Market Signal Briefing

HIGHLIGHTS:

2025 Production of 34,098 GEOs (32,990 gold ounces and 80,527 silver ounces)

Cash balance of US$41M as of December 31, 2025

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 7, 2026) - Heliostar Metals Ltd. (TSXV: HSTR) (OTCQX: HSTXF) (FSE: RGG1) ("Heliostar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it produced 8,459 Gold Equivalent Ounces (GEOs) (8,180 gold ounces and 21,494 silver ounces) in the three months ended December 31, 2025.

This resulted in a total production in calendar year 2025 of 34,098 GEOs (32,990 gold ounces and 80,527 silver ounces). As a result, the Company achieved its production guidance for 2025 of 31,000-41,000 GEOs (see news release dated February 4, 2025). Financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2025, will be reported during March 2026. Cash Costs and All-In Sustaining Costs ("AISC") are expected to be within the guidance range.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had a preliminary cash balance of US$41M and no debt. This provides a strong balance sheet for Heliostar's 2026 growth initiatives, further supported by ongoing cash generated by operations.

Project  
  Category2025 GuidanceTotal 2025La Colorada Mine 

 Gold Produced (Ounces)17,000-23,30017,793
 Silver Produced (Ounces)45,500-51,50057,493
 GEOs Produced (Ounces)117,500-23,80018,467San Agustin Mine 

 Gold Produced (Ounces)13,000-16,70014,883
 Silver Produced (Ounces)34,000-43,00022,469
 GEOs Produced (Ounces)113,500-17,20015,139Consolidated2 

 Gold Produced (Ounces)30,000-40,00032,990
 Silver Produced (Ounces)76,500-94,50080,527
 GEOs Produced (Ounces)131,000-41,00034,098Guidance based on US$2,500 per ounce gold and $30 per ounce silver price. Totals based on average realized gold price of $3,477 and silver price of $37.52.Consolidated numbers include production from El Castillo, which was re-classified to closure status in the three months ended September 30, 2025.  
Heliostar CEO, Charles Funk, commented, "This is a wonderful result for our first full year of gold production. Achieving our 2025 guidance was the result of the team successfully executing on the restart of operations at our two mines; La Colorada in January and San Agustin in December. The restart of San Agustin is expected to materially increase Heliostar's year-on-year gold production in 2026, and we look forward to providing guidance for 2026 shortly. In addition to increasing production this year, we will be advancing Ana Paula through a feasibility study and recommencing the decline as we work toward our goal of becoming a 500,000 ounce per year producer by the end of the decade."

Statement of Qualified Persons

Michael Gingles, Qualified Person, as such term is defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed the production and financial information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Gingles is employed as Vice President Corporate Development of the Company.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Management believes that the reported non-GAAP financial measures will enable certain investors to better evaluate the Company's performance, liquidity, and ability to generate cash flow. These measures do not have any standardized definition under IFRS, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other companies may calculate these measures differently.

About Heliostar Metals Ltd.

Heliostar is a gold producer with production from operating mines in Mexico. This includes the La Colorada Mine in Sonora and San Agustin Mine in Durango. The Company also has a strong portfolio of development projects in Mexico and the USA. These include the Ana Paula project in Guerrero, the Cerro del Gallo project in Guanajuato, the San Antonio project in Baja Sur and the Unga project in Alaska.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "plan", "forecast", "may", "would", "could", "schedule" and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information relate to, among other things, the Company's plans, prospects and business strategies; the Company's guidance on the timing and amount of future production and its expectations regarding the results of operations; and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors.

Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information relating to the terms and completion of the Facility, any future mineral production, liquidity, and future exploration plans are based on management's reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the receipt of necessary approvals, price of metals; no escalation in the severity of public health crises or ongoing military conflicts; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; and the Company's ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms.

These statements reflect the Company's respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: precious metals price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Company's mining activities in foreign jurisdictions; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to reliance on the Company's management team and outside contractors; risks regarding exploration and mining activities; the Company's inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects, including the inaccuracy of reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries and capital and operating costs of such projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of public health crises; the economic and financial implications of public health crises, ongoing military conflicts and general economic factors to the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; the Company's interactions with surrounding communities; the Company's ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and the factors identified under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's public disclosure documents. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/279687

Source: Heliostar Metals Ltd.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVRG) (“Evergy”) today announced that it has entered into separate, privately negotiated repurchase agreements with certain holders of its 4.50% Convertible Notes due 2027 (the “Notes”) to repurchase for cash (the “Repurchases”) approximately $244.1 million aggregate principal amount of the Notes for a total repurchase cost (including accrued and unpaid interest) of approximately $302.5 million. The final aggregate cash repurchase price is subject to adjustment as a portion of the repurchase price will be based in part on the daily volume-weighted average price per share of Evergy’s common stock over an agreed measurement period beginning on, and including, January 7, 2026.

The Repurchases are expected to close shortly after completion of the measurement period, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Following such closings, approximately $1,155.9 million aggregate principal amount of the Notes will remain outstanding.

As more fully described in Evergy’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, the Notes were initially convertible at a rate of 16.1809 shares of Evergy, Inc. common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Notes, which was equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $61.80 per share of Evergy, Inc. common stock.

Evergy expects that holders of the Notes that sell their Notes to Evergy pursuant to the Repurchases may enter into or unwind various derivatives with respect to Evergy’s common stock and/or purchase or sell shares of Evergy’s common stock in the market to hedge their exposure in connection with these transactions. In particular, Evergy expects that many holders of the Notes may employ a convertible arbitrage strategy with respect to the Notes and as a result may have a short position with respect to Evergy’s common stock that they would close, through purchases of Evergy’s common stock and/or the entry into or unwind of economically equivalent derivatives transactions with respect to Evergy’s common stock, in connection with Evergy’s repurchase of their Notes for cash.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This news release shall not constitute an offer to purchase, or a redemption notice for, any of Evergy’s outstanding Notes.

About Evergy

Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVRG), serves 1.7 million customers in Kansas and Missouri. Evergy’s mission is to empower a better future. Our focus remains on producing, transmitting and delivering reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for the benefit of our stakeholders. Today, about half of Evergy’s power comes from carbon-free sources, creating more reliable energy with less impact to the environment. We value innovation and adaptability to give our customers better ways to manage their energy use, to create a safe and rewarding workplace for our employees, and to add value for our investors. Headquartered in Kansas City, our employees are active members of the communities we serve.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements made in this document that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Evergy's strategic plan, including, without limitation, those related to earnings per share, dividend, operating and maintenance expense and capital investment goals; the outcome of legislative efforts and regulatory and legal proceedings; future energy demand, including demand driven by new and existing customers; future power prices; plans with respect to existing and potential future generation resources; the availability and cost of generation resources and energy storage; target emissions reductions; and other matters relating to expected financial performance or affecting future operations. Forward-looking statements are often accompanied by forward-looking words such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "estimates," "forecasts," "guidance," "should," "could," "may," "seeks," "intends," "predict," "potential," "opportunities," "proposed," "projects," "planned," "target," "outlook," "remain confident," "goal," "will" or other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information.

In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Evergy Companies are providing a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to: economic and weather conditions and any impact on sales, prices and costs; significant changes in the demand for electricity; changes in business strategy or operations, including with respect to the Evergy Companies' strategy to meet demand requirements of existing and future customers; the impact of federal, state and local political, legislative, judicial and regulatory actions or developments, including deregulation, re-regulation, securitization and restructuring of the electric utility industry; changes in U.S. trade policies (including tariffs and other trade measures) and responses from other countries; the ability to build or acquire generation, battery storage and transmission facilities to meet the future demand for electricity from customers; the ability to control costs, avoid costs and schedule overruns during the development, construction and operation of generation, battery storage transmission, distribution or other projects due to challenges, which include, but are not limited to, changes in labor costs, availability and productivity, challenges with the management of contractors or vendors, subcontractor performance, shortages, delays, increased costs or inconsistent quality of equipment, materials and labor and increased financing costs as a result of changes in interest rates or as a result of project delays; decisions of regulators regarding, among other things, customer rates and the prudency of operational decisions such as capital expenditures and asset retirements; changes in applicable laws, regulations, rules, principles or practices, or the interpretations thereof, governing tax, accounting and environmental matters, including air and water quality and waste management and disposal; development, adoption and use of artificial intelligence by the Evergy Companies and its third-party vendors; the impact of climate change, including increased frequency and severity of significant weather events; risks relating to potential wildfires, including costs of litigation, potential regulatory penalties and damages in excess of insurance liability coverage; the extent to which counterparties are willing to do business with, finance the operations of or purchase energy from the Evergy Companies due to the fact that the Evergy Companies operate coal-fired generation; prices and availability of electricity and natural gas in wholesale markets; market perception of the energy industry and the Evergy Companies; the impact of future pandemic health events on, among other things, sales, results of operations, financial position, liquidity and cash flows, and also on operational issues, such as supply chain issues and the availability and ability of the Evergy Companies' employees and suppliers to perform the functions that are necessary to operate the Evergy Companies; changes in the energy trading markets in which the Evergy Companies participate, including retroactive repricing of transactions by regional transmission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators; financial market conditions and performance, disruptions in the banking industry, including volatility in interest rates and credit spreads and in availability and cost of capital and the effects on derivatives and hedges, nuclear decommissioning trust and pension plan assets and costs; impairments of long-lived assets or goodwill; credit ratings; inflation rates; effectiveness of risk management policies and procedures and the ability of counterparties to satisfy their contractual commitments; impact of physical and cybersecurity breaches, criminal activity, terrorist attacks, acts of war and other disruptions to the Evergy Companies' facilities or information technology infrastructure or the facilities and infrastructure of third-party service providers on which the Evergy Companies rely; impact of geopolitical conflicts on the global energy market, including the ability to contract for non-Russian sourced uranium; ability to carry out marketing and sales plans; cost, availability, quality and timely provision of equipment, supplies, labor and fuel; ability to achieve generation goals and the occurrence and duration of planned and unplanned generation outages; the Evergy Companies' ability to manage their generation, transmission and distribution development plans and transmission joint ventures; the inherent risks associated with the ownership and operation of a nuclear facility, including environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; workforce risks, including those related to the Evergy Companies' ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, maintain satisfactory relationships with their labor unions and manage costs of, or changes in, wages, retirement, health care and other benefits; disruption, costs and uncertainties caused by or related to the actions of individuals or entities, such as activist shareholders or special interest groups, that seek to influence Evergy's strategic plan, financial results or operations; the impact of changing expectations and demands of the Evergy Companies' customers, regulators, investors and stakeholders, including differing views on environmental, social and governance concerns, which, among other things, could impact the trajectory of expected load growth; the possibility that strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and divestitures, and long-term financial plans, may not create the value that they are expected to achieve in a timely manner or at all; difficulties in maintaining relationships with customers, employees, contractors, regulators or suppliers; the outcome of litigation involving the Evergy Companies; and other risks and uncertainties.

