Wall St Engine
BOFA REITERATES BUY RATING ON $JHX, PT $28
Analyst comments: "We remain buyers of James Hardie post its 4Q results. We think the share price reaction (JHX -6% today) is unwarranted and our price objective of A$44.45 offers approximately 22% return potential. We forecast FY26 EBITDA of $1,147 million, implying 6% year-over-year EBITDA growth (guide: low single digit). Our estimates bake in North America revenue growth of 5% (guide: low single digit) driven by 2% volume and 3% pricing growth.
While 4Q North America average selling price growth of +1% year-over-year is lower versus our expectations, we do not think it indicates JHX is losing pricing power (a concern raised repeatedly in our investor conversations today). We believe the weakness was driven by particularly soft multi-housing starts, which have higher exposure to ColorPlus (mix shift impacted ASP by -1.4 percentage points). Overall, our estimates remain largely unchanged for FY26/FY27 NPAT (+0–1%), with slightly lower North America volumes partially offset by lower corporate costs (which came in below our expectations). This drives our price objective to A$44.45 (target multiple unchanged)."
Analyst: Shaurya Visen
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BOFA REITERATES BUY RATING ON $JHX, PT $28
Analyst comments: "We remain buyers of James Hardie post its 4Q results. We think the share price reaction (JHX -6% today) is unwarranted and our price objective of A$44.45 offers approximately 22% return potential. We forecast FY26 EBITDA of $1,147 million, implying 6% year-over-year EBITDA growth (guide: low single digit). Our estimates bake in North America revenue growth of 5% (guide: low single digit) driven by 2% volume and 3% pricing growth.
While 4Q North America average selling price growth of +1% year-over-year is lower versus our expectations, we do not think it indicates JHX is losing pricing power (a concern raised repeatedly in our investor conversations today). We believe the weakness was driven by particularly soft multi-housing starts, which have higher exposure to ColorPlus (mix shift impacted ASP by -1.4 percentage points). Overall, our estimates remain largely unchanged for FY26/FY27 NPAT (+0–1%), with slightly lower North America volumes partially offset by lower corporate costs (which came in below our expectations). This drives our price objective to A$44.45 (target multiple unchanged)."
Analyst: Shaurya Visen
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Wall St Engine
Baidu $BIDU Q1'25 Earnings Highlughts:
🔹 Revenue: RMB32.45B (+3% YoY) 🟢 vs. RMB31.03B est.
🔹 Adj. EPS: RMB18.54 (▼7% YoY) 🟢 vs. RMB13.84 est.
Segment Performance
🔹 Baidu Core Revenue: RMB25.46B (+7% YoY)
🔹 AI Cloud up 42% YoY
🔹 Online Marketing down 6% YoY
🔹 iQIYI Revenue: RMB7.2B (▼9% YoY)
Operating Highlights
🔸 AI Cloud revenue grew +42% YoY; Baidu upgraded Qianfan MaaS platform and released PaddlePaddle v3.0
🔸 Apollo Go (robotaxi) expanded to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and surpassed 11M total rides; Q1 rides grew +75% YoY
🔸 Baidu App MAUs reached 724M; UP +7% YoY
🔸 Managed Page accounted for 47% of online marketing revenue
Strategic / Capital
🔸 Returned $445M to shareholders in Q1
🔸 Negative FCF due to AI investments | Net cash: RMB159B
Executive Commentary
🔸 CEO: “AI Cloud momentum and Apollo Go’s global expansion show our AI-first strategy is working.”
🔸 CFO: “Investing in AI to drive long-term growth.”
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Baidu $BIDU Q1'25 Earnings Highlughts:
🔹 Revenue: RMB32.45B (+3% YoY) 🟢 vs. RMB31.03B est.
🔹 Adj. EPS: RMB18.54 (▼7% YoY) 🟢 vs. RMB13.84 est.
