid by 9.6% to $97.44 in the after-hours trading.

Netflix reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $12.25 billion and earnings of $1.23 per share, both beating estimates, with revenue rising 16% year-over-year driven by membership growth, pricing and advertising. The company also generated $5.3 billion in operating cash flow and $5.1 billion in free cash flow, ending the quarter with $12.3 billion in cash.

However, Netflix guided second-quarter revenue of $12.57 billion and EPS of $0.78, both below expectations, while reaffirming full-year revenue of $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion. The company also said co-founder Reed Hastings will not seek re-election as chairman when his term ends in June.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)

AMD shares soared by 7.80% to close at $278.26. The stock’s intraday high was $279.34 and low was $261.51, with a 52-week range of $279.34 …

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TEL AVIV — April 16, 2026 —

A new wave of momentum across Israel’s technology sector is being driven by a group of leading publicly traded companies, including Check Point Software Technologies, Mobileye Global, and Wix.com, as investors increasingly return to Israeli equities amid improving global market conditions.

The renewed interest reflects confidence not only in Israel’s innovation ecosystem, but in the ability of its flagship companies to scale globally and deliver consistent earnings growth.

Check Point Anchors Cybersecurity Strength

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) continues to serve as a cornerstone of Israel’s cybersecurity dominance, benefiting from rising global demand for enterprise security solutions.

The company has reported steady revenue growth, supported by expanding subscription-based services and increasing adoption of its cloud security platforms.

“Cybersecurity remains one of the most resilient sectors globally, and Check Point is uniquely positioned with its profitability and strong balance sheet,” said a Tel Aviv-based equity analyst.

Mobileye Expands Autonomous Driving Footprint

Mobileye Global (NASDAQ: MBLY), a leader in advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving technology, is gaining renewed investor attention as partnerships with major global automakers continue to expand.

The company’s roadmap toward fully autonomous driving, combined with increasing regulatory support for safety technologies, is positioning Mobileye as a long-term growth story within the mobility sector.

Wix Sees Continued Digital Business Demand

Wix.com (NASDAQ: WIX) is also showing signs of strength as small and medium-sized businesses continue investing in digital presence and e-commerce infrastructure.

The company’s AI-driven website development tools and subscription model are helping drive recurring revenue growth, even amid broader economic uncertainty.

“Wix has successfully transitioned into a more enterprise-focused platform while maintaining its core SMB base,” noted a market strategist. “That diversification is paying off.”

Broader Market Confidence Returns

The performance of these companies reflects a broader trend of renewed investor confidence in Israeli equities, particularly within technology and innovation-driven sectors.

Institutional investors are increasingly viewing Israeli firms as high-quality global players, rather than purely regional investments.

Outlook: Global Demand Meets Local Innovation

Looking ahead, analysts expect continued growth across Israel’s leading tech companies, driven by:

Rising global demand for cybersecurity and AI solutions Expansion of autonomous and mobility technologies Continued digitization of businesses worldwide

While geopolitical risks remain a factor, Israel’s top companies continue to demonstrate resilience and global competitiveness.

“Israeli companies are not just participating in global markets—they’re leading them,” one analyst said. “That’s why capital continues to flow back in.”

JBizNews Desk – Tel Aviv

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Scale AI CEO Jason Droege is calling out CEOs using AI as an excuse to do what they were going to do anyway—cut jobs

According to Semafor, Droege claims companies are “washing the layoffs” with AI and downplays the idea that AI will trigger an employment “apocalypse.”

“The tools are going to add capabilities; they are going to make companies more competitive. Those more competitive companies are going to put pressure on less competitive companies,” he said.

The AI honcho also blamed employees for not learning how to use the burgeoning tech effectively. 

“Your livelihood could be at risk, but that’s because you didn’t adapt, not because there is something that just happened to us out of our control,” he said.

Droege warned that AI can be inconsistent, especially in areas where small errors can carry great consequences.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed similar statements to CNBC during the Invest In America Forum regarding what AI disruption might mean for the economy, jobs, and …

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Lakeland Industries (NASDAQ:LAKE) released fourth-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Thursday. Read the complete transcript below.

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Summary

Lakeland Industries reported net sales of $192.6 million for fiscal 2026, up 15.2% from the previous year, driven by strong growth in the fire services segment.

The company faced challenges in converting revenue growth into expected earnings, citing execution issues amid a volatile cost environment, including freight inflation and raw material pressures.

Strategic initiatives included the divestiture of non-core product lines for $14 million, expansion in fire services through acquisitions, and certification of a full NFPA-compliant product range.

Operational highlights include the opening of new facilities to enhance service capabilities and an improved cash generation discipline reflected in positive operating cash flow in Q4.

Future guidance indicates expectations for high single-digit revenue growth and positive cash flow from operations in fiscal 2027, with a focus on improving margins and supply chain optimization.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good afternoon and welcome to the Lakeland Fire and safety fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2026 financial results conference call. All lines have been placed on a listen only mode and the floor will be open for your questions following the presentation. During today’s call we may make statements relating to our goals and objectives for future operations, including our goals for revenue and cash flow from operations for fiscal year 2027, financial and business trends, business prospects and management’s expectations for future performance that constitute forward looking statements under federal securities laws. Any such forward looking statements reflect management expectations based upon currently available information and are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties that are more fully described in our SEC filings. Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed in our in or implied by such forward looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect events or developments after the date of this call. On this call we will also discuss financial measures derived from our financial statements that are not determined in accordance with US gaap, including Adjusted ebitda, Adjusted EBITDA excluding fx, adjusted EBITDA Margin, adjusted EBITDA excluding FX Margin, Organic Revenue, Organic Gross Margin and Adjusted Operating expenses. A reconciliation of each of the non GAAP measures discussed on this call to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is presented in our Earnings release and or the supplemental slides filed with our earnings Release. A press release detailing these results was issued this afternoon and is available in the Investor Relations section of our company’s website ir.lakeland.com at this time I would like to introduce your hosts for this call, Lakeland Fire and Safety’s President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman Jim Jenkins, Chief Financial Officer Calvin Sweeney, Chief Commercial Officer, Global Industrials Cameron Stokes, Chief Revenue Officer Barry Phillips and Executive Vice President of EMEA Fire sales Kevin Ray. Mr. Jenkins, the floor is yours.

Jim Jenkins (President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman)

Thank you Operator and good afternoon everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss the results of our fiscal 2026 fourth quarter and full year ended January 31, 2026. Fiscal 2026 was a year of meaningful top line growth and important strategic progress for Lakeland. Calvin will walk through the financials in detail shortly, so I will provide you with a brief overview here. For the full year, net sales increased 25.4 million or 15.2% to 192.6 million, driven by continued strength in fire services. In the fourth quarter, net sales were 45.8 million, down 800,000 or 1.7% from the prior period. US sales increased 35.1% for the full year to 81.6 million and increased 7.1% in the fourth quarter to 19.6 million. Europe also grew meaningfully for the full year increasing 12.1 million or 28.7% while fourth quarter Europe sales were down 2.4 million due primarily to timing on LHD and JOLLY orders on profitability adjusted EBITDA excluding FX was 7.2 million for the full year and 1.3 million in the fourth quarter. Gross margin was 32.9% for the full year and 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Those results were below our expectations and I want to be direct about why. We grew revenue at a strong rate, but we did not convert that growth into the earnings we expected. We view this as an execution issue, not a demand issue. The underlying demand environment across our core markets remains intact. We operated in a volatile cost environment during fiscal 2026. Freight inflation, raw material pressure, tariffs and certification timing delays exposed weaknesses in our planning and pricing response that we are actively addressing. Against that backdrop I want to note something important. The fourth quarter generated approximately 2 million of operating cash. Delivering that level of cash generation on lower revenue than the third quarter reflects improved discipline across the organization, stronger cost control and better day to day execution. We are seeing early signs that the actions we have been taking are beginning to work. Subsequent to the fiscal year end we completed the divestiture of our HPFR and HI VIS product lines to National Safety apparel generating approximately 14 million of cash proceeds. This transaction simplifies the business and allows management to concentrate fully on our core fire services and industrial protective product lines where we see the greatest long term opportunity. On the product side we achieved a significant milestone with numerous NFPA 1970-2025 certifications across our brand portfolio. Products including Lacon Structural Turnout and Proximity gear, Meridian Gloves and Fire Particulate Blocking hoods, Jolly Boots and Pacific Helmets are now fully certified enabling customers to order from a complete head to toe NFPA certified range of products across Lakeland’s brands. This certification was a meaningful commercial unlock and we look forward to showcasing our portfolio at FDIC 2026 next week. We strengthaned the organization with several important appointments. Calvin Sweeney was named Chief financial officer in February 2026, having served as interim CFO since December 2025 and Kevin Ray was just recently named Executive Vice President of EMEA Fire Sales. You will be hearing more from both of them shortly. We also welcome Lee Rideau to our Board of Directors in early April. Lee previously served as CEO of NASDAQ listed transcat and his invaluable business and strategic M&A integration strategic M&A integration experience in the industrial markets with a strong track of execution across both organic growth and acquisition driven strategies will be a valuable addition to our governance. During the year we completed the acquisitions of Arizona PPE and California PPE, expanding our US Fire services, distribution and rental capabilities with ISP locations in Arizona, California and soon Denver. California PPE also opened a new state state-of-the-art facility in Fresno providing compliant decontamination, inspection and repair services to California Fire departments. These recurring revenue service businesses strengthen our fire platform and build long term customer relationships. We also completed the 6.1 million sale and partial leaseback of Decatur, Alabama warehouse property generating an approximately 4.3 million pre tax gain and reducing our fixed cost exposure and Lakeland was added to the Russell 3000 and Russell 2000 indices in June of last year reflecting our growing market profile. Alongside these actions, we are working to further strengthen liquidity and flexibility through our pending ABL facility which we expect to close soon. Although there can be no assurance that the ABL facility will close on that timeline or at all, the bank of America Covenant labor has been secured and we anticipate to be in covenant throughout fiscal 27. Taken together, these steps reflect a company that is not standing still, but that one is actively reshaping its operating model to support improved performance. From a macro standpoint, fiscal 2026 was affected by tariff uncertainty, freight inflation, raw material cost pressure and certification timing delays across both fire and industrial. Those factors pressured production efficiency, revenue timing and gross margin. We also saw softer performance in select areas in the fourth quarter, but do not view the issues in front of us as demand destruction. We view them as timing, execution and cost challenges that are addressable and that is an important distinction. As we move into fiscal 2027. We are encouraged by the progress already underway and continue to make structural improvements that we believe will strengthen the business over the long term. We are tightening forecasting, strengthening accountability, and putting more structure around sales and production planning. As an example, inventory ended January at 82.5 million and is down meaningfully from October. As we continue to better align supply with demand, we are entering fiscal 2027 with a simpler portfolio, improved internal discipline, and a pipeline that continues to build. We are now tracking modestly ahead of budget entering fiscal 2027 and our forecast is clear Convert demand into more consistent, repeatable financial performance, improve forecasting, better align sales and operations, increase utilization and drive stronger margins and cash flow. Based on the foundation we have built, we are comfortable providing goalposts for fiscal 2027 of high single digit revenue growth and a clear line of sight to positive cash flow from operations. Taken together, these steps reflect a company that is not standing still, but one that is actively reshaping its operating model to support improved performance. With that, I’d like to pass the call to our Chief Commercial Officer Cameron Stokes to provide an update on our industrial and Chemical critical environment businesses.

Cameron Stokes (Chief Commercial Officer, Global Industrials)

Thank you Jim. Turning to Industrial and Chemical Critical environment for the fourth quarter, chemical revenue increased 0.3 million to 5 million, demonstrating continued strength in that product line. Disposables revenue decreased 0.9 million and Woven’s revenue decreased 1 million in Q4, reflecting the macro headwinds Jim referenced particularly softer performance in the North American industrial markets late in the quarter. For the full year, these three product lines combined represented approximately 49% of total revenue, with disposables at 27%, chemical at 11 and wovens performing at 11%. On the strategic side, the divestiture of Our high performance FR&HI VIS product lines meaningfully simplifies the industrial portfolio. These lines required significant management attention and resources and that we are now redirecting towards higher margin, faster growing opportunities within Chemical Critical Environment and core industrial protective apparel. The decision to divest was the right one and it sharpens our focus on the product lines where we have a competitive differentiation incredible path to improve improving profitability within the business. We are seeing differentiated performance across our product line so far in fiscal 2027. Chemical critical environment is outperforming driven by continued demand from industrial and pharmaceutical end users while wovens are tracking to plan with good visibility into the pipeline. Disposables face the most pressure during the year driven by tariff related cost increases and softness in select North American markets and we have defined specific recovery initiatives underway at the account level to address that gap. From a competitive standpoint, we are not seeing broad based shifts across the market. The movement we are seeing remains limited and localized and competitors have generally not responded with meaningful price action to date. At the same time, fuel and logistics instability has become a more relevant variable across the market than tariff uncertainty. That backdrop reinforces our focus on tighter channel discipline, better market segmentation and more targeted execution by product line and end market. Our strategy for growing these lines is straightforward. Continue to develop products and expand the range of certified high performance offerings, disciplined strategic pricing to protect and improve margins as cost pressures ease, reach a broader set of end users and reduce distributor concentration while optimizing operations to drive better utilization at our manufacturing facilities. I’d like to note that the industrial segment tends to see its highest seasonal activity in the spring, when scheduled maintenance shutdowns at nuclear, coal, oil and gas and chemical facilities drive meaningful order activity. We are entering that period now and our teams are positioned to execute on the incoming demand. Looking ahead into fiscal 2027, our industrial priorities are clear. We are tightening demand forecasting and improving the alignment between sales commitments and production planning. We are also actively pursuing pricing actions where cost increases warrant them. We are working to improve manufacturing utilization at our Mexico and Vietnam facilities as we consolidate our footprint and transition production from India into those sites. The tariff environment remains a factor, but we are working through mitigation strategies and believe we can manage the impact without structural disruption at our cost base or to our cost base. Overall, the industrial and chemical business is stable and we are focusing on converting that stability into consistent improving profitability throughout fiscal 2027. I will now hand the call over to Chief Revenue Officer Barry Phillips to provide an update on our fire services business.

Barry Phillips (Chief Revenue Officer)

Thank you, Cameron Turning to fire services, revenue for Q4 was 21.7 million, an increase of 0.5 million, or approximately 2%, compared to the prior year. For the full year, fire Service revenue grew 30.6 million, or 48.6%, to 93.6 million. This is a significant milestone. Our fire segment now represents approximately 49% of our total revenue, a significant transformation from where we stood just two years ago when it represented approximately 21% the full year. Growth was supported by contributions from Viridian lhd, Jolly and Pacific Helmets, as well as Arizona PPE and California ppe. These acquisitions have expanded our geographic reach, broadened our product offering and positioned us as the head to toe provider in global fire protection, a platform we believe is unique in the market. FHIR demand is increasing as certification cycles are completed and tender timelines are tracking on schedule across multiple regions. These have been timing delays rather than structured demand issues. Opportunities remain in the pipeline and have simply shifted later than expected. Our tender pipeline is active globally and we continue to see strong engagement from the fire departments and procurement agencies across the regions we serve. We also saw meaningful international wins during the year, including significant emergency follow on orders from the National Fire Department of Colombia, an order from the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia, and a Fire Equipment Tender Award from anac, Argentina’s National Civil Aviation Administration. A particularly important milestone was receiving numerous NFPA 19702025 edition certifications across our portfolio, enabling customers to order a complete Head to TOE certified range across our brands for the first time. These certifications are a commercial unlock that we’ve been working toward and we look forward to showcasing the full portfolio at FDIC 2026 on decontamination and services. Our ISP business is growing faster than initially projected and the green fielding and ISP M and A pipeline remain robust. California PPE’s new Fresno location opened in January 2026 and our Denver location is expected to open in the summer of 2026. This recurring revenue model builds long term customer relationships, generates predictable cash flow and positions us well as the fire departments increasingly invest in gear maintenance and NFPA 1950 compliance. Fire Service margins remain structurally sound as volume normalizes and tenders convert are expected to recover without requiring broad pricing actions. LHD Germany is stabilizing and we expect a formal relaunch of the brand@intenshutz 2026 in June this summer and with leadership in Kevin Ray driving momentum across our EMEA brands looking ahead into fiscal 2027, we have the strongest backlog in Lakeland Fires history. We expect continued success with our head to toe offering and anticipated tender wins in Europe and the us. Our new NFPA product portfolio rollouts are well underway and we look forward to showcasing our entire lineup at FDIC next week. I’ll now pass along the call to Executive Vice President of EMA FHIR Kevin Ray for an EMEA update.