This list of factors is not all-inclusive because it is not possible to predict all factors. You should also carefully consider the information contained in the Evergy Companies' other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed from time to time in current, quarterly and annual reports filed by the Evergy Companies with the SEC. New factors emerge from time to time, and it's not possible for the Evergy Companies to predict all such factors, nor can the Evergy Companies assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in any forward-looking statement. Given these uncertainties, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. The Evergy Companies undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

More News From Evergy, Inc.

Wednesday, 07 January 2026 06:30 AM

Topic: 

Earnings FISCAL 2026Q1 HIGHLIGHTS

Net sales of $965.7 million increased 4.0% YoY

Operating income of $76.2 million, or $81.2 million on an adjusted basis1

Operating margin of 7.9%, or 8.4% on an adjusted basis1

Diluted EPS of $0.93 vs. $0.83 in the prior fiscal year quarter

Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.99 vs. $0.86 in the prior fiscal year quarter1

MELVILLE, NY AND DAVIDSON, NC / ACCESS Newswire / January 7, 2026 / MSC INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY CO. (NYSE:MSM) ("MSC," "MSC Industrial," the "Company," "we," "us," or "our"), a leading North American distributor of a broad range of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services, today reported financial results for its fiscal 2026 first quarter ended November 29, 2025.

Financial Highlights 2

FY26 Q1

FY25 Q1

Change

Net Sales

$

965.7

$

928.5

4.0

%

Income from Operations

$

76.2

$

72.3

5.5

%

Operating Margin

7.9

%

7.8

%

Net Income Attributable to MSC

$

51.8

$

46.6

11.1

%

Diluted EPS

$

0.93

3

$

0.83

3

12.0

%

Adjusted Financial Highlights 2

FY26 Q1

FY25 Q1

Change

Net Sales

$

965.7

$

928.5

4.0

%

Adjusted Income from Operations 1

$

81.2

$

74.6

8.8

%

Adjusted Operating Margin 1

8.4

%

8.0

%

Adjusted Net Income Attributable to MSC 1

$

55.5

$

48.4

14.8

%

Adjusted Diluted EPS 1

$

0.99

3

$

0.86

3

15.1

%

1 Represents a non-GAAP financial measure. An explanation and a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure are presented in the schedules accompanying this press release.
2 In millions except percentages and per share data or as otherwise noted.
3 Based on 56.0 million and 56.1 million weighted-average diluted shares outstanding for FY26 Q1 and FY25 Q1, respectively.

Martina McIsaac, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We began the fiscal year on solid footing by executing on the continued momentum from our recent growth initiatives. This resulted in average daily sales growth at the midpoint of our outlook and approximately 180 basis points above the Industrial Production Index, despite headwinds related to the government shutdown of roughly 100 basis points. As a result of our improving levels of execution and focus on optimizing costs, we returned to profitable growth in the fiscal first quarter."

Greg Clark, Vice President and Interim Chief Financial Officer, added, "We successfully capitalized on growth by delivering 10 basis points of operating margin expansion, or 40 basis points on an adjusted basis year over year and towards the higher end of our guidance range. This resulted in double digit improvement in earnings per share on both a reported and adjusted basis."

McIsaac concluded, "Looking ahead, I am encouraged by our performance early in the fiscal year. We will continue advancing the benefits from our growth initiatives and identifying areas to optimize our cost to serve that supported our return to operating margin expansion this quarter. The timing of holidays created a soft start to the fiscal second quarter, which is affecting our outlook for average daily sales in the quarter, but I remain confident in profitable growth remaining a trend throughout fiscal 2026 and beyond as this momentum continues."

Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Outlook

ADS Growth (YoY)

3.5% - 5.5%

Adjusted Operating Margin1

7.3% - 7.9%

Full-Year Fiscal 2026 Outlook for Certain Financial Metrics Maintained

Depreciation and amortization expense of ~$95M-$100M

Interest and other expense of ~$35M

Capital expenditures of ~$100M-$110M

Free cash flow conversion1 of ~90%

Tax rate of ~24.5%-25.5%

1 Guidance provided is a non-GAAP figure presented on an adjusted basis. For further details see the Non-GAAP financial measures information presented in the schedules accompanying this press release.

Conference Call Information

MSC will host a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. EDT to review the Company's fiscal 2026 first quarter results. The call, accompanying slides, and other operational statistics may be accessed at: https://investor.mscdirect.com. The conference call may also be accessed at 1-888-506-0062 (U.S.) or 1-973-528-0011 (international) and providing the access code 660475.

An online archive of the broadcast will be available until January 21, 2026. The Company's reporting date for its fiscal 2026 second quarter results is scheduled for April 1, 2026.

Contact Information

Investors:
Ryan Mills, CFA
VP, Investor Relations & Business Development
[email protected]

Media:
Leah Kelso
VP, Communications & Sales Enablement
[email protected]

About MSC Industrial Supply Co.

MSC Industrial Supply Co. (NYSE:MSM) is a leading North American distributor of a broad range of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services. We help our customers drive greater productivity, profitability and growth with approximately 2.5 million products, inventory management and other supply chain solutions, and deep expertise from more than 80 years of working with customers across industries. Our experienced team of more than 7,000 associates works with our customers to help drive results for their businesses - from keeping operations running efficiently today to continuously rethinking, retooling and optimizing for a more productive tomorrow. For more information on MSC Industrial, please visit mscdirect.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that MSC expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including statements about results of operations and financial condition, expected future results, expected benefits from our investment and strategic plans and other initiatives, and expected future growth and profitability, are forward-looking statements. The words "will," "may," "believes," "anticipates," "thinks," "expects," "estimates," "plans," "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. In addition, statements which refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, statements involving a discussion of strategy, plans or intentions, statements about management's assumptions, projections or predictions of future events or market outlook and any other statement other than a statement of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. The inclusion of any statement in this press release does not constitute an admission by MSC or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material. In addition, new risks may emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict such risks or to assess the impact of such risks on our business or financial results. Accordingly, future results may differ materially from historical results or from those discussed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, the reader should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions in the markets in which we operate; changing customer and product mixes; volatility in commodity, energy and labor prices, and the impact of prolonged periods of low, high or rapid inflation; competition, including the adoption by competitors of aggressive pricing strategies or sales methods; industry consolidation and other changes in the industrial distribution sector; the applicability of laws and regulations relating to our status as a supplier to the U.S. government and public sector; the credit risk of our customers; our ability to accurately forecast customer demands; interruptions in our ability to make deliveries to customers; supply chain disruptions; our ability to attract and retain sales and customer service personnel; the risk of loss of key suppliers or contractors or key brands; changes to trade policies or trade relationships, including tariff policies; risks associated with opening or expanding our customer fulfillment centers; our ability to estimate the cost of healthcare claims incurred under our self-insurance plan; interruption of operations at our headquarters or customer fulfillment centers; products liability due to the nature of the products that we sell; impairments of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets; the impact of climate change; operating and financial restrictions imposed by the terms of our material debt instruments; our ability to access additional liquidity; the significant influence that our principal shareholders will continue to have over our decisions; our ability to execute on our E-commerce strategies and maintain our digital platforms; costs associated with maintaining our information technology ("IT") systems and complying with data privacy laws; disruptions or breaches of our IT systems or violations of data privacy laws, including such disruptions or breaches in connection with our E-commerce channels; risks related to online payment methods and other online transactions; the retention of key management personnel; litigation risk due to the nature of our business; failure to comply with environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations; and our ability to comply with, and the costs associated with, social and environmental responsibility policies. Additional information concerning these and other risks is described under "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, respectively, and in the other reports and documents that we file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law.

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands)

November 29,
2025

August 30,
2025

ASSETS

(Unaudited)

Current Assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$

40,254

$

56,228

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses

430,733

423,306

Inventories

660,483

644,090

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

128,052

102,930

Total current assets

1,259,522

1,226,554

Property, plant and equipment, net

346,776

346,706

Goodwill

723,348

723,702

Identifiable intangibles, net

81,518

85,455

Operating lease assets

48,509

52,464

Other assets

27,393

27,183

Total assets

$

2,487,066

$

2,462,064

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

Current Liabilities:

Current portion of debt including obligations under finance leases

$

316,872

$

316,868

Current portion of operating lease liabilities

21,667

22,236

Accounts payable

220,113

225,150

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

167,649

165,092

Total current liabilities

726,301

729,346

Long-term debt including obligations under finance leases

214,095

168,831

Noncurrent operating lease liabilities

27,393

30,872

Deferred income taxes and tax uncertainties

136,450

136,513

Total liabilities

1,104,239

1,065,562

Commitments and Contingencies

Shareholders' Equity:

Preferred Stock

-

-

Class A Common Stock

57

57

Additional paid-in capital

1,097,059

1,093,630

Retained earnings

426,719

432,622

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(21,746

)

(20,736

)

Class A treasury stock, at cost

(120,918

)

(117,363

)

Total MSC Industrial shareholders' equity

1,381,171

1,388,210

Noncontrolling interest

1,656

8,292

Total shareholders' equity

1,382,827

1,396,502

Total liabilities and shareholders' equity

$

2,487,066

$

2,462,064

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

Thirteen Weeks Ended

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

Net sales

$

965,684

$

928,484

Cost of goods sold

573,007

550,297

Gross profit

392,677

378,187

Operating expenses

311,568

303,563

Restructuring and other costs

4,870

2,344

Income from operations

76,239

72,280

Other income (expense):

Interest expense

(5,416

)

(6,075

)

Interest income

275

341

Other expense, net

(3,584

)

(5,944

)

Total other expense

(8,725

)

(11,678

)

Income before provision for income taxes

67,514

60,602

Provision for income taxes

16,406

14,908

Net income

51,108

45,694

Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest

(696

)

(929

)

Net income attributable to MSC Industrial

$

51,804

$

46,623

Per share data attributable to MSC Industrial:

Net income per common share:

Basic

$

0.93

$

0.83

Diluted

$

0.93

$

0.83

Weighted-average shares used in computing net income per common share:

Basic

55,804

55,897

Diluted

55,975

56,068

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)

Thirteen Weeks Ended

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

Net income, as reported

$

51,108

$

45,694

Other comprehensive income, net of tax:

Foreign currency translation adjustments

(902

)

(4,066

)

Comprehensive income

50,206

41,628

Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest:

Net loss

696

929

Foreign currency translation adjustments

(108

)

234

Comprehensive income attributable to MSC Industrial

$

50,794

$

42,791

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)(Unaudited)

Thirteen Weeks Ended

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:

Net income

$

51,108

$

45,694

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

25,111

21,682

Amortization of cloud computing arrangements

254

504

Non-cash operating lease cost

5,944

6,070

Stock-based compensation

4,378

3,562

Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment

450

188

Gain on sale of property

(584

)

-

Non-cash changes in fair value of estimated contingent consideration

-

245

Provision for credit losses

1,038

2,521

Expenditures for cloud computing arrangements

(737

)

(332

)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

Accounts receivable

(8,694

)