Segment Performance
🔹 Baidu Core Revenue: RMB25.46B (+7% YoY)
🔹 AI Cloud up 42% YoY
🔹 Online Marketing down 6% YoY
🔹 iQIYI Revenue: RMB7.2B (▼9% YoY)
Operating Highlights
🔸 AI Cloud revenue grew +42% YoY; Baidu upgraded Qianfan MaaS platform and released PaddlePaddle v3.0
🔸 Apollo Go (robotaxi) expanded to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and surpassed 11M total rides; Q1 rides grew +75% YoY
🔸 Baidu App MAUs reached 724M; UP +7% YoY
🔸 Managed Page accounted for 47% of online marketing revenue
Strategic / Capital
🔸 Returned $445M to shareholders in Q1
🔸 Negative FCF due to AI investments | Net cash: RMB159B
Executive Commentary
🔸 CEO: “AI Cloud momentum and Apollo Go’s global expansion show our AI-first strategy is working.”
🔸 CFO: “Investing in AI to drive long-term growth.”
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Wall St Engine
$MDT TO SPIN OFF DIABETES UNIT
Medtronic plans to separate its $2.5B diabetes business into a stand-alone public company within 18 months, per WSJ. The move lets Medtronic double down on faster-growing areas like cardiovascular and surgical tech. The new company will be led by Que Dallara and based in California.
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$MDT TO SPIN OFF DIABETES UNIT
Medtronic plans to separate its $2.5B diabetes business into a stand-alone public company within 18 months, per WSJ. The move lets Medtronic double down on faster-growing areas like cardiovascular and surgical tech. The new company will be led by Que Dallara and based in California.
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Wall St Engine
Lowe’s $LOW Q1'25 Earnings Highlights
🔹 Revenue: $20.93B 🟡 vs. $20.94B est. (▼2% YoY)
🔹 Operating Income: $2.49B 🟢 vs. $2.47B est.
🔹 Net Income: $1.64B 🟢 vs. $1.62B est.
🔹 Diluted EPS: $2.92 (▼5% YoY)
Operating Metrics
🔹 Comparable Sales: ▼1.7%
🔹 Pro and online comps grew mid-single digits
🔹 Store Count: 1,750 locations, 195.3M sq. ft. retail space
FY25 Guidance Affirmed:
🔹 Sales: $83.5B–$84.5B
🔹 Comp Sales: Flat to +1%
🔹 EPS: $12.15–$12.40
🔹 Operating Margin: 12.3%–12.4%
Capital / Commentary
🔸 Paid $645M in dividends in Q1
🔸 CEO: Despite housing headwinds, focus on customer experience drove strong satisfaction scores; J.D. Power #1 in Customer Satisfaction for Home Improvement Retailers
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Lowe’s $LOW Q1'25 Earnings Highlights
🔹 Revenue: $20.93B 🟡 vs. $20.94B est. (▼2% YoY)
🔹 Operating Income: $2.49B 🟢 vs. $2.47B est.
🔹 Net Income: $1.64B 🟢 vs. $1.62B est.
🔹 Diluted EPS: $2.92 (▼5% YoY)
Operating Metrics
🔹 Comparable Sales: ▼1.7%
🔹 Pro and online comps grew mid-single digits
🔹 Store Count: 1,750 locations, 195.3M sq. ft. retail space
FY25 Guidance Affirmed:
🔹 Sales: $83.5B–$84.5B
🔹 Comp Sales: Flat to +1%
🔹 EPS: $12.15–$12.40
🔹 Operating Margin: 12.3%–12.4%
Capital / Commentary
🔸 Paid $645M in dividends in Q1
🔸 CEO: Despite housing headwinds, focus on customer experience drove strong satisfaction scores; J.D. Power #1 in Customer Satisfaction for Home Improvement Retailers
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Wall St Engine
Guardian reports UnitedHealth $UNH secretly paid nursing homes bonuses to cut hospital transfers, risking patient safety.
Whistleblowers allege residents needing urgent care were denied hospital trips under pressure to keep costs down. One case led to permanent brain damage.