Kevin Ray (Executive Vice President of EMEA Fire Sales)

Thank you Barry. Before I begin, I’d like to provide you with a bit of my background. I’ve over 20 years of leadership experience in personal protective equipment and fire safety across the UK and emea. I …

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Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) CEO Mark Rowan called private credit lenders who can’t meet 5% redemptions “idiots” during CNBC’s Invest In America forum.

• Where is APO stock headed?

“I’ll say it frankly, you’re an idiot. This is not that hard to do,” Rowan said to CNBC’s Sara Eisen. Rowan’s remarks came as he argued that parts of the software market have been mispriced, while stressing that risk in private credit is not evenly distributed. 

Investors have been watching the private credit space closely amid worries that software-linked loans could be vulnerable if artificial intelligence reshapes business models faster than expected.

Last month, Apollo received redemption requests in its Apollo Debt Solutions BDC fund, equal to approximately 11.2%, or …

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Alcoa (NYSE:AA) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Thursday. Read the complete transcript below.

Benzinga APIs provide real-time access to earnings call transcripts and financial data. Visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/ to learn more.

The full earnings call is available at https://event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=5edDZmET

Summary

Alcoa reported strong first-quarter performance for 2026, with a net income of $425 million, up from $213 million in the prior quarter, and earnings per share rising to $1.60.

The company maintained stable operations, capturing higher metal prices despite disruptions in the Middle East, and continued to advance strategic initiatives, including mine approvals in Western Australia and monetization of idle sites.

Looking ahead, Alcoa expects increased profitability through higher shipments and operational performance, with a focus on safety, operational excellence, and maintaining strong market conditions in the aluminum segment.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good afternoon and welcome to The Alcoa Corporation first quarter 2026 earnings presentation and conference call. All participants will be in a listen only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today’s presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press Star then one on your phone. To withdraw your question, please press Star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Louis Langloua, Senior Vice President of Treasury and Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Louis Langloua (Senior Vice President of Treasury and Capital Markets)

Thank you and good day everyone. I’m joined today by William Maplinger at Alcoa Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer and Molly Behrman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. We will take your questions after comments by Bill and Molly. As a reminder, today’s discussion will contain forward looking statements relating to future events and expectations that are subject to various assumptions and caveats. Factors that may cause a company’s actual results to differ materially from these statements are included in today’s presentation and in our SEC filings. In addition, we have included some non GAAP financial measures in this presentation for historical non GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the appendix to today’s presentation. We have not presented quantitative reconciliations of certain forward looking non GAAP financial measures for reasons noted on this slide. Any reference in our discussion to term EBITDA means Adjusted EBITDA finally, as previously announced, the earnings press release and slide presentation are available on our website. Now I’d like to turn over the call to Bill.

William Maplinger (President and Chief Executive Officer)

Thank you Louis and Welcome to our first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Today we’ll review our strong first quarter performance, discuss our markets and highlight the progress we are making on our strategic priorities. Let me start with the headline. We had a strong start to 2026 driven by execution and we are well positioned to deliver a strong second quarter and full year 2026 performance. Starting with safety, we continued making progress with improved total injury rates in the first quarter. While we’re never satisfied both our leading and lagging indicators are moving in the right direction, our focus remains clear. Fatality and critical risk management are combined with leader time in the field. Our leaders are expected to be on the production floor or mine site, interacting, coaching and reinforcing standards. Safety is not an initiative, it’s the foundation of everything we do. Operationally, we delivered. We maintained stable performance across the system and captured higher metal prices despite significant disruption in the Middle East. Our teams ensured continuity of supply for our operations. Our flexible cast house network continues to unlock value add opportunities and the depth of our commercial, procurement and logistics capabilities was evident this quarter. Strategically, we kept moving forward. In Western Australia we advanced our MINE approvals, completing responses from the public comment period and continuing to work collaboratively with stakeholders. We continue to anticipate ministerial approvals by year end 2026, consistent with the timeline we’ve previously shared. We are in advance discussions on the monetization of our former Messina east smelter site for a data center project. The potential developer has applied for public review. We are still finalizing terms and won’t comment on value today, but we will provide additional details later in the process. Additionally, we are making progress on two other sites in parallel. Our momentum continues into the second quarter. On April 7th we successfully and safely completed the restart of the San Cyprian smelter and on April 14th we issued notice to redeem the remaining $219 million outstanding of our 2028 notes, another clear example of disciplined capital allocation supported by our strong cash balance of $1.4 billion at the end of the first quarter. Looking ahead, we are focused on increasing profitability through higher shipments, continued operational performance and and realizing the benefit of strong market conditions in the aluminum segment. At the same time, we will maintain momentum on the company’s strategic initiatives aimed at creating value. Now I’ll turn it over to Molly to take us through the financial results.

Molly Behrman (Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you bill revenue decreased 7% sequentially to $3.2 billion in the alumina segment. Third party revenue decreased 33% due to typically lower first quarter shipments, lower purchased and resold alumina to satisfy third party commitments as well as vessel constraints related to the Middle east conflict and vessel loading issues caused by Cyclone Narelle in Western Australia. Realized prices were also lower for both alumina and bauxite in the aluminum segment, third party revenue increased 3% primarily due to an increase in average realized third party price and increased shipments from the San Cyprian smelter. These impacts were partially offset by seasonally lower shipping volumes from other sites as well as the timing impacts from proactively repositioning inventory within North America. The repositioning creates a timing difference deferring revenue recognition until the second quarter while providing cast house flexibility for additional value add product production and shipments which yield higher margins. Related to my comments on typically or seasonally lower first quarter shipments in both segments, it is important to Note that our first quarter shipments are historically only 23 to 24% of the annual outlook and our fourth quarter shipments are typically 26 to 27% depending on portfolio changes. Coming off the strong fourth quarter 2025 shipment levels, the first quarter of 2026 was mostly in line with our expectations, even if consensus analysts projected higher first quarter net income attributable to Alcoa was $425 million versus the prior quarter of $213 million, with earnings per common share increasing to $1.60 per share. The sequential improvement reflects realized aluminum prices and a favorable mark to market change on the Moden shares. These impacts are partially offset by the net unfavorable sequential impact from non recurring items in 4Q25, including carbon dioxide compensation recognition in Spain and Norway, the reversal of a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets in Brazil and a goodwill impairment charge. On an adjusted basis, net income attributable to Alcoa was $373 million or $1.40 per share, excluding net special items of $52 million. Notable special items include a mark to market gain of $88 million on the modern shares due to an increase in share price during the period. Adjusted EBITDA was $595 million. Let’s look at the key drivers of EBITDA. The sequential increase in adjusted EBITDA of $68 million is primarily due to higher metal prices, mainly driven by increases in LME and the Midwest premium, partially offset by lower sequential shipping volumes in both segments. The Alumina segment adjusted EBITDA decreased $52 million from primarily due to lower alumina prices and lower bauxite offtake margins, partially offset by the non recurrence of a fourth quarter charge related to the announced agreements with the Australian Federal government to further modernize the mining approval framework. The aluminum segment adjusted EBITDA increased $174 million primarily due to higher metal prices and lower alumina costs. These impacts were partially offset by the non recurrence of carbon dioxide compensation in Spain and Norway recognized in the fourth quarter and lower shipping volumes, including the impact of inventory repositioning which deferred EBITDA recognition on 30,000 metric tons to the second quarter and higher costs associated with the San Cyprian restart. Other costs outside the segment were unfavorable $54 million sequentially but primarily due to unfavorable intersegment eliminations. Moving on to cash flow activities for the first quarter of 2026, we ended March with a strong cash balance of $1.4 billion despite consuming cash as we typically do in the first quarter. The $595 million of adjusted EBITDA generated in the first quarter was mostly offset by an increase in working capital. The seasonal working capital build resulted from lower accounts payable inventory replenishment and higher alumina inventory due to shipping delays at the end of the quarter and an increase in accounts receivable primarily on higher metal prices on a days basis. The working capital increase is consistent with prior years and is likewise expected to decrease as we move through the year. Capital expenditures were $119 million which reflect our typical trend of lower spending in the first quarter. We maintain our 2026 outlook for capital expenditures. Environmental and Asset Retirement Obligation (ARO) payments were $85 million which include progress on the Kwinana site remediation Net additions to debt reflect short term borrowings related to inventory repositioning which which will be repaid when the sale of the inventory is recognized in the second quarter. Now let’s take a look at the key financial metrics for the first quarter. Return on equity through the first quarter was 21.9% reflecting a strong start to the year. During the quarter we returned $27 million in cash to stockholders through our regular quarterly dividend. Free cash flow was negative $298 million for the quarter, primarily reflecting seasonal working capital build capital expenditures and environmental and Asset Retirement Obligation (ARO) payments offsetting the quarter’s strong EBITDA. We finished the quarter with a cash balance of $1.4 billion and adjusted net debt of $1.8 billion as announced on April 14th. The company issued notice to redeem on May 15th the remaining $219 million outstanding on our 2028 notes. The notes will be redeemed at par value. This announcement is aligned with our goal to delever and further strengthen our balance sheet. We will continue with disciplined execution of our capital allocation framework where excess cash will be evaluated in competition between value creating growth opportunities and additional returns to stockholders. Now let’s turn to the outlook. We have 2 updates to our 2026 full year outlook. Interest expense will decrease slightly to $135 million with the redemption of our 2028 notes in May. Additionally, our estimate for environmental and Asset Retirement Obligation (ARO) payments has increased to approximately $360 million, up from $325 million to reflect the cash requirements from the announced Agreements to Modernize Mining Approvals framework in Australia for the second quarter of 2026. At the segment level, alumina segment performance is expected to be unfavorable by approximately $15 million due to low price and volumes from bauxite offtake agreements and higher energy prices, primarily diesel associated with the Middle east conflict. Aluminum segment performance is expected to be favorable by $55 million due to inventory repositioning actions taken in the first quarter, higher shipments and product premiums and lower production costs due to the completion of the San Cyprian smelter restart, partially offset by seasonally lower third party energy sales. Based on recent pricing, we expect second quarter benefits from high LME and Midwest premium pricing as well as higher shipments but but this results in higher section 232 tariff costs on our Canadian metal imported to the US we expect tariff costs to increase by approximately $35 million. Alumina costs in the aluminum segment are expected to be favorable by $20 million. Regarding intersegment profit elimination, any further decrease in API prices is estimated to result in no intersegment profit elimination if API increases. Our prior guidance applies below EBITDA within other expenses. The first quarter of 2026 included favorable currency impacts of approximately $30 million which may not recur. Based on last week’s pricing, we expect the second quarter of 2026 operational tax expense to approximate 110 to $120 million. Now I’ll turn it back to Bill Thanks Molly.

William Maplinger (President and Chief Executive Officer)

Let’s begin with the alumina segment dynamics. The current environment remains challenging with the Middle east conflict exacerbating margin pressure across global refineries. FOB Western Australia, alumina prices stayed relatively weak through the quarter. At the same time, disruptions tied to the Middle east conflict, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, have pushed energy and freight costs higher, while related demand losses are weighing on refinery margins outside of China. Our alumina cost position provides resilience in a low price environment and we have insulated ourselves from spot energy volatility through long term contracts and financial hedges. In China, pressure on margins has been more muted. Higher domestic Alumina prices, lower bauxite costs and stable coal pricing, largely unaffected by the conflict, have supported refinery margins. That said, we do expect costs to rise as the caustic market tightens and higher freight costs begin to flow through seaborne bauxite supply. To date in 2026, roughly 4 million metric tons of annual refining capacity has been curtailed in China, with cargoes originally intended for Middle east smelters rerouting into China. We expect pressure on China prices in the near term. Forthcoming supply from new refinery projects in coastal China and Indonesia, along with the weaker demand from the Middle East Smelters will continue to weigh on the global aluminum market through the first half of the year. Finally, on bauxite prices remained weak through the first quarter on ample guinea supply. Elevated freight rates related to the Middle east conflict have lent some support to Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) China pricing despite soft FOB levels. And the market is now closely watching Guinea’s export policy for the next directional signal. Now let’s look at the conflict in the Middle east and why it matters to the alumina segment. The Middle east is the largest alumina importing region in the world, with supply routes for raw materials heavily dependent on the Strait of Hormuz. Each year, roughly 8.8 million tons of alumina and 6 million tons of bauxite transit through the strait. That changed on February 27th as a result of the conflict. More than 2.5 million tons of annual smelting capacity, nearly 2 million tons of refining capacity are offline year to date. That’s a meaningful disruption to the global system. Aluminum refineries in the region are integrated with …

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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has filed a federal lawsuit accusing Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI of breaking federal air-pollution rules.

The complaint aims to halt what the group says are unpermitted gas turbines that are sending harmful emissions throughout the Memphis area, The Guardian reported.

The lawsuit lodged in the Mississippi federal court centers on equipment in Southaven, Mississippi, used to supply electricity to xAI’s local data center footprint. The NAACP is working with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Earthjustice on the suit.

NAACP To Judge: ‘No More Turbines’

In the filing, the NAACP argues xAI’s setup amounts to an illegal operation under the Clean Air Act, alleging dozens of methane-fueled generators were run without the required permits. The group is asking a judge to order the company to stop using the turbines it says lack authorization.

xAI operates two facilities in the area known as Colossus and Colossus II, with Colossus II described as a roughly 1 million-square-foot site in Southaven. The lawsuit claims xAI installed and used as many as 27 gas turbines at the Southaven site, describing each unit as comparable in size to a bus. It also alleges the Southaven facility …

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U.S. markets closed higher as technology leaders including Nvidia and Microsoft advanced, while oil prices rose on supply concerns.

Key Takeaways:

Stocks closed higher led by Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple Investors priced in a potential Federal Reserve pause following inflation data Oil prices rose amid geopolitical tensions and tightening supply

U.S. markets closed higher Thursday, with gains led by major technology names including Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple, as investors continued to respond to easing inflation data and shifting expectations around Federal Reserve policy.

The rally extended through the afternoon session, with the Nasdaq outperforming broader indices as semiconductor and mega-cap technology stocks attracted sustained buying interest. Nvidia shares led the advance among chipmakers, reflecting continued optimism around artificial intelligence demand, while Microsoft and Apple also moved higher, supporting broader market momentum.

The gains come as investors digest the latest Consumer Price Index data released this week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed moderating inflation pressures. The data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve may be nearing a pause in its rate-hiking cycle after a prolonged period of tightening.

Treasury yields declined during the session, reflecting this shift in expectations. Market participants increasingly anticipate that the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady at an upcoming meeting, according to CME FedWatch data.

Technology stocks remained at the center of market activity. Nvidia continued to benefit from strong demand tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure, while Microsoft’s cloud and AI positioning and Apple’s ecosystem strength helped sustain investor confidence.

Alphabet and Amazon also traded higher, contributing to gains in the broader technology complex, as analysts highlighted continued strength in AI-related investment.

Energy markets added another layer to the day’s developments. Oil prices rose, with Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate both posting gains amid geopolitical tensions and OPEC+ supply discipline.

Shares of ExxonMobil and Chevron moved higher alongside crude, supporting the energy sector.

In digital assets, Bitcoin held steady while Ethereum posted modest gains, reflecting continued institutional participation.

Overall, Thursday’s session reflected a market supported by improving inflation data and strong performance in key sectors, particularly technology, while still navigating risks tied to energy prices and global developments.

— JBizNews Desk

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Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) shares are climbing rapidly during Thursday’s trading session. The move follows a period of intense volatility for the mobility giant. A massive short squeeze is the primary driver behind the sudden upward price action.

The Nasdaq is up 0.51% while the S&P 500 has gained 0.25%.

• Avis Budget Group stock is approaching key resistance levels. Why are CAR shares at highs?

Circuit Breakers Triggered Amid Rally

On Thursday, Avis Budget Group shares were halted after triggering an upside circuit breaker. At the time of the halt, the stock gained 7.49%. Trading later resumed as buyers …

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BlackSky Technology Inc (NYSE:BKSY) shares are surging over 10% this Thursday. The stock reached a new 52-week high of $37.32 during the session.

Investor enthusiasm stems from sector-wide tailwinds and recent multi-million dollar government awards.

The Nasdaq is up 0.37% while the S&P 500 has gained 0.13%.

• BlackSky Technology stock is showing exceptional strength. What’s fueling BKSY momentum?

Space Sector Consolidation Rumors

Space-related stocks are ripping higher following reports that Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) may explore an acquisition of Globalstar, Inc. (NYSE:GSAT). …

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BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB) shares are up on Thursday. The company announced a partnership with The IP Company to bring certified secure communications to naval and military environments. The collaboration will integrate BlackBerry SecuSUITE into The IP Company’s WCMS platform used across naval fleets.

The planned integration aims to enable secure, role-based communications up to Top Secret levels in mission-critical settings. Both companies said the partnership combines naval expertise with certified security to strengthen defense communications.