455

Inventories

(16,234

)

5,491

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

(24,648

)

(2,629

)

Operating lease liabilities

(6,038

)

(6,152

)

Other assets

51

(154

)

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

(1,988

)

24,723

Total adjustments

(21,697

)

56,174

Net cash provided by operating activities

29,411

101,868

Cash Flows from Investing Activities:

Expenditures for property, plant and equipment

(22,006

)

(20,168

)

Cash used in acquisitions, net of cash acquired

(240

)

(240

)

Net proceeds from sale of property

1,057

-

Net cash used in investing activities

(21,189

)

(20,408

)

Cash Flows from Financing Activities:

Repurchases of Class A Common Stock

(12,959

)

(18,072

)

Payments of regular cash dividends

(48,626

)

(47,537

)

Proceeds from sale of Class A Common Stock in connection with Associate Stock Purchase Plan

908

1,029

Proceeds from exercise of Class A Common Stock options

-

120

Borrowings under credit facilities

156,000

111,500

Payments under credit facilities

(111,000

)

(99,750

)

Purchase of noncontrolling interest

(8,195

)

-

Other, net

(64

)

(649

)

Net cash used in financing activities

(23,936

)

(53,359

)

Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

(260

)

(423

)

Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents

(15,974

)

27,678

Cash and cash equivalents-beginning of period

56,228

29,588

Cash and cash equivalents-end of period

$

40,254

$

57,266

Supplemental Disclosure of Cash Flow Information:

Cash paid for income taxes

$

5,760

$

13,500

Cash paid for interest

$

5,610

$

6,262

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement MSC's unaudited selected financial data presented consistent with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"), the Company discloses certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP provision for income taxes, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, that exclude items such as restructuring and other costs and share reclassification litigation costs, and tax effects.

These non-GAAP financial measures are not presented in accordance with GAAP or alternatives for GAAP financial measures and may be different from similar non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure and should only be used to evaluate MSC's results of operations in conjunction with the corresponding GAAP financial measure.

This press release also includes certain forward-looking information that is not presented in accordance with GAAP, including adjusted operating margin and free cash flow conversion. The Company believes that a quantitative reconciliation of such forward-looking information to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP cannot be made available without unreasonable efforts because a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures would require the Company to predict the timing and likelihood of potential future events such as restructurings, M&A activity, and other infrequent or unusual gains and losses. Neither the timing or likelihood of these events, nor their probable significance, can be quantified with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Accordingly, a reconciliation of such forward-looking information to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is not provided.

Free Cash Flow ("FCF") and Free Cash Flow Conversion ("FCF Conversion")

FCF is a non-GAAP financial measure. FCF is used in addition to and in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP, and FCF should not be relied upon to the exclusion of GAAP financial measures. Management strongly encourages investors to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and to not rely on any single financial measure. FCF, which we reconcile to "Net cash provided by operating activities," is cash flow from operations reduced by "Expenditures for property, plant and equipment". We believe that FCF, although similar to cash flow from operations, is a useful additional measure since capital expenditures are a necessary component of ongoing operations. Management also views FCF, as a measure of the Company's ability to reduce debt, add to cash balances, pay dividends, and repurchase stock. FCF has limitations due to the fact that it does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. For example, FCF does not incorporate payments made on finance lease obligations or required debt service payments. In addition, different companies define FCF differently. Therefore, we believe it is important to view FCF as a complement to our entire consolidated statements of cash flows. FCF Conversion is useful to investors for the foregoing reasons and as a measure of the rate at which the Company converts its net income reported in accordance with GAAP to cash inflows, which helps investors assess whether the Company is generating sufficient cash flow to provide an adequate return.

Results Excluding Restructuring and Other Costs and Share Reclassification Litigation Costs

In calculating certain non-GAAP financial measures, we exclude items such as restructuring and other costs and share reclassification litigation costs, and tax effects. Management makes these adjustments to facilitate a review of the Company's operating performance on a comparable basis between periods, for comparing with forecasts and strategic plans, for identifying and analyzing trends in the Company's underlying business and for benchmarking performance externally against competitors. We believe that investors benefit from seeing results from the perspective of management in addition to seeing results presented in accordance with GAAP for the same reasons and purposes for which management uses such non-GAAP financial measures.

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.
Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Financial Information
Fiscal Quarter Ended November 29, 2025
(In thousands, except percentages and per share data)

GAAP Financial Measure

Items Affecting Comparability

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

Total MSC Industrial

Restructuring and Other Costs

Share Reclassification Litigation Costs

Adjusted Total MSC Industrial

Net Sales

$

965,684

$

-

$

-

$

965,684

Cost of Goods Sold

573,007

-

-

573,007

Gross Profit

392,677

-

-

392,677

Gross Margin

40.7

%

-

%

-

%

40.7

%

Operating Expenses

311,568

-

51

311,517

Operating Expenses as % of Sales

32.3

%

-

%

0.0

%

32.3

%

Restructuring and Other Costs

4,870

4,870

-

-

Income from Operations

76,239

(4,870

)

(51

)

81,160

Operating Margin

7.9

%

0.5

%

0.0

%

8.4

%

Total Other Expense

(8,725

)

-

-

(8,725

)

Income before provision for income taxes

67,514

(4,870

)

(51

)

72,435

Provision for income taxes

16,406

(1,184

)

(12

)

17,602

Net income

51,108

(3,686

)

(39

)

54,833

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest

(696

)

-

-

(696

)

Net income attributable to MSC Industrial

$

51,804

$

(3,686

)

$

(39

)

$

55,529

Net income per common share:

Diluted

$

0.93

$

(0.07

)

$

0.00

$

0.99

*Individual amounts may not agree to the total due to rounding.

MSC INDUSTRIAL DIRECT CO., INC.
Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Financial Information
Fiscal Quarter Ended November 30, 2024
(In thousands, except percentages and per share data)

GAAP Financial Measure

Items Affecting Comparability

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

Total MSC Industrial

Restructuring and Other Costs

Adjusted Total MSC Industrial

Net Sales

$

928,484

$

-

$

928,484

Cost of Goods Sold

550,297

-

550,297

Gross Profit

378,187

-

378,187

Gross Margin

40.7

%

-

%

40.7

%

Operating Expenses

303,563

-

303,563

Operating Expenses as % of Sales

32.7

%

-

%

32.7

%

Restructuring and Other Costs

2,344

2,344

-

Income from Operations

72,280

(2,344

)

74,624

Operating Margin

7.8

%

0.3

%

8.0

%

Total Other Expense

(11,678

)

-

(11,678

)

Income before provision for income taxes

60,602

(2,344

)

62,946

Provision for income taxes

14,908

(577

)

15,485

Net income

45,694

(1,767

)

47,461

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest

(929

)

-

(929

)

Net income attributable to MSC Industrial

$

46,623

$

(1,767

)

$

48,390

Net income per common share:

Diluted

$

0.83

$

(0.03

)

$

0.86

*Individual amounts may not agree to the total due to rounding.

SOURCE: MSC Industrial Direct Co.

- Appointment of Mr. Daniel Karrqvist to the Position of CFO & Ms. Naomi Nemeth to the Role of Vice President, Investor Relations

TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / January 7, 2026 / Jaguar Mining Inc. ("Jaguar" or the "Company") (TSX:JAG)(OTCQX:JAGGF) is pleased to announce two new additions to its senior management team. Mr. Daniel Karrqvist has been appointed to the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Ms. Naomi Nemeth has been appointed to the newly created role of Vice President, Investor Relations.

Mr. Karrqvist will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Company's financial operations, including financial strategy, reporting, treasury, tax planning, and internal controls. He will play a pivotal role in optimizing capital structure, driving cost efficiencies, and ensuring robust financial systems are in place to support Jaguar's strategic growth initiatives. Additionally, Mr. Karrqvist will assume the vital role of Corporate Secretary, overseeing corporate governance and compliance.

Ms. Nemeth will be responsible for building and maintaining a comprehensive investor relations program, for communicating with all levels of investors on a global basis and contributing her expertise to Jaguar's aggressive business and growth strategy. Ms. Nemeth will work closely with Jaguar's CEO, senior management team, Brazil staff and the Company's Board of Directors to implement a proactive institutional and retail shareholder program and will begin an outreach program targeting non-traditional Investor groups for both awareness and investment in Jaguar Mining.

"On behalf of the board and management of Jaguar Mining, I would like to welcome Mr. Karrqvist and Ms. Nemeth to our senior management team, who are all experienced professionals in their own fields," commented Jaguar Mining CEO Luis Albano Tondo. "Mr. Karrqvist's international experience in senior financial roles in mining, and other related fields will be critical in ensuring Jaguar will have the appropriate financial systems, staff and resources in place to achieve its strategic growth plan. Ms. Nemeth's extensive experience in investor relations in the mining sector, in augmenting shareholder rosters with high quality shareholders, and in keeping all shareholders informed on company progress will also contribute significantly toward the Company achieving its strategic goals. We would also like to thank Marina Fagundes de Freitas for her 15 years of service, most recently serving as Interim Chief Financial Officer since May 2025 and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours."

Mr. Daniel Karrqvist
Mr. Karrqvist is a seasoned CFO and Finance Executive with nearly 20 years of international experience across mining, metals, agribusiness, industrial manufacturing and private equity-backed environments. A Swedish national based in Brazil, he has built his career leading complex operations, strategic transformations, large capital programs and full financial restructurings across Brazil, Canada, the United States, Switzerland, China, Argentina and Costa Rica. He has served as CFO, Finance Director and Country Manager in global corporations such as Norsk Hydro, ArcelorMittal, Yamana Gold, AMG Mining and Aqua Capital portfolio companies. His background spans the full finance agenda: treasury, tax planning, controllership, FP&A, risk management, government relations, corporate governance, digital transformation and large-scale ERP and integration programs. Mr. Karrqvist has a strong track record in M&A, IPO readiness, expansion of mining assets (both brownfield and greenfield), shared service centre implementation, long-term debt restructuring with global banks, and cost-reduction programs through zero-based budgeting and operational efficiency. He has significant exposure to capital markets, regularly interfacing with investors, analysts, boards and credit institutions in multiple jurisdictions. He also brings extensive experience in mining operations of diverse maturity levels-greenfield development, brownfield expansion, operational stabilization, and divestment strategies - along with active participation in industry associations and government bodies. Mr. Karrqvist has led organisations through periods of growth, turnaround, crisis response and governance strengthening. Academically, he holds a bachelor's degree from the London School of Economics and a master's degree in economics and finance from Binghamton University, and is fluent in English, Portuguese and Swedish.