UnitedHealth denies blocking transfers, but internal documents show staff were financially incentivized to lower hospitalization rates—rewarded for keeping “admits per thousand” low.
The company reportedly monitored facilities’ use of DNR orders and gave teams “admission budgets.”
In some cases, nursing homes shared confidential records to enroll more residents in UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage plans.
One whistleblower, Maxwell Ollivant, warns patients may not be getting the care they signed up for.
Full report via The Guardian.
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Guardian reports UnitedHealth $UNH secretly paid nursing homes bonuses to cut hospital transfers, risking patient safety.
Whistleblowers allege residents needing urgent care were denied hospital trips under pressure to keep costs down. One case led to permanent brain damage.
UnitedHealth denies blocking transfers, but internal documents show staff were financially incentivized to lower hospitalization rates—rewarded for keeping “admits per thousand” low.
The company reportedly monitored facilities’ use of DNR orders and gave teams “admission budgets.”
In some cases, nursing homes shared confidential records to enroll more residents in UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage plans.
One whistleblower, Maxwell Ollivant, warns patients may not be getting the care they signed up for.
Full report via The Guardian.
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Wall St Engine
$TGT | Target Q1 Earnings Highlights
🔹 Revenue: $23.85B (Est. $24.35B) 🔴; DOWN -2.8% YoY
🔹 Adj EPS: $1.30 (Est. $1.65) 🔴
FY25 Guidance:
🔹 Revenue: Now expects low-single-digit decline (Previously: growth) 🔴
🔹 Adjusted EPS: $7.00–$9.00 (Prior: $8.80–$9.80, Est. $8.43) 🔴
Q1 Comparable Sales:
🔹 Total Comp Sales: -3.8% (Est. -1.96%) 🔴
🔹 Comp Store Sales: -5.7%
🔹 Comp Digital Sales: +4.7%
🔹 Same-Day Delivery (via Target Circle 360): +36% YoY
Other Metrics:
🔹 Operating Income: $1.5B; UP +13.6% YoY
🔹 Adj Operating Margin: 3.7% (Excludes settlement impact)
🔹 SG&A Expense Rate: 19.3% (vs. 21.0% YoY); Adjusted SG&A Rate: 21.7%
🔹 Interest Expense: $116M (vs. $106M YoY)
🔹 Effective Tax Rate: 25.0% (vs. 22.7% YoY)
Strategic and Operational Updates:
🔸 Designer collaboration with Kate Spade was Target’s strongest in over a decade
🔸 Seasonal sales during Valentine’s Day and Easter outperformed non-seasonal periods
🔸 A new multi-year "acceleration office" launched, led by Michael Fiddelke, to improve agility and drive long-term growth
🔸 Settlement of credit card interchange fee litigation added $593M in pre-tax gains in Q1
Capital Allocation:
🔹 Dividend Paid: $510M (UP +1.8% YoY)
🔹 Share Buybacks: $251M; 2.2M shares at avg. $114.60
🔹 Remaining Buyback Authorization: $8.4B
🔹 ROIC (Trailing 12 Months): 15.1% (vs. 15.4% YoY)
CEO Brian Cornell’s Commentary:
🔸 "While our sales fell short of expectations, digital grew healthily, with Target Circle 360 driving 36% YoY same-day delivery growth. Kate Spade for Target was our strongest designer collaboration in over a decade. We’re not satisfied with current performance and have initiated leadership changes and strategic acceleration to unlock future growth."