SecuSUITE is backed by global certifications and is used by G7 governments, many G20 nations and major banks. The IP Company’s system is already widely deployed for naval messaging and alarms, and the partnership is expected to enhance long-term security and operational reliability.

Technical Analysis

BlackBerry is currently trading within its 52-week range, positioned at $4.18, which is approximately 21.5% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) of $3.47, indicating strong …

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Ares Management Corp., Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and Sixth Street Partners are reportedly having early-stage conversations regarding the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) European expansion.

Anonymous sources told Bloomberg that the NBA is weighing a proposal to launch a European league that would feature a mix of new franchises, current clubs and new football organizations.

Should this proposal be approved, it would create a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for private investments, although conversations are still ongoing and are subject to change. More than 120 prospective investors have shown interest in the process, the article stated.

Private equity in sports has been an accelerating investment trend, where firms are looking to acquire minority or majority stakes in professional teams, leagues and businesses, …

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly showing potential anchor investors its facilities in California, Mississippi, and Texas as the company gears up for its initial public offering (IPO).

Earlier this month, SpaceX submitted a draft initial public offering registration to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The company is now targeting a May listing with a valuation of more than $1.75 trillion making it the largest IPO in history, surpassing Saudi Aramco’s $29 billion debut in 2019. The offering is expected to price the week of June 15, Bloomberg reported.

SpaceX will be offering this tour across America for large stakes investors such as sovereign wealth funds. The plane is set to depart from …

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Navitas Semiconductor Corp (NASDAQ:NVTS) shares are charging higher during Thursday’s session. The Nasdaq is up 0.35% while the S&P 500 has gained 0.06%.

Veteran Leadership Joins Board

The company announced the appointment of Gregory Fischer to its Board of Directors on Monday.

Fischer brings over 40 years of industry experience. He previously served as Senior Vice President at Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO).

Strategic Market Pivot

Chairman Richard Hendrix noted Fischer joins at a “pivotal time.” The company is currently executing a Navitas 2.0 strategy.

This shift focuses on high-power markets, including artificial intelligence (AI) data centers …

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International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) on Thursday agreed to acquire North Pacific Paper Company (NORPAC) from One Rock Capital Partners for $360 million to expand its packaging footprint on the U.S. West Coast.

NORPAC’s Longview, Washington mill, which produces about one million tons of containerboard annually, is expected to enhance International Paper’s system flexibility, lower costs and support growing demand for recycled packaging.

Management called the deal a “strong strategic fit,” citing NORPAC’s customer base, location and operational capabilities. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

International Paper reported cash and temporary investments of $1.145 billion as of December 31, 2025.

Technical Analysis

International Paper is currently trading within a 52-week range, with a high of $56.13 and a low of $33.57. The stock is trading 2.7% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA), suggesting a short-term bullish trend, while it remains 9.1% below its 50-day SMA and …

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SpaceX accounted for more than 18% of all Cybertruck registrations in the US during the fourth quarter, according to S&P Global Mobility data.

That’s 1,279 of 7,071 Cybertrucks registered.

Other Musk-run companies, including xAI, Boring Co. and Neuralink, picked up another 60.

Without those inter-company transfers, Cybertruck registrations would have fallen 51% in Q4.

The purchases have continued into 2026, with another 225 units registered across January and February.

What SpaceX Is Doing With Them Is Unclear

Photos and video show long rows of idle Cybertrucks on SpaceX property in Texas.

The lead Cybertruck engineer posted in October that SpaceX was replacing gas-powered support vehicles.

At least some appear to be used for security. But why xAI, an AI and social media company, would need 50 electric pickups has not been explained.

The combined value of the purchases likely exceeds $100 million, based on the Cybertruck’s current starting price of roughly $70,000.

The …

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Home BancShares (NYSE:HOMB) reported first-quarter financial results on Thursday. The transcript from the company’s first-quarter earnings call has been provided below.

Benzinga APIs provide real-time access to earnings call transcripts and financial data. Visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/ to learn more.

View the webcast at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/401378152

Summary

Home BancShares reported a strong first quarter of 2026, with a record book value per share and significant capital ratios, including CET1 at 16.7%.

The company successfully completed the merger with Mountain Commerce, although full integration savings are not expected until the end of the year.

Home BancShares ranked as the number two bank in the US over $10 billion by S&P Global for 2025.

A $110 million Texas credit was moved to non-performing status, but management is confident in resolving it without significant losses.

The company continues its stock repurchase program and remains active in the M&A market, focusing on opportunities in Florida and Tennessee.

Loan production was $917 million in Q1, with expectations for continued strong deposit growth despite some anticipated Q2 headwinds.

Home BancShares maintains a prudent credit approach, with criticized assets and early-stage past dues remaining stable.

Management expressed caution regarding inflation and potential interest rate increases, impacting loan and deposit strategies.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Greetings ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Home BancShares incorporated first quarter 2026 earnings call. The purpose of this call is to discuss the information and data provided in the quarterly earnings release issued after the market closed yesterday. The company presented will begin with prepared remarks, then entertain questions. Please note that if you would like to ask a question during the Q&A session, please press Star then one on your touchtone phone. If you decide you want to withdraw your question, please press Star then two to remove yourself from the list. The company has asked me to remind everyone to refer to their cautionary notes regarding the forward-looking statements. You will find this Note on page 3 of their Form 10K filed with the SEC in February 2026. At this time all participants are in listen only mode and this conference is being recorded. If you need operator assistance during the conference, please press Star then zero. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Donna Townsell, Director of Investor Relations.

Donna Townsell (Director of Investor Relations)

Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to our first quarter conference call. With me for today’s discussion is our Chairman John Allison, Stephen Tipton, Chief Executive Officer of Centennial Bank, Kevin Hester, President and Chief Lending Officer Brian Davis, our Chief Financial Officer Chris Poulton, President of Central Choice Financial Group and Scott Walter of Shore Premier Finance. Our first quarter set a strong tone for 2026. Results demonstrate sound expense control, consistent operating performance and attractive returns including record setting metrics of book value per share of $22.15, tangible book value per share of $14.87 which is $1.72 per share increase year over year for 13% increase. By the way, CET1 ratio at 16.7%, leverage of 14.3% and Tier 1 capital of 16.7%. In today’s economic environment that is a meaningful accomplishment and our team is pleased to walk through the quarter’s results with you. Our opening remarks today will be from our Chairman John Allison.

John Allison (Chairman)

Thank you and welcome to Home BancShares’ first quarter 2026 earnings report to shareholders. Thank you for joining us today and I think the headline and the quotes pretty much summarize the first quarter. I want to thank our team for getting us off to a great start in 26. For those of you who are not already home based shareholders that are interested in a better understanding of home, I think it’s important that you look at the strength of the balance sheet. Couple that with the monthly and quarterly consistent level of performance over the last several years as primarily showcased by the last five quarters. The prior years reminded us of the highest interest rate cycle in the early 80s where then almost all banks struggled because of poor balance sheet management. And the same story has been even more visible today, that is lack of liquidity by investing into long term securities trying to stretch for yield. I’m proud to say Home didn’t suffer those problems during that time and was reporting record earnings while others were struggling. S and P Global just ranked Home’s performance for 2025 as number two of all banks in the US over $10 billion. We’re honored by this elite ranking by one of the world’s best and most respected experts. We were barely edged out for the number one position last year. Maybe we’ll get it this year. We’re happy to have completed the merger with our acquisition of Mountain Commerce and look forward to a successful combination. Due to the back office computer upgrade that was already in progress before Mountain Commerce, we will not be able to start converting Mountain Commerce until November. As a result, the maximum anticipated savings will not be realized until probably the end of 26. Once accomplished, we believe our new partners can soon begin helping us to continue the outstanding performance of Home BancShares that is known in the US and worldwide. Home is proud of our reputation. Always known as one of the strongest, safest, most conservative and best performing banks in the world. We’ll continue to try to make our shareholders proud and happy to be part of this outstanding company. We know who we work for and that is our shareholders. If you loan money we all know problems can and will arise from time to time. It has to be worked through. We haven’t. We had a $110 million Texas credit that we decided to non perform this quarter. This is the same credit we’ve been talking about for a year and a half or two years. The credit remained current until this quarter. It has been one we’ve been monitoring intensely for about eight months. We’ve entered into a short term forbearance agreement with multiple deadlines and requirements. We are advised by legal counsel not to discuss. In that I can say we’re either going to get paid off or we’ll liquidate the existing collateral. We do not anticipate any additional loss but if things were to result in some loss, Home BancShares’ strength puts us in a position to deal with whatever comes because the conservative balance sheet we’re carrying right at $300 million in loan loss reserves, one of the highest reserve percentages in the world. Couple that with the strong Couple the strong reserves with a consistent quarterly pre tax pre provision net revenue of 100 to 150 to 160 million and we’re confident of our ability with whatever happens and do not expect this loan to have any major impact on earnings, if any at all. It is our belief that there is more sufficient assets and personal guarantees to properly resolve this issue. I’m pleased with the results comparing Q1 to Q1. Last year the first quarter only had 90 days and we had two extra. If we’d had the two extra days in the normal quarter plus just a little touch of wind I think I said last year we had to wind our back two or three times. We had no wind this time this quarter we got zero. When Brian, you always come up with. When you didn’t come up with any juice this time. Well, we did have that FDIC assessment but we got a reduction. Well we had a write off to balance that off. So that’s evident in the non interest income category being the lowest since December of 24. Maybe next quarter will be the best on M&A. I want to congratulate the administration and the Fed along with the Arkansas State Bank Department for the fast approval process. The speed of the approval may possibly give time for another deal this year. We’re certainly in the market and looking for another good fit. We continue to repurchase stock as the volatility of uncertain world as a war kind of makes it uncertain had provided opportunity for us to purchase more recently. That is before we were in a blackout period. However, we did file our normal 10B5 for this time. If the volatility continues we will be very active on the repurchase side. I think we have essentially bought back if not all of the shares issued in the Happy bank transaction and will endeavor to do the same for Mountain Commerce bank transaction. Particularly if volatility continues to create opportunities. The repurchases will take some time but once MC is converted on our system the additional share reduction should have a positive impact on earnings. We’re being very careful on the loan side because the uncertainty of the war, the consumers business asset class and what this cycle might ultimately evolve into. The talking heads have all said rates are coming down but we have cautioned that there is possibly that possibly they will go back up before they come down. Inflation is not dead. Let me say that again. Inflation is not dead and as Jamie Dimon would say, that’s a major cockroach in the mix. The question is how high and how long do they remain high? It depends on how aggressive the Fed is going to be with the escalating interest rates to try to get a Handle on inflation. Remember the late 70s and the early 80s? 21%. It’s not going to be that high, but it has to be corral. Chris Pelton, who runs our New York office has a great sign. He said the year of the lender is followed by the year of the collector. I think. I think our early Texas experience confirms some of Chris’s statements. I think it’s a time to be very careful. The normal structure of some asset classes that worked in the past may not work today. It is our job to watch and hopefully recognize in advance these loans that we think may be infected with, as Jamie Dimon would say, cockroaches. You will hear from Chris Paulson today about his attitude on private credit and the changes made because of it. His call on private credit was outstanding. The good news market pricing on acquisition deals are more in line with the correct value and slowed the insane dilution, at least for a while. One of the CEOs that did a fairly flagrant. I use the term here, maybe it’s a Johnny word, dilutionary. It may have been delusionary. Actually, the trade was so silly. He did a trade some time back, came up to me at a bank conference and said, I’m here to get my butt chewed out. And I proceeded to do just that. Then I gave him a hug and we discussed the pros and cons and the impact and the damage done to long term loyal shareholders and agreed that dilution is not the friend of a shareholder. Enough said. With all the attention that diluted transactions are getting, maybe the publicity and management embarrassment has slowed the shareholder damage. At least I certainly hope so. I hope it’s finally the start of a sea change that forces management to do the right thing for the shareholders. Donna, great quarter. I’m pleased with the strong continuation of Holmes earnings. And again, I’m going to hand it back to you and let’s go. Since I teed up Chris, if you don’t mind, let’s go to Chris first and let him comment and carry forward. Then we’ll go to Stephen and Kevin and Brian and back to you to wrap up.

Donna Townsell (Director of Investor Relations)

Okay, sounds good. Thank you, Johnny. So up next, we have a report on CCFG from Chris Fulton.

Chris Poulton (President of CCFG)

All right, thank you, Donna. Today I’ll provide a brief update on Central Choice Financial Group’s first quarter and then, as Johnny said, we’ll share some perspectives on the private credit market. During Q1, we grew the portfolio to approximately $2.1 billion. This represents a roughly $60 million increase supported by $370 million in new loan production. Loan productions remain steady and this number is in line with prior year levels. Payoffs for the quarter total just under $200 million, which is also consistent with historical averages. We do expect slightly higher payoffs in Q2, so I do think our pipeline should allow us to replace those balances either this quarter or the next. Over the past several years, I’ve discussed declining balances in our corporate lending portfolio. This is an appropriate time maybe to provide some additional context and particularly in light of recent news around private credit. Central Choice Financial Group has long participated in the private corporate credit market. Our exposure has varied over time, but we’ve maintained a consistent presence and have long term experience in the space. Our private credit balances peaked at just under $500 million at the end of 2022 and today outstandings are $87 million. That’s a reduction of over 80% in the past three years. So why do we make the choice to reduce our private credit exposure? Well, beginning in 2023 we observed several trends that influence this decision. First, we saw new bank entrance. As some banks looked to reduce their reliance on commercial real estate, many chose to lend into the growing private credit space through participations in structured facilities. This led to broad yield compression across the private credit market and as often happens, some loosening of credit structures and underwriting standards. At the same time, we saw significant equity inflows from individual investors or retail investors into these sponsored investment vehicles. We’ve seen this movie a few times before and we haven’t always enjoyed the ending. We’ve maintained and we have historically maintained an intentional focus on the shorter duration positions, typically under three years, and as a result, we were able to actively exit credit facilities as they reached the end of their reinvestment period. In total, we exited eight corporate lending facilities through repayment during this time. Our remaining exposure is limited to a few facilities primarily within double A rated structures. Our attachment points approximately 58% of par value of the underlying loans which provides 40% sponsor equity support beneath our senior position. While market dislocation often creates opportunity, we believe it’s still early in the cycle and as a result we’re remaining cautious and at present are biased towards further reductions while continuing to monitor this closely. With that Don, I’ll turn it back to you.

Donna Townsell (Director of Investor Relations)

Thank you. That was a great call, Chris. Yeah, thank you for keeping your eye on the ball with private credit, Chris. Next we will hear a few words from Steven Tipton.

Stephen Tipton (Chief Executive Officer of Centennial Bank)

Thanks Donna. Chris, we appreciate your approach and discipline over the last 11 years with us as Johnny mentioned the first quarter of 2026 was a good start to the year with 118.2 million in net income, a 2.009% return on assets and 16.56% return on tangible common equity. Q1 2026 earnings were in line with the prior quarter despite two fewer days and were up $3 million or 2.6% from the first quarter of 2025. The reported net interest margin was 4.51%, down 10 basis points from Q4 as there was zero event income in Q1 2026 and up 7 basis points from the same period a year ago. The core margin having no event income was 4.51% versus 4.56% in Q4. The overall loan yield declined by 15 basis points to 7.08% while interest bearing deposit costs declined by 12 basis points to 2.35%. Total deposit costs were 1.83% in Q1 2026 and exited the quarter at 1.82%. Deposit balances increased $258 million, driven by all of our Florida regions. I would expect some headwinds in Q2 from tax payments, but we’re pleased to start the year strong. A highlight from the quarter was that non interest bearing balances grew by $126 million to almost $4 billion and now account for 22.5% of total deposits. As we typically see in Q1 2026, loan production softened coming off of a very strong fourth quarter, we had total loan production of $917 million with over half of that coming from the community bank footprint. Switching to Capital, we repurchased 507,000 shares of stock during the quarter for a total of $13.9 million. And as Johnny said, we will continue to be active with our share repurchase plan. Capital levels continue to build with common equity tier 1 capital ending at 16.7% and total risk based capital at 19 and a half percent. Lastly, we’re thrilled to have the Mountain Commerce employees, customers and shareholders on board and look forward to growing the Tennessee franchise for home. With that said, I’ll turn it back over to you Donna.

Donna Townsell (Director of Investor Relations)

Thank you Stephen. And to close out our prepared remarks, Kevin Hester has a lending report.