Ms. Naomi Nemeth
Ms. Nemeth is a seasoned Investor Relations professional with more than 25 years' experience. Focused on the mining industry for the past 20 years, she has held senior management positions with companies such as Lavras Gold (exploration in southern Brazil), HighGold Mining (Alaska Johnson Gold Project), Constantine Metal Resources (Alaska Palmer zinc project), Banro Corporation (gold production in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Coro Mining (copper production in Chile), Desert Sun Mining (gold production in Bahia State, Brazil), Wolfden Resources (exploration in Ontario), African Copper (gold in Botswana), and Continental Gold (gold in Colombia). Ms. Nemeth has also led junior mining companies as CEO (MetalCorp Inc., Rockex Mining) and has served as a director on several exploration company boards throughout the past 17 years. In addition, Ms. Nemeth has held senior Investor Relations and Communications roles within the pharmaceutical industry (Biovail, MDS, Glaxo) and the financial services sector (Clarica, Manulife). Ms. Nemeth began her career as an exploration geologist working for Inco in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Ontario and has an undergraduate degree in geology and biology from Brock University and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Western Ontario. Ms. Nemeth will be based in Toronto.

About Jaguar Mining Inc.
Jaguar Mining Inc. is a Canadian-listed junior gold mining, development, and exploration company operating in Brazil with three gold mining complexes and a large land package with significant upside exploration potential from mineral claims. The Company's principal operating assets are located in the Iron Quadrangle, a prolific greenstone belt in the state of Minas Gerais and include the MTL complex (Turmalina mine and plant) and Caeté complex (Pilar and Roça Grande mines, and Caeté plant). The Roça Grande mine has been on temporary care and maintenance since April 2019. The Company also owns the Paciência complex (Santa Isabel mine and plant), which had been on care and maintenance since 2012 and is under review to restart in 2026. Additional information is available on the Company's website at www.jaguarmining.com.

For further information please contact:
Luis Albano Tondo
Chief Executive Officer
Jaguar Mining Inc.

Naomi Nemeth
Vice President investor Relations
Jaguar Mining
[email protected]
+1 647 465 2470

SOURCE: Jaguar Mining, Inc.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOG), a leading provider of architectural building products and services, as well as high-performance coated materials used in a variety of applications, today reported its results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026, ended November 29, 2025. The Company reported the following selected financial results:

Three Months Ended

(Unaudited, $ in thousands, except per share amounts)

November 29, 2025

November 30, 2024

% Change

Net sales

$

348,563

$

341,344

2.1

%

Net earnings

$

16,549

$

20,989

(21.2

)%

Diluted earnings per share

$

0.77

$

0.96

(19.8

)%

Additional Non-GAAP Measures (1)

Adjusted EBITDA

$

46,131

$

45,803

0.7

%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

13.2

%

13.4

%

Adjusted diluted earnings per share

$

1.02

$

1.19

(14.3

)%

“I’m proud of our team’s disciplined execution and agility during this transition. Despite a challenging environment, we delivered results in line with expectations and remain focused on serving customers with innovative products and exceptional service. Our strong operational foundation and balance sheet position us to navigate near-term challenges and drive sustainable long-term value,” said Donald Nolan, Executive Chair and CEO.

Consolidated Results (Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 compared to Third Quarter Fiscal 2025)

Consolidated net sales increased 2.1%, to $348.6 million, driven by $18.4 million of inorganic sales contribution from the acquisition of UW Solutions and favorable product mix, partially offset by lower volume. Gross margin decreased to 23.8%, compared to 26.1%, primarily due to the impact of lower volume and price, and higher aluminum, restructuring and health insurance costs, partially offset by lower incentive compensation expense. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense as a percent of net sales decreased to 16.7%, compared to 17.7%. The decrease was primarily due to lower acquisition-related costs and lower incentive compensation expense, partially offset by higher amortization expense related to the UW Solutions acquisition and CEO transition costs. Operating income declined to $24.9 million from $28.6 million, and operating margin decreased 130 basis points to 7.1%. Adjusted EBITDA increased to $46.1 million, compared to $45.8 million, and adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to 13.2%, compared to 13.4%. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA margin was primarily driven by lower volume and price, higher aluminum and health insurance costs, partially offset by lower incentive compensation expense and benefits from cost savings related to Fortify Phase 2. Interest expense increased to $3.2 million, primarily due to a higher average debt balance resulting from the acquisition of UW Solutions in November 2024. Other income was $2.5 million, compared to $0.1 million. The change was primarily due to a $2.1 million gain related to a New Market Tax Credit recognized in the current period. Income tax expense as a percentage of earnings before income tax was 31.4%, compared to 24.1%. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily driven by an increase in tax expense for discrete items. Segment Results (Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 compared to Third Quarter Fiscal 2025)

Architectural Metals
Architectural Metals net sales were $124.4 million, compared to $138.0 million, primarily due to lower volume, partially offset by favorable price and product mix. Adjusted EBITDA was $16.8 million, or 13.5% of net sales, compared to $17.5 million, or 12.7% of net sales. The higher adjusted EBITDA margin was primarily driven by favorable productivity including cost savings related to Fortify Phase 2, lower incentive compensation expense, and favorable price and product mix, partially offset by lower volume.

Architectural Services
Architectural Services net sales were $105.2 million compared to $104.9 million, primarily due to increased volume. Adjusted EBITDA was $10.2 million, or 9.7% of net sales, compared to $10.0 million, or 9.5% of net sales. The increase in adjusted EBITDA margin was primarily driven by lower incentive compensation expense, partially offset by project mix. Segment backlog1 at the end of the quarter was $774.7 million, compared to $792.3 million at the end of the second quarter.

Architectural Glass
Architectural Glass net sales were $70.9 million, compared to $70.2 million, primarily due to increased volume and favorable mix, partially offset by lower price driven by end-market demand. Adjusted EBITDA was $11.5 million, or 16.3% of net sales, compared to $13.2 million, or 18.8% of net sales. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA margin was primarily driven by lower price and higher material costs, partially offset by higher volume, favorable mix and lower incentive compensation expense.

Performance Surfaces
Performance Surfaces net sales were $53.0 million, compared to $33.2 million. Net sales included $18.4 million of inorganic sales contribution from the acquisition of UW Solutions and organic growth of 4.3%. Adjusted EBITDA was $11.9 million, or 22.5% of net sales compared to $7.8 million, or 23.6% of net sales. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA margin was primarily driven by the dilutive impact of lower adjusted EBITDA margin from UW Solutions and unfavorable productivity, partially offset by favorable product mix and price.

Corporate and Other
Corporate and other adjusted EBITDA expense was $4.3 million, compared to $2.7 million, primarily driven by higher health insurance costs.

Financial Condition
Net cash provided by operating activities in the third quarter was $29.3 million, compared to $31.0 million in the prior-year period. Fiscal year-to-date, net cash provided by operating activities was $66.6 million, compared to $95.1 million in the prior-year period. The year-to-date change was primarily driven by lower net earnings and an increase in cash used for working capital, including a net payment of $13.7 million for the settlement of an arbitration award. Fiscal year-to-date, net cash used in investing activities was $15.8 million, primarily related to capital expenditures. Fiscal year-to-date, the Company returned $16.6 million of cash to shareholders through dividend payments. Quarter-end long-term debt decreased $15 million from the end of the second quarter to $255.0 million, which decreased the Consolidated Leverage Ratio2 (as defined in the Company’s credit agreement) to 1.4x at the end of the quarter.

Project Fortify
As previously announced, in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, the Company began the second phase of Project Fortify (referred to as "Project Fortify Phase 2" or "Phase 2") to drive further cost efficiencies, primarily in the Architectural Services and Architectural Metals Segments. The Company is expanding the scope of Phase 2 to include further restructuring actions, primarily in Architectural Metals and Corporate. With the expanded scope, the Company now expects the actions of Phase 2 to incur a total of approximately $28 million to $29 million in pre-tax charges, and deliver estimated annualized pre-tax cost savings of approximately $25 million to $26 million. During the third quarter, the Company incurred $5.1 million of pre-tax costs associated with Phase 2. The Company expects the actions associated with Phase 2 to be substantially completed by the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.

Fiscal 2026 Outlook
The Company now expects net sales to be approximately $1.39 billion, diluted EPS in the range of $2.49 to $2.65 and adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $3.40 to $3.50. This includes a projected unfavorable EPS impact from tariffs of approximately $0.30. The Company’s revised outlook assumes an adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 27%. The Company now assumes capital expenditures between $25 million to $30 million.

Conference Call Information
The Company will host a conference call on January 7, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time to discuss this earnings release. This call will be webcast and is available in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website, along with presentation slides, at https://www.apog.com/events-and-presentations. A replay and transcript of the webcast will be available on the Company’s website following the conference call.

About Apogee Enterprises
Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOG) is a leading provider of architectural building products and services, as well as high-performance coated materials used in a variety of applications. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, our portfolio of industry-leading products and services includes architectural glass, windows, curtainwall, storefront and entrance systems, integrated project management and installation services, and high-performance coatings that provide protection, innovative design, and enhanced performance. For more information, visit www.apog.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Management uses non-GAAP measures to evaluate the Company’s historical and prospective financial performance, measure operational profitability on a consistent basis, as a factor in determining executive compensation, and to provide enhanced transparency to the investment community. Non-GAAP measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the reported financial results of the Company prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate these measures differently, limiting the usefulness of the measures for comparison with other companies. This release and other financial communications may contain the following non-GAAP measures:

Adjusted net earnings, adjusted diluted EPS, and adjusted EBITDA are used by the Company to provide meaningful supplemental information about its operating performance by excluding amounts that are not considered part of core operating results to enhance comparability of results from period to period. Adjusted EBITDA represents adjusted net earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, and adjusted EBITDA margin is adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net sales. We use adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin to assess segment performance and make decisions about the allocation of operating and capital resources by analyzing recent results, trends, and variances of each segment in relation to forecasts and historical performance. Consolidated Leverage Ratio is calculated as Consolidated Funded Indebtedness minus Unrestricted Cash at the end of the current period, divided by Consolidated EBITDA (calculated as EBITDA plus certain non-cash charges and allowed addbacks, less certain non-cash income, plus the pro forma effect of acquisitions and certain pro forma run-rate cost savings for acquisitions and dispositions, as applicable for the trailing twelve months ended as of the current period). All capitalized and undefined terms used in this bullet are defined in the Company’s credit agreement dated July 19, 2024. The Company is unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of forward-looking expected Consolidated Leverage Ratio to its most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measure because such information is not available, and management cannot reliably predict all the necessary components of such GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort or expense. In addition, the Company believes such reconciliation would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors. Backlog is an operating measure used by management to assess future potential sales revenue. Backlog is defined as the dollar amount of signed contracts or firm orders, generally as a result of a competitive bidding process, which is expected to be recognized as revenue. It is most meaningful for the Architectural Services segment, due to the longer-term nature of their projects. Backlog is not a term defined under U.S. GAAP and is not a measure of contract profitability. Backlog should not be used as the sole indicator of future revenue because the Company has a substantial number of projects with short lead times that book-and-bill within the same reporting period that are not included in backlog. Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “may,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify “forward-looking statements”. These statements reflect Apogee management’s expectations or beliefs as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are qualified by factors that may affect the results, performance, financial condition, prospects and opportunities of the Company, including the following: (A) North American and global economic conditions, including the cyclical nature of the North American and Latin American non-residential construction industries and the potential impact of an economic downturn or recession; (B) U.S. and global instability and uncertainty arising from events outside of our control; (C) actions of new and existing competitors; (D) departure of key personnel and ability to source sufficient labor; (E) product performance, reliability and quality issues; (F) project management and installation issues that could affect the profitability of individual contracts; (G) dependence on a relatively small number of customers in one operating segment; (H) financial and operating results that could differ from market expectations; (I) self-insurance risk related to a material product liability or other events for which the Company is liable; (J) maintaining our information technology systems and potential cybersecurity threats; (K) cost of regulatory compliance, including environmental regulations; (L) supply chain disruptions, including fluctuations in the availability and cost of materials used in our products and the impact of trade policies and regulations, including existing and potential future tariffs; (M) integration and future operating results of acquisitions, including but not limited to the acquisition of UW Solutions, and management of acquired contracts; (N) impairment of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets; (O) our ability to successfully manage and implement our enterprise strategy; (P) our ability to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting; (Q) our judgments regarding accounting for tax positions and resolution of tax disputes; (R) the impacts of cost inflation and interest rates; and (S) the impact of changes in capital and credit markets on our liquidity and cost of capital. The Company cautions investors that actual future results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and that other factors may in the future prove to be important in affecting the Company’s results, performance, prospects, or opportunities. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or a combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. More information concerning potential factors that could affect future financial results is included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and in subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Consolidated Condensed Statements of Income