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$TGT | Target Q1 Earnings Highlights
🔹 Revenue: $23.85B (Est. $24.35B) 🔴; DOWN -2.8% YoY
🔹 Adj EPS: $1.30 (Est. $1.65) 🔴
FY25 Guidance:
🔹 Revenue: Now expects low-single-digit decline (Previously: growth) 🔴
🔹 Adjusted EPS: $7.00–$9.00 (Prior: $8.80–$9.80, Est. $8.43) 🔴
Q1 Comparable Sales:
🔹 Total Comp Sales: -3.8% (Est. -1.96%) 🔴
🔹 Comp Store Sales: -5.7%
🔹 Comp Digital Sales: +4.7%
🔹 Same-Day Delivery (via Target Circle 360): +36% YoY
Other Metrics:
🔹 Operating Income: $1.5B; UP +13.6% YoY
🔹 Adj Operating Margin: 3.7% (Excludes settlement impact)
🔹 SG&A Expense Rate: 19.3% (vs. 21.0% YoY); Adjusted SG&A Rate: 21.7%
🔹 Interest Expense: $116M (vs. $106M YoY)
🔹 Effective Tax Rate: 25.0% (vs. 22.7% YoY)
Strategic and Operational Updates:
🔸 Designer collaboration with Kate Spade was Target’s strongest in over a decade
🔸 Seasonal sales during Valentine’s Day and Easter outperformed non-seasonal periods
🔸 A new multi-year "acceleration office" launched, led by Michael Fiddelke, to improve agility and drive long-term growth
🔸 Settlement of credit card interchange fee litigation added $593M in pre-tax gains in Q1
Capital Allocation:
🔹 Dividend Paid: $510M (UP +1.8% YoY)
🔹 Share Buybacks: $251M; 2.2M shares at avg. $114.60
🔹 Remaining Buyback Authorization: $8.4B
🔹 ROIC (Trailing 12 Months): 15.1% (vs. 15.4% YoY)
CEO Brian Cornell’s Commentary:
🔸 "While our sales fell short of expectations, digital grew healthily, with Target Circle 360 driving 36% YoY same-day delivery growth. Kate Spade for Target was our strongest designer collaboration in over a decade. We’re not satisfied with current performance and have initiated leadership changes and strategic acceleration to unlock future growth."
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Offshore
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Quiver Quantitative
Representative Gerry Connolly just passed away this morning: https://t.co/p7w4whHMJu
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Representative Gerry Connolly just passed away this morning: https://t.co/p7w4whHMJu
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Offshore
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Dimitry Nakhla | Babylon Capital®
RT @DimitryNakhla: Novo Nordisk $NVO credit rating upgraded to AA from AA- by S&P Global $SPGI ✅
Don’t miss the fourth photo❗️
I believe few investors truly grasp the potential of GLP-1s:
•Reduces chronic disease risks
•Addresses obesity
•Reduces cardiovascular risks
•Delays neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Alzheimer’s)
•Lowers cancer risk (e.g. colon cancer)
•Enhances metabolic health
•Decreases reliance on other meds
•Minimizes invasive treatments
•Combats addiction
•Could slow aging
•Lowers healthcare costs
$NVO trades for ~16x NTM earnings, near its lowest valuation in the last decade
$NVO has averaged a 59% ROIC over the past 20 years
$NVO has $6.02B in cash & $13.96B in long-term debt
With all this being said, and down -55% from all time highs, today $NVO is a strong consideration for investment at $67💵
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RT @DimitryNakhla: Novo Nordisk $NVO credit rating upgraded to AA from AA- by S&P Global $SPGI ✅
Don’t miss the fourth photo❗️
I believe few investors truly grasp the potential of GLP-1s:
•Reduces chronic disease risks
•Addresses obesity
•Reduces cardiovascular risks
•Delays neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Alzheimer’s)
•Lowers cancer risk (e.g. colon cancer)
•Enhances metabolic health
•Decreases reliance on other meds
•Minimizes invasive treatments
•Combats addiction
•Could slow aging
•Lowers healthcare costs
$NVO trades for ~16x NTM earnings, near its lowest valuation in the last decade
$NVO has averaged a 59% ROIC over the past 20 years
$NVO has $6.02B in cash & $13.96B in long-term debt
With all this being said, and down -55% from all time highs, today $NVO is a strong consideration for investment at $67💵
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Offshore
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Investing visuals
$PLTR vs. $SNOW: not all companies are created equally. https://t.co/0B2Nq2hxX8
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$PLTR vs. $SNOW: not all companies are created equally. https://t.co/0B2Nq2hxX8
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