Kevin Hester (President and Chief Lending Officer)

Thanks Donna. Given our Strong showing in 2025, it could be easy to look at this quarter as boring. I think that shows the high bar that we’ve set for ourselves because any quarter that posts a return on assets of 2.09%, maintains solid asset quality and is an earnings beat over the same quarter a year ago is not an easy task. And should be inspiring. As I anticipated, last quarter ending loan balances dropped by a little over $50 million. But it happened very late in the quarter which resulted in average loan balances actually being up $174 million on a linked quarter basis. I see this downward trend continuing in the legacy bank into the second quarter because Q2 and Q3 projected payoffs very high. The Mountain Commerce Bank acquisition will however add over 1.4 billion in loans to the balance sheet. Based on my meetings with their lenders, I expect them to settle into our credit culture quickly and be accretive to loan production in short order. Johnny mentioned the non accrual of the Texas C&I credit that we’ve been wrestling with since 2024 and this increased non accrual balances significantly. But we have made recent progress with the executed forbearance agreement which leads us to a couple of ways to exit this credit during the next quarter or two. We are continuing to work with the small same set of issues that we’ve been dealing with for a while now. We took our medicine in 4Q24, but maximizing the exit sometimes takes more time and effort than you would like. It’s wonderful to have the level of capital and reserves that we have which allows you to work to maximize recovery on this limited set of problems. To that end, criticized assets were flat on a linked quarter basis and early stage past dues were below 50 basis points. Even with the large increase, the reserve coverage of non performing loans is still over 160%. As a point of reference, our loan loss Reserve would cover 15 years of our historical charge offs. If you use the last five years of average charge offs as a base. And that base includes the large 4Q24 Texas cleanup quarter. There’s nothing wrong with a workman like quarter where you meet expectations. I expect that a majority of banks would trade results with us. On that note, Donna, I’ll send it back to you.

Donna Townsell (Director of Investor Relations)

I expect you’re right. Kevin, thank you for that report. Before we go to Q&A, does anyone have any additional comments? My pleasure. And with that, I think we’ll go to live Q and A.

OPERATOR

Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star followed by two. When preparing to ask your question, please ensure your device is unmuted locally. First question comes from Steven Scooten with Piper Sandler. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Steven Scooten

Hey, good afternoon, everyone. Appreciate the time. I guess, Johnny, maybe if you can talk a little bit more about how the Progress is going to acquire even more assets on top of Mountain Commerce. I mean, like you said that your returns are phenomenal. So it just feels like you need to be able to multiply that on a larger balance sheet. So what have conversations been like and how aggressive would you be? Kind of within that. Would you ever think about loosening. This might be a crazy question for you, loosening the triple accretive mantra to

John Allison (Chairman)

get a deal done. Well, I think, folks, we hold pretty tight to our philosophy around here. You know, my fear is. My fear is they will say, well, he lied. You know he lied. I hear. I can hear the market saying, oh, he lied. He broke it. He diluted a deal. So I just don’t believe it. You know, I’m the largest individual shareholder and I’m not interested in diluting myself. So I think I hurt our shareholders when we do. You know, my philosophy on that. You know, we stretch as much as we can on a trade, but, you know, people have joined this company because we don’t dilute. And if I dilute it now, I think it would be kind of in. In as I’m getting older, in my career, I think people say, well, he got weak. He weak. Got weak and gave up. You know, so. But I haven’t as of yet. And I think it’s known when we tell it, when we’re talking to another perspective seller, we say we don’t dilute. You need to understand we’re not going to be your highest price. But if you’re going to sell a stock tomorrow, it doesn’t matter. You do a deal and the buyer dilutes the hell out of himself. If you sell a stock tomorrow, it doesn’t matter. Just get out and get going. But if you’re going to be going to ride with him for a while, it makes lots …

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Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE:SCHW) said it will likely enter prediction markets, even as CFTC Chairman Mike Selig took fire from both parties Thursday over the sector he oversees.

The split screen captured Wall Street’s awkward embrace of a product class Washington still can’t agree on.

Schwab Draws A Line At Gambling

“At some point, we will likely have prediction markets,” President and CEO Rick Wurster said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call Thursday.

Wurster drew a sharp distinction between wagers tied to financial events and contracts covering sports, politics and pop culture.

“It’s not at the top of our clients’ list,” he said. “And if you look at the stats on the success of gamblers, they’re not strong and people generally lose money.”

Schwab oversees $11.8 trillion in client assets. A move into the space would mark the biggest traditional-finance endorsement yet of a product category still finding its …

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Iran Thursday to “choose wisely” on a peace deal or face bombs on its power grid. Hours earlier, Gulf and European officials said the whole thing may take six months.

That gap between Pentagon ultimatums and diplomatic reality is now the single biggest variable for oil traders.

The Pentagon Keeps The Pressure On

Hegseth, flanked by General Dan Caine and CENTCOM’s Admiral Brad Cooper, said the blockade of Iranian ports will continue “as long as it takes.” He added that the US Navy is running the Strait of Hormuz chokehold using “just 10% of US naval capacity,” and warned Tehran that if it “chooses poorly,” bombs will hit infrastructure, power and energy.

Brent crude steadied above $94 per barrel Thursday after briefly touching triple digits earlier in the week when the blockade took effect.

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On Thursday, Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) discussed first-quarter financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below.

This transcript is brought to you by Benzinga APIs. For real-time access to our entire catalog, please visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/ for a consultation.

The full earnings call is available at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/i5tsmo6y/

Summary

Great Southern Bancorp reported a solid start to 2026 with net income of $17.5 million or $1.58 per diluted share, up from $17.2 million or $1.47 per share in Q1 2025.

Net interest income was $48.3 million, slightly down from the previous year due to the termination of an interest rate swap, but supported by strategic funding cost management.

Total loans increased by nearly $100 million, driven by growth in construction and commercial real estate lending, despite a decline in multifamily loans.

The company maintained strong asset quality with nonperforming assets at 0.18% of total assets and recorded no credit loss provisions due to lower unfunded balances.

Despite competitive deposit markets, total deposits remained stable, with non-broker deposits down slightly and broker deposits reduced by $11 million.

Non-interest expense was well-managed at $34.8 million, with expectations of slight increases due to deferred IT projects and investments in systems upgrades.

Great Southern Bancorp repurchased 268,664 shares of its stock and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.43 per share, with a strong capital position maintained.

Management remains cautious about loan payoffs and future expense levels, with expectations of measured loan origination and disciplined underwriting.

The company remains focused on maintaining credit quality, preserving net interest margin, and strategic capital deployment for shareholder value.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Great Southern Bancorp first quarter 2026 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. After this previous presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask the question during the session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear automated messages that your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press Star one one again. Please advise that today’s conference is being recorded. I would like to hand conference over to your first speaker today, Cristina Maldonado. Please go ahead.

Cristina Maldonado (Moderator)

Good afternoon and thank you for joining Great Southern Bancorp’s first quarter 2026 earnings call. Today we’ll be discussing the Company’s results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Before we begin, I’d like to remind everyone that during the call, forward looking statements may be made regarding the Company’s future events and financial performance. These statements are subject to various factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected. For a list of these factors, please refer to the forward looking statements disclosure in the first quarter earnings release and other public filings. Joining me today are President and CEO Joe Turner and Chief Financial Officer Rex Copeland. I’ll now turn the call over to Joe.

Joe Turner (President and CEO)

Okay, thanks Christina and good afternoon to everyone on the call. We appreciate you joining us today. Our first quarter 2026 results reflect a solid start to the year in a continuing competitive operating environment. Both credit and earnings metrics remain strong, allowing for continued progress in our pursuit of meaningful per share tangible book value growth. This progress was underpinned by disciplined expense management, careful balance sheet structuring and a continued emphasis on relationship based banking. In the first quarter of 2026, we reported net income of 17.5 million or $1.58 per diluted common share compared to 17.2 million or $1.47 per share in the year ago quarter. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, net income was up from 16.3 million or $1.45 per diluted share. Overall results for the quarter reflected a resilient net interest margin, prudent asset liability management, thoughtful capital allocation and stable loan balances. Net interest income totaled 48.3 million for the quarter. That was down about a million dollars from the first quarter of 2015. Primarily as a result of the absence of the income from our now terminated interest rate swap that was, I think about $2 million in Q1 of 25. Despite this lost income, our ability to strategically manage funding costs while maintaining attractive asset yields allowed for strong net interest income for the quarter. Additionally, we benefited from the collection of 483,000 in unbooked interest this quarter, which further supported our net interest income. Our annualized margin was 3.71% compared to 3.57% in 2025 first quarter and 3.70% in 4Q25. And I think if you pulled out the 483,000 of somewhat unusual interest income, that might have knocked 3 or 4 basis points off the margin number. Total loans increased almost $100 million during the quarter. Loan growth was primarily in construction commercial real estate lending, though that growth was partially offset by a decline in the multifamily category. While this balance sheet growth supported earnings in the quarter period to period, loan trends are influenced significantly by loan repayments from our borrowers in 1Q26. Our loan repayments were less than our quarterly average during 2025 and definitely during the last half of 2025. As such, we remain committed to measured loan origination and disciplined underwriting. From a credit standpoint, we remain mindful of the volatility and the macroeconomic challenges affecting our borrowers. Asset quality metrics in the first quarter of 2026 remained very strong for our bank with nonperforming assets to total assets of 0.18% with virtually no charge offs. But we continue to monitor isolated examples of slower lease ups on projects along with broader credit concerns as markets remain volatile. We did not record a provision for credit losses on outstanding loans in 1Q26. Given lower unfunded balances and mix changes in 1Q26, we we did recognize a negative provision on unfunded commitments of 931,000. On the funding side, total deposits remained generally stable throughout 1Q26. Non broker deposits were down just 26 million from the start of the quarter and broker deposits were down about 11 million. As we used FHLB borrowings to replace certain maturing balances, we saw normal movement across deposit categories. Deposit markets remain competitive across both core and broker channels and we continue to manage our funding mix with a focus on cost, duration and flexibility. Expense management remains a top priority for the bank as well. Non interest expense for the quarter was 34.8 million, down 30,000 from 1Q25. Part of this decline is related to an insurance reimbursement of 261,000 in legal fees recovered through a loan foreclosure in the quarter. Additionally, several projects that would have increased. Hardware and software systems costs expected in 1Q26 have been pushed to later in the year. We continue to invest in systems, infrastructure and personnel to support the franchise over the long term. As we move through the balance of 2026, we remain focused on maintaining strong credit quality, preserving net interest margin, managing expenses carefully, and continuing to build long term value for our stockholders through thoughtful capital deployment. With that, I’ll turn the call over to Rex for a more detailed discussion of the financials.

Rex Copeland (Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you Joe and good afternoon everyone. I’ll now provide a little more detail on our first quarter 2026 financial performance and how it compares to both the prior year and the previously linked quarters. For the quarter ended March 31, 2026, we reported net income of $17.5 million, or $1.58 per diluted common share, compared to $17.2 million, or $1.47 per diluted common share in the first quarter of 2025 and compared to $16.3 million, or $1.45 per diluted common share in the fourth quarter of 2025. We did have a few income and expense items that impacted our results in a positive manner in the quarter. I’ll mention some of those throughout this discussion. Net interest income for the quarter totaled $48.3 million compared to $49.3 million in the first quarter of 2025 and $49.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. Compared to the first quarter of 2025, net interest income decreased by about a million dollars as we mentioned were approximately 2%, and as we said, that decrease …

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Anthropic has released its latest AI model, Claude Opus 4.7, which will test new cyber capabilities “not as advanced” as those of Mythos Preview.

“We stated that we would keep Claude Mytho’s Preview’s release limited and test new cyber safeguards on less capable models first,” a company press release stated. 

Last week, Anthropic announced the creation of Project Glasswing, a security-focused collaboration that includes big-name companies spanning both finance and tech.

Amazon.com Inc‘s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Amazon Web Services, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD), Alphabet Inc‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google, JPMorganChase (NYSE:JPM), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) are among the companies involved in the initiative.

The group plans to use the unreleased Anthropic model, …

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NuScale Power Corp (NYSE:SMR) shares are trading lower Thursday morning. The decline comes as investors face a looming legal deadline and prepare for upcoming financial results.

• NuScale Power stock is showing downward bias. Where are SMR shares going?

Class Action Deadline Approaches

A primary headwind for the stock is the Monday plaintiff deadline. The suit alleges NuScale made misleading statements regarding its partner, ENTRA1 Energy.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that ENTRA1 had never built, financed, or operated any significant nuclear projects.

NuScale Power did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

High Short Interest Remains

Market data shows bearish bets against the nuclear technology firm. Short interest recently …

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U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining over 100 points on Thursday.

The Dow traded up 0.22% to 48,570.07 while the NASDAQ rose 0.48% to 24,130.19. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.33% to 7,046.04.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Energy shares climbed by 1.8% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, consumer discretionary stocks fell by 1%.

Top Headline

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) posted upbeat earnings for the first quarter on Thursday.

The company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.61, outpacing the analyst consensus estimate of $1.55. Quarterly sales of $19.44 billion beat the Street view of $18.94 billion.

PepsiCo lowered its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $8.46-$8.63 from $8.55-$8.71, compared with the $8.61 estimate. It also cut fiscal 2026 sales guidance to $95.803 billion-$97.682 billion from $97.682 billion-$99.561 billion, compared with the $98.373 billion estimate.

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Jim Chanos is not impressed with Elon Musk’s latest pitch to Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shareholders.

The $13 Trillion Number

Musk’s lieutenants have been hitting up chipmaking equipment suppliers including Applied Materials, Lam Research and Tokyo Electron for price quotes on gear for Terafab, the joint venture between Tesla and SpaceX.

Bernstein analysts estimate the project could eventually require between $5 trillion and $13 trillion in capital spending.

That caught the eye of Chanos, a long-time Tesla bear. “Time for another narrative change at $TSLA,” the short-seller posted on X. “Who needs FSD and Robotaxis when you can spend $5-13T on AI chip fabs?! That’s only 16-40% of US GDP.”

US GDP was roughly $30 trillion in 2025.

Chanos Is Betting Against A Bubble Traders Do Not See Bursting

Chanos has been warning about the AI capex cycle for months.

In December, the short-seller argued that GPUs depreciate over three years …

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U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) reported first-quarter 2026 results Thursday.

First-Quarter Details

The bank reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.18, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.14. Quarterly sales of $7.288 billion outpaced the Street view of $7.277 billion.

“Strong revenue growth drove 440 basis points of positive operating leverage, as ongoing investments for growth and continued cost savings drove 260 basis points of year-over-year improvement in our efficiency ratio,” said CEO Gunjan Kedia.

In the quarter under review, net interest income totaled $4.263 billion, up 4.2% year over year.

Provision of credit losses jumped 7.3% year over year to $576 million. The increase on a year-over-year basis was primarily driven by loan portfolio growth.

The bank said it is closely watching economic uncertainty, including interest rates, inflation, trade policy, and geopolitical risks, as these factors could impact borrowers’ financial health.

Net interest margin was 2.77% in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 2.72% in the first quarter of 2025. The increase in net interest margin compared with the prior-year quarter was primarily due to the benefits from fixed asset repricing.

Net income attributable to U.S. Bancorp was $1.945 billion for the first quarter of 2026, $236 million higher than the first quarter of 2025 and $100 million lower than the fourth quarter of 2025.

Outlook

U.S. Bancorp expects net interest income and fees to grow 6%–7% in the second quarter. The bank also guides full-year revenue growth of 4%–6% with operating leverage …

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Infleqtion Inc. (NYSE:INFQ) shares are trading lower on Thursday. The decline follows a massive multi-week rally. Investors appear to be locking in gains after a significant price appreciation.

Infleqtion surged 67.15% between March 30 and recent peaks. The stock climbed from $8.92 to $14.91 during that window.

Citron Research Highlights Nvidia Partnership

Andrew Left’s Citron Research weighed in on the valuation gap Thursday. In a post on X, Citron noted that Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) recently selected Infleqtion for multiple roles.

Citron said INFQ is the only company Nvidia selected twice—for both calibration and …

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A report from brokerage Wolfe Research found that when Polymarket users bet a company will miss earnings estimates, the firm misses 44% of the time, more than double the historic 18% benchmark.

When bettors are very confident a company will beat, it happens 90% of the time, above the 81% norm, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Yin Luo, who runs quant research at Wolfe, said the accuracy may come from crowdsourcing, with Polymarket users more diverse than the sell-side analyst pool that drives consensus estimates.

A separate working paper from London Business School and Yale researchers offered a more uncomfortable explanation.

The academics found that earnings markets for companies audited by one particular accounting firm were more accurate than those for companies with other auditors. They declined to name the firm, but the finding raises questions about whether some participants may be …

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Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) is rolling out Schwab Crypto, giving its 39 million active brokerage account holders access to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) trading for the first time.

The Phased Launch

Schwab Crypto will be introduced in phases over the coming weeks, confirming a previously stated timeline for a second-quarter launch. 

Clients will be able to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum through dedicated crypto accounts linked to their traditional Schwab brokerage accounts.

Access to spot trading is a big step up from Schwab’s previous offerings of indirect crypto exposure via exchange-traded funds and derivatives. Schwab will charge 75 basis points per transaction.