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

% Change

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

% Change

Net sales

$

348,563

$

341,344

2.1

%

$

1,053,379

$

1,015,300

3.8

%

Cost of sales

265,571

252,195

5.3

%

812,654

729,975

11.3

%

Gross profit

82,992

89,149

(6.9

)%

240,725

285,325

(15.6

)%

Selling, general and administrative expenses

58,113

60,520

(4.0

)%

182,026

173,350

5.0

%

Operating income

24,879

28,629

(13.1

)%

58,699

111,975

(47.6

)%

Interest expense, net

3,227

1,044

209.1

%

11,148

2,634

323.2

%

Other income, net

(2,458

)

(60

)

3,996.7

%

(6,916

)

(493

)

1,302.8

%

Earnings before income taxes

24,110

27,645

(12.8

)%

54,467

109,834

(50.4

)%

Income tax expense

7,561

6,656

13.6

%

16,956

27,268

(37.8

)%

Net earnings

$

16,549

$

20,989

(21.2

)%

$

37,511

$

82,566

(54.6

)%

Basic earnings per share

$

0.78

$

0.96

(18.8

)%

$

1.76

$

3.79

(53.6

)%

Diluted earnings per share

$

0.77

$

0.96

(19.8

)%

$

1.74

$

3.76

(53.7

)%

Weighted average basic shares outstanding

21,302

21,782

(2.2

)%

21,349

21,789

(2.0

)%

Weighted average diluted shares outstanding

21,592

21,917

(1.5

)%

21,568

21,937

(1.7

)%

Cash dividends per common share

$

0.26

$

0.25

4.0

%

$

0.78

$

0.75

4.0

%

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

(In thousands)

November 29, 2025

March 1, 2025

Assets

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

$

41,315

$

41,448

Receivables, net

176,588

185,590

Inventories, net

102,495

92,305

Contract assets

66,645

71,842

Other current assets

48,954

50,919

Total current assets

435,997

442,104

Property, plant and equipment, net

253,092

268,139

Operating lease right-of-use assets

50,903

62,314

Goodwill

236,386

235,775

Intangible assets, net

113,673

128,417

Other non-current assets

25,977

38,520

Total assets

$

1,116,028

$

1,175,269

Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity

Current liabilities

Accounts payable

92,844

98,804

Accrued compensation and benefits

33,906

48,510

Contract liabilities

43,086

35,193

Operating lease liabilities

14,504

15,290

Other current liabilities

45,405

87,659

Total current liabilities

229,745

285,456

Long-term debt

255,000

285,000

Non-current operating lease liabilities

41,981

51,632

Non-current self-insurance reserves

32,180

30,382

Other non-current liabilities

44,831

34,901

Total shareholders’ equity

512,291

487,898

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

$

1,116,028

$

1,175,269

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

Nine Months Ended

(In thousands)

November 29, 2025

November 30, 2024

Operating Activities

Net earnings

$

37,511

$

82,566

Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

37,456

30,798

Share-based compensation

6,570

8,067

Deferred income taxes

16,762

5,109

Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment

418

159

Impairment on intangible assets

7,418

—

Settlement of New Markets Tax Credit transaction

(6,740

)

—

Non-cash lease expense

10,901

9,926

Other, net

4,596

1,800

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of business acquired:

Receivables

9,431

(2,191

)

Inventories

(9,842

)

(8,284

)

Contract assets

5,317

(8,168

)

Accounts payable

(3,873

)

6,796

Accrued compensation and benefits

(14,782

)

(20,958

)

Contract liabilities

7,823

11,499

Operating lease liability

(10,628

)

(9,387

)

Accrued income taxes

(3,279

)

(6,498

)

Other current assets and liabilities

(28,437

)

(6,104

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

66,622

95,130

Investing Activities

Capital expenditures

(18,315

)

(24,696

)

Proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment

1,606

744

Purchases of marketable securities

(550

)

(2,394

)

Sales/maturities of marketable securities

1,485

2,370

Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired

—

(233,125

)

Net cash used in investing activities

(15,774

)

(257,101

)

Financing Activities

Proceeds from revolving credit facilities

80,000

95,201

Repayment on revolving credit facilities

(110,000

)

(115,201

)

Proceeds from term loans

—

250,000

Repayment of term loans

—

(20,000

)

Repurchase of common stock

—

(15,061

)

Dividends paid

(16,567

)

(16,238

)

Payments of debt issuance costs

—

(3,798

)

Other, net

(5,342

)

(5,884

)

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

(51,909

)

169,019

Effect of exchange rates on cash

928

(409

)

(Decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

(133

)

6,639

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period

41,448

37,216

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

$

41,315

$

43,855

Non-cash Activity

Capital expenditures in accounts payable

$

970

$

2,299

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Components of Changes in Net Sales

(Unaudited)

Three months ended November 29, 2025, compared with the three months ended November 30, 2024

  (In thousands, except
percentages)

Architectural
Metals

Architectural
Services

Architectural
Glass

Performance
Surfaces

Intersegment
eliminations

Consolidated

Fiscal 2025 net sales

$

138,039

$

104,921

$

70,236

$

33,196

$

(5,048

)

$

341,344

Organic business (1)

(13,606

)

245

616

1,417

180

(11,148

)

Acquisition (2)

—

—

—

18,367

—

18,367

Fiscal 2026 net sales

$

124,433

$

105,166

$

70,852

$

52,980

$

(4,868

)

$

348,563

Total net sales growth (decline)

(9.9

)%

0.2

%

0.9

%

59.6

%

(3.6

)%

2.1

%

Organic business (1)

(9.9

)%

0.2

%

0.9

%

4.3

%

(3.6

)%

(3.3

)%

Acquisition (2)

—

%

—

%

—

%

55.3

%

—

%

5.4

%

Nine months ended November 29, 2025, compared with the nine months ended November 30, 2024

  (In thousands, except
percentages)

Architectural
Metals

Architectural
Services

Architectural
Glass

Performance
Surfaces

Intersegment
eliminations

Consolidated

Fiscal 2025 net sales

$

412,561

$

301,966

$

247,040

$

74,232

$

(20,499

)

$

1,015,300

Organic business (1)

(18,570

)

10,195

(30,734

)

4,117

7,800

(27,192

)

Acquisition (2)

—

—

—

65,271

—

65,271

Fiscal 2026 net sales

$

393,991

$

312,161

$

216,306

$

143,620

$

(12,699

)

$

1,053,379

Total net sales growth (decline)

(4.5

)%

3.4

%

(12.4

)%

93.5

%

(38.1

)%

3.8

%

Organic business (1)

(4.5

)%

3.4

%

(12.4

)%

5.5

%

(38.1

)%

(2.7

)%

Acquisition (2)

—

%

—

%

—

%

87.9

%

—

%

6.4

%

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Business Segment Information

(Unaudited)

  Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

(In thousands)

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

% Change

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

% Change

Segment net sales

Architectural Metals

$

124,433

$

138,039

(9.9

)%

$

393,991

$

412,561

(4.5

)%

Architectural Services

105,166

104,921

0.2

%

312,161

301,966

3.4

%

Architectural Glass

70,852

70,236

0.9

%

216,306

247,040

(12.4

)%

Performance Surfaces

52,980

33,196

59.6

%

143,620

74,232

93.5

%

Total segment sales

353,431

346,392

2.0

%

1,066,078

1,035,799

2.9

%

Intersegment eliminations

(4,868

)

(5,048

)

(3.6

)%

(12,699

)

(20,499

)

(38.1

)%

Net sales

$

348,563

$

341,344

2.1

%

$

1,053,379

$

1,015,300

3.8

%

Segment adjusted EBITDA

Architectural Metals

$

16,750

$

17,483

(4.2

)%

$

46,946

$

63,551

(26.1

)%

Architectural Services

10,198

9,994

2.0

%

21,279

23,911

(11.0

)%

Architectural Glass

11,534

13,180

(12.5

)%

36,598

57,551

(36.4

)%

Performance Surfaces

11,921

7,828

52.3

%

31,100

18,053

72.3

%

Corporate and Other

(4,272

)

(2,682

)

59.3

%

(11,040

)

(11,519

)

(4.2

)%

Adjusted EBITDA

$

46,131

$

45,803

0.7

%

$

124,883

$

151,547

(17.6

)%

Segment adjusted EBITDA margins

Architectural Metals

13.5

%

12.7

%

11.9

%

15.4

%

Architectural Services

9.7

%

9.5

%

6.8

%

7.9

%

Architectural Glass

16.3

%

18.8

%

16.9

%

23.3

%

Performance Surfaces

22.5

%

23.6

%

21.7

%

24.3

%

Corporate and Other

N/M

N/M

N/M

N/M

Adjusted EBITDA margin

13.2

%

13.4

%

11.9

%

14.9

%

N/M - Indicates calculation is not meaningful. Segment net sales is defined as net sales for a certain segment and includes revenue related to intersegment transactions. Net sales intersegment eliminations are reported separately to exclude these sales from our consolidated total. Adjusted EBITDA represents adjusted net earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended November 29, 2025

(In thousands)

Architectural
Metals

Architectural
Services

Architectural
Glass

Performance
Surfaces

Corporate and
Other

Consolidated

Net earnings (loss)

$

12,264

$

7,614

$

8,248

$

7,749

$

(19,326

)

$

16,549

Interest expense (income), net

430

(89

)

(174

)