Charles Schwab will offer the crypto accounts through its Premier Bank and act as custodian, while Paxos will handle trade execution.

The Early Constraints

The platform will …

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Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) shares are slightly up on Thursday after the company surpassed 100 million streaming households worldwide in April.

The broader market saw gains on Wednesday, with the Technology sector rising 0.27%. Roku’s upward movement aligns with the positive sentiment in the tech space, suggesting that the stock is benefiting from broader market trends.

Technical Analysis

Roku is currently trading near its 52-week-high, indicating strong momentum as it approaches this key level. The stock is trading 13.8% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 17% above its 50-day SMA, suggesting a bullish short-term trend.

The relative strength index (RSI) stands at 69.18, near overbought territory, suggesting the stock may be under upward pressure. This level suggests that while momentum is strong, traders should be cautious of potential pullbacks if the stock becomes too overextended.

  • Key Resistance: $116.50 — A …

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On Thursday, Insteel Indus (NYSE:IIIN) discussed second-quarter financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below.

Benzinga APIs provide real-time access to earnings call transcripts and financial data. Visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/ to learn more.

View the webcast at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/427023510

Summary

Insteel Industries Inc reported weaker-than-expected Q2 financial results due to severe winter weather disruptions, lower shipment volumes, and higher unit conversion costs.

Net earnings for the quarter were $5.2 million or $0.27 per share, a decrease from $10.2 million or $0.52 per share in the same period last year.

Average selling prices increased by 14.2% year-over-year due to pricing actions to counter rising costs and tariffs, although the impact was tempered by product mix and softer volumes.

The company experienced a 5.9% decline in shipments year-over-year but saw a sequential increase of 6.9% from Q1.

Management remains optimistic about a recovery in demand and margins in the third quarter, driven by seasonal factors, recent price increases, and improved operating rates.

The company ended the quarter with $15.1 million in cash and no outstanding borrowings, maintaining strong liquidity.

Strategic initiatives include a focus on the growth of the engineered structural mesh business and continued investments in plants and information systems.

The impact of the Section 232 tariffs and global supply chain challenges continue to affect operations, necessitating reliance on offshore raw materials.

Management is confident in the demand outlook for 2026, with expectations for robust activity in data centers and other core markets.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Hello and welcome everyone to the Interstell Industries second quarter 2026 earnings call. My name is Becky and I will be your operator today. All lines will be muted throughout the presentation portion of the call with a chance for Q and A at the end. If you wish to ask a question in this time, please press STAR followed by one on your telephone keypads. I will now hand over to your host HBolt CEO to begin. Please go ahead.

HBolt

Thank you, Becky. Good morning and thank you for your interest in Insteel Industries Inc and welcome to our second quarter 2026 conference call which will be conducted by Scott Gifruti, our Vice President, CFO and Treasurer, and me. Before we begin, let me remind you that some of the comments made in our presentation are considered to be forward looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risk factors are described in our periodic filings with the SEC. Despite falling well short of our expected financial performance in Q2, we believe the upturn in business activity we reported previously is still intact. Winter weather is a fact of life in our business, and it happens that during Q2 conditions were severe and prolonged in many geographies, particularly compared to recent years, and project delays, while undesirable, are rather common in the industry. We regret that we experienced both of these phenomena during Q2, but we’re confident that short term weather conditions and project delays neither create nor destroy demand and that postponed demand will be evident during the balance of fiscal 2026. I’m going to turn the call over to Scott to comment on our financial results and then following his comments, I’ll pick the call back up to discuss our business outlook.

Scott Gifruti (Vice President, CFO and Treasurer)

Thank you. H and good morning to everyone joining us on the call. As we reported earlier this morning, our second quarter results were weaker than expected, reflecting the combined impact of winter weather disruptions, lower spreads and higher unit conversion costs. Net earnings for the quarter were 5.2 million or $0.27 per share, compared with 10.2 million or $0.52 per diluted share in the same period last year. Shipments for the quarter declined 5.9% from the prior year, but increased 6.9% sequentially from the first quarter. While the second quarter typically reflects some seasonal softness conditions this year were significantly more severe. Following a solid start in January, we experienced extended periods of winter weather across most of our markets, which reduced construction activity and disrupted operating schedules for both our customers and Insteel Industries Inc, which weighed on order flow and shipments. In addition, certain projects originally scheduled for delivery during the quarter were deferred to later in the year for reasons unrelated to weather. Although we are still early in the third quarter, recent order activity has been solid with April shipments trending above forecasted levels. With that backdrop on volumes, let me turn to pricing. Average selling prices were up 14.2% year over year driven by the pricing actions we put in place throughout fiscal 2025 and into the current year to offset higher rod costs, increased Section 232 tariffs, and rising operating expenses. Sequentially, ASPs were up 1% from the first quarter even as wire rod costs continued to move higher. For context, published prices for steel wire rod, our primary raw material, rose $90 per ton during the quarter. Although we implemented additional price increases during Q2, the limited sequential improvement in ASPs was influenced by product mix, existing contractual pricing, and softer volumes. We expect these recent pricing actions, along with the additional price increase implemented in April, to provide further benefit in the coming periods as they are more fully reflected in our realized pricing. Gross profit declined $8 million year over year, 16.5 million and gross margin narrowed to 9.6%. The decline primarily reflects lower shipment volumes, reduced spreads between selling prices and raw material costs, and higher unit conversion costs resulting from lower production levels and weather related operational inefficiencies. Sequentially, gross profit declined 1.6 million and gross margin contracted by 170 basis point as the slowdown in shipments delayed the tailwinds of recent price increases and extended the lag between raw material cost increases and realized pricing. As we enter the third quarter, we expect several factors to support a recovery in gross margin. Demand is improving as we move into the seasonally stronger portion of the year, recent price increases are beginning to gain traction and our current raw material carrying values are more favorable. In addition, higher operating rates across our facilities should enhance fixed cost absorption. Taken together, these factors are expected to support a gradual improvement in margin performance as the quarter progresses. FGA expense for the quarter decreased to 9.7 million or 5.6% of net sales compared to 10.8 million or 6.7% of net sales in the prior year period. The decline was primarily driven by a $1.1 million reduction in compensation costs tied to our return on capital based incentive plan, reflecting weaker financial performance this year. SG&A expense was also affected by $203,000 unfavorable year over year change in the cash surrender value of life insurance policies, reflecting the downturn in financial markets and its effect on the underlying investments. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 23.3%, which is up slightly from 23.2% last year. Looking ahead, we expect our effective tax rate for the remainder of the year to be approximately 23%, subject to the level of pre tax earnings book to tax differences and the other assumptions and estimates underlying our tax provision calculation. Turning to cash flow Statement of balance sheet Operating cash flow provided $4.8 million in the current quarter compared with using $3.3 million of cash in the prior year period, driven primarily by the change in net working capital. Net working capital to use $1.4 million of cash in the second quarter, reflecting a $16.8 million increase in receivables resulting from higher sales and average selling prices, partially offset by a $13.3 million reduction in inventory as we scale back raw material purchases, our quarter end inventory position represented approximately 3.4 months of shipments on a forward looking basis calculated off of our third quarter forecast. That’s down from 3.9 months at the end of the first quarter. As we mentioned on our Q1 call, we increased inventory levels early in the year as we supplemented domestic wire rod with offshore material and that build naturally ease as we move through the second quarter. Looking ahead, we expect a modest increase in inventory as we move into the seasonal busy period, positioning us to support higher shipment volumes. Additionally, our inventories at the end of the second quarter were valued at an average unit cost that approximates our second quarter cost of sales and remains favorable relative to current replacement costs which will have a positive impact on spreads and margins as we move through the third quarter. We incurred $4.4 million in capital expenditures in quarter for a total of 5.9 million through the first half of our fiscal year and we remain committed to our full year target of 20 million. Finally, from a liquidity perspective, we ended the quarter with $15.1 million of cash on hand and no borrowing outstanding on our $100 million revolving credit facility, providing us ample liquidity and financial flexibility going forward. Turning to the macroeconomic indicators for construction end markets, the latest readings from our two leading measures, the Architectural Billing Index and the Dodge Momentum Index, point to an environment that remains uneven but generally stable. The Architectural Billing Index, which typically leads non residential construction activity by approximately 9 to …

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Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) reports Q1 earnings after the bell today, the first print since the company walked away from an $83 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) and pocketed a $2.8 billion termination fee paid by Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY).

Wall Street expects EPS of 78 cents on revenue of $12.17 billion, up 15.5% year-over-year.

The company has topped EPS estimates in recent quarters, which is why Polymarket gives a 95% chance of another beat tonight.

Kalshi has a mention market, where traders are betting real money on which specific words Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos, Greg Peters, and CFO Spence Neumann will say on the 4:45 p.m. ET call.

The WBD Hangover

“Acquisition” at 92% and “Warner Bros.” at 86% are near-locks. Neumann already told analysts in March that Netflix would “move forward” with “$2.8 billion in our pocket that we didn’t have a few weeks ago.”

“Paramount” sits at 53%. A direct mention of the rival now absorbing HBO, …

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Something in the market’s math doesn’t hold.

The IEA’s director general Fatih Birol has described the current situation at the Strait of Hormuz as the worst energy crisis in history. Oil – which is trading above $90 a barrel – is still 38% above where it traded the day before the conflict began.

At $4.09 per gallon nationally, and $5.86 in California, the pump is not signaling resolution.

Yet seven major energy producers and refiners — the companies that drill the oil, refine the gasoline, and collect the margin — are trading as if Hormuz is already open, the crisis is resolved, and crude is heading back to $65.

Their forward price-to-earnings multiples sit between 7x and 11x, roughly half the S&P 500’s consensus forward P/E of around 22x.

The disconnect is not subtle. It is structural.

The Energy Stocks That Didn’t Get The Memo

The State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLE) is up 27% year-to-date, which sounds impressive until you consider that crude oil is up 38% from pre-war levels.

The sector has underperformed its own commodity — and pulled back 10% from its March peak — even as the underlying supply disruption has not materially improved.

That compression is where the opportunity, and the risk, lives.

The April drawdown is the mechanism that created this entry point.

Every name in the table has sold off between 5% and 14% month-to-date, even as WTI has held around $90 and Brent has pushed toward $95. 

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA), the cheapest name at 7.2x …

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DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) shares were up during Thursday’s premarket session but down at last check as the company unveiled online sports betting and casino products in Alberta, Canada.

This expansion, pending regulatory approval, aligns with the company’s strategy to expand its footprint across North America and is likely contributing to positive sentiment around the stock, especially as the broader market gained on Wednesday.

Alberta would be the second province in Canada to offer these services, alongside Ontario.

The anticipated launch date is set for July 13, 2026, coinciding with the World Cup, which could further boost engagement from sports fans in the province.

“With the anticipated launch aligning with the World Cup — hosted right here in North America — it’s a particularly exciting moment for sports fans in the province to engage with our platform,” said Greg Karamitis, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sports at DraftKings.

The broader market saw gains on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq rising 0.15% and the S&P 500 up 0.14%. DraftKings’ upward movement comes as the Technology sector gained 0.27%, indicating that the stock is moving in line with positive market trends.

Technical Analysis

DraftKings is currently trading within its 52-week range, with a high of $48.78 and a low of $20.46. The stock is trading 4.8% above its …

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Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) is sitting on massive cash flows, backing AI labs, and effectively powering the infrastructure boom. By all appearances, the next logical step would be to: become a hyperscaler. But CEO Jensen Huang isn’t interested.

Speaking on the Dwarkesh Podcast, Huang laid out a different philosophy—one that runs counter to how Big Tech typically expands.

‘Do As Little As Possible’

“This is a philosophy of the company… we should do as much as needed, as little as possible,” Huang said, explaining Nvidia’s approach to new markets.

That philosophy draws a clear line. Nvidia will build what it believes the ecosystem cannot—but it won’t step into areas already well served.

“In the case of clouds… if I didn’t do it, somebody would show up,” he added.

This is where the business logic kicks in. Hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google already spend tens of billions building cloud infrastructure — and they …

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J B Hunt Transport Services Inc (NASDAQ:JBHT) reported upbeat earnings for the first quarter on Wednesday.

The company posted quarterly earnings of $1.49 per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $1.45 per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $3.056 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.940 billion.

“I’m thankful for our team and their unwavering focus on operational excellence, even as we navigated challenging winter weather and elevated demand across the business,” said Shelley Simpson, president and CEO. “We began the year with strong financial results, building on the momentum we established in 2025 and once again executed well in safety performance by …

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NextNRG (NASDAQ:NXXT) held its fourth-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday. Below is the complete transcript from the call.

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Summary

NextEnergy Inc. reported a 195% revenue growth from $27.8 million in 2024 to $81.8 million in 2025, primarily driven by its mobile fueling business and strategic acquisitions.

The company improved its gross margin from 8.4% in 2024 to 10.4% by Q4 2025, indicating enhanced operational efficiency.

The company closed its first power purchase agreements for microgrid projects, highlighting a pipeline worth approximately $750 million, which promises long-term revenue streams.

NextEnergy Inc. recorded a GAAP net loss of $88.2 million for 2025, largely due to non-cash items like stock-based compensation and amortization, while adjusted EBITDA loss was $17.1 million.

Management emphasized the focus on reducing reliance on high-cost short-term debt and increasing operating cash flow through strategic growth in both fueling and energy infrastructure segments.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good morning and welcome to the NextEnergy Energy Inc. Fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings call. All participants are in a listen only mode. Following management’s prepared remarks, we will move to a pre submitted Q and A. This call is being recorded. Before we begin, I will turn it over to Sharon Cohen for the required forward looking statements disclosure. Sharon, please go ahead.

Sharon Cohen

Thank you. I’d like to begin by reminding everyone that today’s discussion will include forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to our most recent SEC filings for a full discussion of relevant risk factors. Today’s call will also reference adjusted ebitda, a non GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measure, a full reconciliation of this measure to net loss. The most comparable GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) measure is available in our earnings release located in the Investor tab of our website. Non GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measures should not be considered a substitute for GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) results. On the call today is Michael DeFarkas, founder and chief Executive Officer as well as Joel Kleiner, Chief Financial Officer. Michael, the floor is yours.

Michael DeFarkas (Founder and Chief Executive Officer)

Thank you Sharon and good morning everyone. I want to begin with some numbers that will frame everything you’re about to hear. In 2024 NextEnergy generated $27.8 million in revenue, while in 2025 we generated $81.8 million. I want to repeat that 27.8 million to 81.8 million. That is about 195% growth in one single year. Our on site mobile fueling business was the driver of this growth. Following the completed merger of NextEnergy and Easy Fill, we integrated two acquisitions, Shelf Tap Up Assets and Yoshi. These acquisitions allowed us to enter into four new major markets, Phoenix, Austin, San Antonio and Houston, ending the year operating coast to coast and results reflected that. We posted seven consecutive months of record revenue and by May, our year to date revenue had already surpassed all of 2024. Most critically, our margins improved as we scaled. Our full year gross margin in fueling was 8.4%. By Q4 it had climbed to 10.4%. That is the direction we’re moving towards as we continue to optimize our operations, implement smarter customer acquisition, greater route density, increase of fuel mix deliveries and less wasted time in that curve. We are still early. I want to call out our fourth quarter specifically because it tells you where this business is headed. Q4 revenue was approximately $23 million. October 7.4 million November 7.5 December, $8 million December alone represented 253% year over year growth in revenue and 308% growth in fuel volumes. And that is the momentum we’re carrying into 2026. I also want to take a moment to highlight something specific because I believe it speaks to the quality of what we are building right now. Our largest commercial fleet customer, the largest global online retailer, is actively cutting other fuel vendors in certain markets and replacing them with us, NextEnergy. That does not happen by accident. That happens when service is cleaner, more reliable and more integrated than the alternatives. This is precisely what we designed our products and services to do. And it means that the opportunity with this one customer alone has not even reached its full potential. I want to talk about our energy infrastructure segment because this is where the Next chapter of NextEnergy is being written. We closed our first power purchase agreements, Sunnyside and Topanga Terrace Rehabilitation and Subacute Care Centers, both in California. Under these agreements, Next Energy will design and build fully integrated on site smart microgrids combining rooftop solar battery storage, gas generators and our patented AI driven controller. These are long term structured agreements with annual escalators built in. This is not equipment sales, but is contracted energy relationships that generate annuitized revenues over the long term, some as many as three decades. We believe finalizing these agreements validates the model. The market exists, customers are ready to commit and NextEnergy is ready to execute. Our pipeline of planned smart microgrid projects stands at approximately $750 million, spanning municipal, tribal, health care, multifamily and commercial facilities, all in various stages of development. We are now converting that pipeline into executed contracts. Before I turn it over, …

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Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) posted strong first‑quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Progressive reported first-quarter earnings of $4.96 per share, topping analyst expectations of $4.87. Profit rose 6.4% from the same quarter last year, and net income for the quarter climbed to $2.82 billion, up 10% year‑over‑year.

The company also delivered solid top‑line growth. Quarterly sales rose 8% to $20.97 billion, though it didn’t meet the $22.96 estimate. Net premiums written increased 22% year-over-year to $23.64 billion.

Progressive shares rose 1.5% to trade at $204.59 on Thursday.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on Progressive …

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On Thursday, Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG) discussed first-quarter financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below.

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Summary

Citizens Financial Group reported a strong start to 2026 with a 47% increase in EPS, positive operating leverage of 7%, and a net interest margin (NIM) expansion of 24 basis points.

The private bank and wealth business, accounting for 10% of pre-tax income, continued to grow, contributing $0.11 to EPS, with a robust ROE exceeding 25%.

Strategic initiatives like ‘Reimagine the Bank’ and expansion in New York and private banking are progressing well, with a reaffirmed P&L target of $450 million by 2028.

The company anticipates favorable outcomes from regulatory changes and stress tests, and remains cautiously optimistic about navigating external challenges.

Management highlighted strong loan growth across commercial, consumer, and private banking segments, with an emphasis on maintaining robust credit quality.

Full Transcript

Ivy (Operator)

Good morning everyone and welcome to the Citizens Financial Group’s first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. My name is Ivy and I will be your operator today. Currently all participants are in a listen only mode. Following the presentation we will conduct a brief question and answer session. As a reminder, this event is being recorded now. I will turn the call over to Kristen Silverberg, Head of Investor Relations. Kristen, you may begin.

Kristen Silverberg (Head of Investor Relations)

Thanks Ivy. Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us. First this morning our Chairman and CEO Bruce Van Sorn and CFO Anoy Banerjee will provide an overview of our first quarter results. Brendan Coughlin, President and Ted Swimmer, Head of Commercial Banking are also here to provide additional color. We will be referencing our first quarter presentation located on our Investor Relations website. After the presentation we’ll be happy to take questions. Our comments today will include forward looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause our results to differ materially from expectations. These are outlined for your review in the presentation. We also reference non GAAP financial measures so it’s important to review the GAAP results in the presentation and the reconciliations in the appendix and with that I will hand it over to Bruce.

Bruce Van Saun

Okay, thanks Kristen and good morning everyone. Thanks for joining our call today. We’re pleased to start the year off strong. Notwithstanding geopolitical tensions and uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment environment, we delivered good financial performance in a seasonally soft quarter with year over year eps growth of 47%, positive operating leverage of 7% and NIM expansion of 24 basis points. Our balance sheet position continues to be robust with CET1 at 10.5% and our allowance for loan losses at 1.52%. Credit trends continue to be favorable across our portfolios and we continue our loan mix shift towards deeper relationships with lower credit Risk execution on our strategic initiatives continues to track wealth. The private bank and wealth business showed further growth in customers balance sheet and profitability now accounting for roughly 10% of our pre tax income while delivering an ROE in excess of 25%. During the quarter we opened three more PBOs bringing the total to nine Reimagine the Bank is off to a solid start and we reaffirm our 450 million P&L target by the end of 2028. We estimate about 100 million in 2026 exit run rate benefits. At this point, our positioning with private capital continues to be excellent. We anticipate a strong year for private equity sponsor activity which should provide balance sheet and fee opportunities for us. We’ve reviewed all of our lending to private credit vehicles at a granular level and we feel good about our credit exposure. The New York City Metro Initiative also continues to show further progress. We are growing across retail, small business and middle market. We are in the process of analyzing Citizens existing branch footprint for Net new investment and optimization. With New York City likely to see growth in branches in coming years, we should have more details to share to share with you on this mid year. We’re also focused on an initiative we call One Citizens which is systematically finding ways to work across the enterprise to deliver valuable solutions to our customers. Now that we have established the private bank and continued the build out of our corporate bank, we have the capacity to provide both personal and corporate services to successful business owners, investors and entrepreneurs. We will report more on this as the year progresses, but we’re already gaining real traction as we look ahead to the second quarter and the full year. We remain cautiously optimistic that we’ll be able to navigate through external challenges and still deliver the strong results we projected coming into this year. So far, markets have behaved rationally despite the war with equity markets holding in and credit spreads only slightly wider. We intend to stay on our investment plan for the year unless the macro takes a meaningful turn for the worse. We’re pleased with the regulatory changes we see coming from Washington D.C. and we look forward to the upcoming CCAR stress test results which we’re hopeful will give a more accurate result for Citizens than than what we’ve seen in the past. So to sum up, a good start, well positioned with a great strategy and a great team and optimistic for a strong 2026. With that, I’ll turn it over to Anoy for the financial details. Thank you, Bruce. Anoy.

Anoy Banerjee

Good morning everyone. As Bruce mentioned, Citizens have started the year well. Referencing slides 3 and 4. We delivered EPS of $1.13 for the first quarter with ROTC of 12.2%. Results were paced by strong net interest income (NII) reflecting both continued net interest margin expansion and and solid loan growth. We also delivered our best ever first quarter fee result led by strong performance in our commercial bank. The solid revenue performance and expense discipline drove more than 700 basis points of positive operating leverage year over year, notwithstanding continued investment in the private bank and our other strategic priorities. Along with ramping up our Reimagine the Bank program, the private bank continued to grow its profitability, contributing $0.11 to EPS, up from $0.10 in the prior quarter as the business delivered another very strong quarter of deposit growth. Now let me walk through the first quarter resultss in more detail starting with net interest income on slide 5. Net interest income was up 1.6% linked quarter driven by the benefit of an expanded net interest margin and higher interest earning assets including strong loan growth which more than offset the day count impact of about $22 million. As you see from the net interest margin (NIM) walk at the bottom of the slide, our margin improved 7 basis points to 3.14% driven primarily by the benefits of the reduced drag from terminated swaps and non core runoff with a five basis point of combined impact, the fixed rate asset repricing benefit of 1 basis point and lastly the net impact of 1 basis point related to improved funding cost and mix largely offset by lower asset yields. We continue to do a good job optimizing deposits in a competitive environment. Our interest bearing deposit cost were down 16 basis points and total deposit costs were down 12 basis points. The cumulative interest bearing deposit beta improved to 50% as we benefited from the repricing after the last rate cut. Even with the Fed now expected to hold steady in 26, we are still projecting a high 40s beta for the cycle. Moving to slide 6 non interest income is up 11% year over year but down 2% linked quarter as I mentioned this was our strongest first quarter fee result ever notwithstanding heightened geopolitical tensions and an increase in market volatility. Capital markets performance demonstrated the strength and diversity of the franchise with fees up 34% year over year and down 4% compared with the strong fourth quarter. MA delivered a good result in the quarter with our pipeline strong and continues to build. Bond underwriting was up nicely from the prior quarter. Our equity underwriting performance was stable linked quarter and up significantly year over year. Loans indications were lower given the market volatility. We continue to maintain strong market share ranking fourth in the middle market. Sponsors Bookrunner Deals by volume this is for both the first quarter and over the last 12 months. Our deal pipelines across MA debt and equity capital markets continue to build notwithstanding the unsettled environment. Our global markets business was up $10 million linked quarter with increased client hedging activity in interest rate products and energy related commodities. Our wealth business continues to build with progress in the private bank and strength in our retail network. Wealth fees are up 2% linked quarter and 23% year over year. These results reflect higher advisory fees with continued positive momentum in fee based AUM growth year over year. The fourth quarter results reflect positive net inflows partially offset by market impacts on AUM. Mortgage was down 19% linked quarter given a lower MSR valuation partially offset by slightly higher production and servicing fees on slide 7. Expenses were managed tightly up 2.6% linked quarter, largely reflecting the usual seasonality in salaries and benefits as well as about $6 million of implementation costs to ramp up the reimagine. The bank program on slide 8 average and period end loans were up 1% linked quarter we saw solid loan growth across each of the businesses. Commercial loans excluding the private bank were up 1% on a spot basis. This was driven by net new money originations and higher commercial line utilization. This was partially offset by CRE paydowns. We continue to reduce commercial banking CRE balances which were down about 4% this quarter and 16% year over year. The private bank delivered good loan growth again this quarter with period end loans up about $600 million driven by growth in multifamily and residential mortgage. Growth in retail loans ex non core on a spot basis was about $300 million led by real estate secured categories. This was offset by non core auto portfolio run up of roughly $500 million for the quarter. Next on slides 9 and 10 we continued to do a good job on deposits with average deposits up 1% or $1.5 billion quarter on quarter, primarily driven by the growth in the private bank which reached $16.6 billion at the end of the quarter. This was partially offset by seasonal impacts in commercial year over year average balances are up $8.6 billion or 5% reflecting combined growth in the private bank and commercial of $11.2 billion, partially offset by roughly $2 billion of reduction in higher cost treasury broker deposits on a spot basis. Non interest bearing balances are up $1.3 billion or 3% quarter on quarter and up $4.1 billion or 11% year over year, improving the overall mix to 23% of the book. Our total non interest bearing and low cost deposit mix was steady at 43% and our consumer deposits are 64% of our total deposits. This compares to a peer average of about 56%. Moving to Slide 11 credit continues to trend favorably with net charge offs coming in at 39 basis points down from 43 basis points in the prior quarter. Non accrual loans are down modestly linked quarter reflecting a decrease in commercial largely driven by CNI which was partially offset by an increase in mortgage. Turning to slide 12, the allowance was essentially stable this quarter with ACL coverage ratios of 1.52%. This reflects the continued improvement in our portfolio mix with non core runoff, the reduction in CRE and strong originations of lower loss content cni, Residential Real Estate Secured and Private Loans the economic forecast supporting the allowance contemplates a mild recession with a slight deterioration compared with the last quarter, reflecting the potential impact of higher energy prices. As we look broadly across the portfolio, the credit outlook remains positive, though we continue to carefully monitor the macroeconomic environment. Moving to slide 13 we maintained excellent balance sheet strength, ending the quarter with CET1 at 10.5%. We returned about $500 million to shareholders in the first quarter with $198 million in common dividends and $300 million of share repurchases. Moving to Slide 14, the private bank continues to make excellent progress. The private bank delivered strong deposit growth again ending the quarter at $16.6 billion. Importantly, the overall deposit mix and cost continues to be very attractive. We also delivered solid loan growth in the quarter, adding about $600 million of loan at a healthy spread of 4% over deposit cost to end the quarter at $7.7 billion of loans. We ended the quarter with $10.1 billion of total client assets with modest net inflows partially offset by market impacts. We have more Runway here as we plan to continue adding top quality teams in key geographies. We opened offices in Melno park and Laurel village in the first quarter and we expect to open at least two more offices this year in West Palm Beach, Florida and Greenwich, Connecticut. Moving to Slide 15 our Reimagine the Bank program is off to a great start. The objective is to position citizens for long term success by embracing a host of new innovative technologies across the bank and simplifying our business model which will reshape our customer experience and drive a meaningful improvement in productivity and efficiency. The program is well underway with work commencing on several key work streams. For example, on the technology front, we are leveraging AI to assist in writing code and expect to have material productivity improvements in software development, cutting down cycle times. We’re also using AI to improve our interactions with customers which we expect will materially cut call volumes and improve the overall customer experience. We expect to exist 2026 with an annualized run rate of about $100 million of pre tax benefit. Now moving to Slide 16, we provide our outlook for the second quarter. We expect net interest income to be up in the range of 3 to 4% driven by continued expansion in net interest margin and earning asset growth. Non interest income is expected to be up 3 to 5%, led by capital markets with some risk if market volatility moves higher. Other fee categories such as FX and derivatives, wealth and card should also provide lift for the quarter. We are projecting expenses to be stable to up 1%, incorporating a step up in implementation cost associated with Reimagine the Bank and continued investment in other key business initiatives. We expect expense saves from Reimagine the Bank to benefit second half expenses. The charge off level is expected to be stable to down slightly and we should end the second quarter with CET1 in the range of 10.5 to 10.6%, including share repurchases of about $225 million. In addition, our full year outlook remains broadly in line with the guide we provided in January, which contemplated a pickup in business activity over the course of the year. Looking out further, we see a clear path to achieving our 16 to 18% ROTC target by the end of 2017. Expanding our net interest margin is an important driver and we continue to project net interest margin (NIM) to be in the range of 322 to 328% in 4Q26 and in the range of 330 to 350% in 4Q27. Slide 17 provides incremental details on our net interest margin progression to the end of 2017. This, combined with the impact of successful execution of our strategic initiatives and normalizing credit, should drive ROTC to our target range. To wrap up, we are off to a Good start to 26 with results highlighted by strong growth in net interest income and good fee results in a seasonally soft quarter. Our balance sheet is strong and we continue to drive forward our strategic initiatives with strong momentum in growing the private bank and in our Reimagine the Bank program. With that, I will hand it back over to Bruce.

Bruce Van Saun

Okay, thank you, Anoy Operator, let’s open it up for Q and a.

OPERATOR

Question and answer portion of the call. If you would like to participate at this time. If you would like to ask a question, please unmute your phone, press Star one and record your name clearly when prompted. If you need to withdraw your question at any time, please press Star two. Again, that is Star one to ask a question. Our first question comes from Scott Siefers from Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.

Scott Siefers (Equity Analyst)

Morning guys. Thank you for taking the question. Let’s see, I was hoping you could maybe start by speaking to kind of the Capital markets Dynamics. Obviously see the numbers in the first quarter but curious how you thought the first quarter actually performed given that you had sort of the interplay between one the environment played out a lot differently than we all figured it might.

Bruce Van Saun

But two, I know you all had some deals that were pushed from the fourth quarter into the first quarter, so maybe just sort of results versus expectations, then if you could speak to the forward look, you know, things like pipelines, confidence in pull through, et cetera. Yeah, Scott, let me. It’s Bruce. I’ll take it first and then hand it over over to Ted to provide more color. But you know, I would say all things considered, we’re pleased with the performance of the capital markets franchise in an environment that had increased volatility and lots of uncertainty, particularly in March once the war kicked in. But we have good diversification across our different services and capital markets. So we have M and A, we have bond underwriting, equity underwriting and syndicated loans. I think that diversity helped us print a good quarter. There was some leakage, I would say, from March that’s geared up to go in April, which now that we have more optimistic tone to the market, we’re actually starting to see that come through. So we may be in this situation where our pipelines are very full. We’re very optimistic given kind of the strength of the franchise, the likelihood that people want to transact. But if there’s this external volatility, ebbs

Ted Swimmer (Head of Commercial Banking)

and flows, you could see people pull to the sidelines, wait for the opportune time, for example, to go to market, and hopefully that cleans up. We’re certainly not taking our numbers down for the year. In fact, we feel quite good about that given the level of activity that we see and the pipeline strength that we have. So, Ted, over to you. Building on what Bruce just said. We’ve seen we took a couple of transactions in March that we would have launched into the market and pushed them into April, just given the volatility in the overall markets. But during that whole period of time, we continued to sign up new transactions. And I think what’s really exciting about the transactions that we’re signing up based on the investments we made in corporate finance and industry specialization, we now are doing more complex transactions and getting signed up on more complex transactions than we ever had before and feel very good about what that pipe, what those transactions are and how the pipeline is building. And to more to what Bruce just said, the deals that got postponed in March, especially this week, we’ve seen them back into the market. We are launching several transactions and part of several transactions that were postponed in March that are getting very good reception now in April. So we continue to feel very optimistic about the pipeline, especially on the M and A side. And during this whole period of turmoil, we really actually saw a pickup in new mandates, especially on the MA side of the business.

Bruce Van Saun

Yeah, I should just close by saying it was a record first quarter for us in capital markets, fees that shouldn’t go unnoted.

Scott Siefers (Equity Analyst)

Yeah, totally agree. Okay, perfect. Thank you. That’s very helpful. And then I was hoping you all would maybe speak to the private credit portfolio as well. I know there’s a lot of good detail in the appendix. Just curious, sort of not only for an update on credit quality dynamics, but also given your build out of the team over many years, I know it’s been a focus area, just sort of your appetite to continue to grow the portfolio given sort of certain current, just sort of industry circumstances.