—

3,060

3,227

Income tax expense

—

—

81

—

7,480

7,561

Depreciation and amortization

3,662

809

3,379

3,913

753

12,516

EBITDA

16,356

8,334

11,534

11,662

(8,033

)

39,853

Acquisition-related costs (1)

—

—

—

259

56

315

Restructuring costs (2)

2,537

1,864

—

—

679

5,080

CEO transition costs (3)

—

—

—

—

3,026

3,026

NMTC settlement gain (4)

(2,143

)

—

—

—

—

(2,143

)

Adjusted EBITDA

$

16,750

$

10,198

$

11,534

$

11,921

$

(4,272

)

$

46,131

EBITDA margin

13.1

%

7.9

%

16.3

%

22.0

%

N/M

11.4

%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

13.5

%

9.7

%

16.3

%

22.5

%

N/M

13.2

%

Three Months Ended November 30, 2024

(In thousands)

Architectural
Metals

Architectural
Services

Architectural
Glass

Performance
Surfaces

Corporate and
Other

Consolidated

Net earnings (loss)

$

12,146

$

9,734

$

10,115

$

4,841

$

(15,847

)

$

20,989

Interest expense (income), net

563

(4

)

(121

)

—

606

1,044

Income tax expense

—

—

117

—

6,539

6,656

Depreciation and amortization

3,932

981

3,069

2,461

691

11,134

EBITDA

16,641

10,711

13,180

7,302

(8,011

)

39,823

Acquisition-related costs (1)

—

—

—

526

4,542

5,068

Restructuring costs (2)

842

(717

)

—

—

787

912

Adjusted EBITDA

$

17,483

$

9,994

$

13,180

$

7,828

$

(2,682

)

$

45,803

EBITDA margin

12.1

%

10.2

%

18.8

%

22.0

%

N/M

11.7

%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

12.7

%

9.5

%

18.8

%

23.6

%

N/M

13.4

%

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin

(Unaudited)

Nine Months Ended November 29, 2025

(In thousands)

Architectural
Metals

Architectural
Services

Architectural
Glass

Performance
Surfaces

Corporate
and Other

Consolidated

Net earnings (loss)

$

36,806

$

2,855

$

26,880

$

18,126

$

(47,156

)

$

37,511

Interest expense (income), net

1,331

(227

)

(450

)

—

10,494

11,148

Income tax (benefit) expense

(43

)

(8

)

198

—

16,809

16,956

Depreciation and amortization

11,229

2,789

9,970

11,251

2,217

37,456

EBITDA

49,323

5,409

36,598

29,377

(17,636

)

103,071

Acquisition-related costs (1)

—

—

—

1,723

249

1,972

Restructuring costs (2)

4,363

15,870

—

—

3,321

23,554

CEO transition costs (3)

—

—

—

—

3,026

3,026

NMTC settlement gain (4)

(6,740

)

—

—

—

—

(6,740

)

Adjusted EBITDA

$

46,946

$

21,279

$

36,598

$

31,100

$

(11,040

)

$

124,883

EBITDA margin

12.5

%

1.7

%

16.9

%

20.5

%

N/M

9.8

%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

11.9

%

6.8

%

16.9

%

21.7

%

N/M

11.9

%

Nine Months Ended November 30, 2024

(In thousands)

Architectural
Metals

Architectural
Services

Architectural
Glass

Performance
Surfaces

Corporate and
Other

Consolidated

Net earnings (loss)

$

46,509

$

21,460

$

49,342

$

13,481

$

(48,226

)

$

82,566

Interest expense (income), net

1,671

23

(317

)

—

1,257

2,634

Income tax expense (benefit)

7

—

(632

)

—

27,893

27,268

Depreciation and amortization

12,609

2,887

9,158

4,046

2,098

30,798

EBITDA

60,796

24,370

57,551

17,527

(16,978

)

143,266

Acquisition-related costs (1)

—

—

—

526

4,542

5,068

Restructuring costs (2)

2,755

(459

)

—

—

917

3,213

Adjusted EBITDA

$

63,551

$

23,911

$

57,551

$

18,053

$

(11,519

)

$

151,547

EBITDA margin

14.7

%

8.1

%

23.3

%

23.6

%

N/M

14.1

%

Adjusted EBITDA margin

15.4

%

7.9

%

23.3

%

24.3

%

N/M

14.9

%

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted diluted earnings per share

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

(In thousands)

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

Net earnings

$

16,549

$

20,989

$

37,511

$

82,566

Acquisition-related costs (1)

315

5,873

1,972

5,873

Restructuring costs (2)

5,080

912

23,554

3,213

CEO transition costs (3)

3,026

—

3,026

—

NMTC settlement gain (4)

(2,143

)

—

(6,740

)

—

Income tax impact on above adjustments (5)

(797

)

(1,662

)

(4,342

)

(2,226

)

Adjusted net earnings

$

22,030

$

26,112

$

54,981

$

89,426

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

November 29,
2025

November 30,
2024

Diluted earnings per share

$

0.77

$

0.96

$

1.74

$

3.76

Acquisition-related costs (1)

0.01

0.27

0.09

0.27

Restructuring costs (2)

0.24

0.04

1.09

0.15

CEO transition costs (3)

0.14

—

0.14

—

NMTC settlement gain (4)

(0.10

)

—

(0.31

)

—

Income tax impact on above adjustments (5)

(0.04

)

(0.08

)

(0.20

)

(0.10

)

Adjusted diluted earnings per share

$

1.02

$

1.19

$

2.55

$

4.08

Weighted average diluted shares outstanding

21,592

21,917

21,568

21,937

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Fiscal 2026 Outlook

Reconciliation of Fiscal 2026 outlook of estimated

Diluted Earnings per Share to Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share

(Unaudited)

Fiscal Year Ending February 28,
2026

Low Range

High Range

Diluted earnings per share

$

2.49

$

2.65

Acquisition-related costs (1)

0.12

0.09

Restructuring costs (2)

1.35

1.30

CEO transition costs (3)

0.14

0.14

New Market Tax Credit settlement gains (4)

(0.31

)

(0.31

)

Income tax impact on above adjustments (5)

(0.39

)

(0.37

)

Adjusted diluted earnings per share

$

3.40

$

3.50

More News From Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in SOUN over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Moderna (MRNA) was a big mover last session on higher-than-average trading volume. The latest trend in earnings estimate revisions might help the stock continue moving higher in the near term.

Confidence among middle market businesses rebounds, as small businesses hold steady

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At the start of the year, strong optimism among U.S. business leaders is setting the stage for an active 2026, according to JPMorganChase’s annual Business Leaders Outlook survey of small and midsize companies. Following a year of persistent economic and geopolitical headwinds, business leaders are charting a path forward by pursuing growth opportunities, embracing emerging technologies and, in some cases, forging new strategic partnerships.

As businesses grow and scale, their financial needs become more complex and their exposure to macroeconomic forces can intensify, shaping both their strategies and outlook. The survey highlights how these dynamics play out across companies of different sizes. Middle market companies—often more exposed to geopolitical shifts and policy changes—are reporting a rebound in optimism after confidence dipped in June of last year. Meanwhile, small businesses maintain steady optimism but continue to contend with domestic challenges—especially inflation and wage pressures—with a smaller share citing regulatory uncertainty as a concern.

Against this backdrop, the survey offers an in-depth look at the perspectives of middle market and small business leaders at the start of 2026.

The Middle Market: Confidence Rebounds, Driving Bullish Growth Plans

Middle market companies are kicking off the new year with an upbeat outlook for their businesses, rebounding to nearly the same levels of optimism seen this time last year. Following the 2024 U.S. presidential election, optimism surged, with many anticipating a favorable business environment. By June 2025, however, sentiment shifted amid concerns about political dynamics, tariffs, evolving regulations and global economic headwinds.

As leaders enter 2026, optimism is recovering, though worries remain. Top concerns include economic uncertainty (49%), revenue/sales growth (33%), and tariffs and labor (both at 31%). While just over half (51%) do not expect a recession in 2026, only 39% express optimism about the national economy. Still, leaders are bullish when it comes to their own prospects:

71% are optimistic about their company’s prospects at the start of this year, compared to 58% in June 2025 and 75% in January 2025 73% project increased revenue, compared to 50% in June 2025 and 74% in January 2025 48% expect to increase headcount, up from 37% in June 2025 and 51% in January 2025 “There’s a real sense of momentum across the middle market as business leaders prepare to set ambitious growth plans in motion,” said Melissa Smith, Co-Head of Commercial Banking at J.P. Morgan. “Companies are thinking creatively about how to position themselves for the future as they navigate complex macroeconomic factors.”

This growth mindset is reflected in the strategies leaders are prioritizing for 2026, such as introducing new products or services (58%), expanding into new domestic and/or international markets (53%), pursuing strategic partnerships or investments (49%) and/or mergers and acquisitions (39%).

Read more about the middle market outlook, including the impact of tariffs and adoption of technology and AI, here: jpmorgan.com/businessleadersoutlook2026

Small Business: Steady Sentiment and a Focus on Adaptation

Small businesses are entering 2026 with steady optimism and a clear focus on adaptation. Throughout 2025, owners navigated persistent cost pressures and shifting economic signals. While cost challenges remain front and center, small business sentiment has shown a new level of resolve—even strengthening as the year progressed.

“Small business owners are operating with a mix of optimism and pragmatism,” said Ben Walter, CEO of Chase for Business. “They’re making smart investments and doubling down on innovation, setting the pace for Main Street in the year ahead while adapting to shifting market dynamics.”

Notably, more than 60% say they feel more positive about their own business now than at any point in the past five years.

74% are optimistic about their company’s outlook for 2026, holding steady from 76% in July 2025 and 75% in November 2024 76% expect revenue growth, consistent with 75% in July 2025 and 74% in November 2024 76% anticipate higher profits, compared to 75% in July 2025 and 74% in November 2024 53% plan to increase headcount, up slightly from 52% in July 2025 and 55% in November 2024 Only 27% expect a recession in 2026, down from 39% at mid-year At the same time, small business owners remain mindful of the broader environment, with inflation, cost pressures and tariffs continuing as top challenges. Owners are responding by building maneuvering room for continued pressures in 2026—building cash reserves (47%), renegotiating supplier terms (36%) and ramping up investments in marketing and technology. This includes AI, which 59% now see as essential for competitiveness within three years, and 61% expect to streamline operations. Over half expect the economy to stabilize, and most anticipate smoother supply chains in the year ahead.

Read more about the small business outlook here: chase.com/business

Expert Guidance for a Complex World

No matter their size or stage of growth, business leaders recognize that many factors shaping the future—such as geopolitics, rising global competition, supply chain dynamics and cybersecurity threats—are beyond their direct control. Navigating this landscape requires a robust ecosystem of advice and specialized expertise.

For ten years, the JPMorganChase Institute has analyzed data and produced insights to help leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors make more informed choices. Additionally, last year the firm launched the JPMorganChase Center for Geopolitics (CfG) to advise clients on how to anticipate and respond to top geopolitical trends and events reshaping the global landscape. To date, CfG has published papers on topics ranging from the defense industrial complex to America’s trade policy, artificial intelligence competition around the globe, and the intersection of energy and geopolitics.