Bruce Van Saun

Yeah, I’ll start again and flip to ted, but you know, I would say we’ve been very disciplined in terms of the kind of counterparties that we select. Usually there often a private equity sponsor that’s migrated to a broader kind of business model that picks up private credit, and they’re moving to be more of an alternative asset manager. And so we’ve helped them grow and get into this business and provide leverage to many of those names. So client selection is always key. And then making sure we have the right structures in place so that we’re structurally protected from any issues that could arise in the portfolios. And so we’ve gone through and looked at kind of our exposure and kind of the broad portfolio, looking at all the underlying factors, who has liquidity gates for retail investors, who’s got software exposure at the end of the day, feel very, very confident that we’re structurally well protected from a credit loss standpoint. And I think even though this is in the headlines and there’s concerns about private credit, the asset class, if you want to call it that, is here to stay. And they provide a certain amount of leverage and deal structures that exceeds what banks have historically been willing to play. And there’s certainly a lot of institutional demand folks or private credit managers are continuing to raise new money. So I think we’ll just grow selectively with the market as we have in the past. But we don’t see this turning around and being something that starts to shrink. It’s just going to grow. And I think every player in the market will be more selective, and we’ll continue to be selective, but …

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Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Thursday. Read the complete transcript below.

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Summary

Abbott Laboratories reported Q1 adjusted earnings per share of $1.15, in line with expectations despite earlier financing costs and a weaker respiratory season.

The acquisition of Exact Sciences was completed, anticipated to add $3 billion in sales for 2026, enhancing the company’s diagnostics portfolio.

Medical device pipeline achievements include early launches and trial completions, with future clinical trials set to expand their technological offerings.

Diagnostics sales rose 2%, driven by core lab growth, while rapid and molecular diagnostics saw a 10% decline due to lower respiratory testing demand.

Nutrition sales were slightly above expectations, with strategic pricing actions beginning to show positive volume growth effects.

EPD pharmaceutical sales increased by 9% with broad market growth, while medical devices grew 8.5%, led by cardiovascular devices.

The company expects accelerated growth in the second half of the year, driven by nutrition strategy execution, electrophysiology and core lab diagnostics growth, and the integration of Exact Sciences.

Future guidance includes 6.5% to 7.5% comparable sales growth for 2026, with adjusted earnings per share guidance midpoint revised to $5.48 due to $0.20 dilution from Exact Sciences acquisition.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good morning and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Abbott Laboratories’ first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. All participants will be able to listen only until the question and answer portion of this call. During the question and answer session, you will be able to ask your question by pressing the star 11 keys on your touchtone phone. This call is being recorded by Abbott with the exception of any participants questions asked during the question and answer session. The entire call, including the question and answer session, is material copyrighted by Abbott. It cannot be recorded or rebroadcast without Abbott Laboratories’ express written permission. I would now like to introduce Mr. Mike Camilla,, Vice President, Investor Relations

Mike Camilla (Vice President, Investor Relations)

Good morning and thank you for joining us. With me today are Robert Ford, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Phil Boudreau, Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Robert and Phil will provide opening remarks following their comments. We’ll take your questions before we get started. Some statements made today may be forward looking for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the expected financial results for 2026. Abbott cautions that these forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward looking statements. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott’s operations are discussed in Item 1A, which Risk Factors to our Annual Report on Form 10K for the year ended December 31, 2025. Abbott undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments except as required by law on today’s conference call. As in the past, non GAAP financial measures will be used to help investors understand Abbott’s ongoing business performance. These non GAAP financial measures are reconciled with the comparable GAAP financial measures in our earnings news release and regulatory filings from today, which are available on our website at Abbott.com Note that Abbott has not provided the related GAAP financial measures on a forward looking basis for the non GAAP financial measures for which it is providing guidance because the company is unable to predict with reasonable certainty and without unreasonable effort the timing and impact of certain items which could significantly impact Abbott’s results in accordance with gaap. Unless otherwise noted, our commentary on sales growth refers to comparable sales growth which includes the prior and current year sales of Exact Sciences, a cancer diagnostics company that Abbott acquired on March 23, 2026. Our definition of comparable sales growth can be found on page two of our press release issued earlier today and a reconciliation table that contains data needed to calculate comparable sales growth can be found on page 13. With that, I will now turn the call over to Robert.

Robert Ford (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer)

Thanks Mike. Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us. Our results in the first quarter were aligned with our expectations for the start of the year that included delivering adjusted earnings per share of $1.15 consistent with our guidance. Despite absorbing the impact of earlier than planned financing costs related to our acquisition of Exact Sciences and a weaker than expected respiratory season, this quarter also marked an important strategic milestone for Abbott with the completion of our acquisition of Exact Sciences. This acquisition adds a new high growth business to the Abbott portfolio, further strengthening our leadership position in diagnostics and expanding our presence into one of the fastest growing areas of healthcare cancer diagnostics. As we communicate at the time of the acquisition announcement, we forecast the addition of Exact Sciences to add approximately $3 billion of incremental sales in 2026 and accelerate Abbott’s long term sales growth rate. Before I summarize our first quarter results, I wanted to highlight a few pipeline achievements in our medical device business. An earlier than planned approval and launch of two new PFA catheters, completion of patient enrollment in our Catalyst left atrial Appendage device trial, initiation of development activities to bring an implantable extravascular ICD product to market, and the announcement of positive results from our randomized control trial which demonstrated that people with Type 2 diabetes on basal insulin therapy benefited from using Libre, including seeing reductions in HbA1c and increased time spent in healthy glucose range. In addition to these achievements, our teams are preparing to initiate patient enrollment in several important clinical trials in the second half of this year. These trials represent a unique opportunity that could position Abbott to bring a new wave of highly differentiated technologies to the market. This pipeline of new technologies includes a balloon expandable TAVR valve, a leadless conduction system pacing device that utilizes our revolutionary Aver leadless pacemaker, a mitral replacement valve developed following our acquisition of Cephia Valve Technologies, a peripheral IVL device developed following our acquisition of CSI, and a wearable continuous lactate monitoring sensor that will monitor for sepsis following discharge from hospital. I’ll now summarize our first quarter results before I turn the call over to Phil and I’ll start with diagnostics where sales increased 2% on a comparable basis. In core lab diagnostics, growth of 3% was driven by growth in the US, Europe and Latin America. Sales of core lab diagnostic tests, which exclude capital equipment and digital health solutions, increased on both a year over year and sequential basis and this is a trend that we expect to continue and drive higher growth in the second half of the year compared to the first half. In our rapid and molecular diagnostic business, sales declined 10% reflecting lower demand for respiratory virus testing due to a much weaker respiratory season compared to last year and in cancer diagnostics, sales grew 13% on a comparable basis driven by mid teens growth of cologuard and high teens growth in international markets. Moving to nutrition where sales finished slightly ahead of our expectations for the quarter. As discussed on our January earnings call, results in the quarter reflect the impact of lower sales volumes compared to the prior year and the effect of strategic pricing actions implemented in the fourth quarter of 2025 with an objective of re accelerating volume growth. While we are still early in the transition back toward a more sustainable balance between price and volume driven growth, I’m encouraged by the progress we’re making. Early data indicates we are seeing the intended effect with volume growth beginning to follow our pricing actions. We continue to expect that these pricing actions combined with the launch of several new products will result in growth improving over the course of the year. Turning to EPD, our pharmaceutical business where sales increased 9% in the quarter, growth was broad based across the markets we serve which included double digit growth in several countries across Latin America and Asia Pacific regions. Demand in these markets continues to be supported by favorable long term health care economic and demographic trends. With a broad product offering across five therapeutic areas and an expanding biosimilars portfolio which includes several market leading oncology therapies, we are well positioned to serve the growing customer base in these markets and I’ll wrap up with medical devices where sales grew 8.5%. Growth was led by strong performance in our cardiovascular device businesses. This included double digit growth in electrophysiology, heart failure and rhythm management. In electrophysiology growth of 13% included contributions from two pulsed fueled ablation catheter launches in the quarter. The launch of our Volt PFA catheter contributed to a growth of 14% in the US and the launch of our Tactaflex Duo catheter helped drive mid teens growth in Europe. As we broaden the launch of both catheters, we expect growth in our electrophysiology business to accelerate. In rhythm management, sales grew 13% making third consecutive quarter that we have delivered double digit growth and continued our track record of significantly outperforming the market. In heart failure. Growth of 12% was driven by our market leading portfolio of heart assist devices which offer treatment for chronic and temporary conditions in diabetes care, continuous glucose monitoring sales were $2 billion and grew 7.5% growth in the quarter reflects an impact from a delay in the renewal process related to an international tender. We also saw the expected impact from a challenging comparison to last year. This comparison relates to shelf restocking dynamics that occurred in the first half of 2025, a topic that we discussed on an earnings call last year. As we look forward to the second quarter, we expect CGM to return to double digit growth. So in summary, our results in the quarter were in line with our expectations to start the year. We remain confident in our expectation for an acceleration in growth in the second half of the year and we have clear visibility to the key drivers of that acceleration and are highly focused on executing on them. Those drivers include first, executing our growth strategy in nutrition which is underway and on track with our expectations. Second, we see a clear path to accelerating growth in both electrophysiology and core lab diagnostics supported by best in Class portfolios, new product launches and improving market conditions. Third, we will continue our proven track record of delivering strong sustainable performance in EPD and across our medical devices portfolio. And finally, we are successfully integrating Exact Sciences which adds a compelling high growth business to the Abbott portfolio, further strengthening our ability to deliver long term sustainable growth and I’ll turn over the call to Phil.

Phil Boudreau (Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer)

Thanks Robert. As a result of the March 23rd close of our acquisition of Exact Sciences, our first quarter financial results include the results of the Exact Sciences business from the close date through the end of the quarter. As Mike mentioned, our press release issued this morning provides sales growth in the quarter on a comparable basis which includes the full quarter sales of Exact Sciences in both the prior and current year to align with our reporting of comparable sales growth. Our full year 2026 sales growth outlook of 6.5 to 7.5% is now on a comparable basis as well. The sales growth outlook includes the full year sales of Exact Sciences in both the prior and current year compared to our previous full year. Adjusted earnings per share guidance range midpoint of $5.68. Our new guidance range midpoint of $5.48 reflects $0.20 of dilution related to the Exact Sciences acquisition consistent with our assumption at the time of the announced transaction. Turning to our first quarter results, sales increased 3.7% on a comparable basis and adjusted earnings per share of $1.15 grew 6% compared to the prior year. Foreign exchange had a favorable year over year impact of 4% on first quarter sales. Earlier we saw the US dollar weaken which resulted in a favorable impact on sales compared to exchange rates at the time of our earnings Call in January regarding other aspects of the P&L. The adjusted gross margin profile was 56.3% of sales. Adjusted R&D was 6.7% of sales and adjusted SGA was 29.3% of sales. Based on current rates, we expect Exchange to have a favorable impact of approximately 1% on full year reported sales. For the second quarter, we expect Exchange to have relatively neutral impact on sales. And for the second quarter, we forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.25 to $1.31. With that, we’ll now open the call for questions.

OPERATOR

Thank you. At this time we will conduct the question and answer session. As a reminder to ask a question, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising you that your hand is raised to withdraw your question. Please press star 11 again. For optimal sound quality, we kindly ask that you use your handset instead of your speakerphone when asking your question. Again, that’s star 11 to ask a question. And please stand by. We compile our Q and A roster. And our first question will come from David Roman from Goldman Sachs. Your line is open.

David Roman (Equity Analyst at Goldman Sachs)

Thank you and good morning everyone. Thanks for taking the question. Maybe I’ll start with just the updated guidance. And I know you touched on some of this during the call, but maybe you could just go into some further detail on firstly maybe your guidance philosophy and your thought process in establishing the revised outlook. And then secondly, just the extent to which the outlook is in your mind sort of fully de risks and captures upside potential, but also contemplates any downside, unforeseen risks here.

Robert Ford (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer)

Yeah, sure. I mean, I think the philosophy here, David, is, I think maybe there’s a portion there that is, you know, we’ve included exact sciences into the history and our philosophy there has always been to ensure that our investors have, you know, clear, transparent, detailed kind of breakdown of our performance. We did that during COVID if you remember, we always split out the COVID sales and we got feedback that they really wanted to understand the underlying part of the business and the COVID part of the business. When we did the acquisition of St. Jude, the acquisition closed in the first quarter and so we did the same approach there to fold in St. Jude into a kind of more comparable basis. And we just think it provides the investors really the most relevant growth rate, a growth rate that is, of the new Abbott portfolio on a very kind of clean, apples to apples basis. So I think that’s the philosophy there as it relates to the guidance. I think maybe the view there was just maybe a little bit of a take a little bit of a conservative side here on some aspects that we felt in the first quarter. For example, if you look at the respiratory season, we forecasted Q1 to be a relatively weak season compared to other seasons that we had seen in the past. And then that was even weaker than what we had forecasted. And I think as we’ve looked at other comparable healthcare businesses that we look at, for example, OTC meds, which is a very good kind of triangulation there, we’re seeing also those types of businesses have this year over year effect there. One of the ways to think about it is like, okay, you have two parts in the year where you’re going to have this effect. You have it at the beginning of the year and you have it at the end of the year. So one of the ways to think about it is, okay, we’re going to make that lower respiratory season at the back end of the year and then we would have to assume that you would have an above average respiratory season, at least from a testing perspective. But I’m only going to find that out just before Thanksgiving. So I just thought it was prudent to say, you know what, we’re not going to be able to make up, or I’ll put it this way, I’m not going to forecast that we’re going to make it up in Q4. This respiratory aspect. That doesn’t mean we won’t be ready. Obviously, you know our portfolio and we know we’ve got the manufacturing, the capabilities and the distribution to be able to do that. I just decided that I didn’t think it was prudent to bake that into the forecast. The rest of the, you know, the rest of the areas of the business, the sales growth out is very much in line with our January, with our January outlook. And if I go back to the way I described our year and the year progression, there’s a couple key kind of blocks that really drive our growth throughout the year. I’d say the first block here is, just as I said in my comments, sustaining the growth of our medtech business and our pharma business. Medtech business low double digits, our pharma business above 7%. These are businesses that have consistently and reliably deliver this type of performance. And whether it’s market conditions or new product launches in these businesses, we feel very good about our ability to be able to sustain that kind of performance. The other bucket, I would say the second bucket would probably be more okay, Trajectory changing businesses. And I would put diagnostics, especially our core lab business and nutrition into those buckets. I think they’re a little bit different though, David, I would say on our core lab business and we talked about this last year, the impacts of China and the VBP and obviously Covid, that was about a billion dollar headwind that we faced last year. Other parts of the business geography, other parts of the platforms doing very well, growth, and we continue to see that. So what I’ve seen over the last six months really gives me confidence that we’re actually on very much either on track or slightly ahead of that recovery in our diagnostics and that growth trajectory change. And I think the teams there have done an incredible job in China and especially here in the US Too. I think the teams have done really good in terms of being able to capture market share. The nutrition transition I think is a little bit earlier on in that stage. But I still feel that what we’re seeing right now, the decisions that we took, the timely …

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ADF Group (TSX:DRX) released fourth-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Thursday. Read the complete transcript below.

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Summary

ADF Group reported revenues of $258.7 million for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, down from $339.6 million the previous year, with a gross margin decrease from 31.6% to 23.1%.

The company’s results were impacted by US tariffs, which increased raw material costs and delayed projects, but the acquisition of Groupe Lahr added $20 million in revenue and $2 million to the gross margin.

Adjusted EBITDA was $43.5 million, a decrease from $91.3 million the previous year, mainly due to lower gross margins and increased selling and administrative expenses.

ADF Group’s order backlog was $561.1 million as of January 31, 2026, and the company anticipates revenue growth for fiscal year 2027 despite tariff challenges.

The company plans to invest $35 million in fiscal year 2027 for plant expansion and modernization, primarily for Groupe Lahr, and is negotiating financing for these investments.

Management expressed satisfaction with the company’s improved position despite ongoing trade uncertainties and is optimistic about future growth, particularly in the hydroelectric sector and Canadian projects.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the ADF Group’s results for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026. Note that at this time all lines are in a listen only mode. Following the presentation we will conduct a question and answer session and if at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. Also note that this call is being recorded on Thursday, April 16, 2026 and I would like to turn the conference over to Jean François Bourcier, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Jean François Bourcier

Thank you. Good morning. Welcome to ADF’s conference call covering the 12 month period ended January 31, 2026. I am with Thierry Paschini, President and Chief Operating Officer of ADF, who will be available to answer your question. At the end of the call, I will first update you on our full year results which were disclosed earlier this morning by press release and then proceed with a quick update about our operations including our recent new contracts announcement and the recent US Tariff change. This said, let me remind you that some of the issues discussed today may include forward looking statements. These are documented in ADF Groups Management report for the 2026 fiscal year which will be filed with SEDAR in the coming days. On this very call a year ago and in spite of exceptional results, we were confirming the significant uncertainties that the then recently announced US Tariffs were bringing to our markets and operations a year later and considering all the tariffs related turmoil, we can confirm that we without a doubt close our fiscal 2026 with exceptional results and in a much better position to face these uncertainties in light of Groupe LAR’s acquisition. Revenues for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 reach $258.7 million compared to $339.6 million last year. As a percentage of revenues, the gross margin went from 31.6% in fiscal 2025 to 23.1% during the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026. As just mentioned, fiscal 2025 was an exceptionally good year with a favorable project mix. The fiscal 2026 results have been impacted by the US tariffs both directly with higher raw material costs and indirectly with delays in project signing and fabrication start. As such, and as already mentioned in previous calls, ADF implemented a work sharing program at its Terrebonne, Quebec facility earlier this year which reduced fabrication hours but also enabled ADF to reduce the cost impact, although not entirely considering that the Canadian employment program compensated some of these reduced hours. The Groupe LAR acquisition added $20 million in revenue since its acquisition was finalized on September 18, 2025 and added $2 million to our consolidated gross margin for the same period. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $43.5 million or 16.8% of revenues, compared with $91.3 million or 26.9% of revenues a year ago. The year over year decrease comes from the previously explained gross margin variances and by the selling administrative expenses which at $23.2 million were $1.1 million higher than a year ago, all of the increase being explained by the inclusion of Group LAURE in our consolidated SGAs. We closed our January 31, 2026 fiscal year with a mostly non monetary foreign exchange gain of $2.1 million compared to a $5.6 million loss a year ago, most of this variance coming from the from the end of year mark to market valuation of our FX contracts on end at both year ends year to date, ADF posted net income of $26.3 million or $0.93 basic and diluted per share, compared with a net income of $56.8 million a year ago or $1.84 basic and diluted per share. Cash flows from operating activities generated $49.4 million, while we invested $11.1 million in capex, mostly for equipment maintenance at both our plants in Turbonne, Quebec and in Great Falls, Montana. We plan to invest close to $35 million for our 2027 fiscal year, the majority of this amount being for our Group LAR plant expansion and modernization in parallel. We are presently negotiating financing packages for these investments. We will be able to provide further updates on our next call. As of January 31, 2026, working capital stood at $104.8 million, just $4.4 million lower than last year. Also on January 31, 2026, cash and cash equivalents stood at $62.7 $62.7 million, which is actually $2.7 million higher than a year ago. Even considering the conclusion of RNCIB and the acquisition of goplau. Yesterday, the Board of Directors approved the payment of a semiannual dividend of $0.02 per share, which will be paid on May 15, 2026 to shareholders of record. As at April 27, 2026, we closed the year with an order backlog of $561.1 million as at January 31, 2026, excluding the new contracts totaling $157.3 million announced last week, the ending backlog included $138.2 million of contracts from which also excludes last week’s announcement Quickly Looking at the fourth quarter results, ADF recorded revenues of $78.8 million, up $1.4 million from the fourth quarter of 2025 fiscal year. Fourth quarter revenues this year did include $13.8 million coming from the from Groupe LAR. The gross margin as a percentage of revenue stood at 21.5% for the fourth quarter ended January 26, compared with 31% for the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2025. The margin decrease between these two quarters is primarily explained by the mix of products and fabrication, including lower margins coming from the LAR projects. We recorded a net income of $6.4 million during the last quarter of fiscal 2026, compared with net income of $9.1 million for the corresponding period of fiscal 2025, with minimal impact coming from LAR, which basically broke even for the quarter. Because the corporation carries out contracts that vary in complexity and in duration, upward and downward fluctuation may occur from quarter to quarter. In light of this, revenue and order, backlog growth must be analyzed over several quarters, not just from one period to the next. As mentioned at the beginning of the call, the situation was bleak a year ago and we’re definitely very satisfied with how everything turned out, including our overall financial results, our ending …

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Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) reported first-quarter financial results on Thursday. The transcript from the company’s first-quarter earnings call has been provided below.

This content is powered by Benzinga APIs. For comprehensive financial data and transcripts, visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/.

Access the full call at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/758651125

Summary

Travelers Companies reported strong financial performance for Q1 2026, with core income of $1.7 billion and a core return on equity of 19.7%.

The company returned $2.2 billion of excess capital to shareholders, including $2 billion through share repurchases, and declared a 14% increase in quarterly dividends.

Net written premiums reached $10.3 billion, with growth in business insurance and bond and specialty insurance, despite a decline in the property line.

The company continues to leverage investments in technology and AI to enhance underwriting precision and customer experience.

Management expressed confidence in navigating future challenges, citing strong capital positions and strategic advantages in the market.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the first quarter results teleconference for Travelers. We ask that you hold all questions until the completion of formal remarks, at which time you will be given instructions for the question and answer session. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded on April 16, 2026. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Ms. Abby Goldstein, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Ms. Goldstein, you may begin.

Abby Goldstein (Senior Vice President of Investor Relations)

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to Travelers’ discussion of our first quarter 2026 results. We released our press release, financial supplement and webcast presentation earlier this morning. All of these materials can be found on our website at travelers.com under the Investors Section. Speaking today will be Alan Schnitzer, Chairman and CEO Dan Fry, CFO and our three segment presidents, Greg Teslowski of Business Insurance, Jeff Klenk of Bond and Specialty Insurance, and Michael Klein of Personal Insurance. They will discuss the financial results of our business and the current market environment. They will refer to the webcast presentation as they go through prepared remarks and then we will take your questions. Before I turn the call over to Alan, I’d like to draw your attention to the explanatory note included at the end of the webcast presentation. Our presentation today includes forward looking statements. The company cautions investors that any forward looking statement involves risks and uncertainties and is not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking statements due to a variety of factors. These factors are described under forward looking statements in our earnings press release and in our most recent 10-Q and 10-K filed with the SEC. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward looking statements. Also in our remarks or responses to questions, we may mention some non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations are included in our recent earnings press release, financial supplement and other materials available in the Investors section on our website. And now I’d like to turn the call over to Alan Schnitzer.

Alan Schnitzer (Chairman and CEO)

Thank you, Abby. Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us today. We’re pleased to report an excellent start to 2026 with strong underwriting performance across all three segments and a strong result from our investment portfolio. We also continued to deliver on key strategic initiatives during the quarter. For the quarter, we earned core income of $1.7 billion or $7.71 per diluted share, generating core return on equity of 19.7% over the trailing four quarters. We generated a core return on equity of 22.7% driven by excellent underlying fundamentals. Underwriting income of $1.2 billion pre tax benefited from strong levels of underlying underwriting income and favorable prior year development. Each of our three segments generated attractive underlying and reported margins. Turning to investments, our high quality investment portfolio continued to perform well after tax. Net Investment income increased by 9% to $833 million, driven by strong and reliable returns from our growing fixed income portfolio. Our underwriting and investment results together with our strong balance sheet enabled us to return more than $2.2 billion of excess capital to shareholders during the quarter, including approximately $2 billion of share repurchases. Even after that return of capital and having made important investments in the business, adjusted book value per share was 16% higher than a year ago. In recognition of our strong financial position and confidence in the outlook for our business, I’m pleased to share that our board of Directors declared a 14% increase in our quarterly cash dividend to $1.25 per diluted share, marking 22 consecutive years of dividend increases with a compound annual growth rate of 8% over that period. Turning to the top line through disciplined marketplace Execution across all 3 segments, we generated net written premiums of $10.3 billion in the quarter. In business insurance, we grew net written premiums to $5.8 billion. Excluding the property line, we grew domestic net written premiums in the segment by 6%. The declining premium volume in property continues to be a large account dynamic. Property premiums were higher in our small commercial business and about flat in our middle market business reno. Premium change in business insurance was 5.8%. Retention increased a point from recent quarters to a very strong 86% and was higher or stable in every line, reflecting deliberate execution on our part and a generally high level of stability in the market. We know a premium change in our core middle market business was about unchanged sequentially also with retention higher at 89%. In terms of the product lines, RPC and auto, CMP and umbrella remained in the double digits. RPC in GL and workers comp was stable and RPC in the property line was positive. New business in the segment was a record $775 million, a reflection of our strong value proposition. In bond and specialty insurance, we grew net written premiums by 7% to $1.1 billion. In our high quality management liability business, renewal premium change ticked up sequentially with excellent retention of 87%. In our industry leading surety business, we grew net written premiums by 14%. In personal insurance, we generated net written premiums of $3.5 billion with solid retention and positive renewal premium change in both auto and homeowners. You’ll hear more shortly from Greg, Jeff and Michael about our segment Results the results we released this morning are part of a larger story. They reflect a set of advantages that we have developed and that have compounded over a long period of time. Over the course of many years, we’ve managed through a wide variety of challenging conditions the 2008 financial crisis, dramatic changes in interest rates, a major inflection in liability loss cost trends, a global pandemic, severe natural catastrophes, and periods of heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty. We didn’t predict the full scope of any of those events, but by carefully balancing risk and reward on both sides of the balance sheet, we were positioned to manage successfully. Through all of them, we’ve consistently delivered growth in book value per share and earnings per share at industry leading returns averaging more than 1000 basis points above the 10 year treasury over the last 10 years. And with industry low volatility, we’ve also built as strong a capital position as we’ve ever had. That track record isn’t a coincidence. It reflects a set of structural advantages that hold up regardless of the environment, starting with the breadth of the franchise. We’re a market leader across nine major lines of insurance, serving personal and commercial customers across the country and diversified across distribution partners, industry class and customer size. That balance, which represents a bigger advantage than people sometimes appreciate, has resulted in our consolidated loss ratio being less volatile than the loss ratio of our least volatile segment. In an uncertain world, that kind of structural hedge is a meaningful source of stability. Where we operate also matters. More than 95% of our premiums come from North America. At a time of considerable geopolitical complexity, that concentration is a strategic advantage and the domestic market offers substantial room for growth. With our broad product capability, our our leading market position and the execution you’ve seen from us over the years, we’re well positioned to continue gaining share as we have in our commercial businesses over the past five years. Equally important is our ability to navigate the loss environment. We have the data, the analytics and the discipline to see changes in loss activity early and to reflect what we see in our reserves, our risk selection, our pricing, and our claim strategy. That capability is foundational because until you have an accurate view of the loss environment, the many downstream decisions are working from the wrong inputs. Our early identification of the acceleration in social inflation is a good example. We adjusted before the market did, and since then we’ve grown the business and significantly improved our margins. Our scale is also a significant and growing advantage. Our profitability and cash flow support our ability to invest more than a billion and a half dollars annually in technology, including in our ambitious AI strategy. Our size gives us the data to power AI and the resources to deploy it, creating a virtuous cycle of better insights, better decisions and better outcomes. Our financial strength also enables us to absorb the increasing severity of weather losses and all of these benefits position us as a preferred counterparty in the reinsurance market. Beyond that, our product breadth, risk control, claim expertise and other capabilities that benefit from scale make us more relevant to our distribution partners, deepening those relationships and our access to quality business. Over time, companies that can leverage scale effectively will have a meaningful edge in consolidating industry premium. As for our investment portfolio, the principles that guide us are the same ones that have served us well for decades. We consistently manage for risk adjusted returns, not headline Yield. More than 90% of our portfolio is in high quality fixed income with an average credit rating of AA minus issue of the day. Private credit is a non issue for us. We manage interest rate risk by holding the vast majority of our fixed income securities to maturity and carefully coordinating the duration of our assets and liabilities. Our investing discipline has produced default rates that were a fraction of industry averages through every stress event of the past two decades. You can’t gracefully reposition a portfolio in the middle of a dislocation. The time to build that resilience is before you need it. In short, whether we’re talking about underwriting or investing, the advantages we’ve built are designed to deliver across environments. And they have Before I wrap up, I’d like to share that a number of my colleagues and I have just returned from our Travelers Leadership Conference, a multi day event we host each year for the principals and senior leaders of our most significant distribution partners. As we’ve shared before, the vision for our innovation agenda includes enhancing our value proposition as an indispensable partner to our agents and brokers. We continue to make significant investments to ensure that we realize that vision through best in class products, services and experiences. What we heard consistently is that our deep specialization across a wide range of modernized, simplified and tailored products, along with a broad and consistent appetite, an extraordinary field organization, the ability to deliver exceptional experiences and our industry leading claim capabilities are major differentiators in the market. To sum it up, we’re off to an excellent start for 2026 and we’re highly confident that the advantages that have driven our success will extend our strong record of outperformance. And with that, I’m pleased to turn the call over to Dan.

Dan Fry (Chief Financial Officer)

Thank you Alan. Travelers delivered $1.7 billion of core income in the first quarter, resulting in a quarterly core return on equity of 19.7% and a trailing twelve month core return on equity of 22.7%. First quarter earnings were driven by yet another very strong quarter of underlying underwriting income which at $1.2 billion after tax marked our seventh consecutive quarter of more than $1 billion. Net investment income of more than $800 million after tax and net favorable prior year reserve development of $325 million after tax also contributed to the strong bottom line result. After tax cat losses were just over $600 million. The all in combined ratio of 88.6% was again excellent. The underlying underwriting gain reflected $10.6 billion of earned premium and an underlying combined ratio of 85.3%. Within the underlying combined ratio, the first quarter expense ratio came in at 29%. That’s what we expected given the timing of expenses in Q1, and we still expect the full year expense ratio to be in line with our prior guidance right around 28.5%. The previously announced sale of most of our Canadian operations closed as expected on January 2nd, and I wanted to take a couple of minutes to summarize the impact of that sale on our first quarter results. Let’s start with premium volume. The year over year comparison with Canada’s business included in 2025 but not included in 2026 reduced the first quarter growth rate for consolidated net written premium and net earned premium by about 2 points each. The impact in both business insurance and bond and specialty was about 1 point, while the impact in personal insurance was about 4 points. The impacts on the growth rate of both written and earned premium will be similar for the remaining quarters of this year. To help with modeling the year over year impact for the rest of the year, we provided the quarter by quarter dollar impacts on slide 19 of the webcast presentation. Within net income for the quarter is a gain on sale consistent with our expectations when we originally announced the transaction last May. That gain does not impact core income. And finally, within the equity section of the balance sheet you see a reduction in accumulated other comprehensive loss, which is primarily because the previously unrealized FX loss related to the sold Canadian entities became a realized loss upon sale. The move from unrealized to realized had no impact on total equity or on book value per share. Turning back to the rest of the quarterly results, catastrophe losses for the quarter totaled $761 million pre tax, with the largest events being the winter storm that impacted much of the country in January and a large tornado hail event in March, both of which you can see in the table of significant CAT losses in the MDA section of our 10Q we reported net favorable prior year reserve development of $413 million pre tax in the first quarter with all three segments contributing in business insurance, net favorable development of $162 million pre tax was driven by commercial property and workers comp in bond and specialty. Net favorable Prior Year Development of $65 million pre tax was driven by better than expected results and surety personal insurance recorded net favorable Prior Year Development of $186 million pre tax with both auto and home contributing after tax. Net investment income increased 9% from the prior year quarter to $833 million. Fixed income Net Investment Income was higher than in the prior year quarter and in line with our expectations, benefiting from both higher yields and a higher level of invested assets. New money yields at the end of Q1 were about 70 basis points higher than the yield embedded in the portfolio. Our outlook for fixed income Net Investment Income by quarter, including earnings from short term securities, is consistent with the guidance we provided on our fourth quarter earnings call, expecting roughly $810 million after tax in the second quarter, growing to approximately $840 million in the third quarter and then to around $870 million in the fourth quarter. Net investment income from our alternative investment portfolio was also positive in the quarter, although down from a year ago. Given recent movement in the equity markets, this is a good time to remind you that results for our private equities, hedge funds and real estate partnerships are generally reported to us on a 1/4 lag and while not perfectly correlated, our non fixed income returns tend to directionally follow the broader equity markets. In other words, the impact of the decline in financial markets that occurred in the first quarter will be reflected in our second quarter results. Turning to Capital Management, operating cash flows for the quarter of $2.2 billion were again very strong as we generated more than $2 billion in operating cash flow for the fourth consecutive quarter. As interest rates increased during the quarter. Our net unrealized investment loss increased from $1.5 billion after tax at year end to $2.4 billion after tax at March 31. Adjusted book value per share, which excludes unrealized investment gains and losses, was $161.60 at quarter end, up 16% from a year ago. Adjusted book value per share also increased 2% from year end, despite the very strong level of share repurchases during Q1. Share repurchases this quarter included $1.8 billion of open market repurchases in line with the guidance we shared last quarter. And As a reminder, $700 million of that 1.8 billion came from the closing of the Canadian business sale in January. We had an additional $185 million of buybacks in connection with employee share based compensation plans …

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UBS Raises Price Forecast

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Oracle AI expansion

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The Treasury Department has launched Operation “Economic Fury” against Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday, describing it as a move designed to escalate economic pressure on the Iranian government.

During a war press briefing, Hegseth urged Iran to “choose wisely”, warning that the U.S. military is prepared to continue combat if Tehran makes a “poor” choice.

Hegseth also highlighted that the blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz will be maintained “for as long as necessary.”

Treasury Targets Iran’s Illicit Networks

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