“Working with clients every day, our team has a front row seat to how geopolitical uncertainty is forcing business leaders to evaluate their short- and long-term playbooks, assessing risks and seizing opportunities,” said Derek Chollet, Head of Center for Geopolitics. “Leveraging the full force of JPMorganChase as a leading global financial institution uniquely positions us to help clients make informed business decisions that enhance their commercial and competitive advantages.”

Survey Methodology

JPMorganChase’s Business Leaders Outlook survey was conducted online from November 11-26, 2025 for small businesses (annual revenues between $100,000 and $20 million) and from November 4 –26, 2025 for midsize businesses (annual revenues between $20 million and $500 million). In total, 2,471 U.S. business owners and leaders across various industries participated in the survey. For year-over-year trends, current data is compared to data collected in the fourth quarter of previous years. The results of this online survey are within statistical parameters for validity, and the error rate is plus or minus 3.1% for the small business findings and plus or minus 3.4% for the midsize business findings, both at the 95% confidence level.

About JPMorganChase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $4.6 trillion in assets and $360 billion in stockholders’ equity as of September 30, 2025. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com

More News From JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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The Schwab US Dividend Equity (SCHD) stock price staged a bullish breakout above a key resistance level as American equities accelerated. SCHD jumped to a high of $28.10, its highest level since November 2024. It has soared by 20% from its lowest level in 2025. 

Why the SCHD ETF stock underperformed the broader market Copy link to section

The SCHD ETF stock price experienced a total return of 7% in the last 12 months, much lower than the S&P 500 Index’s growth of 17.6%. This divergence happened because of its constitution.

The Schwab US Dividend Equity lagged behind the mainstream fund because it is made up of traditional companies. According to its website, energy represents the biggest share in the fund and is followed by consumer staples, health care, industrials, and financials. 

The top names in the funds are energy giants like Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Lockheed Martin, Merck, Verizon, and Bristol Myers Squibb.

On the other hand, the mainstream funds like QQQ and SPY are mostly made up of technology companies like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft that are benefiting from the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

The fund also experienced weak inflows because of its low dividend yield and growth. Data shows that the fund has a dividend yield of just 3.75%, lower than what government bonds are offering.

SCHD ETF will likely continue doing well this year as American equities continue their bull run. For one, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates several times this year as inflation continues moving downwards.

Lower interest rates often boost the stock market, especially the risky technology companies that dominate the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 indices.

The fund will also benefit from the potential earnings growth, with most analysts expecting American companies to continue growing this year. Data compiled by FactSet shows that the S&P 500 Index experienced double-digit growth rates in the last four consecutive quarters.

At the same time, the ETF may experience demand as investors rotate from the risky technology industry to value names. Odds of this rotation has jumped as some investors predict that the AI bubble will burst this year.

Schwab US Dividend Equity stock has formed a bullish pattern Copy link to section

SCHD ETF stock chart | Source: TradingViewTechnical analysis suggests that the SCHD ETF has more upside in the coming weeks. The daily chart shows that the stock has formed an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, which often leads to more upside over time.

This pattern’s head is at $23, while the two shoulders are at $25, and the neckline is at $27. It has also remained above the 50-week and 100-week Exponential Moving Averages (EMA).

The SCHD ETF has also retested the ultimate resistance level of the Murrey Math Lines tool at $28. It is also slightly above the Supertrend indicator.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is where the stock continues rising, with the next key resistance level to watch being at $30, which aligns with the extreme overshoot level of the Murrey Math Lines tool.

Oracle can move AI capacity around fast, but it may not matter.

Oracle (ORCL +0.60%) is signing mega-deals to deliver AI infrastructure to hundreds of clients. The company's remaining performance obligations, a metric that measures the value of signed customer contracts that haven't yet been recognized as revenue, reached $523 billion at the end of the most recent quarter.

While Oracle has more than 700 AI customers, OpenAI accounts for most of that backlog. A reported $300 billion cloud infrastructure deal with the AI start-up is responsible for much of the RPO growth Oracle has experienced this year. Fulfilling that contract will require a massive build-out of AI data centers.

Image source: Getty Images.

The obvious question investors should be asking is this: What happens if OpenAI can't pay? The company addressed this issue in its second-quarter earnings call in December, but its answer leaves a lot to be desired.

An adaptable AI cloud lowers risk today When an analyst asked Oracle management how quickly the company could convert a data center from one customer to another in the event a large customer was unable to pay its bill, Oracle co-CEO Clay Magouyrk laid out some impressive information about Oracle's cloud infrastructure.

When Oracle needs to move capacity from one customer to another, it only takes a few hours at most. This quick turnaround is the result of architectural decisions made when Oracle started building out its cloud infrastructure business. In fact, Oracle is constantly shifting capacity around to meet customer needs.

"So, you know, we have lots of customers that might sign up for a few thousand of one type of GPU, then they'll come back and say, well, actually, you know, I'd like to get even more capacity somewhere else. Will you take this back? And we do that all day every day. We're constantly moving customers around," said Magouyrk during the earnings call.

The ability to reassign AI computing capacity quickly means customer concentration risk today is minimal. If a customer doesn't pay, Oracle can shift that capacity to other customers with ease. In the current environment, where demand for AI infrastructure is greatly outstripping supply, there's no shortage of customers willing to take on that excess capacity.

From a financial perspective, this quick switching enables Oracle to maintain high utilization rates. That's critically important for Oracle's gross margin. The depreciation of GPUs and other server equipment is incurred regardless, so any meaningful downtime would hurt the bottom line.

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It won't matter if the industry overbuilds While Oracle's ability to shift AI infrastructure capacity between customers reduces customer concentration risk right now, it won't matter in an oversupply scenario. If the AI industry overbuilds AI infrastructure over the next few years, a large customer not paying would be a disaster for Oracle, as other customers would be unable to absorb that capacity.

While there's no risk of an oversupply in the near term, the situation could change quickly. Earlier this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella discussed the potential for an overbuild of AI capacity, saying that Microsoft would lease some capacity rather than building it to reduce risk. Goldman Sachs predicted that data center occupancy rates will peak in late 2026 before moderating as growth slows and data center capacity comes online.

The fundamental problem is that a slew of large tech companies are building massive amounts of capacity independently of each other based on optimistic estimates regarding future demand for AI. AI is a transformative technology, but no one can predict anything about the AI market two or three years out. If the demand doesn't materialize as expected, there's going to be an abundance of AI computing capacity in a few years.

For a company like Oracle, which uses debt to finance AI data centers and is heavily dependent on OpenAI securing the funds necessary to fulfill its massive commitments, an oversupply scenario would be an unmitigated disaster. Customer concentration risk may not be significant today, but in a few years, it could pose an enormous risk for Oracle.

While Oracle attempted to soothe concerns about its heavy dependence on OpenAI, investors should still be very concerned about what the worst-case scenario looks like.

Here are three stocks with buy rank and strong income characteristics for investors to consider today, January 7:

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (ACRE - Free Report) : This specialty finance company from the real estate sector has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its next year earnings increasing 52.7% over the last 60 days.

This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company has a dividend yield of 12.9%, compared with the industry average of 12.2%.

Clearway Energy, Inc. (CWEN - Free Report) : This clean energy generation assets company has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 100.9% over the last 60 days.

This Zacks Rank #1 company has a dividend yield of 5.5%, compared with the industry average of 0.0%.

Clear Secure, Inc. (YOU - Free Report) : This operator of a secure identity platform has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 1.8% over the last 60 days.

This Zacks Rank #1 company has a dividend yield of 1.4%, compared with the industry average of 0.0%.

See the full list of top ranked stocks here.

Find more top income stocks with some of our great premium screens.

HomeETFs and Funds AnalysisETF Analysis

SummaryVanguard Total Bond Market ETF remains a buy, offering solid returns and attractive yield relative to cash and global peers.BND's yield to maturity is 4.3% with a 5.9-year duration, providing confidence in expected returns for long-term holders.Corporate credit spreads are near century lows, making Treasuries and securitized government debt appealing alongside BND's 49% non-government exposure.Key risks for BND in 2026 include higher rates from strong US growth or global inflation and further yield curve steepening.Torsten Asmus/iStock via Getty Images

The bond market is quite calm right now, particularly in light of all the macro risks we face. This past weekend, geopolitical intrigue resurfaced. Later this month, Stephen Miran may or may not depart from the Fed. A key jobs report

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Integrated capabilities of AI Software Engineer Devin and Infosys Topaz Fabric™ to accelerate software development, boost engineering productivity, and deliver faster time-to-market

, /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next generation digital services and consulting, and Cognition, the leading AI coding agent company and makers of Devin, the first AI software engineer, today announced a strategic collaboration to scale Devin across global enterprises. The collaboration will deploy Devin across Infosys' internal engineering ecosystem and client engagements worldwide. Infosys Topaz Fabric is a purpose-built agentic services suite – a multi-layer AI fabric that unifies infrastructure, models, data, applications, and workflows into a composable, agent-ready ecosystem. Combining the secure, modular architecture of Infosys Topaz Fabric with Cognition's advanced agentic and autonomous engineering capabilities, the collaboration aims to help enterprises achieve accelerated time-to-market, enhanced developer productivity, and reduced modernization timelines.

After using Devin for the past six months and seeing significant improvement across both engineering quality and efficiency, Infosys will integrate Devin into its internal engineering teams, embed Devin within client delivery models, and enable deployment within customers' engineering environments. To scale adoption, Infosys and Cognition are collaborating on shared engineering frameworks and enablement programs designed to bring the integrated capabilities of Infosys Topaz Fabric and Devin to engineers across industries.

Infosys Topaz Fabric and Devin will automate brown field engineering, tech debt reduction and modernization, while creating virtual engineers to resolve complex production and maintenance challenges. To ensure secure, enterprise-grade adoption, Infosys and Cognition will jointly develop industry-specific solutions, AI-native modernization blueprints, and scalable engineering frameworks, supported by co-innovation labs and enablement programs. Leading the first wave of joint client engagements, Infosys' Financial Services practice is already using Devin to transform engineering delivery across banking, payments, capital markets, insurance, and wealth management.

Scott Wu, Founder & CEO, Cognition, said, "We are thrilled to collaborate with Infosys to bring the power of autonomous and agentic AI engineering to some of the world's most complex enterprises. Infosys' Exponential Engineering offering perfectly complements our mission to redefine how software is built. Infosys Topaz Fabric and Devin together offer unmatched capability from real-time developer augmentation to fully autonomous engineering execution. Infosys is the first large digital services and consulting firm to deploy agentic tools at this scale. By combining Infosys' deep industry expertise with our platform, we are enabling clients to dramatically accelerate time-to-market, enhance ROI and unlock a new era of engineering transformation."

Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Infosys, said, "Our collaboration with Cognition marks a significant step forward in accelerating AI value realization for global enterprises. By integrating Cognition's advanced agentic and autonomous engineering expertise with our industry leading domain and delivery capabilities, we are creating a differentiated value proposition for the market. This synergy is further enhanced by Infosys Topaz Fabric, which will serve as a catalyst for modernization and innovation for clients to achieve their strategic objectives."

About Cognition

Cognition is the leading AI coding agent company and makers of Devin, the first AI software engineer. Cognition is building collaborative AI teammates that enable engineers to focus on more interesting problems and empower engineering teams to strive for more ambitious goals. The company is led by a team of world-class engineers, gold medalist coders, former founders, and leaders from companies at the cutting edge of AI.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 320,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses, and communities. We enable clients in 59 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by cloud and AI. We enable them with an AI-first core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance, are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, increased competition for talent, our ability to attract and retain personnel, increase in wages, investments to reskill our employees, our ability to effectively implement a hybrid work model, economic uncertainties and geo-political situations, technological disruptions and innovations such as artificial intelligence ("AI"), generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, our corporate actions including acquisitions, and cybersecurity matters. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/4364085/Infosys_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Infosys

Ambarella, Inc. (AMBA) Discusses Edge AI Platform Developments and Market Strategy at CES Briefing January 6, 2026 7:01 PM EST

Company Participants

Louis Gerhardy - Vice President of Corporate Development
Fermi Wang - Co-Founder, President, CEO & Executive Chairman
Muneyb Minhazuddin
Robert Kunz
Malhar Palkar
Alberto Broggi
Chan Lee

Conference Call Participants

Sabrina Stainburn
Jamie Hoffacker
Margaret Han
Kevin Cassidy - Rosenblatt Securities Inc., Research Division
Tore Svanberg - Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Research Division

Conversation

Louis Gerhardy
Vice President of Corporate Development

Well, good afternoon, and welcome from all of us at Ambarella to our CES Briefing and Technology discussion. I hope your first day of CES was productive. I'm sure for many of you online, and in the room, one of your New Year's resolutions was to learn about Edge AI and how Ambarella fits into it. So we're definitely going to help you check that box, so you can move on to your other New Year's resolutions.

But some of you visited us earlier in the day. We have in the adjacent rooms, more than 30 demonstrations of Edge AI at work. And if you're not registered to visit us later in the week, you're welcome to contact me afterwards and we'll fit you into one of the groups.

Also for the online participants, we'll need some time to prepare a virtual CES experience, but we should be running that in March, and you can also send me an e-mail if you'd like to participate in one of those events.

So Ambarella has been, I thought -- I was going to say 10-plus years, and I was just talking to Fermi. Ambarella has been at CES at this location in a much smaller footprint initially for almost 20 years now. So this is a very important event for us to share with customers and partners, our new products and technology and to

Analyst’s Disclosure:I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in UAA over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Here are three stocks with buy rank and strong value characteristics for investors to consider today, January 7:

IHS Holding Limited (IHS - Free Report) : This communications infrastructure company carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 105.3% over the last 60 days.

IHS has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 12.47, compared with 48.10 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Score of A.

DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd. (DRTTF - Free Report) : This interior construction company carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 50% over the last 60 days.

DIRTT has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 15.56, compared with 25.34 for the S&P 500. The company possesses a Value Score of A.

Ero Copper Corp. (ERO - Free Report) : This explorer, developer and producer of mining projects in Brazil carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 8.1% over the last 60 days.

Ero has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 8.03, compared with 59.50 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Score of B.

See the full list of top ranked stocks here.

Learn more about the Value score and how it is calculated here.

An employee arranges beer bottles on a conveyor belt along a production line at the East African Breweries' microbrewery as the company released its half-year results in Ruaraka, Nairobi,... Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more

CompaniesNAIROBI, Jan 7 (Reuters) - A Kenyan beer distribution firm has filed a case at Kenya's High Court seeking to block Diageo's $2.3 billion sale of its local subsidiary EABL to Japan's Asahi Holdings (2502.T), opens new tab over pending litigation, a lawyer for the challenger said on Wednesday.

Diageo, the world's biggest spirits group, said last month it had agreed a deal with the Japanese brewer for a sale of its 65% stake in EABL (EABL.NR), opens new tab, as it responds to U.S. tariffs and shifting consumer patterns.

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But the deal faces a challenge by Kenyan distributor Bia Tosha, which has asked the court to stop it until its litigation against Diageo and EABL, over a competition dispute, is determined and settled.

Kenya's High Court has certified the case as urgent and has set a hearing date for Friday, when it will give directions, Kenneth Kiplagat, Bia Tosha's lawyer, told Reuters.

London-listed Diageo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. EABL, which is listed on the Nairobi bourse, was not immediately available for comment.

Diageo's shares slipped 1.6%, while EABL was 0.5% lower.

Reporting by Duncan Miriri, additional reporting by Emma Rumney, editing by Karin Strohecker and Alexander Smith

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Some of the hottest AI stocks on Wall Street may be taking diverging paths in the new year.

In 2025, the S&P 500 rallied more than 16%, marking its third consecutive year of gains topping 15%. While the prospect of lower interest rates and stock-split euphoria have played a role in lifting the tide on Wall Street, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has undeniably been the stock market's hottest trend.

Providing software and systems with the tools to make near-instantaneous decisions without human oversight is an advancement that the analysts at PwC believe can add more than $15 trillion to global gross domestic product by 2030.

Image source: Getty Images.

However, a pie-in-the-sky addressable market doesn't mean every AI stock will be a winner. In 2026, two unstoppable AI stocks make for no-brainer buys, while another ultra-popular stock is worth avoiding.

Artificial intelligence stock No. 1 to buy hand over fist in the new year: Meta Platforms Among the dozens of companies that are directly benefiting from the AI revolution, none is more of a genius buy in the new year than social media colossus Meta Platforms (META +0.28%).

The advantage of buying Meta Platforms' stock, compared to purchasing shares of the face of the AI movement, Nvidia, is that investors have a rock-solid foundation to fall back on if history were to repeat and the AI bubble bursts in 2026.

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Meta generates approximately 98% of its net sales from advertising on its family of apps. In September, an average of 3.54 billion people visited its websites daily, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads, and Facebook Messenger. No other social media platform is particularly close to matching the number of eyeballs that Meta can offer advertisers, which means it often possesses exceptional ad-pricing power.

Although Meta has several uses for AI, it's already deploying generative AI solutions on its social media advertising platforms. These tools are allowing advertisers to tailor static and video messages to individual users, with the goal of improving click-through rates. With Meta Platforms primarily relying on AI to enhance its existing operations, it would be mostly shielded from an AI bubble-bursting event.

What's more, Mark Zuckerberg's company is swimming in cash. It ended September with over $44 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, and has generated nearly $80 billion in net cash from its operating activities through the first nine months of 2025. Meta has the luxury of taking risks and investing in high-growth initiatives without needing an immediate payoff from these investments.

Meta Platforms' forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22 is a bargain amid a historically pricey stock market.

Image source: Getty Images.

Artificial intelligence stock No. 2 to buy hand over fist in 2026: Super Micro Computer Investors on Wall Street have to be objective and willing to adjust their opinion(s) on a publicly traded company if the variables change. While I've been a decisive skeptic of customizable rack server and storage solutions specialist Super Micro Computer (SMCI +1.56%) over the previous two years, my tune has changed for 2026.

In 2024, Supermicro, as the company is more commonly known, faced accounting allegations from a noted short-seller, which were denied by an independent third-party investigation, as well as concerns about its operating margin. Historically, the rapid expansion of enterprise data centers has led to a brief surge, followed by a decline, in Supermicro's margins.

Although the risk of significant downside stemming from an AI bubble-bursting event is considerably greater with Super Micro Computer than with Meta Platforms, the risk-versus-reward profile has shifted completely to favor reward.

Supermicro's biggest catalyst in the new year is the insatiable demand for Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs). Nvidia's unrivaled GPUs are incorporated into Supermicro's customizable rack servers, leading to reasonably strong pricing power and a substantial order backlog for its infrastructure. The willingness of hyperscalers to throw tens of billions of dollars at AI-accelerated data centers practically ensures sustained double-digit growth for Super Micro Computer. Management's annual sales forecast of "at least $36 billion" for fiscal 2026 equates to 64% revenue growth.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's ability to ramp up its GPU output for Nvidia and its external rivals should be another driver of Super Micro Computer's outperformance in 2026. Though GPU scarcity remains an issue, a ramp in production by Taiwan Semi can help lessen or eliminate the supply chain constraints that have slowed deliveries or limited Supermicro's sales growth ceiling.

With Supermicro stock now trading at a forward P/E of only 10, yet sporting estimated sales growth of 64% (per management for fiscal 2026) and 22% (based on Wall Street's estimate for fiscal 2027) over the next two years, its shares look like a bargain.

The AI stock investors would be wise to avoid in 2026: Palantir Technologies However, not all AI stocks are necessarily worth buying in the new year. Although it's been one of Wall Street's hottest stocks to own, with a gain of more than 2,500% over the previous three years, Palantir Technologies (PLTR +3.28%) heads the list of AI stocks to avoid in 2026.

To clear up any confusion, Palantir isn't a bad or poorly run company. It's simply a solid business whose valuation no longer makes any sense.

Today's Change

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On the one hand, Palantir's competitive advantages appear sustainable. Its AI- and machine learning-powered Gotham platform, which is responsible for helping the U.S. government and its allies plan and oversee military missions, has no scalable replacement. Wall Street and investors consistently place a premium valuation on public companies that can maintain their competitive edge.

But there's a limit as to how far this valuation premium can be stretched.

Since the dawn of the internet revolution in the mid-1990s, companies at the forefront of next-big-thing innovations have run into trouble when their price-to-sales (P/S) ratios have topped 30. While no leading company has been able to sustain a P/S ratio above 30 for any extended period over the last three decades, Palantir ended Jan. 2 at a P/S ratio of 110! There isn't an earnings beat or revenue guide that would justify this premium.

The stock market is also historically expensive, and that's potentially bad news for pricey stocks like Palantir. Historical precedent strongly suggests a sizable stock market correction, bear market, or even short-lived crash may occur in 2026. If this were to happen, companies with premium valuations tend to be hit the hardest.

Palantir's otherworldly valuation makes it an easy stock to shy away from in the new year.

Compass (CMP) saw its shares surge in the last session with trading volume being higher than average. The latest trend in earnings estimate revisions may not translate into further price increase in the near term.

By Reuters

January 7, 20269:09 AM UTCUpdated ago

A Samsung Electronics logo appears in this illustration taken August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

SEOUL, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab on Wednesday said it would acquire 2.5 trillion won ($1.73 billion) worth of its own shares for employee and executive compensation.

The shares will be acquired through purchases on the stock market between January 8 and April 7, Samsung said in a regulatory filing.

Sign up here.

The acquisition is part of a performance-linked compensation scheme introduced in October 2025.

($1 = 1,446.1700 won)

Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Bernadette Baum

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab